*It’s so hard to celebrate
Knowing all the things I know
Seeing all the things I’ve seen
The heartache of being forced to grow
Gone is the laughter
Along with all the pains
Smoothed out all the ups and downs
Only my shell remains
But I’ll pick up the cup again
And force myself to form a smile
Use up a little bit more of the magic
In celebration for a while
Still held in back of mind
A sliver of suspicion to spoil
To temper all the champagne bubbles
Dark whispers ply their toil
Submitted to What’s Going On – balance and for the prompt of ‘celebration’ at completing my first course at AllPoetry.com. Maybe these words seem a little dark but for me they represent a life of fewer ups and downs and a smoother balance in my thoughts and actions.
*First three lines appropriated from Lou Barlow’s ‘It’s So Hard To Fall In Love’.
1994ever 
I love how this feels like a thought process – figuring things out – wonderful! Jae
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My writing is all about figuring things out! Thanks Jae 🙏
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“But I’ll pick up the cup again
And force myself to form a smile” Most beautiful and powerful way to deal with hard life.
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Thank you. 🙏 My hardships have mostly been in my head!
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i so resonate with “the heartache of being forced to grow” and the resilience of “but i’ll pick up the cup again.” It takes courage to keep moving forward. Congrats on completing your course at allpoetry !
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Thanks Sherry. 🙏
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Life holds a lot of ‘laughter’ along with some ‘pains.’ It is good sometime to have a period when life seems to be a time of balance, neither up or down.Thoughtful writing.
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Thank you Mary 🙏
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It must be hard to sacrifice those ups… but if it’s needed to get rid of the downs…. it is probably a cause for celebration.
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Being diagnosed with mild depression and discovery that my father was bi-polar put some things in perspective at the time.
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A poem of courage to get through the hard times
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Thank you. 🙏
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The courage to voice this kind of situation. One does what one can. See ya!
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Thanks for reading and commenting. 🙏
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Your poem feels a bit dark and I wonder what is the celebration about? There is a sense of loss. Maybe, it’s just me today feeling mellow.
The ups and downs of life certainly leave one exhausted but at least you can still take the cup.
Congratulations on finishing your course.
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Celebrating the struggle. Celebrating the survival. We all lose something along the way.
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Shaun, to be aware of the yin/yang waxing and waning hopefully keeps imbalance at bay.
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