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[ DUP ] Traveller From Afar
You can tell by that far away
look in his eyes --- the deep thought
procession carefully treading sturdy
stepping stones out of genuine curiosity
and desire for adventure into
pass ported expeditions Unknown;
for Josh, gates are always open---
there's no arriving at destination Truth
through hastily concluded leap and bound;
the only leaps being made are those
in faith that solid ground of poem
will manifest under sure footedness
all the while knowing should he stumble
muses will catch him
( by surprise if need be )
inspired by Josh @
https://deepundergroundpoetry.com/poets/Josh/
Josh is a Poet of the most extraordinary kind and you could not ask for a better guide along the journey into the realm where mind merges with world.
Written by
JohnnyBlaze
Published 6th Jul 2019
| Edited 24th Oct 2021
Author's Note
inspired by Josh @
https://deepundergroundpoetry.com/poets/Josh/
for the Dopplegang comp @
https://deepundergroundpoetry.com/forum/competitions/read/10840/
https://deepundergroundpoetry.com/poets/Josh/
for the Dopplegang comp @
https://deepundergroundpoetry.com/forum/competitions/read/10840/
All writing remains the property of the author. Don't use it for any purpose without their permission.
likes 9
reading list entries 2
comments 17
reads 784
Commenting Preference:
The author encourages honest critique.
Re. Traveller From Afar
6th Jul 2019 2:52pm
It's always better late than never! He will be immortalized in the competition always!
It's a wonderfully accurate tribute to Josh. One I am sure he will greatly appreciate.
It's a wonderfully accurate tribute to Josh. One I am sure he will greatly appreciate.
2
Re: Re. Traveller From Afar
6th Jul 2019 6:12pm
Hopefully he will pick up on ( and appreciate ) the comparison to another ( more well known ) explorer alluded to. Nudge nudge wink wink. 🌍📝
Re: Re. Traveller From Afar
7th Jul 2019 4:39pm
Indeed, both accurate and appreciated very much :))
I'm not sure about being "immortalized" - it sounds a bit like being embalmed - but I get your enthusiastic drift.
I'm not sure about being "immortalized" - it sounds a bit like being embalmed - but I get your enthusiastic drift.
1
Re. Traveller From Afar
6th Jul 2019 8:35pm
Muses will catch him!!!
HELL YEAH!!
Even us lowly inkers would volunteer to help.
Sooooo accurate this spill for Josh!
HELL YEAH!!
Even us lowly inkers would volunteer to help.
Sooooo accurate this spill for Josh!
2
Re: Re. Traveller From Afar
7th Jul 2019 2:37am
I'm glad you think so. Josh is a very talented soul; he exhibits quite the range from form to free verse.
Re: Re. Traveller From Afar
7th Jul 2019 4:43pm
"... lowly inkers ..." (?) - your ink travels further than maybe you give credit for. {I weigh 70kgs if you're calculating catching me :)) }
1
Re. Traveller From Afar
7th Jul 2019 00:30am
I honestly love it when you and ahavati do these, I love getting an inside look at another poet from another's perception of them as a writer. Always expands my understanding when reading said poet later.
3
Re: Re. Traveller From Afar
7th Jul 2019 2:35am
We do try our best to get inside the heads of these dear poets, LivD. I regard josh as though he was one of the published greats. He should be right along side them on the bookshelf.
Re: Re. Traveller From Afar
7th Jul 2019 4:44pm
I hope I live up to the heightened expectations, for which I now blame Johnny :))
2
Re: Re. Traveller From Afar
7th Jul 2019 2:35am
Re. Traveller From Afar
7th Jul 2019 4:37pm
Well, thank you so much for this wonderful tribute - I am deeply touched, and your 'dig' into my psyche has cherry-picked the better parts :)))
Of course your comment in reply to Ahavati above "Hopefully he will pick up on ( and appreciate ) the comparison to another ( more well known ) explorer alluded to..." sent me enthusiastically scurrying to various possibilities (eg: Robert Frost), but interestingly I ended up with John O'Donohue's poem "For the Traveler", and a book I have had of his for some time, "Anam Cara" which combines wisdom integrating the inner and outer worlds of our perception and experience.
From this book the internet helped remind me of meaningful (to me) quote of his:
"“When you cease to fear your solitude, a new creativity awakens in you. Your forgotten or neglected wealth begins to reveal itself. You come home to yourself and learn to rest within. Thoughts are our inner senses. Infused with silence and solitude, they bring out the mystery of inner landscape.”
Long before I read this quote which spoke more clearly what I couldn't put into words myself, the struggling journey to live with integrity as one "in the world but not of it" has been my driving motivation, and your poem, Johnny, picks out this theme - which means in part I guess, our poetry is a revelation of ourselves, a mirror to our own souls - which others can 'sense' and then articulate back to us; which is a wonderful gift.
Of course we bring our own frames of reference into our reading - and tend to see what we want to see but isn't that the real power of poetry (and art generally)? That words can be so flexible? So variously interpreted? That one poem can inspire many, in many differing ways in different situations? That it is amazing that a few 'hieroglyphic symbols', which we call 'words', can work such power in us?
{I also tracked down an unknown-to-me Irish poet, Bernard Kennedy, who has a poem of the same title - but concluded this is a coincidence}.
Thank you so much for penning these words "where mind merges with world" so wonderfully.
Best regards,
Josh.
Of course your comment in reply to Ahavati above "Hopefully he will pick up on ( and appreciate ) the comparison to another ( more well known ) explorer alluded to..." sent me enthusiastically scurrying to various possibilities (eg: Robert Frost), but interestingly I ended up with John O'Donohue's poem "For the Traveler", and a book I have had of his for some time, "Anam Cara" which combines wisdom integrating the inner and outer worlds of our perception and experience.
From this book the internet helped remind me of meaningful (to me) quote of his:
"“When you cease to fear your solitude, a new creativity awakens in you. Your forgotten or neglected wealth begins to reveal itself. You come home to yourself and learn to rest within. Thoughts are our inner senses. Infused with silence and solitude, they bring out the mystery of inner landscape.”
Long before I read this quote which spoke more clearly what I couldn't put into words myself, the struggling journey to live with integrity as one "in the world but not of it" has been my driving motivation, and your poem, Johnny, picks out this theme - which means in part I guess, our poetry is a revelation of ourselves, a mirror to our own souls - which others can 'sense' and then articulate back to us; which is a wonderful gift.
Of course we bring our own frames of reference into our reading - and tend to see what we want to see but isn't that the real power of poetry (and art generally)? That words can be so flexible? So variously interpreted? That one poem can inspire many, in many differing ways in different situations? That it is amazing that a few 'hieroglyphic symbols', which we call 'words', can work such power in us?
{I also tracked down an unknown-to-me Irish poet, Bernard Kennedy, who has a poem of the same title - but concluded this is a coincidence}.
Thank you so much for penning these words "where mind merges with world" so wonderfully.
Best regards,
Josh.
1
Re: Re. Traveller From Afar
7th Jul 2019 6:56pm
I'm glad you approve, Josh.
And I'm thrilled you were inspired to go on a quest for knowledge. The other explorer I clued into is not a poet, but an actual modern day world traveller by the same name ( Josh ).
And I'm thrilled you were inspired to go on a quest for knowledge. The other explorer I clued into is not a poet, but an actual modern day world traveller by the same name ( Josh ).
Re: Re. Traveller From Afar
7th Jul 2019 10:51pm
Re. Traveller From Afar
7th Jul 2019 5:41pm
Re: Re. Traveller From Afar
7th Jul 2019 11:16pm
Re. Traveller From Afar
9th Jul 2019 00:53am