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Open Poetry #36
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Midnitesun
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0 posted 2005-10-06 09:41 PM


lick your finger
and stick it in the air
(NO, I did NOT say your ear!)
and tell me,
which way the wind does blow

is it away from you or in your face?
or behind your back,
as all my Irish friends say
'tis the best place for the wind to be


and whichever way it may play upon your day

just be glad it's there

for imagine what the world would be like
if the winds should suddenly stop
and the clouds should stand still in the skies
if all the lies you ever told should pile up
in front of you, instead of blowin away in the wind
(never mind they never really blow away from you)

and what if chicken little was right?

lick and stick your finger in the air
and tell me

which way does the wind blow?

© Copyright 2005 Kathleen Kacy Stafford - All Rights Reserved
ice
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since 2003-05-17
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1 posted 2005-10-06 10:07 PM


Kacy
I bet you have heard this song line...

"You don't need a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows" Quote, Bob Dylan...

This poem reminds me of icefishing on a windy day...those that sit on buckets out in the elements are like weather vanes...whichever way their backs are turned is the windward side...usually they face south east, their frozen noses are the arrows that point which way the wind is going...

No one has to use the finger method..

enjoyed
----------ice
   ><>

Midnitesun
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2 posted 2005-10-06 10:24 PM


love that reply, ice!
so the frozen nose and toes always point the way, eh? LOL

Enchantress
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Canada eh.
3 posted 2005-10-06 10:27 PM


"the answer my friend...is blowin' in the wind"
Enjoyed this one so much Kacy!
"May the wind alsways be at your back...."
Hugs~Nancy

~Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile.~

Midnitesun
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4 posted 2005-10-06 10:32 PM


Nancy, I'm happy you enjoyed this whimsical write!
BTW...now I'm going to be humming Dylan all night. LOL


FYI, an interesting bit of history from DAVID BLUE:
The night Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind'' was first heard by an audience [Apr 16, 1962], Dylan and I had been killing the latter part of a Monday afternoon drinking coffee [at the "Fat Black Pussycat"] and bullshitting.

About five o'clock, Bob pulled out his guitar and a paper and pencil. He began to strum some chords and fool with some lines he had written for a new song. Time passed and he asked me to play the guitar for him so he could figure out the rhymes with greater ease. We did this for an hour or so until he was satisfied. The song was "Blowin' in the Wind.''

We decided to bring it over to Gil Turner who was hosting the Monday-night hoots at Gerde's, and we arrived about nine thirty or ten. Gerde's was packed with the regular Monday night jam of intense young folk singers and guitar pickers. We fought our way through the crowd down the stairs to the basement where you waited and practiced until your turn to play was called. It was a scene as usual.

Gil Turner finally took a break and came down to the basement to organize the next half of the show. Bob was nervous and he was doing his Chaplin shuffle as he caught Gil's attention. "I got a song you should hear, man,'' Bob said, grinning from ear to ear. ''Sure thing, Bob,'' Gil said. He moved closer to hear better. A crowd sort of circled the two of them. Bob sang it out with great passion. When he finished there was silence all around. Gil Turner was stunned. "I've got to do that song myself,'' he said. "Now!'' "Sure, Gil, that's great. You want to do it tonight?'' "Yes,'' said Turner, picking up his guitar, teach it to me now."

Bob showed him the chords and Gil roughly learned the words. He took the copy Bob made for him and went upstairs. We followed, excited by the magic that was beginning to spread. Gil mounted the stage and taped the words on to the mike stand. "Ladies and gentlemen,'' he said, "I'd like to sing a new song by one of our great songwriters. It's hot of the pencil and here it goes.''

He sang the song, sometimes straining to read the words off the paper. When he was through, the entire audience stood on its feet and cheered. Bob was leaning against the bar near the back smiling and laughing. Mike Porco bought us a drink. Later in the evening Bob went home with Suze, and l split with some friends. Another moment in time ticked of.
Quoted in Robbie Woliver, Hoot! A 25-Year History of the Greenwich Village Music Scene, New York, NY, 1986, pp. 83-84;
addenda [in square brackets] by Manfred Helfert.

iliana
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5 posted 2005-10-06 11:03 PM


Kacy, I really enjoyed this write....and the wind is blowin' tonight....kind of hard to really tell which direction though....lol.  Thanks for that story about Bob Dylan, too.   ....jo
Midnitesun
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6 posted 2005-10-06 11:08 PM


Jo, hopefully it's ordinary wind you're getting (is there such a thing?) not a hurricane!

Skyfire
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7 posted 2005-10-07 06:14 PM


this is so cute, I just love it!
Midnitesun
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8 posted 2005-10-07 06:25 PM


HEY, skyfire! great to see you gallop in here for a visit
Larry C
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9 posted 2005-10-07 08:49 PM


Bad enough you have to tell me where to go. Now you're telling me where to stick my finger! I can hardly wait to tell you where... I probably shouldn't say that here, eh? (You do know I'm kidding, right?)

If tears could build a stairway and memories a lane, I'd walk right up to heaven and bring you home again.

Sunshine
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10 posted 2005-10-07 09:02 PM


Kacy....

in the past year or so, perhaps more, I've tried to write off the poem...without reading the responses....and if mine matched others, so be it....I didn't want to be guided by others' interpretations....

unless, of course, I was vastly confused.

Which can happen.

But as I read yours, I was instantly reminded of one of my favorite songs, and then one of my favorite Canadian songs about wind...

and then you had to go and insert the Dylan piece...where the "magic" was happening....

don't you know, it is ALL about magic?

Even when trying to decide
which way the wind
is blowing...

This is awesome, a definite keeper, and one for my library and lights.

Love,

"There's a reason they call God The Creator - he sides with talent." Julia Cameron

Midnitesun
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11 posted 2005-10-08 12:21 PM


Larry, I can guess.

Karilea? thanks, and 'magic' hugs to you!

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