Oh too old to forget,
too young to let go of the kaleidoscope
of memories that swirl around my head,
planted there in black light, pot smoke filled rooms,
lying inside the heavenly sweat
of a fertile woman’s body
and my own . . .
Politically committed,
our heads bruised beneath police batons,
weeping on the empty sidewalks of assassination
and the terror students blown apart
on university campuses
because Vietnam and the CIA
were the willing participants of murder.
But I also remember meditating beneath
full moons in August,
mind opened wide by various hallucinegenics
and the possibility of a better life for all.
I recall my father ripping Buddhist prayer beads
from my throat and blessing him
in some naive way.
There was something stirring
and although it was not easily defined
I knew that I would carry it for the rest
of my journey on this planet.
Today I walk, almost stooped over,
hear today’s children mock me
because of the t shirts and sandals I wear . . .
even my own daughter sometimes
laughs at me,
tells me the hair on my balding head
is getting too stringy . . .
but I really don’t care,
the flower in my mind is still blooming,
kissed by incense and candlelight
as I scribble another poem
into the parchment of the 60's.
Author notes
Quickly scribbled thoughts, free form without any changes at all, just as things were written in the 60's . . .
A contest entry
- days of vinyl & flowers in your hair by Nicolette.
2200 points, ended October 12, 2008, 16 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 13 of 13
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"It's better to burn out than it is to rust ... my, my, hey, hey" ... we old hippies never die, we just keep on rockin'
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"the flower in my mind is still blooming"
and THAT, my friend, is all that matters. Somehow I can picture you in this poem and everything that you've painted here... your poetry is still the voice of the people, the oppressed - deeply spiritual and enlightening. Lolol, I was a bit too young to really appreciate those times but I've often felt that I was born a few years too late... perhaps my father would have done more to me than pull prayer beads from my throat, lol - that image really pulled a deep smile from me, Marc.
Ja, so we get older, but what a rich and full life it was - and still IS. I liked the way you stayed true to yourself - it shows in this poem - and in all your writings. Keep on scribbling those poems, Marc. Wonderful, authentic voice here - but of course...
Thank you for sharing this with us in the contest.
~ Nicolette
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being a musician, i was never into the whole political aspect of the 60's...though i certainly did dip into the head-shredding condiments of the counter-culture. lol
sometimes i tell Nicky some of my exploits, and she's scandalized. lolol!
back then we said: never trust anyone over 30.
nowaday, what's left? never trust anyone over a 100? lol
seems you had more of a grasp of what was happening than i...
i never looked past the next groupie
thanks so much for entering this, Marc.
it took me back, truly
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Big sigh. You make me wish wish wish I had been there, experienced the world then, when loving the one you were with was accepted, (although, probably not that safe) and soul searching was a way of life, not an hour spent on the couch of a therapist. You have done well...keep your hair long, wear your t-shirts, be our reminder of when flowers meant something more than vase decoration Love, Lane
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Oh to remember, Marc, to keep that candle burning... even your "Quickly scribbled thoughts" are awesome. peace
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"It's was a frame of mind, not a state of time" - anon
delightful read, truly.
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Immediate, familiar images. I love this, especially the sense that somehow, somewhere, that spirit has endured!
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According to your profile, you'll soon be back in your own personal 60's - so maybe you can make the past your present once again - as it sure beats the hell out of the plastic scene crap happening today. Simply great, enthralling writing as ever.
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Great Take On Your Life
Your discription of your youth is so vivid.
Smoking pot, tripping on LSD, Did you serve in Vietnam
if you did all the guys and the wemen who where nurses over there did a great job, Some didn't belive in the war but went because our nation called and they answered some gave some, Some gave their all.
Protest against the war, A president assasinated, Then his brother sometime later all volitile times but times that has given our nation its character great write.
Kevin P. Bodisch
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Nope . . . no Nam for me . . . if I was living in the states at the time I would have been one of the protesters getting their heads bashed in . . . Instead I was up here in Canada, helping draft dodgers get food and shelter . . .
Marc
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It gets a little wordy at times, but that's so the 60's, and I adore the nostalgia to this. I really wish I could have seen the 60's-80's.
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Very cool! You write it like you lived it!
Good luck in the contest!
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RIGHT ON!!!
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