It’s all been said; it’s all been done,
And yet we have to try
To figure out in spite of doubt
The sparks that will not die.
The songs we know have all been sung
And ripple in our ears,
But in our mind we seek to find
The music of our years.
With every thought and every word
Some shadows will creep in,
And every script, already writ,
Must shed its shackled skin,
But in the end we’re born again
And everything is new,
And we will take our words and make
New ripples with them too.
Reowr 
I’m right there with ya on this. I can relate.
Yes, it sure can feel that way. Sigh.
Said and done it’s beautiful.
I’m so glad you think so Barb. 🙂
You’ve captured the hope of persevering.
The last two lines were changed to “And we will take our words and make / New ripples with them too”. Hopefully this makes the message a little stronger. 🙂
“Every script already writ, must shed its shackled skin”: love the imagery in this. Well written (as always!!)
🙂
I wanted more of a cocoon for that one but I loved the sound of “shackled skin”. Words that make me smile tend to get written over the ones that may make more sense. 🙂
‘Shackled skin’ was definitely more hard hitting.. I think no matter what you’d write, it would all make sense 🙂
Excellent poem. I love it =)
Many thanks. So glad you do. 🙂
You said it nicely, even if it smells old, everything is new.
I take things that smell old to the laundry, and then they come out smelling all nice and fresh again. 🙂
I like this one, especially the style, is that a specific form? I don’t know any poetry rules and they all seem designed to take all the fun out of it, but this one I can dance to, so it could be the easy on-ramp to a more disciplined approach. Appreciate any advice you might want to share 😉
Erm, I honestly can’t say if it is or not. It very well might be for all I know. I am learning as I go and teaching others new forms as I learn them in my challenges so that anyone who wants to can try. If you pick the styles that you enjoy reading, writing them should be a more enjoyable process. 🙂
OK then I particularly liked the structure of this one, thanks for the tip.
🙂
In writing, we’re always trying to say things in new ways. I choose to believe that ALL hasn’t been said and done….otherwise we’d all be plagiarists! But, yes, we delight in hearing songs from years past that we haven’t heard for a long time. It’s like hearing it the first time, yet brings back many memories.
I changed the last two lines to convey more accurately what I was trying to say as I think I missed the mark quite badly on this one.
“And we will take our words and make
New ripples with them too.”
I do not agree with the saying either, but sometimes it feels like it is true, especially when I google a phrase I think is wonderfully creative and new and discover that it’s already been done, x100. “I catch your kisses in the rain” came after a mad search for something fresh and original. When using simple phrases like I do, I want there to be some originality in them, but it is not always easy to find. However, I do believe, like you said, that it can be found. 🙂
Alas I think
that I’ll not shrink
My words are mine
and so are new
no matter what I think.
For though I write of battle lore
and though other’s wrote of yore
My words are mine
and so are new
I just leave out the gore.
The idea that all’s been said and done is a myth I think. Each year passes and we discover more and more about the world we live in…our language changes constantly…our standards, ideologies etc. are in constant evolution (0r devolution!) the only thing that never changes is that we’re born, live and die… 😉
I changed my last two lines to better reflect what I meant.
“And we will take our words and make
New ripples with them too.”
I don’t mean the words “it’s all been said and done” in a really literal sense. Some of the impact of the poem would have been lost if I had written: “It can sure feel like all has been said and done”. It is more the feelings of helplessness and frustration behind the words that I was trying to capture than the words themselves. It’s like when an author tries to think of an original title for their book…those words may ring inside their heads as they go through countless alternatives, failing to find something that hasn’t already been used. It doesn’t mean it isn’t doable; of course it is, but it is definitely not always easy. 🙂
Yes, I know what you mean about the helplessness and frustration we commonly feel, and too write you couldn’t have written it any differently, I think I was reacting to that also common idea that’s becoming ever so more frequent of there’s “no such thing as “original” it’s all been said and done”, which in truth was not implied in your poem even before you made this change which clears things even more. 🙂
You and I must be on the same wavelength here. Mind messages. Love it. 🙂 x
Cyber wavelengths travel faster. 😉
That’ll be it. 🙂 x
Beautiful poem! You’re a great writer.
Thank you kindly. I’m so glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
I love the cadence of this poem. And I agree with randomblurting: the lines “Every script, already writ, / Must shed its shackled skin” are absolutely beautiful. They sound lovely to the ear.
Your comment is much appreciated Miranda. It’s good to know I didn’t make a mistake with that line. 🙂
You are such a wonderful poet. This is so touching.
Aw, you are too sweet. I’m so happy you enjoy my writing as I enjoy your work SO MUCH!!! 🙂
Absolutely lovely.
