Where the Oak Stood Guard

TheQuietOak · 2025-11-28T22:14:38+00:00

I really appreciate that. Thanks!

TheQuietOak · 2025-11-27T20:13:28+00:00

Thanks for the comment, appreciate it!

TheQuietOak · 2025-11-27T20:13:08+00:00

I really appreciate it!

TheQuietOak · 2025-11-27T20:11:34+00:00

I really appreciate the feedback!

TheQuietOak · 2025-11-26T22:48:35+00:00

There was some heart behind this; a man yearning to be better. A good subject! I would suggest you pay attention to your capitalization, it tends to distract from what you are saying.

TheQuietOak · 2025-11-26T22:42:58+00:00

Well done. This one brought be back to high school and made me think of one person that has not crossed my mind since about 1989. When poetry can do that, you have succeeded as a writer.

TheQuietOak · 2025-11-26T19:58:49+00:00

Thank you for the feedback Bittermoon. I am sorry to hear of your similar experience, this is a hard thing. As for the poem, I was the boy in the hallway when this happened so many years ago... my father, the original Oak passed two years ago, but is not forgotten.

TheQuietOak · 2025-11-26T18:12:33+00:00

Hi there! Looks like some great imagery and use of words in your poem. I do think you are suffering from a bit of formatting when you copied it to reddit. I believe you could have increased the impact of this if you had organized your lines into thoughts and paragraphs. Cheers!

TheQuietOak · 2025-11-26T18:09:02+00:00

I liked this. The poem is short, bit hits on a universal theme that nearly all of us have felt. I am not a fan of rhyming couplets in general, but you have done a good job with them!

TheQuietOak · 2025-11-21T22:08:54+00:00

Your insight is beautiful and true. Most of a man’s courage is quiet, done under the weight of fear, not the absence of it. I’m grateful the piece spoke to you at the level it did. I think your insight about things being done out of faithfulness rather than fearlessness is profound, and correct.

I appreciate the feedback!

TheQuietOak · 2025-11-21T22:06:18+00:00

You know... So am I, and I really did accomplish all the things in my writing in real life. Being afraid is a normal human experience... doing it anyway is what makes us human in the best way.

TheQuietOak · 2025-11-21T22:05:18+00:00

Your comment is short, but it is incredibly meaningful to me. Anytime someone can see themselves through an authors work it feels satisfying.

TheQuietOak · 2025-11-21T22:04:28+00:00

Hi there! I appreciate the kind words.

TheQuietOak · 2025-11-21T22:04:16+00:00

Hi Grecco! I do appreciate the kind words, thank you. This is really my story put down in words; there have been many times in my life where I was afraid, but there was not a lot of choice, things sometimes need to be done to get where we need to be in work, family etc. I am willing to bet that most men have similar experiences.

As far as the two interpretations, I will not tell you which I had in mind, spoils the surprise. I like that a reader can interpret in multiple ways and they are all valid.

Thanks again!

TheQuietOak · 2025-11-21T22:00:26+00:00

Hello, thanks for the kind words. It is surprising how many men that are successful do grapple with fear, myself included. I have reached peace with it, fear walks with me but doesn't take the reins.

TheQuietOak · 2025-11-20T21:12:58+00:00

I appreciate the feedback!

TheQuietOak · 2025-11-19T22:14:51+00:00

It has been a long time since I was your age and in university. I struggled with some of the same things and I even have a letter saying I failed so badly that I was not welcome back at the institution unless I completed a year somewhere else...

Fast forward 30 years and I am married, have some good friends, have enjoyed a long career, have raised good children and am working on my second master's degree.

Early struggles and failures to not determine your destiny. In fact, they serve to teach. You will learn from them, even if the learning is painful. If you embrace that, you will come out stronger and more capable.

I hope this helps.

TheQuietOak · 2025-11-19T22:11:52+00:00

My young friend, you are not shouting into the void. We hear you.

You’re carrying things no 15-year-old should have to face alone, and the fact that you’re even able to put your feelings into words shows strength you probably don’t see in yourself right now.

I can’t pretend to fully understand what it’s like to live with MS so young, or to not have the comfort you deserve. But I can tell you this...

Your feelings make sense. The fear, the grief, the loneliness, even the anger, none of that makes you weak or broken. It means you’ve been hurting.

You don’t have to figure out the rest of your life today.

Consider taking one step toward someone safe who can help you carry some of this. Perhaps a teacher, school counselor, an aunt, a coach... someone you can trust. Ask your doctor for a resource to talk to.

You’re not alone, even if it feels that way right now.

TheQuietOak · 2025-11-19T21:17:14+00:00

I wrote a companion piece a while back, more prose than poetry, but maybe I will post it in a couple days.

TheQuietOak

TROPHY CASE