31 Comments
Jul 9Liked by <Mary L. Tabor>

So haunting--from very first image to the interplay of poetry to the revelatory wisdom... "No one can provide anyone else perfect safety. But two people may provide moments of perfection that build on one another..." Love seeing this sensibility at work! 💜

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Love seeing you here. Since finding you via Kimberly Warner, you have become one of my favorite writers on women and relationships and much more. Thank you. lovely.

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May 27Liked by <Mary L. Tabor>

This is another wonderful chapter. I love how fairy tales, food and family memories keep getting revisited and used to explore old and new loves. K, my partner for 21 years, had his birthday on 3rd August... oh, those Leo men!

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Oh, these Leo men, indeed. D.: Leo.

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May 24·edited May 24Liked by <Mary L. Tabor>

"No one can provide anyone else perfect safety. But two people may provide moments of perfection that build on one another and that give them a sense of connection in the world, the sense, the belief that “again” will occur, with all the risks of existence, with all the changeable nature of the all too human."

great stuff right there

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Fab. What a reader you are.

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god i hope you arent giving me too much credit (wink(

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"We are blind when we believe we know the other’s story." - this line really hit me in the feels, Mary. It is such a profound truth and requires a great deal of humility to acknowledge how little we really know of others.

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Oh, Matthew, as you know, I so agree but more key is to tell you how grateful I am that you took the time to not only read, but to comment with such wisdom and feeling. Heart to heart, ~Mary

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Feb 28Liked by <Mary L. Tabor>

He responds to the story, responding to you. Beware the snake indeed!

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Will take care, for sure.

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This is wonderful, with all the erudition leading to insight. And I love the use of the Cinderella story.

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You give me courage, Jeff, because you keep reading and commenting with heart.

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Oct 28, 2023Liked by <Mary L. Tabor>

“We are blind when we believe we know the other’s story.”

Being on the other side of that is so disheartening. Reading this, validating that it occurs, lifted my spirits. I love this chapter, and yet I’m dying to know so much more….

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So glad—and much more to come! Your comment lifts my spirits.

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Sep 29, 2023Liked by <Mary L. Tabor>

Watching each other undress cannot reveal each story. We are all alone.

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Another wise comment. Thank you, Bill.

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Beautiful. I love(d) a man who had strong opinions on Wallace Stevens. He could spend hours ranting about "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird"

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One of my absolute favorite poems, Alicia. So glad to have you back reading, my love!

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird

Wallace Stevens

I

Among twenty snowy mountains,

The only moving thing

Was the eye of the blackbird.

II

I was of three minds,

Like a tree

In which there are three blackbirds.

III

The blackbird whirled in the autumn winds.

It was a small part of the pantomime.

IV

A man and a woman

Are one.

A man and a woman and a blackbird

Are one.

V

I do not know which to prefer,

The beauty of inflections

Or the beauty of innuendoes,

The blackbird whistling

Or just after.

VI

Icicles filled the long window

With barbaric glass.

The shadow of the blackbird

Crossed it, to and fro.

The mood

Traced in the shadow

An indecipherable cause.

VII

O thin men of Haddam,

Why do you imagine golden birds?

Do you not see how the blackbird

Walks around the feet

Of the women about you?

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Mar 13Liked by <Mary L. Tabor>

"O thin men of Haddam,

Why do you imagine golden birds?

Do you not see how the blackbird

Walks around the feet

Of the women about you?"

I want to say two things: I have not taken the time to decrypt this poem, but... there is majesty in those lines. Sometimes that is enough for me. Do not report me to the poetry teacher.

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Wondrous! Thank you, Adam, my virtual friend and grand writer.

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First poem of Stevens I ever read. Intrigued me from the get go.

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I'm so glad. Fab comment, much appreciated. I have the sense that we'll connect further through poetry and the love of literature--and I so hope from this memoir, as well. ~ Mary

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So glad to have found your writing ✍️❤️

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And me to have found yours. 💕

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Wow, that was an incredible read Mary! ❤️ After reading it, I giggled and thought- Who else but my Mary L. Tabor has communication exchanges quoting, the sonnet in Act I of Romeo and Juliet?

I adore you

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You are such a love, Debbie. big xo ~ Mary

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"Nietzsche, Match.com, a Chinese buffet in Sarasota..."

It all adds up to another stunning chapter.

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A lovely comment. My heartfelt thanks. ~ Mary

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Sep 14, 2023Liked by <Mary L. Tabor>

Amazing enriching read. Thanks, Mary xo

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Lovely, thank you, Isabelle.

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