Charisma and me

How Charisma Changed My Poem

I literally stumbled into “How to be Charismatic” on LinkedIn Pulse – by clicking before the page finished loading. The little article is by Bruce Kasanoff, Ghostwriter. He writes:

“Charisma is the elixer that few understand.”

He quotes a definition from Google:

1. Charisma is “…compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others.”

At this point, my mind leaped to my poem “Something About Her.”
And I noted, Ann has that.

Kasanoff goes on with Google’s definition of Charisma:

“2. a divinely conferred power or talent.”

Well, in my poem Something About Her I channelled that power, initially for the sake of a rhyme because it expressed my love for and admiration of my wife. The verse started and ended like this:

“The people all love her, her family dotes,…
…
… There’s something about her that’s almost divine.”

Well immediately upon reading that to my support group, I realized that that was a bit over the top. Nobody is that perfect. And I apologized for that snippet of purple prose.

So I went home and revised that last line. Now it reads:

“There’s just something about her that makes you feel fine.”

And the proof is in the pudding, as they say. People ARE attracted to my wife. People DO smile at her when they see her. People DO stop and hug her and talk to her. People DO rescue her if her glasses have been knocked crooked, or if she’s had a spill.

Because my wife has that innate, indefinable charisma.

And because, people ARE good.
People, too, are charismatic. Simply people.
That is something to celebrate.

Here is some of my poem:

Something About Her ©H. W. Bryce 2013

She lives in a wheelchair and can’t even speak
And nothing in life can be seen to be fair,
But something about her makes your interest peak,
For she draws you right in and you want to be there. …

…It could be her eyes or her winsome, sweet smile;
Could be she looks wise–or her absence of guile.
Whatever it be, it’s pure love that you see.
It’s useless to fight it, you’re locked in for the while.

The people all love her, her family dotes,
If a contest were held, she’d win all the votes.
You have to surrender to… something you cannot define;
There’s just something about her that makes you feel fine.

Yes there’s something about her that draws you right in,
It’s something seems pure and speaks of no sin;
It’s a charm that’s so easy that sends no alarm,
And you want to protect her and keep her from harm.

— —

Here’s to charisma.
May you load yourself with buckets of it.