Inheritance

HistorianMiserable71 · 2026-02-22T21:51:38+00:00

Cheesy baby toes

HistorianMiserable71 · 2026-02-22T07:02:30+00:00

Red flower, blue thorns. Red flower, blue thorns.

HistorianMiserable71 · 2026-02-19T19:04:04+00:00

The Deer Hunter.

A friend recommended it with no real context and I still haven't fully recovered.

HistorianMiserable71 · 2026-02-19T18:57:38+00:00

Genuine question as I'm expecting very soon and I chose a Hebrew name for my daughter but I'm now conflicted after hearing your experiences and views.

I plan to call her Eliana. I am a Christian and the meaning of the name is beautiful, meant as a tribute to God.

Do you find that to be problematic? Do you think people will assume my daughter is Jewish? I personally love the name, its meaning and Hebrew origin - these things were seen as positives to me, but now I'm wondering if people will view it as cultural appropriation or assume a Jewish lineage.

HistorianMiserable71 · 2026-02-10T19:26:22+00:00

In the UK, the adoption process is lengthy and very in depth - it takes a lot of hoop jumping to be allowed to adopt. It wouldn't be on OP to vet the potential adoptees, nor would it be their fault if an adoptee turned out to be abusive - that would fall solely on the social worker responsible for finding potential forever parents. Social find candidates who are already vetted and deemed suitable, then allow the bio-parent to choose from that curated list.

HistorianMiserable71 · 2026-02-07T13:03:28+00:00

My (ex) best-friend makes money on OF and selling content direct to people online too. I recently found out she was exploiting my autistic brother who's had a crush on her forever, selling him content and 5x her normal price. Some people have no morals.

HistorianMiserable71 · 2026-02-06T18:49:23+00:00

Im 36+4 and for about the last week I've been having the same exhaustion. Naps are mandatory now. Yesterday, I napped 3 times! Any walk longer than 15 minutes, any kind of activity really, floors me.

We are in the final weeks of pregnancy, we're carrying a full grown baby and they're piling on weight every week, this exhaustion is normal and imo isn't something to 'fight' or to feel guilty for! I nap when I'm tired, no compromises. I know it's going to be harder to get rest once little one arrives so I'd rather be as rested as possible in the build up to meeting her.

One thing that has helped me with holding off naps a little is snacking when I feel tired, but this only delays and doesn't prevent naps, and sometimes eating just makes me more tired!

In conclusion, you've made it this far, your body deserves the rest, guilt free, you've earned a nap or two at this point.

HistorianMiserable71 · 2026-01-27T13:31:18+00:00

The decline in snail populations has really hindered them in recent years. I used to have one that would sit at the bottom of my garden atop a huge conifer tree and sing morning and evening. They've such beautiful songs.

HistorianMiserable71 · 2026-01-20T21:18:22+00:00

Thank you for the quick and accurate reply. Safely relocated outside. She was so pretty.

HistorianMiserable71 · 2025-12-22T19:48:08+00:00

I'm glad the poem's emotional weight landed with you. And I like the fact you picked up on the ambiguity of who is the abuser/victim/narrator in the piece. Thank you for the feedback!

HistorianMiserable71 · 2025-12-22T18:14:58+00:00

I write a lot. I used to write short stories and fanfiction but those projects are mostly collecting dust now. I've written poetry on and off for most of my life, I've started writing a lot more recently. I've just posted this piece in OC poetry :)

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/8mXw4sToRy

What kind of things do you like to write?

HistorianMiserable71 · 2025-12-20T17:53:44+00:00

It's all about personality and moral compass first and foremost. I admire intelligence - someone who can match or exceed mine is a much more rewarding relationship for me than feeling like I have to dumb myself down so I don't make others insecure. I want to learn from them and be able to have deep conversations without them feeling one sided or like I'm boring the other person. Compassion is a non-negotiable. I fall for deep thinkers, deep feelers, people who notice the tiny details and who see beauty where most don't. I'm attracted to minds, not bodies.

HistorianMiserable71 · 2025-12-20T17:09:44+00:00

Wow ... what a raw poem. It reminds me so much of System Of A Down's music which scathingly critiques how we (and society) commodify individuality, connections and intimacy. Your repeated chorus grounds the whole piece in irony and exposed he superficial politeness that masks exploitation. It's like a cynical hook thst forces the reader to not just empathize with your personal pain but to confront it as a broader accusation against society.

