tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594057670762283940.post2089379419461285526..comments2024-03-28T05:16:26.153+00:00Comments on You are witty and pretty! : 'Love after Love' by Derek Walcott Brittahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10688373434576442657noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594057670762283940.post-14490106876183292362014-05-23T09:44:49.733+01:002014-05-23T09:44:49.733+01:00Dear Sapphire,
it is very liberating to become le...Dear Sapphire, <br />it is very liberating to become less dependant on the opinions of others. In some areas I managed that quite well - and to find out, what one really likes and likes to do helps enormously - (a year ago I made a list - it was quite surprising!). <br />The most vulnerable part - still not having overcome that - is appearance. I know that for my age I can be very content with my looks, but when I see in the merciless March sun a few wrinkles (especially on the neck and on the arms...though I do a lot of exercise and weighttraining, and brushing etc), I don't like that. Then again I think: I wonder when will come the day when life becomes really relaxing: no very tight jeans and tee-shirts, comfortable chic shoes instead of heels - life might become a lot easier... :-) Brittahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10688373434576442657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594057670762283940.post-32657856351383202192014-05-22T14:20:25.892+01:002014-05-22T14:20:25.892+01:00Dear Britta,
Thank you so much for this inspiring...Dear Britta,<br /><br />Thank you so much for this inspiring post.I love this poem!! Reading your wonderful interpretation, I realized that fortunately, I worry less what others think as I get older. When I was much younger, I often worried about the opinions of others. I don't know if I can have an empty mirror myself sometime in the future, but now I find myself enjoying more doing what I really like. I might be more liberated than before. I have never read "The Empty Mirror" by Janwillem van de Wetering. I'd love to read the book!! <br />Britta, to be honest with you, I don't like looking at my wrinkles in the mirror........☆sapphirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13444996989089740303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594057670762283940.post-52207556994571927422014-05-18T06:19:41.102+01:002014-05-18T06:19:41.102+01:00Dear Honoria,
you express so deeply what I feel a...Dear Honoria, <br />you express so deeply what I feel about this special poem. A good text addresses people in very different situations in life - and I share your view fully seeing it from a position that is - for me - surprising: no bad conscience to think of oneself, more independence and yet being able to love fully. I wrote this poem into my diary - but the mirror is a convincing place too! Brittahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10688373434576442657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594057670762283940.post-47320336364304255422014-05-18T06:13:46.302+01:002014-05-18T06:13:46.302+01:00Dear Susan,
thank you! I always think that it wou...Dear Susan, <br />thank you! I always think that it would be so lovely if we could meet. But virtual meetings are a step in the right direction! Brittahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10688373434576442657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594057670762283940.post-61490679529080219302014-05-17T18:19:44.515+01:002014-05-17T18:19:44.515+01:00For this post, I had to read all the comments too,...For this post, I had to read all the comments too, as I knew they'd be insightful, and I am not disappointed.<br />This poem certainly caught me and from the first line spoke directly to me - what a gift the poet has. I am going to look at it from my particular time of life - a time that has been long in coming, when after looking after others I am indulging in self-care, remembering the things I like - the things that feed me - and fully enjoying the indulgence. It's not that I have suffered from an ignorance or total neglect of self - just that neglect that comes from long years of finding a way to be through motherhood, career and all the other demands. <br />Printing this out to stick on my mirror. Pondsidehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02407539138546412482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594057670762283940.post-61131970089981732452014-05-16T20:15:52.146+01:002014-05-16T20:15:52.146+01:00We may live on opposite sides of the world, but we...We may live on opposite sides of the world, but we see that poem through the same eyes. You, however, expressed that interpretation beautifully. Thank you. It's a truly lovely poem.Susan Flett Swiderskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09425315552148200073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594057670762283940.post-13694603534437643882014-05-08T09:46:27.110+01:002014-05-08T09:46:27.110+01:00Dear Rosemary,
that is so fascinating that everyb...Dear Rosemary, <br />that is so fascinating that everybody transports another meaning to a good poem - we all look through our own experiences, and thus put emphasis on different parts. I think also that this is why sometimes a single line in a poem can bring a sudden insight, enlightenment - reaching another layer of the heart, not only the intellect. Brittahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10688373434576442657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594057670762283940.post-62609377063188128472014-05-08T09:42:25.661+01:002014-05-08T09:42:25.661+01:00Dear Susan,
