Original DDE™ art: “Good Morning Me” by: rob kistner © 1/12/26
—-<§>—-
in each morning mirror
I practice courage
lifting the corners of my doubt
to let my smile out
a smile’s not denial
it’s a bridge I employ
from yesterday’s ache
to coming joy
a flag of hope
I plant
in the day’s first hour
<~>
rob kistner © 1/12/26
Rob, I love the idea of a smile being a bridge. I can think of a lot worse morning habits.
Thank you Lisa! When you’re down in a rut, what better than a bridge my friend?
Nice work, Rob. I’m always happy when (if) I can coax a smie from the mirror guy. Less & less frequent these days…
Thank you! I get it my friend— but keep trying… they will think you are up to something. 😉
Well, that chastised me and lifted my mood. Thank you!
You are most welcome Dennis… 🙂
Yep…..as we age, I find it key to begin each day with a smile or some kind of positive thought! For us right now, away from Boston’s frigid winter weather, living in San Diego, CA until March 19, I just step outside to see and feel the sun and that’s a smile for me!
Would LOVE to see you at dVerse LIVE, if only for a moment or two…a drop by! 🙂
Thank you Lil, and the sunshine makes a difference, yes! I will try to stop by. It’s just that it’s early early in the morning for me and with my health I struggle a little bit. I got there the last time — and I don’t think you were there. I don’t remember… maybe you were — having my memories not perfect these days.
That’s a wonderful morning practice. Right up there with coffee. Maybe I’ll try it!
Seeing a smile on one’s own face helps imprint it in the mind… 🙂
I like your chipper poem, Rob…and your choice of music 🙂
Thankyou Lynn
Loved the final stanza. Nicely done quadrille.
Thank you Arcadia, I appreciate your appreciation! 🙂
Loved the final stanza.
😉
Yes, well done, Rob. I like the smile as a bridge!
Thank you Dwight! 🙂
I love this so much. Especially these lines:
“lifting the corners of my doubt
to let my smile out”
YES. Perfect.
Thank you so much De! I always say — just keep smiling … they will wonder what you’re up to… 😉
That’s a great habit Rob?
Thank you Ange… 🙂
The last stanza wraps it well so well.
Thank you so much. 🙂
I’m intrigued by the artwork. The caption says you made the work through the DDE Studios? I visited the site, expecting to find AI is involved? Can you clarify please?
There is no DDE studio that I know of. The DDE™ is my five-step process that I conceived to create unique quality digital images. Go here and read: —>
https://www.image-verse.com/my-ddaies-trade
Takes practice and patience, but you can get a really wonderful result! 🙂
Starting every day with a smile…. what a great thought.
I’ll take it a step further for you Bjorn. If I am having a rough morning, I go to the mirror immediately and see if I’m smiling. If I’m not, I immediately put a comfortable smile on my face and stay in that mirror for a few minutes till it sticks — until I see my eyes smiling. You can actually see your eyes smiling when they are — they take on a certain look. It works my friend. The act of a couple minutes of “mirror-smiling” itself relaxes your stress and gives a little clearance to your mind.p
That’s a good exercise, Rob, smiling at oneself in the mirror, and it keeps the facial muscles and skin flexible. I love the internal rhyme in ‘a smile’s not denial’ – a catchy motto and ‘flag of hope’ to be planted ‘in the day’s first hour’.
Hi Kim, mymfriend… You are always so kind and attentive — I genuinely appreciate it.n
Great poem rob. Especially like the corners of doubt being lifted, and the flag being planted.
Thank you Eric, that’s the one thing about doing those poems with only 44 words you’re forced to get real creative and some interesting things show up. I personally love the exercise of writing the 44 words it really trains the focus of the mind. It opens your minds eye up in detailed focus, dipping into your vocabulary to find words that will take the place of a phrase, beautiful thing to do. I always begin by writing a satisfying poem — then edit down to a powerfull 44!
Fantastic way to start the day, Rob
much love
Thank you Gillena — much love to you my friend! (:
Smiles can be healing, Rob! A great way to start the day!
Merril,my friend — .Why it do what it do I do not know — but it do what it do so I do too… then I just do what I do what I do what I do … when I do it…! 😉
Oh my heart this is so poignant ~
Thank you so much Sanaa! 🙂
Awesome poem, Rob!
Yvette M Calleiro 🙂
http://yvettemcalleiro.blogspot.com
Thank you so very much Yvette… 🙂
I should do this more. I see what’s in the mirror but I’m not really looking. I wonder if I can look myself in the eyes and smile for ten seconds. That should be a great setup for the day.
Nice one, Rob ?
Hi Shaun. We may not consciously realize it, but we are studying the face of everyone around us every day. We do that to see if they’re happy, if they’re angry, if they are sad, if they look threatening — again, it’s not something that I think we automatically keep track of, but we do it — that’s our survival. So if we look everyone else in the face, I think we should look ourselves in the face every morning… read it for what it is… cheer yourself up… whatever you need to do… scold yourself if necessary. And speak it out loud not just in your head. We humans hear it differently if we speak it out loud — it sets it free and it doesn’t get trapped in our head to mull snd srew — we can learn acway to deal with it. I’m not expecting you to believe me Shaun — but I just believe it, and it has worked for me. I started it about 30 years ago at the suggestion of a great grief counselor, when my oldest son Aaron was suddenly and tragically killed. It has been gradually over years, but it’s changed life — not dramatically, but nicely in certain ways. Has helped me cope, with many things even beyond Aaron’s death — health problems, financial issues, business problems, marriage issues.