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Savage Season of Love
| Open Poetry #47 |
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Savage Season of Love |
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JerryPat Senior Member
since 2010-10-30
Posts 1991Louisiana/America 
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 The savage season of love lasted six years, Of hash and coke and mari-ja-wanna and, Love beads and love beds and lovin' beers, Deep in the heart of Texas taking my stand. Janis, our free-love queen sang lusty songs, About get-down sex so I left the Lone Star State. Hitched to California where right was wrong, But wrong felt righteous to us feel-good mates. San Francisco, sitting on the dock of that bay, With that Otis cat and you know we was ready. For the groove and the jive and the stray Cats getting' down with cool dudes goin' steady. And rockin' steady hell, man we was grooving', Panhandling on the street, spittin' at the squares. Pinchin' enough pennies for the hipsters move, To Chicago, the Democrat Convention with flair. Country Joe and the Fish made their splash, With Joan Biaez, et al, songs strident and chillin'. At Berkley bad-mouthing the baby killin' trash, In Vietnam, echoed overseas by Clinton, re Billy. The savage season of love rocked to our delight, Oh, the bong pipes, LSD, uppers and downers. Tearing down status quo and we weren't polite, To rigid-minded people like Lil' Abner. We cried for Janis and Jimmie and Mamma Cass, For crashing and burning in the middle of the fight. But not for long though, cause we lit up some grass, Mellowed out, loved those left in the city of light. Movie stars hobnobbing with the smoked-up masses, Hey! Dude! Shared a toke with Fonda, she was witty. Then Jane sought the enemy wearing dark glasses, And do-wah-diddy didn't she look so pretty? The savage season of love slowly became, A monstrous period of selfishness and excess. The very things we preached against was our aim, George Orwell's Animal Farm, a lesson to transgress. We're right, you're wrong, there can be no in between, Lesson's learned from guru's sent over from afar. Peace and love got caught up in the power machine, Of our own making as if we had our own czar. Timothy Leary said drop out, that's what we did, At last the bad trips began killing us out. Hallucination caused us to leap, God forbid, Through windows to the pavement by the short route. We who survived are wont to smile and relax, And talk about the bad time our country endured. As something good and wonderful, forgetting facts, Our time in the sun, we made it all so impure. The grand scheme of history, we want to think, Will treat the savage season of love kind and excuse. Our excesses and not think us out of sync, Our hearts were pure, it was our flesh we abused. Let us all think back with our memories so grand, Looking through rose-colored glasses at youthful display. Yes, we began a national debate which still stands, The savage season of love is with us today. Suicidal twin kills sister by mistake! |
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| © Copyright 2011 Jerry Pat Bolton - All Rights Reserved | |||
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ethome Member Patricius
since 2000-05-14
Posts 11858New Brunswick Canada |
Yep, got ya man! Things like "far out, cool, trippin out, breakin through, gettin off, freakin out, groovy, coppin a nickel or dime, narcs, etc etc etc." Good shot of the Queen Of The Blues. Eric Burdon putting Jim Morrison out of his house at gun point. LOL! Truth of the matter being known, that German girl overdosed Jimmie Hendrix with downers and thus murdering him because of jealousy. Eric Burdon and Hendrix were very very close and he was there within the hour after Jimmie's death. People to this day still insisting it was an accidental overdose. NOT SO! Read Burdon's book, 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." Lots of reflections for me in this one Jerry. I remember Al Capp dressing down Lennon & Yoko and it made me smile as you mention it here. I like this summation of yours..... "The grand scheme of history, we want to think, Will treat the savage season of love kind and excuse. Our excesses and not think us out of sync, Our hearts were pure, it was our flesh we abused." Yep, the savage season of love alright. Sometimes conditions weren't so great but we didn't have any anti-bacterial lotion to save us so we just got through anyway. Called it 'balling', makes ya smile doesn't it? Like you write in this, the long term run had to fizzle out but all the same, it might have played a major part in stopping a useless war. Crosby Stills Nash & Young just tried it again and they bombed for the most part....Nothing ever stays the same does it? "Pictures Of Matchstick Men" Peace brother...........warm smile.... Eric Love does not look after it's own interests. |
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faithmairee Senior Member
since 2011-01-05
Posts 1441Poe Haven, USA |
accurate depiction of the times i grew up in...brought back many memories...they were crazy but exciting times...very well written i must say! There must be a poem in here somewhere. |
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steavenr Member Elite
since 2003-11-17
Posts 4058 |
