acceptance

i don’t have to walk far
to get to perfect
and by this i mean
perfectly imperfect

because the other kind
(impossibly perfect)
exists only on paper
and in the smiles of children

and it is only
in the learning to admire
the imperfections
those tiny bits of life
with scratch and bruise

the rose half eaten
by a japanese beetle

the lines
on your face
that spell

time

the chip
in the polka dot bowl
you bought me

the tan lines
caused
by my
flip flops

the skin i settle into
a little further each year

that i can stand here
hands cupped
trying to hold
the fluidity
of life

and of course
(imperfectly)
it slips through
my fingers

drips

bits of hope
and sadness, tears
you caught with kisses
and a gallon or two
of little girl
giggles

and

i don’t even try
to catch them all

just
the three left
resting in my palm
like shiny
mercurial marbles

washed clean
on the shores
of today

.
.
.
Linking up with the fabulous dVerse poets for Open Link Night, join us!

28 Responses to “acceptance”

  • Michael Says:

    Many a morning I wake after a fitful night, my thoughts tangled, my maps fallen on the floor about my cot. I shake it off, bring my cup, and sit at your table for these few moments, and find my way again.

  • Anna Montgomery Says:

    I’ll take a deluge of that flowing life so that I might catch a smattering of that acceptance. I wasted so much of my youth pursuing the (impossibly perfect) and flogging myself for failing. Your poem is beautiful and vastly reassuring.

  • Louise Says:

    I would agree with Anna…I spent too long trying to be perfect…such a wonderful release when you realise that you don’t need to be, and all the scars & chips make it more beautiful, not less….love this poem 🙂

  • brian miller Says:

    just the three left on my palm like mercurial marbles….love that…my smile was pretty wide then…and the imperfect perfection…i am all about that and enjoying the little imperfections that make life all the more beautiful…

  • Kathryn Dyche Dechairo Says:

    Wow, you have this uncanny ability to move me with your words.

  • Natasha Says:

    Fantastic…I was just cursing those tan-lines this morning too…I think if I could do flip flops 24/7 I’d do a lot better at catching those tears…

  • Joe Hesch Says:

    Oh, Kelly, what a wonderful introsppection and profession on a life well-lived. Great, great images and flow.

    Where do dip tops fit in? 😉
    xo

    ~ j

  • Becky Says:

    This is one of my most favorite of yours. This just truly blew me away. I’m soaking it all in. Wonderful.

  • Claudia Says:

    oh i love this..and i couldn’t agree more…(impossibly perfect)
    exists only on paper
    and in the smiles of children…. awesome…yes..

  • Buddah Moskowitz (@ihatepoetry) Says:

    Wow-wee! Nothing mediocre about this! This had my heart pounding from

    “because the other kind
    (impossibly perfect)
    exists only on paper
    and in the smiles of children”

    Give yourself a big hug and kiss from me! This was splendid!

  • Daydreamertoo Says:

    When we stop trying to be and stop searching for perfection in others and we start seeing the imperfect as lovely in itself, then we reach perfection. This is so lovely. Gentle, vivid, soft, it is everything a great poem should be. I’d almost say “perfect’ but… LOL
    No, it really IS a wonderful write.

  • poemblaze Says:

    Wonderfully expressed!

  • Lisa Says:

    Beautiful poem! Being a lifelong perfectionist & codependent, I can totally relate to the battle for the impossibly perfect. Now recovering, I strive to accept being “perfectly imperfect” & be me rather than try to measure up or compare myself to others. There will always be someone better & someone worse if we are constantly comparing…but no 2 people are the same, so comparisons are obsolete & irrelevant. So why not be the best ME that I can be!!

  • ayala Says:

    Lovely and I have to say to be perfect is overrated..I wrote something as such today..we learn from all our mistakes and struggles and we become wiser.

  • Ruth Says:

    oh, gorgeous poem for today, one of the best – and very important really to get this, that nothing exists that is perfectly perfect – it’s just our minds (& the collective mind) telling us different, telling us we’re flawed and so we continue to long for something that doesn’t exist…

  • Marbles in My Pocket Says:

    This is truly awesome and beautiful, Kelly. A wonderful way to look at life!

  • The Linnet Says:

    Oh my… is it possible that you have yet again blown me away? This is my new favourite of your poems! Adore this particularly:

    ‘the lines
    on your face
    that spell
    time’

    Stunning! 🙂

  • Ginny Brannan Says:

    “…and it is only
    in the learning to admire
    the imperfections
    those tiny bits of life
    with scratch and bruise

    that i can stand here
    hands cupped
    trying to hold
    the fluidity
    of life”

    I love what you have said here and how you have said it. We find the “perfect” in our imperfections. Beautiful!

  • Truedessa Says:

    I enjoyed this one the true beauty of imperfection is often perfection..it’s all in the eyes of the beholder.

  • hedgewitch Says:

    This is such a perfect capture of the imperfect which we are, which life is–and a celebration of both as well. Enjoyed it from first to last words.

  • Debi Says:

    i was here this morning – i know you felt me, you with your cupped hands missing not a thing, but letting go – and i had no words. i am back and still falling silent in the face of your perfect imperfection. god, you are amazing.

  • skyraftwanderer Says:

    That’s pretty great right there.

    Really like the transitions between standard and italic texts, works so well.

    Just great writing.

  • Steve King Says:

    washed clean
    on the shores
    of today…..what a great thought. Every new day is a perfect canvas upon which we can struggle with our perfectly imperfect doings and beings. Nice work.

  • beth Says:

    you so often blow me away with your brilliant words and today you did not disappoint AT ALL !!

  • missing moments Says:

    One of your best Kelly! Truly is the only way to live … free from perfection!

  • Tigerbrite Says:

    This is so lovely and deep. When we reach acceptance we reach contentment.
    Say hello to George for me 🙂

  • zongrik Says:

    i like the contrast between the italic and non-italic, that is the imagery and the emotion

    done for

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