ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

She has impersonated someone who is happy for a long time.
She doesn’t want to remember the painful walk back in time
to when she was actually happy.
In her head, discordant music makes memories of
happier times - when she experienced fleeting, loving feelings -
clash with reality.
Reality is not the stuff of crooners and swooners
decrying an elusive concept of happiness
but about coping.
She inconspicuously wakes each morning and goes about
doing what needs to be done without complaint.
She is the real living legend.

This is very thought-provoking, Wendy. You make me want to have another go at free verse myself!

So many people live each day pretending everything is "normal" (whatever that is). I agree that those who can face the world with resilience under adversity are indeed the "real living legends".

It's a bit like the lyrics from the theme song from Disney's "Mulan" - "when will my reflection show who I am inside?"

Cheers
Shelley

This is a bit dark for you Wendy Different from your usual style but I like it and you have woven the story around the prompts well. I like 'inconspicuously wakes' - a great analogy. A thought provoking poem indeed but in reality it is a perfect fit for so many women out there - I am sure we could all relate it to at least one or two women we know. Well done.

Thanks for your comments girls - I guess that's what comes of writing when you are feeling a little 'fragile'!!
I had a day when someone at work over-dramatised everything and I thought of how many
people cope daily without making a fuss. I kept thinking "get over it!"

Yes, you are right, Wen - it is often those who have the most to complain about who rarely do.

Cheers
Shelley