Ode To My Left Hand
My best friend, to whom I am very attached.12 total reviews
Comment from Ms. Snyder
Hi LisaMay,
I absolutely adore this poem for a few reasons. First because it is spectacular both in its form and presentation. Second my son is a south paw and so was his biological father. I was forced at a young age to work with my right. I have a lot of left tendencies. When I used to ice skate or roller skate I was more dominant with my left than my right. Over the years, as a result of the world forcing me right, I have learned to do things with both hands for the most part. But I still have some things I can only do well on my left side. Thank you for all the author notes as well I always enjoy your added information. Good luck in the ode contest! Cheers, Fonda
reply by the author on 05-Mar-2019
  |
Hi LisaMay,
I absolutely adore this poem for a few reasons. First because it is spectacular both in its form and presentation. Second my son is a south paw and so was his biological father. I was forced at a young age to work with my right. I have a lot of left tendencies. When I used to ice skate or roller skate I was more dominant with my left than my right. Over the years, as a result of the world forcing me right, I have learned to do things with both hands for the most part. But I still have some things I can only do well on my left side. Thank you for all the author notes as well I always enjoy your added information. Good luck in the ode contest! Cheers, Fonda
Comment Written 05-Mar-2019
reply by the author on 05-Mar-2019
-
Hi Fonda, why am I not surprised that you are something of a "lefty"! The world may force itself upon us in some aspects of our lives but our true selves remain.
Thanks very much for your personal review... I am pleased to report that this Ode won the contest!
-
Wooo whoo!! Congratulations!!!!
-
Wooo whoo!! Congratulations!!!!
-
Thanks! Quite exciting to be a winner.. and then the other good thing that happened is my "honeymoon" themed short story (Adventures at Daydream Lake Resort), well, shuffle, shuffle, pause... it won its contest too!!!
-
I commented by my phone on the Ode and then on the other I got on my laptop to comment - you do know about Community - then the profile thoughts that you have on your page where people say congratulations to you it is out there as well. Right? Also, I won 2nd and tied with others I think for the 5-7-5 which was cool too - A good way to start off March - Like a Lion - LOL - Congratulations!!! I am so excited for you!
-
Oh i hardly ever check my profile... people probably think i am ignoring them and I am rudely inconsiderate.
Thanks for pointing that out... and congrats on your own successes. Yes, indeed a great start to the month.
Comment from PoemsOfDD
LisaMay, I really enjoyed reading this poem in ode to your left hand. It is very well constructed with clever rhyme to flow out in a logical sense. It got me thinking of how left-handed people do have to navigate more so than their right-handed fellows. If left-handed - the thought of just shaking hands, as you mention, is not that easy. Yes, a very interesting and thought provoking read. Thank you. ~DD
reply by the author on 05-Mar-2019
|
LisaMay, I really enjoyed reading this poem in ode to your left hand. It is very well constructed with clever rhyme to flow out in a logical sense. It got me thinking of how left-handed people do have to navigate more so than their right-handed fellows. If left-handed - the thought of just shaking hands, as you mention, is not that easy. Yes, a very interesting and thought provoking read. Thank you. ~DD
Comment Written 04-Mar-2019
reply by the author on 05-Mar-2019
-
Hello! I am pleased you noticed that shaking hands could be problematic to a lefty... I mentioned that on purpose in my poem, as it is instinctive to a lefty to put that hand out first. And that is why I could offer my own left hand a handshake!
