1 Topic by Peatle Jville (edited by Peatle Jville 2019-02-06 20:53:20)

  • Registered: 2015-07-31
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Topic: Where Do We Want To Go.

I met a man I went to school with in the Library this week who I last saw when we were both eleven year olds this tells the story of that meeting..                           


                                                         Where Do  We Want To Go.
In the library here again to learn.
A place I come to widen my  horizons.
I see you. You see me.
You seem familiar.
I seem familiar to you.
Something in the back of the mind is calling to me.
I say to you did we go to school together.
You say is that you.
I say is that you
1966 last time we spoke.
Two school boys.
Hey what happened to your fiery red hair.
Your next words on talking to me.
The picture comes into my head of a boy.
Not the bald  man shaking my hand with warmth.
You were a boy with dark black locks of hair.
We both liked art .
You were a natural .
I had to work at it..
Your Mum passed away.
Leaving your dad lost.
He sent you away up north to live with an aunt.
All these years have past.
Now all these years of over half a century a short gap
Thoughts from over fifty plus years ago  not thought about again  till now..
Here we are two eleven year old boys.
In a moment no longer old men.
Just excited about being kids.
Wondering about life and where we want to go.
How can we be adults those years are to long.
It is easier to be kids in those couple of short years we knew each other,
The moment comes to  the inevitable.
The spirit of childhood robbed by a moment called now.
Somehow those years after eleven till now are not what we want to bring up.
Adult detail and those stories seem uncomfortable.
Travelling faster then the speed of light we hit a wall.
Brought to a crashing stop we say goodbye,
Best mates boys  bonding before we become  old men.
A couple of strangers.
No longer prepared to play cowboys and Lone Rangers.
All we can do is shake hands and wish each other well.
Thankful for those eleven year old boys that once were us.

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Re: Where Do We Want To Go.

Peatle
One of the best you have written.
That is fantastic !

That line " The spirit of childhood robbed by a moment called now" is absolutely brilliant.

Thanks for sharing this - you are quite a "poet laureate!" the one and only loremaster!

Jim     

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Make your life count, and the world will be a better place because you tried.

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Re: Where Do We Want To Go.

This is one of those special works that is so  wonderful it could apply to many. Thank you for writing it n and for sharing it. Great work.     

Music is what feelings sound like.
Music is life, that why our hearts have beats.
  • From: The Land Of Song
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Re: Where Do We Want To Go.

Ah Peatle, I'd like to say that this happens so often, but it doesn't! Most of my school chums are reclining under six feet of good Welsh soil, or they've moved to pastures new. When I have met up with some of them, the conversation goes almost exactly as you've written. I met one guy in a pub back in the day we were big pals but he didn't even know who I was! Maybe some kind of brain damage caused by the punch I gave him during one our fights? I doubt that as I couldn't punch my way out of a paper bag back then...lol. no, I think he'd had some kind of stroke or worse.
As usual Mr P, you've got my brain working with your insightful, intelligent and concise view of the world.     

Ask not what Chordie can do for you, but what you can do for Chordie.

Phill Williams's Website

  • From: Nova Scotia, Canada
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Re: Where Do We Want To Go.

I just love this, Peatle ... so vivid and warm! I live in a fairly rural area without a lot of people, so running into old classmates isn't that uncommon. Sharing old memories, stories of mischief, altered aspirations, etc. is always fun, and always helps to re-establish a person's roots. Again, I just love how you've captured all of that, and so much more ... it's aces!     

  • Registered: 2015-07-31
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Re: Where Do We Want To Go.

Thank you everyone for your feedback. 
                                                                                                             
Jim when I wrote that line you like “The Spirit of childhood robbed by a moment called now” I wondered if it would resonate with others.
Having you confirm it made sense gave me a great feeling of joy thank you.

Classical Guitar thank  you I am glad my poem is something many could see themselves in that moment of my life.

Phill like you many I have known as a child  have died or moved away from around here. My father was a boxer but I was always greatful he never made me follow in his footsteps. I often wondered if he hadn't boxed would he have lived longer as he died suddenly at 39 years of age. I never stood out at school was never a champion anything but it always suprises me that those I shared a classroom or school time with remember me. I suffered from crippling shyness as a kid until I was about thirteen and then I got my confidence. On the rare occassion I run into someone from my youth who I havent seen for a while it amazes me how much they remember about me. It also seems weird to me how things come to me that have been lost in my brain and I can remember all sorts details about them after all these years. Then when I try and remember something that happened recently it is hard.

