Looking for a hook on which to hang my hopes
expectantly I hung my hopes on you;
looking for a spot on which to fix my dreams
fixatedly, I obsessed over you:
‘What can I do, I’m falling?’
My refrain:
‘Let everything fall down
for I’m in love.’
Looking for a place to call my own
I told myself I’d found that place in you;
looking for a space which never was my home
I told myself my home was here with you:
And when it all fell down
what was my answer?
To weep and cry? To moan
and gnash my teeth?
Looking for an anchor in a troubled life
times when I couldn’t see the way to shore
I found safe harbour through my deepest strife:
The answer lies within; I’ll seek outside no more.
© Experimentsinfiction 2021, All Rights Reserved
Can you spot the turn?
Tonight at dVerse, Peter is hosting and has asked us to look at ‘turns’ within our poetry. He has given a comprehensive rundown of how turns might be employed in various poetic forms and styles, and I recommend you read his essay on the subject if you want to brush up on how to master the poetic turn, or ‘volta.’ This is a poem I wrote some time ago, but I’m sharing with dVerse as it has a very obvious turning point, hence the slash in the title!
wow wow and wow Ingrid! Absolutely love this .. so many pin all hopes on a partner but your concluding line is the clincher. Happiness, healing and everything in between is inside of us. Not in relationships, travel or anything else …
I think pinning one’s hopes on another person leads to a lot of unhappiness in relationships. Thanks Kate 😊
I couldn’t agree more, it strangles the relationship!
I love the turn, finding the harbor and not merely relying on the anchor is a lot better… and the harbor is you. Love it.
Thanks Björn-I really enjoyed this prompt, it’s such an interesting subject.
a salutory lesson but the turning point points up
Yes, I tried to end on a optimistic note.
We look to drop anchor
in calm of a safe harbour
Away from the helter-skelter
And find that peaceful shelter
But a truly happy mandolin
Is soulfully played from within ..
https://youtu.be/aHmNEQYc3js
🎻 so true and so lovely 🎶
I have a few of these ‘comment’ poems this week … maybe I can make poem out of them … 😀😊
I feel honoured to be the recipient of one! 🙏🌏
Yes some posts/poems seem to spark a poetic response from me…. somehow they instantly roll out for me… oh that’s me.. 😎😘
A like the way you carry safe harbors through this, but you find that the anchor is actually within. A good lesson, well-told!
Thanks Merril: it took me a while to learn it!
But you did, and that’s the important thing!
Sometimes strength from within is the only answer.
Indeed it is! Thanks Ken.
“The answer lies within,”.. yes, yes, yes! This is deep, evocative and absolutely lovely, Ingrid! 😍😍
Thank you for your kind words Sanaa 😊🥰
Hard lessons that can only be learned through experiencing them. I’m glad you have made the turn, Ingrid. Cool image and a neat way to store a boat.
It was a long voyage to get there, but yes, I think I got there! Thanks Lisa – I think the kids would love to climb in that boat and swing on it!
I’m happy you did <3 Yes, what kids could resist!
BLAMMO! We have to be our own harbor. Always. And you nailed that here very well Ingrid. Very effective turn.
Thanks Ron, I’m pleased you enjoyed it.
Yes! We all must make this turn. 💯
Thanks Tricia – if we don’t we end up very disappointed! 😊
It is a wonderful poem Ingrid
Thank you 🙏
Your turn was brave and wise …. I enjoyed the telling.
Thank you Helen 🙏
BEAUTIFUL, Ingrid. This is so beautiful and powerful. Having that happiness anchored in another, while it may feel like we are complete, we must also find our own happiness from within. Such a day can come when a relationship or friendship can no longer be the source of that happiness thus delineating, that yes, we must find a way to be happy and content with ourselves. The road is hard to do that especially when we seek external pleasures (I.e. Had a bad day? Get a chocolate cake at the bakery). Few times, it’s fine to seek that route but if it becomes too often then the source of that happiness will deplete over time whether if it’s no longer there or if we can no longer find it from that person: what made us feel so secure and safe.
The ending here is amazing. Essentially, while the path may be bumpy, we can eventually find the serenity within ourselves. We can come to the conclusion that our happiness does not have to lie within other people. That is brilliant and the way you portrayed this is haunting as it happens too much in life; and rarely, I find, do people break out of this pattern without the long journey.
I think Sartre said it best. “Hell is other people.”
Thank you so much for your analysis Lucy! ❤️ I love that Satre quote, hahahaha 😂 but it’s so true, it’s a hard lesson which many of us never learn and so we have no end of emotional problems. I won’t say mine are over entirely, but I’m on the right track 😅
I so like the progression in this piece from hook, spot, place, space to anchor and harbor – as the need became greater – and the turn in the last couplet – from intemperate and uncertain lover/ external world to the security of self. A journey to wisdom in this one Ingrid – bravo.
Thank you Peter! You have made me think about turns in poetry now: I think they’re the equivalent to key changes in music…I will be looking out for these when I read from now on!
Key changes – yes of course – where all the colour and interest comes.
It is so dangerous to hang our happiness anywhere save for in our own hearts. Happiness can be stimulated by that which is outside of us, but the responsibility for happiness is ours alone. As you know, it takes a while in life yo truly come to grips with our responsibility for our situation. This is well writtdn Ingrid.
That’s exactly it: we are responsible for our own happiness. Thank you for your insightful comment Rob.
Well done and good lesson.
Would relationships be stronger and more resilient if individuals learned to be their own safe harbor first, before setting sail? Oh well, at least she is headed in the right direction, no teeth gnashing for her.
Yes, it’s not a pretty sight 😅
This poem empowers. 💪💓 Us humans are designed to be in relationship with others, in many forms, but a strong relationship with self is the anchor, or the lighthouse within.
Absolutely right, and if we place too many demands upon others we make everybody miserable. Thanks Michele 😊
Wisdom! 🙏
Based on a true story, Ingrid?
This is such a profound and simple truth – we must all learn to find happiness within.
I loved your poem.
Yours,
David
Thank you David – it is based on past experience 😊
What a gorgeous love poem, Ingrid! I love the lines:
‘Looking for a hook on which to hang my hopes
expectantly I hung my hopes on you’,
and the way you played with the idea of falling and falling down in the second stanza, only to turn it upside down in the penultimate stanza. It takes a brilliant sailor to recognise that it’s their home harbour, the one inside, that’s the safest.
Thank you Kim 🙏
Wonderful poem Ingrid. I think we’ve all been there at one point and I loved the poetic turns and this line especially “Looking for a hook on which to hang my hopes
expectantly I hung my hopes on you”. Hoping all is well in love land! 💖
Oh yes, thanks Cindy 🥰 this is a poem of past turmoil! 🌊
A very nice turn indeed! The story of many who see security in what turns out to be a disappointment to say the least Finding strength within is always a good way to life.
That’s a hard lesson to learn and it seems we must all learn it more than once. I like the strength that rises at the end. (K)
My turn came at the end too. Love it!
Pat
Thanks so much 🙏
Ingrid, Beautiful poem that illustrates “turns” very well! Though I have observed them many times, I never heard that term. Great to learn new things! <3 Take care!
It is interesting isn’t it? I keep looking out for them now!
I love the to and fro of the rhythm, Ingrid;
the coming and going, the cradling waves.
The couplings of the anchor and the harbour
and the slash/ the stave.
x
Thanks Nick! Nice to have you back from the fringes ✂️
Thank you!
Glad to be back.
Guess I needed some time to ‘mullet’ over?
x
🤦🏽♀️😊
It was a great read. 🙂
The answer lies within.. self awareness and self love.