Wednesday, January 16, 2013

10,000 Hours


It takes 10,000 hours to master a skill
But only one second, to have your needs fulfilled

Practice makes perfect or at least that’s what they say
You’ll still be standing here tomorrow
You’ll be closer, but so will sorrow
And then, you’ll have only yourself to blame

Night upon night, Day after day,
The longer the fight, the quicker we fade

There’s never been a ceiling, but there’s always been a floor
You can’t be found, if you don’t know what you’re looking for

There might be a heaven, but I know there’s a hell
I dream of the angels, but see the demons all too well

It takes 10,000 hours to master a skill
But only a second, to watch the warmth turn chilled
It takes 10,000 hours to master a skill
But it won’t matter, if in a second, all your dreams are killed

Stop on over to D'Verse, where Open Link Night is going strong.  With so much incredible poetry under one roof, it's the place to share and read.

13 comments:

  1. heck...that frightens me a bit...made me think of how long it takes to build a house...hours of work and skill and knowledge and how quickly everything is destroyed... next to hone our skills we def. need to walk the way of life with wisdom, build our "houses" on wisdom and solid ground..

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  2. oh, i see the demons, too! especially love this line ~

    "You can’t be found, if you don’t know what you’re looking for"

    great write, Fred!

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  3. ...quite a chilling read and raised many contemplation... "It takes 10,000 hours to master a skill...But it won’t matter, if in a second, all your dreams are killed.." ah, this in particular kept on ringing into my ears... and made me see how difficult it was to be called human and how uneasy it was to live in this world... they say practice makes perfect... but nobody's perfect...and so why practice... i say nobody's perfect...'tis true... yet in practicing one can somehow make his/her self close to that perfection they're lookin' into... great great affecting read Fred... smiles...

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  4. ha...nice thumping rhythm to this one man....i like it much...it spills off the tongue....scary warning in your words...it does only take a second to tear down you house...on second of indescretion....

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  5. Lots to think about here, Fred. I like the idea that there has never been a ceiling but has always been a floor. So true. But sometimes it is best to keep one's feet on the ground. Smiles.

    The repeating of the 10,000 hours. And, yes, if a person's dreams die after the master, all the skill in the world won't matter! Always interesting to see how your thoughts flow, Fred.

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  6. I just read about that somewhere. I was a bit skeptical. I think it's just something thrown up to express persistence.

    10000 hours but 1 short millisecond of moment to have your interest somewhere else, or be discouraged and give up.

    Sharp writing, to the point this one.

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  7. Damn it does take a long arse time, glad I can easily rhyme. It can all crumble so fast and the time mastering is vast, doesn't seem fair. But that is life and great flow at your lair.

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  8. this has a villanele quality to it, without actually being a villanele. i like that concept, creating your own form, that is...

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  9. Many good lines in this. Sad to realize that destruction takes so little time. Still it's worth the 10,000 hours to build something useful. Good writing.

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  10. a really sad piece... much truth in it, beautifully constructed. well done.

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  11. That's four hundred sixteen and two-thirds days, approximately one year and two months. But your right, "it won't matter, if in a second, all your dreams are killed."

    While I've heard the line "practice makes perfect," it has also been said "practice makes permanent." Which still is not entirely true, but if you practice incorrectly and 'master' a skill, it takes about three and a half times longer to unlearn and relearn the skill. hmm...

    "You can’t be found, if you don’t know what you’re looking for" and "I dream of the angels, but see the demons all too well" wonderful lines.

    I enjoyed the read; missed hearing you read it.

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  12. Great poem. I liked the line about how there has never been a ceiling but always a floor. Makes you think.

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  13. This chilled me Fred ~ I think at any given time, one second can change everything and put down to drain all that we have done or tried to master in our lifetime ~

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