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Open Poetry #34
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Ratleader
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0 posted 2005-01-07 01:24 AM


A Personal Rainbow

A rainbow is a personal thing,
and it’s worth getting wet to lie here
in the dampening grass while my rainbow
hovers in the sunlight for as long as I want.
I suppose I could have used
a garden hose and stayed dry,
but the lawn needed water
and so, I guess, did I.
Here in the lee of a sprinkler
it shines out at me,
an almost-circle in the late sun.

It’s a cone, you know, a circle
whether it’s close or far,
and the same rainbow I’d see
kissing an afternoon shower,
or shivering in the downdraft
off the ice-melt falls at Takkakaw.
The perspective may change,
but my rainbow stays the same.

So does yours, and only you
can see it. Even if we’re close
as closeness they’re unique;
the drop that gives me red
may bring you blue, your green
become some other shade
invisible to me.

Still I know where my gold is,
the place my rainbow ends,
and I can help you find your own.
It’s simple really, the rainbow ends
the only place it can: where it began,
right here in your eyes.



             _____________

This for all the folks in this place,
even the ones who don't even know they do it,
who manage to make me want to write....whether
I want to want to, or not.

© Copyright 2005 Ed Ratledge - All Rights Reserved
Honeybunch
Member Rara Avis
since 2001-12-29
Posts 7115
South Africa
1 posted 2005-01-07 02:09 AM


This is simply wonderful and I hope all those who make you want to write keep on doing so although I suspect they're merely on the sidelines of a wish and need you perhaps sometimes pretend you do not have.
Margherita
Member Seraphic
since 2003-02-08
Posts 22236
Eternity
2 posted 2005-01-07 05:12 AM


A very beautiful, uplifting message you conveyed with your "personal rainbow".
Thank you!
Love, Margherita

passing shadows
Member Empyrean
since 1999-08-26
Posts 45577
displaced
3 posted 2005-01-07 05:42 AM


how touching Ed

I know...reading here makes me want to write though I don't have much time these days

Sunshine
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since 1999-06-25
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Listening to every heart
4 posted 2005-01-07 06:09 AM


As to your ending comment...

quote:
Still I know where my gold is,




LeeJ
Member Patricius
since 2003-06-19
Posts 13296

5 posted 2005-01-07 07:18 AM


and I mine...because of you

Ed, this was so artistic and wonderfully composed...I love your heart...your confidence, you soul...

Toasting you on this beauty....click...whata beautiful peace!

Ratleader
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6 posted 2005-01-07 09:15 AM


In case you're wondering about Takkakaw, it's one of the most beautiful waterfalls falls there is, but the water in it is minutes from a glacier....the mist feels like absolute zero, but to stand in it is to stand in an acre of heaven.
http://www.pbase.com/image/27463458

In Canada they're much more sensible about things like safety rails than they are here in the US....put 'em where you're likely to get chucked into something, but they don't baby you so you become dependent on rails to keep you safe.... so you can walk right up to wonders like this, and back if you've been careful. The river offers a free ride, but I wouldn't advise it.....

Sometimes people here read "light," just looking at the surface of things....and I'm glad you folks have looked into my poem more seriously. Yes, there's a lot of me in it, and I let it sit in a notebook for months and months before I got brave enough to try writing it....then a few more months before I tried again. Thank you, each of you, for honoring me in that way, by reading deeply something that for me, is deep.



~~(¸¸¸¸ºº>   ~~(¸¸¸¸ºº>  ~~(¸¸ ¸¸ºº>    ~~~(¸¸ER¸¸ºº>
______________Ratleader______________

suthern
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since 1999-07-29
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Louisiana
7 posted 2005-01-07 11:25 AM


It would be hard to say which is more beautiful... more memorable - the incredible poem, the touching dedication... or your response... which is poetry, also. *S*

For all those who make you want to write... I'm grateful... I can't imagine the hole there'd be in the world without your words. For the help and inspiration YOU give... though you do it quietly and without need for accolades... I thank you.

As for that pot of gold... I always know I'll find one when I open your work... and sometimes... blessings, too. *S*

Sunshine
Administrator
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since 1999-06-25
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Listening to every heart
8 posted 2005-01-07 11:29 AM


Can't access the link,
but echo suthern's response...

Pilgrimage
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since 2001-12-04
Posts 3945
Texas, USA
9 posted 2005-01-07 01:19 PM


My personal rainbow is a wonderful thing, and it wouldn't be as good if I didn't get wet to see it.

