“Joining” by Jan Betts
I invite you to listen to my reading of this poem to the beautiful music “Liquid Mountains” by Push-Pull. Just click on the link below.
“The Other Side.mp3”
The Other Side
for B.
The other side of everything, is the part we hardly ever choose to see.
It is worn and rubbed and frayed and it gets cobwebs and it gets torn.
The other side of love is just a hole that can not be mended or filled back in
with promises of good intentions to get it right next time.
When love flips over, when it totters and then turns upside down,
it becomes a sieve that lets the happiness fall right through and wash away.
The other side of almost everything is not as pretty or as bright
Its’ dullness is but a shadow of the pattern stamped upon the upright side.
I pass my hands so gently over it, to infuse my waning magic and bring it back to life.
I wet it with my tears and try to make it grow again, to swell and glisten with love’s shine.
I throw my hands into the air, a faithless mortal who believes her love is not enough
to mend that rip, or turn it over one more time, and change the broken pain into sublime.
The other side of somethings can be like new, a brand new start,
because this side has yet to see the light, it’s not faded, soiled or stained.
The other side of love sometimes, can hold a promise that longs to be revealed
and only wisdom tells us if we should pick it up, or put it down and walk away.
The untouched side can be a gift that even love was not aware of,
I press this side now to my face and lips, blow in my breath, and pray it be this way
Because…
The other side of everything, is the part we hardly ever chose to see
It is worn and rubbed and frayed and it gets cobwebs and it gets torn.
The other side of love is just a hole that can not be mended or filled back in
with promises or good intentions to get it right next time.
When love flips over, when it totters and then turns upside down
it becomes a sieve that lets the happiness fall right through and wash away
Karima Hoisan
March 8th 2012
Kari’s Kantina del Mar
Digital Rabbit Hole 
Powerful and sad words. We cast our ideal projections onto otherselves (and ourselves). Things are of course never like this illusion, and the response when seeing this unintended, worn, haggard, ugly, messy side is to flee, to find another illusion. For those that stay and learn what this other side is, they will find the true beauty in things, not just the shiny shell.
Wondeful poem Kari…really spoke to me
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Aww thank you Scottius, my wonderful artist and otter friend Yes , This is a sad one for the depth of feeling, but there is also hope and it is open-ended..I like your words on it, on the illusions we sometimes try to see as real. Yes those with staying power can reap the benefits, those others will be washed away into just some washed-out memories…if that
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I want to make a few comments, the first is about the musical piece chosen for this poem. I have to thank my gifted machinima making friend Spiral Silverstar who always has the most beautiful and perfect music he finds for his videos. He used this piece in his most recent haunting machinima entitled
“before you reach the abyss” I love this video, and it is where I fell in love with the piece I use here. Please take the time to see it..It is a masterful work on humanity..our human tragedy. http://vimeo.com/37659247
The painting once again is by my friend here in Costa Rica, Jan Betts, an amazing and versatile artist who I use a lot in my poetry Please check out her link on my blogroll JanBettsArt.com
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Karima,
Your words are so vivid, so strong. I love experiencing your work. As stating to you earlier, this particular poem touched my heart, and you know why. Thank you for sharing it.
♥Trin Jacks♥
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Thank you for leaving this heart=felt comment..I am sorry on some levels that you do find it relevant, but the poem has an open-ended message..and we always hope it can be turned around, even after we think it is lost.. Big hugs Trin
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An interesting examination of the topic of self and other. Like the metaphor of the coin that is flipped into the air and lands in the throwers hand, all want to know, “Is it heads or tails?” It is both, it is the coin. This is the gift, and the hope,, that there is the two sides joined together, and not just the “other side.”
Beautifully written Karima.
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Thank you Theodore for this comment. How well you saw into this poem/and see into my poetry. I like the analogy of the tossed coin..yes it IS both, “it is the coin” Yes but sometimes trying to join the two sides is not so easy, it takes a few tries, many tries.. the reward is when it locks into place..and is one.