memory-laden write...moving like a slide show in fast forward...had to read some parts slow, just to keep up |
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JerryPat Senior Member
since 2010-10-30
Posts 1991Louisiana/America |
Eric, there was some good done concerning the conscience of a nation of course during those crazy, hectic years, but much was also done to undermine what America is all about, and we are still paying for it today. You being Canadian may not understand the hard nuances of what I mean, but you are also intelligent enough to pretty much figure it out. America is/has not been perfect of course, but in my opinion we also don't deserve the mantle of self-hate we developed during those days of insurrection and out-and-out war against our government. Vietnam? It probly should not have been fought, but once you make the commitment you have to stand behind it. Except for the coll things like like drugs at your command and the music and all the sex you wanted the revolution has undermined the foundation of the constitution and severely laid siege to it to. The far left, i.e., Fonda and her Follywood crown and groups such as The Weathermen launched an assault on America from which she has never recovered, and in face some of those players are still with us today making policy in Washington. Well, thank for your indepth analysis of the poem. Hope your day will go well. <><><> Thanks faith for stopping by and seeing what I had to offer. <><><> Thanks for the read and comment, steavenr. I appreciated it. Suicidal twin kills sister by mistake! |
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mikeandrew Member
since 2010-11-18
Posts 198 |
Far out man.A wonderful trip enjoyed this one very much. |
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JerryPat Senior Member
since 2010-10-30
Posts 1991Louisiana/America |
I am glad you liked my memory lane trip, Mike. "Whoever is not in his coffin and the dark grave let him know he has enough."-Robert Goolrick from "Reliable Wife" |
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Lori Grosser Rhoden Member Patricius
since 2009-10-10
Posts 10202Fair to middlin' of nowhere |
Jerry your perspective is great. I was at the end of the baby boom so I heard about it but missed out on what my older brothers actually experienced. Thanks for taking me there. Lori |
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JerryPat Senior Member
since 2010-10-30
Posts 1991Louisiana/America |
You're quite welcomed, Lori happy you enjoyed the trip "Whoever is not in his coffin and the dark grave let him know he has enough."-Robert Goolrick from "Reliable Wife" |
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ethome Member Patricius
since 2000-05-14
Posts 11858New Brunswick Canada |
Good valid points Jerry. I can appreciate your angle looking at the wide picture. I have to agree somewhat. Being an old musician you can appreciate how I side with the musical endeavours of the day to a certain degree. However, I do know we were treading on dangerous waters from all angles. Add to that, mob mentality, that never helps. Add a dash of mary jane, mesculin, peyote, lsd, thc, crystal meth, horse(herion), cocaine, purple double dome, blue green and red blotter, balh blah etc. You could have lead some of us to sink in quicksand and we did! However, there's more to it than just that. It's been a slowly developing decline we have witnessed. A phenomenon can be observed in violent criminals. According to Sten Levander, a professor of psychiatry in Sweden, between 15 and 20 percent of all prison inmates today are psychopaths—people who are extremely self-centered, lack empathy, and are unable or unwilling to understand the concept of right and wrong. Even among children and youths who are seemingly normal, observers have noticed a blunting of moral senses. “We have been thrown back into a moral Stone Age,” claims Christina Hoff Sommers, a professor of philosophy. She noted that when her young students are faced with the question of what is right and what is wrong, most of them react by becoming very insecure. Then they reply that there is no such thing as right or wrong. They believe that each person must consider what is best for himself. In recent times, many of her students have objected to the principle of the unique dignity and value of human life. For example, when asked what they would do if faced with the choice between saving the life of their pet or the life of a fellow human whom they did not know, many said that they would choose the animal. “The problem is not that young people are ignorant, distrustful, cruel, or treacherous,” says Professor Sommers. “To put it bluntly, they are conceptually clueless.” She claims that many young people today actually question whether there is a right or a wrong, and she feels that this attitude poses one of the greatest threats to society. The undermining of morals in our time is therefore a reality. Many fear that dire consequences could result. An article in Die Zeit says that the free market economy of today could gradually “degenerate and maybe someday collapse as the socialistic system did recently. Well, what have we witnessed over the last three years? Not being quite like the youth mentioned above even we socalled flower children have observed a moral decline. So we were part of the wrong but also part of the last vestige of seekers of humane justice. We were at the start of the weakening family unit. When the love of the family unit falls apart we're in for HELL! Don't give me any philosophy 101 or whatever, check your secular history, when the family unit weakens world powers have gone down because of rotting out from the inside. I point fingers at no one! Yet, it starts at HOME!! Eric Love does not look after it's own interests. |
