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Mike Voss

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Would you dare to bare your soul to a stranger?

Poetry is so powerful! Especially when spoken directly from the creator in a whirling torrent of internal emotion. I could read a poem every year of my life, and discover new meaning each time.

So does the Ted community write their own poetry?

If so do you dare bare your soul here and now?

I don’t like to explain my own writing, because I believe that poetry is more about what it means to YOU than what it meant to me. Here is a short poem of my own to start things off:

There is a name for all those little things gone missing in your life
And there’s a word to strike the hunger from your ever-pressing strife.
Take the whole of everything you’ve gathered in your hold
And scatter all your trappings in the breaking of the mold.
Reinvent the manifest in the shadow of the truth
And rediscover all the things you’ve sorted under proof.

Mike Voss

Related Talks:
Topics: creative writing poem poetry writing
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    David Barnett 20+

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    Mar 28 2012: It is usually easier to bare your soul to a stranger...they have no preconceptions and do not judge. You have no idea how many strangers have told me about their divorces or medical problems just on the subway. These are usually the first places people go to busk...I'd rather sing a song to a complete stranger than my brother.
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      Mike Voss

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      Mar 29 2012: This is so true. It is funny how having a relationship with someone completely changes how you might act or react to them. If you are cut off in traffic you may instantly lose your mind in spitting a fit of rage, but if you then realize it was your brother in the driver’s seat of that car you might flip just as quick to laughter.

      I think you should immediately call your brother, and for no reason at all sing him a song! The full thing too… stick with it!
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        David Barnett 20+

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        Mar 29 2012: Ha. You obviously don't know my brother! It would be a very short phone call.

  • seth galli

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    Mar 22 2012: The unknown is an invitation to me, it is the room i have to grow, the real challenge is to shut down all the dogmatic systems in our minds to allow space for the unknown to blossom.
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    deniz toker

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    Mar 22 2012: Yes , I dare to bare my soul to not only a stranger but the whole world.
    What inside me is waiting to be shared.
    why should I hide it?
    But most people prefer to hide their feelings even from themselves.
    I always remember a quote " I feel, therefore I am"
    I add, If am here, I am here with my soul. If my soul is with me, why can't people see or feel it?

    Maybe people are too afraid to reveal or unleash it. And then, there is no point in having a soul.

    Hey Stranger,
    I am here for you.
    You are as strange as I am
    You are as beautiful or ugly as I am
    Look inside me if you have enough courage to do it.
    Come closer,
    Look at my eyes to see your reflection in them.
    without me
    without you
    How can we appreciate the pain or the gain?
    Now, calm down and take off your fears
    Let me see your color of soul...
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      Mike Voss

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      Mar 22 2012: Now this is the kind of attitude I would expect from most of the Ted community! People are afraid of the unknown for sure, but the more you challenge your own boundaries the less scary it seems every time.

      Bravo Deniz! And also very contextually appropriate to boot!
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    Derek Young 30+

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    Mar 22 2012: I have done that on several occasions, and it always seems to happen at bus stops. =)

    Bus stops are the crossroads of life,
    They bring together all the worlds strife.

    There, a couplet to share,
    which, from me, is ever so rare.
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    Fritzie Reisner 100+

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    Mar 21 2012: It's not a matter of daring, really. It is a matter of the choices we make of what we share of ourselves and with whom. To use the word 'dare" suggests that if we don't "bare our souls" to the world, it must be out of fear. I dont see the choice that way. If you ask me whether you can "dare me" to share something personal, I would have to say no, I don't take dares from friends or strangers and never have played that game.
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      Mike Voss

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      Mar 22 2012: I see your perspective, but I think Ted is a place that celebrates things like being daring and open minded about new ideas. Being daring is not simply a game for some, and sharing something that makes you feel vulnerable is not for everyone. I like to see how others can relate to something Ive written on a personal level even though it might have nothing to do with my reasons for creating it.

      We should all step outside our comfort zone every once in a while, and experience the world of possibility that remains to be discovered!

      https://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html
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        Fritzie Reisner 100+

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        Mar 22 2012: Being daring is not at all a game! Being daring is often necessary to push envelopes and an important disposition of people who want to build new things and create change. Daring someone to divulge something personal in an indiscriminate way is not the same sort of daring.
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          Mike Voss

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          Mar 22 2012: I am not sure what you are suggesting here. If you are not comfortable putting your personal diary on display I would suggest that you keep it private. I find it close minded to suggest that divulging something that is personal by any method should be cheapened by your distinction of daring.

          If humanity was to never "dare bare your soul here and now" then this world would never have made it out of the stone age! Everyone's perspective on what is personal is different, but when you see a piece of art that captures you remember that it was created by a process that is deeply personal to that artist. Giving it to the world IS a hard thing to do, and should be commended.
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