That you can raise such a: That you can raise such a towering poem over the flat fault line of the pain you suffer is testimony both to the power of Poetry, in general, and your own power as a Poet, specifically, to remind us that pain will never have the last word. This is one of the delusions that the "prince of the powers of the air" likes to send among us; but it is not the final word or the final condition.
Thanks my precious and: Thanks my precious and talented Patriciajj
I am struggling to find beauty or tragedy because every last thing is interrupted by pain. Back at work part time can be exhausting after this kind if injury. I really look forward to your take on my stuff. I am never disappointed by your response or your amazing work. You are unique and can resonate on somany levels. Bless you hugss always ss
What seemed to be cruel: What seemed to be cruel "sabotage", you turned into gold:
"Frayed nerves screeching and screaming
Begging for the holy oil
the balm of relief
The anointing of peace"
You proved that great art doesn't have to be all fluff and sunshine, and that "beauty and hope" can emerge from the most tumultuous inner wrestling and outer challenges. In the last lines you land on your feet with eloquent determination and clever phrases spun into victory.
A striking showcase for your talent and resolve.
It works for me. The: It works for me. The substance shined through your slight, confident alteration in structure, and I saw only brilliance. The word "throttles" is a powerhouse that really makes this. You never fail to impress me.
This compact wonder is like a: This compact wonder is like a painting. I'm visualizing a cinematic juxtaposition of a gathering storm at great heights and parched earth at plunging depths as both contrast and a glorious collision, and there are undercurrents of profound meaning as in visual art. Awesome!
Okay, let me just say how: Okay, let me just say how much I love your writing and devour it up as if it were drugs the big brain got its own game, newsflash!
Years ago my son got into a: Years ago my son got into a heated argument with a gun-rights supporter, and finally concluded the discourse with: "While we're arguing about this, there is probably someone else being killed by a gun."
Just moments later, my son's critic looked at his phone and discovered the breaking news: there had been another mass shooting.
I wish we didn't have to argue about whether or not we'll do whatever it takes to save a human life. Some things are too precious to politicize. Or not. Seems politics has to wrap its ferocious tentacles around every damn thing. But hearing both sides of this issue, the result of growing up in a ultra conservative household, I did realize that both sides do value human life. They just have different ideas on how to preserve it while maintaining constitutional rights.
The problem is that while people are wrangling over the "how"s and protesting on both sides, more lives are being lost. Very young lives. Lives that we'll never, never get back, even if we do finally agree on a solution.
In this astute perspective, you address one of the arguments that I've heard again and again: "guns don't kill, people do". Sounds nice, catchy, but there's much more to it, and you presented a rebuttal that is coherent and hard to deny because of your logical analogy.
Now I can imagine some gun owners' knee-jerk reaction of fear that you're advocating a total gun ban. Which clearly you're not, any more than you're suggesting the government should confiscate cars because we don't allow a nine year old to get behind the wheel and mow down a few pedestrians like the "nerd next door, who has a chemistry set in his parents' garage" with dreams of his own meth lab one day.
You also make it clear that you're focusing on military-grade weapons, not day-to-day weapons for self-defense, as you intelligently expressed: "The right to bear arms should not be abrogated; the right to bear weapons of mass or multiple destructions should be . . . Do you really need an assault weapon to blow some geese out of the sky, or execute that pesty gopher that continues to rape your tomato patch?" Well played, Word Meister.
Your appeal to our leaders and to the compassionate sanity of our civilization (the only country on Earth to experience mass shootings to this appalling degree) was a worthy opponent to the status quo that is only resulting in more deaths and unspeakable suffering.
A persuasive case.
Because to fail to respond to: Because to fail to respond to a comment. that you paused your busy day in order to post to my essay, would be discourteous, and I will not willingly or intentionally do that to the PostPoems community. I know of a Poet here whose portfolio page shows many comments, all of them designated "1" under the counter column; and a random sample of that person's work indicates that the comments received are not acknowledged even with a simple thank you. That person has the right not to respond; but that is a right I will not willingly use. If a Poet is willing to take the time and effort to comment, I believe I am required by courtesy to acknowledge that. In my early days, I failed to follow that courtesy as fully as good manners require; I deeply regret those failures which are soley and strictly my fault.
If I have caused you offense in any way, I apologize.
BTW, whose face is in the portrait next to your screen name?