#FoDiByLi Poetry: Villanelle – Spilled Milk

New Poetry by Scottish Writer DS Coremans #FoDiByLi

Monday 27 September 2021

Cinquain

Things which

happen happen

we can’t control the past;

which can hold us up or flatten

us fast.

2021©DSCoremans

Writing Prompt

Saturday 25 September 2021

Use the pictures and/or this common cliché as inspiration for a poem or story:

“Don’t cry over spilled milk.”

Photo by Anita Jankovic on Unsplash

Senryu – Wicked

The wicked don’t rest

running only from their past

they may never slow.

2021©DSCoremans

Villanelle – Spilled Milk

The bottle landed near the door,
it hit the ground and that was that,
the milk spread out upon the floor.

The milk ran out, I have no more
and now I have to leave the flat
but the bottle landed near the door.

I must complete this cleaning chore;
better to bin the front door mat
where the milk spread out upon the floor.

Seeping into the sole’s of the shoes I wore;
the carpet feels like a wet bath mat,
where the bottle landed near the door.

I grabbed the cleaning cloth and swore
I thought the old rag was a rat;
then cleaned the milk from off the floor

but, before my ego felt too sore
I got some help from my old cat
who licked from the bottle by the door,
and from the milk spread out upon the floor.

2021©DSCoremans

Photo by Thais Do Rio on Unsplash

Triolet – Salvation

Salvation is not given

it is earned like all the rest.

No matter how hard striven

salvation is not given.

if you pray to be forgiven

you will never join the blessed.

Salvation is not given

it is earned like all the rest.

2021©DSCoremans

Author’s Note:

Today’s poems were a response to the Common Cliché Writing Prompt #2 “Don’t cry over spilled milk.”

We are made entirely of memories, of that which came before us. This is the way it is for everyone; unified by this human condition. Many of us try to process the past by dwelling in and upon it to such an extent that we become obsessed, lost, addicted to the repetition of experience that does nothing for us but continue to hold us back.

For some the past is a shadow and spectre from which we ever try to run. Never looking back, and striving forward we run the risk of making the same mistakes again. Never taking the time to learn from that which has come before.

Escaping or obsessing; neither extreme allows us the balance we require to flourish and shine. To live within our own place of power we must accept the lessons of our past and not dwell within them. When we accept all that the past has provided and created within us, whether good or bad, within the present we can move forward into our own places of power having learned from all we have experienced, we are better equipped to move into the future without repeating mistakes that may further hold us back.

I don’t like looking back. I’m always constantly looking forward. I’m not the one to sort of sit and cry over spilt milk. I’m too busy looking for the next cow.

Gordon Ramsay
Photo by Joel Filipe on Unsplash

I enjoyed writing to this prompt as the cliché “don’t cry over spilt milk” still holds within it’s overuse an important lesson. That sometimes mistakes and accidents happen, things go awry and these things can derail our most carefully laid plans. 

Though it doesn’t always seem like it when things do not go to plan we still always have choices. The first and most often accepted is the reactive and impulsive behaviour response to act out and become overwhelmed by the negatives of a situation. Taking the time to reevaluate when things go awry allows us to better respond from a proactive place within us. Rather than dwelling on what did not work, when we process a situation we can learn from the results and try again, or move on. With new knowledge we are better equipped, and knowledge comes from careful evaluation of both the successful and unsuccessful events within our lives.

Never let yourself be derailed by doubt, but do not cast it aside, for it is in our ability to carry our memories and experiences within us that gives us the knowledge we need to succeed.

DSC

27/09/2021


Zanze – In the Past

Leave mistakes made within the past,
as reference text, in history;
preserved, not forgotten or cast
away, leaving just mystery.

Leave mistakes made within
your mind, not to obsess;
to know when you begin
again, you won’t regress.

Leave mistakes made
where they belong;
a choice not made
can still be wrong.

Mistakes
will only last
as long as learning takes.
Leave mistakes made within the past.

2021©DSCoremans

Skye, Scotland (April 2010) ©DSCoremans

Recent Poetry from #FoDiByLi


Happy Writing. Stay Safe. Stay Distracted.

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