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Open Poetry #26
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Cpat Hair
Deputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Patricius
since 2001-06-05
Posts 11793


0 posted 2003-04-15 10:28 AM



I’ve driven too many roads
staring out through bug speckled glass
at a world that travels by too quickly
to read the names off little white crosses
planted on roadside where someone
unluckier than me ended.

I’ve often wondered at these tributes
to lost children,
husbands, brothers, fathers
wives, mothers, sisters,
and thought if one day
my road ran to “there”,
It would be one less cross
the shoulder would have to bear
for no marker is needed
to say “Here it ended.”

In some ways,
I am sure it could be said for me
it ended long before
when I turned blind eye to family feuds,
ran from the pains I imagined inflicted
by careless words or arms that would not reach
from one heart to another,
and in slow gasps breathed the rattled
sputters of my own heart.

70 MPH doesn’t give one
much time to pay respects
and for those who do visit with flowers
or some other tribute to those gone
I wonder how many took the time
To let that person know before
How much they meant.

Bug spattered glass
Obscures just enough detail
To let one believe though…
That on the other side
Everyone sees a lot more
Than you do


© Copyright 2003 Cpat Hair - All Rights Reserved
Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354
Listening to every heart
1 posted 2003-04-15 10:33 AM



You left the eerie feel
of spirits standing on the roadside
watching all of us past by
in our haste,
with only them realizing
"when"...

Glad you clicked in...
will be glad when you can
stay awhile...


Janet Marie
Member Laureate
since 2000-01-22
Posts 18554

2 posted 2003-04-15 10:43 AM


I wonder how many took the time
To let that person know before
How much they meant.


Bug spattered glass
Obscures just enough detail
To let one believe though…
That on the other side
Everyone sees a lot more
Than you do
========================

Your eyes of wise see JUST FINE ...
the proof lies here between your lines.
May your roads rise up to meet you..
may the wind always be at your back .........

Ocean wrapped around the sun
Sky fell down & pulled us in
stole away my oxygen
left me breathless in the blue
left me breathless there with you.

regards2you
Member Elite
since 2002-10-01
Posts 3940
California
3 posted 2003-04-15 10:47 AM




"how many took the time to let the person know before how much they meant"

Great wake-up call..at least for me... long, lost relatives whom I've not spoken with for a long time and some not lost, yet I have not [taken the time needed, which honestly, isn't much] just to drop a line or e-mail to say "Hi, How are you"...and even friends I've ignored lately...me, not returning phone calls of people who care about me, and not letting relationships grow for I don't have time for them....makes me wonder the kind of friend I am...not reaching out to others...I can think of three right now, one which needs a long distance phone call and two can be covered w. e-mails..

I know the happiness I feel when on the receiving end....I am selfish and forget how happy they, too, would feel to be acknowledged and remembered...

Thank you for this.. a wonderful message..

Hugs, Pat  




..without surrender, be on good terms with all persons..
        "Desiderata"

[This message has been edited by regards2you (04-15-2003 10:49 AM).]

wranx
Member Elite
since 2002-06-07
Posts 3689
Moved from a shack to a barn
4 posted 2003-04-15 10:48 AM


Not much to say about this...And lord knows that nothing needs adding.

Outstanding in its pensiveness. gads.

Seymour Tabin
Member Empyrean
since 1999-07-07
Posts 31720
Tamarac Fla
5 posted 2003-04-15 10:55 AM


Cpat,
A well written and thoughtful write, enjoyed.

Enchantress
Member Empyrean
since 2001-08-14
Posts 35113
Canada eh.
6 posted 2003-04-15 11:01 AM


Captain, the truth lives in your words today..so much truth.
I'll be pleased when you can stay here longer..much longer..
Your writing reaches in, grabs the heart, and doesn't let go,
until long after the last words have been read.
Well done poet sir.
Stay safe..be well.
~Hugs & Smiles, Nancy~

~Somewhere in my heart I'm always
dancing with you in the summer rain~

ThisDiamond
Member Rara Avis
since 2002-02-22
Posts 9353
Michigan, USA
7 posted 2003-04-15 11:36 AM


Could definitely appreciate the thoughts here...
Well placed in the themes that drive a full life. Well done. ThisDiamond

NewEnglandlazurlu
Member Rara Avis
since 2002-01-04
Posts 7470
A Mountain Paradise
8 posted 2003-04-15 11:49 AM


Wowie, Wowie! You presented wonderful insight and imagery with this piece. I have seen those crosses and wonder about the person who left this world. They invoke deep thoughts of my own mortality.

I love your writing and always look forward to reading it.

