I glisten to distract,
like a snowflake;
the sparkle before the melt.
Particles of fleeting perfection
floating through the hands of time,
falling through all these imperfections.
If only my clutch were tighter, truer,
if only I knew more of my own truth,
too many skins already slipped through,
too much prediction put on that perception
of perfection that can never be preserved.
A snowflake
cannot be caught intact. We cannot catch a cloud.
We cannot always clear the way for the truth.
Perfection: a twist of our perception,
a precious perspective from a single point
never again to be seen. What if it’s never seen at all?
Glistening like a snowflake, falling.
A snowflake can be a melting tear
or a tiny miracle on track to disappear.
Truth; an elusive illusion, a deathly desire
tenuously tied to what I present to you
and to how you perceive me.
To what we fear and what we are willing to reveal.
I glisten,
to distract attention
from all about me that doesn’t sparkle.
All words and designs by Damien B. Donnelly
Damien B. Donnelly 
This poem says so much Dami! Another beauty (btw, the 2nd-to-last line needs a quick edit).
Thank you Liz, this was an interesting write and revealed more truths, to even me, as it unfolded. Thanks for the tip about the error- lifesaver 🙏❤️
I’ll copy here what I’ve just put on your twitter tweet ’cause it took a while for me to format my response.. “Gorgeous! which hardly does your poem justice but I read it and I feel like I’m falling, and falling.. in a downward spiral although not in a depressive way – I just fall silent and I’m in some place where there are no words.”
Once again, Damien, you grabbed me with the ending of a poem, forcing me to consider the question of who I really am and how it relates to the “me” that I present to the world. Can anyone know me the way that I know myself? Can I know for sure how others perceive me? Do they see more than I think I am sharing? Can I actually hide a part of myself by glistening more brightly to distract attention? Why do we wear ourselves out striving to attain a sense of perfection that probably does not exist? Are we only fooling ourselves?
“Truth; an elusive illusion, a deathly desire
tenuously tied to what I present to you
and to how you perceive me…”
The older I get the more I realize being misunderstood is often because I have been mis-explained by my own hands, words, gestures, fears. What others see is often only down to what I have been willing to reveal.
I hope you are doing well and settled back home and ready for the festive season. Christmas hugs on the way to you my friend 🤗🎄
I am hosting a friend’s Cocker Spaniel this week, so there will be no shortage of snuggling. Freckles and I will be traveling a couple hours on Christmas Eve for dinner with the extended family of my ex and then will have Christmas dinner the following evening with some close friends. I can see from the decorations that you featured in a posting that everything is decked out there for the holidays. Hugs across the Atlantic to you, Damien, and wishes for a wonderful Christmas.
Thank you Mike, sorry last night I had just gotten into bed after a day of cooking from 10am till 7pm and then eating so was shattered.
Glad you hear you and the spaniel will be sharing Christmas with friends so I wish you both a wonderful day of food and fun and best wishes for 2020 and thanks for being a part of my Paris round up 2019 🤗🎄☘️