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Leigh Anne
Junior Member
since 1999-06-15
Posts 48
Scottsboro, AL USA

0 posted 1999-06-16 11:05 AM


Life Story

I, Leigh Anne Dawson, in the midst of my life
having had two parents,
two books of poems,
and two decades of pain,
having cried for those who did not love me
and those who loved me--but not enough
and those whom i did not love--
declare myself now for joy.
There is pain enough to nourish us everywherre;
it is joy that is scarce.

I say to hell with the analysts of minus and plus,
the life shrinkers, the diminishers of joy.
I say to hell with anyone
who would suck on misery
like a pacifier...
in a toothless mouth.
I say to hell with gloom
And with those who scorn.
I myself have been a scorner
and have chosen scornful men,
men to echo all that was narrow,
men to hurt me as I hurt myself.
In my stinginess,
My friends have been stingy.
In my narrowness,
My men have been mean.

I resolve now for joy.

If that means I must live alone,
I accept aloneness.

© Copyright 1999 Leigh Anne - All Rights Reserved
Nimrod the Hunter
Member
since 1999-06-10
Posts 60

1 posted 1999-06-16 03:03 PM


Hermits live in the mountains, far away from people. I can never imagine there being complete joy in living in loneliness. I even thought about being a hermit one time, and I wrote poems about being a hermit. The cold river, the map drawn plans of how to make the river obey you, etc... I have a way with maps and plans.

How will you find joy in a world that's miserable? I am truly curious because I am looking for the same thing. Joy, through what?? How can you have joy away from people, if you hold the joy to yourself? I think that real joy comes from sharing something with another. Joy by itself means nothing, I think, until it's given.

------------------
Nimrod the Hunter

Leigh Anne
Junior Member
since 1999-06-15
Posts 48
Scottsboro, AL USA
2 posted 1999-06-16 03:34 PM


I agree with you in a sense, however, isn't it better to be alone, to find the happiness within yourself, than trying to share the joy you find in life, with someone undeserving? I know in the end it is better to have shared with another, but until finding that special other one to bare your soul to, why not bask in your own joys, ALONE??????
Nan
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-20
Posts 21191
Cape Cod Massachusetts USA
3 posted 1999-06-16 04:24 PM


This one's for you Leigh Anne - I'm hiding it because most have read it already....
But, you truly needn't feel down about being alone... It has its rewards as well...

SOLITUDE

I dwell amidst my Solitude
No longer clamor 'bout my ears.
These walls with clangor once imbued
All resonance pealed back some years

No stentor left about my ears
Now hear what's left, I venture on
I'll hearken here ensuing years
And cherish sounds from those bygone.

My wistful journey ventures on.
As solitude peers back at me.
No clamor from those years bygone
And through the silence now I see

My solitude enlightens me
With sounds unheard those years along
A muted silence helps me see
How beautiful the warbler's song

Those sweet tunes unheard years along
The breath of wind upon the panes
I revel in the warbler's song
And pattering of roof-top rains

The wind breathes gently on the panes
These walls indeed remain imbued.
The roof-top patters with the rains
My hearkening fills solitude.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(a pantoum) - Nancy Ness

Leigh Anne
Junior Member
since 1999-06-15
Posts 48
Scottsboro, AL USA
4 posted 1999-06-16 05:02 PM


That was beautiful Nan, thank you for sharing it with me! Can't wait to read more of your work! So glad people can fathom the true beauty solitude sometimes evokes!
Balladeer
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-05
Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA
5 posted 1999-06-16 05:27 PM


On the contrary, Leigh Anne. It does not mean you have to live alone....it means you will only attract people with joy as their basis for life. It may seem lonely for they're aren't many, and they don't come around too often, but it will be worth the wait. Don't settle for less. They are out there. and they would be damned lucky to have you!
Nimrod the Hunter
Member
since 1999-06-10
Posts 60

6 posted 1999-06-16 09:32 PM


Do not cease sharing joy with others. At least maybe you shouldn't show it all, but show part of it. Just as Balladeer said, some joy will attract people to you, and you never know unless you take the first step. Just do not wash yourself away in your joy until you find the one you are sure you want to share all of your joys with. This is what I do, because too much joy makes me careless, and too little joy destroys my self-esteem, and to find joy alone is tough. You would have to love loneliness. I discover joy alone by nature trails, poems, and then I end up wanting to share it with someone! To hold in the joy will make me despair. That's my problem with joy alone, it will not last very long. If it sticks with you alone for long enough, then I'll be darn amazed, and you'd have to tell me the stories about how you kept your joys from bursting while they were contained inside you!

------------------
Nimrod the Hunter

LeoG
New Member
since 1999-06-17
Posts 7
Namibia
7 posted 1999-06-17 03:05 AM


Hail to you who seeks solemnity.
Hail to you, because you have lived.

Being alone is not a state of mind, it's a lifestyle.

I have loved and lost, had joy and sorrow.....yet all came from within.

Being alone is preperation for being not.
Yet sometimes not being alone seems preperation for being nothing but.

All my life, yet it hasn't been that long...I've learned that time-out from everything renews the soul.

hmmmmmmm, i think.....

------------------
We all have the makings of angels, yet we lose our wings due to a lack in humanity....

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