Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Vulnerable

                                                                                   George Clausen


CARRY ON TUESDAY

The words in blue are the first words of 'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

VULNERABLE

In my younger and more vulnerable years
I lived among the mountains of my mind,
Walking on the pinnacles of joy
But crashing down when life proved too unkind.
Did someone praise my work? I surely knew
That I was bound for fame! I was supreme!
Did someone look askance at my attempts?
I crashed in anguish utterly extreme.
But 'win-some, lose-some' that is now my creed;
And failure's just a pin-prick, nothing more.
And 'average' is cosy, in a way,
Without the plus and minus of the score.
Success is something not to be attained,
So longing for its joys no longer hurts.
I constantly recite this mantra now;
' Just make a meal of all your just desserts'.
But how I miss the ecstasy of youth!
The pinnacles are now too hard to climb!
I'll 'be content, as butterflies with wings',
But what an unforgiving thief is time!
*
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ON REFLECTION

Two Female Birds, comparing notes, met at the watering hole.
Said Birdie One 'I very much fear the years are taking their toll.
My wings have lost a certain sheen; my beak is quite revolting.
I dare not look at the top of my head in case I've started moulting!'
Said Birdie Two 'It's true, my dear; when I look at my reflection
I see my tail is drooping down in quite the wrong direction.'
Then both of them began to laugh in that bird-like way that tinkles;
'At least, my dear, we've got feathers!
No-one can see our wrinkles!'
*

6 comments:

Lois Evensen said...

I especially like the second one. Thanks for the smile this morning. Hopefully, my wrinkles are mostly smile wrinkles. :)

Kerry O'Connor said...

A thoughtful response to the prompt, infused with nostalgia, regrets and wisdom.

Whitesnake said...

Brillantly put together!

Anonymous said...

a thoughtful poetry and a fun microfiction ! loved this :)

faith said...

There is so much here to enjoy. I didn't expect the ending on the second. :) I think my favorite thing of all is the thought that average is cosy.

Anonymous said...

breath taking imagery.