It’s not the ache
nor a duty
not greed
not sacrifice
not possession or control
not conditional or transactional
not boundless in space nor in time
it can never be neglected
but need to be nurtured
neither simple nor complicated
neither demanding nor effortless
never enough when you seek it
but if found it’s forgotten
not forced or random
not complacent
not like the sea
nor the scent of a rose
it is easy and natural
but still who can tell:
What love really is?
Rene Magritte
Today I host dVerse MTB and we write by using negation to describe abstract matters. Please join when we open at 9 PM CET.
January 23, 2025
Björn Rudbergs writings 
You always choose the best artwork.
🙂
A most stunning rendition, Bjorn! I especially resonate with; “neither simple nor complicated/neither demanding nor effortless/never enough when you seek it.” Yes. Who knows what it really is. 🩷🩷
Indeed, thank you so much.
You’re most welcome! 🙂
this reads like a Victorian love puzzle and that last verse is so romantic. You have turned the verse from Corinthians on its head and it works so well from the what it’s not slant
Oh thank you… and yes it could work as a puzzle or a conceit as well.
truly had me thinking till the the last line
Good… I like that
That was approached very well, like the successful way through a maze — I found the prompt really fascinating…completely new.
You fill the white space by describing what’s around it.
i tend (at this stage of my life) to beleive
l”ove is pstient..”(1 Corinthians: 13 4-8)
nice one Björn
much♡love
Love is so many things, but there are a lot of things it is not.
Love the unusual approach to a topic that is often discussed. The listing of nor, not, neither is a good way to showcase this negation toolbox.
Thank you… it is something I try every now and then, it is a most useful tool actually.
Very nice, Bjorn. Describing what love is can be much more challenging.
Indeed it is.
I loved the puzzle aspect of it, too, and did not guess the answer until revealed at the end. Then I read it again and found every line to ring true.
Puzzle or conceit is something worth doing as well as a prompt
“never enough when you seek it
but if found it’s forgotten”
That one hit hard. You did have me guessing until the end.
Alas so many thing is just about the falling in love but not how to stay afloat.
I had guessed correctly. A beautiful poem Bjorn
Good. then it all made sense.
Yes it did. 👍🏼
A thoughtful listing of what love is not–
“not conditional or transactional”
“neither demanding nor effortless
never enough when you seek it”
Thank you for the prompt!
Thank you… but it would have been even harder to describe what it is.
You’re welcome, and true!
A text book demonstration of Negation Björn, and it reads like a riddle…
Yes that is one way of using it… I would call it conceit because I tell what it is in the end.
I KNEW it was love by the 4th line but associated it with the love a parent has for a child – it works for that as well as romantic love. It’s too big to define but you’ve done a great job setting some parameters with the negation!
Love is ~~~ the universal quest, what it is, the feeling, totally different for each of us. I love the challenge you presented us, the poem you composed ~ a gift.
never enough when you seek it
but if found it’s forgotten
^^^THIS.
Great job of describing the wrong ways to love. And how many of choose wrongly?
I’m so pleased to reconnect with you work 🙏
I cannot disagree…and I love your poem.
A great poem, Bjorn. Reading this I’m not sure if mine is correct, but I tried based on how I understood the prompt.
Pingback: Roberta Writes – d’Verse: Positivity through negation #poetry·
Oh wow! What’s not to love here!
I love the way you presented this, Bjorn.
thanks for visiting my site. I would be thrilled if you’d write a guest blog post for my site. If you think it might be fun or helpful to have my followers (who total about 10k across my various social media) meet you, here’s the link for general guidelines:
Strange yet powerful artwork. Thank you for sharing:)
Great negation poem, Bjorn!
Yvette M Calleiro 🙂
http://yvettemcalleiro.blogspot.com
Hi Björn, how are you these days? I haven’t been around WordPress as much in the last few years, but still do Friday Fictioneers when I can. I love this poem. Love is such a great paradox.
Have a great day,
David
Thank you David, it’s been a long time indeed. I only write on dVerse these days and I have focused a lot on my poetry. That said we actually have a fun prose challenge these days called prosery were we write prose on 144 words were we have to integrate a line from a poem into our prose. I have not written for Friday Fictioneers for years now, but we do receive som spillover with writers joining us every now and then. Monday is a good day to check out at http://dversepoets.com
Hi Bjorn, that sounds like a fun challenge, integrating poetry and prose together. Sounds like something that would be right up your alley. I’ll take a look!
It is on Monday every 4th week…
Prompt goes up at 3PM New York time