Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Mother and Child

Mother and Child


Such gentleness
To have launched a thousand wars
Such love
To have burned so many bundles of flesh
Such folly
To believe beyond compassion
Such hope
That things can be healed

Behind the mother’s mask
A child.
Behind the child’s mask
A flower.
Such ancient frailty
To remain
Evernew.



December 2010



Posted  for Magpie Tales  and also for  Friday Flash 55  at G-Man's place.
December 15, 2010
Uncredited photo provided by Magpie Tales removed

(Poem includes an old informal haiku I wrote earlier this fall.)

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41 comments:

  1. Maude LynnDecember 15, 2010 at 1:37 PM

    Ah, this is just gorgeous!

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  2. JinksyDecember 15, 2010 at 2:17 PM

    Such folly
    To believe beyond compassion

    And how...

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  3. Sherry Blue SkyDecember 15, 2010 at 2:58 PM

    Fantastic writing!

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  4. Kristen HaskellDecember 15, 2010 at 3:44 PM

    Merry Christmas

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  5. Words A DayDecember 15, 2010 at 4:36 PM

    That such gentleness and love launched so many wars - such a truth, and so well worded!

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  6. The Blog of BeeDecember 15, 2010 at 5:59 PM

    An abundance of love and qualities that so many fail to recognize.

    Beautiful Magpie.

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  7. chiccorealDecember 15, 2010 at 6:27 PM

    Dear Hedgewitch: Definitely I get the point; in the name of religion many wars, deaths etc have been committed. This is the problem. What is needed is spirituality not religiousity! My favourite line is:

    "Such hope
    That things can be healed"

    Hope spring eternal Peace! If we find the Source of Love rather than some politically-motivated psuedo-religion-propaganda which does not teach the true words of Love. "The most important of these (the 10 Commandments) is to LOVE one another". Love will heal all wounds but humankind has to learn HOW to create "Love" and thereby "Peace"! Great thought provoking poem! It is still safe to think?

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  8. MaggieDecember 15, 2010 at 8:30 PM

    Beautiful, hedgewitch.

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  9. faithDecember 15, 2010 at 9:31 PM

    Truth is timeless!

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  10. TALONDecember 15, 2010 at 10:44 PM

    "Such ancient frailty" - gorgeous.

    And somehow there is hope woven throughout...

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  11. Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis HallDecember 16, 2010 at 2:45 AM

    Fabulous magpie,,
    cool sentiments captured here.

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  12. AnonymousDecember 16, 2010 at 3:26 AM

    Very moving - and fits in perfectly with the prompt

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  13. BerowneDecember 16, 2010 at 6:54 AM

    Nicely done...

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  14. HarshikaDecember 16, 2010 at 7:01 AM

    a lovely dedication to moms :)

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  15. HopeDecember 16, 2010 at 8:14 AM

    this is truly a lovely write!
    enjoyed it very much
    thank you

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  16. Tess KincaidDecember 16, 2010 at 8:45 AM

    Tragic, so much hatred in the name of love. Beautiful piece, Hedgewitch.

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  17. hedgewitchDecember 16, 2010 at 10:01 AM

    Thanks,all, for stopping by in a busy season. Enjoyed reading everyone's magpies, and participating, even with a difficult (for me) prompt. Happy holidays.

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  18. AnonymousDecember 16, 2010 at 3:26 PM

    You have summed up, in few words, the tragedy of power abused in the name of love. This brought me close to tears. Beautiful, Joyann.

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  19. Glenn ButtkusDecember 16, 2010 at 3:52 PM

    How brave, how insightful, how
    existential to dip into the darkness,
    to remember history, to look long
    and hard at the world that for the
    moment is still around us; I love
    the final lines /such ancient frailty/
    to remain/evernew/ and for that
    matter evernow.

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  20. Jannie FunsterDecember 16, 2010 at 5:50 PM

    Evernew, sweet. I really like that!

    xo

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  21. Sue JDecember 16, 2010 at 6:34 PM

    Yes, the people who hi-jacked Christ's message have a lot to answer for. Great Magpie.

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  22. TeresaDecember 16, 2010 at 9:04 PM

    This is wonderful!

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  23. Brian MillerDecember 16, 2010 at 9:44 PM

    very nice...so much pain comes from a message of love when left in the hands of man...

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  24. Tumblewords:December 16, 2010 at 10:50 PM

    Excellent!

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  25. BelindaDecember 17, 2010 at 2:41 AM

    Lovely and I really like the word evernew.

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  26. Hootin' AnniDecember 17, 2010 at 5:27 AM

    Wow....all I can say is BRAVO!!!!

    My Flash 55 is posted Scroll down below my show n tell for Friday to find it.

    Have a great weekend.

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  27. G-ManDecember 17, 2010 at 6:14 AM

    Don't get me started on this subject!
    Excellent 55 Hedgewitch..
    Perfect and insightful.
    Thanks for playing, and have a Kick Ass Week-End!

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  28. kaykualaDecember 17, 2010 at 9:46 AM

    If only humankind can exhort that kind of compassion. Great piece!

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  29. moondustwriterDecember 17, 2010 at 1:10 PM

    You penned that well for 55 and Magpie
    heated subject for sure

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  30. BubbaDecember 17, 2010 at 1:25 PM

    Leave it to people to screw things up. Nice 55.

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  31. Alice AudreyDecember 17, 2010 at 1:39 PM

    I like the phrase "ancient frailty."

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  32. Kathe W.December 17, 2010 at 5:18 PM

    good old Mom!

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  33. signed...bkmDecember 17, 2010 at 9:12 PM

    "Such gentleness to have launched a thousand wars" great start to this piece that ends with renewal....hopefully the season gives a moment to rethink its message...hope you have a Blessed Holiday season...bkm

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  34. Carolina LintheadDecember 17, 2010 at 10:16 PM

    I thought this quite good in its simple eloquence. I love the last line and the whole idea of "evernew"

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  35. AndreasDecember 18, 2010 at 7:16 AM

    I love this, particularly:

    Behind the mother’s mask

    A child.

    Behind the child’s mask

    A flower.

    Thank you.

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  36. ClaudiaDecember 18, 2010 at 3:11 PM

    mother and child - a bond with many faces - well written - evernew - yes..

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  37. limeDecember 18, 2010 at 3:13 PM

    i struggle to express my thoughts here but i see that brian miller has said it better than i could hope to. i echo him.

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  38. SuzDecember 18, 2010 at 7:56 PM

    wonderfully written

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  39. Coloring Outside the LinesDecember 22, 2010 at 7:09 AM

    Hedgewitch, the pain behind the sweetness and adoration, you summed it up nicely. Wonderful mag!

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  40. KavitaDecember 22, 2010 at 2:06 PM

    The rich wordplay makes the lovely thoughts behind this poem all the more beautiful...
    "Behind the child’s mask
    A flower." -- loved this!! The tenderness of emotions is so clearly visible in these lines...

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  41. ElizaDecember 30, 2010 at 4:37 AM

    How true and how beautifully written.

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"We make out of the quarrel with others, rhetoric, out of the quarrel with ourselves, poetry." ~William Butler Yeats

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