Photography by Sarolta Ban
Click here for the website
Click here for the website
Even our misfortunes are a part of our belongings. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Feast and famine
are both folded
sloppily side by side
in my suitcase of life
I could take them out
iron the feast and
try to throw out
the famine
but
they both
would find a way...back into my baggage....they always do...somewhere down
the road up ahead...something reminds me...of the taste of hunger
and I feel the weight...of its garment...against my belly...it is there
wanted or not
the lone wolf
standing before me
yet also a collection
of keepsakes
like hymns
never forgotten
unseen blessings
each a song
I could never have
written on my own
offerings of learning
that only
a certain poverty
could teach
lessons
I never would have
asked for
but each is a gift
still filling
my heart
with a gentle
strength.
©Carrie Van Horn 2020
Feast and famine
are both folded
sloppily side by side
in my suitcase of life
I could take them out
iron the feast and
try to throw out
the famine
but
they both
would find a way...back into my baggage....they always do...somewhere down
the road up ahead...something reminds me...of the taste of hunger
and I feel the weight...of its garment...against my belly...it is there
wanted or not
the lone wolf
standing before me
yet also a collection
of keepsakes
like hymns
never forgotten
unseen blessings
each a song
I could never have
written on my own
offerings of learning
that only
a certain poverty
could teach
lessons
I never would have
asked for
but each is a gift
still filling
my heart
with a gentle
strength.
©Carrie Van Horn 2020
Those gifts are vital. They weaken adversity. Great words.
ReplyDeleteVery true, and thank you for joining us at the Muse. It is lovely to see you writing again!
DeleteIt's good to be reminded sometimes of the taste of hunger. Your metaphor of baggage works so well here, and reminds us how much of our lives depend on the way we choose to see. Lovely poem, and thanks so much for hosting.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Joy! I so enjoyed your poem too, and it is always a pleasure to host and be a part of the Muse. I so love reading all the wonderful takes on the photo.
Delete"find a way...back into my baggage....they always do" and that's the way things do. A rule of life I believe. I enjoyed reading this Carrie, I could imagine myself in that way. I truly am lucky to have escaped some of the famines alive.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jim. I am sure we would love to read stories of your travels and near escapes through life.
DeleteWonderful! Yes, the hard times were gifts, and we carry their wisdom with us. I love this poem, Carrie.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Sherry....I love yours as well!
DeleteThis is quite simply .... beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAwwww thank you Helen. Yours made me smile through and through!
DeleteKeepsakes, hymns and unseen blessings. In the end those are the things that matter! Great write.
ReplyDeleteI always remember the hunger. It makes me more aware of those around me who walk through famine. I too gather my memories around me and listen to them sing of days now gone.
ReplyDeleteYou have such a beautiful spirit Susie. That is what makes you such a beautiful poet!
DeleteYes, gifts come wrapped in a whole variety of disguises, don't they?
ReplyDeleteThey sure do my friend. 💐☔🌛💔
DeleteNice! I like the imagery in this, and the way the wolf comes in/out of the story.
ReplyDeleteWhy thank you Qbit! 😊
DeleteThis is a such a gentle poem--the images of caring for even the incidental baggage is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Chrissa! 🌻
DeleteThe baggage we take with us...feast and famine, joy and tears. So beautifully expressed Carrie. We need this baggage to remind us we lived and will continue to do.
ReplyDeleteVery true Toni. Thanks my friend. 😊
DeleteA gentle strength is the best kind. Without the
ReplyDeletebaggage, who would we be?
I hear you Sara. So glad you stopped by. 😊
DeleteReading the lines through their little dark windows felt like looking in those suitcases to find the gifts in both the hard and the easy, or the dark and the light. I like the hunger, the lone wolf--the idiom that links the two--and the truth that feast and famine both bring out the wisdom/strength that poetry is made of.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Susan! 🌹💐
DeleteFeast and famine, two of opposites. They make their presence felt and there is no way they will leave us alone. Better feast rather than famine though! Great write Carrie!
ReplyDeleteHank
Very true Hank and thanks for being here!
DeleteAnd a stomach growls like a wolf, feast or famine, waiting to be filled. I imagine hearts could be the same, but never filled no matter how much there is to feast upon.
ReplyDeleteI imagine the same Lori. So glad to see you at the Muse!
DeleteThat's a great image of folded garments, your "baggage". And a profound message, that the hard times do come with lessons and blessings.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting too, Carrie, it's a great image to write about.
It is my pleasure Mary and thank you for joining in with us!
Delete