On borrowed steps of distant stars

Sometimes all we want to do is get back

 

 

On borrowed steps of distant stars

 

 

Of broken branch and multi-colored stone façade

the pathway steals my outward glance

Winding through the cottage hills

like kite string freed by a strong wind, it spills

Patterns shadow in abstract array

through barbed wire and solid steel

barricades, creating menacing shapes,

criss-crossing narrow wheel ruts of long ago

 

“I tug my trousers in defiance and set my pace”

 

Obstacles, of stead and stood,

branded in a wilting wood…

directions carved to empty me of all I know as good

 

Within my chest sits a living compass,

beating my quest in a never ending melody,

sweet as creamed corn pie and pointing

towards the sun, which sits before me

two hills above the horizon on this new day

Temptation beckons over my right shoulder,

whistling in the breeze of delicious

offerings, and I do hunger…

 

“Still I stand firm of my journey back to your love”

 

Take your glow of nectarines

Cool refreshing summer streams

For I shan’t waver, not an inch, her love calls in my dreams

 

Midday, as the solar glow finds my shoulders red

and sweat clings like life in dampened conclusions,

blisters form bringing the pain of decisions made before…

and I would have it no other way…for this I deserve

Mountains faced of jagged stone break my crawl,

rubble sweeps my feet, as my knees bleed,

thirst speaks in the language of a long feared enemy…

yet I do not listen…

 

“No challenge shall be placed that will keep me from my return to you”

 

State your case in hammered stone

Tear my skin of broken bone

No tethered vines of loneliness shall sway me from my home

 

 

My shadow now waits before me, long and slender,

molded by dried weathered foot prints…my foot prints,

heading a direction opposite my heart

Many years old yet still their outline remains as a warning…

When I see it, the lilac arbor, scented in old desires and

new in life, encasing a glow, melodies of  gold finch sing

as my eyes find your smile, an extended hand, a soft touch

I have found my way home…

 

“My sweet love, this heart begs forgiveness and longs you eternally”

 

Mistakes I’ve made, my journey far

on borrowed steps of distant stars

my every waking dream desires to be right where you are

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author's Note

Thank you for reading

Reviews

[Astro]

As always Jack, your longings have inspired pure genius, but with abilities as such, it will be a shame if all your beckoning of death rids the living of such a colorful spirit as yours. I absolutely adore this passage,
"Obstacles, of stead and stood,
branded in a wilting wood…
directions carved to empty me of all I know as good"

Great stuff.

[Jack...]

Thanks so much my friend.

[Seth Durham]

This poem helped me to realize why I am so very bad at poetry. I am such a literal thinker, always searching for the concrete meaning in the words rather than enjoying the abstract feelings they invoke. I'm so used to reading with my head that I don't really know how to read with my heart. Reading the other reviews helps me to get a better sense of things. Perhaps one day my eyes will open and I will "get it" without having to have it explained to me.

[Jack...]

Seth, thank you so much. I can assure you, the understanding of poetry doesn't always come easy to me either. As the poet we know exactly what we are trying to say, the goal is that others will understand when they read...that is not always the case.

[s y e]

Wow, this is amazing, Jackomantic. There are so many beautiful lines that I simply could not pick one, I loved how it only really rhymed at the chorus :)

Awesome blossom.

~ New doll girl

[Jack...]

Thank you Sye, I appreciate your kind words.

[Kristin Lee]

There are so many lines in this piece that are simply striking. The line about a built in compass, and the line about directions carved to empty...simply stunning. Great job.

[Jack...]

Thanks Kristin

[Keith]

Interesting mix with the story told in free and a kind of rhyming chorus. It works once we catch on to the flow. Love this
'Within my chest sits a living compass,
beating my quest in a never ending melody,'
Great way to express that feeling of wanting to be elsewhere.

[Jack...]

Thanks so much Keith. Glad you liked it.

[Shweta Singh]

I love the imagery,the emotions in your poems, Jack!so loud,clear & genuine...they have a universal appeal & probably will tread time to connect with all passionate hearts..

[Jack...]

Thank you so much my good friend.

[KAOlmsted]

Beautifully done, as usual. You had my heart rate going for a while there, I was like...*gasp* It doesn't rhyme (much)! And then, well ;-) Still...I loved every word, Jack. You are truly the master of your field.

[Jack...]

Thanks Kimmer, yeah I put a little free verse on the hook just to see who I could reel in...happy it was you.

[KAOlmsted]

;-) Always, Jack...

[TL Boehm]

“I tug my trousers in defiance and set my pace”

There is a resolute voice in this poem. the road hard, the pain bitter - but the steps continue forward - heaven or hell at the terminus - the writer moves forward to go back. Some people - they live where they stand and never take a step.
Well penned.

[Jack...]

Thank you so much my sweet friend.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

love the title...and yes, as B.R. had said...a bit of a departure for you to go to free verse...but you do it as smoothly and with as much rhythm as your rhyming work.

there is such hope and longing in this poem...getting back to where we were..

reminds me of that saying "whereever you go in life, there you are."

[Jack...]

Thanks so much Jacob. I am sending my pen in a few different directions, just to see if it still writes.