• From: Amsterdam
  • Registered: 2007-10-06
  • Posts: 5,249

Topic: Beautiful writing

I came across something that I really wanted to share, but soon realized that there was really no suitable existing topic.

We all come across writing from time to time that makes us think, 'wow, that's beautifully written', or 'wow, he/she has a way with words'. So, this is a topic where we can share these occasional gems. Subject matter is immaterial (obviously, as long as it's not inflammatory).

Please read this offer for starters, I think it's beautiful and worthwhile. Make sure to read the intro first, and the entire piece.

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/01/to … aster.html

RIP Iron Man

Rock On and keep the Faith
  • RickB
  • RickB
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  • From: San Diego
  • Registered: 2009-10-30
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Re: Beautiful writing

Amsterhammer wrote:

I came across something that I really wanted to share, but soon realized that there was really no suitable existing topic.

We all come across writing from time to time that makes us think, 'wow, that's beautifully written', or 'wow, he/she has a way with words'. So, this is a topic where we can share these occasional gems. Subject matter is immaterial (obviously, as long as it's not inflammatory).

Please read this offer for starters, I think it's beautiful and worthwhile. Make sure to read the intro first, and the entire piece.

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/01/to … aster.html

Now that one is going to be hard to top George. The wry sense of humor and irony is priceless.  I'll cast about and see what may float.

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  • Curby
  • Curby
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  • Registered: 2008-12-19
  • Posts: 2,603

Re: Beautiful writing

Thanks for sharing that letter.  I really enjoyed reading such eloquence.

  • From: Norddeutschland
  • Registered: 2008-12-03
  • Posts: 1,458

Re: Beautiful writing

Robin714 wrote:

Excellent!    Can't rob a man of his soul or dignity.

Well the slave owners of that former time certainly tried!

Thanks George. It certainly is a well constructed document in its way. Drawing you in with initial thanks and requests to be reminded to fellow workers and then detailing the comparison of his present life to his former.

The demand for recompense is a masterstroke, cleverly linked to burying the misdeeds of the owners in the past by making restitution as a building block for trust in the future.

The injustice this man has suffered is there for all to read and yet remains understated. Such an educated response and so elegantly put.

A shame this letter is just a footnote to slavery of that time and not a last word on a disgusting reprehensible business. There probably isn't a country in the world that doesn't currently turn a blind eye to modern day slavery on its streets.

Man's desire to exploit his fellow man has never been greater as it is today. Shocking. Truly shocking.

No Hits, No Hype.......................Classic Rock Jan 2012

5 Reply by Shredit (edited by Shredit 2012-02-03 09:09:12)

  • Registered: 2006-12-28
  • Posts: 3,742

Re: Beautiful writing

That is quite amazing, and those words made me feel a deep sadness for the former slave. How in the world did he get that kind of education, not all slaves were so privy to such. When I was 22, I went back to South Carolina with my wife and 2 infants, my father wanted to meet his daughter in-law and grandchildren. My wife never left the house, she was to stay there with his wife and cook and clean for us men all day (I'm not bullsh*****) My father took me to see the old family plantation, it was just a field of grass by this time. The old man was so proud to tell me stories of the days when they owned so many slaves to work the land. I remember telling my wife how sorry I was that father could be so insensitive to her, and how horrible I felt to know that my father felt this immense pride to be a part of american history that I could not relate to.

Shreddy

P.S.....I'm sorry Gdawg, I got caught up in my own story. That gentleman had his freedom to work and write to his own way, very touching. He certainly deserved it after being a slave for decades. I hope this topic doesnt become political George.

  • From: Norddeutschland
  • Registered: 2008-12-03
  • Posts: 1,458

Re: Beautiful writing

Thanks for sharing Shred.

Your fathers attitude is not untypical of men of that generation. I reckon my own mother accepted that lot until about 1970 or so when I was 12 or so. She put her foot down then and things changed.

The old man crumbled like a pack of cards. I guess in a way he was a little diminished by it and thats when people start to revel in 'the good old days' in their memories. They can't adapt.

Perhaps the slave owner in the letter had the same feelings after the war, and was trying to recapture that earlier grandiose life by having all his former chattels around him. Time is a harsh teacher.

No I don't think it needs to get political. We are all grown ups here. History makes us what we are, personal or otherwise. The most important thing about it is that we learn from it............

No Hits, No Hype.......................Classic Rock Jan 2012
  • Registered: 2010-07-13
  • Posts: 596

Re: Beautiful writing

Jane H. wrote:

found this thread looking for something else and was browsing thru the blog. some of the best ones there would be a bit controversial here so i won't link those but here's a good one (although it lacks paragraphs)

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/09/li … river.html

alot of others to read there


Thanks for the link, Jane.  The writing is beautiful and the thoughts expressed are so human and applicable.  I will read others, as I'm always looking for sources of inspired writing.

Sandy

I know a place ....
  • jim m
  • jim m
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  • From: Okie City, OK
  • Registered: 2006-04-24
  • Posts: 3,429

Re: Beautiful writing

Curby wrote:

Thanks for sharing that letter.  I really enjoyed reading such eloquence.

Love the avatar Curby one of my favorite albums.

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  • LynB
  • LynB
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  • From: Poole - UK
  • Registered: 2006-10-02
  • Posts: 1,155

Re: Beautiful writing

Normally poetry doesn't figure in my reading material at all, but a good friend recently sent this poem to me by Irish poet John O'Donohue.  I think it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever read, and I hope it fits in with the topic.  I also offer it to any buddies on the forum who might find some comfort in the words and imagery.

Beannacht / Blessing
by John O'Donohue

On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green,
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.

When the canvas frays
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.

May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.

  • From: Amsterdam
  • Registered: 2007-10-06
  • Posts: 5,249

Re: Beautiful writing

Jane H. wrote:

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/01/yo … egree.html

"...without doubt the most ignorant person now alive on the planet; also without doubt he is an idiot, an idiot of the 33rd degree, and scion of an ancestral procession of idiots stretching back to the Missing Link."

Wonderful find, Jane! I absolutely adore Mark Twain!

RIP Iron Man

Rock On and keep the Faith
  • Registered: 2006-07-11
  • Posts: 1,247

Re: Beautiful writing

LynB wrote:

Normally poetry doesn't figure in my reading material at all, but a good friend recently sent this poem to me by Irish poet John O'Donohue.  I think it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever read, and I hope it fits in with the topic.  I also offer it to any buddies on the forum who might find some comfort in the words and imagery.

Beannacht / Blessing
by John O'Donohue

On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green,
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.

When the canvas frays
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.

May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.

It is a beautiful poem.  Thank you for the comfort smile

"Holy Toledo"  -  Bill King   "Just Win Baby" - Al Davis  "The Autumn Wind" - Steve Sabol

12 Reply by sally12333 (edited by sally12333 2013-03-24 13:09:08)

  • From: Moved to Maryland
  • Registered: 2012-07-13
  • Posts: 1,961

Re: Beautiful writing

Jane, haven't thought of Desiderata in forever.  I had this framed in my dorm room long ago!  Have always loved it.

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