Ode to my beloved Valencia. (Day 10.)
From acrostic to acoustic.
@d-pend's 100 day's of poetry, Steemit Poetry School Challenge continues.
As the projects gets underway and expands @d-pend is looking for writers, teachers, poets who may be interested in holding a workshop in the discord steemit school.
https://discord.gg/yZvYjfM
Day 10 of 100 I was feeling like I am still a long way off an impossible goal.
Then I read @d-pend's update post today in which he famed it another way.
Already 10 percent complete rather than 90 percent remaining.
He then went on to say -
People are capable of much more than they think they are.
I agree 100%
He reminded me about a lesson I learned myself not long ago.
I've mentioned before, but I want to briefly recap for those who may not know something about my recent past.
I once ran 7 full marathons, in 7 consecutive days across 7 states.
Prior to this I had not competed in a single marathon event. It was hard and a little crazy, but not impossible.
There is only one secret to completing something hard.
You have to want to keep going more than you want to stop.
That's it!
You can do it if you want to.
I was broken by the end of day 2, but I had my reasons for not giving up and I finished.
The last marathon was a big event.
I was last for the first 21kms. The half way point for most people, but for me I was on the home stretch of a 300km week.
The fresh faced people who looked at me at the starting line like I had no business being there, had all given up and started walking.
I was just warming up. As I passed those defeated looking faces I smiled and cheered them on with encouragement.
This was that moment.
I looked completely crazy.
I had to put aside a lot of pain, and I covered it with enthusiasm and determination. I had already dislocated or sprained several joints and sustained suspected stress fractures.
Anything is possible with determination and a good dose of denial wrapped in radical acceptance.
I imagined all the pain doing the work and myself just sitting in pains pocket. When that became difficult I switched, visualised carrying my pain separate to myself, tucked away in my pocket as I floated above it.
I don't actually endorse doing what I did, to me now it is nothing short of self harm and I did a lot of damage to myself. I do wish to use it to demonstrate however, that you can accomplish impossible things if you really want to.
Especially if we support each other and do it together.
Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox now and share my little ode with you.
My Beloved Valencia.
Treasured since the age of nine
To me you were a dream,
To hold you in my arms divine
I marvelled at your sheen.
Together we've seen many moons
We've both seen better days,
You still can hold a decent tune
I will hold you dear always.
Back then you weren't treated so well
You were lucky to endure,
Encased in you my dreams they dwelled
Secret longings kept secure.
Though we were no Martin and Eric
We still had lots of fun,
My minds eye made music mesmeric
Though we shared it with no-one.
You've been restrung and been re-glued
I've needed patching too,
As I strum again with gratitude
Start sparking dreams anew.
Photos of the cheap but treasured 3/4 sized guitar I got for my ninth birthday, and of Eric Clayton's Martin, the most expensive acoustic guitar ever sold.
I love that you named your guitar Valencia. Funny I was just thinking of the city yesterday. I must be on your wavelength. Did I read that right? 7 marathons in 7 days. Wow. That is so impressive. But if is all the same, I'll take 90 poems in a 100 days. I once ran two half marathons in 6 months and my toe nail was purple for a year.
Valencia is the very cheap brand of guitar that my parents bought me, but I do use it as a name in it's own right.
Yes 7. It smashed me. My toes took a long time to recover, the rest of me didn't get over it. I lost most of my toe nails😖. I also took bigger shoes with me. By about day 4 or 5 I couldn't get my regular shoes on. Swollen from injury and fluid shift.
I can imagine.
It is strange when things feel unexplainably connected. I had the words Sea and tempest in my head, I thought it was because I had been talking Shakespeare, maybe it was. I was also watching the local Australian news in which our immigration minister was seceding in perpetuating his image as an unsavoury individual. I wrote my first poem about the mans conduct actually.
Any way as the words repeated in my head I clicked on @blessedben's poem. It contained the words and directly related to the theme of my first poem. Weird. I also found a lovely talented young poet. _The steemit poetry challenge has an air of synergy and synchronicity about it.
https://steemit.com/poetry/@blessedben/day-8-100-days-poetry-challenge-cursed-fate-88e3570fb7d0e
I too think everything is possible if you do the it with dedication, nice post, I enjoyed it
I love your posts. They seamlessly flow like poetry themselves. Combined with daily observations, philosophy, and a touch of a reflective melancholic journalling. Beautiful words.
Hi, lovely poem. I also own a guitar that looks like yours, but a little older. Nice way of personating a guitar. I think I'm gonna write one for mine too.
I got mine in 1986. She is getting on in years :) Though she still has a song or 2 left to sing...
I look forward to hearing your ballade.
Congratulations for being selected as the Day 10 Winner in the Intermediate category along our 100 days of poetry challenge!
This was a wonderful tribute to your friend "Valencia." The narrative intertwined your existence and that of your guitar deftly. Thank you @girlbeforemirror. The preface was also appreciated and helped provide a context in which to appreciate the piece even more.
Wow! Thank you. I have had an exceptionally crap day and was thinking of taking my first skip day. Maybe I will dig something up. Thanks for the timely encouragement. 😊