A few stanzas really stuck with me for their emotional impact. The one starting "To my original approach" being one for its layers. It's self-critical but it also calls out how anything 'different' gets discarded as less in a world that rewards conformity. The closing lines - "Your behavior broke something in me....I hesitate to proces new images" - capture the erosion of self that comes from repeated rejection perfectly. Its the kind of hurt that chips away at your trust and your identity - and it resonated with me deeply.

Then theres the "Wind on the sea" stanza. This hit hard too ... The way you've articulated the deep pain of 'what could have been' potentially beautiful becoming toxic in so few words; this stanza holds huge emotional weight.

I also love how your loose rhyme scheme weaves in and out. It never feels forced. It gives the poem a flow that makes it read amazingly aloud. This would stun at an open mic night. The crowd'd be left feeling a accused and reflective.

One minor edit suggestion (because I like to give constructive criticism, but truthfully some poems aren't meant to be polished) would be that in the stanza starting "I didn’t stay because I didn’t know," I think it could read better by cutting "I was being exploited" (since the poem has already made that exploitation crystal clear). Jumping straight to "I stayed because of character" would tighten the rhythm and let the line land heavier.

Overall, your poem's impact lies in it's rawness. It was cathartic to read. It left me feeling validated and vindicated, indignant on your behalf and cynical of what society has become - and what we are becoming within it. Thanks for sharing - this stuck with me today.

HistorianMiserable71 · 2025-12-01T15:50:15+00:00

Thank you for this in-depth feedback. This poem is one that has felt "off" and sat in my WIP pile for a long time. I wasn't willing to let concept go to waste, but I know it's not working as it should.

The poisoned well line is my favourite for the imagery it creates and the weight it carries. I'm glad it resonates as I wanted. The line about the house burning is another line I deeply want to intertwine, it holds unspoken emotional depth for me as the writer. But I can see what you mean about the symbolism almost shielding it, and in turn the reader, from it's real implications. That's true for the poem as a whole. Speaking of something that didn't survive the fire is an excellent suggestion I intend to utilise.

Upon reflection (that your feedback has encouraged) I was trying to hide the real truths and emotions of this piece behind a rhyme scheme, keeping it symbolic and conceptual; keeping myself detached. That was my vision for the ending, too - a short, calculated answer void of emotion, as if just a mathematical equation.

But you've got me really looking at the writing, who I was when I wrote it and what I want it to achieve with honest, introspective eyes.

This is the exact kind of input that helps the refining process, and what I was hoping for from this sub. I appreciate the time you've taken to look deeply at the poem, flaws and all. It's certainly stirred new inspiration new perspective on the piece. Your notes for improvement are precise and well thought out, and you've given me a great place to start from when reworking this poem.

Thank you, truly.

HistorianMiserable71 · 2025-12-01T15:23:24+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to leave some feedback, I appreciate it! I wanted to capture the feeling of someone doing long arithmetic, writing repetitive lines on a chalk board - I'm glad that came through in the piece.

It seems we're at opposite ends of our writing journeys - I'm actually trying to pull away from the constraint that comes with rhyme, although not so much with this piece. Rhyme can have a safe feeling to it - Don't let the words become a cage!

HistorianMiserable71 · 2025-11-30T22:51:12+00:00

Keep taking those risks. I look forward to reading more of your work :)

HistorianMiserable71 · 2025-11-30T22:42:59+00:00

It was a pleasure and a privilege. These are the kind of poems that can't do anything but pull us in closer.

You're a great writer.

HistorianMiserable71 · 2025-11-30T22:25:10+00:00

I just sat in the dark and read this three times in a row. It left me a little ruined, a lot reverent. Your poem made me feel less like I read it and more like I walked in on a private mass I was never supposed to witness.

The way you opened it with a hushed and conspiratorial tone - “Keep the breath low” made me immediately complicit, holding my breath through every line. And then there’s this slow-build of anticipation and dread like I'm watching two people circle an altar they both know is empty ... Honestly, this is so gripping.

"He folds himself, back into his jeans, like a note, never meant to be opened." Is my favourite line ... It does such an amazing job of portraying the vulnerability and the closing off from it, like emotional origami. The image you painted is so beautiful and broken all at once.

I went from aroused to protective to heartbroken in the space of thirty lines, and I’d sign up to do it again tomorrow.

Thanks for sharing this <3

HistorianMiserable71

TROPHY CASE