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Charles Henderson's Blog

About Charles Henderson
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Never would I have thought I would start
writing at 73 years of age. I have thoroughly enjoyed my voyage into the written spirituality of poetry and thank God for the opportunity.  In my three years here I have met many new and wonderful persons. Having them accept me as a friend has been a moving experience.
               
    

     


 

Most Recent Blog Post


Feedback Wanted
Blog Posted:1/27/2013 1:06:00 PM

 

I just put on a poem for our Debbie G. Some comments brought up raised questions I'd like to throw out for some conversation.

After putting on a poem "my pocket knife". I do see a difference in saying a knife as opposed to saying a pocket knife, but realize that some of the more recent generations would not use that connotation, simply from the stigma of using knives harmfully. There isn't much use for a knife these days. I only use mine for a box opener or to open letters, cut string and the like. Once in a while to remove a thorn or briar more likely. When I grew up every kid had a knife. It usually started with a boy scout knife and went from there.

my knife
with me always --
security blankets

For a minute forget about me. Who and what I am and the fact than you know I'm harmless. When you look at my poem; what do you think? Is this poet a callous person. Is he/she a bully. Are they harmful, agrressive, potentially. Or is it just poetry? it all has to do with generational mind set. Do you see someone on the defensive or someone who is offensive. But, then to answer that, some of the soup psychologists might have opposing opinions. Like the half empty, half full thing. From my generation it is just a statement of accepted fact. A knife is a knife whether a pocket knife or a stiletto. But the way it is used determins the extent of it's implied harmfulness. Now even in my generation to say stillato has evil connotation, to say knife is a little less threatening, and pocket knife is like...so harmless. So, I just want your modern conventions on pocket knife, vs. knife vs. stiletto. How does each one of those words grab you. Are there any differences in your feeling at reading either one individually or picturing it in your mind. By the way a stiletto is made usually spring loaded. It has a button when pressed will allow a long blade to come straight out of the end with considerable force.
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  1. Date: 1/29/2013 12:58:00 PM
    I got my first knife in 1958 and still carry it. never used it for offense or defense. great to open things, cut a Smores stick, remove splinters and hundreds more. You may want to define the knife as 'pocket' or 'pen' but not necessary.

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  1. Date: 1/29/2013 7:33:00 AM
    I prefer "pocket knife." It depicts a different image, a different time, and making it clear leaves no wondering....hugs, Catie :)

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  1. Date: 1/29/2013 4:28:00 AM
    Chas, different generation now, we all had a knife when we were kids....David

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  1. Date: 1/29/2013 12:39:00 AM
    Re Owen's answer. He says that it was straight fisticuffs in his day. that was known i think as straight forward sorting out a problem. People who fight with knives and guns are cowards. Knives are useful tools ,if used as they were intended.... Seren

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  1. Date: 1/28/2013 11:01:00 AM
    Harm being done to someone doesn't come across in this. More of a just in case scenario. I have a.couple in my tackle box; one for cutting bait and the other for filleting... Self defense isn't a sin. Keep your knife with you!

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  1. Date: 1/28/2013 9:28:00 AM
    All the men in my family, (my husband and my sons)...are kind, gentle, and compassionate people, ...but they are handy in every emergency with their trusty pocket knifes. That is the first thought I have upon reading your poem....is that you too, would come to my aid if I had something I couldn't open, unlock, unstick, etc. Every boy I grew up with kept a red handled pocket knife in his jean pocket, until knifes became weapons instead of a great little tool.

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  1. Date: 1/28/2013 5:51:00 AM
    I have a prized swiss army knife I love and take it often on car trips with me, anyone know why some call the small pocket knifes PEN KNIFES?

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    horsman Avatar harry horsman Date: 1/28/2013 6:55:00 AM Block poet from commenting on your poetry

    original manufactured for sharpening the quill for writing,!!!!!!!!! and then went on to sharpen pencils till the pencil sharpener was devised.....
  1. Date: 1/28/2013 3:45:00 AM
    you say it here Charles, "But it is the way it is Used" the knife, is a very useful tool,, but the mind set today creates it own rules..Still it is the hand and the mind that holds the knife,, that is the problem today...

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  1. Date: 1/28/2013 1:45:00 AM
    Hi Cahrles loved the poem guess we are just a different generation, we would never have thought to stab anyone it used to be straigh fisty cuffs when i was young, now the gang mentality rules and with it the use of guns and knives to sadly, all the best Owen

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  1. Date: 1/28/2013 12:59:00 AM
    The last line defines the first two lines.Someone using the knife for safety.Self defence!Re stiletto ..first thing on my mind is a high heeled shoes :)Oops I go for Knife:).

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  1. Date: 1/27/2013 11:14:00 PM
    As they say: "It is in the eye of the beholder." A good poem, as yours is, evokes a reaction (good or bad) from the reader. Most people project their own interpretation on any written piece. Remember the good old days when people went to the library and read books (without pictures)? Those were the days when the the words "pocket knife" would have meant what it said: a harmless tool that most people carried. I had a red one in my handbag. No, not "purse" - that is something where I keep my money. I have a small dagger which could do some serious harm, but I use it to open mail - those that get delivered through the post and not the e-mail kind. In conclusion: The PLURAL is "off" :-)

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  1. Date: 1/27/2013 10:58:00 PM
    The first thing that hit me was the plural in blankets. One knife = blankets? Knife seems to mean singular today which may lead to an association with individualism. To share a knife today is likely to be associated also with individual intent, not necessarily with the action actually carried out. I'm afraid Charles that in today's world your knife is not my knife.

