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Notes About The Poem

“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” — Leonard Cohen
“Sharp edges may hurt, but they shape us.” - Author
“Rough edges are the places that we can hold on to.” - Author
"There is beauty in the bruises, bliss in the bumps, truth in the grain." - Author
=> Written on 29 July 2025 for the 'J with Four Options Poetry Contest' => Sponsored by: Constance La France

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The Jagged Edges

Natural things are rarely smooth
or flawless as they appear on the surface
      Smooth fur on skin and curve on wing
           are rough and jagged underneath
Push back against the grain shows true texture within
       reveals bristling hairs and quill barbs of feathers
          It's the grit within that shapes us
A pearl is smooth but inside is a seed of grit
We need the bumps knurls and gnarls to grip and hold
Slick things slip through silky wet and wanton fingers
          Most natural things are rough at birth
Stones and gold nuggets are fractured rough at source
They're smoothed by wear and tear of sand rubbing in streams
        Babies are smooth at birth but age roughens them
Humans grind away all day at nature's roughness
seeking perfection in shiny smooth and faultless
      Blissfully they're unaware that
it's the faults flaws texture and roughness within
           that glistens shiny the pearl
It's the bumps and gnarls outside that knurls the grip

angstanxietyenvironmentgrowthmeaningfulfree verse

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