Complex Ingredients

/ roughwighting

complex ingredients, my life in poetry, ChatGPT

The story of my life is wide and deep

Yet when I write of it, it’s narrow and steep

My past was daughter, student, wife, and mom

Well, now my present includes writing wom(an)

Right now? what explains my life?

Shoes that help me walk out my strife

Keyboard that follows fingers that move so swift

Telling tales from heart to paper, rarely bereft.

https://pixabay.com/photos/heart-sunrise-hands-gesture-3147976/, heart poemPapers are spread from kitchen to den

As I scribble all the love that I can

From cards to notes to stories sublime

My mind is calmed with the words that I bind.

Undeniably I’m connected through cells

Cell phones and cells within me that dwell

Through my progeny – children and grands

Attached by our love, throughout the lands.

My heart is the biggest object to be found

In my being, because forever I’m bound

To my man, who’s been there for me through

All the complex ingredients that life has brewed.

reflections, Great Meadow wild bird refuge, complex ingredients

Summer break over, I begin October with reflections and ingredients. What would you add to YOUR recipe?

78 thoughts on “Complex Ingredients”

  3. Hi. You don’t mention any new kids books on the horizon. I thought of you earlier today. Going through tons of printed recipes that I’ll probably never make to file them by category. I came across the stickdoodles recipe which we have yet to make. I need to bake for an event next Wednesday. Maybe I’ll give them a whirl.. Stay well! Hugs

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  4. We’re all more than the individual ingredients, and so much depends on how they’re prepared and cooked. You are fortunate to have so much, especially the love. I think my ingredients are much the same.

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  7. The ingredients that go into me change from time to time—sometimes simple, sometimes complex. But the things I really need, the things that bind my ingredients together, are family, friends, and the love I feel for them.

    Great post, Pam! xo

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  10. My life is full, my husband helpful, but I lack energy–slugging through another’s manuscript I’m editing.

    Hallelujah, a trip is on the horizon. . . next year. I have hope too, as others say.

    Love the poetry here, and your whimsical mood, Pam.

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    • Thanks, Jacqui. I think it’s a great idea for all of us to think of our “bio” in just a few lines. My students aren’t happy when I give the prompt: “Write about your life in 5 minutes.” They share that after writing, then I say “write about your life in 15 minutes.” Fun to fill in the blanks, so to speak, and to see what was MOST important in the shorter version.

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  14. I’ve had a bad habit of altering every recipe I’ve ever made and I think that holds true for the recipe of my life. Constantly shifting and changing. I always try things according to directions first, then start looking for ways to make something better. I’m not sure what this last alteration will bring but like you, I’m trying to write it all down, cohesively. When I get it done, I’ll alter it too and try to bring out the best flavors. Thanks for writing this today.

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    • Oh, Marlene. What a profound comment. Some of us are rebels and want to change the recipe (of food, of life) and add our own ingredients, or change the ones prescribed. I think that’s a wonderful way to live. I think your creation has been magnificent.

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  15. I love your poetic recipe, Pam! Your life is full and beautiful. I have several ingredients in my present recipe of life: family, gardening, exercising, singing, writing and reading. I don’t add spices to avoid too much stress. My days are full but not overloaded.

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    • You make a really good point here, Miriam. I used to add a lot more spices in my recipe as well, but now I know it needs to be simpler, and that’s okay. In fact, it’s probably a better way to slow down and smell the …. meal (?). 🙂 Mixed metaphors, but oh well.

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    • Hi Hazel. Yes, sitting on a bench (anywhere I find one) seems to be a good way to stop and reflect. The bench in this photo was in front of hundreds of flowering lotus blossoms at a wild bird refuge. Miraculous!

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  18. Some of the best recipes feature complex ingredients, and ultimately creating the finished product requires both patience in preparation…and passion in execution. A lovely poetic peek inside your life’s cookbook, Pam.

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  20. I feel your heart song here, dear Pam:

    Papers are spread from kitchen to den
    As I scribble all the love that I can
    From cards to notes to stories sublime
    My mind is calmed with the words that I bind.

    Beautiful, beautiful! You’re giving me encouragement to pause and consider my recipe…thank you so much!
    xoxox! 💝

    Liked by 1 person

    • No love/joy without pain, for sure. And I should have added dogs to my recipe, although we’ve been without a pet for a decade. (talk about pain!). Our pets (cats/dogs) bring so much to the recipe of our lives. Thanks for sharing.

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      • It’s hard for me to imagine living without cats, but I often tell my husband we can’t get any more. Wendy is about 14-15 years old so we’ll outlive her, but I worry about our youngest, Raji, who is only 6. We’ve actually provided for our cats in our wills, but I have to hope we outlive them.

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  23. This is beautiful and so thoughtful! I would add nurturing, especially for myself. I’ve been giving a great deal for a sick kitty and feeling so exhausted for it. And resolve, as I’ve been driven to distraction in an attempt to cope with all the tragedies in the headlines. There’s so much uncertainty in the world, and it seems more important than ever that we know in our bones exactly who we are. Thanks for sharing your recipe. 🙂

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    • Thank you for your thought-full reply. Nurturing is a great ingredient, and lately I’ve been hearing “self-compassion” as well, which goes along with that. And as far as the chaos in our world, mediation and being kind to others goes a long way in our recipe for life. ❤

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  25. Lovely recipe 🤗 I tend to approach autumn the way others do the new year, reflecting and thinking ahead, making plans and checking in on little goals, that sort of thing – it just feels like the right time without too many distractions ✨

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