The quality of truth

The challenge is to write a poem on the quality of a something (noun, verb, adjective but not ‘sprawl’) using the same format of title: ‘The Quality of…’;

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Truth will set you free

No more hiding behind lies

No more evasion or deviation

You never have to remember what you said because it is the truth

Truth can also make you the enemy

Many find bald-faced truth unacceptable

It can be the cause of a rift between family or friends

But you can’t help but tell the truth if you’re wired that way

Truth is the voice of your soul

It wants to escape from your lips, invited or uninvited

The world may not be ready for full disclosure

But the truth will out in the end, no matter what!

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In response to; dVerse- Quality poem, hosted by Kim

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Tranquil Thursday # 15- Trust

Tranquil Thursday

Have you experienced a betrayal of trust? If so, did it affect your ability to trust again?

I think this is something most people have experienced, to a lesser or greater degree. I felt betrayed when I used to have high expectations of others, including family and friends and they wouldn’t come up to the high standards I held up them to.

At that time I found that it wasn’t easy to trust people like before. But with age and life experience, I’ve toned down my expectations of others and have come to understand that it’s very rare that others would give you the same consideration that they give themselves. So now I do trust people, but never implicitly!

Do you consider yourselves a trustworthy friend? Have you ever betrayed the trust of another even if they never knew? Would others see you as trustworthy?

Like other human beings, I too am fallible. I do try to protect the confidence of others to the best of my abilities, try to be a sincere friend to them, and give them my support when they need me. And I think that my friends see me as trustworthy. If I’ve unwittingly betrayed anyone’s trust, I don’t remember them calling me out on this. But I am a babble mouth and sometimes I do say too much! TMI!

How do you recover and allow yourself to trust and be vulnerable again?

I’d only trust to a certain extent and not more. It’s not smart to be vulnerable to others when they’ve betrayed your trust once. It’s best to keep your inner feelings to yourself or to share them with someone who shares them, like my husband.

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In response to; Tranquil Thursday- Trust, hosted by Maggie

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WQ- Midpoint— What are my goals?

WQ #22: May 31: MIDPOINT/WRITER’S CHOICE/DOUBLE DIP CHALLENGES

Logo by Donna @ Retirement Reflections

It’s not like I did set definite goals for myself this year

I like to be flexible and go with the flow as I age

Promising myself to be better than yesterday is an easy one to pledge

But extremely hard one to achieve as it encompasses a lot

Always striving to do better, to be kinder, to be stronger

Making an effort, always to delete the negatives and enhance the positives

These are my goals for now and till the day I live

And I’ll keep on working on them irrespective of time, date, and year

A commitment given to me by me should be honored

For if I can’t fulfill a promise made to myself, who else deserves it more?

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In response to; WQ- Midpoint/ Writers choice, hosted by Marsha

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#WQ

Finding magic

in pursuit of magic, spray-painted on a pink wall

photo by Karly Santiago

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In pursuit of happiness and magic, we wander here and there, lost to what is really around us.

What is around us is ignored because we think magic and happiness will arrive, announced with loud fanfare, drums, and confetti.

Magic of happiness slowly creeps into our hearts when we leave it open to receiving blessings when we are grateful and mindful of our good fortune.

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In response to Three Line Tales, hosted by Sonya

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#TLT

Honorable- What we strive for?

Logo by Donna @ Retirement Reflections

WQ #21: May 24: HONORABLE

This quote reflects my feelings 100%. I too think that being honorable, kind, and helpful are the goals that we should strive for in life. Living to be the person that others admire and look up to would make not only our lives fulfilling but also make us a person who inspires others.

The road to success is paved with hard work, long hours, honorable intentions, and a humble heart. When you lose your humility, life becomes a steady decline from dreams to nightmares.

Carlos Wallace

Standing up for what’s right

Giving up your time to do the honorable thing

Working hard to achieve humility and kindness

These are the goals worth pursuing in life

Not everyone thinks like we do

No everyone has the same values as we do

We often feel let down, disappointed

When those we trust, betray our trust

Guard against this feeling of betrayal

Cultivate your own values deep within

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In response to; WQ #21: Being Honorable –, hosted by Marsha

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#WQ

Recalling elusive memories

Today, let’s explore memory! Write a haibun that alludes to memory, any way you construe it.

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I’ve written about my late mother in my posts recently. She passed away when I was just two months short of my sixth birthday. In the naivety of a child in the 1960’s I had no idea what death was. When I was told the news I asked my dad, when will she be coming back?

The tragedy of loss at a young age is that you don’t get to mourn that loss at one time. I mourned her at every stage of my growing up. I have vague memories of her dressing up to go out in the evening with my dad, wearing a white sari and silver earrings.

Her image dream like

The figure lit by shadows

Her perfume lingered

~*~

Elusive vision

I wish I remembered her

She slips from my mind

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I hope I’ve done this right. I’ve challenged myself to try different poetic challenges hence this attempt.

In response to; dVerse haibun Monday- Memory, hosted by Frank this week

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Sticking up for yourself

Who would advocate for you, if not you?

Who will take a stand for you, if not you?

Who will stick up for you, if not you?

Stop expecting others to stand up for you

Desist and abandon hope that they’ll be there for you

In this world, we all need to be our own champions

Today, tomorrow, we have to take a a stand for ourselves!

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SoCS

Your prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “stick.” Use it as a noun or a verb; use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

In response to Linda’s SoCS- Stick

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#SoCS

Alone but not lonely

Being alone is different from loneliness 

I am never lonely, because I’m always with myself 

But being alone is a state that I cherish sometimes 

At times, company is good, and family or friends welcomed 

But then too much noise, too much hustle-bustle 

Makes me crave a bit of solitude and a bit of quietude 

Where I can hear myself think

Where my heart, my soul talks to my Creator

If I don’t get my much-desired me-time, I make it for myself 

By sitting alone in the quiet of the night and thinking, deep thoughts!

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I am sharing a poem I wrote a year ago for RXC

In response to dVerse, open link night, hosted by Björn

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Mothers are precious- Happy Mother’s Day

WQ #19: May 10: MOTHER’S DAY/ROYAL PURPLE

Logo by Donna @ Retirement Reflections

Sweet mother

I remember

Your scent vaguely

Your face dimly

Yet in my heart

You’ll always stay

Forever young

Forever present

I am that mother

Always ready to impart wisdom

My daughters are wonderful moms

Yet they listen to my advice with patience

They may follow their own inclinations

But they do recognize that I’ve been a mother longer

Want to share – go to mom

Want to learn- go to mom

Want a hot meal- go to mom

Want a shoulder to cry on- go to mom

Want to have fun- go to mom

Mom is always there to give support

She can be whatever you need at the time

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In response to;WQ #19: How Appropriate is Royal Purple for Mothers?, hosted by Marsha

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#WQ

Beyond The Skyline

My vision extends to the skyline far on the horizon

Miles and miles away, the place where Earth meets the sky

A place where dreams overtake the prosaic reality

Creating high castles and flying horses out of fluffy clouds

Where my imagination can run wild weaving stories

And I can have marvelous adventures captivated

In my daydreams, leaving the mundane life for a while

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In response to Moonwashed Musings Weekly Prompt – Skyline – May 9, 2023, hosted by Eugenia

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