Cloudthings

Mar 29, 2009 ⭐ View statistics (Premium feature)

Happy Birthday Apple boy

You breathe inside my breathing,

As deep and complete as if you have always known that place.

In your kindness,

Heavens blue release.

In your love,

Infinity,

An open bowl of possible perfection.

In your tenderness,

a fire of dragon breath and passion.

And in your absence,

Only loss and memories made precarious by places trod.

Now I offer love alone,

Floating lonely, untethered, but just as true as ever.

I wish you well,

and celebrate your birth.

Today I can smile.

Thank you for freeing me to free you.

— Cloudthings, Mar 29, 2009

About This Poem

About the Author

Region, Country: Australia, regional Victoria, AUS

Favorite Poets: So many... Rumi, Spike Milligan, Keats. Many of the Neopoet clan, past & present. A myriad of song writers, Dylan, Jackson Browne, Lior, & I must add the poetic influence of painters, sculptors & creators across the world... Life really, especially the sky.

Critiques

Arrow

17 years 2 months ago

Well, I'm a little uncertain as to what this is about

but it pleases the little topologist in me. The idea that different things are, thought about more simply, the same. Circles are squares are triangles and so on in topology and loves of various kinds are, at base, love. Give up a cherished idea and you find the universe expanding- gain through loss. I am rambling on here but it was the mathematical delight of stanzas 3 and 6 that made me think of it. The world can be remarkable with a willingness to "untether." I am not there yet, but am working on it. The first stanza is wonderful.

Cloudthings

17 years 2 months ago

I’m always so glad when you enjoy something I write Arrow

No, and sometimes it is better not to know what the write is really all about if it evokes something in you, it should be enough to leave that for you really maybe. I really don't know. I think you tend to be a little more like that even than I am, obscure imagery & symbolsm, subtle references & lovely hooks into labaryntheen explorations. I wonder have you read any A S Byatt. Her book "Possession" is my absolute favourite, about research academics, studying the work & lives of 2 poets who have more to do with each other than it first apears despite the woman having been outed as being gay (big deal in the 1800's), it is an extraordinary book, I believe you would enjoy it greatly. I'm always so glad when you enjoy something I write Arrow, you are a discerning & refreshingly sharp character, I love your comments & your work (as you know). Thank you for taking whimsical pleasure in my poem, and for taking the time to comment. Cheers Anni "Out beyond the ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about ideas, language, and even the phrase, "each other" doesn't make any sense."

Geezer

17 years 2 months ago

apples

had i read your newie, i wouldn't have had to ask how things went. i hear the hope in your work. offering your heart once more, you are as faithful as ever.[meaning full of faith] that things may turn out as they should. great work, glad to see you are working as well as usual. like that old clock, as long as someone winds it up, it keeps running. keep on getting wound up, gee.

Cloudthings

17 years 2 months ago

to my shock now understand why you thought it was about new love

Wow, I just reread this from your perspective Gee, & now (to my shock) I can completely understand why you might think it was all about a new love (that would be quick work to get that deep so fast!)... Well, I wrote the first part about the last love I had trouble getting over... but wrote it in a lovely fecund & too brief time of our sharing, I was miserable for ages to lose this, but recently I have finally been a ble to make peace with him & my heart about it (after a sudden thing that brought it back like a slap in the face... ouch!)... I've probably just repeated what I wrote early this morning! Anyway, it was his birthday recently so I thought I'd write a second part acknowledging the loss of us as lovers really... but also acknowledging my sentiment that I will probably always love him for what we were or might have been (maybe not in fact I think now), & for who I know him to be at his best, but offering him a sense of how deep it was & how sweet it still might be, despite not being together. There's me saying to Arrow... maybe it's best not to know what it's all about!!! Turned it into another "What I did on my holidays" for you now! Chuckle. Anni "Out beyond the ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about ideas, language, and even the phrase, "each other" doesn't make any sense."

