Bred By a Hand Not Raised
A confessional piece and works I am loving. The list is short because I got stuck writing instead of reading. πΉππ½ππ½ Aspen Marie, Tanya Lei, Sara Wilson, Harper Lewis, ππ½ππ½πΉ
I was born with a low IQ, I am a page whose text was worn through. My mind's a palimpsest, a fading script, the vital history that was skipped. I grew up hardened by sorrow's pain, bred and burdened by a hand not raised.
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Every simple word that I trace, I find they rearrange all over the place. A line of sand whose grains blow away in the cold. They drift and scatter, I watch them flee, as if they never knew how to stay free in me. I chase their meaning through a mental haze, lost in the echo of a thousand ways.
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The math and numbers could not cope, they desperately needed some scope. The logic gates swing open, wide and weak, the scaffolding of reason starts to leak. They demanded room to breathe and space to add, but they got lost in the mind I had. They plead for structure, a defining wall, but find a chasm where they only fall.
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The hands of the clock just spin around, one short, one long, without a tick tock sound. My mind comes to a stop, I begin to slow, it only settles at the part that I know.
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"What did you say?" I ask in a gasp, the birds are louder, the meaning won't grasp. It doesn't connect to that, or to this, I hear the whole, but the core I miss.
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I offer my deep apologies for who I am, my efforts feel slow, like a constant jam. Ask me where anything is with your call, the map is a mess, a dizzying sprawl. A thousand lines that lead from here to there, but none are straight, and all are caught in air. I hold the scroll but cannot read the key, I go back to where I fall, the only place I see.
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For not all value lives in speed or skill, a patient heart can find its purpose still. Though quick words vanish, and the logic sleeps, the depth of feeling that my being keeps.
~Caitlin Charlton~
A/N : I used quatrains (four-line stanzas) with a AABB rhyme scheme. Thank you so much for reading β₯οΈπ€ππ½π€
About the Creator
Caitlin Charlton
poetry too close to home
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Comments (35)
Wow! Powerful! Thank you for sharing this.πππ
Circling back to say congrats on getting first in this week's leaderboard, Caitlin!!
These words are like little clusters of jewels. I could read some of the lines again and again. Like βI hear the whole, but the core I miss.β This is so relatable and thanks for sharing. Congratulations on the TS and leaderboard win
Wooohooooo congratulations on your Leaderboard placement! ππππππ
Told you it was good !!!! You will be able to retire soon with all the Top stories you are getting. Well done!!!!!
This was beautiful Caitlin!! It really hit home for me!! Congrats on Top Story!!
This reads beautifully. The language is so evocative. I've read "lost in the echo of a thousand ways" about a thousand times. The flow of the poem is like drifting down a river - very smooth. Really nice work!
This reads like my mind thinks. Beautiful work π₯°
Daahlink Cait - I had to Google 'Palimpsest'...Whew! Kinda hurt my feelings that your favorites are women! I just published "The Look" based on Women's~Wear with input from our Caroline O'Hanlon. You are the furthest from having a 'Low IQ' here...! I instruct, pro bono, 106 students/103 are women that always know more than me. You would totally be top of the curve; You have common sense Caitlin, a rarity of late. btw; I'm here to nag you again: By putting a Copyright between emoji icons implies that you are copyrighting them..! Β - With my respect - jk.in.l.a.
This is very Good
Beautiful prose! well-versed. Thank you for sharing. Also, super relatable. β€οΈ
This is excellent! I luv every word. Congratulations on Top Story!! π₯³π
I hear you! Parts of this were hard to read, and the rest a calming delight! Never apologise for who you are just keep writing because your voice rings loudly and you have more to tell!
Back to say congratulations. You are killing them, Caitlin. Well deserved
Back to say congratulations on your Top Story! ππππππ
Glorious writing! Go CC! πͺπΎπ
I really enjoyed this. So beautiful and true
I love, love, love this, and oddly enough, it merges beautifully with my latest story: "The math and numbers could not cope, they desperately needed some scope. The logic gates swing open, wide and weak, the scaffolding of reason starts to leak. They demanded room to breathe and space to add, but they got lost in the mind I had. They plead for structure, a defining wall, but find a chasm where they only fall." π₯° β€ Congratulations on your top story, Caitlin, and for continuing to highlight writers!π₯³ I find a kindred soul in you.π
This is a truly honest and moving poem. You've found such powerful and creative ways to describe what you feel inside, like your mind being a palimpsest and words as a line of sand.
Caitlin you have excelled again. I want some of whatever it is you are drinking. ππ Great poem after great poem, Words are realistic and relatable and I love the way you have presented it, nit like a normal poem but almost as paragraphs with rhyming elements. Very Clever. ππ
I love who you are, intelligent woman π©Ά
I really enjoyed the beautiful words in this piece, particularly the final part: "For not all value lives in speed or skill, a patient heart can find its purpose still." This is truly a fact! For instance, at the age of 16, Einstein struggled with tying his shoelaces and failed his college entrance exams.
"For not all value lives in speed or skill" particularly poignant.
Wow this really did touch me a lot I felt every ounce of your writing and so relatable as well. Stunning piece thank you for sharing.
What I enjoyed about this the most was it originality. You seemed to do something different with the overall structure and you kind of did your own thing. I like that. That is a sign of true art. Your rhyme scheme is fantastic. You used words that rhyme in a manner that opens your eyes and makes you think, βthat is clever.β All the way around excellent!