Thursday, July 06, 2006

Stone Cold

I think I want to go.
Go where?
I don’t know, just go!
Barter a deal with sunset,
stow away in a disappearing flash;
throw a rope around Orion’s belt,
swing off like Tarzan in the night.
Is this a mid-life crisis?
Tired of chewing crap like a cud?
Maybe, I’m just afraid
to watch the last ripple
from a stone that’s laying cold.

29 comments:

jel said...

very deep, but very cool! :)

I like this line
Barter a deal with the sunset!

Neoma said...

Mid life crisis, no laughing matter.......makes us do some really impulsive things. I could make a list of my mid life crisis antics,......but I don't want to scare you. haha

I liked this a lot Pat, it summed up those feelings pretty darn well.

Masago said...

Good summary of the feeling. If you do go somewhere, please find an Internet cafe and continue these postings. :-)

floots said...

this one sent a chill of recognition
through me
spot on
(but vaughn makes an important point)
cheers

STAG said...

Tomorrow I am going to Toronto. Six hours. I only WISH I could lasso Orion's Belt!

Medusa aka expiringpoet said...

Restlessness. I can identify with that pervasive feeling. Somedays, I feel like packing a little bag and just taking the earliest flight and not caring where. Just leave everything behind me and feel young and free.


Maybe, I’m just afraid
to watch the last ripple
from a stone that’s laying cold.

---I love the strength of these closing lines.

Russell Ragsdale said...

Wow Pat!!! Like turning the lights on in a completely dark room and looking around almost as if it was the first time you ever saw it (also there is the hope nothing dangerous lurks there, although there is the hint of something). Gorgeous!

Kai said...

i got ur message...

neat poem

Osquer said...

Wow! Great images!

Tired of chewing crap like cud?

I know that feeling well.

Go where? Sometimes anywhere but here will do!

Margie said...

That was a great poem Pat.
"Stow away in a disappearing flash"
I loved that line.

Borut said...

Very cool indeed. Great read!

J. Andrew Lockhart said...

I like this -- and I'm starting to feel the same way.....

Unknown said...

so much to savor in a poem like this.

Nick Zegarac said...

Brilliant and fully realized, Pat. You've reached the end of one phase and transfixed your desires and aspirations on the next best thing. In the trade off of lives past, maturity is a blessing few achieve without first contemplating whether or not the balast of youth was worth the succession. Bravo!

Joyce said...

I like this poem very much

Anonymous said...

If you were going to have a "mid-life crisis", shouldn't it have happened, like, twenty years ago or so? :) *ducks and runs*

Well done, Pat! A delight to read!

polona said...

fantastic!
don't we all want to just go sometimes...
liek floots said, this one sent chills through me...
of recognition? of fear? dunno...

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

I say take the road less traveled, Pat. No so much traffic. Thought-provoking poem,

Unknown said...

Pat,
Liked your imagery!
Try and lasso orion's belt?
Man, that was the feeling I had while we saw you in GA! I was letting go of all of my stress, and relaxing and going for the belt!
Chewing crap like cud, ok never heard that one. But my grandma taught me: Never chew your cud twice!

J Cosmo Newbery said...

Wouldn't mind a belt of whatever Orion is sipping on myself. Ripples are good; the last ripple least so.

Neetee said...

I'd call it a mid-life desire for a wonderful adventure. Nothing wrong with that friend!

I really enjoyed this pat

Amalendu said...

liked it...

Plus Ultra said...

Not midlife crisis, just that all of us feel now and then that there is just so much more beyond where we are now.....but hey, what is stopping you? Nothing really, if you continue to impact humanity with your verses...you will arrive, and perhaps you are already further down the road than most of us, see already the 25th comment!!!!

Pat Paulk said...

Jel, thank you. Tried the deal, but couldn't get along with the UV's.

Thanks Nea. Pulled one or two dozen myself.

Vaughn, just venting. Too fat and old to chuck caution to the wind! Thanks!!

Does seem to strike a chord in most of us. Thanks Floots!!

Stag, I hope you had a safe trip! I thought I saw more than my rope up there!

Thank you Medusa!! I definitely am.

Russell you're absolutely right. A "little" danger's like salt and pepper. Thanks!!

Thank you Kai!!

Lee, got the sports car 8 years ago. Collects dust in the garage. No pony tail, but thinking about an earring. Maybe more of a second childhood, or a continuation of the first that never ended.

Osquer, you are right, sometimes, anywhere but here! Thank you!!

Samuru, I always like when a line stands out. Thank you!!

Borut, thank you!!

Well, Andrew you are 40 now, as I recall.

Thanks Dustin!

Mikaelah, thank you!!

Nick, thanks!! The ballast in my youth was tossed out a dozen or so years ago. Keep looking for another load, so I can set sail again!!

Thank you Joyce!!

Thank you AA!! I shot my potato gun at you, did I get the elevation right?

Is kind of scary isn't? Polona, letting the veil drop a tad, I think I'm more scared of missing the most, the best life I can have, than the risk. Probably a very selfish outlook.

Don, I hate busy highways! For me your advice is easy to take.

Thanks Wink!! Your grandmother gave good advice!!

J Cosmo, I favor a belt most evenings. Ripples are good, til the last one!

QNT, you are right!!! Thank you!!

Shyamalee, thank you!!

Plus Ultra, the only thing that stops any of us, me. I will arrive, only question is which train. Thanks!!

Elena Horowitz-Brookes said...

Think about this! Your writing takes us to some amazing places. I think you're going somewhere everytime you sit down and write your words. And we're all enjoying your trip. Thank You!

Unknown said...

two posts... well anyway... I doubt there is rules about how many comments can be left. This poem reminds me of Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman. The part where he sings this little song about sometimes you want to stay and go and go and stay ... can't make up your mind which way to go... I can even hear Al saying the words in the poem...

J. Andrew Lockhart said...

Get your pen out, Pat!! :) We're waiting.

mattm said...

Pat, good stuff - this put me in mind of the main character in Duane's Depressed by Larry McMurtry, which I can recommed highly

Pat Paulk said...

Boulies, thank you!! Your encouraging words mean alot!

Mikaelah, double comments are very welcome!!Like seconds on ice cream. Thank you!!

Andrew, done!

Matt, thank you!! I'll check it out!