OR ADVICE TO A YOUNG WOMAN, JUST SETTING OUT
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| Poster for TV movie of Georgia O'Keeffe |
Where, anywhere is it writ for woman to need someone
else to carve out her corner of talent, earth or sky.
Were you not given all you need and more to bind and band
your mind and hand to what you choose; then come
with brave eyes and sure foot to find your answers why.
Your youth was spent with strength, and a well set plan
for culture, travel, knowledge. Your adventuresome
core should not bow to custom or decree. It should defy!
Make well your contracts of love, time. Before you hand
your hours, efforts, brain and sinew to just anyone:
find yourself first, decide what you want, then you can fly.
Know that within yourself, your world is whole;
let the things you know and love define your role.
© Gay Reiser Cannon * 2012 * All Rights Reserved
we all must find our role...i am glad that in the right circumstance man and woman combine you know...its not a need butwhen it goes right i think that it provides a different texture to life...smiles...i think though we should all keep that energy and adventurous attitude and not confine ourselves to the norms of society that grow outdated...nice rhyme scheme in this as well ma'am...smiles...
ReplyDeleteReads like a recipe for how to raise a child well. Know yourself first, find what you love and do it, only then look for relationship. That's when you have something to offer. I like it.
ReplyDeletevery wise words gay..think we def. have to find ourselves and be able to stand independent to be able to embrace the partner or talent or profession, not lean on them to get whole..
ReplyDeleteInspiring and sagacious, this is the kind of encouragement that women rarely receive. I was brought up to believe that taking care of others was more important than anything, there's still a part of me that struggles with this and that sense of wholeness. You cover capacious ground here.
ReplyDeleteI concur..to know yourself, be comfortable with yourself is so important...finding myself without my partner now (through illness of old age), I am so glad I spent time feeling comfortable in my own skin in earlier life...Great write, thanks for this Gay.
ReplyDeleteAn awesome write. So much is said here. Pam
ReplyDeleteA great prescription for a young woman, (and for the rest of us too, I hope). Lines and cadence were just right here, swept us on the final admonition. Very nice work.
ReplyDeleteLove this, Gay! Wish I had this advice setting out (rolls eyes)....haaaa.
ReplyDeleteSo interesting, too your graphic choice of O'Keefe. She accomodating herself to Stiegiltz, so much so...almost to the point of death. She is great to represent these words as one who learned these lessons well.
Wonderful...
-Eva Von Pelt
Make well your contracts of love, time. Before you hand
ReplyDeleteyour hours, efforts, brain and sinew to just anyone:
find yourself first, decide what you want, then you can fly.
I love this--and want to tell this to my daughters--Wonderful write
"Before you hand
ReplyDeleteyour hours, efforts, brain and sinew to just anyone:
find yourself first, decide what you want, then you can fly."...beautiful... it is what I want my daughters to know and yet it is kind of funny, I did the opposite, fell in love and was married at 23 (we met when I was just 18, same age as my eldest), nearly 24 years later we are more in love than ever having grown up together, and more fully into our own.
I guess ya get lucky sometimes.
"find yourself first, decide what you want, then you can fly. Know that within yourself, your world is whole; let the things you know and love define your role." I love this. I've always told myself that I can't properly love & respect somebody else without loving & respecting myself. If you don't mind, I'm going to store some of your wisdom in my mind :)
ReplyDeleteThis is so true, we need to truly know what we want. Before we set out to do must anything. where you when I was younger.
ReplyDeletehttp://leahjlynn.wordpress.com/
i think this could be good advice for both genders... women do tend to sacrifice more, but i have seen men lose themselves for love as well... a good lesson for us all, i think, and a lovely poem.
ReplyDeleteI love it Gay ~ This felt like a letter to my (our) younger self, which I have been contemplating to write one day ~ Thanks for the golden voice ~ I didn't feel the poetic form, the message just leaps ~
ReplyDeletea great homage for all independent women
ReplyDeletespaceship tanka
Look at you letting the rhymes come due, such fun to see and view. Yeah both need to find their place at a steady pace, but the wonder and such should never be lost at any cost.
