Tuesday, November 12, 2013

We Cling to the Familiar

     Image: People in Trees by Mikola Gnisyuk vis Baibakov Art Projects

We cling to the familiar,
to what we know,
long after we know
it no longer serves us,
no longer is true.

We cling to the familiar,
because we have done this
for so long,
to pry our fingers away is painful.
Our hands are adhered,
seared to the surface
of the obsolete.
And in tearing them away
we leave
raw, bloody layers
of ourselves 
behind.

We cling to the familiar,
because we do not know
what else to cling to,
and the thought
of empty hands,
of free falling,
with nothing to hold on to
terrifies us.

We cling to the familiar,
because we know it,
because imagining something else,
something new,
is hard,
and we are lazy.
We resist when we can simply cling
to the familiar.

So we do.
We cling to the familiar
long after
it has become
absurd.


This is for the November PAD (Poem a Day).  The image is a prompt from Robert Brewer at Writers Digest.  Click on the link and check it out.


12 comments:

  1. Clingy is no way to be, but yeah everyone does it with something at their sea. If it becomes absurd bury it like a cat turd lol

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  2. So true on so many levels...safety can be a prison too.

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  3. well-observed and framed, Mary ~

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  4. ...ah yes, and we will continue to over and over. Great truth here.

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  5. So many people cling to the familiar for some kind of security. Easier perhaps, but often NOT better. Strong truths in your words.

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  6. Thanks so much for this, Mary...this may give me the courage to stop watching reruns of Three's Company!

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    1. Glad to be of service! That would be a tragic fate.

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  7. Thanks, Mary, it's a thought provoking poem. We tend to cling to the familiar as it more often than not feels safer to do so.

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    1. I'm guilty of that Sharon. You're welcome, and thanks for reading and commenting.

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