With thanks to hmorris' post "I'm sinking", which introduced me to the nonet poetry form.
If you have children, and if you paid attention, you may have been forced to come to terms with your own faults and mannerisms as those little copycats started revealing them to you. Then they grow older...
They
have grown
from mirrors
of my manners
into truth-tellers
with gentle reminders
of the things I need to do
to be healthy, and to avoid
a legacy of more stuff than love.
I will do my best this spring break to declutter a few more piles for the sake of my children's future, and my own mental and physical health.
Chris, there is so much here in a few words. That last two lines have me paying attention..."to avoid a legacy of more stuff than love." Wow.
ReplyDeleteAlice, for better or worse, I have raised children who aren't afraid to tell me the truth! Lately, it's been about the tremendous need and task of downsizing. Pretty sure I know how my summer is going to be spent...
DeleteI had never heard of the nonet form before, but this is amazing. The last line blew me away! Wow!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Whitney! It's an interesting form, isn't it? I like the restrictions of lines and syllables; it forces me to be more concise (usually, I'm overly wordy!).
DeleteWow, Chris, good luck with the decluttering. I need to do some of that too. It's neat when our children become gentle truth-tellers. Beautiful image. And yes to that last line. Stuff is a great word there.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Denise. We are collectors by nature, so weeding out the valuable from the not-so-valuable is probably the hardest task. Thankfully, my children are a big help in that department.
DeleteFrom Carol Varsalona: from mirrors of my manners…great word choice, Chris.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carol--they really are, aren't they? I've learned so much about myself since becoming a parent, thanks to their reflective words and actions.
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