This poem is so vivid and the words expressed are so wise. Firstly, I love the images here. I love how you have incorporated this much information just from a shirt you wore. It is amazing how there are little things in life that can trigger memories and thoughts and in your case it was something as simple as a flannelette shirt. Brilliant.

This poem to me reads like a little bit of history as well. If this is indeed about you, it's nice to get to know you a little better, what you believe in and your thoughts on love.

There are some parts of this poem that saddens me, especially when you talk about worlds being shattered and love can be selfish etc but the last stanza was breathtaking. I loved it. I love the idea that love, true love lasts forever!

Awesome poem Larry!!!

x

Well-rounded and thought-provoking. This stirred in me some very powerful, sympathetic, personal emotions.
I thought I would treat myself to a Larry poem, which I've only done once before... and I'm reminded of all that I'm missing by not venturing out and reading more poems by PnQ poets. We have some really talented authors here, and you are no exception, sir.

You write with a humbleness and an earnestness, and without all the arrogance that comes with youth who boast of their wisdom, and are everything but!

We younger folk have so much to learn. Thanks for reminding us of that :)

EDIT: Forgot to mention, I like the full circle of this poem.

Here, you seem to be at a more pessimistic, down-trodden period of your life -

"about a protective world to be shattered;
ten years more brought the realization
that love is the most selfish of feelings;
hardly another decade was needed
to prove how very short is forever."

It seems like you went through some real hurt to lose faith in the protectiveness of the world, the goodness of love, and the meaning of forever.

Then, at the end -

"The world loves the one who loves the world,
though pain inflicted early on teaches self-reliance
and like a parent's discipline it is levied
at times capricious.
Most important, when you love, truly love,
each moment is forever, even when it ends."

This is the lesson you learned. Not to be pessimistic, but to be realistic, and to keep faith.

The world will give you what you give to it, love does not have to be selfish if you love the right way, and happiness does not last forever, but if you cherish the happy times, you will understand how to appreciate the ups when they are gifted to you, and to keep them in your heart when times are hard.

Really love this poem. Really, truly.

Larry,
This is such a well written poem, not purely for it's qualities as flow and wording, but it shows wisdom that time teaches us to learn from our mistakes and to love a little more for we can grow in ourselves through the past

The images were vivid and the emotion strong, but the hope and in the inspiration to me here was the strongest quality, that age is beauty

love
xxx

Wow this poem is great:) I really love it, it inspires the reader:) you r really wise:)

Wow Larry,
You have really outdone yourself with the visuals here. Quite touching that you found yourself in the same flannel shirt of a young boy and it brought about this feeling. I too have had similar dejavu when donning a bicycle. The innocent eyes of children seem to behold something we can never understand, though we seem to understand more than is needed in our years since youth. Wonderfully penned with touches of nostalgia.

Larry
The only thing that could overshadow the sheer beauty of your words is the wisdom brought forth in this poem. It's wisdom that comes from having lived to an age that allows one to look back over several decades to truly understand what it's all about; be it through a favorite toy, a familiar phrase or, yes, even a flannel shirt. This is a remarkable piece.
Anna

I sense so much wisdom and kind of nostalgia in your poetry, and I love that, every piece of yours feels like a tiled little shanty at the top of an outliving mountain, it just feels so poetic. You always use the right words, the right colors and the right emotions for every idea. I admire the contradictions in this poem, especially the vivid yet isolated memory part, as if this memory is so close to your mind, you can feel it, live it again but it's old at the same time, it was like...many many many years ago or something, I'm just in awe! I couldn't imagine how a memory would be retrieved by a vision, until I remembered an old poem of yours (one of the poems I had to comment when you won and I lost or there was some kind of condition or promise, haha, remember?) Of course, visioning a memory would save it from oblivion, this thought is just digging my imagination, well-done. The flannel shirt metaphor was a smart choice as well as the colors used to describe it. The repetitions of some certain words felt a bit odd, at first, to me, but then, when I finished reading, I was ok with it, though I really have no idea if you had an intention of it or not.

'Firmly I held to the permise
that the world loved me,
would always protect me, and
happily ever after meant forever.'

I could totally feel you here, the word 'Firmly' refers to your conviction of being loved and protected, whether it be faked or not, I like it.

'It took just ten years for illusions
about a protective world to shatter,
ten years more brought the realization
that love is the most selfish of feelings;
hardly another decade was needed
to prove how very short is forever.'

You perfectly worded your inside, perfectly tuned your thoughts and it was a surprise how you explained yourself in that sensuous way. Yes, it is true... Forever is short for those who live it in complete satisfaction, regardless the hardships that might obstruct their ways and regardless the long days that could turn their hairs into grey, dye their skins with decrepitude but never decay their loving hearts. Gosh, if only you knew what these few lines did to me. The bit about love being the most selfish emotion didn't really interest me, I analyze love differently, see it to be sincere like an early morning, an innocent child even if this child is demanding and in need of patience and discipline.

Always write about life, Sir, I beg you.