Live Virtual Group Session: 12PM EST January 31st 2025

12 Comments

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this session!

For this session we took a close look at the 1947 painting “Les Clochards, Montmartre, Paris” by Loïs Mailou Jones, posted below.

Our prompt was: “Write about going our separate ways.”

Participants are warmly encouraged to share what you wrote below (“Leave a Reply”), to keep the conversation going here, bearing in mind that the blog of course is a public space where confidentiality is not assured.

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Please join us for our next session Friday February 7th at 12pm EST, with more times listed on our Live Virtual Group Sessions.

Les Clochards, Montmartre, Paris by Loïs Mailou Jones

Credit: Loïs Mailou Jones, Les Clochards, Montmartre, Paris, 1947, casein on board, 21 x 35 1/2 in. (53.3 x 90.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of the artist, 2006.24.9

12 thoughts on “Live Virtual Group Session: 12PM EST January 31st 2025”

  1. Rita B's avatar Rita B

    Going our separate ways – Rita Basuray

    To go our separate ways, we have to meet up first. That act in itself could be a story.

    So, why do we go our separate ways? We don’t have to, or do we?

    Mismatched ideas? Different political view points? Age? Vision?

    Could be one or many things strung together and knotted over time. Should we be sad? Relieved? Or have a myriad of emotions? Or nothing at all? I like the idea of nothing – life just goes on, after this moment of reflection, ending in oblivion.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  2. bomimusings's avatar bomimusings

    we lock eyes—

    this is the moment.

    just an ordinary one, and yet

    it’s time to say

    goodbye.

    good memories surface,

    somehow more vividly now.

    a cloud of doubt,

    was it really that bad?

    we’ve decided this,

    i’ve decided this.

    with one blink, a turn of the body,

    truly, I say,

    goodbye.

    Thank you for reading!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  3. rehavia6's avatar rehavia6

    Our Separate Ways

    If I look at you too closely

    I am likely to feel your pain.

    I might recognize that your misfortune could

    Easily be mine.

    We are really not that different.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. al3793's avatar al3793

    Prompt: Writing about going our separate ways…

    At some point we must go our separate ways
    Our ways have become incompatible
    my center rests on the other, yet we,
    like two protons approaching each other
    at a speed beyond knowing
    at some point are repulsed by their
    discordant opposing charges
    A conundrum of physics and chemistry
    When the formulas cross the board six times and more
    the brain physically hurts
    and delivers insult to the
    soul of what I do
    The heart and the soul hurt
    and at some point the heart and soul must no longer
    enable the pouring of salt
    The only resolution is another way.
    When a lifetime is spent focusing on the Other
    you cannot go back the same way you were
    was the message from the angel to the Magi.

    Like

    Reply
  6. cnmcolumbia's avatar cnmcolumbia

    Posting on behalf of Andre:

    At some point we must go our separate ways 

    Our ways have become incompatible 

    my center rests on the other, yet we, 

    like two protons approaching each other 

    at a speed beyond knowing 

    at some point are repulsed by their 

    discordant opposing charges 

    A conundrum of physics and chemistry 

    When the formulas cross the board six times and more 

    the brain physically hurts 

    and delivers insult to the  

    soul of what I do 

    The heart and the soul hurt 

    and at some point the heart and soul must no longer 

    enable the pouring of salt 

    The only resolution is another way. 

    When a lifetime is spent focusing on the Other 

    you cannot go back the same way you were 

    was the message from the angel to the Magi. 

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    • michele348's avatar michele348

      Working in opposition to what the heart and soul directs. A difficult task, but the shining light will lead the speaker on the right path.

      Like

      Reply
  7. michele348's avatar michele348

    About going our separate ways~~~

    I can do no more.
    I tried to vocalize
    what lies deep within me,
    but the words seem to evaporate in mid-air.

    Maybe they were not spoken at all,
    or perhaps they were intercepted
    and lost in translation.

    What must I do to be heard?
    Is it even possible anymore
    in a society that builds walls
    to contain, to keep out, to separate.

    I attempt to listen, to absorb what others say,
    to process what I see and hear.
    But words often feel so pointed,
    directed at tearing down
    rather than building up.

    So, what choice do I have?
    I suppose we must go our separate ways,
    our voices unheard by the other.
    For how long? God only knows.

    I choose to listen
    to the melody of the bluebird
    perched on a branch of a sugar maple
    and watch the sky melt into
    red, orange, and coral brush strokes
    as the sun sinks below the distant horizon.

    This brings me peace; this brings me hope.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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