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TIME IN THE WOODS
*Still at times I catch
myself rubbing on the scar
of companions past
-----------------
Into familiar woods I go
as summer passes half away.
i watch my step, I'm careful , slow
while far above me oak tips sway.
After about a hundred yards
I come upon a rusted chair
near where I once found pottery shards
when years ago I left it there.
I figure I've gone far enough
for the first trek since my surgery.
there's no denying I'm not as tough
as I one time used to be.
So I sit with a resigned sigh
as warm wind wraps me in its clutch
and my gaze goes to cloud tattered sky.
A humming bird comes almost within touch.
A single blink, the bird is gone
as quickly as now becomes the past..
I recall a distant frosty dawn
in a youth I thought would always last.
A squirrel rides timber above me
then stops to stare on a near limb
trying to discern what I might be.
I wish I were as fleet as him.
Then a hawk's shadow passes through
causing the squirrel to have a start
barking at the danger that he knew,
in his world a constant threatening part.
I sit and watch and I remember
all of those who used to walk with me
from first frost on through dark December.
Regret holds me in "used to be."
Then I notice that my hand is now
rubbing the new scar on my leg,
unnoticed it went there somehow.
Bring back those friends I quietly beg.
Even that slips to the past from "now."
Style / type:
Structured: Western
Review Request (Intensity):
I want the raw truth, feel free to knock me on my back
Last few words:
*those first 3 lines are a Haiku which the rest of the poem expands upon.
Editing stage:
Content level:
Not Explicit Content
(c) Neopoet.com. No copyright is claimed by Neopoet to original member content.
Comments
lovedly
Mon, 2018-08-06 23:55
always last. I still hope @78 past how long will I last ere LOL
always last...
I still hope at 78 past
how long will I last
ere I finally force a half mast!
Non DE-SCRIPT CELEBRITY self- cast!
''......I recall a distant frosty dawn
in a youth I thought would always last....''''
last.
scribbler
Tue, 2018-08-07 17:17
Hi loved
So I assume you kinda liked this lol.......or at least those 2 lines .......stan
author commentlovedly
Tue, 2018-08-07 17:48
all of it
i did
hoping you will walk
faster
soonly
fast
scribbler
Tue, 2018-08-07 18:38
I
expect to be pretty mobile by end of year. In these knee replacements they cut the leg in two at 2 places (well, at least the bones) then glue and hammer titanium parts in place.....not a picnic
author commentlovedly
Tue, 2018-08-07 19:08
all under anesthesia
all under anesthesia with it
if they 'd give me
I'd never awake
thanks and be happy you all still appreciate
my poetry mostly
Dear stanly
raj
Tue, 2018-08-07 05:14
Hi Stan
I notice that you captured all thoughts first in a nice Senryu but couldn't hold back to also come up with a very detailed melancholic version...demonstrates your versatility...
......................................................
raj (sublime_ocean)
scribbler
Tue, 2018-08-07 17:19
Hi raj
Maybe it demonstrates I don't know when to leave well enough alone? lol. Thanks for dropping by......stan
author commentRoscoe Lane
Tue, 2018-08-07 07:37
Stan,
Stan, sounds like you and I could get on well together,( socially and poetically obviously, we do disagree on some subjects ha ha ) your poems reflect exactly what I feel now i'm back among the glens of Scotland. Nice poem. Regards Roscoe...
Roscoe Llane,
Religion will rip your faith off, and return
for the mask of disbelief that's left.
scribbler
Tue, 2018-08-07 17:20
Hi Roscoe
i just wish the politicians who disagree could get along as well as we do. Glad you enjoyed this....stan
author commentMarthalyn
Sun, 2019-06-30 09:31
You have captured
You have captured all those pains that come with time and change as only those who know what all that means. For this reader, in my seventies, your words have inspired my memories.
Respectfully,
scribbler
Sun, 2019-06-30 10:00
H Martha
I'm pleased you enjoyed this but not pleased you are going through the same thing lol
author commentMarthalyn
Sun, 2019-06-30 10:38
Thank you for that
I have a pacemaker, and six titanium screws in my spine that have a new generation of arthritis entwined around them. It puts a bit of a wrinkle in my life, and on my skin. lol
But the memories of good times seem more abundant with time and for that, I am both grateful and a sadly nostalgic.
Respectfully,
scribbler
Sun, 2019-06-30 17:24
I have
2 new knees but so far the ol' heart is fine lol
author commentTracey Underwood
Mon, 2022-03-07 16:59
Great poem
I really enjoyed your poem. It had remarkable imagery. I felt sorry for the squirrel...laugh. I look forward to reading your other poems.
Love and light. Namaste.
scribbler
Tue, 2022-03-08 00:52
thank you
and welcome to neopoet. Feel free to holler if you have any site problems
author commentCandlewitch
Tue, 2022-03-08 09:34
hello scribbler,
right after I had my second knee replacement, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and psoriatic arthritis. I can well relate to this poem.
*hugs, Cat
*
When someone reads your work
And responds, please be courteous
And reply in kind, thanks.
scribbler
Tue, 2022-03-08 10:53
Hi Cat
those knee replacement are no picnic are they? I hope your fiber and arthritis are under control
author commentCandlewitch
Tue, 2022-03-08 11:27
hello Stan,
the arthritis is of such that eats away my joints. my dr. gave me oxycodone for pain. he knows I am responsible and that I don't like downer drugs, he trusts me. I only take a pain pill at night before bed. and then only when it is so bad that I can't sleep. I take one (though I'm allowed two) from one to three weeks apart.
my mother was a Nurse (RN) and a drug addict. so I have a strong aversion to taking pills. (except speed, which saved my life...another story...
*hugs, Cat
*
When someone reads your work
And responds, please be courteous
And reply in kind, thanks.
scribbler
Tue, 2022-03-08 17:53
I
have crumbling neck vertarea for which the doc prescribed 3 gabapentin per day and I only take 2. I guess we are lucky there are meds to help us out as without the cabbies it feels like an ice pick is being stuck in my shoulder and my right arm goes numb. Now I'm sounding like an old fart comparing pains lol
author commentCandlewitch
Wed, 2022-03-09 08:27
hey Stan,
old farts we are...talking about it is one of the perks, not that there are many, lol
*hugs, Cat
*
When someone reads your work
And responds, please be courteous
And reply in kind, thanks.