Steel gray water like polished silver
shines in the dull light of cloud filled skies.
Dolphins feed the tide line,
dorsal fins gracefully arcing
as they surface and dive.

I might seem to be alone
yet I am bathed in a vast community,
life it is in all directions
that rises with the sun and stars
both day and night in the eternal presence.

I should tone it down, speak in the mechanics
of physics and biology. I should but I won’t
for I only have so many days and the music
of my soul will only be sung if I let it.

I worship where I will and refuse the idols
of ideology and vain precept.
Aboriginal in my origins,
boiled in the kettle of a hard city,
I know what it’s like to break the chains
of fear and dependence.

I won’t go back to servitude,
bow before the altars of gold and cold marble.
What tree would vote for the axe,
desire to be cut down and milled to brutal standards?

No one binds the soul. Ask the monks who kneel in snow
in the gulags of their oppressors.
They smile at the blows of ignorance,
knowing who is really bound.

Each day I follow the breadcrumbs of my heart
and choose life, to breathe the air of earth itself
and send my blood to every cell with the song of freedom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reading of “Song of Freedom” with intro music by Bruce Springsteen

 

 

11 Responses

  1. Oh Don! You have lit a lamp for me this morning and I see my soul more clearly. And for that I am grateful.

  2. “What tree would vote for the axe.” That is a classic. I choose life through mindfulness and kindness. I too, shout out, “Freedom.”. Thank you.

  3. I might seem to be alone. Life it is in all directions. Both day and night in the eternal presence. Aboriginal are my origins. I won’t go back to servitude. The prison walls are as fake as the collar around your neck. No one binds the soul. Each day I choose life and send my blood to every cell with the song of freedom. These timeless phrasings are mantras now sounding over and over in the substance of my outer being. Magical seed sounds! Thank you Don.

  4. Don, what begins as a reflection on sensations at the edge of a sea becomes a thoughtful consideration of the entire relationship of surroundings and purpose. Thank you.

  5. I like to think I am awake, but your powerful statement in this poem calls me to a new level of wakefulness! Thank you!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *