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Poetry and Art- A Footprint of Inspiration
An eagle and a jet airliner cross paths in front of my windshield in a perfect line
As Kansas’ “Dust in the Wind” plays over my stereo.
What does it mean? Not a damned thing!
But thank God, I had the foresight to write down the inspiration.
God? I ponder that mystery as the violin solo vibrates through my truck tires,
Echoing through the asphalt waking ghosts of those that have walked this path before.
The primitive man who witnessed an eagle flying across his path.
No jet airliner, no electric guitar and violin carried over radio waves,
But thank God he had the foresight to memorize the moment.
God? I wonder if that was a cause for reflection while he wandered
Etching the vision into his mind where later that night
As he sat by a fire he scuffed a nearby stone with the charred end of a stick
And produced a mark that reminded him of the great bird.
So with this inspiration he drew from his memory the picture
And with the burned stick reached toward the wall next to him
Where he scrawled the form from his mind into a visible semblance
Which he studied throughout the night and dreamed with mind sparked
Until the morning light found him running with his stick while scanning the heavens
But halted when instead of finding a great bird he came upon a beautiful woman
Who knelt at the edge of the path scooping water from a brook into her hands to drink
While gazing up at him with curious expression toward his charred branch
Causing him to kneel in search of a stone but finding none.
So with no other surface offered for his inspiration he stuck the point in the dirt
And began a portrait of the woman who would become his mate
While overhead an eagle sang as a mountain gust blew dust in the wind
Which finally trickled off into the distant air.
My song ends and I am forced to slow to a stop for the man standing in the road
Is recording something into the pavement with a stick.
He looks up and our eyes meet through the glare of my windshield
What does it mean? Not a damn thing!
But at least we had the foresight to write it down
So that the next visitor that comes upon this trail will see our footprints
And know we were here.
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Comments
- Author
Colin, you humble me. As to your accolades toward me, lets just say that I am always honored by your visits and your extremely generous compliments.
I am glad that you came across this one; it was one of those that happened almost as I described. An eagle and an airliner crossed paths in front of me while driving, and the poem just came to me in an instant. Love it when that happens. God knows what would have transcribed if it had been a vulture and a hot air balloon!
This is one that I missed Sir Wayne and I am so glad that I found it as I always love to discover/rediscover buried treasure on anyone's hubpage.
I love your poetic stream of conciousness here - kind of reminded of Hunter S. Thompson, Lewis Carroll and Johnny Cash, lol.
You are a man who breathes writing/poetry as naturally as a fish swimming in the water and that's a nice place to be Sir Wayne.
They must start teaching the Wayne Barrett style of writing at school for it would become a bestseller.
If they taught my style everyone would end up in the loony bin with those white jackets on, lol lol lol
Have a pleasant, happy and safe weekend and please say hello to your family from mine ....Colin, Tiffy and Gabriel at lake erie time 1:20pm and posting and linking your fine piece of writing here on FB for everyone to see and read
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Thank you Daniel. I appreciate the thoughts and the support.
This piece touches on part to the little things that make being alive so wonderful. That sense of fire that comes with inspiration, finding the beauty and potential in everything. Our life is our portrait :) Very night Wayne, voted up.
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Inspiring is more important than entertaining. Thank you, Jose.
May you have a great Fathers Day.
Recording a moment in time can be a special thing. While you may not see the significance, others may. It's why I tend to write all my thoughts out. To me, they are kind of useless, but I might inspire someone.
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Manatita, thank you very much my friend.
Poetry and art. Truly inspirational, yes.
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Thank you, samikan.
great.....
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Sherrituck, I appreciate the kind compliment!
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Thank you for the visit, Audrey!
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Thank you very much, Frank!
Very powerful. Thank you for this true work of art.
Wonderfully reflective--and profound---I loved this journey--and thank you for sharing it with us
profound and deep Wayne.. skillyfully written my friend :)
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Thanks Sweety!
Such a beautiful, thought provoking peice. I have had so many moments when I feel almost connected to the past, where I try to envision the world around me as it once was. Oh how I long to see a world without all this crap!!! Love this. Up and sharing
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Thank you very much, Beth.
Beautiful, Wayne. Love how you weave the lives together and create a sort of eternal linear thought in the process. I also love "Dust in the Wind", one of my favourites.
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Thank you, Rasma!
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Thanks Erika!
Voted up and awesome. Such lovely imagery. Truly inspirational. It pulled me along and I had to blink when I came to the end. I was in a quite different world. Enjoyed and passing this on.
This is amazing, Dad, I love it! I do believe inspiration can be found in anything, and you explain this so wonderfully. Voting up and sharing!
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Thanks for the input, Deb. I appreciate the comments!
The beauty intertwines within this and reverts back to another human being with the same sort of connection. To learn and to grow with one another, another piece of the human puzzle.
wayne,
There is no doubt you will be leaving behind your fair share of footprints!
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Thank you, James. It's always nice to have a friend along for the ride!
Thanks for this road trip,a real philosophical journey !you really have sharp senses and keen eyes.Thanks for the ride:)
Have a nice weekend,my friend!
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Thank you, Cat for understanding this reflective piece. It is because of artist...writers...musicians, that love, harmony, and inspiration will be carried over to our fellow humans for generations...ages! One of my biggest highs is looking at one of my paintings and imagining that people will be looking at that same piece long after I am gone. It is my footprint!
wayne,
I was right there with you. When I drive alone in my car, with the music playing... I find myself traveling to this place. I wonder, I wonder, I ask and I cry. I don't know what it means but something just takes over me. I felt so many emotions reading this; I felt like you could see into my mind. Then I pressed play... it was all over from there; before he had gotten through the first sentence I had my eyes fill up with tears. By the time the violins were playing I felt something warm running down my cheek. This is so beautiful Wayne, thank you!
Cat
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Thank you, bravewarrior.
Wayne, this is such a reflective piece. I love it! Inspiration is all around us. We have to open our hearts to see.
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