"Landscape after a Storm" by James Stark‘Another Day’: A Poem by Christina Lesinski The Society January 28, 2024 Beauty, Poetry 29 Comments . Another Day How time has wasted, over time, over time. __At least to me, that’s how it seems. Oh how I’ve chased it, back and forth, back and forth… __I catch it only in my dreams. The clock is ticking overtime, overtime. __I cannot seem to catch a break. I end up in a cycle, going, going, gone… __Oh dear, what messes I can make. I fear I’ve done it yet again (oh not again), __In fact was it my fault this time? I feel I’m falling down that hole, falling down, __Another broken heart that’s mine. How quick a change from light to dark, bright to sad. __How much reframing of my mind From rings and dresses, wedding favors made by hand… __A frozen moment left behind. How can the same thing happen again, again, again, __To the same someone all these times? How to forgive, forget, move on without regret, __Rewrite the story line by line? How easy to look back and say, look back and say, __It was all just a big mistake. But how can I possibly erase, without a trace, __A love that seemed it wasn’t fake? A future shattered, bits and pieces on the ground. __My vision’s blurry, cracked and torn, I can’t imagine mending, healing, fresh beginning; __Is this a chance to be reborn? Lord, help me, cure me, make me, keep me sure and strong. __I don’t know how much I can take. But I think I’ve said that once before (or twice before) __Pick me up for my Father’s sake. In the dawning twilight mist, the murky mist __Amidst the glimmer of the dew, Another day, the tears of darkness wash away, __A hint, a ray of hope renew. . . Christina Lesinski is a third grade teacher in Southern California. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Trending now: 29 Responses ABB January 29, 2024 I relate to this piece a lot. Lovely. The repetition is a great mimetic effect—does this particular rhetorical device have a name? I also like the ‘over time’ and ‘overtime’ contrast. Reply Christina Lesinski January 29, 2024 Thank you so much for your kind comments and for reading my poem. I appreciate that you can relate. I’m afraid I do not know of a name of the rhetorical device I used. I just came up with it on my own and felt it complimented the mood and content of the poem, as well as added to the sound. I like to play with words as well. Thank you again! Reply ABB January 30, 2024 You are a very intuitive poet to just make up techniques like that (or independently discover them within yourself during the writing process). Below, Margaret refers to it as a ‘repetend,’ which makes sense. I’m a pedantic person and like to know the names of things. Christina Lesinski January 30, 2024 ABB: For some reason it won’t let me reply specifically to your latest comment, but I want to thank you for the compliment about my rhetorical device. I’m sure it has been done before somewhere. I can understand wanting to find out the names of things, I still have much to learn about poetry especially in regards to terms. I consider myself a beginner so I appreciate your patience and your time! Reply Margaret Coats January 29, 2024 Christina, this poem is an extraordinary marvel of meaningful repetition. Every repetend, however used in line and syntax, suggests more and more about the tragic loss of love a second (or third) time. The very word “time,” worked for all it’s worth in the first through third stanzas, opens the theme without yet revealing it. Your unrhymed long lines followed by rhymed short lines careen back and forth to depict a maelstrom of sadness in the speaker. The iambic meter says, “It WAS all just a big mistake,” in stanza 6, but that stress opposes the emotional meaning. The image of the future as a broken mirror in stanza 7, is skillful in the way it doesn’t say “mirror” but refers to your speaker’s vision. “Dawning twilight” in the final stanza is an oxymoron if we consider that “twilight” usually speaks of evening. The word can technically refer to dusk or dawn, and as the morning of another day, the double significance is here. All in all, much poetic beauty to picture heartbreak through highly skilled use of many aspects in this excellent poem. Reply Christina Lesinski January 29, 2024 Margaret, I am so touched, amazed and humbled by your thoughtful analysis of my poem. It means a lot coming from you, I know your poetry is outstanding. Your close reading reflects so much of my intent as well as what my heart felt when I wrote the poem that just seemed to overflow. I am very pleased that my message came