This being human is fragile.
Into this uncertain world we arrive
Nestled in mother’s breast to survive
Cradled 'til we can hold our own.
Fragile are the flickering lights blown
Counting the circles ‘round the sun
That we just can’t outrun.
This being human is fragile.
We yearn to be our own
Yet not alone.
Our minds like spiderwebs
Are where dreams dangle by threads
And trust often slips through
For another was untrue.
This being human is fragile,
Like before the glass mirror we stand
Showing our hand.
Words thrown chip and crack.
Actions shatter sending us aback.
A puzzle the pieces lay
To build again, we pray
This being human is fragile,
Yet we pop our own bubbles
And wade through the troubles.
Don our glorious butterfly wings
Breaking through silence to sing.
For like the mayfly we may
Be gone tomorrow... but we’re here today
©Heather ~ Home Study From The Grateful Heart 2021
Kim at dVerse has challenged us to write a metaphor poem that starts with the words ‘This being human is…’
Note: mayfly – is an insect that lives around water. In the adult stage, they only live for about 24 hours.
Photo: I was fortunate enough to catch this shot of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail a few summers ago.
Thanks for reading! Have a great day!
With a grateful heart,
Heather
“our own yet not alone” — yes to that!
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🙂 I’m happy you can relate to it.
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Good job on capturing our fragility
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Thank you, Ron🙂
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Great use of repetition, Heather, and I love the way each stanza can stand on its own as an individual poem, or work together with the others, and especially the imagery in the lines:
‘Our minds like spiderwebs
Are where dreams dangle by threads
And trust often slips through’
and the alliteration to create violent sounds in:
‘Words thrown chip and crack.
Actions shatter sending us aback.’
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Thank you, Kim! I appreciate it 😊
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Such a lovely poem with a great ending!
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Thank you, Ingrid. I’m glad you enjoyed it ☺️.
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Life is fragile like a butterfly if we’re lucky. After all the monarch flies 3000 miles every year, pretty remarkable fragility!!
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They are indeed remarkable! Nature is amazing!💕
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Love this especially; “This being human is fragile. We yearn to be our own Yet not alone.” 💝 Beautifully done.
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Thank you! I appreciate it 😊
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I resonate with the message in your poem. Way to go, home-schooling. Your kids are lucky.
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Thanks Sherry. I hope someday my kids realize that 😉. I’m glad my poem resonated with you!
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Each of your stanzas has a precious gem in it:
1 “Fragile are the flickering lights blown
Counting the circles ‘round the sun”
2″Our minds like spiderwebs
Are where dreams dangle by threads”
3″Words thrown chip and crack.”
4″For like the mayfly we may
Be gone tomorrow… but we’re here today”
The whole thing works so well together.
What perfection is the butterfly photo!
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Thank you so much! I really appreciate your kind words ☺️
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My pleasure. You are very welcome.
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stunning photo and you captured fragility so well but we are resilient like the Monarch and we always climb/fly out
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Thank you, Kate!
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most welcome!
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I found these lines especially evocative of your chosen metaphor
“This being human is fragile,
Yet we pop our own bubbles
And wade through the troubles”
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Yay, thank you for reading!🙂
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Fragile indeed Heather — handle with care?
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You pose an excellent question. Some may choose to do so, while others throw caution
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to the wind. We are so different, yet alike🙂. (I bumped reply before I had finished typing 🤦. Sorry about that.)
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Love the repeated message of fragility.
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Thank you, Zelda. Glad you stopped by 🙂
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You’re welcome 🙂
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