22 Comments
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Laura Pilnick's avatar

Oy!

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Tina Carlson's avatar

True dat!!

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Kim Nelson's avatar

and not this morning...

I've given an inordinate amount of thought to these notions lately, X.P. Coming to terms with these realities, and conversing with both one's dark and one's light are, well, clarifying.

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David Lyman's avatar

I love this!

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Deborah Kay Kelly's avatar

It is our nature to become ill and die. How much we suffer along the way and how much we do harm, I know you know <3, is up to us.

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Deborah Kay Kelly's avatar

Actually, gosh, how much we suffer isn't entirely up to us! Think, Deborah!

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X. P. Callahan's avatar

In your initial comment, you seemed to be pointing out the distinction between pain (inevitable) and suffering (identification with pain, which involves an element of choice and entails thoughts and feelings that amplify pain).

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Deborah Kay Kelly's avatar

Thanks, X.P. That is what I meant.

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pamm hanson's avatar

i love this! It is actually a fortune to live by!! ha

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Jim Sanders's avatar

As I get closer to completing the circle

I get closer to the starting point

I remember feelings as a child

Much better than those of yesterday

The perfect geometry of a circle

Yet never predictable

As there is no exact number

In calculating pi

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X. P. Callahan's avatar

I love this little--deceptively little--poem. Thanks for sharing it here.

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Jim Sanders's avatar

You were my Muse.

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Rebecca Weil's avatar

Love this.

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Cathy A Wickham's avatar

Truth!

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Mario Fonseca's avatar

Are we ourselves

the evil that haunts us?

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X. P. Callahan's avatar

That's a serious question. And here is my serious answer: Yes, to the extent that we are convinced of our utter virtue.

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Mario Fonseca's avatar

Actually.

My inquiry was derived from an illustration by Brad Holland –unfortunately I couldn’t send it this way.

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LeeAnn Pickrell's avatar

Amazing poem. I love the power of a short poem.

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X. P. Callahan's avatar

Thanks, LeeAnn. (A triple lune, BTW.)

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Mike smith's avatar

Lol, you didn't tell me that you are a poetry expert! Haha, anyway, thank you for humoring me and my amateur ramblings on that other post. You're too kind.

This is incredible stuff and I don't know whether to feel happy or sad after reading this poem. I suppose I might as well enjoy the day as technically today will be the healthiest I'm ever gonna be.

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X. P. Callahan's avatar

I could nerd out all day about this stuff.

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Janie Braverman's avatar

"but probably not

all at once,

and not this morning."

A bit of hope in the middle of yeah ... all that ...

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