Wednesday, October 9, 2019

The Portrait


The Portrait

He strolls the shoreline,
pants rolled above ankles
as waves crash, seemingly cling,
momentarily comb October's beach smooth
before rapidly receding, repeating ,

footprints lasting as long
as the chords he strums.

Silhouetted against the sinking sun,
he's mysterious, a balladeer, a poet,
a young man beginning a journey -
seeking, offering his voice
as a gift to the sky

which is swooped, caught, and carried
to the clouds upon seagulls' wings.

I imagine him in New York's subway,
no blue, no fresh breeze,
playing these tunes, lyrics birthed -
hair escaping over furrowed brow,
leaning back, slouching, James Dean style,

offering a glimpse of a smirk, almost
allowing us in on his secrets.

Imagine him gazing at the moon
from small apartment window,
fighting sleep, dreaming of a lover's kiss,
wishing upon a star (straight on 'til morning),
penning his soul,

a moment leatherbound,
etched into forever.

Dreams fill him daily, I envy him that;
ponder when I misplaced my daring,
my castles in the air.  When did I forget
imagination isn't delusion?  His chin
tilts upward, his heart in his fingers

as they strum the chords.  I kick off my shoes,
roll up my pants, test the sand with my toe.

by Margaret Bednar, October 9, 2019

I invite you to listen to me read my poem:

This is linked with "Poets United - Midweek Motif - Everyday Living" and "dVerse Poets Pub - Poetics - Profiles and Portraits" and "Imaginary Garden of Real Toads -  Sanaa's Challenge - October - When Poets Dream, Lament, and Sing" - the song I chose to listen to and reflect upon was: Aerosmith - I Don't Want to Miss a Thing. 

19 comments:

Susan said...

I can see each scene through the voice of the narrator, delighted that she puts herself into the picture. Thank you, too, for the recording!

Helen said...

Your beautiful poem left me quite emotional ~~ everything about it spoke to me. Thank you,

Sanaa Rizvi said...

Gosh this is incredibly breathtaking, Margaret and I loved hearing you read your poem aloud!💖 Especially like; "dreaming of a lover's kiss,
not wanting to miss gazing at the moon, penning his soul." Thank you so much for writing to the prompt!😍

brudberg said...

I love how much of the portrait is about how it affects you... taking off your shoes, what a great tribute to music

Sherry Blue Sky said...

Oh, you make us see him! Beautiful, a young man starting on his magical journey. I love the ending, where you dip in a toe! We are never too old to dream, or to have an adventure.

Magical Mystical Teacher said...

Daily dreaming is essential to our being human.

Old Egg said...

How beautiful it is to get contentment from seeing another enjoying it as well showing how we can live and love our lives if we only try. Beautifully written.

Frank Hubeny said...

I like the thought of offering one's voice as a gift to the sky.

Thotpurge said...

Dreams fill him daily- I envy him that... I enjoyed this so much. Even more because I just posted my first soundcloud recording on my blog yesterday!!

Brendan said...

Nicely drawn Margaret. Somehow playing guitar was always a way to sing to my mother, to the sea, to the beloved somewhere across the waters. And there was an invitation to it, to come test the waters, be freed.

Jae Rose said...

I love the musicality in this poem - and the sense of watching somebody interesting who makes every day a little bit special

Vivian Zems said...

You have a beautiful imagination and I love the vivid descriptions. I can just picture this artist “penning his soul“.

Rob Jackson said...

The repetition in the guitar strum and the waves crashing over and over again are a great symbol of everyday life. I also like seeing the hope in the young at heart, at least that is what I saw here. Rob

Sreeja said...

Such a delightful feel...so vivid!!

robkistner said...

Beautiful portrait Margaret. Very well written.

Kim M. Russell said...

Your poem has a cinematic quality, Margaret, and the opening stanza is atmospheric. I love the way he is ‘Silhouetted against the sinking sun’ and the different ways you imagine him: in the subway and ‘gazing at the moon / from small apartment window’.

Anmol (HA) said...

Such beautiful imagery and reflection — your word pictures paint both the scene and the person in such a tender and evocative manner. Very well penned!

Eileen T O'Neill ..... said...

A superb image created by your very well painted poem and illustrated word usage...A lovely time captured...

purplepeninportland.com said...

So vivid, Margaret. I can see him standing in front of me.