Today the poem was "Capri." He begins with memories of his First Communion and innocent days, and soon enough has this line which drew me right in:
What did you do with your life, what did you do?
I read the rest of the poem, which took up nearly three pages. He writes in short bursts about seeing his country torn apart, about his memories of the rivers of childhood and how sad it is to get attached to things that people will come in and destroy. He finishes with reflecting on his current life, flying in a plane instead of taking a carriage, visiting Capri where everything is beautiful. He had witnessed a great deal in his life, and this poem encapsulates visuals of blue space, green space, rivers flowing, and yes, even underlying the darker moods of this ever-shifting poem. I found it very moving.
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There were many golden lines in this poem to get me started on my own, but I kept coming back to the line above. So, here is what I wrote today.
What did you do with your life, what did you do?
Did you reach into the heart of another and find a place for yourself there?
Did you follow the traditional path and find it wanting?
Did you recall that most of our daily stresses mean nothing in the
long run, that what seems important now is really just dust?
Did you pull yourself back from the brink of despair by
remembering your own divinity?
Did you find a place in nature that gives you all you need?
Did you take that chance, say those words, travel to that place that
most reveals who you are?
What did you do with your life?
What did you do?
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