The Force of Feathers and Chains

artwork by Jeanie Tomanek

 

The Mag #184

 

 

"God loved the birds and invented trees. Man loved the birds and invented cages."

  ~Jacques Deval

 

 

 

There is a force that feathers know

 that ride together upon a wing in flight

 

and so to do links of a rusty chain
that hold down and lock up tight.

 

There is a might that bricks know

when holding up a sturdy wall

 

and so does the metal ball and crane

that can make the building fall.

 

Sometimes the chains that bind us

are bound by our own hands

and in turn the liberty we so long for
becomes too heavy for us to withstand.

The soul possesses all the muscles
to carry a thousand pounds of woe

yet it also holds the skill and power
to courageously let it go.




Many years ago when I was going through the separation and divorce from my first husband, I left the home I had known for eight years and took off with a packed up car and a discouraged teenager heading to the home of a dear friend I had gone to church with years before.  We stayed under her comforting wing of hospitality and encouragement for about 6 months.  It was a difficult time of change for both me and my son.
  During that time there was a simple story her son shared one day that has always stuck with me.  It holds a profound truth in its simplicity and has crossed my mind many times when I have felt stuck in a situation.  He had a dog that he loved very much that he kept mostly in the back yard.  Whenever he would wash his car, he would bring her out in the front yard and tie her chain to a tree while he scrubbed down his ride.  Eventually, the dog got so used to the routine, that she would simply sit by the tree knowing she was chained to it, and watch him work on the car.  He admitted that as time went by he got complacent and would bring her out front on the chain, but instead of tying her up he would simply place her by the tree with the chain and go about his business.  The dog was so used to being chained to the tree, that she did not exert any force or effort to try to break away to even realize that she was no longer bound with the chain.
  I cannot tell you how many times I have thought about that story and realized how relevant it is to certain situations people face in their lives.  We get so accustomed to the obstacles that we have holding us back, that we settle like roots of a tree and stagnate where we stand.  Assuming there is no way out or means to make a change.  Then like bad fruit we become bitter and angry with the yoke we must bear, never taking the time to comprehend the fact that it is only us that can make a true difference.  Only we can make the choice to walk away, change the circumstances, or simply lay down the burden.



To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you. ~Lewis B. Smedes

 

 

 

 

 

 



A Mighty Weakness

Poets United Think Tank Prompt #14

I am a wall I can be made of cement and rise up many yards high,

or I may be made of brick or stone, and reach out across the county side.

Sometimes I am a memorial that represents millions of brave souls,

and other times I am a fortress of protection that tells you where not to go.

But I hold up at my most mighty, and yet at my weakest place,

when I am built with fear, and doubt littered with pride's own waste.

There are walls that protect...

There are walls that remember...

There are walls that divide....

and there are walls that are destructive...

I am all too familiar with the walls a broken heart can build.

My father and brother had a "falling out", and were at odds with each other for years.

They did not speak for long periods of time, and never resolved their hard feelings.

When my father passed away in 1992 my brother was devastated.

He was in a form of grief the rest of his life.

He passed away in 2002.

I have faith, and I am certain that they know peace now.

Where The Danger Lies

It is not the rugged looking thug that we should fear facing, but the clever con artist we are ablivious to,
that makes us become vulnerable.
It is not our capacity to feel the suffering through our trials we should avoid,
but our ability to make ourselves numb to it, that makes us become indifferent.
It is not the narrow winding road that holds the danger,
but the easy straight way where we become complacent,
and that is where the danger lies.

A Net Full of Butterflies

Think Tank Poetry Promt #4

I can hear it in your voice, the angry words you can't forget.  A heartache's anthem is echoing over and over in your head.  But can you remember when you were just a child, it was easy to hear the magic in the song.  You could dance around all day no matter what went wrong.  Just close your eyes and try,

for a child sets anger free like a net full of butterflies.

I can see it in the tears that you never cry, you are not as strong as the shield you hide behind.  But can you remember when you were just a child, and it was easy for the tears to fall like rain.  When you were upset it was written all over your face.  Just close your eyes and try,

 for a child lets pride go like a net full of butterflies. 

I can feel it in your touch you just can't let it go.  You are holding on to the past lke a trophy of plated gold.  But can you remember when you were just a child, it was easy to forget the troubles of yesterday, leave them all behind and play the day away.  Just close your eyes and try,

for a child tells betterness goodbye like a net full of butterflies.

A great site for poets that blog Poets United 

Deep Inside the Ocean

We cannot reach the measurement of the distance between one bitter heart unto another. Nor can we calculate the moment of transformation fron tenderness to callous, yet like some shells deep inside the ocean, every hard heart has cracked places that could break, we just cannot get close enought to see.