Memories are boats
anchored, idle,
awaiting calm –
quaint ideals
keep them docked,
undermine progress
never intended to harbour
so many secrets –
lack a personal compass
reliable enough
to navigate solo –
a necessary tactic
to release these boats
cluttering my
story’s shoreline.
(Written for dVerse, whose host Lillian challenges us to write a quadrille (44 words) around the theme: harbour. Hats off to the daily prompts from Ragtag Community: quaint, Fandango: personal, and Daily Addictions: solo. Image from personal collection.)
“To navigate solo”…so true, we’re on our own with all of the things that clutter our lives and minds. We are the only ones who can move them along, let them go and be the more content for it. I really enjoyed your Quadrille and your take on the word.
Gayle
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Thanks Gayle.
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Beautiful poem and the photo is a splendid choice to go with your words!
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Thanks Shelley. And thanks for stopping by. I enjoyed your ‘quaint’ post. Nice to meet you here in the blogosphere.
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Memories as boats in this poem is such a striking metaphor! ❤️ Beautifully penned 🙂
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Bless you
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Memories are boats
anchored, idle,
how true – they have nowhere to go or place to be, especially if we can’t share them with anyone anymore
love all the metaphors you link with the harbour and the sea
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Appreciate it!
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I love that metaphor, V.J.: memories as boats and the thought of releasing them is very calming. I especially like the lines:
‘lack a personal compass
reliable enough
to navigate solo’.
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Thanks Kim
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Nice poem. Loved your imagery tied to emotions. Some boats seem to have two or three anchors!
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Oh, isn’t that the truth!
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It would seem they may obscure the horizon for some.
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Yes…seems so to me too.
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memories like boats in a harbor,…when the harbor is cluttered a reevaluation of what to let go…very nice
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Thanks, Dorianna.
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I like this take on the prompt. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks, Maria.
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I love this! Great use of prompt.
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Thanks so much.
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You are welcome.
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Memories as boats is a lovely metaphor; I also liked the idea of clearing the shoreline and letting these memories go. If only it was easier to do so, but perhaps with practice and patience, it can be done. Wise words! 🙂
-HA
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A lesson for life! I love this part best:
to navigate solo –
a necessary tactic
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SMiLes.. Poetry Is
MeMories ReLEase
Haunting Or
Loving
Others
Moving Away..:)
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True! thanks for commenting
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SMiLes.. thank you..:)!
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This is great! Memories do sorta bob about till something stirs ’em up – a strong wind, a gentle probe – some seem to get lost in the huddle of others.
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Thanks, Jazz. Seems mine have been jostled by the recent winds.
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Release those boats for sure–your metaphor is wonderful. My disability has me letting go and giving away things. After the initial shock, I feel liberated, thinner.
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It’s true, isn’t it? The more we let go, the freer we are. Thanks Glenn
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Let loose the Kracken! Let loose the memories! So true about all the old memories cluttering up the horizon.
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Thanks. Ready to sail here.
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Well done! A personal compass … a necessity in today’s turbulent world. Release the memories that eat at us….do not ruminate. The old baggage can indeed clutter our shorelines….I’m reminded me of the title of Senator Ted Kennedy’s memoir, completed shortly before his death. He loved to sail. The name of his memoire was True Compass.
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“True Compass”… yes, that’s what we need. Thanks Lillian.
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I like the idea of clearing your shoreline. All those boats bobbing away to the horizon…
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Some things are meant to be sailed, not idle. Thanks Sarah.
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I like the thought of memories navigating solo… it sounds a lot like constructive dreaming.
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Yes – only we can shift the perspective, heal the rift.
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