Thursday, July 25, 2013

the balancing act




Right side of me
Weaved & staggered like a leaf
Caught in a summer storm-

After washing dirty cups left the previous night
Wiping sink & bathtub free of suds & grime
After picking up clothes & socks on the floor
Folding & ironing clothes with tenacity of a turtle
After you grumbled like a bear while doing laundry



While balancing children's activities around my hips
I drive to and from my work in the city
While buying groceries you had forgotten to buy
I think of paying the home bills
While sharpening the knife in preparing tonight's dinner 

Left side of me
Blanched & melted, indelible ink
   Blue, weight of the mountain



Posted for:   D'verse Poets Pub- List Poetry - Thanks for the visit ~ 

42 comments:

  1. I guess all that stuff has get donee by someone.>KB

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  2. nice.. i like how you weave that pic in... the hectic of everyday life with trying to juggle all the tasks and then the artist's heart that just lingers in the beauty

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  3. Doesn't this ring familiar? Another example of how life serves up the possibility for list poems. Liked it a lot, Grace.

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  4. oh very nice...made me tired just thinking about it...ha...there is always more to do as well...the list keeps going and going...i like how you say, balancing children's activities around my hips....ha...almost like the children themselves when they were younger....

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  5. Oh this hits home for every woman and a few men I guess! Keenly observed cameo of life x

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  6. Lovely.. and quite a different approach. I certainly liked the division of the chores and the way you have mingled your emotions with your words.

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  7. A terrific right side, left side, brainy poem, and it reminds me, that even in retirement, we struggle with our routines and list-making; almost like the check lists that kept me on track at the office. Even the shape of your poem made right brain/left brain beauty. Thanks.

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  8. A woman so often has to balance things & keep track of all & never complain (of course)! Smiles.

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  9. I liked the clever use of left/right sides, the emotions that must be balance from one side to the other. Nice! ~peace, Jason

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  10. Makes me remember when I could have a full day and juggle many things at once, though I didn't have children and can't imagine what energy that adds to the mix. All that going on and still grounded in the beauty surrounding you. Wonderful!

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  11. "blue weight of the mountain" I like those words and enjoyed this poem very much. I often think of our chores as the price of our joy.

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  12. Ah, yes, all those things pile up that high and that heavy. Somehow you made all that beautiful.

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  13. What a wonderfully wrought piece incorporating all the mediocrity of everyday life into that Daliesque piece atop and the wistfulness of the final stanza.

    http://leapingelephantenterprizes.blogspot.ca/2013/07/pages-of-sorrow_25.html

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  14. Uggg want to come and do all of those for me? lol just when you get done have to start all over again.

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  15. the ending unexpected and beautifully rendered.

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  16. Nicely penned, Grace. Enjoyed it.

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  17. There's never enough time in the day... you really worked it well with the picture... well done.

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  18. Your poem met the amazing promise of the teapot, with ink narrating "the weight of the mountain." I like the images, diction and design sign--well-balanced. I've always suspected mothers were superwomen,

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  19. Grace this was wonderful- what us 'girls' have to go through - due to the 'not' so helpful family members. Your were a little tea-pot short and stout, now they have turned you into the Witch from Wizard of Oz... you're 'melllting'. *smiles*
    If we are not pack horses, we have to remember everything that all others forget. Nicely done.

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  20. Wow, you nailed that a woman's work is "never" done and then some. At times I have known this place, and it is exhausting. Especially loved this line:
    "While balancing children's activities around my hips"
    a line filled with almost satirical symbolism, and something any mom or sensitive person can relate to. Well penned.

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  21. i feel ya. the balancing act is a good title.
    i also liked the line balancing children's activities around my hips.
    you've got the load to carry.
    the image adds a bizarre element that's neat.

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  22. why... you certainly are busy... all poured out

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  23. sounds like you need a break girl!

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  24. Can so relate to this and the bits of resentment in having to do what others should have but didn't. Like the structure, too, suggesting that the balance is hard to find.

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  25. I rather wondered about that knife...and the exhaustion recognized by the left side of the brain. You captured the message of your poem well.

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  26. Is life a balancing act, well captured and it opens up many avenues.

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  27. It is a weight, balancing all those responsibilities on the hips (love that)...feeling that you are melting away, yes. The bit with the knife reminds me of a short story by Roald Dahl. Did you intend that?
    Thank you for this.

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    1. Thanks for the comments ~ But no, I was thinking of dinner, smiles ~

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  28. my fave "balancing children's activities around my hips
    I drive to and from my work in the city"
    ~ Kali, many handed goddess in a view...
    left and right parts ~ how nice not to have the part of you to observe and enjoy world...~ love the harmony of your poem

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  29. Very clever - loved the metaphors as you complete the day and stay upright to write this fine piece.

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  30. The balancing act in life can be difficult at times the right/left brain needs to connect. I find this difficult at times.

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  31. Vivid! loved the word play round the daily chores, a subtle beauty!

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  32. The worse thing is that is never ending1

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  33. Oh, that is so true! You really capture the pull of all the left-brain things that need to be done, and how they end up (too often) choking out the creative, soul sustaining things. Beautifully done, and I love the pic you put with it.

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  34. Lovely writing, Grace. Balancing act is a difficult thing- whether it be about chores and/or relationships. The photo is also stunning. :-)

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  35. I had a awful feeling something nasty was destined to happen with that knife...

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  36. oh, a leaf in the summer storm....

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