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Wooded Trail by Ales Krivec

what if? – an improv #poem

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Here is “What If?” as recited by Erica Zohreh Habibi. Hearing this transformed the poem for me (and I composed it…)

Snow Birds by René Reichelt

What if the world were flat.
Would that change the color of your favorite tree?
What if you only had one more day to live.
Tell me what you’d want to do then.

What if the one you loved the most
Suddenly were not here.
Oh yes, there’d be grief and mourning.
And after that? What then?

What if we opened the treasure chest:
Not the imaginary one in the fairy tales.
No, no. The real one inside each of our hearts.
What if it held the answers to

The riddles we’ve been asking the
Rest of the world to solve for us?
Oh, yes: I know that I had been waiting
For the answers to come from you,

Or some expert in the field of art,
Or a skilled and talented reader of
Human psyche and aura fields,
Or at least from a friend who can
See me better than I can see myself.

Then, one day the expectation and waiting
Dissipated. No explanation. And in that
Emptiness, with only my own reflection
As companion, I came to this truth:

Wooded Trail by Ales Krivec

I don’t want you to miss me when I’m gone.
I want to live the sort of life that invites you
To be the biggest, best you possible.
My one, shining wish is that my life

Would be enough of a beacon to let you
See the brilliance that is your beauty
And your gift to the world.

For when I allow you to see your own
Light,
That is when I can most vividly see
Mine.

What if that is all there is?

~ spontaneously composed by Stan Stewart
~ Copyright © 2014 by muz4now, inc. and Stan Stewart. All rights reserved.

What if that is all there is?

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This poem is my response to a prompt by Seth Godin. He is the author of 18 books that have been bestsellers around the world and have been translated into more than 35 languages. He writes about the post-industrial revolution, the way ideas spread, marketing, quitting, leadership and most of all, changing everything.

Who would miss you if you were gone? If you didn’t show up to work, didn’t send out that newsletter, didn’t make that sales call, didn’t tweet that tweet… who would miss it? How does your answer shape how you’ll live out now?

15 thoughts on “what if? – an improv #poem”

  2. Tania

    “I don’t want you to miss me when I’m gone…” oh so lovely…to use it all up, to let your sun fire the the sun of those around you. beautiful…yes…

    1. muz4now

      Thanks, Tania! I’m grateful that these words poured out of me the other day. Now to live them even more intentionally.

      Blessings to you and your loved ones for the holidays,
      Stan

    1. muz4now

      Aw, thanks, Samantha! Thanks for the connection and dropping by here.

      Blessings to you and your loved ones for the holidays,
      Stan

    1. muz4now

      Great minds…
      I started to wonder the same thing, Suzi! I can barely think of a more beautiful gift. This one was purely out of the blue from someone I had never encountered previous to receiving her recording on Twitter.
      I’m so impressed that you did this for your friend. Lovely. Plus, it’s so fun to hear each other’s voices after only reading from the page.
      Thank you so much for dropping by. I hope my comments are no longer going into the “junk” folder on your site. I am amazed and inspired at how prolific you are there.

      playful blessings and ((hugs)),
      Stan

  7. Brenna Layne

    Her voice is lovely, indeed, and so are your words. There is a quiet intensity and overwhelming generosity here that perfectly reflects what I know of you. I love Suzi’s idea, too…..heading off to experience that beauty now. Blessings.

    1. Zohreh Habibi

      Ah. Thank you for kind and generous words… I am touched. It was pure serendipity. That’s all.

      Zohreh 🙂

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