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| One of many statues and fountains found in Charleston, SC |
Encouragement
A double edged sword,
is encouragement,
offers comfort,
acknowledges hardship,
both edges razor sharp,
prods with love’s pointed tip.
Honesty is keen,
its hand caring, but firm,
fights for us, with us,
teaches us
to carry burdens
with a smile upon our face.
Oh, sweet is the water
pouring forth
from experienced,
faith-filled hands.
by Margaret Bednar, April 18, 2013
This is linked with today's poetry challenge from Imaginary Garden with Real Toad's - Encouragement. Also linked with Friday Flash 55, (a story in 55 words, no more, no less).
I flubbed the challenge a bit as I wrote about encouragement as opposed to writing encouraging words... so I added the quotes below:
I flubbed the challenge a bit as I wrote about encouragement as opposed to writing encouraging words... so I added the quotes below:
“Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be” Ralph Waldo Emerson.
“If all we ever offer is blanket praise without any meaning behind it, kids will always seek approval because they'll never feel satisfied. If we offer genuine encouragement for their accomplishments, they won't need our approval; they'll approve of themselves.”
“We listened, as all boys in their better moods will listen (ay, and men too for the matter of that), to a man whom we felt to be, with all his heart and soul and strength, striving against whatever was mean and unmanly and unrighteous in our little world. It was not the cold, clear voice of one giving advice and warning from serene heights to those who were struggling and sinning below, but the warm, living voice of one who was fighting for us and by our sides, and calling on us to help him and ourselves and one another.”
From a novel written in 1857 HERE
From a novel written in 1857 HERE
28 comments:
The photos complement your poem so well, and I appreciated the quotes too.
Nicely done!
Hi, Margaret. This is a lovely reminder to keep the faith and try to remain positive... a great message for today.
Wonderful message. I especially love the final stanza.
Margaret, the combination of your photograph and poetry is lovely .. message of hope in a world that feels dark right now ...
'Oh, sweet is the water pouring forth' is my favorite line.
This is a great write. I do think it ends with a wonderful encouraging message of faith.
How lovely to see the image in your photo turned into metaphor in your poem. You opened with a very strong statement and led us through to the thought-provoking conclusion without ever losing that intensity.
the third stanza speaks to me so clearly, well done
You certainly didn't flub the challenge, Margaret, you made it your own.
K
Great photos and encouraging words indeed.
Oh, I always thinking honesty is encouraging, and reading this was an up, not a down. I love the statue photo.
So beautiful in image and verse Margaret. Encouragement is a double edged sword...I love that!
Oh and thank you so much for taking part in the challenge!
Beautiful photographs and the poem really blends with the feeling I get from them. You manage to create so much -- it amazes me when I think of your large family! Good going!
Words of encouragement that are strong and ask us to take on the challenge of bringing peace to ourselves. The photos work well too, especially for the last stanza which is my favourite here.
This was lovely, Margaret. Just beautiful - both words and photo.
fine poem, quotes, photo . . . all in all a great visit to your site. I want that critical encouragement of truth, rare indeed.
That explains her smile.
Alice. Yes. I'm glad you noticed.
This statue, and your rendering of it, is incredible. I had to go back to find her smile after Alice Audrey's comment.
Loved this, Margaret. Truth can hurt, but it's ultimately reality, and the more we live to embrace it, the better our lives will be. This somehow brought the Serenity Prayer to mind. Amy
Important words on life, there. Great write.
I love that statue! And your ending is so nice, really completes the piece. Encouragement can be close to pity, can't it? The double-edge sword.
Pity? Hmm. Empathy perhaps. Pity would be counterproductive I think. Thanks for the kind words, Yvonne
Margaret Bednar...
You Flubbed NOTHING.
Your poetry is like a symphony.
You are like a symphony!
Loved your Antebellum 55
Thank You for your wonderful support, Have a Kick Ass Week-End
great words! nice snaps!
Your poem is a work of art and encouraging, too.
Flash 55 - Visual Vexations
good sense of serenity though the wording is harsh in their description ~ I was drawn to the aged yet ageless statue's message which you conjoined so seamlessly ~ Fondly Debbie
Wonderful what more could be rewarding than an experience and that is a seed enough to move on!
How many times have I said it...and I'll surely say it again...I want to take Astrid to Charleston one of these years!
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