across so clearly without being too overt. I felt that subtlety would allow more people to relate and also leave more to the imagination. Yes, time and repetition were certainly huge themes in this poem and huge factors in my inspiration of it. I am excited you picked up on the “dawning twilight” as a pair of seemingly contradicting things, and I hoped to convey a glimmer of hope or optimism, a light amid the bleakness. I thank you again sincerely for your time and your in-depth commentary. Reply Norma Pain January 29, 2024 I really enjoyed your poem Christina. It felt lovely reading it over and over… the repetitions feeling musical to my ears. Reply Christina Lesinski January 30, 2024 Thank you, Norma, I am delighted that you enjoyed my poem and that you are inclined to read it more than once! I am honored. I definitely was going for a musical sound and even dabble in writing musical lyrics myself, so that is quite a compliment I take to heart. I appreciate you. Reply Laura January 30, 2024 This is hauntingly beautiful, Christina. Sentiments that resonate with anyone who has lost and you manage to reach into that part of us who wonder what the future has in store for us. I love how despite your emotional dark journey, you see hope and are ready to face tomorrow. Brought back memories of the last scene in Gone With The Wind. You are quite gifted, Christina. I really loved this poem. Reply Christina Lesinski January 30, 2024 Thank you so much for your heartfelt response to my poem. I like your correlation to Gone with the Wind, I can see how it emits a similar vibe. I am pleased that this poem resonated with you! Reply R M Moore January 30, 2024 Dear Christina, This is a beautifully written poem. I felt the sensitivity it brought to my mind, and it was comforting. RM Moore Reply Christina Lesinski January 30, 2024 I truly appreciate you reading and responding to my poem. Thank you for the kind compliment and sentiments. God bless! Reply jd January 30, 2024 I found your poem beautiful, Christina, and a perfect expression of grief. The repetitions were very effective as others have said. And the final two strophes are almost like that shuttering breath after long weeping and a reminder that His love is still there. Reply jd January 30, 2024 shuddering Reply Christina Lesinski January 30, 2024 Thank you, jd, for your attention to my poem. Your interpretation of a long sob followed by a “shuddering breath” is very intuitive, and certainly mirrors my perspective when I wrote it. I began with a lot of sad tragic sentiments to express, a lot to release as it were, but then by the end I did feel and emit a sense of relief and calm. Again, I appreciate your time! Reply Cynthia Erlandson January 30, 2024 I am fascinated with this form which you have invented! It fits this particular subject perfectly. The rocking rhythm — especially noticable with the repetitions of words and phrases — is a kind of music that seems to imitate sobbing. In addition to the appropriate rhyme scheme Margaret mentioned, there are some nice internal rhymes, starting with the first verse’s “wasted/chased it.” Overall, this is a very lovely poem! I’m so glad you’re here! Reply Christina Lesinski January 30, 2024 Cynthia, thank you so much for your astute analysis and warm welcome! I am indeed new here, this is my first submission and I feel very honored. I am learning so much from all of you already. I am pleased that the poem sounded musical to you, and can see the correlation to sobbing. I am also glad you appreciated the rhyming patterns. Thanks again and take care! Reply Brian A. Yapko January 30, 2024 Christina, your poem is quite special in the way you present and then sustain a very wistful tone. While those unique repetitions certainly convey a sense of the weary cyclic passage of time (again, again, again), I also read them as echoes — echoes which seem to drift away with no hope of being able to retrieve them. Echoes which make one wonder… will anyone hear them and respond? Reply Christina Lesinski January 30, 2024 Hello Brian, Thank you for your thoughtful response to my poem! I can see what you mean about the wistfulness and the echoes. And indeed it could leave one with that bleak sense of hopelessness, even with that hint of hope at the end. A voice crying in the wilderness is not often heard, to be sure, and the echoes dissipate into thin air. It is a situation that many face, and all we can hope for is the faith, strength and support to carry on. Thanks again for your valuable feedback! Reply Marissa January 31, 2024 So much emotion