Photo: Jim DiGritz on Unsplash
She looked him
In the eyes, and saw
A face that tells
Of life and memory
And all the small and
Infinitely scarring
Stories of what he’d done
Because he had to
Even when it wasn’t
What he’d wanted, but
What was necessary to have
Done.
The difficult
Choices.
The privations.
The loss made in
Acceptance of the compass
Of the heart and
Mind.
His was a trustworthy face.
Plowed by honest work
And resigned to
Sacrifice.
One month
May prove to be
Not nearly long
Enough.
Last lines quote used as inspiration for this challenge:
“I looked him in the eyes at last. They were sunken and soulful, and often carried dark circles under them. The man had a trustworthy face.
‘A month?’
‘That’s all. One month.'”
(“Girl Waits With Gun“ by Amy Stewart)
For the dVerse Poetics Last Lines challenge
Na'ama Yehuda 
Intriguing quote. Intriguing poem!
Fabulous lines:
“His was a trustworthy face.
Plowed by honest work”
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Glad you liked it! I loved the sentence in the original, and knowing the story, I knew this would be congruent… 🙂
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Just went to goodreads and checked out the plot summary. Sounds like a good book.
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It’s a good read, yes. 😃
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Right now I’m almost 2/3 way through 1Q84, the epic mind-trip by Murakama. I’m going to need a cleansing read after finishing it.
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This one may well do it!
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I like the idea of a man who does what has to be done. I like this character study.
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Thank you! I think people who do what needs to be done, and who aren’t dismissive of the realities that one needs to weigh to do what one must do(and what other options there are and their impact on others), are people one can often trust. The person in the book who the quote refers to – and begins the inspiration for this character study, though there are others I had in mind as well – is one such person. It’s a good book, by the way. 🙂
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I’ll check it out!
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Enjoy! 🙂 I got it from a friend who’d read it and said it was a good write and wanted to pass it on to me to read. I was glad I did. 🙂
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I love your inspiration and your poetic response, Na’ama. Beautiful.
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Thank you, Patti! 🙂 Aren’t these prompts fun? I probably wouldn’t have thought of putting this together in that way if it weren’t for the inspiration of the quote, which was inspired by the prompt … 🙂
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Beautiful description: “His was a trustworthy face.
Plowed by honest work
And resigned to
Sacrifice.”
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Thank you, Frank!
To be fair, the quote itself leads to it (and the character it describes in that novel). I just took it another step and with a bit of creative license. Thank you! 🙂
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I do like someone who is as trustworthy as he looks.
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Yes!! 🙂 Me too!
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Wonderful journey inspired by the words.
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Thank you, Beverly! 🙂
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Beautifully done, Na’ama.
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Thank you, my friend! 🙂
It’s a good book, too, if you are looking for some beach-read. 🙂
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Oh hell… my list is sooo long, I am beta-reading for John and have two books on the go… but I will add it to the queue…
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🙂 These queues are meant to never get shorter …. I find that if I manage to make them at least not get exponentially longer, it means I’m sort of keeping up well … 🙂
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This is true… However there are so many good book suggestions, I can never catch up. Plus I don’t read a quarter of what I used to. Books, that is. I must read the equivalent of a novel per day in blogs…
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I know! Well, I find that things change, and that it is okay however it is. I’ve always read voraciously. I still do. It is WHAT I read and HOW that might shift. I get through books more slowly these days. I re-read books I loved and don’t feel guilty about ‘making other books wait.’ I read. I breathe. I live. I write. 🙂
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This is true. I read so many different genres. I end up only reading before bed – there is no guilt to that time. How dumb is that?
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Not dumb, just the reality of our busy lives and the many pulls on one’s time. I think there’s guilt-built-in (especially for women, who are expected to be ‘productive’ and to be ‘doing for’ all the time). We pick our battles, eh? 🙂 Reading in all its manifestations is reading. AND, I suspect you always are in the middle of SOME book (or two). But, yeah, it’s a slower process these days. AND it’s all okay (said while sitting atop her own guilt bin to keep the lid on … ;))
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I hear ya… Loud and clear!
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🙂
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This especially stands out to me…”Even when it wasn’t what he’d wanted, but what was necessary to have done.” Our faces reflect decisions made and decisions made for us.
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Exactly! Yes! Thank you for pointing this one out. So much yes!
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