Oh yeah, everyday life can suck badly sometimes! The more valuable it is to have someone at your side who is well balanced and reminds you that getting upset about small things is only waste of time and energy. We can’t change them anyway. Much more important is to focus on the things that are really meaningful to you and that you can have impact on!

I concur with Sappho, and hope everyone has (or finds) someone that keeps them grounded in this way. Awesome write, my friend!

Clay

Sounds like you found that rare individual who grounds you. I have one of those too. The world is getting harder to find center in. Everything feels poised to set us off. Finding that pin-point of calm in all that is a treasure. Beautifully written, my friend

This is a brilliant and honest look at the collaborative process. You perfectly capture the tension and the beauty of it. The line “Turning glass back into sand” is an amazing image for the way things come together.

Collaborations are a dance in a way. Got to read your partner. It’s tricky to get magic but when it works it’s beautiful.

Great ink friend.

I remember you from the ember DU days (daze?) but our paths never crossed. You were always so encouraging and supportive of fellow comrades. That is an art in itself. Keep writing fella.

Great and beautifully written reflections, dear Damian! I agree, the collaboration process is an art itself. Different writing styles collide, and if they are harmonic, the result will read like penned with one ink. When the styles are very different, maybe a piece of abstract art will be created. The diversity of possible collaborations makes them beautiful and interesting!

Even Lennon and McCartney couldn’t get along in the end. Collaborations are famous throughout history. But sometimes ideas go in different directions, ego’s overtake, and animosity takes over. It can be sad, very sad when things fall apart.

Friends drift apart. As you mentioned in your last comment. Also we just change. Many things we don’t enjoy or like from when we were kids or teenagers. Keeping a friend or two from your youth though is important. I feel it’s the bridge to a life that was a simpler, more meaningful time. We grow old, but the kid inside never dies. Great write Damian.

I always find collaborating incredibly intimidating. How to find a balance where both voices carry equal weight? Some styles are more dominating & others more gentle. But I’ve seen jarringly different styles woven beautifully in a single piece. I love the glass back to sand metaphor. Deconstructing to its base element. All comes from the same beach, as it were. The places your pen travels, my friend…

I have been asked many times but even though I am occasionally tempted, I have always tended to shy away .. having said that, I have a great deal of admiration for anyone who chooses to go down that particular poetic and or storytelling route & gets something out of it other than enjoyment or a headache .. I imagine that here you have given this particular reader something to think about long after the curtain has been drawn .. Kindest regards to both you n your pen Damian .. Neville

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hello dearest Benny beautifully written honesty ❤️

This is a great “tribute” write. Accurate with its visuals that it creates
Well written.

Thank you Crimsin and Styxian.

Aptly written, my friend. The poem sitting on the right somehow makes it perfect and even more poignant.

Clay

Hoi hoi
Lured into this write by the artwork
The artwork is nice, but it’s the write that tells it all.
Lovely!
Kind regards, Gus

The formatting of your poem gave me an “aha” moment. Now you’ve spoiled me for the left side of the page! Very impressionable lines throughout, like “a storm of naked syllables”. How I wish I had thought of that one. Do you prefer “Benny” or “Peter”? Let me know!

Well said. I probably know of which women you speak about. All here are valuable in some way.

Do I scare you? Lol. We are all damaged in some way. Some of us try to heal and those efforts may damage others. Everything pours out of me and I write it down. Most if it is “brutal” which is how I described my writing around 2000. Now I use “gritty”. You can empathize or just be thankful for the life you have. Most memories or thoughts can be put down to share.

Excellent piece. I’ve read this poem twice and I can feel your passion & respect for her. Well said.