17 July 2010

the hermit

Running from reunions
requires rock hard discipline
living without looking back
snip the red threads that
connect you to
every life you ever touched
every path you ever crossed
Hermit.
Hermit! Open the door!

Critters all of
forest and sky
are the spirit threads
I need to get by.
Chopping wood,
the chickadees sing
a Gilead’s balm for
humanity’s sting.
In mountains far
I built my home.
Person.
People! Leave me alone!


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Visit Writer's Island for more pieces on the prompt: reunion.

19 comments:

Weasel said...

Some reunions are not or never wanted. Wonderfully written! Great post!

-Weasel

Anonymous said...

It kind of make me laugh somehow, interesting and well written :3 thk for sharing!^^

Mary said...

Excellent writing, Brenda. The words that hit me hardest were 'living without looking back.' I can sort of understand the hermit's mentality...enjoying the critters of forest and sky!

brenda w said...

Thank you Weasel, I agree!
riika--It made me laugh, too.
Mary--I get the hermit, too. Back and forth in my life I've wanted to pack it all in a live in the middle of nowhere...I did it for 8 years, but not completely alone, and not without going to town(albeit infrequently).

steveroni said...

I became a hermit for 10 days in 1967, off SW FL coat. I was a heavy-duty drunk then, and ran out of booze, etc. Long story. Short ending is, i donot wish to go there again...

You write real well, and I STILL have NO trouble NOT going to reunions. Finally learned how to say No, it goes like this: "NO!"

Diane T said...

I was shocked, lol. No connection to the past? Hell, wish I could cut certain threads! My 10th reunion I hated. My 20th was okay. Number 44 was worth it, except I didn't get to see everyone. A very unique poem, and brilliant!

Elizabeth said...

Love this poem, especially "snip the red threads that connect.." I am aware of the Hermit that dwells within me, but also that one that longs to belong, and have learned to love both and seek a balance that brings satisfaction.

Thanks for this one, Brenda

Elizabeth

Anonymous said...

Hoho! I've been a closet hermit for decades, but every time I come close to snipping the "red threads" the past calls irresistibly... guess I could use some of that "rock hard discipline". There's a lot to be said for hermitry, IMO - and you have said it well!

Ron. said...

This recluse enjoyed this work tremendously. Very tasty. Thanks.

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

yes, there are invisible threads connecting all,
God is one...
very thought provoking post.

Anonymous said...

I like the exclamation points very much. What is it about hermitage that is so defensive, almost angry? Interesting. Thanks for the something to think about!

flaubert said...

touche` Brenda!
Pamela

Stan Ski said...

Catching up on news from old friends is often eye opening, but I've always thought it a bit unnecessary to meet up with people I've basically ignored for years.

brenda w said...

Thanks everyone for your comments. I'm glad you liked this piece. I do, too. It's one that came by itself.
My 30 year reunion is this summer, and I have never been to one before, and am not going to this one, but it is on my mind.
Hermit! ha!

('80 Rules!)

anthonynorth said...

I think you speak for a lot of people there. nice one.

Jeeves said...

Lovely one

vivienne blake said...

Lovely rhythm - the pace pulls us along with the hermit. On the whole, it's nice to have a choice - hermit or not to hermit - when the fancy takes us.

Anonymous said...

This was an interesting take on the prompt; very enjoyable.

http://thelaughinghousewife.wordpress.com

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

I'm one who always tries to look ahead, never back. I totally relate. And as a writer, yeah. I get that hermit part, too. *grin*