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Taken By Surprise.

A gust of wind last night swirled in from nowhere
Shaking everything to its roots.
And the moon was riding wild horses,
A weird hissing from those cloudy hooves.

From afar, to my ear came a voice of vague menace
A burden long carried then struck from my grasp.
In that moment so un-weighted, echoes- lawless
Whispers from the angels and devils of my past.

Gathering up the fragments of my swept and startled dreams,
I did not find much of worth to restore.
But a vision of you in my minds eye agleam,
As the only thing that mattered from before.

And the moment came in dancing with a wild gypsy beat,
Sparks flamenco, flashing in the night.
A fever overtook me, lifting up my feet
To dance electric where everything was right.

As my heart began to fly, far above the lies,
A roaring whisper- came the message to get wise.
Taken by surprise, the promise in your eyes,
A safe harbour for the heart to realise.

(c) J.W. 2003.

Dear Witty ~

This poem is phenomenal in its imagery and energy. Its message is sublime. To let go of the past and embrace the future ~ oh, to be able to do it in this glorious a fashion. It sweeps me away, and then whirls me back, for another reading and experiencing of the pleasure.

Excellent. Thank you.

~ Elizabeth

Liz, thanks for the applause.
I do think that what I was trying to say has been said differently (and more successfully ) by Don Henly from his latest "Inside Job" The song "Everything is Different Now". Is a great expression of this outlook on ones' life changes. Those changes that happen when someone extraordinary comes into your life.
Though I have been workshopping ideas I have to date been unable to set this to music. I had in mind while writing the lyrics that I could write the music specifically for a nylon strung guitar that I had recently acquired. I could hear the sound but I cannot find it.
Cheers,

You will.

Ciao to the Witty Owl,

Bella, Bella, poem.

The line:

"And the moon was riding wild horses,
A weird hissing from those cloudy hooves."

reminds me of the poet who wrote:

"When all at once a mighty herd of red eyed cows he saw
Come rushin' through the ragged skies and up a cloudy draw.
Their brands were still on fire and their hooves were made of steel
Their horns were black and shiny and their hot breath you could feel..."

steel hooves for one poet and cloudy hooves for another poet. English is wonderful language.

Yipie i ay Yipie i oh!!!

Vesuvius

Thanks for the commendation Vesuvius.
Who is/was the poet you quoted. Possibly an American writer? -- Great Lines! It is remarkable- the images that can be evoked by the myriad moods of the sky.
Regards,

An old cowpoke went ridin' out one dark and windy day,
Upon a ridge he rested as he went along his way
When all at once a mighty herd of red eyed cows he saw
Come rushin' through the ragged skies and up a cloudy draw.

Yipie i ay Yipie i oh
Ghost riders in the sky

Their brands were still on fire and their hooves were made of steel
Their horns were black and shiny and their hot breath you could feel
A bolt of fear went through him as they thundered through the sky
He saw the riders coming hard... and he heard their mournful cry

Yipie i ay Yipie i oh
Ghost riders in the sky.

I know recordings by Tom Jones, Johnny Cash, and The Blues Brothers, but there'll be probably many more ...

LOL Vesuvius. Maybe you want to look for the Italian translation:
http://spazioinwind.libero.it/musicaeme ... he_sky.htm

Ciao
Tom

Tom, Ciao Amico!

Thank you for the link. And your understanding reply. I, too, am LOL !!!

i cavaliere fantasma del cielo!

Vesuvius

Vesuvius, you are funny.

Tom, my father would play the Vaughn Monroe recording. Brings back pleasant memories.

Sons of the Pioneers recorded it as well. (Here in Germany the American Wild West was and is very popular theme.)

It is a beautiful song. The more I think about my long history of listening to music, the more different recordings come to my mind,

And I'm sure that Witty Owl knows more than one. This, of course, won't reduce the value his poetic invention in the least! We all create with millions of lines on our mind... (compare Captain Beefheart's non-existent influence on my poem "matter" - and what Witty said about it...)

Vesuvius - I understand some Italian, but I'd love to know how to say this in your native language: "Thank you for the most constructive post in my time. And never mind, if I criticized some previous contributions of yours - essentially we are all part of one beautiful community."

(If you could translate this ... just for me ... amico mio?)

Tom

Vesuvius and Tom, yes I might have guessed that extract was from Ghost Riders. Brings back child hood memories. I think the Johnny Cash version is the one I am most familiar with. The Blues Brothers were a riot- them Good ole boys.

The circumstances surrounding the writing of those lyrics really did happen. Late one calm and humid summer night (a few months ago) I was almost asleep in a caravan when the wind came up unexpectedly and got me out of bed and outside to investigate. The moon was full and the cloud formations were awesome It really was strange to have such strong winds on previously calm evening. The rest of the story is in the poem. Half an hour later all was calm again.
Cheers,

Tom, amico mio

The sentence you wish me to translate? From English to Italian. Do you mean "Thank you for the most constructive post in my time. And never mind, if I criticized some previous contribution of yours - essentially we are all part of one beautiful community." ???

If yes, there are many long words in it. Beautiful but long. I do not think my skills will, how you say? Measure up. I know you will understand.

Ciao,
Vesuvius

Dear Witty-Owl, Tom, et al,
This correspondence has brought me back to my youth; hearing Frankie Laine sing "Ghost Riders In The Sky", and the theme tune of "Rawhide" (being Clint Eastwood's big T.V. break).
It was all so clear-cut in those days: even the television was black and white, and a choice of two channels, both ending at 10pm.
I used to watch the white dot in the middle of the screen, until it disappeared, just in case something might be missed.
Yours,
Andrew.

WoW! That brings back my memories, too, Andrew. We were the last on our block to buy a TV [definitely black and white ] ~ and I remember how the screen closed itself out in that way. I also remember singing along to and loving both songs.