Cloudthings

17 years 2 months ago

Ooops, this is mostly an old poem about letting go with love

Heh, ta Gee, though actually this is more about finally being able to let go of an old wounded connection with love... I spoke to someone on their birthday & we were finally able to heal the thing & let go I think in peace. So it is no reflection on new possibilities... Ah such danger in waering one's heart on the sleeve huh. Don't be perturbed by the mistake, it;'s probably very confusing I expect, the first part of this work was written a long while ago when love was still so deeply & warmly felt... it was a hard one for me to lose this, but I'm glad it is done with care now. Anni "Out beyond the ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about ideas, language, and even the phrase, "each other" doesn't make any sense."

Stella

17 years 2 months ago

Hi Anni,It’s beautiful

Hi Anni, It's beautiful when we are able to get to this place, right, where you love someone for what they are and are able to let go of them and wishing them well. It's wonderfully sad to me because it's one of the hardest things to do. Hit me quite close to the bone. The fact that it was written in two stages only makes sense as it seems to have followed your 'growth' (you know what I mean? ; ) And it's just lovely and appropriate to write this for his birthday. I love the first two lines... deeply felt ~Stella

Cloudthings

17 years 2 months ago

Maybe this is ultimately surrendering to unconditional love?

Hi Stella,yes I'm not surprised you could feel this one, I sense we might respond to love & loss a little similarly, I feel the same of your work mostly. It's a weird thing though, the duality of the loveliness of giving love which is a quiet joy & knowing you will probably not have it reciprocated, certainly not as you had once hoped (or experienced), but as you say & the point of the work lays out, in the end there is liberation giving up the stuggle of accepting the loss, & the tenderness of retaining the sweetness that was drawn from you anyway. In a way, it's one of the hardest things to accomplish (I think), I suppose it is, in the end, unconditional love. Nice to hear from you... I have decided to slow down my posting so I have more time to read from everyone else, I have missed so much lately in trying to keep up with responding to comments. Hope all is well for you Stella, I am looking forward to seeing if you have any newies. Cheers Anni "Out beyond the ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about ideas, language, and even the phrase, "each other" doesn't make any sense."

Stella

17 years 2 months ago

I couldn’t have put it

I couldn't have put it more beautifully myself Anni. It can be such a painful struggle though and unconditional love is such an elusive 'thing' ... Once you get past 'accepting the loss' it becomes a little bit easier I guess... See, I'm not very eloquent today ; ) but I love what your writing means to me, it always hits me on an emotional level. I've been very lazy with my comments as well lately, so much stuff going on, but don't slow down your posting too much, I look forward to reading them! ~Stella

Cloudthings

17 years 2 months ago

Off to see if you have more work before I fall asleep

Stella you are such a gorgeous thing, I get such a sense of depth & richness about you, I feel so honoured that you feel like that about my work, I certainly feel that way about yours, so I guess it makes sense. I am slowly getting around to so many poems I had not noticed in my rush of "spotlights" where I was so busy responding to all the kind & generous feedback. There are pros & cons to anything I think, I am relieved to have a little time to read my beautiful peers, I love it here so much I steal far too much time & have been really exhausted... very naughty really... But it's been a few days since I posted anything & it feels like forever... It's like I have grounded myself from playing, though I haven't of course since I get to read me of what others have posted... I'm rambling with sleep deprivation (which has been pretty consistent since discovering this site!) Off to see if you have more work before I fall asleep (very close!) Cheers good woman. Anni "Out beyond the ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about ideas, language, and even the phrase, "each other" doesn't make any sense."

Craig Norris

17 years 2 months ago

..as true as ever..

I love this for its economy and the delicacy it has, and I agree, there is such abundance in the release of longing and want. Craig

Cloudthings

17 years 2 months ago

Actually, the first part of this poem was originally a text to

Hello stranger, nice to see you here too... you always have a wonderful economy, often in your responses (something I could well "take a leaf" on). Actually, the first part of this had to have economy, I sent it as a text to my love, heh, text seems to require brevity. I'm glad there was something in it you loved... It was a hard one for me to release that longing & want, I don't allow myself to go to that place very often (hardly at all in fact), so to go there & then have to give it up was an awful struggle... but struggle is a story. I am glad to be where I am now in peace, for all concerned... Think I'll always be a little sad though in truth. I hope you are well, you have been so absent I think, good things I hope. Have you been writing? Hope so. Cheers Anni "Out beyond the ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about ideas, language, and even the phrase, "each other" doesn't make any sense."