At dVerse Merril is hosting Prosery with an invitation to write some prose (144 words) including the line “I am bombarded but yet I stand” by Adrienne Rich from Planetarium.
dVerse Poets – Prosery – Bombarded
“Sometimes it takes a really good fall to really know where you stand.” Hayley Williams
Standing I am bombarded yet I stand. The winds howl, the waters rise and yet I stand. I know not how, I'm far from perfect, if you could know one tiny moment of my mind, you would, like a shotgun, violently recoil having discharged your shock. The anger rises and engulkfs, just like the haze of saharan dust storms covering everything. Heightening all my responses, highjacking my feelings, leaving me ravaged and spent like a used towel. I am tired and rung out, yet I stand. The voices clamour and bay, but I shut them out. Loud or silent, they shout. And though they would torment me, I stand. Where would I go, where would I run, to whom would I turn to.? I have no virtue, my morals are own, and yet I stand. Copyright 2021 ©Paul Vincent Cannon All Rights Reserved ®
parallax 
You do not loose, unless you give up.
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Too true Jim, never give up I say.
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It feels like you’re in between, confused, and struggling. Yet, you stand and still fight.
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You got it completely, it is as you say (although it can be something else for the reader) thank you for getting it/me.
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It’s ‘ Y O U ‘ as we know ever since ! It’s you ‘Paul’ !
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Ah, yes indeed it is, and one must be true, thank you Datta
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😊
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The repetition of ‘yet I stand’ is an incredibly powerful component of your prose!! Well done.
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Thank you very much for picking up on that Helen, and for your response to this.
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This reminds me of Dantes’ Inferno.
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Yes, now there’s a thought, that fits well for me too now that you raise it 🙂 Thank you Liz.
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You’re welcome, Paul.
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I like the variations on the prompt line here, Paul: that is really effective in enforcing your message!
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That is helpful feedback Ingrid and many thanks.
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Excellent writing, Paul. I imagined the writer as a nineteenth-century man–someone Poe or Conrad would know.
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Poe lives in my mind, yes, a tortured soul wrestling within, thank you Merril.
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You’re welcome, Paul.
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Imprisoned, or so it seems. Compelling write.
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Absolutely so Beverly, thank you.
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Well done. Standing is the ultimate thing one can do…
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Yes, so agree Brian and thank you.
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Reblogged this on The Reluctant Poet.
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Many thanks for that Chuck
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Always a pleasure to read and share your posts with followers, Paul!! Have a great day!
😊👍✨✨🎉
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I hear perseverance in the height of confusion in your words. An encouragement to keep going. 🙂
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Yes, that’s it really Astrid – keep going.
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Well done.
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Many thanks Bill.
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You’re welcome.
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Sometimes you just have to go on….
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It is the only way, but what a challenge.
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Wow great poem – cathartic maybe
>
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