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White On White

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Midday light unfolds a shawl How strange that it can numb the cold Sun skirts the brow of peak and mound where white on white can blind the eye and seize the moment for awhile Sweat trickles from his forehead, He pauses now, to take a breath He'll hesitate to scar the snow this sterile and pure from earth to sky like fresh washed sheets hung out to dry The dunes above are striped with trails, like distant rails, of twin-lines drawn He'll take a rest, then a last shalom, until, at last, he'll head for home He frowns against the brilliant glare reminded of a Hitchcock tale He's spellbound in the frigid air. A morning haze rescinds to blue The world he knew of silent clues will not respect his fortitude He knows not of its will to take or stake its claim without remorse He pushes off at lightning speed A deep crevice, the deed is done The bliss is gone, the thief has won And what is lost, can't be recalled When last, he's found, ..a bird ascends to sweep the sky, to lift him high High into clouds, and through the sky to where tall mountains must be climbed It's white on white, where sheets are sterile, a life unfurled against the light The light is strong, it blinds the eye The bone, the spine , the pain, the plight He'll live somehow. A chair, he's bound from now until the light is gone.... White on white…the nights live on, ……and life is changed from this day on ______________________________________ Based on a true event 4/9/17 For Charlotte's contest: Open Poetry Contest 2

Copyright © | Year Posted 2017




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Date: 6/17/2017 10:16:00 AM
Hello friend. Its been a while. LORD! This is just vintage you! Excellent, Awesome and a master in this covetous craft of writing. Keep on flowing the ink of your mind. A 7 for sure.
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Carrie Richards
Date: 6/17/2017 10:33:00 AM
Thank you so much, such a great compliment and so appreciated, Funom ;)
Date: 5/24/2017 2:12:00 PM
A beautiful write, Carrie! White is such a wonderful metaphor for so many things and you captured that spendidly! Love, Juli-Michelle
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Date: 5/9/2017 10:03:00 AM
Carrie, I love this write so much ..a winner to me 7+++
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Date: 5/8/2017 5:57:00 PM
OMG, Carrie. What amazing poetry this is. I was reminded of Christopher Reeves when just one small mistake on a horse cost him his acting career and a normal life from then on. You really excelled in this form with this poem! FAVE
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Carrie Richards
Date: 5/8/2017 7:39:00 PM
Thank you, however, it makes me sad to think of the consequences of a such tragic turn of events. Somehow I had to write about it, and I don't know why it helps to reveal how life can change in an instant.
Date: 5/8/2017 5:57:00 PM
Who was it?
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Carrie Richards
Date: 5/8/2017 7:37:00 PM
This recent event happened in January to a friend of my daughter's
Date: 5/3/2017 1:56:00 AM
This poem is magnificent Carrie! I'm reminded of "what price glory". I wish I could write half this great! 7 ; )
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Date: 4/22/2017 7:05:00 AM
Amazing work Carrie. :)
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Date: 4/18/2017 5:35:00 AM
Oh my Carrie , some wonderful stuff going on here, kept it in simple speech throughout but manipulated the words cleverly without over cooking ....truly a great piece that I see Charlotte would have wrung hands over....well done..xxIan
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Date: 4/17/2017 6:03:00 AM
'although chair-bound' altogether, so it would read "he'll live somehow, from now/until the light is gone..." or you could put something like "the spine, the pain, the plight, the chair.../he'll live somehow, from now" trust the reader to fill in the blanks...congrats on your win in my contest with this excellent poem!
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Date: 4/17/2017 5:58:00 AM
carrie, it was with heavy heart i placed this outside the top three...an epic, affecting piece, with a superb opening line...some wonderfully rendered lines; the sheer graft that went into this intricate piece, and a poem of this magnitude deserves further refining...i hope what i say is construed as helpful and not critical: if it were me, i would go through it and see if there are any overstated bits that could be taken out, and in that last stanza i would be tempted to remove
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Date: 4/9/2017 11:16:00 AM
I know that chair well dear poet and the reckless abandon of the spirit that now sits..my oldest son now 40, met that chair at 17 and his life was changed from that day on
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Carrie Richards
Date: 4/9/2017 11:22:00 AM
I'm so very sorry, Frederic, that this hits close to home. We just recently had a 'friend of a friend' meet this same chair-bound world, and it is still such a mountain to climb. We must be grateful for each day we can walk, see or climb :)

Book: Reflection on the Important Things