Blue imaginary birds
Know the spells to swim
In the moon.
And all the pretty vows
Know very well the distances
Between stars.
When done ingeniously
A walk is a bout
Of meandering.
There are footprints
Between the powerlines
And amongst the goldenrod.
love this one, Bob: a sort of an ode to restlessness,a surreal Kerouac 🙂
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Thanks, John. A surreal Kerouac…I love that. Glad you think so. I’ve been meaning to read Kerouac again. It’s been a long time.
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yes, I’m reading Patti Smith’s ‘Just Kids again’ her homage to the sixties and seventies in New York, to her and Robert Mapplethorpe and the Chelsea Hotel : magic 🙂
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Lovely… “a walk is a bout / of meandering.” !!!
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Thank you Rajani!
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This holds together so well, each paragraph on the move – “swim, distances, walk, footprints.” And as always, the combination of words and ideas are mind blowing like they have me wondering how in the hell does Bob come up with these? “…..all the pretty vows Know very well the distances
Between stars.”
Oh, and I forgot to mention the floating…..that’s the image that pops into my mind after reading “There are footprints Between the powerlines And amongst the goldenrod.” If my laptop dictionary is right, goldenrod is a perennial herb which gives this poem both bird’s flight and rabbit’s scamper.
You know, another part about your poem I love is the fun with words.
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The goldenrod is beautiful when it’s in full bloom. And a summer bloom, so all the pollinators are all over it. I have a bunch in my yard. When you walk a city, I guess power lines are just part of the view. You look up and the moon is between two lines. I guess sometimes you just end up floating up there between them too.
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Well said. It’s amazing what your mind sees – “You look up and the moon is between two lines. I guess sometimes you just end up floating up there between them too..”
Even if I looked up and all around the entire time I was outside, I wouldn’t see what you see Bob. You have an amazing gift.
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Thanks Steve. But I disagree, especially having tried a short story, the way you tell stories and connect everything the way you do, is really special.
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Thanks Bob. It’s readers like you that inspire me to keep on writing or I’d probably still write them even if no one read them, but man it’s great to have a readership.
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I’m more than glad to be able to read them.
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“Blue imaginary birds
Know the spells to swim
In the moon.” – this is a beautiful image.
All the stanzas hold a piece of the whole picture, doused in a peaceful blue. Everything seems to be leading upward and out, a pleasant elevation👌🏼
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Thanks! I’ll take some peaceful blue about now. Glad you liked it.
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I like the images in each stanza, particularly the magic in the first stanza. Makes me think of watching birds dive into the ocean to get fish. Curiously, the third stanza “speaks” most to me. It must be in the stanza’s idea of going against a schedule. Of open-mindedness toward discovery 🌝
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Thanks Dave. For me those walks where you don’t have a destination or schedule are often the best. Glad you liked it.
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I looked up and found those birds, and it made me smile. What lovely tercet verse, friend.
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Thank you Katie!!
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There’s a sweet magic in this one. I love how you ground the poem by bringing it from the heavens to the power lines and goldenrod. And the meandering walk, always that inspired journey.
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I miss that goldenrod. Looks like gray rain all week. I’m glad you liked this one. Thanks!!
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I love the imagery in this poem. Brilliant work!
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I’m glad you liked it. Thanks!
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