Having just watched the 35 year old Lionel Messi lift the World Cup at his fifth attempt, the 35th poem from Be.aGaIN seems all the more apt. We can never see the disappointments, the hard work, the resilience, the trauma behind a winning world conquering smile.
We can never really see in any human , especially in ones that seem to have it all, what actually drives them on or has gone on in their heart and their head to bring them to this “overnight success”.
“Don’t scratch the surface” -we are told in the opening line as it will ruin the- “crafted veneer” or in human terms the mask we choose to present ourselves to the world in.
“Painted over so many times”-We are not told why each fresh coat was needed or who the painter was but that’s ok as “You’d barely notice”. Perception is ,on a superficial level, reality.
The darkness of today’s piece comes in the last two lines “core-less” and “about to split open”. I chose this to be the world itself or ourselves, the people that live in it-maybe it’s both.
Always be mindful when you encounter another human, another permanent soul in a temporary body, that what you see may be the sum but not the parts.It is best to treat everyone with kindness as the shiniest veneers often hide. the hardest parts- the rot or the pain that is carefully hidden.
Today’s image shows one of six pianos that survived the atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima and framing it to the left in the background across the water, the Genbaku dome, the only structure left standing on the 6th August 1945.
I know we have moved from the magic of Argentina’s victory and what humanity can do in the field of sport- bringing a world together watching peaceful healthy competition to a grim reminder of what happens when humanity is lost, but this is the world we inhabit and have inherited.One that is constantly painting itself over, covering the cracks.
Algo.
Algo Poetry-Behind the Lines 