deepundergroundpoetry.com
My own four experiences with holes
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
—Portia Nelson, "Autobiography in Five Short Chapters"
My own four experiences with holes
written October 5th, 2021
1.
I walk down a road
I fall into a hole
This happens a few times
I stop walking down roads.
2.
I get tired of being stuck in one place
I decide to try again.
I walk down a road
A different road than before
I know holes can happen
I keep my eyes on my feet
Just in case.
3.
I walk down roads
I carefully keep a list
of roads with holes
It is always in my mind
Is this a safe road?
Will it be safe today?
4.
I walk down a road with a friend
I forget to check if it's a safe road
We are talking and laughing
Then I realize
This is that very first road
the one with that big hole.
Did we not notice and walk around it?
Did we float over it?
Is the hole gone?
Will it come back?
So many questions.
All I really know is
I am grateful for
the moments of not worrying about holes
while laughing with a friend.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
—Portia Nelson, "Autobiography in Five Short Chapters"
My own four experiences with holes
written October 5th, 2021
1.
I walk down a road
I fall into a hole
This happens a few times
I stop walking down roads.
2.
I get tired of being stuck in one place
I decide to try again.
I walk down a road
A different road than before
I know holes can happen
I keep my eyes on my feet
Just in case.
3.
I walk down roads
I carefully keep a list
of roads with holes
It is always in my mind
Is this a safe road?
Will it be safe today?
4.
I walk down a road with a friend
I forget to check if it's a safe road
We are talking and laughing
Then I realize
This is that very first road
the one with that big hole.
Did we not notice and walk around it?
Did we float over it?
Is the hole gone?
Will it come back?
So many questions.
All I really know is
I am grateful for
the moments of not worrying about holes
while laughing with a friend.
Published 6th Oct 2021
Author's Note
The outline of the original poem was in the back of my mind. All I remembered was the holes and eventually going around them. I wrote mine and then read the original. The original is pretty wonderful. I love analogies and this one just suited me for some of my experiences with ptsd triggers.
All writing remains the property of the author. Don't use it for any purpose without their permission.
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7th Oct 2021 4:05am
I really like this--it's fun how the hole in the road can be experienced in so many ways, slight, not variations, exactly, but shifts in point of view, refractions, almost.
It reminds me a lot of Wallace Stevens' poem, "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird," which you can read here
https://poets.org/poem/thirteen-ways-looking-blackbird
Enjoyed!
It reminds me a lot of Wallace Stevens' poem, "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird," which you can read here
https://poets.org/poem/thirteen-ways-looking-blackbird
Enjoyed!
9th Oct 2021 9:00am
I like the sequential format; in terms of the triggering mechanism, I am reminded of how counting can have a calming effect on a person.
but also I think it works well for the element of self awareness, or the desire for self awareness, to maintain a system of checks and balances, in order to function as best we can.
and then the honest assessment of one's feelings, pertaining to the effects of things such a genuine friendship, that allow us to depart our normal sphere of existence, along with the mysteries of the unknown that can exist on a spectrum from excitement to anxiety.
This piece raises many existential questions and provokes many thoughts in my mind.
Nicely done.
but also I think it works well for the element of self awareness, or the desire for self awareness, to maintain a system of checks and balances, in order to function as best we can.
and then the honest assessment of one's feelings, pertaining to the effects of things such a genuine friendship, that allow us to depart our normal sphere of existence, along with the mysteries of the unknown that can exist on a spectrum from excitement to anxiety.
This piece raises many existential questions and provokes many thoughts in my mind.
Nicely done.
