Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Poets United Midweek Motif ~ Solitude




“The cure for loneliness is solitude”— Marianne Moore

SOURCE
“There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is a society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar;
I love not man the less, but Nature more”— Lord Byron


     Midweek Motif ~ Solitude


We all have an inner space within us to house our own thoughts, feelings. It’s wonderful to be lost there; to be alone; to find the ‘self’ and the ‘bliss of solitude’.



Solitude is an essential human need to replenish the soul. It does clear the weary mind of the clutter and gives élan to your existence.


No wonder poets and artists often choose to be solitary.


Our Motif today is Solitude:


Winter Solitude
by Matsuo Basho

Winter solitude--
in a world of one color
the sound of wind.

(Translated by Robert Hass

The Solitude of Night
by Li Po

It was at a wine party—
I lay in a drowse, knowing it not.
The blown flowers fell and filled my lap.
When I arose, still drunken,
The birds had all gone to their nests,
And there remained but few of my comrades.
I went along the river—alone in the moonlight.

   (Translated by Shigeyoshi Obata)


Solitude
by Harold Monro

WHEN you have tidied all things for the night,
And while your thoughts are fading to their sleep,
You'll pause a moment in the late firelight,
Too sorrowful to weep.

The large and gentle furniture has stood
In sympathetic silence all the day
With that old kindness of domestic wood;
Nevertheless the haunted room will say:
'Someone must be away.'

The little dog rolls over half awake,
Stretches his paws, yawns, looking up at you,
Wags his tail very slightly for your sake,
That you may feel he is unhappy too.

A distant engine whistles, or the floor
Creaks, or the wandering night-wind bangs a door

Silence is scattered like a broken glass.
The minutes prick their ears and run about,
Then one by one subside again and pass
Sedately in, monotonously out.

You bend your head and wipe away a tear.
Solitude walks one heavy step more near. 


Please share your new poem using Mr. Linky below and visit others in the spirit of the community—
                (Next week Susan’s Midweek Motif will be ~ Writing Poetry)



17 comments:

  1. The last line from the Byron quote explain exactly why I love the woods so much. Thank you for an awesome prompt, Sumana.

    Happiest Wednesday, everyone!

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  2. Very good post, recommended by a blogging friend. Will come back to it.

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  3. Even in the midst of prose writing, I can't stay away from the verse. :) Thank you Sumana for prompting the always interesting subject of solitude.

    And that Lord Byron's verse, speaks to me. Happy Wednesday you to all!

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  4. What wonderful examples you have given! I treasure my solitude, yet that last poem really speaks to me. The little dog, with its slight tail-wag. Smiles. Thank you, Sumana.

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  5. I love the Basho haiku, Sumana - good choice!

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  6. Hello everyone, am sharing a poem that I struggled to write over the past week, as it's very personal to me.

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  7. Great prompt and selections. I'll be back to read later. Thanks Sumana.

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  8. hAPPY wEDNESDAY EVERYONE

    MUCH LOVE...

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  9. A message from Susan: "Happy Wednesday. I'll be coming around soon. Blogger won't post my comments at the moment."

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  10. Hello Dear Poets, may solitude bring you moments of hope and peace.

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  11. Replies
    1. YAY! Of course, It's 10:30pm here on the East Coast of the USA--so tomorrow or Friday from Upstate NY where I'll be visiting my Mom and Dad and Brother.

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    2. YAY! Oh I am so happy to see you! I hope this means the Horrible Glitch is fixed. Tech glitches are my least favourite thing. Travel safely, kiddo. So glad you are back in action. Smiles.

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  12. Well, almost fixed. MY blogger holds its sign-up only on my cell phone which is a wee little thing. Since they were making me angry I left both my laptop and tablet a home. Let this be a lesson to them! And here, I will be very slow as tininess = eyestrain.

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    Replies
    1. Eyestrain. But on the train for5 hours, i visited more than half. Such enjoyable hours.

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  13. Susan, you are a trooper. These glitches drive me CRAZY (not a long trip!) as there seems no logical reason for them and no way to fix them. Have a nice weekend with your folks. I envy you the train ride.

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  14. Thanks Sherry, and everyone, for your support.

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