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Though a different shape, my form I take
From that which bends but does not break.

Two in love, or simply lust,
Doing as they feel they must.

The rhythm of a heart that beats,
The changing patterns of one's feet.

A helping hand, a bandaged knee,
A slow but sure recovery.

No clouds in sight, a gorgeous day!
A flower always bright and gay.

From trees that never lose their leaves
To dusty pollen on the breeze.

I weave a spell with just my words
Hoping that I may be heard.

The sound of water's like a balm,
A flowing sense of peace and calm.

What makes you, you? What makes me, me?
The thing we are, but cannot see.

I have changed throughout the years.
I have seen my share of tears.
But I still shine on, you see,
Tell me now, who might I be?

Hint

Aside from the first and last stanzas, each stanza leads is a clue for a different word, these words together with the first and last stanzas should lead you to the answer

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    $\begingroup$ That has a really nice surface reading. Well done! $\endgroup$
    – Forklift
    Commented Jul 25, 2017 at 12:49

8 Answers 8

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You're describing...

The Rainbow Flag

Explanation

Gilbert Baker, encouraged by Harvey Milk, had originally created an 8-stripe rainbow flag, assigning meaning to each color. Your stanzas' themes correspond to each of those meanings:

Stanza 1: Pink = Sex\Sexuality
Stanza 2: Red = Life
Stanza 3: Orange = Healing
Stanza 4: Yellow = Sunlight
Stanza 5: Green = Nature
Stanza 6: Turquoise = Magic\Art
Stanza 7: Indigo = Serenity\Harmony
Stanza 8: Violet = Spirit

Though a different shape, my form I take
From that which bends but does not break

Though a rectangular shape, it's derived from a rainbow (that's typically depicted as an arc). Also, as per Keyur PATEL's answer, light 'bends' but doesn't break, so this could also allude to its visible spectrum, as it goes through a prism.

I have changed throughout the years.
I have seen my share of tears.
But I still shine on, you see

The flag, though changed (from 8 colors to 7, then 6), perseveres. I feel these lines also signify the LGBT community surviving the many struggles it had to go through.

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  • $\begingroup$ Correct! That's why there's a 'knowledge' tag, I thought that the meanings of the colors, as well as the original 8 colors might not be so well known. $\endgroup$
    – MMAdams
    Commented Jul 25, 2017 at 18:27
  • $\begingroup$ also, 'shining' through 'tears' is meant to be the sun shining through rain, creating the rainbow $\endgroup$
    – MMAdams
    Commented Jul 25, 2017 at 18:43
  • $\begingroup$ Doh, I did mean to write that the tears might also signify rain, but forgot. :/ Thanks (and nice riddle)! $\endgroup$
    – Walt
    Commented Jul 25, 2017 at 18:45
  • $\begingroup$ I also tried to have the stanzas make you think of color, where I could, 'evergreen' trees for Green, 'water' for indigo blue, 'heart' for red, 'sun' and 'sunflowers' for yellow. $\endgroup$
    – MMAdams
    Commented Jul 25, 2017 at 19:39
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Contains Adult Content

Answer

it's a penis.

Though a different shape, my form I take From that which bends but does not break.

Engorged

Two in love, or simply lust, Doing as they feel they must.

self explanatory

The rhythm of a heart that beats, The changing patterns of one's feet.

blood thumping

A helping hand, a bandaged knee, A slow but sure recovery.

bdsm

No clouds in sight, a gorgeous day! A flower always bright and gay.

flower=virgin

From trees that never lose their leaves To dusty pollen on the breeze.

Pubic hair

I weave a spell with just my words Hoping that I may be heard.

sperm-

The sound of water's like a balm, A flowing sense of peace and calm.

Nature's ambien

What makes you, you? What makes me, me? The thing we are, but cannot see.

How were we created?

I have changed throughout the years. I have seen my share of tears. But I still shine on, you see, Tell me now, who might I be?

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    $\begingroup$ They are in their right to post this as an answer if they genuinely thought it was it and made (mostly?) legitimate connections. Maybe a word of warning that it's a less appropriate guess. $\endgroup$
    – n_plum
    Commented Jul 25, 2017 at 12:23
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    $\begingroup$ I did not expect this answer. $\endgroup$
    – Forklift
    Commented Jul 25, 2017 at 12:52
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    $\begingroup$ Thanks for the edit suggestion @n_palum, i added a disclaimer $\endgroup$
    – Jason V
    Commented Jul 25, 2017 at 16:03
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    $\begingroup$ Nice laugh :-) Kinda reminds me of Rule 34 of the internets. Maybe theres also a rule 34 for riddles :-) $\endgroup$
    – Xan-Kun Clark-Davis
    Commented Jul 25, 2017 at 16:46
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    $\begingroup$ -1 from me. This answer doesn't really seem to apply well. I realize there is a tittilation factor here, but putting that aside, the answer really doesn't fit the clues very well. Based on your explanations, there is no one word that is a valid answer to all stanzas. The answer seems to be something vaguely related to sex/genitalia/procreation, but no one answer satisfactorily fits all the stanzas. If the answer is "sex", then stanzas 1, 5, and 6 don't really fit. If the answer is "penis", then (at least) 4, 5, and 9 don't seem to apply. 8 doesn't really seem to match anything. $\endgroup$
    – GentlePurpleRain
    Commented Jul 25, 2017 at 21:55
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Partial Answer, may help someone finish theirs

Though a different shape, my form I take, From that which bends but does not break.

