Anyone And Everything

If a man constantly aspires is he not elevated? - Thoreau

chopsticks 'pon a piano hardly makes me mozart

strumming invisible strings of an air guitar no hendrix

splashing words or paint neither shakespeare nor van gogh

as much as flapping my arms and saying, "caw, caw" doesn't make me a crow

to be pavarotti, i simply must open my mouth and sing

fastening a draped towel with a clothespin around my neck and holding a wooden spoon as i stride about may not make me a king

but desire and imagination together allow me to be

anyone and everything

Author's Note

"Though my life is low, if my spirit looks upward habitually at an elevated angle, it is as if it were redeemed. When the desire to be better than we are is really sincere we are instantly elevated, and so far better already." - Thoreau

Reviews

[AYVID N]

Wow. What a point you made here. Of course one cannot become a Mozart or Pavarotti or even a crow if one just fancies oneself to be and yet, one can be anything in one's own head. I loved the very entertaining poem, the thoughtful examples, illustrations, imagery. Together, it all blended into a poem so novel and superb.

[Pete]

lol. thank you so much for sharing thoughts. perhaps this is the recipe for success - thinking that we are more than we actually are. maybe if we think it we can become it no matter. who cares what others think of us if we can be legends in our own minds ... :)

[John the Baptist]

Desire and imagination can indeed help you go far. However, striding about with a towel affixed around your neck with a clothespin and holding a wooden spoon may get you detained.

[Pete]

lol. that would be okay if my desire was to be a straight-jacket model ... :)

[carl]

"For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. " proverbs - without that upward desire and look we at best remain the same or perhaps lose the vision and sink a bit lower. Have to think that is in some way what constrains us to write. -carl

[Pete]

so true carl - if we don't aspire then all we do is perspire and then expire. it all starts by thinking higher than ourselves, outside the box ... :)

[willweb]

So what you are saying is when I move up and down the frets of my air guitar I am not Eddie Van Halen...darn...well ok, then I'll just have to be Slash and leave it at that. Very cool my friend, in our minds, in our daydreams we can certainly be anyone or anything we want to.

[Pete]

lol. isn't that what we all do though? why else would we watch the news - we imagine ourselves in other people's shoes and say to ourselves, "if i was him or her this is how i would feel and what i would do." or i'm glad i'm not him or her." we forget that to be someone or something else means that we get their problems along with the advantages.
lately i'm donald trump ... :)

[Pete]

of course eddie died of cancer not too long ago. he used to clip lit cigarettes to the neck of his guitar ... :)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

But these words surely do make you a clever poet, Pete...and a very entertaining one at that.
j.

[Pete]

lol. thank you j. how can we laugh at the antics of others if we don't first practice on ourselves?

"Man is the artificer of his own happiness." - Thoreau

[Chris Shaw]

Reach for the stars, even if you are in the gutter. Really enjoyed this write Pete. Desire and imagination are everything to better ourselves. Happy Monday to you.

Chris

[Pete]

whose going to stop us but ourselves, right? wishing you well as a thunderstorm is a very near miss here. hopefully i can get in my daily constitutional by the river and old mill ... :)

[Chris Shaw]

Keep safe and out of harms way Pete. The river will still be there tomorrow:)