Hugs for Peace.  Marti

Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.  A.Einstein

KristieSue
Deputy Moderator 1 TourDeputy Moderator 1 TourDeputy Moderator 1 TourDeputy Moderator 1 Tour
Senior Member
since 2003-01-31
Posts 1460
PA, US
9 posted 2003-04-15 12:37 PM


wow....what an impact this made on me.  I have this heavy feeling like I need to wake up and pay more attention...

and stop speeding :-)

Failure isn't failure if a lesson from it is learned ~ KS

jellybeans
Member Elite
since 2000-10-13
Posts 2298

10 posted 2003-04-15 02:06 PM


you spend'n too much time behind the wheel my friend...where you headed?

I spend my time on the road with a higher power...it makes my commute seem timeless in some ways and not long enough in others...
hugs
wonderful work

scorpio
Member Ascendant
since 2002-10-02
Posts 5178
right...there
11 posted 2003-04-15 03:28 PM


I hope you don't clean that windshield Ron...it might interfere with your ability to see the heart of what matters in life...great write..

believe in what your heart feels...

suthern
Deputy Moderator 1 TourDeputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Seraphic
since 1999-07-29
Posts 20723
Louisiana
12 posted 2003-04-15 03:56 PM


I like this melancholy masterpiece very much, Captain. *S* Be careful out there... we need your sight. *S*
serenity blaze
Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738

13 posted 2003-04-15 04:00 PM


Well, you made ME clean my monitor screen...

and glad you are finding time for us, cap.

I adore your ever gentle observations, and smiling now, they always seem to be written with an air of resignation.

You really need to produce that book.



good to see that you're still around...

Toerag
Member Ascendant
since 1999-07-29
Posts 5622
Ala bam a
14 posted 2003-04-15 04:11 PM


Too many white lines...can't read the road signs?....great write as usual Cpat
vandana
Deputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Patricius
since 1999-10-22
Posts 10463
USA
15 posted 2003-04-15 04:39 PM


enjoyed
Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049
California
16 posted 2003-04-16 12:29 PM


...always enjoy reading your thoughts, my friend.
littlewing
Member Rara Avis
since 2003-03-02
Posts 9655
New York
17 posted 2003-04-16 12:48 PM


Ron

this is amazing
left me in awe - truly
In this write - you allow us to see
much more than we do . . .
xxoo

Ratleader
Deputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Rara Avis
since 2003-01-23
Posts 7026
Visiting Earth on a Guest Pass
18 posted 2003-04-16 01:42 AM


Nobody does this as well as you do.

~~(¸¸¸¸ºº>   ~~(¸¸¸¸ºº>  ~~(¸¸ ¸¸ºº>    ~~~(¸¸ER¸¸ºº>
______________Ratleader______________

garysgirl
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 ToursDeputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Laureate
since 2002-09-29
Posts 19237
Florida, USA
19 posted 2003-04-16 01:46 AM


I was going to type in some of your words, but some more had already put the same ones down. So, I'll just say that this is a very good write...full of wisdom and thoyghts to ponder. Very good, Capt. Ron.  
Hugs,
Ethel

Bombella
Junior Member
since 2003-04-10
Posts 19
Western Australia
20 posted 2003-04-16 02:16 AM



I too have often wondered and am glad that they have been written of in such a superb way. My applause goes out to you.
Cherie..

Corinne
Member Ascendant
since 1999-10-28
Posts 5167
state of confusion
21 posted 2003-04-16 06:14 PM


A very introspective write, dear one.

My son recently asked me what those bunches of flowers meant while we were driving on a country road.

Had me thinking of how but for the grace of God, we could end up with flower tributes.

Well, as you said, it's not much of a tribute going past at rapid speeds, but it is a reminder that we are here.

Core

karebear07
Member
since 2003-04-15
Posts 64
Texas
22 posted 2003-04-16 06:33 PM


Wow that was a good poem. Really opened my eyes to see who matters before they die.
                -karebear07 <><

nakdthoughts
Member Laureate
since 2000-10-29
Posts 19200
Between the Lines
23 posted 2003-04-16 07:50 PM


A sad but sincere write...in the next town over a dumptruck carrying mulch lost control and killed a young mother and her daughter in a car...ran into three others and into a bus stop of elementary children getting off the bus...those markers are everywhere,  flowers and bears mark that spot, as do many others along the major highways.

M

Sandpiper
Senior Member
since 2002-06-15
Posts 738
land of flora and fauna
24 posted 2003-04-16 08:34 PM


"Bug spattered glass
Obscures just enough detail
To let one believe though…
That on the other side
Everyone sees a lot more
Than you do"

---------

I wonder, do they have the luxury of selective vision?..do they see more?..or, do they see at all?---interesting, thought-provoking write---enjoyed!!

"And it was at that age...Poetry arrived in search of me...And something started in my soul."
Pablo Neruda

VAS
Member Rara Avis
since 2000-11-16
Posts 7450
Oregon
25 posted 2003-04-16 09:03 PM


through speckled glass


arms that aren't long enough to reach from one heart to another


see much more from the other side


This is a fantastic piece, Cpat! So happy I got in with time to read it. Powerfully woven.

Whether on the shoal or on the shore,
I'll seek the lighthouse evermore.

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