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Before clicking the audio, I let my mind’s eye traverse inside the painting. I expected something happy and bubbly, haha. You never cease to amaze with your re-interpretations, Karima. Great work.
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Thank you Menubar. Yes maybe the tittle and the painting could be taken as you say more lightly, but the music sets the mood for a more serious poem and musing. Nice of you to stop by. I always enjoy your comments
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Karima, this is just so powerful and moving, and yes the music once again gives so much life to the overall experience. Personally, I feel this is one of your very best poems.
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Thank you Spiral, and with no exaggeration, I give you partial thanks for the birth of this poem My way of writing since I have been a child, is to play a piece of music over and over and over until the words begin to flow. I had a feeling inside me welling up, but no words until I heard this piece in your video, and knew it would have the power to pull them out of me… I am so glad you could feel deeply the emotion of the two combined, words and music..Thank you, just as you feel about your “abyss video”, I too love this poem in a special way…
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Such a beautiful, rich, painful poem and reality about being human and all the corridors of thought and consciousness in this twisted tale of physical life and experiences here on Earth. It felt like Karima’s tears had tears. Agonizingly fueled by regrets, sense of loss and feeling of some personal failing. Or maybe-things can break and we can’t fix them. That can happen, too. A relationship will take a turn for the worst….and keep on going. Then hearts bleed. Maybe more questions than hurts. Why? Why not? Relationships will always be our biggest challenge. They were supposed to. We come here as a male one or female one. But, this is actually half of who we are as a soul force. It is a splitting so we can explore life and the physical world as one or the other.
But-this is only a forced illusion. But, it is a powerful learning tool. And we can be aware of our “missing half. That is what we look for in another human person-the part we think we are missing. A powerful love is a powerful connection to our complete self by the connection with another. These are powerful energies and when they go awry-ouch ouch. These experiences are created to explore all aspects of human love and all the emotions (and consequences) that result. So be gentle with these feelings-clarity will come with patient questioning and honesty and continued exploration. Karima brings both great courage and honesty to explore these areas and show us where beams of light fall (and fail) to clarity. And where darkness can illuminate. This is the Yin/Yang of life. The male within the female. The female within the male. Force within the passive-the passive within the forceful. And pain within a success. Thank you Karima for your enormous personal strength to explore these very tender areas. And to really feel what is there to feel. That is knowledge that becomes learned forever. You are a treasure!
Peace.
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Tube, thank you..You always have the new angle, to see my poems. I have enjoyed people’s comments so much on this one because yes, the subject is deeply human, also sad, but something most of us have brushed by very close to, if we have allowed ourselves to live a love, that longing to make the coin whole..as Theodore says “It is the coin” not one side or another..and there is a longing to join with that other half..Is it a soul-mate? or god, or just some chemical thing that gives us delusional desires to be one.. to be One. Sometimes we get it right, make the right choice and avert the “flip -over” Sometimes we get it wrong,and there is no righting it ever again..Thank you Tube, for your sensitive and totally fresh point of view..How you see my poetry, see into it, always makes me shake my head in wonder..in the good way and in admiration for this gift that was given to you..albeit at great cost.. Thank you for sharing it with us all every time you leave a comment here.
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Once again… i find myself moved profoundly… as you take us into the part of the rabbit hole where only the bravest of us dare to dive. The magical and treacherous realms of the Deep Heart.
This poem is so heartfelt that is sends out waves to reach into those who hear you read this poem. I am speechless… all is said in this poem…
what takes us deeper. Beautiful.
Thank you, Karima, once again…. Tube says it… you are a treasure.
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Oh jan, so beautifully put.. I love your phrase “The magical and treacherous realms of the Deep Heart.” and isn’t that the truth!! Your painting for me absolutely represented this poem..even to the drips from “love’s sieve” letting the happiness wash away in tears.. Yes., you are right, I was in this space, so into it, when I wrote it.. Love can hurt, and we can get lost in it too, ahh but isn’t it in the end all worth it if we get it right?… even if we only get it right for awhile. and maybe not forever. The third stanza in this poem, is always the one we put our hope into..and sometimes we are rewarded for our efforts to see a bad situation, come out in a new and positive way. Thank you my dear friend, for leaving this comment..
