This poem has become my mission statement in life. I wrote this sitting at Lake Michigan, as I do many things. I was overtaken with the mystery that is life, and this is what came out.
Rating: Dig it
Dadaist Stargazer
I sit alone, I hear the waves
jumping upon themselves
lights are everywhere
Pinholes, beacons, crescents, fire
Fire on the tip of my cigar
brightening off and on
with six strings and a tree,
I sit and talk
to the park bench, to the beach
to anything that will listen
I become one with everything else that
lives and breathes
with or without lungs
I am also composed of tiny parts
that somehow are knit together with
the yarn of consciousness
I wonder do you have a conscious too?
We are somehow all linked
but I will never be able to see how it works
so I won’t worry
I’ll realize someday
So until then, I’ll sit back
And let this mystery I’ve grown to call life
flow through me
share a laugh, and a tear or two
with a bird chirp
tell it that I recognize that it is a living creature
and so am I
Let it know that I recognize its existence
and that’s basically all I can do
A speed boat cruises by
The driver I do not know, and probably never will
whoever that person is, has a mother, a father, friends, love, beliefs,
a story to tell
the ways in which it relates to my story are unknown
but would probably be unbelievably similar
A pathwalkier disturbs my personal preserve
but I do not mind
She sits and chats with me
not even ten seconds after learning my name
Why does she choose to spend a measly ten minutes
with a cigarette and me
We make petty conversation
stuff that neither of us will remember about the other later
however,
beneath the words is a sincerity that
I have never felt nor conceived
It’s as if we are saying to each other
I see you
I recognize that you have a heart, a mind,
a motivation, a sense of humor, and so do I
although our lives will barely cross
we both suffer, we both rejoice
we both share in the mystery
she woon puts out her cigarette
and I my cigar
Our lives part after a brief fifteen minutes
that would not have made a difference if it wouldn’t have happened
but it did
I leave, knowing I will never cross paths
with my new friend again
Yet, I know that doesn’t matter
I realize the unbelievable amount of people with whom my path
is practically intertwined
Incredible
just incredible
I sit and breathe,
nothing to do but be
nothing to be but me
nothing to say at all
absolutely nothing
I smile and somehow know
that each person that I love feels that smile too
What will happen from here?
Who knows.
I wonder who else I will bump inot
to share in the mystery.
jumping upon themselves
lights are everywhere
Pinholes, beacons, crescents, fire
Fire on the tip of my cigar
brightening off and on
with six strings and a tree,
I sit and talk
to the park bench, to the beach
to anything that will listen
I become one with everything else that
lives and breathes
with or without lungs
I am also composed of tiny parts
that somehow are knit together with
the yarn of consciousness
I wonder do you have a conscious too?
We are somehow all linked
but I will never be able to see how it works
so I won’t worry
I’ll realize someday
So until then, I’ll sit back
And let this mystery I’ve grown to call life
flow through me
share a laugh, and a tear or two
with a bird chirp
tell it that I recognize that it is a living creature
and so am I
Let it know that I recognize its existence
and that’s basically all I can do
A speed boat cruises by
The driver I do not know, and probably never will
whoever that person is, has a mother, a father, friends, love, beliefs,
a story to tell
the ways in which it relates to my story are unknown
but would probably be unbelievably similar
A pathwalkier disturbs my personal preserve
but I do not mind
She sits and chats with me
not even ten seconds after learning my name
Why does she choose to spend a measly ten minutes
with a cigarette and me
We make petty conversation
stuff that neither of us will remember about the other later
however,
beneath the words is a sincerity that
I have never felt nor conceived
It’s as if we are saying to each other
I see you
I recognize that you have a heart, a mind,
a motivation, a sense of humor, and so do I
although our lives will barely cross
we both suffer, we both rejoice
we both share in the mystery
she woon puts out her cigarette
and I my cigar
Our lives part after a brief fifteen minutes
that would not have made a difference if it wouldn’t have happened
but it did
I leave, knowing I will never cross paths
with my new friend again
Yet, I know that doesn’t matter
I realize the unbelievable amount of people with whom my path
is practically intertwined
Incredible
just incredible
I sit and breathe,
nothing to do but be
nothing to be but me
nothing to say at all
absolutely nothing
I smile and somehow know
that each person that I love feels that smile too
What will happen from here?
Who knows.
I wonder who else I will bump inot
to share in the mystery.
© 2002 Morgan Foster