{SPT} the me who hides
Sometimes
I pull my hood up
and a force field surrounds me
the darkness may have come
but I can protect myself
a habit that began in college
and when moments lead me to melancholy days
again
I find pulling my hood up around my head
creates
a security blanket for my soul
This month's SPT theme being all of me made me think about capturing the feeling of the me who hides from the world when loneliness, grief, or other feelings of sadness creep in.
I was able to quickly tap into this feeling as I sat on the couch this morning. And I took a few pictures with the timer...but as I tried to capture the last one, Millie would have no part of the sadness anymore. She seemed to pose for the camera, captivated by the sound of the timer. So here is another self-portrait: the me with the big smile. People say that I have a beautiful smile. I never believe them. I am always focused on my big teeth and the way that my lip comes up so far that you can see so much of my gums. But here I am. All of me. From the hiding to the laughter.
See more SPT photos here
self-portrait
Reader Comments (19)
I love how these shots capture the extremes of your emotion. Millie has a very sweet face (as do you!) I am a good hider. In fact, when playing hide-and-go-seek I was rarely found. Sometimes I think I have the power to render myself invisible. Why do you thin it is that we are so afraid to allow our sweet vulnerablity to be seen?
i think you actually look peaceful in that first pic.....and the second is really sweet. plus your doggie is gorgeous.
it is fascinating how so many of today's SPT photos are really surprising (and revealing).
I love this post! At first when I saw the hood I thought of my son Ethan who wore his hood all day (because he thinks it is like a space helmet; he is 3). But through your poem I felt the saddness that does sometimes creep in all of our lives. I am glad you ended with your beautiful smile. You really captured the balance of emotions we all have.
Millie is gorgeous and so are you! I love this SPT
The second picture gave me the chills because it made it all so hopeful. Great post.
I was so busy looking at your smile I completely missed MILLIE!! What does that tell you?
That smile makes others smile! :))
you do have a beautiful smile! how I love the unexpected bliss that exudes from this picture! and Millie? so cute!
great choices for spt...
very revealing and capturing...
i love the idea of the
super-power-hood
:)
I think this was a perfect pic combo for "All of Me"... though we would have learned a lot about you from the first pic, the second one balanced it out so we could see the "full picture" of you. :)
I'm also glad that you were smiling in the second one, it makes me think you're one of those people who's smile lights up a room! Am I right?
beansprout - it's interesting to me that you were rarely found. there is a wonderful storyperson by brian andreas called hide & seek that says: I was never good at hide & seek because I'd always make enough noise so my friends would be sure to find me. I don't have anyone to play those games with any more, but now & then I make enough noise just in case someone is still looking & hasn't found me yet.
eekat - thank you! and i agree the SPT have been very revealing.
melba - love ethan's space helmet. i will think of this from now on too.
madness rivera - i love this idea of the hope. thank you
gkgirl - my hood as my superhero power. that is a nice twist on it...
Thank you to the rest of you for your kind words about my smile...I continue to try to own the beauty that is there in a big smile...
And you know I like the laughing one best-- yay for dogs to push us out of the slump!
~bluepoppy
Way to go Millie!
Thanks for stopping by my blog ... I've found great inspiration here, especially your SPTs. I love this one because, instead of getting frustrated with Millie you recognized the you she knows and loves and embraced it.
I say again, Way to go Millie!
Dogs sure have a knack for squirming their way into photos! It seems all photos around our house have at least a portion of dog in them. And your smile IS beautiful -- it's hard to see ourselves, I know. I took some pictures of myself for Swirly's self-portrait figment and it was such a weird experience to be looking right in the mirror, so sure of what I look like, and take a picture of exactly what I was seeing, and see myself look so different in the photo -- I don't know what it was, but it was weird and creepy. Like hearing my voice on the answering machine and wondering if I always sound like that to other people -- is this what I look like to other people? Weird.
two beautiful sides!
What great photos. I had a hard time with this one and ended up not posting one this week. However, you've given me something to think about.
By the way, I agree, you do have a wonderful smile!
Oh my gosh! I have a red, Old Navy, zip up hoodie that I have had for at least 8 years...and it's my security blanket, too!
what a great spt... and i love that you included the second photo, too... aw, the sweet power of the super hoodie!
I love how you use the word "habit" in the poem, because the hood kinda looks like "a habit." Not sure if that was intentional or not, but I dig your post either way!