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  1. Date: 1/27/2013 9:31:00 PM
    A knife can be seen as a security blanket. I am 76 and carry one with me all the time. It is no more than 3 inches when opened. THat is all I need.

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  1. Date: 1/27/2013 5:37:00 PM
    I know many people that carry knives (pocket knives). As I raed this each line gave an insight to the writer and my thoughts were at first for your protection and sewcond as a tool, but not to harm someone.

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  1. Date: 1/27/2013 4:47:00 PM
    my dad was a gadget guy & for me this means something completely different. He always had one of those Swiss Army knives, the kind that has a few things like a toothpick, a 90s, I worked at a gift store as a manager & sold Swiss Army knives, all kinds. Some were specifically marketed towards fishermen, like my dad. Others more of a "just in case" type mode. As far as comments go, we all have baggage, "stuff" that others may or may not understand & it acts like a filter through which we read. For some, saying "I could hang myself" is no big deal. Well, for me it is a HUGE deal, as my mother committed suicide this way. Not there fault! But feelings...I see POV where I can, not easy.. Hugs :)

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  1. Date: 1/27/2013 4:24:00 PM
    I should have said, "maybe" insecure. I would find the poem puzzling and would wonder if it were a "he man" type who just liked frolicking in the woods hunting or if it were a young person who felt he needed to defend himself!

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  1. Date: 1/27/2013 4:22:00 PM
    If I were looking at that poem not knowing whatever about the writer, I would not find them callous. quite the opposite, i would see them as someone insecure and who felt they needed a knife to defend themselves against others. Even though I am "older" generation, I would interpret it as a big knife,not a pocket knife. since I never used a pocket knife in my life. that's just me. hope that helps ya.

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  1. Date: 1/27/2013 2:34:00 PM
    As a twenty something year old British ex Girl guide, a pocket-knife (or pen knife as we call them) is a rather useful tool (especially the corkscrew attachment!), a knife is what you cut your dinner with and a stiletto is a shoe mostly seen in Essex. But then I'm all sweet and innocent ;)

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    O. Avatar Ruben O. Date: 1/27/2013 2:40:00 PM Block poet from commenting on your poetry

    Funny!! : )
    Bell Avatar Sharon Bell Date: 1/27/2013 2:36:00 PM Block poet from commenting on your poetry

    In addition, I think any comments on the offensiveness of such a poem says a lot more about the reader than the poet.
  1. Date: 1/27/2013 1:59:00 PM
    Well...Im still in my teens... : ) but I can relate to your story. Although I didnt use it, my older brother had one of those...with a Phillips screwdriver, a can opener, a bottle opener, a wire stripper, a reamer key ring, and even a wood saw!! I'll check your poem (comments) but ...I dont know... I think that "with me always" brings a nice idea... like a partner, a friend. In other words: NO, it doesnt portrays a serial killer.

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My Past Blog Posts

 
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My Poems

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Date PostedPoem TitleFormCategories
5/15/2013Blow Gently Sweet BreezeFree verse (vers libre)life,
5/4/2013In His HandsFree verse (vers libre)devotion,
4/21/2013Our Lost MentorsRhymevisionary,
4/16/2013Coming OutRhymefreedom,life,
4/1/2013I emergeHaikuallegory,
4/1/2013Marching on a Hot DayGrooksoldier,
4/1/2013The More You Learn RiddleGrooklife,
4/1/2013EnlightenmentGrooklost,
4/1/2013LearningGrookeducation,
4/1/2013Feeling Bad for OthersGrookthanksgiving,
4/1/2013Pie Eating ContestGrookfood,
3/31/2013HeavenFree verse (vers libre)heaven,god,god,
3/30/2013he turned to leaveHaikulife,loss,
3/27/2013The White CrossQuatraininspirational,
3/25/2013Free VerseRhymefreedom,spiritual,write,w
3/24/2013summer heatHaikunature,
3/24/2013hidingTankadark,
3/24/2013sittingHaikulife,
3/21/2013the TitanicTankalife,loss,
3/18/2013her cloudHaikulife,
3/15/2013so lonelyHaikulife,
3/15/2013hot and muggyHaikunature,
3/9/2013morning mistHaikunature,
3/9/2013nighttime orchidsHaikunature,
3/6/2013the air chillsHaikulife,
12345678

My Photos


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Fav Poems

12
Poem TitleFormCategories
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FootprintsFree verse (vers libre)inspirational,introspecti
Alabaster NightFree verse (vers libre)nature,sea,seasonsworld,
Forgotten Heroes of the SommeRhymebrother,death,history,lif
A List: I'm the Poet -To CarrieList dedication,
Don't Come Free verse (vers libre)death,lost love,me,
Mona LisaFree verse (vers libre)artme,
Love Beyond the PaleQuatraindevotion,lost love,lovelo
HumanityCoupletlife,peoplechild,lost,chi
HUNTING SEVENSRhymefunny
Frosted Panes - re-postQuatrainchildhoodme,winter,sea,gi
When Madness Rides on Moonlight Sestinaartgod,god,life,
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Missing MotherVersedepression,devotion,mothe
Why He BeamsDiminished Hexaverseimagination,love,
A Gentle DeathSonnetdeath,love,death,death,
KUKU HAIKU FOR YOUHaikulife,
Wet but WiserQuatrainadventure,funny,pets,
FacedownHaikufunny,religion,
CloserFree verse (vers libre)hope,life,love,peace,blue
Love Passing ByRhymelove,love,pride,
12

Fav Poets

PoetCountry 
Debbie Guzzi United States Flag United States Read
Ruben O. Argentina Flag Argentina Read
dakarai cobb United States Flag United States Read
CYNDI MACMILLAN Canada Flag Canada Read
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