Sunday, January 9, 2011

A robin's egg, blue


Born without skin
no protective membrane
no myelin sheath
for exposed nerve endings
any, all stimulation
is surfeit;
becomes withdrawn,
quietness.

A single word
careless, unintended
spoken easily
wounds mortally;
offenses, perceptions
of offenses, overwhelm,
no defense for self or
against self.

Fragility:
hidden, nestled,
nurtured
within a solitude
of shyness;
a robin’s egg heart
chipped easily
broken blue.

For the High Calling’s Random Act of Poetry, the prompt was to write a poem about one of your struggles, but to be gentle with yourself. (Read the entire post for the prompt; the idea is the concept of “gentle leadership.”)

Photograph: Robin’s Nest, Charlotte North Carolina, by Daniel Marquand, via Wikipedia.
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12 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 9, 2011 at 7:15 PM

    Very swell sir, very revealing, very convicting..."a robin's egg heart."

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  2. LauraJanuary 9, 2011 at 7:38 PM

    Glynn, this is so very sweet. And, knowing you, I can't help thinking how a little bird, when he grows...well, he soars.

    And you do too.

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  3. Megan WillomeJanuary 9, 2011 at 7:58 PM

    Yes! "broken blue" makes it!

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  4. S. EtoleJanuary 9, 2011 at 8:46 PM

    The most beautiful of fragile shell ...

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  5. MaureenJanuary 9, 2011 at 9:34 PM

    Such an interesting take on the RAP.

    We all come into the world the same, somehow learn to build a protective shell, a shell we all need. Some are adept at opening it and bringing out the best; others are intent to crack it to pieces.

    My favorite line: "heart / chipped easily / broken blue".

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  6. CherylJanuary 9, 2011 at 10:17 PM

    Hearing a line from that old song, "Don't know much about..." poetry, but I do love that photo and your words here.

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  7. Marcus GoodyearJanuary 10, 2011 at 10:17 AM

    I'm with Maureen. This is such a wonderful variation. You are really starting to get this sideways poetry stuff, Glynn.

    I've never seen a robin's egg, but the idea of one living hatchling next to a broken egg is powerful.

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  8. L.L. BarkatJanuary 10, 2011 at 10:57 AM

    "broken blue"

    I liked that.

    I always loved watching the Robins hatch in Spring when I was a little girl. Out back in the lilac bushes. :)

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  9. AnonymousJanuary 10, 2011 at 11:12 AM

    What a great comparison. Love this, Glynn.

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  10. AmyJanuary 11, 2011 at 8:13 AM

    That created a strong emotional response in me. So much there. I'll be printing this to ponder because it resonates deeply.

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  11. Monica SharmanJanuary 12, 2011 at 1:22 PM

    "A single word
    careless, unintended
    spoken easily
    wounds mortally;"

    Reminds me of the parts in James about the tongue. That always gets me: how it's just one word, but careless, and even unintended, but it wounds mortally. And I have to be extra careful because of that part that's so true: it is very easily spoken.

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  12. UnknownJanuary 12, 2011 at 8:13 PM

    'A single word
    careless, unintended
    spoken easily
    wounds mortally;'

    this hit me.

    i think mis-communication and even the limits of language is one of the greatest effects of the fall...it adds fuel to distrust, and brings to life a thousand other evils...

    i absolutely loved the entire poem. thank you.

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