The Jagged Edges

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Constance's J Option Contest ~ July 30, 2025

"Life levels off in importance. Days are no longer jagged peaks to climb; time is a meadow, and we move over it with level steps." ~ Gladys Taber Her life is a page torn from a spiral notebook whose jagged edges are tattered She's bone weary and wears the haggard scowl of a woman whose heart has been badly broken There are jagged lines, wrinkles and creases the kind that ages a beautiful face where once his fingertips had left a gentle touch her skin seems ravaged by sorrow No longer can she peer into a mirror none have been left hanging in her home Into pointed shards they'd been shattered in a moment of hysteria There are no straight-edged lines in lost love for the toll is measured in flesh and the only traces of it left to recall are memories that tussle her mind There's an emotional mountain she must climb jagged edged rocks will impede her way but when she succeeds in reaching the crest from grief she will have been freed

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Sam Kauffman

Date: 7/31/2025 9:47:00 PM

Lin, you have such an amazing gift for weaving poignancy into visual pictures with beautifully crafted metaphors in your eloquent storytelling. Best wishes for the contest. Sending you blessings of joy!

John Hamilton

Date: 7/31/2025 5:48:00 AM

The toll is measured in flesh...that's a great line, so many more in this sad write. Too many people go through heartbreak, only to find themselves in this situation.

Jan Allison

Date: 7/30/2025 4:33:00 PM

excellent quote to go with your poem which sadly many can relate to at some stage of their lives. hugs Jan xx

Lin Lane
Date: 7/30/2025 5:43:00 PM

Sad but indeed true. Thanks a lot, chick.

Connie Pachecho

Date: 7/30/2025 2:03:00 PM

Lin, nice poem. It has me thinking. I can see the woman's caterpillar struggles as she crawls through the jagged edges of life and fate, dodging her predators, where this reflection of nature is harsh, where transformations are not a given. Yet succeeding. And taking wings to her life.

Lin Lane
Date: 7/30/2025 5:42:00 PM

Life can be harsh sometimes. Thanks for your review of my lines, Connie.

Jay Narain

Date: 7/30/2025 11:21:00 AM

The poem balances visual metaphors and emotional depth, capturing the toll of heartbreak and the promise of healing through endurance. Good poem.

Lin Lane
Date: 7/30/2025 5:42:00 PM

at least the 'good poem' is your comment.

John Fleming

Date: 7/30/2025 8:18:00 AM

I like the way you have brought the poem to its conclusion: final victory over great adversity and heartache. Beautifully espoused. :) john

Lin Lane
Date: 7/30/2025 8:33:00 AM

Thank you very much for your thoughts, John. It's a better ending to claim victory over adversity and heartache, but not always possible.