22 Comments
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Ben Wakeman's avatar

I'm so glad I finally worked my way to this story. It, like all the stories in the "Same Walk, Different Shoes," project is distinctly original and yet common in it's deep emotional connection to it's origin. It is dreamlike, light, dark, and lovely.

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driftonthis's avatar

Thanks Ben! Such an entrancing experience writing with you all and passing around stories in the ether. I’ve still got some to finish, but there will be rereads and stretches of getting lost in the deep over and over again. Amazing the profoundness that has come about from all the corners of the globe from this brief exercise. I do hope we get to do this again. I really enjoy the words and togetherness you provoked up here.

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Eleanor Anstruther's avatar

I have reread this and so must you. It is bursting with riches.

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driftonthis's avatar

Thank you Eleanor. I was very drawn into their story. There are places that I’ll never come to see, know, and feel from its origin. I can only wander outward into the specks and the unsaids. Even in the bitterness of bittersweets, I hope I was able to share a small, dark chocolate tablet of peace with the prompter and others who ventured into this.

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Eleanor Anstruther's avatar

It's an entire universe, right there.

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Jo Candiano's avatar

This is the sort of writing that makes you feel things.

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driftonthis's avatar

Yes, so many, that stretch beyond the observable universe

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Eleanor Anstruther's avatar

This is so full, so bursting with riches; again and again lines stand up and flash a brilliance. You have a gift.

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driftonthis's avatar

And I’m just hiding here with words orbiting the heart of soul. Thank you for venturing into this piece with me.

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Troy Putney's avatar

Wow... This was a really cool, original piece to read. A breathtaking exploration of physics, metaphysics, existentialism and grief.

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driftonthis's avatar

Thanks Troy! Interesting how they all are bound to each other and still keep an eternal harmony.

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Kenneth Mills's avatar

Wild, wild ride. Beautiful.

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driftonthis's avatar

With you Kenneth, one that seems to keep going even after the engine’s off.

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Julie Gabrielli's avatar

What a heart-expanding portrait of grief, and so much else. A childhood spent in daydreams feels very familiar. Bravo.

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driftonthis's avatar

Thanks Julie. This was an intense one to write. I kept dreaming about this for days. I felt the black hole of emotions in the prompt, so wanted to eventually get them to hurtle out of it and see what may be possible on the other side

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Kathleen Clare Waller's avatar

I love this. So mysterious - in the gaps we can formulate so many ideas. Really enjoy all the philosophical threads you've started for us.

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Jean Rhude's avatar

Beautifully done, that simultaneous wonder and dread that grief bestows on us.

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Jean Rhude's avatar

As a fellow griever this touches me to the core. Either we write with a similar voice, (yours better), or you perhaps got my prompt. How can we know?

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driftonthis's avatar

I left some clues in the text, and a tiny phrase, in their words, lifted straight from the prompt, to honor them.

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Jean Rhude's avatar

Ok, so is this the final line in your prompt?

Their intensity is what they share. It is what resides in my core with equanimity. In any given moment I can be in both places at once or fall wholeheartedly in either direction.

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driftonthis's avatar

No it wasn’t, but such a beautiful line you wrote. Makes me wander off into words already

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Jean Rhude's avatar

ahh well I love your voice and look forward to more.

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