Tuesday, August 19, 2014

THE ECCENTRIC TRAVELER



Stepping Up by Joel Robison (JoelRobison.com)


He travels.
"I'm beaming myself to love,"
he says, though no one hears,
or cares to wish him well.

Then he sits wherever, listens
to frequency of windy sound waves
curling around his mind, blowing
in all directions, his speed intensifying,
the sound amplifying 'til he's gone

from here, but arrives in that place
feeling elated, weightless, thoughtless.

Playfully he skips along, stepping on rocks
of air going higher, but nowhere.
For many years he's been going there.

He got tired of inviting others
who smirk, laugh, shove him aside,
give him a dollar once in a while
so he'll go away. They hate
seeing people like him,
too eccentric.

Once a woman went with him,
said he was enlightened
before she was taken away somewhere.

So, he keeps beaming himself to love.
Can't figure why everyone
doesn't travel there.



(Submitted to Dverse Poets where Grace has us writing to the surreal paintings of Joel Robison.)








23 comments:

  1. Beam me up too Myrna ~ Too bad many do not believe him ~ And yet I could empathize when we see someone too different and eccentric, we believe he is madly crazy ~

    I like that he travels there where he is most happy to be ~ Thanks for linking up with D'verse & wishing you happy week ~

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  2. This reminds me of the Beatles 'The fool on the hill' - and makes me wonder (yet again) who the fools are.
    Thank you.

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  3. Really there is something to be said for being eccentric. And truly he sounds as if has things figured out that many people never will! Clever interpretation of the photo, Myrna.

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  4. reflects the current times... we need more love, but being negative is the cool thing now.

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  5. why doesnt everyone follow along to love...its a question i really have no answer to...maybe it is too incovenient at times to love...too eccentric...perhaps they are too busy judging to love?

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  6. Sounds like a good idea to me Myrna, love can take you to amazing places.

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  7. A great ending to a lovely poem.

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  8. Eccentrics often have a hard time I think. Yours seems to be tolerated for being who he is, or at least he does not seem to care. Nice take on the prompt, Myrna.

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  9. More people should be eccentric in this same way!

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  10. He travels to his own heartbeat..love is a journey...

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  11. Wow..!great words..that i can relate to today..better than ever..but that's okay..to travel with gravity is always the place for me to play..:)Have a great day Myrna.

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  12. Cool piece! The poem has a surreal feel to it, just like the picture.

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  13. Loving yourself is sometimes all we have...a sad scenario, but i can feel the hope in this poem. Lessons can be learned from eccentric people...of simplicity and true kindness.

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  14. He gets ostracized if others do not accept his ways. But eccentricity may not be a bad thing as famous people are often eccentric! Great write Myrna!

    Hank,

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  15. Like this - there's sadness and yearning, but also a shrug of optimism? defiance? there... The one word that jarred with me a little was 'wherever' in 'Then he sits wherever...'. I'm not sure I have any other suggestion, but it just felt a bit too colloquial/slangy in a poem which is otherwise quite surreal, quite fey.

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  16. I think you have captured a person that is will to live in his integrity - despite all costs... make his own road.

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  17. I like this different man..elated with love and leaving a trail...some are bound to follow.. ..love the surrealistic feel to the poem just like the image...

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  18. This eccentric is probably happier and knows more joy than the herd. Good for him!

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  19. You will not that which you are not willing to look for. This guy believes, he knows it's out there, but he's not waiting passively for it. I like this guy, living life and bringing other willing souls into his joy.

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  20. hmm...to be able to escape into such a place sounds dreamy...I think fear holds us back, on many different levels. really nicely written.

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  21. Beam me up too Scotty. You poetry is graceful and well written with this picture you have made a great choice and a great write! Too bad many of us never find that place.

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  22. i wish more of us would follow him... sometimes you wonder why people have such a hard time to go on that journey...

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