Beyond the Lines
A Poem
There is this line I trace to work each morn,
tire-and-tear-streaked,
by rubber souls, well-worn -
This dotted line of trafficked cars and minds.
Halfway across this faded and redrawn line,
on a midtown Buffalo bridge,
Midway between a concrete thought
and an abstract sense
of something -
I see a proud-ish seabird, early
running on the wind
and silhouetted by bright living stage lights
of wind-shattered waters, and icy sky,
and I think I realize that
I too was made to fly.
*
I want to take new trains
of thought and of steel, beacon-like shining, both
which trace tracks through ochres and siennas
bleeding out across this woody autumn palette -
and wander with the steady will of a painter's brush
over and under across all the other lines.
Call it flowery, call it naive, call it foolish -
Put lines around and through it, categorize and limit -
Still I will be here yearning to live
In the cool, colorful, and dangerous air
beyond the lines.
*
Halfway across this faded and redrawn line,
on a midtown Buffalo bridge,
Midway between a concrete thought
and an abstract sense
of something -
the lines all lose their hardiness,
as in the middle of a moment,
I see this proud-ish seabird,
and I think I realize that
I too, was made to fly -
To fly
beyond the lines.
About the Creator
Gabriel Huizenga
Twas for love of words that I first joined this site:
Poetry, especially, and dear short stories too;
For to live one's best is to read, and to write!
So find me in words here, and I'll find you π
Thanks for stopping by! :)
Keep reading
More stories from Gabriel Huizenga and writers in Poets and other communities.
Violence Begets
"Any last words, cowboy?" "None you'd understand, sodbuster." "Funny. That's Marshall Sodbuster to you. But I meant some last nugget that would help us in the adjudication of the myriad offenses counted against you and your gang. I wasn't asking for penitence."
By Adam Diehl5 days ago in Fiction
Comments (13)
Oh if only we could fly.
And so it is...we all can climb past the ordinariness of life! A great TS, and a huge congrats, Gabriel!
Well damn, this has got to be a winner π π
Lovely
Absolutely stunning work, Gabriel, and, yes, you are meant to fly. I love everything about this poem. Congratulations on your top story!
Trudging through a daily commute could inspire anyone to fly away somewhere new... you have captured that sense of wanting for freedom very well. Congrats on Top Story!
Dammit. When you weren't around, I missed you, Gabriel...but didn't miss having to compete with your mastery at poetry. This is stunning and I felt taken on a journey and wanted to continue it! You made the daily commute sound like some kinda dreamlike wander through a Monet, Renoir or Van Gogh. Which made me think we should stop and admire the beauty in front of us, even when heading from home to work or whatever our normal journeys involve! Congrats on a Top Story befitting Mr Huizenga and welcome back (saying that again for emphasis as to how happy a thing it is to have you back)
These lines could enable many to fly, Gabriel--welcome back!
Hey good to have you back!! How was the wedding? Great poem my friend
a wonderful journey you have taken us on from a daily commute β€οΈ
Well-wrought, Gabriel! We mustn't forget, though, that both the bird and the Homo Sapien fly by harnessing the natural laws of their environment!
You were definitely made to fly! Especially on the wings of creativity as poet. Great work, Gabriel!
So well done! So grounded in the everyday but taking us with you on this flight