"Those were hard things for me to come by, and I offer them to you for what they may be worth." - Toby Wolff



Monday, October 10, 2011

Atypical




I've decided to refuse.

Yes, it's actually my decision,
seeming as one of few
(though a truer lie never spoken),
so I am POWER in it...
all might and back bone
as if this one adjective were the shackle
and I, ready now, to gnaw off my foot.

I've blacklisted the word
of, or pertaining to, this woman

What word?

It's gone. Redacted.

In its place, a fingerprint
scored along my hip
which you colored so far outside the lines
it is unrecognizable by sight,
but to your fingers
it is Braille.

Paint me, every day love...
for I have never been so beautifully atypical.
.
.
.
.

45 comments:

  1. Similarities help us fit in.
    Differences make us special.
    You've done both here.

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  2. the word 'gorgeous' is overused by me i'm afraid when i comment on your blog :) every day is a decision, every day is a choice. isn't that the most wonderful thing? you are - you. no one else. how perfect.

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  3. Your words, POWER
    Leave me wanting,
    more and asking
    questions, thinking
    thoughts. I've bathed
    in the atypical. And dried
    with leaves from off your path.
    It's quiet. This commotion.

    (HAD to continue this poem, comment theme!)

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  4. Beautiful, soulful write, Annie. xoxo

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  5. I’ve always been wary of those who stay within the lines. Beauty is atypical… Symmetry is just plain weird, especially in people.

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  6. I love the braille image. When it comes to love, words fall short of the truth. It takes a special skill to read the human heart.

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  7. Eric - I've never quite fit in, though I've tried. But our quirks are what make us interesting.

    Eco - Yes...every day is day one. How we see ourselves and respond to the world is a choice.

    Ben - I love it. Dried with leaves from off my path. I used to be a path follower. Now you'll find me in the field where there are no footprints. Thanks Ben! The longer I have this blog, the more the name suits me.

    Marion - It could be any word we are told we are. Fat. Selfish. Ugly. Crazy. We can choose not to take it on as a descriptor of self. Labels are used when we want to put something in a box and make it more manageable. I don't think I want to be managed.

    Anthony - Symmetry is just plain weird. I love that. And it doesn't sound like something you would say, which makes me love it even more.

    Ed - Yes.

    Andreas - It does take skill. We can't really read someone if we're writing their story at the same time.

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  8. that first sentence and second stanza is so confusing it works all by itself! you always trust your reader to figure it out, annie, and that makes your colors and words so powerful and empowering.

    my word? 'emotional'. TOO emotional. ME, with such a logical and thoughtful mind--too emotional! i still bristle: even when i know the path is so obvious and my way of seeing is so right-on.

    it's funny getting to know you in this way, because i don't think i would see you in any circumstance as anything but a bright beautiful strong and interesting woman

    which, emotionally and logically speaking, you are....

    love
    kj

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  9. I love this. Beautifully written.

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  10. KJ - I trust, only because I think I am being so clear...which clearl I am not :) But YEAH!!!! This is exactly what I wanted from this piece. I wanted you to be able to immediately know YOUR word, and redact it as something that does not define you in a negative way. We are not a word, or a label, nor do we need to live up to such. I guess that's what I was trying to say. If we met in the grocery store you would likely not give me a second thought. I wear my skin there, too thick at first. Here...not so much.

    LMF - Thank you. What is your WORD?

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  11. That next-to-last stanza is a demonstration of poetic craft -- the way emotions and conceptions are conveyed through concrete images.

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  12. if we met in the grocery store, i don't think you are correct. if i smiled or nodded or caught your eye, wouldn't we both give a thought or two and cross at least a tiny bridge?
    because if you were behind me in the checkout line, i'm pretty sure i would at least nod. and even by the butter section.
    :^)
    ♥ kj

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  13. Tim - Thank you.Funny how that was the easiest part. The second stanza took a lot of rewriting. Perhaps I should have left it alone. How do you know when enough is enough?

