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Visual interpretation of "Bring your past selves to their feet": Treasure the time you have on stage,; For you may not always sing so sweet.

No. 017

October 16, 2024·8 lines·1 min read

Bring your past selves to their feet

For you may not always sing so sweet.

Treasure the time you have on stage, For you may not always sing so sweet. Jump as high as you possibly can— The rim won't always be so easy to reach. Watch the pieces on the chessboard move, With love, for you won't always think so deep. But there's something you can do now That will bring all your past selves to their feet.

Stay in the room a little longer.

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A studio reading for the archive, voiced with care and restraint.

Studio reading
Bring your past selves to their feet0:00 / 0:28

Watch the poem move.

Some pieces also live in motion. This film belongs to the same poem, not as a replacement for the page, but as another way into it.

Archive entry 58·32s·8 likes·1 comments

Film by @rosiezopfi

Part of a living collection since September 2024.

A way further in

Not the final meaning. Just a closer read, a better question, and a few nearby poems worth opening next.

Listen for what the poem handles gently. That is usually where its real weight is.

Opening line

Where the door opens.

Treasure the time you have on stage,

Center line

Where the temperature changes.

Watch the pieces on the chessboard move,

Leaving line

The line to carry out with you.

That will bring all your past selves to their feet.

If you came here carrying something

If you need something soft without it being weak, this is the shelf to open first.

LoveLonging

A good place to begin when you want language that can soothe without lying.

Stay in the archive a little longer.

If this one stayed with you, keep it. Then either leave a note, keep moving through the archive, or ask the Studio where to go next.

Notes for Collection No. 17

A guestbook for the poem itself. Leave a response, an image prompt, or an image link if it belongs in the same room.

Treasure the time you have on stage,

A good note starts where the poem stayed with you.

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The reading room

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