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Open Poetry #37
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Happy Trails, Cowboy
| Open Poetry #37 |
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Happy Trails, Cowboy |
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icebox Member Elite
since 2003-05-03
Posts 4383in the shadows 
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I see your soul in my dreams, standing on your own free of motors, wheels and gears and straps, eyes bright no longer dulled by pain, telling me it’s a long trip begun already late reminding me we’ll meet again, smiling, not afraid, stretching to reach a new horizon, a place of peace and rest to catch a breath reflect on lessons learned awareness earned, before we choose a time to saddle up again; more than most I’ve known you have a right to claim a life of play and joy with no more than the normal dose of pain, where sharing with a child a new toy is not a choice involving strategy; for years I've watched your broken body shutting down, not even your trapped fierce spirit can continue bending it to task by will. System by tired system, nerve by shorted nerve, cell by bloody cell; like the ocean’s tide soon a single crest of swell will carry you away and tears of relatives will fall, some will lie and jockey for position, it doesn’t matter after all, in me I fear the loss of friend yet in life I feel a joy that has no end, and I’ll survive a while in wonder that somehow we cut trails again, and again will meet on down the road. ©2006 by icebox [This message has been edited by icebox (01-30-2006 10:21 PM).] |
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| © Copyright 2006 icebox - All Rights Reserved | |||
Joyce Johnson
since 2001-03-10
Posts 9912Washington State |
this is a fine story, compassionately written. Joyce |
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wranx Member Elite
since 2002-06-07
Posts 3689Moved from a shack to a barn |
Its hard not to identify with this, m'friend There been a few I've wished "happy trails" (or words to that effect...lol) |
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iliana Member Patricius
since 2003-12-05
Posts 13434USA |
*hugs Mr. C.* Just got off the phone with one of my dearest friends...an 88-year-old woman. The thoughts that were running through my head were very similar to the ideas you have verbalized in a most excellent manner. jo |
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Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049California |
icebox He is lucky to have you as a friend!  |
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icebox Member Elite
since 2003-05-03
Posts 4383in the shadows |
Thank you for the kindness of your responses. |
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littlewing Member Rara Avis
since 2003-03-02
Posts 9655New York |
You surely will and man, seems the loss is getting so frequent icey, I just don't know anymore. (I am so sorry) Bless your soul. |
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The Lady Member Rara Avis
since 2005-12-26
Posts 7634The Southwest |
"not afraid, stretching to reach a new horizon, a place of peace and rest to catch a breath reflect on lessons learned awareness earned, before we choose a time to saddle up again;" A lovely tribute. |
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Bodger Senior Member
since 2005-06-12
Posts 1260Tolerance for a short time |
Complex but lost at several points along the way You were writing for you not someone else You write as usual with style depth aplomb But I feel you had a chance and missed it regards Dave |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa |
Poignantly beautiful. I enjoyed this far more than I can tell. - Owl |
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Mysteria
since 2001-03-07
Posts 18328British Columbia, Canada |
Loss is a miserable thing that can never feel the same way twice. Indeed wishing this one soul happy trails, and I am sure they will be. Heartfelt write Ice. |
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icebox Member Elite
since 2003-05-03
Posts 4383in the shadows |
Thank you all, again, for your time and your thoughts. I feel now that I should apologize for dumping these emotions here. Dave: I did not write this for me; I wrote this for a man who is dying. I wrote it the morning after he came to me in a dream and told me that he was leaving. I learned several hours later that he was in hospital. He and I have had a complex and very positive friendship and he is my last living close male friend. The past several years of his life have been very hard for him and I wrote of this once before in a previous poem. The progressive nature of his disease now has put him in a coma like state and he is not expected to recover. You are right, I am sure I had times when I had chances to have spent more time with him and I missed those opportunities. As always in life, those times can not be recovered. Perhaps you are right that I should not have posted this poem here as it doesn’t meet your standards. I left out details that belong only to he and I, poor craft on my part. It was very painful for me to write, though I said what I wanted to say in this poem and I wrote it for no one but him anyway. I am comfortable with what I wrote for that reason, but again for that reason it may have been more wise not to post it. If you are not satisfied with it, or feel it is of poor quality, that is your problem not mine. There are many other more skilled poets on this site and you should focus your attention on them. |
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littlewing Member Rara Avis
since 2003-03-02
Posts 9655New York |
 Your emotions are who you are. (TG) You should not have to apologize those to anyone, sir. |
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iliana Member Patricius
since 2003-12-05
Posts 13434USA |
If we can not express our hearts here then it would not be PIP. Mr. C., you are an extremely gracious giver of yourself, and if your heart wants to put something here even though it is very personal, then (and you know this better than anyone else) there is an important reason for it. Besides, that is what makes poetry real...when something of us is in it. I don't think I would read poetry at all if it was only words.  .....jo |
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Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049California |
icebox....I agree with the ladies above...this needed to be here, for him and for you. I know he already knows with what high regard you place him...putting your words here he does even more so. Never feel that you can't write your feelings and your heart..ok? |
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latearrival Member Ascendant
since 2003-03-21
Posts 5499Florida |
Dear Icebox, Oh how I wish I had a friend like you who could write like you and would do so at the beginning of my trip to "Paradise". Appreciating this, sincerely, martyjo |
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Susan Caldwell Member Rara Avis
since 2002-12-27
Posts 8348Florida |
My dearest Icy.... You missed nothing! You spoke with heart and soul, as usual, and that is what makes you one of the best on these pages... This particular piece was outstanding in it's sensitivity and caring towards another..I cannot even fathom how hard it was to write.. and if I could I would give you a long, hard hug and a most deeply felt thank you for sharing so very much of yourself. These pages of blue would be less without you.  "too bad ignorance isn't painful" |
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