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Karimita,
Como todo de sus obras, esta obra pone estrellas en mi ojos, asi como mi corazon. El cielo, el mundo, y el sol aparecen pequenas al lado de tus palabras. Gracias por todo. Siempre, su amigo humilde.
Hoyt
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Hoyt, con muchíssimo gusto y tus palabras son siempre un aliento, un aire de fresucua, y un gran estimulo para mi. Gracias ruco..mil gracias
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I have commented before on these quite remarkable works-both Jan’s and Karima’s. Fast forward a month. Having re-read and again immersed myself in this utter magic-more thoughts. Jan and Karima remind me of the Twins (Gemini) in their house of strength. The duo. Embraced in a mirrored dance. Each reflecting the other. The duality of life here on Earth. The complexity of desires and lofty ideas. Of the complex nature of being human. I know-everyone has a favorite Karima and Jan piece. But, this is explosively powerful and deserves much contemplation. It should be a source of much meditation as it is perfect in so many ways. Expectations always carry a seed of potential disappointment. Failure can simply be poor planning or unexpected hand overturning good ideas or plans. Or seeds of long term of sucess not recognized as such. But, they future unrolling and revealing the hidden goodness lying within. The good hiddeen within the seeming bad. The shiny new flash of thought hidden within the worn out or seeming so. As always-the real need is to closely examine what we think we see. Is that real? As Karima points out-maybe the new is simply obscured.
We can’t know until we examine closely. This cojoined work is a strong admonition to understand we need to always scrutinize more closely. Maybe we missed something. Or saw it in a skewed way. Much gold in life mostly remains hidden . It is our responcibility to find it and decide for ourselves. This is Karima’s gentle way of pointing that out. To move closer-to try to see better. More accurately what really is. Here is true hope for the hopeless. A second chance to see accurately. Here in this poem lies such a powerful truth that it deserves much reflection. This is both the challenge, the frustration, and the strength of being human here on Earth at this time. Karima and Jan have evoked pure magic and a thunderous vibration of consciousness too large to ignore. Let this resonate in your dreams…..thank you Jan and Karima. Blessed be to you.tg
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Tube, once again thank you for such a lovely and free flowing comment on this post. I apologize for taking a bit longer than usual to answer it. Yes, Jan’s Art has always inspired me, and as I think you know, I have several of her painted treasures in my RL home. The ironic part, that both Jan and I see and mention, is that until we both started blogging,(A little over a year ago) we never collaborated on projects like my putting a poem to her painting, or her inspiration to paint coming from something I wrote (like the idea of The Intimate in The Colored Dreams) Jan is my best friend in Rl, and I have known her a great part of my life. She has recently had a a break-through in her own art and for maybe the first time ever, broke from her mystical- realism style, and let loose her magic in abstracts. Art is magic ..it can be, and we seem to find the words and the brush strokes that harmonize, so it is a very pleasant surprise to see now, after so many years, how we just can fit our Art styles together and make a combined statement or a more lasting image in the mind’s eye of the viewer. Your comment certainly I know stimulates us both to try more things together. This poem was not written to the painting, just as many times I don’t write a poem to a song, but later on, I find the perfect music to accompany it, and in this case, Jan’s two-sided painting coming together as one, was just what I was looking for. It is, in a way, the hopeful side of my poem, which contains both elements, hope and despair. In some ways, her painting “Joining” gives more hope to the whole idea, and it certainly has sparked some wonderful thoughts, and I thank you once again. my deep feeling and seeing friend, for taking out the time, and sharing them with us. When you allow yourself to free-fall into my work (which is almost always) you bring back comments that only you seem to find on that journey..and I always wait to see what you pull out of your own amazing well…smiles at Tube…
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