Friday, July 25, 2008

solace




The forlorn ache of a hardened heart grips onto the belief that solace is an illusion, like the distant twinkling of the stars. Comfort rings hollow, an echo lost in a canyon steeped in darkness and endless space thickened by the low hanging heavy air. Shallow anxious breath from a forsakened host keep the heart unfulfilled.


It takes intense energy to keep the hardened heart guarded from the army of feelings despite their continued attempts to advance close enough to pierce through the casing. Defense demands ever-tightened grips, causing numbness to seep into the constricted clench......until you can't feel anymore except lonesome notes lost in tones of abandonment.

Solace is a lost memory.
Wished tenderness of a forgotten friend.


As the grip grows tired, the guarded heart becomes tired too.......tired of feeling so alone, unwanted and untouched by beauty. A silent sigh seeps out of the hard casing, alerting the army of feelings to advance ...... perhaps ......... perhaps......


Illusions mask what can be found in the forgotten range of unchartered memories?

All at once the heart finds it's sorrow in it's aloneness and begins to weep. Feelings ambush the casing..... The hardened heart softens and bleeds red drops of relief, until the guard surrenders to the loving gaze of a forgotten friend. Solace plucks the lonesome heartstrings, reminding the heart that it truly does thrive in the coves hidden in the daylight.





This week's word prompt from Sunday Scribblings is solace........ For more cozy comfort, check it out.

13 comments:

Unknown said...

what was it Paul Simon once said?
I don't consider myself to be a major talent, so the only solace I can take is to hope I'm growing.

I'll take that every day and twice on sunday's

awareness said...

paul... i like that and I hope the same. there's a rhythm to knowing solace resides in our personal growth. This morning I read ...."each human life is the journey from childhood to a realized adult life. Each day is a journey out of darkness into light. Each friendship and love is the intimate journey where the soul is born and grows. The journey is the drama of the heart's voyage into the tide of possibilities which open before it." Father O'Donahue.

Solace, like beauty alights when we are open to the idea that growth is possible through allowing ourselves the opportunities to be open to learning. As Pip says......it doesn't reside in a place of comfort.....but perhaps when we acknowledge that we have made another step (or hop) forward, we can visit solace and know the meaning of beauty, even for a moment.

gautami tripathy said...

You won't know how much this affected me. I needed this.

Thanks!

Entertain me, will you?

anthonynorth said...

This is beautiful and meaningful prose.
Well done!

Granny Smith said...

This is a moving, emotional and spectacularly well written piece. I also want to compliment you on the graphic beauty of your blog, the photo of the lamppost and the quote that you have chosen for your heading.

Open Grove Claudia said...

Boy, I've so felt like this lately. Funny too because when given the chance, I rarely choose solace, but movement, laughter and projects - get a few things done.

I fell the worlds darkening in my bones... and I weep.

danni said...

this is quite a piece of beautifully crafted writing - stirring and poignant!!!

Lucy said...

this was sad and so lovely. I think this is the kind of writing sunday scribblings intended to provoke.
beautiful.

awareness said...

gautami.....sometimes i write something and quite frankly, i don't know where it comes from....to know it has helped you in some way warms me.

Anthony....thank you. it's been a long time since i jumped on a sunday scribbling prompt. But, when I do, they always seem to help me dig a bit deeper.

granny....thank you very much. i had another photo posted originally and didn't like it....when i remembered this one, i knew it was that one to go with this piece.
I honestly didn't know how this piece would be received and i couldn't gauge whether or not it was any good. so, thank for the feedback. i really appreciate it.

Claudia....I hadn't really thought about the whole idea of seeking solace except in a superficial way until this prompt. It made me realize that it is something we can seek, but there's a fine line between seeking and looking to hard for it. Sometimes when we stay busy and task oriented, it helps us let solace find us rather than us always looking.........

danni......thank you. the stirringness came from somewhere i do not know. :)

Lucy....what's interesting about sunday scribblings is that it does lift you into a place you hadn't thought about going in your writing, i find. i started out thinking i would write a poem about "my favourite things...." and bloody well ended up with something much heavier. the process from this point to the end result is always such a great journey.

Rambler said...

great wordplay..the last few lines were just too brilliant

Anonymous said...

This is wonderful- very moving and absolutely beautifully written. I've had to read it again and again, your clever use of words drawing me back and leaving me wanting more.
Thank you:)

Mine is up at:
http://bellamocha.wordpress.com/2008/07/27/sunday-scribblings-solace/

Tumblewords: said...

Powerfully poignant. The words reach deep...

awareness said...

Rambler....thank you. I quite honestly don't know where the words came from.

Bella.....i'm humbled by your feedback. when I try to write a piece like this, I find that I feel the most vulnerable when i post it because i can't gauge whether it's any good or whether its some gobbleygook unstuck from the inside of my whacky brain.
Thank you.

Sue....it felt that way when i went mining for them too.