The Mind’s Eye
Stare into these mystical eyes
Motion tween the shutter finds
Amid blinks of human passerbys
Visualize an empty mind
Open third skylight
Main being reclined
Breathing swell & then subsides
Calm frights at rest
There is no better
Feeling set open
You don’t remember
Time past life
This year, September
Homesickness
Can’t last
Going on
Forever
Captive on display
Prison echos shook
Rattling chains
Spectator looks
Tranquil, tased, electric hooks
Fish bowl, space drained, peace tamed, life took
Hours our minutes
Existence fades with sleep
Becoming accustomed
Keep living this dream
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Care for a Reading?
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At this time I’d like to recognize a few awards, as well as the individuals who presented them. Thank you very much Jingle, mairmusic, and Anky0112. Appreciate you thinking of my work.
http://jingleyanqiu.wordpress.com
http://makeachange1.wordpress.com/awards/
http://mairmusic.wordpress.com/
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One Shot Wednesday
Post a poem, & share feedback.
*Sign Up begins at 5 pm EST today!
Dustus Blog 
September 7, 2010 at 8:06 am
A beautiful one, Adam.
Thanks for the mention of awards…
Keep living this dream,
love your ending!
have fun!
September 7, 2010 at 8:15 am
Hey Jingle. Haven’t forgotten you, my friend. It’s been tough juggling posts between Wednesday and Friday, with life in between. lol Thanks for all your support both past and present. Cheers and have fun!
September 7, 2010 at 8:09 am
Wonderful writing, I love the last stanza! “Keep living this dream” 😉 I keep chasing mine!!! Had to write about it this morning, lol, posted too after all this time away! =)
September 7, 2010 at 8:11 am
Beautiful, but heartbreaking poem. Love the placement of the words on the page and the inclusion of the photograph. Also loved your word choices intertwining photography with captivity.
September 7, 2010 at 8:19 am
Hi April. Ugh.. still without ‘Net access at my house. I’m hosting One Shot Wednesday today, so I’m going mobile again when 5pm rolls around! Looking forward to seeing your new work after your time away. cheers
September 7, 2010 at 8:28 am
Oh no Adam, not you too!!! Hope its a short temporary placement. Seems at least you have better mobile services than mine was!!! (hopefully anyway) I have another written lastnight for One Shot, but need to work on art and the formatting from new program for writing added to my computer, adjusting to.
September 7, 2010 at 9:16 am
A beautiful poem Adam!
September 7, 2010 at 4:14 pm
Hi Neva 🙂
September 7, 2010 at 10:54 am
This evokes all kinds of images — people walking by without seeing, the limitations of memory, how we can imprison ourselves. Good one, Adam.
September 7, 2010 at 4:15 pm
Glad you like it, Glynn. Nice read of it.
September 7, 2010 at 11:31 am
Crazy lioness. So fast she’s but a blur…Good old photoshop.
Beautiful poem. Especially loved the opening of it:
“Stare into these mystical eyes
Motion tween the shutter finds
Amid blinks of human passerbys
Visualize an empty mind”
Stupendous. A lovely way of evoking the sense of captivity…
September 7, 2010 at 4:17 pm
Hey G, Chris G that is. I enjoy those shots that seem like accidents. It’s not always so simple getting a lioness to pose. lol
September 7, 2010 at 1:43 pm
Adam, I particularly like the second strophe, even though it is the shortest. It’s as if you’ve climbed inside this lion and learned her inner pulse. The mutedness. The melancholy. But also the residual nobility.
Now then…you haven’t visited Word Garden lately because…? Not even to see my Van Gogh post I did after seeing yours?
September 7, 2010 at 4:19 pm
Hi Shay. Definitely going to check out your Van Gogh. My apologies for having not visited sooner. Internet is out at my place. Nonetheless, see ya in a few.