Light is a wave (different shape) and refracts (bends) but does not "break". Although the hints suggest this line does not refer to a word.

Two in love, or simply lust, Doing as they feel they must.

The rhythm of a heart that beats, The changing patterns of one's feet.

Pace

A helping hand, a bandaged knee, A slow but sure recovery.

No clouds in sight, a gorgeous day! A flower always bright and gay.

Sun, agreeing with valuable_asset's answer

From trees that never lose their leaves, To dusty pollen on the breeze.

Evergreen? (never loses its leaves)

I weave a spell with just my words, Hoping that I may be heard.

Pray

The sound of water's like a balm, A flowing sense of peace and calm.

Waterfall/Cascading?

What makes you, you? What makes me, me? The thing we are, but cannot see.

Soul?

I have changed throughout the years. I have seen my share of tears.

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  • $\begingroup$ Some of these are absolutely right! You're definitely on the right track! Light bending is close but you're not quite there yet. Sunshine is correct, as is soul (or spirit, is what i was originally going for) $\endgroup$
    – MMAdams
    Commented Jul 25, 2017 at 13:55
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A partial answer

A helping hand, a bandaged knee, A slow but sure recovery.

Aid (as in first aid and help someone)

No clouds in sight, a gorgeous day! A flower always bright and gay.

Sun (no clouds means a sunny day, bright and gay flower could be a sun flower)

I weave a spell with just my words Hoping that I may be heard.

Chant

Somehow

I get the feeling this is related to pink floyd (with the reference to changing through the times, shine on you )

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  • $\begingroup$ you're heading in the right direction by solving each stanza separately, and you are right, those stanzas were meant to be healing, sunshine (the flowers being sunflowers, of course, which are 'bright' yellow, and also 'bright' because they are always lit by the sun) and magic/art which was a hard verse to write (I was thinking poetry is a kind of art?) $\endgroup$
    – MMAdams
    Commented Jul 25, 2017 at 12:31
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Partial answer.

Are you

an electrical wire

Though a different shape, my form I take From that which bends but does not break.

These wires come in different shapes and mostly they are flexible. They can be bent without breaking.

Two in love, or simply lust, Doing as they feel they must.

Electric wires do contain two wires for positive and negative, sometimes neutral. Not sure if they are there by love or lust, but they should be there because wires can't work without two of them.

A helping hand, a bandaged knee, A slow but sure recovery.

If a wire is cut from somewhere, it can be made work by using a tape and a few cuts.

No clouds in sight, a gorgeous day! A flower always bright and gay.

Not sure. Are we talking about a light bulb here? Because, an electric light bulb can be lightened with the help of wire and it is always bright as long as the bulb or power supply is not broken.

From trees that never lose their leaves To dusty pollen on the breeze.

Not sure about this.

I weave a spell with just my words Hoping that I may be heard.

Still looking.

The sound of water's like a balm, A flowing sense of peace and calm.

Electric current flows from wire calmly.

I have changed throughout the years. I have seen my share of tears. But I still shine on, you see, Tell me now, who might I be?

Electric wire has been changing from a long time.

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  • $\begingroup$ an interesting answer, and one I had not thought of, but not close, sorry $\endgroup$
    – MMAdams
    Commented Jul 25, 2017 at 12:32
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Is it

Biological / Metabolic cell !?

Though a different shape, my form I take From that which bends but does not break.

A cell takes different shapes and bends but does not break

Two in love, or simply lust, Doing as they feel they must.

Two cells can join (Zygote) to produce a single cell

The rhythm of a heart that beats, The changing patterns of one's feet.

The heartbeat rate/rhythm is related to the presence of blood in the body, which is again caused by the red blood 'cells'. The changing patterns of one's feet - means either lines on the foot / growth of nails...are related to live cells and dead cells respectively !

A helping hand, a bandaged knee, A slow but sure recovery.

Skin, few parts of bones are known to be self-healing!

No clouds in sight, a gorgeous day! A flower always bright and gay.

To be provided ...

From trees that never lose their leaves To dusty pollen on the breeze.

To be provided ...

I weave a spell with just my words Hoping that I may be heard.

To be provided ...

