Sunday, February 25, 2007

Shoulder...

Any burden of
my being
should rest with
me alone.
Not add to
other's sighing
when the weight of
their life pulls.
Expect no gifts
or service
be handed
without price.
The life I make,
the path I choose,
is my own sweat
and soul.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love this.

And I can see it from different angles.

boneman said...

Caught a movie and thought of you pretty much through it all.

Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing

Interesting in a lot of ways.

kdzu said...

Uuummmm, very Ayn Rand ish.
Strong
Independent
Much to like here. Great

Grumpyunk said...

You do have a way with words, Jean. You can make people think. Dangerous.

Jean said...

Freddie - thanks, dear. It's all in the eye of the beholder.

Berry - I made a note. Will check it out, thanks. (Please post something!)

Larry - strong, independant... goals for myself. Thank you, sir.

Unk - thinking/dangerous...I like that! Thanks...:)

Scott from Oregon said...

feelingg disagreeable tonight, so I better not delve...

You did make me contemplate a few things though, and tie some mental strings.

Jean said...

Scott - feel free to disagree anytime... you have before, it's ok. Curious to know what this made you contemplate .

Erica said...

That was terrific. I really mean it. Simplicity always works for me, and this definitely struck a chord.

Desert Cat said...

"I'll keep the cash, Bob."

Jean said...

Erica - thanks... I like to keep things concise.

DC - um... I need another clue, here, please.

k said...

Well.

Actually, this time I shall join the rank of the one other disagreer. (Is that a word?)

Which does NOT detract one iota from the beauty of your poem, BTW.

I used to agree completely with the concept behind this one. Now? No. I simply could not continue taking care of myself all by myself. Couldn't be done.

Best thing that ever happened to me. I had to do things like, Ask for help. No choice.

To my surprise, I found this made my choices no less my own, and that my ownership of my own self, control over my own life, remained undiminished.

Now I'm with the Amish in their approach to independence as the by-product of interdependence.

Sharing those burdens isn't necessarily adding to the burdens of others. It can really lighten us to be useful to someone else. To truly help them, even just with a listening ear. It reminds us that no matter how insignificant we feel we've become, we can still matter.

That's not adding to someone's burden. That's giving them a gift.

But boy, do I know about those strings attached. When they are, that is NOT a true gift.

So I look 'em in the mouth all I want. As usual.

Jean said...

k - Again, with your time and thought... received as an honored gift. (as are all my readers' comments)
I hope to get better at asking for and accepting help... and recognizing those with no agenda other than doing something good for someone. Trusting... myself... to know who to trust, and believing that I am worth someone's effort.
Thank you.