September 7, 2010 at 2:12 pm
This has brought me to place that I can identify with…certain times we feel captured but then you ended it so beautifully with “keep living this dream”!!…Loved it Adam…my schedule is hectic this week, will not be posting on One Shot this week, I feel guilty when I can’t visit all the other wonderful poets!! Much love dear Adam xx
September 7, 2010 at 4:21 pm
Oh no! Sometimes life steps in and keeps us from posting. No worries. That will allow me to get caught up on your work. hugs, Amanda
September 7, 2010 at 2:50 pm
As I looked at the image and considered some of the lines…I had a sense of sadness for the captive in the poem….well said my friend.
September 7, 2010 at 4:26 pm
See what you’re saying, Charles. It does seem sad. As for the image, love those “happy little accidents” (Bob Ross)
September 7, 2010 at 3:21 pm
i had a sense of sadness as well…You don’t remember
Time past life…
sounds a bit like held captive and life passes by without a real chance to live it…
September 7, 2010 at 7:41 pm
Good way to read it, Claudia. Enjoyed your One Shot poem! 🙂
September 7, 2010 at 4:03 pm
Well written Adam. Nice One Shot Love the line “prison echos shook…” Love and Light, Sender
September 7, 2010 at 7:41 pm
Glad you enjoyed it. TY
September 7, 2010 at 4:10 pm
Was wondering how you got so many so fast.
Great poem to reflect the mind of all caged creatures. I’m sure some don’t mind while others can’t deal with the futility of it all.
Great how you got in their head
Love ya Mr. D
September 8, 2010 at 7:24 am
You’re doing a great job hosting. Great turn out and it’s still earlier! Awesome
September 7, 2010 at 4:15 pm
Beautiful yet disturbing. Disturbing yet beautiful. Imprisoned deciding which is predominant. That’s good.
September 8, 2010 at 7:27 am
Appreciate you sharing that RXN, Anthony. cheers
September 7, 2010 at 4:16 pm
I’ve always wished animals could speak a language we’d understand.
Once you’ve seen such beautiful animals in their native homes (as I did in South Africa), it becomes difficult to understand caging them in zoos.
I like that this poem is about much more, and that the image is just one possible hint of meaning. It recalls to me also the people living on the street whom we pass and ignore, the people we never make time for, and so much more.
September 8, 2010 at 7:32 am
Thoughtful comment, Maureen. Many people living out on the street are not given shelter, nor fed regularly. I always thinking about that when the weather begins to change, though I do nothing about it.
September 7, 2010 at 4:36 pm
Your sense of compassion shines through!
September 8, 2010 at 7:33 am
Nice of you to read and say that, Timoteo
September 7, 2010 at 4:38 pm
i think your picture is giving me a headache from staring at it mesmerised…lol. it does not sound much the dream…tased, chained, tame…i think i too could wish they could share with us…
September 8, 2010 at 7:35 am
Lol. I did a little bit of photoshopping on this one, and the blur had me seeing triple when I looked away from the screen, though that could have been the beer. Just kidding. cheers, bri
September 7, 2010 at 5:27 pm
Whenever I see a caged animal, I wonder what they think of us.
Beautiful poem.
September 8, 2010 at 7:36 am
Me too, KB. Wonder what and how they think. Fascinating to read about those speculations.
September 7, 2010 at 5:59 pm
“Keep living this dream..this is what we are living Adam..living the dream,i totally loved it,you are a genius when it comes to insight! so deep..:) great one shot buddy..;) cheers :)))
September 8, 2010 at 9:19 am
You’re awesome, Abeer. Keep rocking!
September 7, 2010 at 6:00 pm
Great work, Adam. The words are deeper than it appears.
September 8, 2010 at 9:21 am
I notice that in your work as well, Em
September 7, 2010 at 6:09 pm
I am not one for cages – physical or in the mind….let us all run free — the dream is our to live…let us live it fully….nice one shot…bkm
September 8, 2010 at 4:22 pm
enjoyed yours too… bkm
September 7, 2010 at 8:37 pm
Powerful compiling of images and contrasting paradoxes. – Bill
September 8, 2010 at 4:24 pm
Appreciate you pointing that out, Bill. cheers
September 7, 2010 at 8:52 pm
“hours our minutes’, like that! Boy, that lion picture made me a little dizzy! Aren’t they gorgeous creatures?!