Nan (Pilgrim variety)

Nightshade
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just out of reach
10 posted 2005-01-07 01:43 PM


this is lovely ... another gift for us to open. Thankyou for being such a giving part of Pip. hugs, Chris

~The soul that can speak through the eyes can also kiss with a gaze~
Gustavo Adolfo Becquer

jellybeans
Member Elite
since 2000-10-13
Posts 2298

11 posted 2005-01-07 02:12 PM


beautiful images and thoughts melded into a rainbow of feelings.....am glad I came to see
miscellanea
Member Elite
since 2004-06-24
Posts 4060
OH
12 posted 2005-01-07 02:18 PM


and to you, Mr. Ratleader, for your presence here!  Your poetry is greatly enjoyed!

             misc'e

Martie
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since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049
California
13 posted 2005-01-07 03:01 PM


Ed  

A word is the first stroke
that begins understanding
it is the picture made perfect
explained in separate voices
it is the poet’s song
pure and vibrant and forever
through the chaos
and the gladness
and so began the search
for the rainbows end

From /pip/Forum37/HTML/000984.html

Ratleader
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14 posted 2005-01-07 04:37 PM


That's beautiful, and I wish I'd written it.

As you said in a poem I remember now that I'm reminded, the trick is in the eyes.....

~~(¸¸¸¸ºº>   ~~(¸¸¸¸ºº>  ~~(¸¸ ¸¸ºº>    ~~~(¸¸ER¸¸ºº>
______________Ratleader______________

*Alli4000*
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since 2004-03-21
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The World of Poetry
15 posted 2005-01-07 06:03 PM


Wonderful write Ed!

~Alli~

Happy 2005!

Dark Angel
Member Patricius
since 1999-08-04
Posts 10095

16 posted 2005-01-08 04:50 PM


hey Ed, this is beautiful and I thank you for showing me where my gold is

Maree

into this night i wonder, it's morning that i dread, another day of knowing of, the path i fear to tread.
~Sarah McLachlan~

BluesSerenade
Member Patricius
since 2001-10-23
Posts 10549
By the Seaside
17 posted 2005-01-08 08:30 PM


Especially loved the beginning and the end, and all the colors you painted in between.

Now ain't that just like a rainbow!
Beautiful work Ed, got me kind of misty.



vandana
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18 posted 2005-01-09 10:38 AM


enjoyed
Earth Angel
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since 2002-08-27
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Realms of Light
19 posted 2005-01-09 11:00 AM


Thank you so very much for sharing your "Personal Rainbow". This is a wondrous piece of writing, Dear Leader of Rats! It truly was a delight to read. I enjoy seeing and experiencing the world through your eyes and heart.

Blessings of Rainbow Light,
Linda

Startime55
Member Elite
since 2003-04-05
Posts 2148
Alberta, Canada
20 posted 2005-01-09 11:34 AM


Magically beautiful...I felt your words paint a world where the heart was safe to explore....soft and gentle yet filled with the vibrancy of color...A wonderful read...thank you...

Enchantress
Member Empyrean
since 2001-08-14
Posts 35113
Canada eh.
21 posted 2005-01-09 12:28 PM


"Still I know where my gold is,
the place my rainbow ends,
and I can help you find your own.
It’s simple really, the rainbow ends
the only place it can: where it began,
right here in your eyes."

Beautiful Ed...so very much enjoyed this exquisite piece.
~Smiles & Hugs, Nancy~

In the midst of winter,
I found there lives within me..
an invincible summer.

inkedgoddess
Member Rara Avis
since 2002-11-19
Posts 7392
Ohio
22 posted 2005-01-09 01:32 PM


my favorite rainbows are the ones that are in the gutter cluttered with cigarette butts, oilstains and broken glass, the ones
that still peek up at you, like buried treasures and and say "notice me"
i'm glad i stopped by and noticed your rainbow too this afternoon.

Beki
Senior Member
since 1999-09-15
Posts 1569
Newport Beach, CA, USA
23 posted 2005-01-11 03:46 PM


this was delightful and I absolutely love the end

[This message has been edited by Beki (01-12-2005 04:16 AM).]

suthern
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since 1999-07-29
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Louisiana
24 posted 2005-01-12 12:59 PM


I'm so glad this one came back up... I think it's one of your best... and that's saying a lot for you have no bad! *S*

It gets more beautiful with every read... yes! *S*


iliana
Member Patricius
since 2003-12-05
Posts 13434
USA
25 posted 2005-01-12 06:25 PM


What a wonderful poem, RatL!   ....jo
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