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
June 26th, 2012 at 9:11 am
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.
June 26th, 2012 at 9:23 am
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.
June 26th, 2012 at 10:22 am
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 🙂
June 26th, 2012 at 11:04 am
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…
June 26th, 2012 at 11:05 am
Wow, you have this uncanny ability to move me with your words.
June 26th, 2012 at 12:10 pm
[…] http://www.mrsmediocrity.com – Today, 12:10 PM […]
June 26th, 2012 at 12:14 pm
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…
June 26th, 2012 at 12:18 pm
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
June 26th, 2012 at 2:33 pm
This is one of my most favorite of yours. This just truly blew me away. I’m soaking it all in. Wonderful.
June 26th, 2012 at 2:43 pm
oh i love this..and i couldn’t agree more…(impossibly perfect)
exists only on paper
and in the smiles of children…. awesome…yes..
June 26th, 2012 at 3:03 pm
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!
June 26th, 2012 at 3:23 pm
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.
June 26th, 2012 at 3:38 pm
Wonderfully expressed!
June 26th, 2012 at 3:40 pm
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!!
June 26th, 2012 at 4:41 pm
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.
June 26th, 2012 at 4:58 pm
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…
June 26th, 2012 at 5:42 pm
This is truly awesome and beautiful, Kelly. A wonderful way to look at life!
June 26th, 2012 at 6:07 pm
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! 🙂
June 26th, 2012 at 6:16 pm
“…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!
June 26th, 2012 at 7:02 pm
I enjoyed this one the true beauty of imperfection is often perfection..it’s all in the eyes of the beholder.
June 26th, 2012 at 7:17 pm
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.
June 26th, 2012 at 7:25 pm
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.
June 26th, 2012 at 8:13 pm
That’s pretty great right there.
Really like the transitions between standard and italic texts, works so well.
Just great writing.
June 26th, 2012 at 9:39 pm
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.
June 26th, 2012 at 9:41 pm
you so often blow me away with your brilliant words and today you did not disappoint AT ALL !!
June 26th, 2012 at 10:11 pm
One of your best Kelly! Truly is the only way to live … free from perfection!
June 27th, 2012 at 12:56 pm
This is so lovely and deep. When we reach acceptance we reach contentment.
Say hello to George for me 🙂
June 28th, 2012 at 9:29 pm
i like the contrast between the italic and non-italic, that is the imagery and the emotion
done for