    KJ - If you smiled at me, I would have smiled back considered you for quite awhile, as most people don't. I come across as a little cold and snobby. My damn defenses :)

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  14. Excellent.

    The perfection of imperfection. :)

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  15. I have a real smile, Annie.

    And cold and snobby to innocent me? :-)

    there are others like me. :-)

    xo
    kj

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  16. Like a prickle of gooseflesh on chilled skin - one and utterly unique.

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  17. Matt D- Thanks! Imperfection is an easy trick!

    KJ - I think I said that wrong. It's not that most people wouldn't smile at you...it's that most people don't smile at me, so when they do, I take notice. "Innocent you!" Ha! I like that one! ♥

    Matthew - Well thank goodness I don't have to write one of those letters to publishers to go along with this little piece. I'd be sweating, not goosebumping.

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  18. This is among my favorites of yours, Annie. BEAUTIFUL.

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  19. "which you colored so far outside the lines
    it is unrecognizable by sight,
    but to your fingers
    it is Braille."

    Absolutely stunning. Found you via Janice Phelps Williams' blog. Great to meet you!

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  20. Wow. Interesting how the words bring up different images. "Redacted" made me smile because as a government records officer we have to use it a lot. I'm sure not in the way you meant. ;)

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  21. Wow wonderful verse, really vivid from start to finish.

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  22. Found you from Matthew's blog. I love meeting other poets in the blogosphere. Hi!

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  23. So lovely. Fresh and telling. I am following cuz MacNish said you're cool. He was right! :-)

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  24. Ah ... wine and words. My addiction as well. I saw your link over at Matthew MacNich's blog and am stopping by to introduce myself and say hello. Have a great weekend!

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  25. someone told me they are coming out with interactive car windows that when a child looks through and sees a tree it will tell them, tree. can you imagine? we will be hammering all poetry from them and sliding them into holes. we have been hammered. instead of sliding into holes, let's break into shards of light!

    yes, you are power! didn't you know?

    XO!
    erin

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  26. Your poetry is lovely! I hopped over from Matthew Macnish's blog, and wanted to say hi. Thanks for sharing your words.

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  27. Following from Pay it Forward Blogfest. Very nice site.

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  28. Wow, powerful words. I'm glad you shared them and that I popped by. :)

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  29. gorgeous! Great to meet / follow you through Matthew's blogfest
    Lx

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  30. Visiting from Pay It Forward.

    I love photos that touch a part of my soul I didn't know existed. Thank you.

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  31. Everyone - I've ordered appetizers and I'm opening some more wine! It's fun to have so many new faces at the party. It was sweet of Matthew to send you all over here. Thank you for reading. I'll be coming around to meet you all shortly.

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  32. Annie,
    it would be atypical of me not fall in love each time i come here...was i invited? i would like to think i was....But anyway...i was there...now

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  33. Manik - Invited? Phooey. You are family! No invitation ever needed :)

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  34. I am enjoying reading through all of your words. Such a beautiful spirit and gorgeous site.

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  35. Annie, just stopping back to say again how much I love your sentences. I could swim in your poetry, be happy drowning in your prose.

    Let's talk.

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  36. Very vivid words & I have never been one to stay within the lines.

    I am delighted to have discovered your blog. I am a fellow writer & wine lover

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  37. WOW! Powerful writing! I'm dropping in from Alex's hop. It's very nice to meet you and follow you.

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  38. Matt, you sweet-talker you! :o) But he's right. You're very talented.

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  39. Hmmmmmmm.....

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  40. Spectacular writing as always ;)

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  41. Who says a horse can't be colored purple with green spots? I have always been a bit different myself, so you are not alone. And just think of how boring the world would be if we were all the same.

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  42. this really punches the reader intensely! i loved it.. so forcefully bare and beautifully written. "Paint me, every day love"

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Thank you for listening.