My place? I have no place
There's no place of solace for me
Oh there are places I can go
But none that I can call my own
There' no place just for me
But back when I was very young
There was such a place I could go
Down by the creek half mile away
On the southeast corner
Of Dad's farm it was, habitat
A place where wildlife spent their years
And I could come for afternoons
A place for me to sit
A place where I could run, deer-like
A place where I could be naked
And do what I liked, even smoke
Now it's not my place, mine
That place remains, 'twas me who left
I tried to carry it with me
I have a home but not a place
In younger years, almost
I'd ride my scooter up and down
Roads either side the Rio Grande
Now it's my ragtop old Mustang
It's not like younger days
Still try. I have a room, study
But it's in my home, one I share
I have no place to go away
My place? It's in my head
In my heart, there's a younger day
Mustn't let those days slip away.
I may go and there I may stay
_ _ _ _ _Mustn't let those days slip away.
I may go and there I may stay
Photos and Poem Copyright © 2017 Jimmiehov, All Rights Reserved
- I'm linked with Sherry Blue Sky at the Imaginary Garden with Real Toads, Hope and the Places That Heal You, http://withrealtoads.blogspot.com/2017/04/hope-and-places-that-heal-you.html
- - -and
- I'm also linked to Day Eight of NaPoWriMo, http://www.napowrimo.net/day-eight-4/
My poem is inspired after reading Sherry's posted poem by Wendell Berry. It is a tear jerker of sorts. http://withrealtoads.blogspot.com/2017/04/hope-and-places-that-heal-you.html
My poem is inspired after reading Sherry's posted poem by Wendell Berry. It is a tear jerker of sorts. http://withrealtoads.blogspot.com/2017/04/hope-and-places-that-heal-you.html
I can imagine that boy in you enjoying the freedom of the countryside. These words say a lot:
ReplyDeleteI tried to carry it with me
I have a home but not a place
Wanna come to mine? You can sit on my sofa. :)
ReplyDeletethejungsofa.blogspot.com
This is poignant, Jim. But what a wonderful boyhood, out in the fields and forests of your childhood home. We do carry those first homes with us, dont we? I loved envisioning the places in this poem. I smiled at your Mustang.........and I resonate with how hard it is to find needed solitude in space shared with others. Those long drives might just be how you manage it.
ReplyDeletevery poignant write Jim and a deep story of how 'place' and 'me' can be connected through time.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully emotive, Jim ❤️
ReplyDeleteLuv the nostalgia Jim, and how you can carry your special place in your heart and share with us in this fine poem
ReplyDeleteMuch love...
That last stanza is stunning, Jim. It bares the soul.
ReplyDeleteAs someone once said to me about a green and peaceful place I had to leave: 'Ah, but you still have the memories.' I'm glad you have yours.
ReplyDeleteI have a home but not a place... That makes me sad. I take that dirt road I grew up on, those three acres with me everywhere I go.
ReplyDeleteTo have had that place in your childhood is wonderful and whether you realize it or not you will always carry with you in your heart and memories. Everything changes, everything moves on but they live still in us.
ReplyDelete