My Hands

[dafydd manton]

My hands.

They are not particularly large hands.
Nor are they especially strong,
Any more.
They have been used well,
Over the long arches of the years.
They have held babies,
But they have held grown men at bay.
They have carried a gun
But they have held a pen, too.
They have worked hard.
And played hard.
They have held flowers,
And strong drink.
Just once in a while,
They have fought.
Oh, they were strong once,
But they were never large.
Yet now, cupped,
They are just the right size to hold
Your heart.

[hillwalker]

A lovely image, daf. Well-crafted, understated and poignant. You ar becoming such a mellow fellow.

[dafydd manton]

Thanks Hill, I appreciate it. Me, Mellow Yellow? Hmmmmm!

[hillwalker]

No, that's just the banana in you coming out again.

[dafydd manton]

Diolch yn fawr iawn. Unwaith eto Max!

[Jerrybaldy]

I wonder sometimes what it must be like to be Daf. From the little I know, a man of comedy and I will always now remember your quote of having written two (or was it three... Matron??) serious poems, to you here today pouring your heart out most (all?) days.
Lal if you are listening you can copy this. Its not generic or backslapping.
I really enjoyed reading this Daf. As all of us here are a pair of hands on a keyboard, I like to think you looked down on them pressing the keys and wrote away. Your hands do a lot of what makes a lifetime and you captured that all here.
As this is now too long to be a generic compliment and it hasnt been copied and pasted you can take it as a genuine appreciation.
cheers Duck

[dafydd manton]

Quack! And very, very close to me! (Not you, her!)

[Jerrybaldy]

Well of course not me you old Welsh git

[dafydd manton]

Thank you. (Ratbag!)

[Delta40]

nice poem Daffy. you have highlighted the amazing multidimensional purpose of hands.

[dafydd manton]

Thanks, Delta.

[Maryd.]

Hey there Dave... I thought I left a message here... Clearly I hadn't sorry sweet. I love this one. Holding one's heart is the biggest gift of all.
Mwah to you sir.

[PrinceMyshkin]

Bloody 'ell, I was enjoying this, thinking it was a good bit of self-characterization and then - and then you had to turn it into something even better with that last line!

[angliholic]

My favorite lines:

But they were never large.
Yet now, cupped,
They are just the right size to hold
Your heart.

Thanks, Daffy, for sharing this piece! It's simply great! I love it!

[tailor STATELY]

A touching poem.

If I might chance a small critique:

But they have held a pen, too.
They have worked hard.
Played hard, too.

Re: the two 'too's I would suggest combining the above L2 & L3 into one sentence, divided by a comma, and drop the second 'too'; as an example:

But they have held a pen, too.
They have worked hard,
and played hard.

(Alert, remaining nimble to avoid the flames)
Sincerely,
tailor STATELY