Where Am I? Poem by Colleen Courtney

Where Am I?

Rating: 4.5


How did we get here...from there?
How does life start out so wonderfully
but yet go so incredibly badly?
How do you take a child,
lucky enough to have
a loving family, a seemingly
picture perfect childhood,
and have it go, oh so very wrong.
How does a person who grew up
with virtually everything, end up
with so absolutely little?

Who or what decides how our lives will turn out?
Fate? Destiny? A Higher Power?
Or is it ourselves?

One little white pill...that's all it took.
Did the fickle hand of fate reach out and
hand me that little white pill?
Did the voice of a Higher Power reach down
through the clouds and tell me to open wide
as it dropped that little white pill
on my tongue?

It would be so easy to blame others
for our plight in this world.
To curse others
for our plundering lifestyle.
But as we grow, mature and
day by day, slowly get ourselves well...
Reality comes crashing in.
It bowls us over and slaps us
in the face.
And finally, we awaken.

To a large degree, we really don't decide
how our destinies will unfold.
But to a small degree, we do.
We are responsible for our choices.
It would be nice to push the blame
onto another.
To say we've been forced into
our lot in life.

But with maturity and growth
comes the courage and ability,
to own up to our powerlessness
and failures.

So how did I get here?
It all started with a
little white pill.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Devin Iven 19 December 2013

I LOVE the lines: But with maturity and growth comes the courage and ability, to own up to our powerlessness Hit it perfectly. Keep writing Colleen.

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Stan Petrovich 20 December 2013

Science, especially theoretical, physics, has shown (at long last) , that we are here (in the paraphrased words of Lawrence Krauss in A Universe from Nothing (Why is there Something Rather than Nothing) , because a conglomerate of certain specialize molecules happens to be, at a certain space & time where they can form consciousness and body looking for happiness. In the end everything fades to a dim plasma weakening still until the end of Time. I was rather depressed when I read his book.. I am not confused but indeed impressed with your little white pill metaphor.

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Khairul Ahsan 11 December 2013

The poem is an easy read as the language flows naturally like a stream. But I haven't understood what that 'white pill' is. Perhaps a note at the end would have given us some clues. 'Who or what decides how our lives will turn out? Fate? Destiny? A Higher Power? Or is it ourselves? ' These are relevant questions which you've tried to answer. 'To a large degree, we really don't decide how our destinies will unfold. But to a small degree, we do. We are responsible for our choices.' I agree to this inference of yours, by and large.

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Chuy Amante 28 March 2014

WOW! To me, this was written from a very high frequency! That fact that you can tap into that is rare and BEAUTIFUL! Get back into the groove and write! Let that heart sing! ! ! !

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Jay Hall 31 March 2014

Awaken indeed. And for some the awaking comes much too late.

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Bri Edwards 01 December 2016

for me, this poem raises several questions. topmost in my mind are: So how did I get here? It all started with a little white pill. 1 - WHERE is here? ....at the end of the poem? ? a geographical location or an emotional location? 2 - WHO took the pill? oops! more questions: WHAT was the pill? WHAT was its effect? bri :)

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Daniel Brick 18 August 2014

This had to be a long poem. Even the repetitions were necessary to convey the full weight of your experience. You are addressing philosophical questions but the intellect cannot help here, only the heart. And my heart beat faster as I each phase of your wrestling with decisions and their consequences. Your poem resists closure.But it has something more important than the full circle closure would bring. It takes us deep inside the experience of loss and shows there is still a reservoir of moral strength for the next time you/we must confront such issues.

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Robert Melliard 25 June 2014

Dear Colleen, I have read this poem with great interest but I can't help noticing a couple of cases of perhaps unnecessary repetition (the little white pill and the put-the blame-on-others idea) . I also find it hard to understand exactly what kind of pill is in question. My guess would be you had an abortion, but I may be wildly off the mark. Anyway you touch on a number of points I have wondered about myself but never expressed so well, such as how a person who starts out with great advantages in life can end up failing in some way, which has been the story of my last fifteen years on this planet. Anyway I hope you have learnt to forgive yourself for whatever went wrong. We seem to find it much easier to forgive other people, don't we? Please read Another Woman Stabbed or Waiting For My Grandchild if you have a moment. Best wishes, Robert.

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Star Girl 24 June 2014

awsome poem.it was like i could relate to the writer about wanting to blame others but relizing that i'm the only one who has control over what gose on in my life because of choices i've made.

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A nice poem with an eternal question' where am I'? .......since birth till last breath we are unaware where we are......even in heaven we will question where we are.......a never ending quest only God knows............... very nicely composed.................

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