Saturday, April 21, 2012

The obligation to have none





My daughter smiles
Her braces, with green and violet bands,
Remind me of my obligations 


My all-weather-car tires  
As I accelerate in my grocery run 
Remind me of my payments


My room of clothes, unpacked
My sink of dishes, unwashed
My tax papers, unfiled 


Awaiting duties and obligations, 
All crowd me to a zombie, half alive,   
Between pay days and installments


My son comes to me with a hot tea,
He is leaving soon to see his client,  
Another one needing his clear eyes and calm hands


He has found his answer while
Sleeping on the wooden floor, 
Rejecting urban myth for eastern thoughts;  


Completeness of self, not fullness of trivialities 


A simple life        



Posted for D'verse Poets Pub:   Poetics: Duty call


My son, upon graduating with a chemical engineering in college, decided he wanted to pursue a new career, a whole new life style.   He rejected the university route to get his license and a large student loan, to work at restaurants and health store to pursue Yoga Training.    He is also a vegetarian and lives a minimalist life.  This happened in the last year.   

42 comments:

  1. Grace, your son has found his own path. Maybe it will change eventually, but for now it is his.

    In life we have so many obligations. Taxes (sigh) are one. We hate these things, but have to do them. Not for us, but for them.

    I appreciated this write...greatly.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for your lovely words Mary. It wasn't easy for us, but it is his choice to make.

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  2. ugh...debt will def do that...we got married stupid in debt and had to work really hard to make our way out....we have the house...and now my car but that is pretty much it...and it is so freeing when you get out...

    i am proud of your son and the decision he made...it is bold...and refreshing...

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    1. He is against student debts...he thinks it's a heavy burden to carry at a young age. Thanks for your lovely words...we are proud of him too ~

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  3. I can understand your son's attraction to the minimalist lifestyle as I embrace it myself. Except I call it common sense and living for yourself and not for others or for consuming for the sake of owning lots of stuff.

    "Completeness of self, not fullness of trivialities
    A simple life"

    Exactly. I love your poem for illustrating the difference between living a "zombie" life and living a deliberate/mindful life. :)

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    1. Common sense it is...except that young people at his age are busy buying and burying themselves in debts.

      Thanks for your visit and sharing your thoughts.

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  4. It certainly sounds tempting, compared with all our daily tasks! And yet he too has his obligations, which obviously he meets well with those clear eyes and calm hands.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, he has his obligations..but it doesn't weigh him down ~

      Thanks for the visit ~

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  5. oh dear sounds like the thi.gs I have to do.And I dont want make LOL
    And here Im with my cup of tea waiting...

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  6. Wow, this poem about your son is fascinating. Good for him! I loved this whole section:

    "My son comes to me with a hot tea,
    He is leaving soon to see his client,
    Another one needing his clear eyes and calm hands

    He has found his answer while
    Sleeping on the wooden floor,
    Rejecting urban myth for eastern thoughts;

    Completeness of self, not fullness of trivialities"

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  7. Oh, great title by the way. :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Shawna. Karin gave me the idea actually ~

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  8. Awesome write, and I hope your son succeeds in his journey. Who can say if he's made the right choice, but at least he's made one and is moving forward. Some simply sit and wait, and... their wheels never turn.
    http://charleslmashburn.wordpress.com/2012/04/21/my-wheels-dont-turn/

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    Replies
    1. I agree...he said he is young to risk it anyway.

      Thanks for the vist ~

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  9. Replies
    1. I get things done..ha..ha... Thanks for the visit Zongrik ~

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  10. Sometimes life does take us down a different road. Even with the crappy debt, hate it with a passion, stupid student loans. At least he found his path.

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  11. Nicely expressed-

    Awaiting duties and obligations,
    All crowd me to a zombie, half alive,
    Between pay days and installments

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  12. Very nice. Love the way you used objects in the piece, as triggers. Just love that. Great read. Thanks

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    Replies
    1. I appreciate your support and encouragement Fred~

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  13. All power to your son for not wanting to be stuck in the rat race because, it isn't living at all. As for the rest I agree *Sighs*

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    Replies
    1. He wants only simple things in life, nothing fancy or material even. Thanks Bren for the lovely words.

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  14. Hi Grace, This is lovely. Hard to live like your son with kids, in this world, but worthy of the effort! Well expressed. K.

    PS - I read this earlier tonight and liked it and thought I commented! More technical difficulties, I guess! Thanks for the heads-up. K.

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    Replies
    1. He doesn't worry about the future frankly. Thanks K ~

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  15. This is actually encouraging to me.. I hope to choose what's most important in my life too :)
    And all the best to your son!

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  16. A very beautiful thought - Simplicity in materialistic times.

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  17. maybe not always easy when our kids throw things overboard to live a completely different life..but i think it's important that they find their way and a simple and happy life is better than one with a lot of money and strife...

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  18. Like this very much. Neat and effective - but I wish you hadn't mentioned tax papers!

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  19. The life we have created for ourselves has made us obliged to follow certain schemas- the financial, the social - you dissect them here very well indeed- but in closing highlight through your sons escape - how really- we need to be more obliged to ourselves...very thoughtful piece.

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  20. Kids these days know exactly what they want, Grace! We are no more to just guide but involved in making things easier. We may be called upon to assist in some of their duties or obligations. We have and are expected to. Unlike in our times we solved our problems without having to bother others. Great write!

    Hank

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  21. Oh, this is special, Heaven! And because of you and your sacrifices, I believe, this is what brings and makes possible the reality that he's made for himself. This is a beautiful write!

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  22. That's awesome -- about your son! He is going to do well. Love this poem.

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  23. Touching poetry Grace. Inspiration about your son as I continue to find and renew and change my own own path as well as watching my 2 sons (17 & 24)trip, fall, get up...move around...it's life isn't it? No permanence...no ground...
    Blessings

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  24. This is really lovely, tender, aware, gripping in its sense of pathos and yearning for a deeper, richer, more authentic life. You have that poetic tough to take what's real and turn it into a portrait of what it is but also what it could be. Remembering such a paradox, facing it in our own lives is oaramount to being able to gain self-realization ourselves as well gaining the sense of obligation to others that go along with the former. Excellent write.

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  25. So many struggle under those burdens you describe. I'm happy for your son if he has found another route to happiness. You've written both beautifully.

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  26. Yes. We can have all these things
    and yet feel so empty at times.

    My brother has nothing, yet he doesn't worry -
    like I do, about him.
    At least he doesn't have children to support.

    But at least your son is making a career of his new beliefs.

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  27. Wow. Good for your son! I can definitely relate to the braces and car tires-have you been living my life?

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  28. The second half of the poem, especially the line "Completeness of self, not fullness of trivialities" confounds all the small cares and duties of the first half. An exceptional write!

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