Friday, August 18, 2006

Just a Poem In Between
By Don Iannone

What do you do
when someone or something
gets inside you--
you never knew you knew
and suddenly
they are a deep part of you?
What do you do
when something you've dreamed of
when you were asleep and awake
magically appears
from the other side of the mirror?
What do you do
when your fading reality
creates choices you don't want to make,
setting you adrift in the tide
washing you hopelessly out to sea?
What do you do
when a kindred spirit overtakes you
like a serene tsunami
and you are left drowning
in your own feelings
you never knew you had?
What do you do
when something beneath
your conscious mind
spills you into another galaxy
you are speechless to describe?
You write a feeble poem
hoping it will save you from yourself
and from what you might do
if there wasn't at least a poem
between you and this new reality.

32 comments:

Margie said...

Don,
That was some poem!
I could quite relate to it!
You put such amazing feelings and
thoughts into your poetry!
It always makes me think about who I am and what my life is about!
Thanks for this insightful poem!
Have a wonderful evening!

J. Andrew Lockhart said...

Very nice!

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Margie...thank you. I'm glad the poem spoke to you. Everything I write here at C-L is a reminder to me. I am delighted when others find meaning and value in what I write. Poetry is simply a way for me to look in the mirror and see who I am at any given time.

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Thanks Andrew. Hope you are well.

Kathy Trejo said...

wow! very nice!

Dusty said...

What do you do when you've spent your entire life climbing a mountain only to find it's the foothills of the mountain? Do you look up where everything seems so big? Do you look down where everything you've passed looks so small? Or do look straight ahead and keep climbing because that is the path before you?

Change is always scary till it passes.

Angela said...

You really have a gift, Don! Thank you for sharing it with all of us!

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Thanks Angela, Frida, and Kathy for your kind remarks.

Frida...all of us feel the same way. The answer is to honor the progress you make and accept that is where you are. Also, accept that life is as it should be. What do I do? I simply get up very morning and rejoice the start of a new day and give thanks at the end of each day before my head touches the pillow. What else is there?

serenity said...

Don,
To have a gift that you do for putting your spirit into words the way you do is something so glorious to witness. We are so fortunate that you have a spirit for sharing. The way your spirit and your heart speaks and reveals itself is something very sacred. Thank you for the honesty, the beauty you share every day, and the realness of your poetry. From the comments you receive you can see how many are being touched and how your words are resonating. You are a blessing.

Stacey said...

What do you do
when a kindred spirit overtakes you
like a serene tsunami
and you are left drowning
in your own feelings
you never knew you had?


You have reached into my soul and found what I have felt. Wow. If only I could have found the words to describe it.

This poem was powerful, intense and
beautiful all at once, Don.

dumbdodi said...

Don that really was something like Margie said.
While reading it, I thought you would end in a question mark but then you ended it so beautifully. 'A poem between you and this new reality'
And the line that hit me most "when your fading reality
creates choices you don't want to make". I always find myself pressurised when I need to make a choice.

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Thanks Serenity, Stacey,and Dumbdodi for your very kind comments.

When you dream, all parts of the dream are parts of you. Poetry is the same. When I read or write a poem, all parts of the poem become parts of me. It think that's true of others as well. Poems are dreams and dreams are poems. I never understood this until I started giving attention to my poetry.

People like poetry they can find themselves in. If this is to occur, then the poet must leave just enough space and the right space in the right space for that possibility to unfold. This is where not only the words but also the space around and in-between them matters.

Words will always miss what is really inside us. Actually they're supposed to. You may protest, and say no I want my words to hit the bullseye. They can't for two reasons. First, what we feel is intended first and foremost to be felt and not said. What we feel is the closest we can get to knowing ourselves and our true cosmic nature. In this sense, the words should point us to the feelings that point us to our most intimate sense of "I am-ness." That is my deepest wish when I write poetry.

Second, each of us is part of the larger flow, like the ocean or the sky, and each part needs every other part to make the whole. In that sense, the poet needs the reader of his/her poetry and the reader needs the poet. I've said this before, all of you are actually doing most of the work and creating most of the energy generated at this website. I offer only a warming campfire on a cool winter night in the desert where you can come to either awaken to each other's conversations or sleep in peace knowing your love is in safekeeping.