ReplyDeleteExcellent advice, well said. k.
ReplyDelete"find yourself first, decide what you want, then you can fly."
ReplyDeleteThis is key and important, I think. :) Wise words fit perfectly into a sonnet, and reads very well.
If only my mama had given me this advice...but then I grew up in a time where women were forbidden to think this independently. Love the poem, the advice, and the haiga. What better example than O'Keefe who dared and lived to the hilt with her talent, love, and sexuality. Great write! Thank you :)
ReplyDeleteI sent a link to this page to both of my daughters, this is something every girl should know.
ReplyDeletethat is excellent advice! It takes some of us longer than others to find it, but we must keep trying or we will never fly. Great message! :)
ReplyDeleteLove this Gay, and it's advice that should be taken to heart--we're so easily led astray and allow the trivial to master us, which is far worse than being taken against your will, though the end result is much the same. I love the ending couplet, and the sonnet form is perfect for this message, with its structured call to arms, and celebration of identity.
ReplyDeleteI think this is wonderful advice...and a wonderful poem, too..
ReplyDeleteGreat advice weaved into this wonderful piece. Well done!
ReplyDeleteGreat advice and lovely piece !
ReplyDeletei got here in the end! sorry for my tardiness!...this poem- inspired by Georgia O'Keefe? (who is one of may favourite artists) had such a strong strong voice. I fetl it in the pit of my stomach.Beautiful form- and inpsiring life affirming subject matter- the world is yours- how you choose to define yourself within it is up to you and no one else- no matter how much they tell you otherwise...fantastic...(actually- although this may have a feminist slant- i think there are universal themes here that can apply to all)...great great work
ReplyDeleteI saw and liked this already, but am responding on the basis of Sam's prompt - yes! Though I think you do this all the time - write formal poetry that reads freely. k.
ReplyDeleteGay, you have mixed form and a real message magnificently! This is different from your usual work, but the mark of you is all within it. I think this is wonderful...
ReplyDelete...and considering what messages women have been given throughout history and our personal lives....I think this is solid, fine and truthful advice.
Wonderful when a sonnet form (or any form) comes up off the page and gives advice for a life better lived in creation.
Lady Nyo
"Make well your contracts of love, time. Before you hand
ReplyDeleteyour hours, efforts, brain and sinew to just anyone. . . ."
Neat! I love this central surprise, that our time is the contract, with the hours do efforts, etc. Thank You for the insight.
Write on!
That is truly wonderful and wise advice!
ReplyDeleteA wonderful message, well delivered.
ReplyDelete"Know that within yourself, your world is whole;
ReplyDeletelet the things you know and love define your role"
Very good advice, Gay! You provided the motivator to give as well as she can manage. At the same time she must be very confident and keep her head.That's the way to succeed. Wonderful verse Ma'am!
Hank
Excellent, strong writing!
ReplyDeleteIt starts out strong and and cuts to the punch, nice rhythm and message.
ReplyDeleteI see that I have already commented....but it deserves another read.
ReplyDeleteit's an excellent poem with a timeless message.
Lady Nyo
Nothing here that anyone could disagree with, I would have thought. Compellingly written.
ReplyDeleteSometimes one of us do not really know--examine in depth--ourselves, until all that lives--within and without--has been lived. Having made this self-discovery at very late age, I find each day, and with each breath, that it IS not over until it's over. And even then, it may be not over yet.
ReplyDeleteGay, a wonderful message couched in wonderful poetry you have given us--again!
My life is no longer tethered to other Peeps' whims...actually never was, except I allowed it so. And now, knowing self, I wonder Who is the final lover? Is it a Peep? God? Is it Universe? Is it...well, LOVE itself?
Not asking of myself these questions, I accept the realities and promise of each sunrise. Thus my gratitude for blog-poems like your own, which help others to know themselves first--after that, discover what other gifts are available.
Long time no see, Gay!
Thanks for letting me ramble.
PEACE! to you and yours.
Steve
So marvelous, Gay. As much an original as the person it studies.
ReplyDelete