The sound of water's like a balm, A flowing sense of peace and calm.

To be provided ...

What makes you, you? What makes me, me? The thing we are, but cannot see.

Collection of many such cells make you / me but we cannot see

I have changed throughout the years. I have seen my share of tears.

A human cell has changes over years.

But I still shine on, you see, Tell me now, who might I be?

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  • $\begingroup$ Another really interesting answer, I wish I could write riddles as cleverly as you all solve them! But no, this isn't it. $\endgroup$
    – MMAdams
    Commented Jul 25, 2017 at 14:02
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I really liked the reading of this poem so I wanted to take a shot. This is a partial answer.

I believe the subject is

Some form of the birth/death/time cycle

Though a different shape, my form I take From that which bends but does not break.

LIGHT bends but does not break, and in this case, the form is SUNLIGHT

Two in love, or simply lust, Doing as they feel they must.

MATING is the obvious choice here

The rhythm of a heart that beats, The changing patterns of one's feet.

DANCING / LIVING

A helping hand, a bandaged knee, A slow but sure recovery.

FALL, which is also a season

No clouds in sight, a gorgeous day! A flower always bright and gay.

This describes a typical SUMMER day

From trees that never lose their leaves To dusty pollen on the breeze.

Describing the transition from WINTER to SPRING or GREEN/NATURE?

I weave a spell with just my words Hoping that I may be heard.

This seems a bit forced, but ROBINS are said to announce Spring

The sound of water's like a balm, A flowing sense of peace and calm.

And this describes a SPRING

What makes you, you? What makes me, me? The thing we are, but cannot see.

ATOMS / CELLS

I have changed throughout the years. I have seen my share of tears. But I still shine on, you see, Tell me now, who might I be?

The SUN shines on... but I'm not convinced this is the answer even though it is a bookend with the first clue.

So finally

Take all of the clues... put them together? LIGHT, SPRING, CELLS, GREEN, LIFE, REPRODUCTION, FALL... Almost sounds like a recipe for DIY solar power or something, but that might be stretching the connections.

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  • $\begingroup$ Wow I really like this answer, but I think I just subconsciously chose to include birth/life/death/wheel of time imagery, it wasn't particularly planned. I will say though, that, funnily enough you missed the one stanza where the answer actually was supposed to be life! "The rhythm of a heart that beats, The changing patterns of one's feet." I was thinking of heartbeats as a life symbol, and trying to allude to the classic riddle about four legs in the morning, two during the day and three in the evening. I'm not sure I had enough words to get that across though. $\endgroup$
    – MMAdams
    Commented Jul 25, 2017 at 14:00
  • $\begingroup$ Also, although you answered it as Winter, I was thinking in that stanza of sort of the transition from winter to spring, from evergreen trees to spring pollen. $\endgroup$
    – MMAdams
    Commented Jul 25, 2017 at 14:06
  • $\begingroup$ I was too, but it wanted a one word answer... $\endgroup$
    – Forklift
    Commented Jul 25, 2017 at 14:13
  • $\begingroup$ honestly the answer to that stanza's just "nature" or even, "Green", the first answers to this puzzle should be fairly obvious from each stanza, it's the putting it together at the end that requires the 'knowledge' tag. $\endgroup$
    – MMAdams
    Commented Jul 25, 2017 at 14:22
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    $\begingroup$ Seeing the answer now, I couldn't have made that leap easily, but thank you for the well-crafted riddle. It's nice to see some time put into the riddle presentation beyond some obscured facts (which sadly, I am also guilty of). $\endgroup$
    – Forklift
    Commented Jul 26, 2017 at 4:36
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Is it

humanity ?

Though a different shape, my form I take From that which bends but does not break

Humanity takes different forms and it may be lacking but does not disappear

Two in love, or simply lust, Doing as they feel they must.

Human nature is to love or lust or both !

The rhythm of a heart that beats, The changing patterns of one's feet.

Symptoms of humanity (live) is heartbeat and foot muscles are linked with heart health (a WILD WILD guess !)

A helping hand, a bandaged knee, A slow but sure recovery.

Signs of humanity, presence of which may be felt late but definitely !

No clouds in sight, a gorgeous day! A flower always bright and gay.

To be provided ...

From trees that never lose their leaves To dusty pollen on the breeze.

To be provided ...

I weave a spell with just my words Hoping that I may be heard.

Humanity does not require words but it can be heard/felt/seen

The sound of water's like a balm, A flowing sense of peace and calm.

.... humanity flows across humans :-)

What makes you, you? What makes me, me? The thing we are, but cannot see.

Humanity makes us humans, of course. That is the thing we are, but cannot be seen !

I have changed throughout the years. I have seen my share of tears.

Forms in which one can experience Humanity has changed over years also in most cases with shedding tears (of joy!)

But I still shine on, you see,

Humanity shines, we can see !

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