Monday, May 2, 2016

When the white-haired man didn't skipped me in the subway line and-



Asked me for money
"I'm hungry-" 

my heart,
hardened with pseudo-beggars
hanging out/side

said No
Then, recalling single
banana in my bag
& while grappling with in/decision

my train arrives
(no-skipping-nor-playing-hooting)

the moment 
like
      teardrop,
             flashing bird-wings,
                      falling cherry bloom
                                                          is lost-



Credit here




Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Quadrille - a post in 44 words exactly with the word SKIP.   I am back after a short break ~  Thanks for the visit ~ 

29 comments:

  1. What amazing and special this poem Grace!

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  2. This is very thought-provoking. I wish I could be in the moment at times like this, but my mind is usually charging ahead, and I miss it.

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  3. Yes, the moments can be lost - next time, it'll be different. Excellent poem.

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  4. I always, always give something if somebody begs me ... a dollar, a sandwich, a smoke, a smile, an open mind, even if I know they are lying, it does not matter ... always give, when asked, hmmm? ... unless you like to read obituaries ... because you never know what is going on someone else's life ... Love, cat.

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    Replies
    1. ... visit my travel blog, if U like, friend Grace ... it's posted on each and every one of my posts at the very end ... Love, cat.

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    2. Thanks Cat ~ I like giving too but there's a lot of people begging around the stations, including young able young men ~ I suspect some of them are professional beggars, but the old man...I regret not giving my lunch quickly enough (more than just a banana) ~ Thanks for your thoughtful comments ~

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    3. isiting my daughter in Vic, BC is always, when I am most in the giving mode, friend Grace ... I do not ask questions ... I just give if someone asks ... if I suspect drug abuse, I give sandwiches ... smiles ... btw, I saw a young man eating out of garbage cans ... and when I approached him and offered financial help, he told me in no uncertain terms to F...off, which I promptly did ... Ergo: Do not help if not asked, only help, when asked. Anyway, Love, cat.

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    4. "visiting" I meant to say ... I hate spelling mistakes ... smiles ...

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  5. I really admire the structure here. How the lines are breaking, and how this helps tell your story.

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  6. I could relate to this. This line really spoke to my heart: "my heart, / hardened with pseudo-beggars." I don't want a hardened heart, but it's hard sometimes not to get that way in this world of ours.

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  7. So much love for this:
    "the moment
    like
    teardrop,
    flashing bird-wings,
    falling cherry bloom (is lost)

    There are so many such moments. How we wish we had a rewind button.

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  8. "said No
    Then, recalling single
    banana in my bag
    & while grappling with in/decision"
    and the subway train doors open and the moment of grace is gone.
    Wonderful poem -- it takes but a moment -- and too often we let them slip by.

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  9. Gayle Walters RoseMay 2, 2016 at 9:32 PM

    I given to some and not to others...it is an in-the-moment kind of thing and I too have thought about some that I haven't given to. Thought provoking, Grace.

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  10. ahh, such a heartwrenching story and you tell it so well. this is an exquisitely captured moment.

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  11. It's those little opportunities skipped that we later regret...i understand that "grappling with in/decision". A thoughtful write...

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  12. I gave my lunch once. The guy threw it on the ground and kicked it. He wanted money for wine or cigs or drugs I suppose. But I do so like that line, "the moment like teardrop"....I like your form on this too. Excellent.

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  13. you've told a powerful story in just 44 words

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  14. Oh so sad....your closing lines are so good they gave me goosebumps. Really good, Grace.

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  15. There are so many beggars coming to Stockholm from other parts of Europe, so my heart has hardened... If I could I would give them food...

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  16. The perpetual dilemma of our global culture--be thoughtlessly kind or react from the embers of anger (frustration-doubt)then the moment passes; until the next time.

    I wonder at times if a panhandler were asked to empty their "pockets" if we'd find that not only was there no reason for them to claim hunger, but the roll wasn't big enough to buy lunch for every person within 100 yards.

    The dichotomy of wanting to be kind or inadvertently abetting the con artists that proliferate everywhere the general public must be.

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  17. I love your take on this week's quadrille, Grace. Whenever I see a beggar, which is rare where I live, but when I go into Norwich or London, I always think, that could have been me.

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  18. It is hard not to think of them as trying to pull one over on you at times.

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  19. There's always another time because hunger never ends

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  20. So poignant, Grace. Wonderful close.

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  21. sMIles.. so many
    invisible disabilities
    that folks
    skip
    to see..
    To judge
    human by
    cover.. as
    somenows
    strongest
    looking is weakest
    and weakest looking
    is strongest.. and
    diseases of
    the mind
    are often
    totally
    invisible..
    one of the most
    difficult things in life
    is having an invisible
    disability and it is most
    often the
    homeless
    who have
    been
    dropped
    out and outcast
    from their families
    for this very reason..
    And sadly it is often
    those with homes
    who have
    no REAL
    home
    at all....
    a game oF
    togeTheR iT iS..
    whether wE see iT or
    not.. aS
    mY frEnd..
    my greaTest
    gift was pain..
    more than most can
    even imagine beyond hell
    then.. as it truly grew Love
    that sees no covers.. or limit..:)

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  22. the moment
    like
    teardrop,
    flashing bird-wings,
    falling cherry bloom
    is lost-
    I know this feeling so well--I have a hard time passing by without a pang.

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  23. Oh dear. I have had something similar happen – so inured to the advice about not facilitating people's drug habits that I missed a chance to do real good to someone in real need. But we'll pay more attention in future, won't we?

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