Month: March 2012

One Houndred Days (day 302)

ned Leave a comment

We paddled and paddled
For one houndred days straight
Neither rest nor sleep
Was our friend all the while
We came about falls
We came about rapids
We came about bears
Finding winters warmth flapping
We passed by the furs
Of the coastal regions
We passed by the spruce
Of the swampier interiors
We passed by the pines
When the river twined
And we never complained
For our destination inclined
Not a single soul to speak
Not a diverting path to take
No energy was lost
In the battle we fought
We all had our children
Our warm wives back at home
But our socks they were warm when
Our backs they lay cold
Our knit caps, they
So red and so bold
We paddled until
Our paddles they broke
Then paddled some more
With the spares that we towed
And then, in the distance
As we pushed through the night
First one, then another
Then tens of houndreds they did burn
The fires of our friends
The fires of our family
The first of the First Nations
As they sat along the bank
Celebrating their season in the sun
The drums we had felt
Many days before
A pace threatening saunter
A force for our driving
As we came to the landing
We were swarmed by the tribe
We had always come here
We would always return
We were family here
We were friends here
This was our home
The land of the free
And after we shared
With the children all around
We welcomed the tribes men
We embraced our dear wives
We brought out our treasures
We had bargained for at the market
One houndred days paddling
One houndred days to the east
They sang songs for us
They sang songs with us
We brought out our fiddles
And we sang songs for them
We danced through the night
And we danced all the day
We hunted with the men
And we slept with the women
But then, when we saw
The leaves turning colours
We packed up our furs
And loaded our pelts
Carved out our paddles
And sorted our gear
Sad and long faces
As the morning progressed
We paddled on silently
Into one houndred days to the East

Poor Silly Darling (day 301)

ned Leave a comment

Poor silly darling
With her eyes open so wide
It’s such a shame
The moon passed it’s time
Sailing the dark seas
Forever calming
Amongst the rustling leaves

Poor silly darling
With her arms so comforting
They haven’t told stories
They’ve shared life
With the ailing soldiers
They’ve doped dressings
Amongst the morphine lectures

Poor silly darling
Who I love there so quietly
Books on her lap
And her feet resting flat
The river that runs
Along high mountain plains
Is always cold against the virgin skin

I Shall One Day Wake (day 300)

ned Leave a comment

I struggle
I struggle
I struggle
And I see

I push
I push
I push
And I feel

But for all these errors
For all the hours a dark
When the wind cries softly
I shall blow my faithful winds
Sitting amongst the poplars
With eyes so content and far
The whispers of my fathers
Caress me with these stars
Shaping my immediate thought
So profoundly that I begin
To shake from the inner confines
Of my scared and lonely soul
I shall one day wake
From this horrible torment
I face with every breath
I shall not walk alone

Mother and Daughter (day 299)

ned Leave a comment

Every day, as the days get longer;
Every moment that pushes forward
Into the existence that propels us,
As if a non-rebelling down slope
And gravity had a serendipitous
Waltz into the passing sunshine.
Glistening brightly into
The peering eyes of a dreamer
And her mother of fashion.
From here, they made their way forth
Into the shades of unknown
To hopefully grow as a unit:
Mother and daughter

Grasp (day 297)

ned Leave a comment

There is never enough time to grasp what we must in time
For the swallows don’t stay long when wind is on the run
Do we catch the sun’s longest weapon whilst down and blue?
Do we wander aimlessly through the gates unknown?

For much to long there has been an order
Stronger than the great tides of time
Stiffer than the hounds of fate
But I bark out loud against the dead of the night
Fearless, naught, there is no sorrow
There is no lost language, sweeping through the night
Entranced in an unbridled emulation
Of all things that have passed before these eyes asleep

Time follows me slowly forth with it’s mythical whip
Slapping the stare out of my humor
Perhaps then I’ll grasp onto the unknown
As I sit here and twiddle my thumbs

Wander Closer (day 296)

ned Leave a comment

Perhaps it’s the smell that lingers in the air
That I find myself searching for as I walk about alone
I’ve noticed I’ve grown accustomed to wandering closer
To where the air turns thinner
But in all the hours and days and years
I’ve climbed aimlessly about my wits
I’ve never solved the mysterious problem
Of my indulgence in this superstitious trait
Where cleanliness promotes friendliness
Where a smile can soon become a friendship

Springs Night Air Thoughts (day 295)

ned Leave a comment

A lonely walking along the springs night air
Has a traveler thinking about matters to beware
If ever there was a time for spewing melancholy
The drip drip drip of the morning dew would induce
Such a state of ephemeral excitement ensues
Leaving the steps slightly quicker
In a race against time to return home
Gather the tidbits of nonchalantly whimsical
Ideas that flow rather seamlessly forth
Did we exude the true meaning of all of our thoughts?

Old Cars and New Livin’ (day 294)

ned Leave a comment

It’s funny how an old car
Yesterday was new
We face life so differently
In the race for tomorrow

With life comes sacrifices
We must make every day
Sometimes we’re conscious
Other times we lay slow

For true greatness
For an unspoken award
In all that life can offer
Where do we gather our weapons from?

In the lost arts of mankind
When virtues became known
There lived a great answer
Truth we’ve never known

In this time that has passed
We’ve lost a great goodness
Head over heels
For what tomorrow will bring

Perhaps in this game
As we look for the new
We’ll remember the past
Pull closer what we knew

Luminescence (day 293)

ned Leave a comment

Perhaps it’s the luminescence of the situation that drives one to distraction when playing the small little games away from the goal.

I like to think otherwise though. I like to think it’s the severity of every single little nuance that will effect the end that sinks its way so deeply into my seared skin.

This, I’m ok with. This I’ve worked out long ago to be the true essence of life. The true essence of every single step that we take as we push forth. And in fact, with all of this that we push forth with every single day, everything combined, this is what makes us who we truly are.

When some of us sit on the the milk crates and watch the world pass by, or take the car down to easy road for a bite, or push the effort so easily away from the direct line of sight, some of us tend to also make our own destiny with the same efforts that it would take to take one single step into the future: forward.

Then some of us do not sit. Some of us push into the ground for stronger traction as we lean up against the building, tempting it to move a foot to the left. Some of us take that step into the darkness, and play with the fate of the unknown, unspeakable, unrealized, but oh so enjoyable.

In a lurch of passion the crucible fell to the floor and silence ensued. Lord have mercy on our souls; we were still standing. Still able to breath and had not yet been ruptured into the unholy gates of hell. There was no fancy smoke machine inhibiting our abilities and senses. And yet, as we lazily gained our wits and made our way casually back to the cheap diner for our fix of a makeshift, half way to noon morning breakfast, we still felt a nagging luminescence of the situation lurching forward into our sub-conscience.

I like to think we have no idea what we’re doing. I like to think that this is all just a dance as we make our way through the stratosphere of energies and emotions, trying to balance delicately on the surface as we push our consciences north, into the space that is a pretty good fit for a long haul home.