September 8, 2010 at 4:25 pm
Hey suzicate! Amazing creatures. The pic makes me dizzy too!
September 7, 2010 at 9:02 pm
I’m so glad people put these into recordings.
I’ll have to try it.
Phone the blog, is that how it works?
Great poem.
Especially those two lines close to the end like a list
September 8, 2010 at 4:30 pm
Okay… but don’t tell anyone. lol I use a USB mic, cheap pop screen, and Apple’s Garageband. Very simple to use and allows for basic audio editing. You can layer tracks and add loops and sound effects with the software if you wanted.
September 7, 2010 at 9:26 pm
I enjoyed this poem, Dustus, though zoos and circuses (with animals) always make me sad.
September 8, 2010 at 7:11 pm
Yeah, makes me a bit sad as well, Talon.
September 7, 2010 at 9:39 pm
I love Potter Park Zoo…
Good stuff Dustus…….G
September 8, 2010 at 7:12 pm
I ride my bike around the park occasionally, G.
September 8, 2010 at 1:27 am
Nice rhyme, I enjoyed reading your poem
September 8, 2010 at 7:13 pm
Great to see you posting with us for One Shot!
September 8, 2010 at 3:33 am
sad, touching but beautiful.
September 8, 2010 at 7:13 pm
Trisha 🙂 Hello hello
September 8, 2010 at 6:59 am
Nice one. I liked the rattling, disjointed feeling of the second to last stanza.
September 8, 2010 at 7:15 pm
Hi Ben. That one just felt right when I wrote it. Not sure why it works exactly.
September 8, 2010 at 8:38 am
Lovely image made me think it was a safari poem at first but the words took me to the imprisonment and caged imagery and i felt sad for the animals. Believe i prefer that they roam free in the wild where the’re meant to be. Still a nicely written dream~
September 8, 2010 at 7:17 pm
I know what you mean, Julliette… I love seeing animals but wish they were free.
September 8, 2010 at 8:48 am
what a wonderful smooth flow
a pleasure to read
and such vivid imagery
September 8, 2010 at 7:17 pm
Welcome to One Shot, Widow!
September 8, 2010 at 9:06 am
WOW and what a dream!
Lovely !
😉
Dulce
September 8, 2010 at 7:17 pm
Hi Dulce. Nice to meet you 🙂
September 8, 2010 at 9:19 am
I get the feeling of time-compression from this, the way life can lapse so quickly when we blink. Nice work!
September 8, 2010 at 7:19 pm
You cracked me up a couple times when I read through previous comments today, Eric. Nice!
September 8, 2010 at 11:24 am
This felt haunting to me, Adam. As I read the words, I was thinking, oh, I hope not. I so hope the lion remembers nothing, and feels no sense of loss.
If, as Maureen suggested above, animals spoke a language we understood, zoos would be no more.
September 8, 2010 at 7:21 pm
I suspect Maureen’s right about that, PattiKen.
September 8, 2010 at 11:40 am
The image disturbs and helps to underpin the purpose of the poem. Thanks for dropping by. My poem is here Hope your week goes well.
September 8, 2010 at 7:22 pm
You too. Have a great week 🙂
September 8, 2010 at 11:54 am
Ooohh… a very nice one, Adam! The woes of captivity… the feeling of being a jailbird, looked upon, clicked, and yet all you can do is sit and wait… and watch
All those frustrated attempts at voicing… in vain
It’s all very well pictured here.. bares the soul of a poor soul with nowhere to go…
Sad and beautiful!
I wish freedom came free for all…
September 8, 2010 at 7:25 pm
I share that wish, Kavita 🙂 hope your week’s going wonderful, my friend.
September 8, 2010 at 12:07 pm
love the metaphors of imprisonment and the ending was unique…
September 8, 2010 at 7:29 pm
I’ve enjoyed your poems every week I’ve visited your site. Write on!
