Today at http://www.ethicalela.com, Britt Decker of Houston, Texas is our host for this fourth day of the February Open Write. You can read her full prompt and the poems of others here as she challenges us to write letters (epistolary poems) to our younger selves.
When anyone with human flesh
gives you advice
look them straight in the eyes
and say ~firmly~
I’ll take it into consideration.
Do not take it as gospel.
Guard yourself.
Do your own research.
They aren’t experts.
Live your own life
not the one they choose for you.
Notice more,
especially the
hands
in photos (it’s the unseen key
that will slap you
~hard in the face~
like a wet whaletail
when you finally see).
Don’t believe a single promise.
Above all,
practice your mother’s discernment.
She knew.
She knew.
Common Threads 
Kim,
Britt gave us an amazing prompt today, didn’t she? I was just finishing up my poem, and here you are giving me more ideas. Love this line: “Live your own life /not the one they choose for you.” I sure needed that advice at 22. It fits so well w/ my poem for today.
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I saw that sweet little Ezra in his costume! Oh, I could grab him up and rock him to sleep! He is precious! Thanks so much – yes, the prompt is phenomenal today.
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You’d have to get him to sit still long enough for that. He’ll sit on my lap and let me read to him, but he’s definitely a mama’s boy.
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Kim, your photograph at the end really illustrates the lines “
will slap you
~hard in the face~
like a wet whaletail”
I felt that slap the first time I read your poem. It’s perfect to show the sudden shock of realization one has when seeing something more clearly, and an often a painful revelation. Your voice is so strong throughout the poem!
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Indeed. Sometimes once you see a thing you can’t unsee it ever again. Thanks for reading!
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I am fascinated by the idea of looking at the hands – I have always found hands to be so amazing to look at; I love noticing what folks are doing with their hands in photos I take … wild, I never thought of how ‘telling’ they were! And this sage line of advice “I’ll take it into consideration.” is universal for every uncomfortable/unsure situation I think …it is polite and detached, not making any promises. This was a wonderful read! Thanks, Kim!
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Kim, there are so many untold stories here. I do like the advice of responding to advice with, “I’ll take it into consideration.” I still need to learn the lesson of that wisdom. I’m seeing that whaletail slap. Wonderful post.
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