“It is the burden of life to be many ages
without seeing the end of time.”
from Seven in the Woods / Dead Man’s Float
If I could live a thousand more lifetimes
my life’s story would never change
I would make the same choices
I would weather all storms
Or how else could I
write new chapters
of my life
page by
page?
©Vivian Zems
Real Toads- Tuesday platform
Smell The Coffee 
June 5, 2018 at 1:40 pm
Okay, I understand that if you had a thousand lives you would live the same way. To me this means you don’t regret any of the trials you have been through and all the choices you’ve made because they contribute to who you are. However, a thousand times if we are thinking literally is a lot of times. There isn’t anything you would try to do differently?
I think I would take on a thousand different paths each one adding on to the previous lessons I’ve learned because I hate routine and I’m too spontaneous for my own good. Loved the poem made me think. 💚💜
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June 5, 2018 at 1:54 pm
I appreciate your insight. No I wouldn’t change anything ‘cos it’s taken a lot of pain and mistakes for me to get to this point…. I’m not perfect, but I could die happy now. It’s too risky… imagine meeting 1000 different versions of my loved ones ? You’re full of adventure 😉Me, too old now.☺️
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June 5, 2018 at 4:20 pm
Lol I see what you mean. Spontaneity I think has more to do with temperament and personality than age. Haha. Well I don’t mean it in the way of different versions but more 1 version with 1000 chances to develop themselves and ourselves essentially. It is risky in a way I suppose….maybe it’s because im still in the beginning of my journey that I see it this way. Nice talking to you Vivian.
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June 5, 2018 at 6:47 pm
Good insight. Nice talking to you too ☺️
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June 5, 2018 at 1:45 pm
You are very lucky and must be very serene to know that you would never change anything 🙂
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June 5, 2018 at 1:49 pm
If I changed even 1 thing-much as I’d love to…. I wouldn’t be talking to you!😃
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June 5, 2018 at 1:55 pm
I know what you mean. But it takes confidence not to have regrets.
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June 5, 2018 at 6:53 pm
Or extreme foolishness 😂
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June 5, 2018 at 7:48 pm
But I don’t think you fall into that category 🙂
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June 5, 2018 at 8:07 pm
Lol!
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June 5, 2018 at 2:19 pm
I love this and can relate to the feeling 💜 I too wouldn’t prefer to change anything. Our trials and tribulations shape us into the person we are meant to be 🙂
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June 5, 2018 at 8:08 pm
Well said Sanaa! Thank you 😃
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June 5, 2018 at 3:41 pm
Totally unreasonable, Vivian. I lived and loved it. I often say this tongue in cheek, depending on who is listening.
Actually, I’ve lived a full life and have done all the things I needed and wanted to do. Though still in fairly good health I’m ready to crater at any breath. BTW, some of those things I never would have dreamed of when I started. I won’t tell which ones.
..
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June 5, 2018 at 6:52 pm
Hi Jim! We find ourselves where we are- no matter what.
I’m curious now about the things you’re keeping hidden😂. Thank you.
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June 5, 2018 at 3:47 pm
Lots of food for thought here. If the choice were before me right now, I would change more things than I can count on my fingers and toes. The other side of that is everything that has happened to us has contributed to making us who we are today. Adversity is a great character builder, and who we would have been without it is anybody’s guess.
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June 5, 2018 at 6:49 pm
You’re so right- we’re the sum of all that we’ve gone through. I appreciate your thoughts ☺️
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June 5, 2018 at 4:07 pm
I guess this is about seeing that everything has led to here and now, so it was the right road for you to take. Accepting the past, and seeing how it adds richness to the present. Accepting yourself and your mistakes and your triumphs. Why not? A poem doesn’t have to be the whole truth, it can be a truth, a way of seeing things, or a work of fiction, or a fleeting insight.
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June 5, 2018 at 6:48 pm
A wonderful analysis Sarah, thank you!
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June 5, 2018 at 5:47 pm
Songs are written about this ‘Non Je ne regrette rien..’ Everyone seems to agree except me. I have some regrets and would have done a few things differently if I had my time over again but as I am at the pointy end of life I am happy that I can still surf ,live near a beach, mow a paddock ,drive a van and lose myself in poetry. Like the form of your poem.What is the name ?
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June 5, 2018 at 6:46 pm
Thanks Rall! It’s a blessing to be able to do all those things. The form is a nonet. 9 syllables – all the way down to 1. Glad you liked it☺️
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June 5, 2018 at 6:13 pm
excellent write.. it really had me thinking well done
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June 5, 2018 at 6:46 pm
Thank you!
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June 5, 2018 at 6:47 pm
I’m with you for the most part, but I’m thinking about all the things that happen to us over which we have no control & I’m assuming that, in some other reality, they’d still be there, but they’d be different. Thus, even though our response might be the same (based on our self-ness), the outcome would differ, I think. I’m finding it hard to imagine otherwise.
Thought-provoking verse!
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June 5, 2018 at 7:01 pm
Thanks Ron! I’m glad it resonated with you ☺️
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June 5, 2018 at 9:31 pm
Like you, I regret nothing because it has made me what I am today. A wise Poem Vivian. Very wise and full of self-confidence.
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June 6, 2018 at 12:56 am
kaykuala
If I could live a thousand more lifetimes
my life’s story would never change
I would make the same choices
Force of habit or in-born character will determine our reaction may not be that much different between differing times! Non-conformists rule the world!
Hank
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June 6, 2018 at 1:07 am
👍🏽🙂
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June 6, 2018 at 2:43 am
The stuff of a philosophy class! I appreciate the paradox that you slip into the ending of this, Vivian. Great response to that Harrison line!
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June 6, 2018 at 6:39 pm
Thanks Jilly!
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June 6, 2018 at 3:35 pm
Regrets won’t change anything. Wisdom is learned through experience. I am not sure what I would do in the redo of my life. Today is all I know. Beautiful writing.
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June 6, 2018 at 6:30 pm
Thanks Susie! You’re in good company ☺️
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June 6, 2018 at 9:00 pm
I think it’s not a question if you would make any other choices… I think the question is if you could
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June 10, 2018 at 2:14 am
I really like this. So insightful and inspiring. ☺
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