HOPE      

no matter. I have plenty of hope to spare. :o)

Thanks Shaunda, I truly appreciate your generous creative spirit, but when I get such lovely responses from other poets on DU, I feel a bit guilty at times, because most all my poems are dated, along with the time I wrote them & where I was when i wrote them, but I choose not to put all that extra, unnecessary detail on my submitted poems, because I see that no one else does either & besides it's all about the words & the poems themselves, minus any other peripheral trappings...

  But due to that seemingly insignificant ommission, such as with my poem here 'HOPE', whch you just responded to (& thanks again for that!), it was written over 19 years ago & I'm sure it's content precisely fit whatever I must have been going through, experiencing & feeling in my life, back then at that time (which presently I can't even recall here now?)...  So my sense of feeling a little guilty is due to the fact, that currently in my present life, despite being 19 yrs. older...(& wiser!), I'm in a very healthy, happy, thriving, good place(& state of mind & emotional well being)in my life today!  So, I can't help but feel a bit deceptive & guilty, whenever someone out there in DUP land responds to one of my older poems with kind, caring empathy, sincere concern or sadness, etc..., from thinking they are responding to a current situation, hardship or 'reality' in my life, because they have no way to know that & I guess that's to be expected here on DU, due to the way things are posted here (only titles & poems) & I'm sure it must happen to all of us, unless I am the only one out here, who is submitting a lot of my older poetry, along with more recent & current new poems I have written as well?

  If for nothing else, I think it's probably a good thing, because it proves to us all that our poems (at times)can carry a universal, timeless quality & resonance in them which can still open, touch, move, inspire, excite & be related to by others, which may be the truest guage of validation for us as poets & writers, for it shows us that our 'work'(our poems) have meaning, true value & purpose in this world!...  

 Thanks again for your kind offer Shaunda & it's wonderful to hear that you have plenty of hope to spare & I believe it must be contagious, because after reading your comment, I sensed & felt a significant boost in my own!!!   ~ O.I.N.








  

Hope Is Ever-Fleeting, But Just The Same, It's Ever-Lasting. weird how that works.
I Was Reading The Comment You Posted Above And I Completely Understand What You Mean about feeling bad about the comments you receive on some of your older works. though, my older works are at oldest 9 years I still get that you feel a bit guilty that the readers think it is recent and offer sympathy and support, i feel the same way with those of mine that are older. and it really is the truest form of validation to know. To SEE that your poetry has withstood time and is, as it was before, still able to touch those who read it, whatever their age may be. And It Still Means Something. That Is All I Have Ever Wanted Since I Started Writing When I Was 13.

Wow!... thanks so much Steven D. for relating your own feelings & parallel experience of this slightly awkward & unanticipated side-effect, which comes from our posting & sharing our personal, creative works of innermost, self-expression with others here on DUP.

  Your comments & personal insights in relation to my reply's comments to another DU member's previous posted reply to this old poem of mine, was quite a gratifying surprise('relief!'), confirmation & re-validation (other than my own self-justified, though still somewhat uncertain, ever-hopeful rationale) to read here just now!...

  It means a lot to me to actually hear another poet express & help confirm for me this peculiar, resultant feeling of circumstantial dishonesty, when someone replies to any of our older poems, offering their sincere compassion, heartfelt concerns of encouraging, supportive, positive hope, sympathy, empathy (etc...), without having any way of knowing that the poem they are so touched or moved enough by, to extend such wonderful comments to whoever has posted it, ('may')reflect whatever might have been going on in our lives 9, 15, 20 or 30 years ago, but not necessarily today!?!...  Even so, I can still only take (& receive) it as a wonderful compliment & also as a 'spirit' (& 'ego') rewarding validation & reminder, as to the potential value & significant resonant meaning, the courageous & fearless, open sharing of our personal poetry with others can oftentimes have!...  It's truly surprising & amazing, the subtle, innate 'power' that words & how they are strung together, into poetry, songs or language can have!...

  Thanks again for sharing your thoughts & comments with me here Steven D.!...

 "Write On!"...     ~  O.I.N.