Thank you so kindly. 🙂
I love this poem and do believe that every verse, poem, narrative when written from the heart IS original and enlightening! I delayed writing because I would read something say, from Margaret Atwood and think, Aw, gee, she says what I’m thinking but so much better..that was 18 years ago…now I found such a liberation of the soul to try and with wonderful generous creative souls like you, Cubby, I have grown to enjoy writing on my blogs. One I just escape and one I pound on my chest for things that I believe in. There is room for everyone. And when I look at people much younger than me..they are discovering the world and it’s exciting…they share in their words at their pace. We may have seen some of those journeys but I find it lovely watching and hearing. Takes me back to my youth too and makes me smile:) Namaste, Cheryl-Lynn
Yes, there is indeed room for everyone. Words will always come back to life with every new generation that reads and writes them. Such is my belief. Thank you so much for sharing your lovely thoughts. 🙂
I like the theme,plus I like your poems since their interesting and also very important, I don´t have to scratch my head continuously trying to figure out on other poems what those beautiful words are telling me. Some poets write for themselves, that´s the conclusion I reached. Beautiful words but you have 10 people reading the damn thing and then 10 different opinions about what the hell is the poet writing about. Your´s I can understand and enjoy. Not that I don´t like to scratch my head, but after reading 4 different blogs on poems I don´t want to get migraines.
Anyways, I´m starting to go on for too much, in relationship to your poem I might add to the theme in my own little way ” We must chuck things in this shit life”
Lol yes, hippity hopping and peanut butter poems are very important, in my opinion, not to mention my teddy bear rapping poem. Beautiful words can be like beautiful paintings that, although you may have no idea what they mean, you can appreciate simply by gazing at them. However, I believe there is also beauty in simplicity, and this is the beauty that I strive to portray in my writing. Your addition to the theme sounds like the beginning of a free verse poem. 😉
Hey, I´m a brute diamond, you just have to polish me and I´ll be the next king of poems.
I can believe that. 😉
So true! well said and beautifully expressed!
Thank you so much for your kind words. 🙂
ow beautiful!
Many kind thanks. So glad you think so. 🙂
I LOVE this–so much in fact that I’m re-blogging it!
I am delighted you would like it enough to reblog! Many thanks! 🙂
Reblogged this on A Grateful Man's Poetry and commented:
I LOVE this poem and wanted to share it with you!
Russ
what a great image to end on, the words creating ripples 🙂
Glad you liked it Fi. 🙂
You are often even more musical when you abandon the strict schemes.
Well, since I have only recently started trying out differently styles with strict schemes, I take that as a great compliment. This one, however, is quite strict in its internal rhyme in line C when broken down into 4-line stanzas. It still does offer more flexibility than some other styles though. 🙂
I should’ve paid more attention 🙂 Hopefully that didn’t come across as a backhanded compliment. I just liked these last two especially because they came across as a little more freewheeling. Impressive as usual.
Haha not at all. It came across as voicing of a preference, and we all have our own preferences. 🙂
OMG I really love this and all your writing I’ve seen. Resonates. Especially art about art (and artists).
Aw, thank you so much for your generous comment. Art is only art when it can be appreciated as such. 😉
I love that–“New Ripples”!
Glad you liked that. 🙂
Hey, I read the Bippity Bop poem to my cousin over the phone–she LOVED it!! Said it sounds like the great-grandson I was thinking of.
Aw, that just melts my heart. I am so glad you can share it with your family. 🙂
This poem is a story of my life! You have an amazing gift of writing poems 🙂
Aw, that is so sweet of you to say. Many kind thanks. 🙂
so very true, it’s actually as the world goes about, in one way or another, reinventing, re-expressing, re-articulating one or he other thing.. 🙂
Beautiful… 🙂
You express yourself so well. Loved your comment. So glad you enjoyed this. 🙂
Thanks.. 🙂 I love the concise way you form your poems.. I try, but when it concerns emotions, I tend to stretch it out… 😛
As long as you say what you want to say, length is secondary. 🙂
🙂
It’s amazing how poetry can express volumes of feelings in just a few line. Lovely.
Many thanks. So happy you thought so. 🙂
So true and so beautiful.
I am so happy you thought so. 🙂
you ripple like a quiet lake, after a heavy stone was tossed in! that was just beautiful Cubster!! you are fast becoming my favorite poet!! there are only two others I follow who come close to your creativity!!!!!!! 🙂
You are way too kind. Creativity is everywhere. It just needs to be tapped. 😉
you’re like a keg, my dear!!! 🙂
Reblogged this on SandraBranum's Blog and commented:
We all take what’s been said and reinvent it.