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From Youth to the Void





Road Way Blisters

I was young
All that mattered
Were dreams and raised middle fingers
Tearing down all that existed
Without respect or understanding
Until there was escape.

 
It’s simply the path you’re on
The direction that the road takes
Is the life you make
The etchings state
Footprints on paper
Ink spots fading
And digital traces lost.

Editing is only possible
After tracks are laid down
Wrinkles in the sand
The teacher was only reciting
I/we discovered
And though I never listened
The only lessons that counted
Were the ones where I fell hard on my face.

Yet, I grew to seek answers
And wisdom
Expecting to find it in elders
And lyrics threading through sages documented
Buried below concrete
Trodden on within view
Yet the black falls
Before the day is full
And I’m left shouting into the void
Searching for …
(if only I knew …).

The same echo returns
Which shouldn’t surprise me
But it makes me feel tired and old
And realisation is a slow gut surge betrayal
Who knew it would come around this fast?

Blisters full
With red popping valley sunrise
Bursting hopes
Dispersing liberty.

And here we are.





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(Poem AJL 2012)


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7 comments:

  1. Great poem Anthony, one of your better ones. I liked the lines about teachers just reciting, and about the search for answers. Your intial lines about raised middle fingers echo comments of mine made just a few minutes ago, about an immature bikie (is there any other kind?) on the front page of the Age with a two raised middle fingers. I liked the pictures too, the lone trees preparing to weather a storm, a trail that wanders backwards and forwards in search of a destination.

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  2. I agree Graham this is a really powerful poem my favourite lines are:

    The only lessons that counted
    Were the ones where I fell hard on my face

    Thank you for sharing it with us Anthony

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  3. And I’m left shouting into the void
    Searching for …
    (if only I knew …)

    Classic line Anthony! So damn true. Full of angst and no idea why.

    I love this one because I felt it and I lived it...

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  4. "The only lessons that counted
    Were the ones where I fell hard on my face."

    I see that Anonymous especially liked these lines too.

    How you find so many beautiful ways to express humanity through verse, amazes me. Very well done, my friend. You're a gift.

    xoRobyn

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  5. Thank you so much for your very generous comments. So nice of you all. I'm glad it found some resonance. Thank you for taking the time out to read. It means the world to me. :)

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  6. Good one. All true. Youth sees black and white. Older and older sees grayness and not just the older grayness. Did I think,feel and do that !
    Him

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  7. P.S. Great choice of photos in relation to your poem.It gives a visual impact.
    Him

    ReplyDelete

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