I'm sorry I didn't read this earlier but I'm glad I got a chance to read it now. It is a beautiful piece with its magical pathway and lovely time defying embrace.

Very nicely done!

Well, I'm with Neva about a separate column for people from the "outside" who have read a poem. I too have lured people to the Hello Poetry site because they have come across my work on FB or Stumble Upon. For me, it has been about leaving a legacy somewhere. A body of work from my heart to the world, hoping that by bringing some Light and love others might go forth and do likewise. It was my little way to try to make the world a better, kinder place. It wasn't about numbers to me - not at all - it was about reach, love and inspiration. But truth to tell, I am weary, weary. I don't think I belong on HP after all and will be removing my work.

I enjoyed the imagery and mood here, John. Wish I could have been there. :-)

Oh, I love this. So sad, so dreamy, so true. So full of real love...

That was fun! I remember the shenanagins my sibs and I used to get up to ... and then go to confession. Our priest had a wonderful sense of humor and we all loved him very much. He might have pulled the above stunt off himself but only because he knew us so well. At the end of confession, he'd give us our (light) penance and then ask us to pray for him. Then say God bless you, (name). He always knew our voices. Gone to glory now - but I give thanks I was privileged to know such a kind, gentle and totally in integrity person. He changed our lives for the better.

I so relate! The best part of any day is coming home, detaching any obligations and responsibilities and tight clothing at the door and heaving a sigh of relief for having "own" time. Sweet "own" time, where nothing and no-one can importune me yet one more time. Time to do, to be only what I want. Familiar spirit - I salute you!

Very nicely done! Inspirational and thought provoking all at once!

Brava! Brava, Cierrah! You have exposed the hidden agenda of mass manipulation through sinister messages delivered by those who have sold their souls for beauty, fame, wealth. This is something so deliberate as to be diabolic. The messages in the songs today are angry, anti-social, defiant, lustful, love-spurning, me-firsting. And most consumers don't even listen to the lyrics - sending them straight to the unconscious mind - that believes everything fed into it. Thus, governing our reactions and actions in life. Visual media is just as bad. Folks should ask ourselves when confronted by glamor and fame, what is this selling me? What conclusion is this giving me? What actions does this lead me to take?" We need to be mindful of how easily we turn into "sheeple" and let someone else make up our minds for us. Not just "Big Brother" but also the "wolves in sheep's clothing."
Everyone should read this!

What a wonderful poem, Neva! I love how the transformation of attitude brings new gifts, new horizons, new and realized goals. This is a healing poem for any of us who get "stuck". Reminding us to re-center and that doing so will bring positive results. Many blessings to you, Beryle

A lovely poem for the element Ether. Will you be doing Fire, Water, Earth? Loved the sensuality of this write, the way the path was followed by touch, breath, wind and finally readers eyes. Nice work!

Truly powerful write! Loved the lines "Beware young poet of your mirrored pen-hand
Reflecting only your own visions"

And the last verse is great advice. For it is true, who else will tell the Truth - if not poets?

Well done!

Oh, I know this feeling. It takes a little while here to find your niche or for them to find you. Don't give up on your work. I will start reading them. I'm sure others will too.

I loved this poem! Excellent imagery, flow and resolution. It reminded me a little
of a saying I like; "We are each of us angels with but one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another." ~Luciano de Crescenzo

A raw, painful write. Terribly honest. I really liked the phrase "as I walk through
sand it turns to glass". I see the burning as you go along. The last verse holds such
sadness. A very moving write.

What a fun write! Such wicked imagery with overtones of laugher. Nicely done!

I really liked and related to this poem. It describes so well how we find ways to exist
even as our dreams and most authenic self dies. I live there from time to time too.
The love of my life gone many, many years ago and with him all my hopes and dreams.
I am now... content... The great opera of my life ended. It is okay - but not alright.

How wonderfully you described it. Did you intent it or was it a freudian slip to write
"hallow" words to distant people. Hallow equals holy and your words are. Perhaps you
meant "hollow" but 'hallow" fits better.

Really, really good write.

