A common man marvels at uncommon things. A wise man marvels at the commonplace. CONFUCIUS

Tuesday 23 February 2010

Misery's My Passion

sometimes I fear I've had
my ration of passion
my measure of pleasure
my fill of goodwill
my full amount
of blessings beyond count
my senses cloy
at the very thought of joy

so today I think
i'll just be bloody miserable


With thanks to Rachel for inspiring this poem...

(Posted from A Gudiña, on the Camino Sanabrés, Spain.)

7 comments:

Mister Roy said...

Sterling work, Your Miserableness

Rachel Fox said...

Well the weather might be terrible but it's good for your writing!
x

Grizz………… said...

Oh, no my friend! These all fall under the header of life's mysterious paradoxes…the more passion, pleasure, goodwill, blessings and joy you receive, the more that yet awaits. They're like holes dug in the earth—as you shovel them out, the greater they become.

However, a man can use a bloody miserable day every so often. Wallow in it, enjoy it to the fullest. Make yourself sad, lonely, heartbroken, hopeless. A most ignoble specimen among your fellow humans. Unwanted, rejected, as repulsive as gob of phlegm in your oatmeal.

And when you've milked it for all it's worth, go find a good big glass of the local wine. Perhaps two. Eat. Bathe. Change your socks. Take a nap. And after that, think of all the poor sods in those dingy little offices behind their dingy little desks leading dingy little lives. How may do you think might trade in a heartbeat the chance to lead the gypsy life of small adventure along one of the world's most celebrated pathways?

Then go have a couple more glasses of that local wine…and say a silent prayer of thanks that you can be miserable doing such a wondrous thing.

Dominic Rivron said...

Cold comfort, but if we feel we've had our ration shouldn't we feel liberated? I'm not sure.

What one thinks one will/ought to feel and what one actually feels are, of course, two different things...

Mark said...

Loving the poems.
Keep on keeping on.

Anonymous said...

Ok...now that I'm done silently weeping (tears of laughter!) at my desk!! Grizzled, I nearly yarked my oatmeal! I always sit and read blogs in the early am at my desk, eating..yes oatmeal and traveling afar via wonderful blogs such as Solitary's.

And it's very true you Might Miserableness...YOU are often the moment of sanity in my day, the small piece of the morning I truly look forward to. THIS gray cubicle, it's simply a means to the money to begin my next camino! That's it. So continue on my friend, misery and all, but know that your really not alone out there.

Buen Camino, Karin

The Solitary Walker said...

Thanks for all these responses!

Grizzled, that was quite wonderful. I'm almost tempted to be miserable for another day - just for the sheer pleasure of it -but I know that's not in my nature (even though it's now been chucking it down solidly for 4 days and nights. Much of Spain is on flood alert. The Guadalquivir has burst its banks. A landslide in Ourense. Worst weather in living memory.)

Karin - keep that oatmeal down!