Tag Archives: alone

Goethe Do? Haiku

What did Goethe do,
alone, thinking? He had no
techno-distractions.

Not Heard, Alone: An Evening-Long Series

Starting at 6:40 p.m. on August 14th, 2024, this happened:

I could complain how
she doesn’t listen, but she’s
got bluetooth hearing.
——–

Her bluetooth hearing aids
mean she won’t listen
to me.

It’s probably like
when guys are glued to sports
on TV.

We’ll go on romantic walks
but she’s listening to TED talks.
Her newfangled hearing aids
means she’s NOT hearing
me. (6:42 p.m.)
———-

What’s the point of new
hearing aids if you just hear
pre-recorded talks? 6:43 p.m.)
——

My Dad watches reels.
My wife listens to TED talks.
Conversation’s gone. (6:45 p.m.)

————
Well,
it’s happened.
I’m in the downhill part
of my life.

Walking is easier.
I see more,
I hear more,
I think more,
I feel more,
I understand more.

And my dad
has the TV volume
up to 120 decibels,
and his face
is in the phone,
watching reels of little kids
he doesn’t know,
dancing.

And my wife,
the smart person that she is,
tunes into TED talks
and philosophical lessons
from people much deeper
and much wiser than I am.

So after all this time
thinking that I could talk
about deep and significant insights
that I’ve gained
and that I’m learning day to day,
I’m still alone,
with my thoughts and feelings.

Except for God and Jesus.
They’re still there,
like They always have been,
like They always will be.
But being alone
and lonely
now
was not
what I expected.
(6:51 p.m.)
———
Another lover?
Who needs one more when she’s got
TED to listen to? (6:52 p.m.)
——–

She works.
I think.
She thinks.
I think.

She listens to others.
I think.
She talks about others.
I hear her.

We might connect.
But it’s like I’m watching a play
or reading someone else’s mind.
I’m not participating
except to look,
and hear,
and breathe,
and occasionally turn the pages
of the play bill,
and get up and stretch
at intermission.

The world is a stage,
but I’m not a player in it.
I just watch
and listen to tales
of what others have done
and are doing.

If I walk into the field,
the woods,
the creek alone,
with my thoughts,
as Muir
and Thoreau
and Whitman
and Longfellow
have done,
perhaps that’s my purpose?

Were they alone also?
Even though they had people around them
to share with?
In their thinking,
and their connecting with nature,
were they still alone?
And were they lonely?
Or just busy?
(6:56 p.m.)
———–

What did Goethe do
alone, thinking? He had no
techno-distractions.
10:55 p.m.

Why Be You? Revolutionary Blogging Sonnet

She, alone, stood
and, debating her own best good,
faced down the gaping abyss
of conscious solo loneliness.

She knew another decision would
be, by others, easily understood
if she, reconsidering, stepped back;
let herself be lead down a different track.

She could easily hike hand in hand
through life’s journey with a man
who had never truly got
the greater knowledge and light she sought.

But she turned her vision to a loftier view;
Spread forth her arms, lept out, and flew.

The Oracle Solves A Creative’s Dilemic Conundrum: Revolutionary IMprov Free Verse Poem

Through life’s woods
I wandered.
Down a path
not-often trodden,
I stumbled,
soul-searching,
burdened,
sorrowing,
because of rejection,
because of loneliness.

In a still glen,
facing my feelings,
fearing,
confused,
I found her,
an oracle
in blue.

I asked honestly
for others perceptions
of me.

Pause.
Had I offended?
The oracle spoke:
“You view the world differently.
Creatives see things
creatively.
And thus, you are,
typically,
misunderstood.”

“What you as a creative see,
you view with variety
and clarity.”

“Some use a paintbrush,
some a pencil or pen
some use a sculptor’s tool,
some a potter’s wheel,
some a keyboard or strings.
Some see the world
through a wide angle
or a macro
or a telephoto lens.”

“But what you see,
you can capture
and share
with the world
who is blind,
or at least myopic
or farsighted
or mono-colored.”

“Because you do that,
we in the world who have ears,
may hear;
and having eyes,
may see.
And having minds,
may understand.
And having souls,
may feel
and grasp
and learn
and know.”

“That’s why creatives,
though you’re misunderstood,
though you’re criticized,
though you’re shunned,
by some,
must always exist.
That’s why
you must always persevere.”

“Because without you,
the world would miss
what we otherwise
might see
or hear
or feel
or experience
and understand.”

As she spoke
those words,
the truth,
I reeled
under the torrent
and weight
of responsibility.

At the same time,
I felt my burden lifted.
I felt my rejection taken.
I felt,
again,
fire in my veins
and joy
in my heart.

Though I’m often alone
on that solitary path,
I’m not lonely.

I now know
and accept
that it is okay
to see
and write
what others might not.
Even if I’m rejected,
by some,
others will see.

I’ll share,
not in a condescending way,
not in reprimand,
not in a “you must see that
this this way,
or you’re wrong”.

Not asking them to
“be better”,
because they are
as they are,
just
as I am
as I am.

Instead, I’ll give
my words,
my thoughts,
my feelings
in a kind,
loving,
sharing way.

I’ll say:
“Look at this thing
I see.
Look what I found!
Come share it with me.”

Just like she,
visionary oracle,
in her wisdom,
helped me see
the opportunity
and responsibility
I bear
as I live,
and share,
my life honestly,
with integrity,
creatively.