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Rise!

Young Woman Picking the Fruit of Knowledge, 1892 by Mary Cassatt


Winds no longer blew her hair astray,
The last bout with medicines stifled,
She stared blankly at the side walls,
White, clean and ominously uniform,
She too was an overgrown part of it.

Tranquil, frail and solaced; she lost hope,
Scavenging away tears made her suffocate,
She felt the comfort of death in the air,
She felt its poignant lips kiss her,
As she closed her eyes and breathed.

A relief from the toil seemed afar,
She always held two glasses in her hands,
One was filled with the tears she shed,
The other held the nectar of faith,
Both tasted pathetic now.

But with a final struggle of life,
Her blood raged with an animosity,
She threw away her glass of tears,
Her sight was redeemed with light,
She could feel faith burning, though
Unlike before, she could feel it sweet.

With a brewing desire at life,
She smiled, she laughed and chased butterflies,
She danced, she sang and made others smile,
She dreamed, she hoped and loved all,
She rose, she lived and kissed the skies.

Comments

  1. Replies
    1. Indeed. It is always the case I believe. :)

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  2. She smiled, she laughed and chased butterflies.

    She took back her self on her own terms, for however long...inspiring.

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  3. One was filled with the tears she shed,
    The other held the nectar of faith,
    Both tasted pathetic now.

    I understand this feeling of futility I'd say that in this place in the poem she hit low...and after the low, she 'rose up' in her own way, He desire for life triumphed, and she achieved it.....in her own way.

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    Replies
    1. And that is what we could all do with our own lives. :)

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  4. It is an exquisite poem you have shared here... I think I saw it as her stepping off and embracing the letting go of physical self - but perhaps not - it warrants a third reading ... The image of the glasses of tears - both being "pathetic" is nothing short of brilliant.

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    Replies
    1. Also very much enjoy your blog "slogan"

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    2. Thank you. :) I am so glad you loved it. :) Keep coming. :)

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  5. i love the energy that builds in this....the power she finds in the closing in choosing happiness and to dance and to pass that on to others....really nice energy and challenge in that...

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  6. Yes..a woman happy in her own skin is important.

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  7. I enjoyed the read, but the extensive use of pronouns kept it too finite for me. I mean that it kept my imagination from taking hold and extending the images beyond the words. I don't often critique, but I felt this has more potential than you allowed. If I offend, my apologies.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you. I understand what you are saying. And I do think you should do more critic work because that is exactly what a top critic from a poetry community told me about this poem. Thanks for your honest comments. These are things that build me. :)

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  8. Love this line: She threw away her glass of tears- +++++++

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  9. What an extremely beautiful and insightful write. I, too, love the cup of tears and the cup of faith. Especially, I love how her spirit rose by the end.....as our spirits do tend to do, no matter what. Fantastic write, kiddo. Thanks!

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  10. "She rose, she lived and kissed the skies." Beautiful close to an outstanding poem.

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  11. A final and hopeful farewell to no more suffering for someone loved.

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  12. She felt the comfort of death in the air --- ah, that's very haunting... but gives a feel of peaceful surrender... loved it! smiles...

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  13. Lovely poem of faith and hope. Nectar of faith - I loved those words. They bring out the sweetness of faith.

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