-
Hi LisaMay, yes it is so easy to assume. I guess the modern fist pump has its benefits of being more hygienic as well as fitting to either hand. Who would have that. Thank you for the brain tickle :-) ~DD
Comment from Chrissy710
Fantastic poem and obviously a worthy winner LisaMay. Loved this and you describe very aptly the issues often faced by US lefties .Yes an one and can remember being smacked on my left hand with a ruler as a young child for writing with my left hand. I was also made to rewrite an essay becausecai had written in my left hand So I was forced to write with my right hand. Not very neatly. I can still write with my left hand but dont. Pay back ha Ha my three children are all left handed Yay. a grwat poem loved the meter and excellent rhyme Cheers Christine
reply by the author on 04-Mar-2019
 |
Fantastic poem and obviously a worthy winner LisaMay. Loved this and you describe very aptly the issues often faced by US lefties .Yes an one and can remember being smacked on my left hand with a ruler as a young child for writing with my left hand. I was also made to rewrite an essay becausecai had written in my left hand So I was forced to write with my right hand. Not very neatly. I can still write with my left hand but dont. Pay back ha Ha my three children are all left handed Yay. a grwat poem loved the meter and excellent rhyme Cheers Christine
Comment Written 04-Mar-2019
reply by the author on 04-Mar-2019
-
Hi Lefty-Chrissy! Nice to meet you. Brutality to children! I managed to get through my schooling with mostly lenient teachers but there were still a couple who wanted to make me change. My parents stood up to them luckily. I have a lot of left-handed friends and you have obviously bred some more. Good on you.
Thanks so much for the lovely review and the big fat 6.
-
You are welcome More please 👍👍
Comment from LIJ Red
I write righthanded but in my heyday my left eye was dominant, seeing at twenty feet what the average eye sees at ten, so I bat and chop and shoot left handed...a really mixed up chap...excellent ode to el sinistre, that good left hand...
reply by the author on 03-Mar-2019
|
I write righthanded but in my heyday my left eye was dominant, seeing at twenty feet what the average eye sees at ten, so I bat and chop and shoot left handed...a really mixed up chap...excellent ode to el sinistre, that good left hand...
Comment Written 03-Mar-2019
reply by the author on 03-Mar-2019
-
Thanks for reviewing, Red. I think it is shows good adaptability to use left / right as suits... survival is a good reason.
Comment from Stephanie Launiu
Left-handedness is my super power too. Your rhyming and meter are just fine, and I wish you luck in the Ode contest. You have my vote. Lefties have to stick together.
reply by the author on 03-Mar-2019
|
Left-handedness is my super power too. Your rhyming and meter are just fine, and I wish you luck in the Ode contest. You have my vote. Lefties have to stick together.
Comment Written 03-Mar-2019
reply by the author on 03-Mar-2019
-
Right on, sister! (See how we 'lefties' get left out of the language.)
Thanks so much for your supportive review... and vote. Much obliged.
Comment from jmshumate
This an excellent ode to left handers, I'm assuming you are a lefty. I like your last line in this well flowing poem. I may have been taught wrong, but I always learned never to trust a lefty because they might double cross ya! So I am giving you a six partly because I think this is a fine poem, but also because of fear of retaliation against us righties! Lol! Thank you for sharing.
reply by the author on 03-Mar-2019
|
This an excellent ode to left handers, I'm assuming you are a lefty. I like your last line in this well flowing poem. I may have been taught wrong, but I always learned never to trust a lefty because they might double cross ya! So I am giving you a six partly because I think this is a fine poem, but also because of fear of retaliation against us righties! Lol! Thank you for sharing.
Comment Written 03-Mar-2019
reply by the author on 03-Mar-2019
-
Yes, I am indeed a proud lefty... but trying to be more ambidextrous, You were definitely taught wrong! I am completely trustworthy! We do not carry swords these days, but that is why people were taught not to trust a lefty - because they could stab you in the back with a dagger held in their left hand. Devious skills can be useful. Just keep those 6-ers coming and there will be no retaliation! You have made a lovely start to my week. Right On!!.... being FS, that should probably be Write On!!
