Sun,
shadow,
light and dark
merge into one,
brighten the forest,
eclipse the dawning morn.
Do you understand these words?
I am a woman; you’re a man.
I am a Christian; you don’t believe
in anything you cannot see or touch
or comprehend in terms of science.
Together we are Everyman
who seeks to taste the meaning
of a life unfolding
in obscurity.
Come with me, then.
taste beauty,
flowers,
joy.
Sun Drenched (Photo credit: Digimist)
Posted for Meeting the Bar at dVerse Poets’ Pub where I have the pleasure of hosting today. The prompt is BALANCE. I’ve written this as an Etheree, a form in which line one has one syllable, line two has two and builds in like manner to ten syllables and then diminishes back to one. The pattern may be repeated as often as you want.
Hope to see you at the Pub! It’s open in just 42 minutes!
Victoria C. Slotto, Author 
We are everyman and are in this together, as your poem points out. I loved the look of your poem, the form, the hope behind the message.
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Either way, both can enjoy the beautiful things in life. The shape works, widening and then narrowing down to one word. It works that sun is on the top too. 🙂 All under the sun, everyman, and to one end, joy. Nice!
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This duality is where we must find ourselves, always aware of the universe that is greater than us, always open to the other who invites us to be one with them. Ultimate answers only await us when the journey ends. Your beautiful words to this reality remind us, your readers, how fragile and human we are and must remain.
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Together we may explore the wonders of the world.
Love the poem and the shape 🙂
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I’m thinking to myself wow … this person has placed balance in every line. Awesome. Then I see who you are. 😉 Your article was truly wonderful, so informative.
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I like the way you show balance here, much more than telling… and the form you use is balanced, in a way coming back to itself, to love and harmony, purity of being. Just beautiful.
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Yes I understand Victoria. The part about the Christian/Everyman balance is core. It’s an interesting form, Etheree.
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Hihi! The light and the dark cannot unite. (✿◠‿◠) And so we must find another perspective upon the relationship if we shall not diminish in war. And as I read your poem, you point out that the Christian has the lead. The Christian indeed has, as the day rules over the night, visualized by the lights of the heaven. The fact is that the Christian looks at the heathen as poor, and the Christian is, by the heathen, admitted the lead.
Nice touch! And funny form on the poem.
▌▲ •A• ▲▐
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Hi Victoria – a few things we can all agree – the beauty of the Earth, flowers; the validity (and universality) of the search for joy. Thanks. k.
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So beautiful! Truly we do need the opposites to create that everyman. I love the way you’ve used shape to help with the idea of balance.
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Yes, there’s so much we share and that unites us. This was a great prompt and I like how you approached it.
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I like that everyman line ~ And nice to see the form as well ~
Thanks for the wonderful post in D’verse ~
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This has everything Victoria – what a talent you have – thanks for a great prompt
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There are always dualities and together there is balance. Your poem gave many examples.
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Yin and yang
man and woman
Christian faith and secularism
faith and science
the world embraces all
as long as they stay balanced
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finally i made it..love the shape and the message of the poem as well victoria…there’s so much we never see and still believe in…
Together we are Everyman
who seeks to taste the meaning
of a life unfolding
in obscurity…. this is awesome
thanks for a wonderful prompt
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Like an egg on its end
a unity of duality
holding hands
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In a way you transcend duality here, simply lovely. Fantastic prompt, I always enjoy when you’re at the helm!
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Thanks so much, Anna. That means a lot, especially coming from you.
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WoW. Love it. Wonderful post.
Peace,
Siggi in Downeast Maine
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I really enjoyed this Victoria and I like the way you conclude with such clarity, your argument that we can co-exist even with differing opinions. We are, after all, human beings first and foremost.
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And we can only taste as it unfolds. A fine poem …
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No better balance than a man and woman… I love this, Victoria. Thanks again!
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Yes, we need dark as much as we need light. We need everything in balance and this is perfect duality. Faith or science, are they really so far apart? I don’t think so, really.
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Like the visual, and love the images. Well done.
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we are everyman…i think on some level we all have belief, just in different things…watched Salmon Fishing in Yemen last night and it addressed this well i thought….i like how you approach balance a few ways…both in form and beliefs…and the leaf shape is cool…we can all appreciate beauty regardless….
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