I often think that you and I are symp...Dear Susan, <br />I often think that you and I are sympatico (is this the right word?) in many ways. As to aging: everything has at least two sides - the joy to become more independent and grateful is hopefully greater than the (few) wrinkles :-) . Brittahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10688373434576442657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594057670762283940.post-60482352933578269222014-05-08T09:29:23.487+01:002014-05-08T09:29:23.487+01:00Lieber Geo.,
wie schön, dass ich dir einmal in me...Lieber Geo., <br />wie schön, dass ich dir einmal in meiner Sprache antworten kann! <br />You are very well in German - to write like that after 2 years: wow. (High school notes seem to express nothing). You are so skilfull in your own language too: I see that in your own poems. <br />Yes - Holy Communion, - but that is the fascination of a good poem: it is open to so many interpretations. As a woman - brainwashed by very romantic love ideals - I might be more afflicted by putting my own self second place (though many persons would laugh out loud at that because everyone calls me very strong-willed); but I think the way most women always reflect: 'how does it bear on another person what I do' is stronger than in most men - whom I envy that part. I am not meaning that men are more callous, definitely not - but most of them have more self-esteem. Brittahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10688373434576442657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594057670762283940.post-18115711823749403892014-05-08T09:15:00.816+01:002014-05-08T09:15:00.816+01:00Dear Joanne,
your words are very wise. Of course ...Dear Joanne, <br />your words are very wise. Of course it is nice to get moral support and approbation, (and I still want to much of that), but to learn that the world isn't shattered easily by a fault of mine is liberating - and that one isn't so important as one always thought is a step into the direction of the Empty Mirror. (Janwillem, a Dutch author, who wrote stunning and a-typical detective novels, lived the last years of his life in Maine - he was a very intelligent&wise man.) Brittahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10688373434576442657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594057670762283940.post-42841704344647499862014-05-08T09:10:13.200+01:002014-05-08T09:10:13.200+01:00The poem is beautiful with many layers and much de...The poem is beautiful with many layers and much depth to it. It seems to be a poem that can apply to every reader at some level.Rosemaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03814070177137076757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594057670762283940.post-54664089660117461042014-05-08T09:08:01.643+01:002014-05-08T09:08:01.643+01:00Dear Suze,
thank you for that lovely and so eleva...Dear Suze, <br />thank you for that lovely and so elevating comment - blush, blush. <br />I can understand your hunger for 'something hot and filling' - I love fruit and vegetables, but sometimes something savoury is great too and must be. <br />I am so happy about the progress in publishing your book! Brittahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10688373434576442657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594057670762283940.post-60439830769852448272014-05-08T05:15:34.652+01:002014-05-08T05:15:34.652+01:00Britta...what a wonderful poem! Your thoughts mirr...Britta...what a wonderful poem! Your thoughts mirror mine in its meaning. Since retiring, I think I have learned a bit about "feasting" on my life. As each day unfolds, I discover more "life truths." Aging isn't a bad thing...if I just wasn't surprised each morning by what body part is out of sorts! Many thanks for sharing! Susan ~ Southern Fascinationshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00142703709659442785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594057670762283940.post-5784585381140270522014-05-08T01:52:53.087+01:002014-05-08T01:52:53.087+01:00"Gib Wein. Gib Brot" --- eine Gemeinscha..."Gib Wein. Gib Brot" --- eine Gemeinschaft, ein Sakrament. Das sind Zeremonien, führen wir in der Hoffnung, selbstlose Liebe. Ein schönes Gedicht! [I took 2 years of German in high school and got poor grades, still don't know where the verbs go!] Geo.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16221314320558128986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594057670762283940.post-9461730487289457382014-05-07T20:58:21.584+01:002014-05-07T20:58:21.584+01:00It is wise, as well as good, to have lived enough ...It is wise, as well as good, to have lived enough to have moved past the need for moral support and approbation, to look at the residue of one's life and know this is what I made of it and what I have I should enjoy. The image of the empty mirror is perfectly haunting. Joanne Noragonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09834682329952369721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594057670762283940.post-60951051100680497562014-05-07T18:04:04.937+01:002014-05-07T18:04:04.937+01:00My dearest, esteemed Britta--my eyes are swimming ...My dearest, esteemed Britta--my eyes are swimming with tears and my heart is bursting at your elegantly-expressed wisdom. Thank you so much for this.<br /><br />I have been juice cleansing and eating all of these vegetables to clean house in the last month and this morning I felt hungry for something hot and filling. This post is just reaching deep into the crevices of my heart.<br /><br />Much love.Suzehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07908805179119217608noreply@blogger.com