Image courtesy of Brian Gaynor Photography
Hooded, he searches restlessly for
the end of the line.
He wonders if it will be around the next bend,
but after a million curves and
a million miles,
he has lost count and
the odds aren’t stacked in his favour.
The journey isn’t what he expected.
The curves and twists are dizzying in their complexity.
He thought he’d be further at this
stage in life.
He thought he’d have gained a conductor’s hat;
instead, the caboose is overloaded with baggage
he can’t even begin to tag.
Hope doesn’t conduct well on rails.
Emptiness washes him out like a hollow horn echoing back
from the trees,
chugging with used and belaboured ‘I-thought-I-coulds’.
Is he on the right track?
Will he run out of steam?
Maybe, the next bend will clatter with revelation, illumination,
be a station to pull into.
Maybe what he searches for even in his dreams
will be around the next bend…
Very nice! I have been a little busy lately and haven’t had a lot of time to check out what my friends are doing. I had some catching up to do on your site. All your poems are wonderful and I love your photography. Also, congrats on your awards. They are well deserved!
Thank you! Isn’t it hard to keep up with things? I’m now ‘following’ so many great blogs, and every week discover more, that I can hardly get to all of them. Hopefully we all give each other some slack in that department!! I appreciate the time you’ve taken on mine – I guess it makes us realize how precious it is when people stop by and take the time to invest in us, right? 🙂
I agree. And thank you for spending time on my blog, too.
You’re welcome! 🙂
Briliant! (as we’d say in Scotland) 🙂
Thank you! (That’s Canadian! 🙂 )
So wonderful. Thanks!
I’s so glad you enjoyed it!
i have just nominated you for the thank you for writing award…you will found it on my blog..congrats..and keep sharing your amazing poets with us..:)
Wow – thank you! I am honoured.
Thank you for putting such beautiful words to imagery. You have expressed the essence of my intentions, creating poetic themes of introspection, despair, and angst, sprinkled with the possibility of hope and fulfilled dreams around the next bend. Wonderful work. Thanks for your creation.
This is my third go – the first two were SO dark. One was ‘Poverty stalks among us’ – they wrote themselves so bleak that I had to come at it from a different angle. I’m glad it expresses what your image intended! It grabbed me emotionally, so that is a strong indication of its power.
This is an amazing combination. Brian took a great picture and the poet added wonderful words to match. Thank you to both of you!
Thank you! I told Brian that all we needed was matching music for the complete poetic experience… 🙂
We need to find someone to write the score.
I could if I had the inclination – I have an awesome keyboard with a mixing board and everything. But music has not come back to me in my healing journey. I feel as though the poetry, the words, are the first step back to my music. Maybe one day!
Melody, wonderful poem and photo illustrating the theme of alienation and the search for meaning.
Thanks Marty! It is such a gripping image to me. I am discovering the delights of a really powerful image in helping us to understand our world better. Dare I say it even makes me ‘happy’? 🙂
It might sound strange but although it inspires sadness, I really love the picture and the poem is simply wonderful.
xoxo
I love it too! As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to write something about it. It is a lot of fun to collaborate like that and use someone else’s images. I find it interesting to know if my words match what they had in mind when they took the photo.
I think you’ve done a great job and I’m sure they would agree. If not, introduce them to me, I have my “tools” to convince them, he he
I would PAY to see you try! You almost made me choke on my chocolate! 🙂 You are FUNNY!
So you are a chocolate person too. Cool 🙂