Fading Photograph

Posted on by areadingwriter

i stumbled upon my five-year-old smile pasted on a fading photograph. it was just me and my sister. she was crying. i was clapping. (mean me?). my small mouth was wide open, wide enough to show the three blank, toothless-gaps. while my sister, a year younger, was red in her wailing feat.

looking at the once child me, i wonder when did my innocence fade? where did my child-like, pure bliss go? who snatched my genuine smile? is it the cruel world? or is it my own bitter words? but then the present mirror shows i may be tired, i may be sometimes sad, but i am braver. i am kinder. i am stronger. i am broken but better.

storm-battered sappling
turns into a dauntless tree.
breaking’s bravery.

—

05.24.2017
©2017 Rosemawrites@A Reading Writer. All Rights Reserved.
Photo via Unsplash
In response to Haibun Monday #38, Kintsugi: The Art of Broken Pieces by Grace.
Our challenge is to write about finding beauty in the broken pieces or imperfection and/or the process of mending the broken pieces. You can write about a “broken” object, cityscape or landscape, or personal experience of mending and embracing imperfections. Please write 1 to 2 tight paragraphs of “prose”, followed by a nature-themed “haiku”.
Being that this is Haibun Monday, please write a haibun based on the prompt, ending with a seasonal haiku.   Don’t forget to visit and comment on others poetry, especially to those who have visited you.
dverse

Published by areadingwriter

I read because I write. | I write because I read.

73 thoughts on “Fading Photograph”

    1. it takes time. and again there is dark days. it is always like a roller coaster ride. for happiness, i think, is a choice we need to make every single day. 🙂 thank you for reading and for sharing!

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Life is a roller coaster ride. Sometimes you have cheerful days and sometimes you have miserable ones. It’s the learning through them all that makes us who we are 🙂🙂❤️❤️

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    1. awwww. happy to make you smile, Ameena. ❤ And looking back, i cannot, i cannot recall or even pinpoint when or where the innocence went. but then maybe it remains inside us, just hiding. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Still savouring it day by day Rosema. I have something pencilled in to write about it on my blog on the 15th of June if that is okay.

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  8. Anyone complaining about life should read you, your poems, your stories. Salutes to the most incredible poetess I’ve known. This wrenched my heart and touched it at it’s deepest inaccessible core. Stay blessed Rosie

    Liked by 1 person

  9. And I salute you for being this brave soul ~ There will always be doubts and negativity in our journey but, with each day, we become stronger, kinder and better ~ Love the positive affirmation~

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  14. Especially love the haiku!
    And isn’t that a real question for the ages…..I often wonder….when does childhood naivety end? Is there a moment each person can pinpoint? When do we somehow stop primeval screams when something, anything hurts? We really “unlearn” emotions if you think about the process of infant hood to adulthood. Questions to ponder. For me, that is the delight in playing with young children….age reversal, making faces, giggling, and taking joy in bubbles, babydolls and toy trains again! 🙂

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    1. One of my best delights is when I receive such thoughtful comments. I cannot pinpoint the certain moment. I cannot guess as well hehe. But the unlearning of emotions. How brilliant is that. And yes i realize it is true. i think we can tap that innocence in us in ways we subconsciously don’t know.

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  15. I have had a similar experience. Thinking about my childhood self, I sometimes wonder, “What happened?” It is sad to notice a loss of innocence and am increase in worry and cynicism, but I recognize that I, too, am braver than before.

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    1. the cruel world awakes the cynicist in us, i think. but then maybe it is part of us growing? what’s important is to be brave but also loving. for there is too much hate already. 🙂 thank you for taking some time to read and comment! 🙂 i appreciate it.

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  18. The lost innocence and its connections to our bravery and kindness is a beautiful one. We may have lost our innocence but it’s a price we paid for our strength I guess. Well done on the Haibun!

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    1. ” We may have lost our innocence but it’s a price we paid for our strength I guess.”
      That’s one beautiful line. And i agree. it is worth it. and maybe, just maybe, the innocence is just hiding inside. we can meet it again when we’re ready. 🙂
      Thank you!

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  20. I think you make a point that is often overlooked. Children can be cruel, mean and totally selfish. Innocence for them is not having to be accountable for their meanness. I do believe though that cruel children are the embyros of cruel adults and that the child (like you) who recognizes the hurt they have caused breaks out of the cocoon of ‘innocence’ and grows to be a caring adult. Something is lost, but so much more is gained.

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