is conveyed through the lines. I wish I knew more about poetry to give you a proper compliment. I hope this poem is healing for you and for all who read it. Reply Christina Lesinski January 31, 2024 Thank you so much, Marissa, for your more-than-proper compliment! I appreciate your time and sincere caring words. God bless you! Reply Catherine January 31, 2024 This poem is so poignant, it touched my soul. The feeling of hope like a sunrise at the last stanza was incredible and gave me all the goosebumps. Bravo, Christina! Well done! Reply Christina Lesinski January 31, 2024 Thank you, Catherine, for your lovely feedback on my poem! I am pleased that you read the conclusion the way I meant it, and that it touched you so. I appreciate you! God bless. Reply David Whippman February 1, 2024 Christina, this resonated with me. We waste time and go on making the same mistakes! In this piece, you create your own meter and make good use of it. Good work. Reply Christina Lesinski February 1, 2024 David, I am pleased to hear that you were able to connect with my poem. I believe we all feel this way at some point or another. I thank you for your complimentary feedback! Reply Lupe Dillon February 1, 2024 Christina, your moving poem is a brave and very personal account and self-analysis of a break-up that is painful but that also questions the role you might have played in what seemed so real. Your introspection touched me deeply and held me in suspense throughout each stanza by the numerous reminders and references of time, both in your appropriate choice of words and in the repetitions. Your story took me through your emotional tragedy and I very much welcomed your plea in the second to the last stanza. Asking for God’s help is like the crescendo to your poem…loud and clear! As mentioned by others, it was a definite sigh of relief. I also love how you remind the reader of the title of the poem by using it in your last stanza to introduce your show of strength and optimism, possible with God’s grace. Beautifully written, Christina. Reply Christina Lesinski February 1, 2024 Thank you so much for your insightful response to my poem! I am touched that it had such an effect on you and that it kept you reading in anticipation. While it may not be the kind of poem that one necessarily enjoys, I am glad you were able to appreciate its value and see the significance of its narrative, of the impact this personal experience had on me. I love how you describe that stanza as a crescendo, as that is indeed what it felt like. The calm after the peak of a storm… Turning to God in these moments is the best and often only way for me to find that “light at the end of the tunnel.” Thank you for taking this little emotional roller coaster with me, for your empathy and beautiful comments! Reply Magdalena February 1, 2024 Dear Christina, Such a beautiful expression of words! Your poem touched my heart and soul with sadness and joy! With every repetition of words, I can almost feel tears ready to fall, yours, mine, maybe both of ours, who’s to know! May this be the first of many more beautifully written group of words for us to enjoy! Sent from my iPad Reply Christina Lesinski February 1, 2024 My heartfelt thanks to you for your feedback on my poem. Your words touched MY heart in so many ways! Yes indeed there have been many tears along this road, but it has been very alleviating to know I am not alone. I hope to help others feel like they are not alone as well. Your tenderness and compassion do not go unnoticed, and I am so grateful for your encouragement to continue writing! Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. 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ABB January 29, 2024 I relate to this piece a lot. Lovely. The repetition is a great mimetic effect—does this particular rhetorical device have a name? I also like the ‘over time’ and ‘overtime’ contrast. Reply
Christina Lesinski January 29, 2024 Thank you so much for your kind comments and for reading my poem. I appreciate that you can relate. I’m afraid I do not know of a name of the rhetorical device I used. I just came up with it on my own and felt it complimented the mood and content of the poem, as well as added to the sound. I like to play with words as well. Thank you again! Reply
ABB January 30, 2024 You are a very intuitive poet to just make up techniques like that (or independently discover them within yourself during the writing process). Below, Margaret refers to it as a ‘repetend,’ which makes sense. I’m a pedantic person and like to know the names of things.
