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Open Poetry #48
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The Music and Magic of Alone
| Open Poetry #48 |
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The Music and Magic of Alone |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa 
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Recording can be found at: http://soundcloud.com/diana-van-den-berg-2/the-music-and-magic-of-alone THE MUSIC AND MAGIC OF ALONE 15 November 2013 Alone – listen to its whispers . . . quietly and slow-eared and with the reverence it deserves. There is a melodious ring to it, reminiscent of an oboe, hear in it the sombre solemness of a dear departed friend, the grace and dignity of an old man with a walking-stick of memories, the strength of a woman who faces everything against all odds, the deliciousness of fresh air and birdsong, a freedom all the way up to the stars by night and the fluffy little clouds in a sea of baby-blue by day. Listen . . . alone . . . not lonely, but alone, and you will hear its gift, its heart, its peace. All is as it should be . . . we come into and leave this world and tread its paths of wonderment and woe, exquisitely, gloriously, and essentially alone. Love your aloneness, sing it, celebrate it, bask in it, revel in it . . . alone. Owl |
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| © Copyright 2013 Diana van den Berg - All Rights Reserved | |||
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secondhanddreampoet Member Ascendant
since 2006-11-07
Posts 6394a 'Universalist' ! |
fine imagery and philosophic reflection ... I especially love that: "walking-stick of memories" |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa |
Thank you, Bruce. I am glad you like it. Owl |
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latearrival Member Ascendant
since 2003-03-21
Posts 5499Florida |
Diana,We must be born of the same DNA,I have never felt lonely being alone. But I have felt very out of place and alone in a group at times. I enjoy the company of people but not all the time.I am happy, as I have said many times, with my books and the gardens. As a child I was always able to keep good company with myself writing,reading,making scrapbooks.I found the best friends were the ones who were able to visit and just sit and read together each with our own book. I was always in a library and enjoyed that also. Enjoyed this post.jo |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa |
Thank you, Martyjo. As you know, I also think we were born of the same DNA, having so many things and thoughts in common. Please tickle your muse into action. I, as I am sure, many others, miss your beautiful and memorable poetry - or at worst, please repost old ones. Owl |
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Krawdad Member Elite
since 2001-01-03
Posts 2597 |
Nicely done, Diana. Yes, we come alone, we leave alone. An unappreciated aspect, I think. I have attempted this theme in more than one poem myself, but likely no better than you have done it. Thanks for sharing. e |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa |
Thank you, Ed, for your kind words. Don't sell yourself short. You are a far better poet than I can ever be, but thanks for enjoying my poem, anyway. I agree that the pleasure of being alone is probably very underappreciated. We all need other people sometimes, but, in my humble opinion, we need to be alone for varying lengths of time, depending on oneself . . . and the company, lol! Owl |
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Marchmadness Member Rara Avis
since 2007-09-16
Posts 9271So. El Monte, California |
Lovely thoughts, Diana. I agree that "alone" is not always a bad thing. There is a peace and contentment in being alone sometimes. Ida |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa |
Thank you, Ida. I think we all need a bit of both company and 'aloneness' in our day. I am one who needs a laaaarge amount of aloneness in my day/s. However, the friends I have (like Marchmadness, for example - you may know her, lol!) are reaaaaaaaaally good ones and ones whose company I seek with eagerness and enjoyment. Owl |
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EmmaRose Senior Member
since 2011-03-02
Posts 1376Midwest |
I don't know this yet too well. Perhaps one day I will embrace it more. I enjoy it in small increments, and can see how compelling the beauty of it is. Im not a people type person either, somewhere in the middle for now Your poetry does speak of its beauty  |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa |
Thank you for reading and your reply, EmmaRose. I must qualify what I said - I am talking about being on my own as regards people - not animals. The more animals around me permanently, the happier I am. I couldn't breathe without my animals. Owl |
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EmmaRose Senior Member
since 2011-03-02
Posts 1376Midwest |
Of course I do this too. I prefer the pleasure of my cats, and can spend time sitting, drinking my chamomile tea and crocheting with them decked all around me. I value that and can see the gift they bring me, on days when idle chitchat about nothing won't do it thanks for speaking for these fur babies so often |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa |
What a lovely picture that paints, EmmaRose! It is my absolute delight and necessity to speak about, to and for fur babies! Owl |
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luminosity Senior Member
since 2005-11-18
Posts 813 |
your voice lends a magical quality to this, ...as if it weren't magical enough to begin with...sigh |
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2islander2 Member Ascendant
since 2008-03-12
Posts 6825by the sea |
Hello Diana, you make a nice statement, and philosophical reflexion about manhood, this is true and accurate and inevitable, better be friendly with loneliness and move formard, thanks a lot yann |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa |
Thank you, luminosity, for your very kind words. I am sorry for your aloneness as a result of your loss. I started reading your collection of poems all in one post, but my leisure time is extremely limited and I didn’t have time to finish, though I would have loved to. Thank you, Yann, for your kind words and good sense. Owl |
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Michael
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-13
Posts 7666California |
Diana, this could have been a personal ode to my life... you've touched on a beauty in aloneness that few truly perceive. Aloneness has always been a safety net for me in a world I truly never fit into, though it's often seen as a web of barbs for some who read me. 'Would have gotten to this sooner but I forgot where I put my walking stick. truly enjoyable read.Michael |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa |
Michael, I absolutely love your reply and it is so good to find a part of you that I really understand so well. Aloneness is my comfort zone and my delight. Perhaps the trick is that I am completely at ease with the company I am in then, because, as vain as this may sound, I like me, myself and I. My aloneness, of course, is only humanwise (I never need – nor could manage - a break from my animals – which is just as well, because the feeling is mutual, lol!). Roars of laughter at you not being able to find your walking stick!!! Owl |
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Gale Senior Member
since 2013-06-10
Posts 578Russia |
"Listen . . . alone . . . not lonely, but alone, and you will hear its gift, its heart, its peace." Love these lines, Owl! Although it seems I will never be able to take it like you ) |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa |
Thank you, Galina. Smiles. I think they may be my favourite lines too. I don't always like being alone - for instance, sometimes I really would love to share the beauty of my indigenous garden forest in one of its most particularly beautiful moods, with somebody - or the glory of the sky and the sunshine and the birdsong and my precious animals and the palm trees of a neighbour dancing in the wind (that is, the palm trees dancing in the wind, not the neighbour, lol!) - or the mystery of a gloomy, rainy, greygreen day - and a host of other things. However, I need to be alone most of the time and am usually happiest alone with nobody trying to tell me what to do and when and how and expecting me to engage in boring, small talk. And when I do have somebody nice to talk to, I talk like a mountain stream! And yes, it would be nice to have a really nice man in my life, but I don't currently and I am very good at making the best of a bad deal - and I certainly prefer to be on my own than with a man who doesn't make me happy. I love the freedom to work as late as I like, to read poetry to my cat and my dog and to play the piano in the middle of the night and to listen to music of my choice and to watch TV programs of my choice. I often turn on the TV simply to hear human voices when I am working and not really watching it at all - it's like a kind of music. I suppose I am just very, very lucky (blessed) indeed, to be happy most of the time and healthy all of the time. Owl |
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JamesMichael Member Empyrean
since 1999-11-16
Posts 33336Kapolei, Hawaii, USA |
a fine message...James |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa |
Thank you, James. Owl |
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Kaoru
since 2003-06-07
Posts 3892where the wild flowers grow |
It's calming that someone else understands how important it can be to be alone.. not lonely.. alone. |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa |
Thank you, Kaoru. Owl |
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