Blessings of universal love!

Bob said...

Poignant poem to say the least.
I really enjoyed it.

Pat Paulk said...

Interesting poem. Sometimes one is best to tie oneself to a tree and ride out the storm instead of being taken away with it. If not, body surf the galaxies and whoop and holler like a kid!! Enjoyed the read!!

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Thanks Rob, Glad you enjoyed it.

Thanks Pat. You made me chuckle. I shall keep this advice close at hand.

Anonymous said...

Don..And i've just wondered to see dumbdodi's comment...Me too had similar feelings about this piece..I thought you would end in a question mark..
beautiful..

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Gangadhar ... thank you, and I tricked you guys. That's the fun of poetry. Best wishes.

Kathleen said...

Wow! I am so there... you have no idea... this is amazing...!

QUASAR9 said...

That's the fun of poetry
And the power of words

For they do express emotions
that tug at strings & notions
of feelings by many many felt
feelings by the heart oft felt.

The mirror is powerful imagery
in this world of supersymmetry

Dan said...

What do I do?
Good question.
Great poem.

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Thanks Kathleen. I sensed that you might be. It's amazing how what we want most in life comes to us once we stop chasing it. Not always in the form we imagined, but usually in the way we most need it.

Thanks Quasar9. Yes indeed the mirror is powerful. It is so because...it reflects what is held up to it.

Dan...thanks! You know that answer. You do nothing, sit with it, and the rest just happens. Love!

dumbdodi said...

Don, you know I loved the poem but I was moved more by your comment and thoughts about poetry. The comment itself was like a sweet song being hummed into my ears.
You have made me so happy. Your blog is indeed a very special place. I have found a great deal probably even a part of myself here.

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Dumbdodi...thank you so much. I hear what you're saying. You bring a lot to this site. Remember that. Ok? Blessings.

serenity said...

Don, I too am so struck by your comments about poetry....this could be a blog entry itself.

"....each of us is part of the larger flow, like the ocean or the sky, and each part needs every other part to make the whole. In that sense, the poet needs the reader of his/her poetry and the reader needs the poet."

How beautiful. Your capacity to translate feeling into words touches so many people in their own space and in their own heart and in their own lives. I've said it before, reading your poetry makes your reader feel as if the poem was written for their life specifically. Your open heart and spirit to that cosmic flow that runs through you creates a sacred place of joy, of emotion, and of spirit for all who visit you.

Love, smiles, and blessings.

polona said...

i've lost a comment to blogger, but i wanted to say this blog is a very special place. one can always find something, be it in your poetry, or the comments... there's some wonderful energy flowing in this space.
thanks to you and your readers for thar, blessings.

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Thanks Serenity...I appreciate your kind remarks. I still contend that the reader is bringing more to the meal than me. LOL. In any case, your comments mean a lot to me. Blessings.

Polona...thank you and I also appreciate what you said. It is positive energy. I agree. I thank you for being a major contributor of that positive energy. Blessings.

starry said...

Don this is an amazing poem. so much feeling into it. sometimes its just how I feel.

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Thank you Starry Nights. Glad you can relate.

Yansidara said...

don,
i am late reading this beautiful poem. the intensity of it amazes me. it is not very easy to express with words that initial and sweet intoxication
"when a kindred spirit overtakes you"
still, you have done it in a beautiful way.
you are a wise man, the universality of our humanity is very clear to you and that makes you very special.

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Yansidara ...thank you. What a kind thing to say. We are all one. What choice do we have but to observe this connection in all ways? My blessings to you.

serenity said...

Don, just stopping back in to wish you a happy weekend and I read the beautiful words that Yansidara wrote in response to this poem. The universality of our humanity...the experience we all have of each other as part of the human experience, and then that "kindred spirit" connection that defies all explanation...being on the same wavelength, having some sort of "knowledge" that stirs something deep within the spirit and in the heart...as if two people have been living parallel lives ... something "disarming" and yet quite comforting...as if being "known" in this way confirms the unity of energy, of life force ... confirms that everything in the universe is connected to love.

Thank you for what you give to your poetry, for letting flow through you what the universe has to offer through your gift. We are all so blessed to receive it.

Blessings to you.

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Betsy...Yeah. You made it. So good to see your name here. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Don

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