You will tear holes in life, portals
from one self to another, city
to city, country to country.
You will adapt your nostrils
to different scents and smells,
your tongue to sweet and sour.
You will adjust your eyes
to everchanging landscapes,
falling from another sky
to land on concrete or grass,
sometimes on your feet,
sometimes flat on your arse.
You will learn the languages of birds,
hum songs of different bees,
and embrace new species of trees.
Each hole you tear will leave a scar,
crescent moons, comets and stars
tattooed on the skin of your universe.
Kim M. Russell, 24th May 2020
A poem re-written for Poets and Storytellers United Writers’ Pantry
The original poem was a response to Anmol’s Poetics portals prompt for dVerse Poets Pub Poetics last Tuesday. You can find it here.
Maria commented: ‘As I read this poem of adventure and discovery, I thought of putting it in future tense and saying it as a young woman about to face the world’, which prompted me re-write it as a message to my younger self.
We have a choice to fit in or make the world more damaged by our presence. Lets hope we guide our children in the right direction.
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So true, Robin!
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This would be a perfect poem if all you had were the 1st and the last stanzas; but you have all that other stuff in between, which makes it even more perfecter.
My hat’s off, KR. well done!
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Thank you, Ron!😊
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I love the feeling of adventure you’ve developed here. There are definitely consequences for adventuring, as you point out, especially in that last stanza. But I think some cuts and bumps are worth knowing the wonders the world holds, especially that of the birds and bees.
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Thank you, Rommy.
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I love the scars as moon and star tattoos. This is such a foretelling for the soul in the language of soul.
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Thank you, Colleen.
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Love the images, the joy in the discovery regardless of the outcome.
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This is absolutely stunning! I especially love; “Each hole you tear will leave a scar, crescent moons, comets and stars tattooed on the skin of your universe.” Woww!! 😍😍
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This poem is beautiful – and the face in the photograph is so happy and precious it warms my heart.
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Wow! Loved the last verse there.
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I really like everything about this one, starting with the title and ending with the expression in the photo. And I love how the structure of the poem, the listing of what may (or will) come, promises a full life. I love the positive honesty of the voice, how it speaks of scars while reminding the subject to keep in mind that said scars can be the foundation for beautiful things.
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I love your comments, Magaly.❤
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And I love your reading your writing, so we are even! 😀
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🙂
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Beautiful poem Kim … Crescent moon, comet and star tattoos, I want them.
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Thank you, Helen.
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We will adapt and grow. May the tattoos be colorful and representative of victories.
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I hope so, Bev.
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I love this rewritten as a letter to your younger self!
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Thank you, Rosemary!
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i love the format of the poem, and the use of the future tense.
it is a journey one must take, a learning journey, and it is not one without obstacles and heartaches, but one will wear the scars proudly. 🙂
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Thank you! 🙂
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Love the last verse…
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Yes, I so love your ending. I can’t change yesterday, but I can do my best with today (or at least try)
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Thank you, Susie!
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Beautiful! ❤
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Thank you!
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I love this one!
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Thank you, Tiffany!
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“tattooed on the skin of your universe.” – those holes certainly stay with you.
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Yes they do, Joel.
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