Comment from sfharper
I hadn't heard it called cack-handed before. Good use of humor and history to drive the homage and address to your left hand. I hadn't quite associated political stance with handedness before. Good unusual discussion, I enjoyed reading it. Good use of rhyme and good flow. I am ambidextrous sort of, often confused which is left and right, lol.
reply by the author on 03-Mar-2019
|
I hadn't heard it called cack-handed before. Good use of humor and history to drive the homage and address to your left hand. I hadn't quite associated political stance with handedness before. Good unusual discussion, I enjoyed reading it. Good use of rhyme and good flow. I am ambidextrous sort of, often confused which is left and right, lol.
Comment Written 03-Mar-2019
reply by the author on 03-Mar-2019
-
Thanks for reviewing. It's a good thing to be ambidextrous... but i guess not if it is confusing. "Cack-handed" is a reference to the fact that in some cultures the left hand is used to tidy up bodily functions, and the right hand is used when eating. For instance in India it would be considered offensive to eat with your left hand (they might wonder if you had just been to the toilet and used it in that activity). When I was travelling in India myself, being left-handed I was very conscious of this and got many disapproving looks, so I often sat on my left hand at dinner time so I would not offend anyone!
-
oh, how painful but such a good way to be culturally nonoffensive, there's so many things that can go wrong.
-
Too true. It's best not to offend folks these days or you might get your head cut off. See how backward the world has 'progressed" to?
Comment from RodG
When I was a teenager, I wished I was a southpaw, a left-handed pitcher like Sandy Koufax. Few Major League teams had enough on their rosters. But I also remember my sister having her knuckles cracked by a teacher's ruler because she dared to write with her left hand. Your poem is entertaining as well as informative. I especially like your use of a refrain to introduce each stanza.
reply by the author on 03-Mar-2019
|
When I was a teenager, I wished I was a southpaw, a left-handed pitcher like Sandy Koufax. Few Major League teams had enough on their rosters. But I also remember my sister having her knuckles cracked by a teacher's ruler because she dared to write with her left hand. Your poem is entertaining as well as informative. I especially like your use of a refrain to introduce each stanza.
Comment Written 03-Mar-2019
reply by the author on 03-Mar-2019
-
Thanks for reviewing, Rod. Being a left-handed sportsman is definitely an advantage. We lefties are used to playing against righties but they are less familiar with how to cope with us because we are more scarce.
As a child, my mother had her left arm tied behind her by a 'well-meaning' teacher.
Necessity is often the mother of invention and leads to a great result. I was running out of time to get this entry in and was struggling with the 2nd stanza, so I thought I'd save time by repeating a line... then I realised what a brilliant solution it was to reinforce the ode's subject.
Comment from 24chas
This was a good read, unknown writer. In honor, I'm only using my left hand to type this review. I know what you write is true because when my daughter was born my wife's father said make sure she's right handed. Oh, well. Your point is made. Nice job.
reply by the author on 03-Mar-2019
|
This was a good read, unknown writer. In honor, I'm only using my left hand to type this review. I know what you write is true because when my daughter was born my wife's father said make sure she's right handed. Oh, well. Your point is made. Nice job.
Comment Written 03-Mar-2019
reply by the author on 03-Mar-2019
-
That is so kind of you to physically empathise (if only for the reason that you are possibly holding your cup of tea in your right hand at the same time)! Thanks for reviewing.
Comment from Dolly'sPoems
I think it is pretty much accepted these days that people are left handed without much stigma and it is rather quirky to be left handed isn't it? Oh to be ambidextrous! A fine write, Love Dolly x
reply by the author on 03-Mar-2019
|
I think it is pretty much accepted these days that people are left handed without much stigma and it is rather quirky to be left handed isn't it? Oh to be ambidextrous! A fine write, Love Dolly x
Comment Written 03-Mar-2019
reply by the author on 03-Mar-2019
-
Yes, Dolly, you are right, there is no stigma in the West, but Asian cultures still have cultural reasons for being horrified if someone uses their left hand for food.
Being ambidextrous is definitely an advantage in this world, and I think most people have some degree of left / right abilities.
