My lungs were gills once,
And my hands held swords;
My heart was small once,
And afraid of pain;
Unable to forgive or heal
Even a superficial cut,
It hid inside a cage
Without a key
/
My hair was short once
And my eyes were grey;
My wings were covered
With thick, heavy layers
Of dust and fears
Not to be shaken off,
So like a hunchback
I would walk half-bent;
/
I met the God of Time
One day, and this
He said to me:
‘Don’t be afraid:
‘Breathe in your days
With a full chest,
And drop the swords you hold –
For they will not protect
/
You from your enemy –
Yourself;
With your free hands
Release your heart and watch
The bruises disappear,
As love and courage grow;
Straighten your back
And use your gift ā your wings
/
To soar higher
Than you believed you’d dare;
Time is too short –
I know of what I speak –
Let flow your hair of gold,
Let shine your silver eyes,
For when we meet again
I want
/
To see a woman,
Smiling,
When it’s time to say
Good-bye
Love it!
Thank you! Very flattered that you do :)!
Just did the re-read to compare ~ yes – this one seems to be healing through ‘opening of heart’ – -vs- “Without Weakness” ~ as we said – which is more of a “survival” but perhaps with an edge of anger… I agree “One Day” approaches it from a healthier place ~ a place of “releasing” anger rather than guarding hurt…. Very excellent work – thank you! ~ xRobyn
Thank you for taking the time to compare the two poems and the two speakers’ different approaches to overcoming a difficult situation and healing! I agree with you in that the speaker here, in One Day, has the healthier, wiser approach of the two. In my opinion, it also takes a lot more courage to keep an open heart than to turn it into ‘a rock that can’t be broken’.
I agree – but also think the open heart is what makes life worth living in many ways — to feel is to live… The rock that can’t be broken is becoming numb ~ can’t be fun right? ~ coming from a pretty sensitive soul place here — but I know you understand. š Much Love ~ R
I hope I understand :)! It can’t be fun to be numb, no; we must give love to receive it. Sometimes, however, all one would receive in return for their gifts would be a painful blow, but one must be strong enough to take it, recover, and keep giving others what they need without expecting too much in return, Much love to you, too, and thank you for the interesting comments!
yes – you did hit on something very key here…. expectations… we can’t have these or we do get our share of very painful blows… so i suppose it is having an open heart ~ with no expectations that is key? Thank you for this introspective exchange today ~ enjoyed it – Love to you ! Robyn
Ah, yes! The expectations – we would not be disappointed in others if they would give us what we feel they should. No one benefits by having high expectations of anyone but oneself. Many thanks again for the great ‘chat’, Robyn! Let’s do this again sometime :)!
“My lungs were gills once,” Yes, that embryonic Primal Soup
‘And my hands held swords’ – the Samurai Foetus.