Christina Lesinski January 30, 2024 ABB: For some reason it won’t let me reply specifically to your latest comment, but I want to thank you for the compliment about my rhetorical device. I’m sure it has been done before somewhere. I can understand wanting to find out the names of things, I still have much to learn about poetry especially in regards to terms. I consider myself a beginner so I appreciate your patience and your time! Reply
Margaret Coats January 29, 2024 Christina, this poem is an extraordinary marvel of meaningful repetition. Every repetend, however used in line and syntax, suggests more and more about the tragic loss of love a second (or third) time. The very word “time,” worked for all it’s worth in the first through third stanzas, opens the theme without yet revealing it. Your unrhymed long lines followed by rhymed short lines careen back and forth to depict a maelstrom of sadness in the speaker. The iambic meter says, “It WAS all just a big mistake,” in stanza 6, but that stress opposes the emotional meaning. The image of the future as a broken mirror in stanza 7, is skillful in the way it doesn’t say “mirror” but refers to your speaker’s vision. “Dawning twilight” in the final stanza is an oxymoron if we consider that “twilight” usually speaks of evening. The word can technically refer to dusk or dawn, and as the morning of another day, the double significance is here. All in all, much poetic beauty to picture heartbreak through highly skilled use of many aspects in this excellent poem. Reply
Christina Lesinski January 29, 2024 Margaret, I am so touched, amazed and humbled by your thoughtful analysis of my poem. It means a lot coming from you, I know your poetry is outstanding. Your close reading reflects so much of my intent as well as what my heart felt when I wrote the poem that just seemed to overflow. I am very pleased that my message came across so clearly without being too overt. I felt that subtlety would allow more people to relate and also leave more to the imagination. Yes, time and repetition were certainly huge themes in this poem and huge factors in my inspiration of it. I am excited you picked up on the “dawning twilight” as a pair of seemingly contradicting things, and I hoped to convey a glimmer of hope or optimism, a light amid the bleakness. I thank you again sincerely for your time and your in-depth commentary. Reply
Norma Pain January 29, 2024 I really enjoyed your poem Christina. It felt lovely reading it over and over… the repetitions feeling musical to my ears. Reply
Christina Lesinski January 30, 2024 Thank you, Norma, I am delighted that you enjoyed my poem and that you are inclined to read it more than once! I am honored. I definitely was going for a musical sound and even dabble in writing musical lyrics myself, so that is quite a compliment I take to heart. I appreciate you. Reply
Laura January 30, 2024 This is hauntingly beautiful, Christina. Sentiments that resonate with anyone who has lost and you manage to reach into that part of us who wonder what the future has in store for us. I love how despite your emotional dark journey, you see hope and are ready to face tomorrow. Brought back memories of the last scene in Gone With The Wind. You are quite gifted, Christina. I really loved this poem. Reply
Christina Lesinski January 30, 2024 Thank you so much for your heartfelt response to my poem. I like your correlation to Gone with the Wind, I can see how it emits a similar vibe. I am pleased that this poem resonated with you! Reply
R M Moore January 30, 2024 Dear Christina, This is a beautifully written poem. I felt the sensitivity it brought to my mind, and it was comforting. RM Moore Reply
Christina Lesinski January 30, 2024 I truly appreciate you reading and responding to my poem. Thank you for the kind compliment and sentiments. God bless! Reply
jd January 30, 2024 I found your poem beautiful, Christina, and a perfect expression of grief. The repetitions were very effective as others have said. And the final two strophes are almost like that shuttering breath after long weeping and a reminder that His love is still there. Reply
Christina Lesinski January 30, 2024 Thank you, jd, for your attention to my poem. Your interpretation of a long sob followed by a “shuddering breath” is very intuitive, and certainly mirrors my perspective when I wrote it. I began with a lot of sad tragic sentiments to express, a lot to release as it were, but then by the end I did feel and emit a sense of relief and calm. Again, I appreciate your time! Reply
Cynthia Erlandson January 30, 2024 I am fascinated with this form which you have invented! It fits this particular subject perfectly. The rocking rhythm — especially noticable with the repetitions of words and phrases — is a kind of music that seems to imitate sobbing. In addition to the appropriate rhyme scheme Margaret mentioned, there are some nice internal rhymes, starting with the first verse’s “wasted/chased it.” Overall, this is a very lovely poem! I’m so glad you’re here! Reply
