It’s Prosery Day over at the dVerse Poets Pub!
For those of you new to dVerse, here are the rules:
Write a story of 144 words or less (not including the title). The story must have a beginning and an end, and should not be poetry. Sounds easy enough right? Here’s the twist: You must use the poetry line I have given you within your story. You may alter the punctuation, but you must use the line in its entirety.
Today, I have chosen the following line taken from Spring Azures from the book Wild Geese by Mary Oliver:
‘Sometimes the great bones of my life feel so heavy.’
Sometimes the great bones of my life feel so heavy.
Thus is the result of wading through the wet cement of too many past mistakes and having neither the guts nor sense to face them. Instead, I haul the accumulated baggage along to the next thing. In the beginning it’s easy to stuff the baggage by laughing it off, allowing people to think I am quirky or eccentric. Eventually though, the more astute folks are able to see through the façade and figure it out:
I’m a fake.
Pretending to be ‘normal’ in order to fit in with groups I don’t even understand is exhausting. It’s no wonder that sooner or later the ball will drop like it’s New Year’s Eve, except with a splat— embarrassingly reminiscent of the Emperor’s New Clothes.
Sure, I could simply drop the baggage, but then who would I be?
Well done!
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Thank you for my smile this evening! Well done.
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You said it. Amusing and all too true many times!
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I don’t think you’re a fake but rather you put into words what many of us feel anyway. Your words recognize the mostly status quo of life. Expressive words are so freeing! Keep on writing as only you can my friend! As anyone of us can actually.
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Thank you much Carol!
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You know, in the wintertime I would wear a coat, gloves, boots, and hat with my backpack on the way to elementary school. When the weather warmed up and I only needed the backpack, I felt practically weightless. 🙂
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“Sure, I could simply drop the baggage, but then who would I be?” In a sense that is all too true. There has to be a way to keep the lessons but lose the baggage.
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I think there has to be a way to drop the baggage too, but so far I’ve not found it. Thanks, Debi!
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This is so moving! We must carry on regardless. Sigh. 💝
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Oh yes, sometimes that baggage needs to be tossed into the river of regrets. I’ve done it. Nice prose.
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Thank you, Helen!
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It’s hard when our baggage defines who we are… that’s when it’s really hard to shed the mask.
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Exactly. We feel as if there is nothing behind the mask. Ofr even that there is no mask to take off.
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I wonder this too – who would I be without my baggage?
Well done!
-David
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Thanks, David. It is a deep question to ponder.
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Wonderful! And the picture you put with it is great! I believe that are baggage is an integral part of who we become. Yes, we should be open for healing to take place so we don’t become overburdened. But without some of my baggage I wouldn’t have the empathy I have today.
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I appreciate what you’re saying but I think everybody is a product of the sum total of their experiences and are what you call “fake.” Jung believed the baggage is what holds us down, otherwise we would just float away… Maybe it is difficult to say who “I” am because in some belief systems, there is no such thing.
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