a child skips toward tomorrow.
An elder settles into yesterday.
Mid-life careens through moments,
not even aware of its breath.
Somewhere a dove mourns
for a scatter of feathers
in the grass.
– Sarah Russell
Painting by Fay Collins
for dVerse Ekphrastic challenge
Sarah Russell Poetry 
I like these lines about unawareness: “Mid-life careens through moments,
not even aware of its breath.”
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Thanks, Frank. I have slowed my life now in retirement, and when I look at the frenzy of my children in mid-life I wonder how I managed to live in that blur.
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I recognize myself not even aware of my breath… love the contrast between the two stanzas
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Thanks, Bjorn. I think sometimes one’s “productive” years must be productive for something or someone other than oneself.
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This works so well. That first stanza holds such truth, and then you open it out and remind us that while we live our lives, there’s a whole world out there of emotions that we aren’t even aware of. Sometimes these small shards of poems trigger so many thoughts and feelings.
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Thanks so much, Sarah. I must admit, I wrote the poem awhile ago, and the ending wrote itself. I wondered why it was there, but when I saw the painting it suddenly fell into place. So thank you for the ekphrastic prompt!
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I guess looking at an image stimulates a different bit of our brain, enables us to make new connections, things tumble into place.
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Beautiful words to remind us to remain in the here and now. I love the first stanza.
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Thank you, Astrid.
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Your words are so beautiful Sarah – they took my breath away.
Thank you.
Anna :o]
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Thanks so much, Anna!
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I love this. The first 2 lines describe life….as it is.
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Thank you, Vivian.
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😊
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One of my favorites this time. Lovely!
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Thanks a lot, Beckie.
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Reminds me of the precious gift of time, and how it can be different at different stages of our lives ~ The dove mourning describes the photo very well ~
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Thanks, Grace!
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The brevity of your poem mirrors the theme.
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Thank you, Lynn. I hadn’t seen that. Love it when readers see more than I have!
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