Let It Stray

Bob, ,

And what celestials did we tame, corral? None at all. What
Angsty dreams did we smother in interpretation and
Rationalizing? None at all. Do not dreams breathe with dream-lungs,
See with dream-eyes, fathom the earth on dream-wings?

Every butterfly is saddled with life and death, time and
Matter, having as means this curved space
To lift its skull and wing, and to scope out its dreams.

The spring rain is cousin to the moon, the moon
Is neighbor to the motes in the sunlit window,
And if these dreams are silly-serious (and they are) and are to be heckled
By the rings of Saturn (and they are), they are also as fabulous
As the lilac bush or the ponytail
Of a comet.

So let it stray, wobble, course a swerve-adhering
Meander in all its wonder and unknowing.

14 thoughts on “Let It Stray”

  3. Here I am, Sunday morning enjoying my new tradition – reading Bob’s Saturday poem. I know I’m repeating myself, but this is a great one. It’s hard work, a labor of love to read a poem over and over and extract meaning. I don’t have a history of reading or understanding too much poetry. That’s changed since I started reading your works. Now, about this particular poem, I like that you provide an answer to a question and what makes it upside down in the best of ways is that the title is the answer, revealed in the last two lines and what is that answer? There is no answer, “unknowing” as you say other than “let it stray.” I’m reminded of the strange path water takes to reach the sewers and back out to sea.

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    1. Thanks! I finished the Sun Ra documentary. Which was a big influence on this poem. Thanks for sharing that with me. I think that’s really interesting you thought of the rain water in the sewer. What a winding, meandering path that must be. That has me thinking of all the that is going on beneath our feet. From sewers to tectonic plates. I’m glad you enjoyed this one.

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      1. That’s great that you watched the Sun Ra doc. I love it when he says, “That’s his-tory, not my story, what’s your story?” A great question! An inspiration to do our best to make our lives spectacular.

        I like how you put that – “all that is going on beneath our feet…..tectonic plates” and who knows what else. It’s funny how at some point early in our lives, many believe we can dig our way to China.

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  4. I love the “silly-serious” and I love the last line. It could serve as a nice description of what some of your poems do. Also: the last line reminds me of Donald Barthelme’s article “Not-Knowing.” About not having a story planned out in advance before writing it. Enjoying the discovery as the story unfolds. About meandering. If you’re interested, the article is here: https://manoftheword.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/not-knowing-donald-barthelme.pdf

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    1. Thanks Dave. I plan on reading the article soon. I downloaded it, and it looks about 20 pages. Barthelme is someone who I have read some, but not enough of. The article looks super interesting. Right up my alley. I’ll let you know how it goes as soon as I finish it. Thanks!

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