Set to Roam

Great Grandpa Ben Morgan.

There are some men, who can't sit still

wandering souls who don't fit in

You'll find they trek the globe at will

breaking the hearts of next of kin

 

They range the field to ford each flood

wander mountains and sail the seas

Theirs is the curse of Gypsy Blood

so averse to a life of ease

 

Many I knew were brave and true

as their deeds and manners attest

Don't let them get attached to you

as they never know how to rest

 

They find no solace in the old

forever searching for the new

Theirs is a life both tough and bold

although of friends they share but few

 

They blindly search the noon day sun

for a future that's now their past

Then think of all they could have done

when forced to face the truth at last

 

There was a time when this was me

desire of rest yet never done

A drifting soul upon life's sea

of adventures I loved each one

 

We knew no peace, nor settled mind

having nowhere that we called home

Never to know what we might find

each of our soul's was set to roam

 

Author's Note

I don't know what it is, sets a mans soul afire. But I was one of those souls who wandered the world searching for adventure. I still roam the lower 48 as if they were my own back yard. Will my poor restless heart ever find peace?

Reviews

[Penlady]

...and in heart, I think, still are. As I said wandering souls are fortunate to have an anchor of love holding from some place or heart that allows the soul to dip and dart and then come home again. We are all special in this life and I truly believe the needs of some are met by others created for the occasion. Your talent creates delicious vignettes for the reader to dine upon and your food for thought is strictly gourmet and rich in everything.
This poem and the wonderful flashes of your life through the black and white photos, made me cry. I feel as though I'm watching a fulfillment transpire and feel so full of gratitude for the experience. You and yours are such beautiful people, both physically and soulwise. I received my TATE books from Amazon today and can hardly wait to begin reading.
Set To Roam seems the culmination of one period in your life and just the beginning of so much more. Hold on I think its going to be even better.

[Hayley]

This piece is brilliant, Tate! As others have said, you have depicted the wandering soul to perfection (though it always helps to be talking about yourself!)
My favorite stanza: "They find no solace in the old
forever searching for the new
Theirs is a life both tough and bold
although of friends they share but few"
I think that although wandering throughout life can be a bad thing, wisdom is earned and adventure is treasured when that soul eventually comes to some point of settling down, no matter how small, physically or mentally.
Well ,well done, my friend!

[patricia]

You have just described me perfectly. Thanks. (Sigh).

[roarke]

Mind, heart, body, soul. All stages of wandering, roaming, living, searching, ... being.
There are no explanations or realizations for this sojourn. It just is. Sometimes, just sometimes the traveler gets a glimpse, a touch, a knowing of what is happening, what is shaping and forming him and that is like a sip from the grail.
To even begin to express the way you have Tate is an expression of having tasted that knowing and having been strong enough to hold it's flavor in your being long enough to show it to the rest of us. No mean feat, no mean prose.
So well met and said.

[SR Urie]

Dude, you describe me to a tee. Ever searching to regain my past having sailed the world and lost at love too many times. Great poetry as always, my friend! BZ

[Dinesh Sairam]

It's your nice to read your poem again. It's still as good as any other of poem of yours. You, Tate, are very good at telling stories in fashion.

You'd seriously make a great poetry book material! You write them with such ease and simplicity, so much so that the reader can enjoy it as you did when you experienced them.

Keep writing.

[Klyn]

I look at some people that have stayed in the same place, the same town, the same house, the same church, the same people their whole lives. I don't envy that. I've had many adventures and appreciate every single one even though at times I thought, "Geez, I wished my life would just settle down." Oh those were the days..... I am a 40 something mom of three, wife of a retired military man and still crave more...I know there is so much more waiting for me and I can't wait to see what is in store for my restless heart. Thanks for this!

[Dayran]

There are many who describe life as a journey. This is certainly in consonance with your thoughts of wandering and the association of a great many things that are in god's creation. It is no wonder that within such a realm no individual will agree to be bound and to be denied the promises of life's myriad possibilities. But beyond that, it is the exercise of our free will in search of all that we have a right to be. A nice write!