Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Poets United Midweek Motif ~ A / The Moment




 
    “I like the moment when I break a man’s ego.”— Bobby Fischer


SOURCE

“In any given moment we have two options : to step forward into growth or to step back into safety.”— Abraham Maslow



   Midweek Motif ~ A / The Moment





When we say a/the moment we mean it’s either a casual moment or a defining one. Your lines might be about any one of them.

You can extend it further to a moment of the past, or even future (to do, to have or to be moment).

If you wish you can block the history of yesterday, refuse the dream of tomorrow and choose to live in the present, only being mindful of what’s happening now.

Anything you do it has to be about a moment only.


A few poems to share with you :


The Moment
by Margaret Atwood

The moment when, after many years
of hard work and a long voyage
you stand in the centre of your room,
house, half-acre, square mile, island, country,
knowing at last how you got there,
and say, I own this,

is the same moment when the trees unloose
their soft arms from around you,
the birds take back their language,
the cliffs fissure and collapse,
the air moves back from you like a wave
and you can't breathe.

No, they whisper. You own nothing.
You were a visitor, time after time
climbing the hill, planting the flag, proclaiming.
We never belonged to you.
You never found us.
It was always the other way round.



A Moment of Happiness
by Rumi

A moment of happiness,
you and I sitting on the verandah,
apparently two, but one in soul, you and I.
We feel the flowing water of life here,
you and I, with the garden's beauty
and the birds singing.
The stars will be watching us,
and we will show them
what it is to be a thin crescent moon.
You and I unselfed, will be together,
indifferent to idle speculation, you and I.
The parrots of heaven will be cracking sugar
as we laugh together, you and I.
In one form upon this earth,
and in another form in a timeless sweet land.



Moment
by Wislawa Szymborska
(Translated from the Polish by Joanna Trzeciak)

I walk on the slope of a hill gone green.
Grass, little flowers in the grass,
as in a children's illustration.
The misty sky's already turning blue.
A view of other hills unfolds in silence.

As if there'd never been any Cambrians, Silurians,
rocks snarling at crags,
upturned abysses,
no nights in flames
and days in clouds of darkness.

As if plains hadn't pushed their way here
in malignant fevers,
icy shivers.

As if seas had seethed only elsewhere,
shredding the shores of the horizons.

It's nine-thirty local time.
Everything's in its place and in polite agreement.
In the valley a little brook cast as a little brook.
A path in the role of a path from always to ever.
Woods disguised as woods alive without end,
and above them birds in flight play birds in flight.

This moment reigns as far as the eye can reach.
One of those earthly moments
invited to linger.


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 ~ The Year's End)

18 comments:

  1. Hello Sumana and Poets United,

    It's good to know you are still present Sumana.
    An excellent prompt topic, with many options for poetic direction..
    Best wishes, Eileen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Eileen. This one is my last prompt. Much love.

      Delete
  2. Hello everyone! This is my last prompt for Midweek Motif at Poets United. Hope you enjoy it. Happy Writing :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good day to Sumana and Poets United. I hope everyone's day is well as we are enjoying another snow today.
    This was an excellent choice for our prompt and ignited several ideas. Thank you, Sumana.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Happy Wednesday everyone, enjoying a rainy morning here in St James, Trinidad

    Much✏love

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We're having pleasant & soft winter here and wishing for a bit of rain to make the winter colder. Much love to you.

      Delete
  5. A beautiful last prompt, my dear partner in Midweek Motif, Sumana! Your poem choices are lovely. I am particularly grateful for "A Moment of Happiness." Have a marvelous day and night.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Susan. Really enjoyed your poem of happy moments. So beautiful it was.

      Delete
  6. Bless you, Sumana! A wonderful prompt. I especially love that poem by Margaret Attwood.......we are just visitors here, and very rude ones. Smiles. Thank you for all of your prompts through the years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Sherry. I really had some precious time of my life here at PU.
      I also love this poem of Margaret Atwood.

      Delete
  7. Thanks for all your inspiration, both in this and previous prompt. Moments where just what I needed to make an Echo poem go round. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you, Sumana, for so many wonderful prompts, motifs to make us ponder. This is not goodbye and I look forward to more of your poems. What will happen to the Midweek Motif in the new year?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We will have new hosts for the new year and the Wednesday prompt Will continue. We will meet here again. Thank you so much Kim for the beautiful poem

      Delete
  9. Wonderful prompt, Sumana! You have provided so much inspiration during the years you were doing Midweek Motif. Continue to write your beautiful poetry!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Mary. Midweek Motif has been an amazing part of my life. And thanks again for the nice comment. Yeah, I totally agree with you about the teachers' reaction when the bell rings :)

      Delete
  10. Hello Sumana- what a wonderful last prompt. Wishing you all the best in your future endeavors!

    ReplyDelete

This community is not meant to be used in a negative manner. We ask that you be respectful of all the people on this site as each individual writer is entitled to their own opinion, style, and path to creativity.

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Blog Archive

Followers