its not the weight but how you carry it
loaded onto your back
like a pack mule
or ahead of you
wheel barrowing down the lane
no
it’s more how you think and feel
and digest
all manner of thoughts and feelings
how your tongue feels
as you voice
those longings and fears
or maybe how your lips part
when you sing
a love song
or maybe it’s just that everything we think is heavy
is just as light as a feather
it’s all in how you carry it
rising balloons tied to a string
or tied to your heart
maybe you are light hearted
and drawn to whimsy and mirth
or maybe glum and in need of a digestif
or a good hearty pat on the back
maybe you are light on your feet
dancing up a storm
or a jig or a pas de deux
balancing between sky and earth
its all a balancing act, you know
we are not merely players on a stage
but acrobats
and clowns
following the gypsy caravan
with all our worldly goods
tucked into our backpacks
or pushed along in our barrows
light hearted
or not
its all in how you carry it
thecourseofourseasons
Observations from the Garden
thecourseofourseasons 
so wonderful, Kathleen and so relatable 🙂
A palpable truth in the title and first line and a wonderful poetic examination following on. A beautifully controlled piece, humorous and wise.
This is a true piece and well done.
It truly is. If all you think about is the weight then there is nothing but weight. Or distance, distance. But if you look around you might not notice you are carrying anything at all!
Acrobats and clowns–that about sums up how it feels much of the time. Excellent writing, very well done!
So true… We all have our own things to carry… I love the images you use to bring this home… I want to live in a gypsy caravan.
I look at homeless folks carrying their baggage around with them. on their backs or in a shopping cart, and I see it as metaphor for the invisible baggage we all carry around. Perhaps if we could see it, and how it weights us down–like I see that street person’s load–we might be more inclined to work toward getting rid of some of it.
How you carry it indeed! Well captured!
Good job. A second person poem is difficult to pull off, but you do it.
I love your strong message, and it’s so true. We all carry our own baggage and attitude is everything.
wise words, reminds me we have a choice, always…
ha. i will be a clown following hte caravan….smiles…
it is how we carry it…there are hard things in life…and i have seen those that still face it with joy each day despite their circumstances…not the fake happy just to hide, but real joy….
So much baggage we carry…worries and stress. I know we can’t help it sometimes…but life is too short…..
I agree with you 100%. We all have a load to carry, but we can CHOOSE how we bear its weight and whether or not we allow it to weigh us down. Nice!
There’s a charming, deceptive simplicity to this poem, which hides something deeper.
I wish some of the things I carry could be tied with a ribbon to a balloon.. that would be so merry, and we could all dance a jig instead…
so much to say about how we carry things… if carried in the right way, we can even handle heavier things with grace….we are not merely players on a stage
but acrobats
and clowns
following the gypsy caravan…love this…
thanks, Claudia – just musing on the baggage we all haul around – so much unnecessary woe and stress and small plastic objects 🙂 K