September 8, 2010 at 1:48 pm
This is so sad!
September 8, 2010 at 7:30 pm
My poems aren’t always happy, Mama Zen… some may claim they never are. lol
September 8, 2010 at 4:18 pm
keep living this dream my friend..in all we do..great poem..and agree with bri re the photo..cant stop looking at it..cheers pete
September 8, 2010 at 7:31 pm
Pete! Drink a few and the image returns to normal. lol
September 8, 2010 at 4:21 pm
You made me feel the hunger in his heart for freedom.. or is it the hunger in my heart?
September 8, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Nice observation… only the reader can answer that one 🙂
September 8, 2010 at 5:20 pm
calm frights at rest… love this line. gorgeous poem.
hope you might join me for imperfect prose on thursdays sometime, friend. e.
September 8, 2010 at 7:33 pm
Thank you for the invitation 🙂
September 8, 2010 at 6:47 pm
“Fish bowl, space drained, peace tamed, like took”
this was almost a poem in itself, and my favorite part 🙂
September 8, 2010 at 7:35 pm
🙂 that was my favorite line to read, L.L.
September 8, 2010 at 9:34 pm
The image is fascinating. Haunting. So many layers here. And “tranquil, tased” and “space drained, peace tamed” really got to me.
Such a beautiful creature. Left me pensive.
Do we do this to each other? To ourselves?
September 9, 2010 at 7:16 am
Hi Sandra. That may be the case in both instances for a lot of people unintentionally.
September 9, 2010 at 9:29 am
Such a beautiful creature depicted in this sadly true poem of resigned imprisonment…..I always wonder what they think as they look at us from the bars of their cages; probably something like,” just look at all that food going to waste.” Great photo. Animals are uniquely mesmerizing and each has a beauty all its own. 🙂 Thanks for sharing. Heartspell
September 9, 2010 at 1:46 pm
Hi Heartspell. So glad to see you link up for One Shot Wednesday! Hope you enjoyed your time off. Welcome back 🙂
September 11, 2010 at 10:37 pm
I am giving you the Happy Award.
🙂 Heartspell
September 12, 2010 at 9:41 am
Makes me happy already! TY Heartspell. Enjoy your weekend! 🙂
September 9, 2010 at 8:51 pm
Homesickness
Can’t last
Going on Forever…
I hope, I really hope you are right!
😦
Thanks for the welcome post and for reading.
September 10, 2010 at 7:51 am
You’re welcome. Nice to meet you 🙂
September 9, 2010 at 9:45 pm
Ah you got to re-use your pic from the weekend, but with a twist. Homesickness
Can’t last
Going on
Forever
Definitely sounding like a caged animal. Hope you are set free soon.
September 10, 2010 at 7:52 am
Same location but different pic. The lion turned away from me after I had her in focus. TGIF! I’m almost free 🙂
September 10, 2010 at 8:56 am
A beautiful poem once again. You have a wonderful way with words. It is sad to see creatures who belong in the wild behind bars. I often wonder what their thoughts would be, and you captured it beautifully in this poem.
September 12, 2010 at 9:43 am
Guess a lot of us have similar thoughts when seeing animals. Thanks Corbie for the compliment.
September 11, 2010 at 4:52 am
Like this, especially the beginning. Like the third skylight, rather like the third eye. Nice images flowing and bumping each other in this. Thanks for another thought provoking post.
September 12, 2010 at 9:44 am
Hi Yousei. Nice to see you 🙂
September 12, 2010 at 12:17 am
I like the images, the thought process, the flow. Glad to visit you!
I am happy to be part of One Shot Wednesday! Here is what I offer: commas in the pauses
You too are welcome to get aboard the Poetry Train every Monday
mornings!
September 12, 2010 at 2:49 am
i have tagged you for just a little fun
September 12, 2010 at 9:45 am
He he 🙂
September 12, 2010 at 9:45 am
Thanks for the invite. Glad your enjoying One Shot, Gautami 🙂
Cheers