I remember events like this on t.v. in my childhood. Even now, it is not unusual
for monks or others to immolate their bodies to make a point. The ultimate
in-your-face protest. I loved your "ashes like burnt out snowflakes" - very origianal
and visual. And the last stanza is brilliant! Well done!

What a wonderful poem. I love the titles given along the way. So different from the
ones Western Society give to women "large with child." You make them royalty,
miracles, worshipful. Well done!

Very Powerful write. I have known a couple of BGM. Men so honorable and hard working you would think the world would break them. Insead they become so hard that when the tears are finally squeezed out as tbough they had been pressure cooked - everyone is afraid. They, those who know them. Until with the release comes a slight softening, a deeper breath. Very well described, Mark. Memorable.

Amazing! Wonderful, Sacred Sexuality written about precisely yet poetically, passionately, worshipfully. As each person is a manifestation of God and Goddess, may we all learn to love so. Blessed be.

Yikes!!! That is one scary write. So many ways to interpret it, child abuse, partner abuse, authority figure abuse. Uncompromising in its pain, courageous in its telling. Educational for those who haven't been through it. Good work!

This poem really touched me. It has an old world feel to it and somehow that seems fitting for the topic. The act of weighing and measuring one's life, of wishes and regret was appropriately heavy - and yet the last line brought relief. Knowledge that he was not alone and that you shared this dark passage. My own father passed away in August 2002. I was not able to be there. Thank you for writing this. It gave me much food for thought.

Amazing. Brutal. A fearfully powerful write.

A very touching portrait of a mysterious woman in an unfolding story.

We, who believe, always have an "invisible means of support". Sometimes in my life, God has spoken through a friend like that, or a phrase I read, or a lyric in a song on the radio. When we ask for help, God sends it. We just need to accept it, as you did in this poem.

Touching poem, it will help more people than you know.

Loved the title! Nice twist on Robert Frost's "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening."

Things have certainly changed since then and you recorded them well.

How very true. Your expression of quiet despair is something I share more and more often. Life is truly hard and with so little joy. Yet, writing does help and helps us find that others feel this too. I appreciate this poem very much.

I laughed 'til I cried. Funny, with a consciousness-raising aftertaste, necessitating deeper considerations.

Good on you!

I liked this. And yet, found it a dream of a memory too. Children are less likely to play outside now and parents even less likely to track them. But in my day - this is a perfect memory of how it was and wish it still was. Children were more free then. And parents more trusting. Summer nights playing under the early stars with friens were magic. You've captured that feeling well. Thanks for posting this.

Beautiful, richly layered poem. The surface love story with the backstory full of grief at what type of world we all live in. The longing for a universal restoration that would allow a perfect love in a much better world. I long for that too and was really moved by this poem. Nicely done!

Oh Tovarich! This made me weep! Our beautiful Little Father and Little Mother -
betrayed. They and their family: daughters Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia and
poor sick son Alexei and the family retainers who loved them all murdered and
buried. The Romanov line cut back to practically nothing. I relive this in your poem.
I see it as it was with the young duchesses holding on to each other in love and
desperation. Did they close their eyes, I wonder. Alexei standing straight as he could
to die like his Czar Father with dignity. Russia lost much more than diamonds that
day. And next, the intellectuals killed to homogonize the "work force". The Russian
Churches closed... I see all this in your poem... I remember and I weep.

The sun of January doesn’t burn
But ardently its crystals shine.

I loved that line. So much is said inside that picture/phrase. This poem is so Russian
in mood, in imagery, in tone. I am 1/4 Russian. I loved the cups of blooming lillies. I
see the room, cups of lillies, cups of tea, the sorceress mask and walking stick (I have
one of those too). Magical poem. I liked it!

Really good rhythm in this! And a lot of great imagery. Well done!

Very sweet, very dear poem. Any woman would melt at the underlying love and passion in this. Good work!

Intense and so personal. And yet, anyone who has been through a break up could identify with this. I really liked the time segments/descriptions. Deeply soulful. Good write!

I liked it - especially the 2nd verse. The nymphs were a surprise and suddenly took the poem to a whole other dimension. The rhythm of the last two lines seemed to me to be a little out of sync with the rest of the poem - but still, I liked it very much.