Christina Lesinski January 30, 2024 Cynthia, thank you so much for your astute analysis and warm welcome! I am indeed new here, this is my first submission and I feel very honored. I am learning so much from all of you already. I am pleased that the poem sounded musical to you, and can see the correlation to sobbing. I am also glad you appreciated the rhyming patterns. Thanks again and take care! Reply
Brian A. Yapko January 30, 2024 Christina, your poem is quite special in the way you present and then sustain a very wistful tone. While those unique repetitions certainly convey a sense of the weary cyclic passage of time (again, again, again), I also read them as echoes — echoes which seem to drift away with no hope of being able to retrieve them. Echoes which make one wonder… will anyone hear them and respond? Reply
Christina Lesinski January 30, 2024 Hello Brian, Thank you for your thoughtful response to my poem! I can see what you mean about the wistfulness and the echoes. And indeed it could leave one with that bleak sense of hopelessness, even with that hint of hope at the end. A voice crying in the wilderness is not often heard, to be sure, and the echoes dissipate into thin air. It is a situation that many face, and all we can hope for is the faith, strength and support to carry on. Thanks again for your valuable feedback! Reply
Marissa January 31, 2024 So much emotion is conveyed through the lines. I wish I knew more about poetry to give you a proper compliment. I hope this poem is healing for you and for all who read it. Reply
Christina Lesinski January 31, 2024 Thank you so much, Marissa, for your more-than-proper compliment! I appreciate your time and sincere caring words. God bless you! Reply
Catherine January 31, 2024 This poem is so poignant, it touched my soul. The feeling of hope like a sunrise at the last stanza was incredible and gave me all the goosebumps. Bravo, Christina! Well done! Reply
Christina Lesinski January 31, 2024 Thank you, Catherine, for your lovely feedback on my poem! I am pleased that you read the conclusion the way I meant it, and that it touched you so. I appreciate you! God bless. Reply
David Whippman February 1, 2024 Christina, this resonated with me. We waste time and go on making the same mistakes! In this piece, you create your own meter and make good use of it. Good work. Reply
Christina Lesinski February 1, 2024 David, I am pleased to hear that you were able to connect with my poem. I believe we all feel this way at some point or another. I thank you for your complimentary feedback! Reply
Lupe Dillon February 1, 2024 Christina, your moving poem is a brave and very personal account and self-analysis of a break-up that is painful but that also questions the role you might have played in what seemed so real. Your introspection touched me deeply and held me in suspense throughout each stanza by the numerous reminders and references of time, both in your appropriate choice of words and in the repetitions. Your story took me through your emotional tragedy and I very much welcomed your plea in the second to the last stanza. Asking for God’s help is like the crescendo to your poem…loud and clear! As mentioned by others, it was a definite sigh of relief. I also love how you remind the reader of the title of the poem by using it in your last stanza to introduce your show of strength and optimism, possible with God’s grace. Beautifully written, Christina. Reply
Christina Lesinski February 1, 2024 Thank you so much for your insightful response to my poem! I am touched that it had such an effect on you and that it kept you reading in anticipation. While it may not be the kind of poem that one necessarily enjoys, I am glad you were able to appreciate its value and see the significance of its narrative, of the impact this personal experience had on me. I love how you describe that stanza as a crescendo, as that is indeed what it felt like. The calm after the peak of a storm… Turning to God in these moments is the best and often only way for me to find that “light at the end of the tunnel.” Thank you for taking this little emotional roller coaster with me, for your empathy and beautiful comments! Reply
Magdalena February 1, 2024 Dear Christina, Such a beautiful expression of words! Your poem touched my heart and soul with sadness and joy! With every repetition of words, I can almost feel tears ready to fall, yours, mine, maybe both of ours, who’s to know! May this be the first of many more beautifully written group of words for us to enjoy! Sent from my iPad Reply
Christina Lesinski February 1, 2024 My heartfelt thanks to you for your feedback on my poem. Your words touched MY heart in so many ways! Yes indeed there have been many tears along this road, but it has been very alleviating to know I am not alone. I hope to help others feel like they are not alone as well. Your tenderness and compassion do not go unnoticed, and I am so grateful for your encouragement to continue writing! Reply
