118 Comments
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mary g.'s avatar

This is fantastic, Mary! Love your poem(s)!!!

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Mary Roblyn's avatar

Thank you, mary. I’m glad you enjoyed them.❤️

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Rita Ott Ramstad's avatar

I love this. So much. And socks are always the perfect gift. If they are the right socks.

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Mary Roblyn's avatar

Thank you, Rita. I love it when people buy me socks. It’s one thing that makes me happy, because I never buy good socks for myself. It’s always about practicality. And I don’t think I’m alone.❤️

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Rita Ott Ramstad's avatar

For awhile, my mom and I used to buy each other socks for holiday gifts. There was something wonderful about buying (and receiving) really good socks that we probably wouldn't buy for ourselves. We fell out of the practice, and now I do buy good socks for myself. Decided I'm too old for crappy socks.

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Mary Roblyn's avatar

Exactly. The Christmas before last, I bought everyone really good socks, some with a supposed lifetime warranty. I’m glad I did, because with my husband’s cancer, his feet were swollen and I helped him dress. He would call me from the hospice and ask for certain pairs. A nice memory.

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Rita Ott Ramstad's avatar

This is really touching, and I'm pretty sure I'm never going to look at socks quite the same way again. 💙

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DeeDee D's avatar

These are wonderful! ♥️

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Mary Roblyn's avatar

Thank you, Dee Dee. So glad you enjoyed them.❤️

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June Girvin's avatar

Sock poems. What a triumph!

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Mary Roblyn's avatar

Thank you, June. I had fun with these.❤️

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Monica P.'s avatar

Great job, Mary. A delight. I think you covered all bases very cleverly.

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Mary Roblyn's avatar

Thank you, Monica.❤️

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Deborah T. Hewitt's avatar

I absolutely love this! Darn socks.

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Mary Roblyn's avatar

Thanks, Deborah!❤️

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Julie Wise's avatar

Delightful! And it proves that anything can be an inspiration for writing.

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Mary Roblyn's avatar

I love writing about things that get overlooked or ignored or taken for granted. So glad you enjoyed this.❤️

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Julie Wise's avatar

Finding the sublime in the mundane...with a touch of humour 😉

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Cherie Lee's avatar

Fun! And timely - I just purchased new socks today!

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Mary Roblyn's avatar

Sweet. I love the feeling of putting on new socks.❤️

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Vivienne Mae's avatar

Me too

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Mary McCormick's avatar

Charming, rueful, witty--and great photos to boot.

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Mary Roblyn's avatar

Thanks, Mary! ❤️

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Tiffany Chu's avatar

Such a fun poem! I love socks. Who knew?

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Mary Roblyn's avatar

Thanks, Tiffany! I had a good time with this.

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Petra Hernandez's avatar

Such a playful and real poem, Mary. It speaks to life. As a person who predominantly wears black I loved the lines, "Do you know how many shades of black there are?/Said the mother of six boys, sorting socks." 😂 So many!

And I'm so glad you felt comfortable and welcome in the Poetry Adventure. My three biggest hopes when I host these are that people will feel welcome, creatively energized, and hopefully, like they are part of a (at least momentary) community. So thank you for sharing your experience and speaking so kindly of it. :)

I am looking forward to seeing more of the poems you have been crafting, from this Adventure and beyond.

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Mary Roblyn's avatar

I’m grateful to you for sharing the invitation. I thought the idea was really clever. I tried to keep up with the prompts, and did come up with some poems that I was happy with. One of the things I loved was how unexpectedly each word could be interpreted. And the yes, all the shades of black. I knew a mom who had six boys, and commented on how hard it was to sort their black socks. And it just gave me a sense of how overwhelming it must be to accomplish something so mundane.

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Petra Hernandez's avatar

I know what you mean about the unexpected ways the words can be interpreted. Even after coming up with the list, I'm surprised at what actually comes forward on the day of the prompt. It's so cool how creativity reaches into our mind and life. And to see what it invites forward. :)

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Jeffrey Streeter's avatar

My Mum had six boys. I think she probably gave up sorting out which socks belonged to who at an early stage! I love the thought about shades of black in that poem, too.

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Mary Roblyn's avatar

Six boys! I don’t know how she did it. I had one, and he was a challenge, but I’m so grateful for him. As your mother is, I’m certain, for you.

And yes: shades of black. When I think of the success of that shades of gray franchise, it offends me on many levels. When I think of shades of black, it could be a great koan or even a sutra. I could meditate on it forever.

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Adam Lombard's avatar

I love the poem, Mary! "Even matched, some socks are misfits" is such a great line. Thanks for including me in your post, and I look forward to reading more of your poetry. 😊

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Mary Roblyn's avatar

Thanks, Adam. I had a lot of fun writing this. I enjoyed reading your poems and Petra’s as well. A delightful challenge.

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Ann Kennedy Smith's avatar

This is great, Mary. Just right for this Monday morning. It made me smile, admire your poetic dexterity and look at my sock drawer in a new, more respectful way.

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Mary Roblyn's avatar

Thank you, Ann! I’m so glad you enjoyed these. My work for the day is done.😊

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Rona Maynard's avatar

Such inspired whimsy! Your socks are as cool as your poem. I particularly like the visual riff on Frank Lloyd Wright. Question: Have you ever had a cat “kill” a sock by spiriting it off to some dusty corner? Our cats used to love hunting socks.

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Mary Roblyn's avatar

Yes, socks and cats. I do believe there’s a feline - clothes dryer - sock connection. Warm spaces, maybe.

I’ve read stories about how dictatorial Wright was when it came to the furnishings of the homes he built. Even down to the dish towels. You may have commissioned and paid for the place, but he was only allowing you to live there. I do love his Tree of Life motif, though. It speaks to me.

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Barbara Brown's avatar

At the office one year instead of a White Elephant we had a sock exchange - most fun ever!! I LOVE socks and these poems are WONDERFUL!

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Mary Roblyn's avatar

Barbara, thank you. You’re very kind. I’m glad you enjoyed this. A sock exchange sounds like something I could really get into. Who doesn’t love socks?❤️

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Amy Gross's avatar

This was marvelously inspiring! And fun!

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Mary Roblyn's avatar

Thank you, Amy! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.❤️

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