February 23, 2006
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I firmly believe that God blesses each and every person with at least one great gift. You ever have a moment or moments where you are doing something you know you can do well, but when your heart and everything is in the place it should be, you can do something really incredible? When you aren’t just doing something that you are good at, but you are really sharing your gift and using it to enrich the life of another person? Some people do it without even realizing it.
Here’s a question: what is your gift? Don’t say you don’t have one; EVERYONE has one, and for some it is a gift that is still waiting to be discovered. I know one of mine is poetry, which I’m sure you all have realized by now. Sometimes I will just “hear” a short line or phrase in my head and when I really focus on the person I want to share a poem with, words flow like water and before I realize it, I have a poem.
I like writing poetry as gifts for the women I know, when it is appropriate. I certainly wouldn’t write a poem, say, for a woman I did not know very well, and I would ask permission of a woman if she were with someone; I know not all men are poets but I do know how envious other men can be when it “appears” that another man is moving in on “their” girl.
So my friend Katie is having her birthday tomorrow, and I thought it would be quite fitting to write her a short poem as a gift. She’s been a wonderful friend and a constant source of joy in my life. Here follows her ode:
Enjoy!
An Ode to Katie on the Occasion of Her Birthday
How could any man recall a world
before that blessed moment when
Aphrodite breathed upon the dust of
this barren land?
Breathed a bare whisper, a zephyr of promise
to the elemental particles to temper them,
shape them, tame them into a vessel
worthy to carry the secret her sweet
tongue bore but a moment before
it kindled the beauty that burns within you?
In some instant, within this life or in some life
past, surely I have pleased the goddess in some
way, for little else can reveal the mystery of this
mercy, the beneficence bestowed upon my
modest eyes, for none could bear the light of
your beauty unless its sharp and cutting quality
were sheathed in the finest flesh the earth could
offer. Oh the hearts such a blade could wound,
and what joy one could find in the suffering!
To bleed praise and admiration upon that which
quickens the beating heart or resurrects that heart which
dried to dust countless years before!
To sing the song of the beauty that restores the
heart in languor to a state of
Rapture…
a state rivaled only by the truth that
such a vision will ne’er be seen again
until long beneath the earth these eyes have lain.
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Comments (8)
Thanks! It’s good to know at least one person does!
I’d have to say I have way too many gifts to share. Besides my knack for journalism, i have been blessed in the creative writing arts as well. I am a loyal friend to those who befriend me, and a snake with one hell of a bite for those who hurt them or me. in many ways, my loyalty to friends is one of the proudest gifts i have at the moment, and one that is going to make moving on from college harder for me.
Speaking of this weekend, a professor just got in contact with me about an event happening over at the UNI-Dome this Saturday they need a writer for, and my name was suggested as one to possibly write it. Since there is a chance it could get in a national publication (WHOO-HOO!) I might take the job, if it doesn’t conflict too much with my schedule. What does this mean, though? If the event starts before noon, it means I’ll be in the area much sooner. If it happens during one of the movies, I’ll join you guys a little late for that one. If it happens afterwards, no problem for you. I can’t pass up the chance to possibly have a story published in a national print entity, even if it is a magazine.
Scratch that. The event’s Sunday morning at 9 a.m. and lasts until 6 p.m., though I’ll mainly be around early Sunday morning for it. So, new plan: What does your Saturday into Sunday look like? Would I be able to stay overnight, so I don’t make two trips to Cedar Falls in the same weekend? Let me know what you think about this. I’ll talk to you later!
My empathy with others I’d say is my greatest gift. When I say I understand, I truely do.
Jake, you should move to Europe and write poetry for tips everyday. LOL… perfect job for you
magniloquent vocab in the hizouse!
my talent is writing
Hmmm…what is my gift? To be simple, I guess. I’ve thought that it was writing, but lately, my music, which I’ve pursued only as a hobby, has begun to creep towards dominating me more and more. Maybe, then that is my gifts.
If you like the Shaker songs that you’re apparently listening to, I reccommend Aaron Copland’s Appalchian Spring–there is an amazing fantasia on “Simple gifts” within that beautiful ballet.
Actually, he’d tied for “palest indian” with steve weimann. That’s just because Patrick and Josh are both quite tan.
I’m bummed, I didn’t get a part in the spring play, “Rumors” but Peck came up to me today and actually told me that she was really really impressed with my readthru and if they other girls weren’t (pretty much all) seniors, I would of gotten a part and next year, I’m pretty much guarenteed roles. THAT MAKES ME SOOOO HAPPY!
Did Matt get a part? I didn’t look. I just looked for my name and Alec’s name on the list.