Breathe in, breathe out, then stop.

The air unites us all.

Breath from my lungs will circulate

the globe; you breathe me in, as I

breathe you out.

We breathe our life into each other,

as we waft our way around the world in

which we live, and hope, and share.

What is this if not an atmosphere of love?

 

Where now are the hypocrites of Woodstock?

When did you stop making love and peace to

make war and profits?

The weed-warriors, now CEOs,

not looking to save the world but to

buy it out, now that they have

sold out their flimsy ideals, formulated for

a world that no longer exists.

Now memos circulate around corporate boardrooms.

Translucent tyrants, with arctic compassion.

 

I breathe in the air from their lungs.

Did they ever breathe mine?

Do I give them life? Or do they sustain mine?

I will hold my breath forever.

Reviews

[Chris]

To speak is an attack... to stand is an affront. Facts mean nothing, and history is written and rewritten to order. Perception is personal and immutable because the prejudice is set behind the eyes as a mark of self. We are ultimate rebels - our ways are legendary within our minds. We assign as we feel - rights of the wronged are as indifferent as our own souls. The breath you hold has the stink of ages and after we are dust it will be held yet again... and THAT was also expressed by me and a host of others decades back.

People romanticize too much and understand too little. Wax on - and wane after - about all the wish-you-could-have-been-theres and -about-all-the-differences-you-wouldn't-have-made-at-alls.

The 'Gentle-men' KNEW Pearl Harbor was happening. Auschwitz was an 'open' secret. The Gulag was a way of life(?). The middle-east has been eons in preparation. Turkey and the Armenians have a history too. czechoslovakia has a bit part in world stage...Vietnam was a 'friend' that was let down and a war of distraction afterwards. Flower power was mean and despicable and a hell of a lie played on kids that listened to media dreams and admen schemes.

Chuckling here... The mark of a good write is the commotion it brings to light... or at least the thoughts that bounce around.

Take care,
Chris

[kmartell]

...see, we are still out there. I had friends who went to woodstock, they are the ones in the movie climbing the fence to get in... of course how many of us are there left breathing the same air. I liked this poem alot. agree with Chris. He said it better than I can.

[Maya]

A very well written and insightful poem. The last stanza expresses the urge to resist oppression in a very beautiful way.

[blakjassy]

I think this poem captures so well the frustration we can feel at the lack of action or apathy of the once spirited and motivated. The hypocrisy of the idealists as time and money erode their values!

I am sure that the image of Woodstock, the Urban Legend of its status as a turning point or a social catalyst is probably far from the truth, which I suspect to be a far less momentous occasion for those who actually attended... equivalent maybe to our Big Day Out and its real claim to fame should perhaps be that it was the first of it's kind!

That being said, it is true that it now holds that place in the collective minds of our society; a symbol of the desire to have peace and love as the foundations of our society instead of capitalism and greed! And it is probably true that so many of the idealists of that time are now well and truly captured by commercialism and materialism.

But this is a story that repeats itself with each generation as our universities send out spirited individuals each on a quest to change the world... and most of them settle into middle aged apathy or complacency as they accept their 9 - 5 existence and measure their worth by the size of their plasma or their never off road 4WD

[Brad Nugent]

Wow. I feel so inadequate in saying wow, but this is an incredible poem. I just reviewed 'Sentinel' and said it was probably your best to date - I did love that poem, but this surpasses it. What a fantastic concept so beautifully realised. This is why poetry remains a powerful medium - the power to get across a complicated concept in a succinct way. Great message, great wondering, great poem. Keep up the good work.

[Sukriti Suki]

The first stanza has blown me away.....Wonderful work.

[A Risen Heroine.]

I like it a lot...
It speaks volume...
Well done, and thank you for the RR..

~A Fallen Heroine~

[Joiedevivre]

I love this poem Jeremy! You have united such disparate elements in such an elegant way, and the result is at once romantic and pragmatic.

[DearSweetAgony]

I love this poem, it speaks volumes to the world.
I really enjoyed reading this write, it brought some thoughts into mind.
Brilliant job, I enjoyed reading this piece.

[Desmund Tiny]

I love this....... While reading this poem, It makes me hold my breath.

[∂αʌ<..]

very thought-provoking write!...and just plain truth...you spread the concept extremely well...and so broad! with new age...everything keeps changing, for the better or the worst but yes...we all breathe in the same air and we all exhale the same carbon dioxide, so why so much difference!??

an exceptional write!