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JerryPat Senior Member
since 2010-10-30
Posts 1991Louisiana/America |
Yes indeed, I can appreciate your leaning into the music of that era, Eric, and so do I and I am not a musician, although I used to play a pretty god double steel Fender Guitar back in the day. I was there with you with The Stones, Moody Blues, etc., and tripped out on enough acid to last me a lifetime, and they said it would in the form of flashback. Another lie. So far I haven't had one flashback. Mob mentality. Tat was the scary part for me even as it was happening because as young as I was and as stoned as I stayed somewhere in the back of my mind I kept getting this strange feeling that I was being manipulated. We all were, and I was right. The Abbie Hoffman's , the Tom Hayden's and the rest of the organizers and rebel rousers of the revolt, for that was what it was, poured it on think and often. The music carried the day. I have written a novel by the name of "Margaret and David: A Love Story, and in it American has had a second civil war and was won by the Muslims who now control the country. RAP is the music of THAT conflict and in the story is still the patriotic songs of the country. So I well understand the role music plays n the kind of development we are talking about. Yes. We are being dumbed down from within. I blame it on the Democrat Party of America and the socialist and communist who have co-opted it. For fifty years or more they have gotten away from educating the children, instead they have gone in for brainwashing them. The idea that there is no "right" or "wrong" comes from this dumbing down. And it comes from the movies. The professors who teach the skulls full of mush question every tradition and every value that used to be America. I would never say America was a perfect place, but I will say, in respect to most, if not al, other countries it I a model. I realize Canada and America have developed into somewhat of a more that friendly rivalry over the years and some harsh things have been said by both countries, not politically so much as just man on the street kinda of badmouthing. America has gone from being the place hat fed the world and was there to help in any way we could when problems arose o a despised country for most of the world. I do not think we deserved the hate which is directed at us, but I now how it has gotten there. When our own politicians point their fingers art us and take a our enemies part in so many points over our own it tends to trickle down and weaken us severely. I firmly believe we are fighting for or survival in these days, Eric and some of the same sixties crowd is running the show Whew! Later. "Whoever is not in his coffin and the dark grave let him know he has enough."-Robert Goolrick from "Reliable Wife" |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa |
Wow, Jerry, you surely have lived a colourful life! I applaud your honesty. Not being an American nor a music fundi, I missed out on a lot of the allusions, even in the explanations. Your and Eric’s dialogue is very interesting. I agree with Eric that the family unit is the core of morality. It is the responsibility of parents to do the very best they can, to develop their children’s minds through information and discipline leading to self-discipline so that they can make their own responsible choices. I enjoyed your poem. For the record, to the best of my knowledge, South Africans, generally speaking, don't hate America. In fact I say "generally speaking" simply because I can't speak for everyone, but, to the best of my recollection, I haven't heard of any South African who hates America. Owl |
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steavenr Member Elite
since 2003-11-17
Posts 4058 |
had to come back just for the interesting conversation...I have been awed by your journey from left to right...as arte johnson would say...interesting, very interesting |
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JerryPat Senior Member
since 2010-10-30
Posts 1991Louisiana/America |
Owl, thank you for chiming in here, and believe me it is a relief to hear someone from another country speak as you did about South Africa. I mentioned that to Eric and Canada because some things have been said back and forth over the years. I have great regard for our neighbor Canada as I am sure many of them feel the same way abut us here in America. Again, thank you for commenting on the comments. Haha!! <><><> steavenr, I am happy to see you back here if only to keep up with the conversation. I'm begining to believe the conversation is better than the poem. Almost sure of it. "Whoever is not in his coffin and the dark grave let him know he has enough."-Robert Goolrick from "Reliable Wife" |
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