If you can understand a broken leg,
you can be married.
Maybe
Some people break a leg and they are lost
to despair
(forever)
some people break a leg
and
slowly start living
learning accepting
and even
eventually (silently) thanking
Legs and life are broken
My wife reminded me we were married
about a year, anniversary near,
when I broke my leg rather badly.
I'd chipped cracked stressed bones before and after
but this was serious and kept me in casts for months
for forever
to almost a new year.
She just now mentioned she had always wanted a cast
I remember times when I was broken
a few people telling me how lucky I was
I was
and that they wanted a cast. I think I thought this odd
but
the years have taught me that a broken leg and cast are life.
Maybe everybody wants a cast but only a few say it
A person who wants a cast may be
the type to want something anything and upon getting it finding it
clingy and needy and to be rid of
So it is with marriage that
those who want it want it as some want a cast
but as soon as the marriage settles down
it becomes an albatross and then worse and so
becomes something to be talked out of,
and for some a goal to be avoided.
And so if you have a broken leg
you may find yourself ensnared and uncomfortable
and demanding the cast be cut off
You may start blaming the cast for your problems
actually saying it caused the leg to break
and that it isn't what it said it was
or you can dwell on the healing and
take care of the cast so that it allows you
to go on with life and get through
those days
until you actually are not even aware of the cast
or even the crutches and you coexist with the plaster the fiberglass
just the way you live with your arm or hand or elbow or heart
To paraphrase
We are all broken,
but the psyche or spirit never really heals.
It is only through the intervention and application
of solid support that we go through life and
reach the end in peace and calm, with wisdom received
along the way.
Some receive a cast and learn patience
some have one cast
some have serial casts
or multiple casts
some opt for removable casts
some suffer in their casts
some have them removed
some opt for surgery or
experiment with rods and hardware
Many are destined to need the cast
the cast of life
the cast for life
But do we all accept the cast?
Not all can accept
I adore someone who has endured a cast for decades
- for most of her life-
who says that being bound and wrapped and weighed down
gives her life
So long as I am the crutches
and the cast wills not to unravel
so may there never be need
for hospital plaster of Paris or fiber
Susan, thank you so much for reading. And your granddaughter...yes, a poem, absolutely! I hope she is fine now. And I think the verse will indeed have great depth...what happens to one does certainly have an effect on so many others. Thanks again.
PART THREE. You know what, I think I will write a poem about her misadventures. Won't be one for deep thinking like yours but maybe it will the basis for an entry into the Guiness Book of records. In the meantime, your poem is full of meaningful questions and observations, good for delving into the nature of life marriage and agony. 10++++++++
PART TWO> Every 18 months she would be taken to the hospital for a new broken bone. Thankfully her injuries were witnessed by.multiple witnesses. It got to the point that a neighbor sees her coming down the sidewalk on a skateboard and says to self- she's going to crash and break something so he whipped out his phone took a picture of the crash and hollered for her father to take her to the hospital.
PART ONE> some have one cast/ some have serial casts / or multiple casts- - - - - What? Have you met my granddaughter? The first time she had a cast was on her arm she broke falling off the bench in a baseball dugout at the age of two. That was merely the start.
beautiful metaphor about life, love and marriage. it is something diffcult that we all can relate to
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
M. J., another great one! You're going from Bukowski to Confucius and somewhere in between. You're really making us think with your style of writing. And that's a good thing! The poem makes me think about Johnny Carson. In addition to his great sense of humour, he was known for some eccentric behavior and dangerous stunts. He was once asked if there was anything he hadn't done. His response: Downhill skiing. Because I don't wanna be in a cast. 2nd Thought: My youngest brother who has always been a jock. The only time that I had ever seen him cry was when he broke his leg and had it in a cast. Reason For Crying: Unbearable itching! And not being able to scratch! Thanks for the memories, M.J.
Thank you so much, Richard. And now you have me thinking back to Johnny Carson....those were the days. And Carson's comment- -avoidance. Yes, marriage, too is avoidance for some people. Sorry to hear about your youngest brother. Tears and frustration, though....that is the sum of marriage for some. In my case, not sure how cycling could be related. And Confucius and Bukowski....I am honoured. Thanks, Richard.
And those memories you mention...Though some of the circumstances may not have been great, I hope the memories are good. Yes, this poem is for your brother, and you, and all who remember what he went through. Your commenst reminded me that the two things I've received most advice about in life have been marriage and the broken leg. If I'm right, most of teh people offering the advice had no direct knowledge of either.
The memories were good, M.J. And you deserved to be honoured. There are a lot of really good poets on this site that deserve to be honoured, but that's a huge undertaking. However, I will strive to do my best to honour them. That being said, you and a few others go that extra mile to support and encourage us. Some of them don't even bother to give us any feedback. How can we possibly evolve without constructive criticism?