TF, I have never been to Nova Scotia but everyone I have met who has been there loves it and the people. I guess been rural where you live and not a Rat Race people have a good pace of life. One of my Aunties was a dog whisperer and trained many types of dogs she always rated The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever as one of the best all round dogs.
The valley where Easybeat and I live use to be called semi rural a village  town with farm surrounding it. Now we are just part of the city a suburb and much  of the old farmlands are now full of houses.
Easybeat and I are one of the few from our teenage era who still live in this valley.
The thing that does interest me on accasions that I do get to reflect on my youth is quiet often my illusion of those were the days where people seemed content can be a fantasy of mine. When I hear some of the stories of my old classmates home lifes not spoken about then but told later as an adult, I realise somethings in life are an illusion. Here I am thinking for years they had perfect families where in reality the truth was far differant.  One thing that I have found over the years when I have run into those from my childhood is though we get older and our adult paths  can end up differant to what we imagined as a child. the inner child does surface when  taken back in ones mind and brings back a feeling of joy.
Thank you for reading my poem and taking time to comment it is very much appreciated.     

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Re: Where Do We Want To Go.

Peatle....who are you again? Lol

I was also born and brought upin a rural community, there were more farms than houses. Now the farms have gone, replaced by "posh" expensive houses! I moved to our local town only 3 miles away yet there's more sense of community here now than there is where I grew up, I guess that's what money does to some folk.
Where I used to work is only a half mile from here, they closed the factory and built a school on the site. You could argue that education is more important than jobs, but I think both are necessary, especially with Brexit being forced upon us by the greedy and stupid! I pick my granddaughter from school most days, she's six and because of the way things have deteriorated, it's a matter of her safety. At six, it was deemed safe for me and my friends to walk the mile or so to and from school! Until I left school at 15 I was a skinny, shorty! Now I'm somewhere around 2 metres and 107 kilos with face fuzz and glasses, not to mention (apparently) six months pregnant...mlol (more laughing out loud) . I've forgotten what the jist of my story was so I'll leave it there. It just goes to show what your astute observations make people recall. Hwyl     

Ask not what Chordie can do for you, but what you can do for Chordie.

Phill Williams's Website

8 Reply by Peatle Jville (edited by Peatle Jville 2019-02-09 10:24:59)

  • Registered: 2015-07-31
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Re: Where Do We Want To Go.

Iechyd Da  I like that reply Phill. Lol, My doctor told me I am a bit obese, I told him I would rather be fat. You know if I jumped of a bridge in Paris I would be considered  in Seine,  around these parts I am just mad. When I was a kid we all walked to school not an adult  in sight. Now all the kids get picked up and dropped of at school for their safety. Here in New Zealand the pregnent belly on men is called The Middle Age Spread.

  • From: The Land Of Song
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Re: Where Do We Want To Go.

i prefer butter to any kind of spread. we ought to stop this before we both get told off. i've never wanted to go to Paris; i've heard men and women use the same Louvre?     

Ask not what Chordie can do for you, but what you can do for Chordie.

Phill Williams's Website

10 Reply by easybeat (edited by easybeat 2019-02-11 00:49:24)

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Re: Where Do We Want To Go.

I`m very much enjoying the banter.
i guess if you shoot  from a high place in Paris it would be
A Rifle Tower

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Re: Where Do We Want To Go.

"Thoughts from over fifty plus years ago  not thought about again  till now..
Here we are two eleven year old boys.
In a moment no longer old men.
Just excited about being kids."

"It is easier to be kids in those couple of short years we knew each other,
The moment comes to  the inevitable.
The spirit of childhood robbed by a moment called now."

Two of the hardest hitting sections in this.

You hit the nail on the proverbial head.   
I have met many of my old pals with Facebook.   And after re acquainting with a few of them, you realize they are total strangers.  And some 35 years have never happened! that lets you know the depth of your friendship right there.
Thank you for a great poem.     

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12 Reply by Peatle Jville (edited by Peatle Jville 2019-02-13 02:22:03)

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Re: Where Do We Want To Go.

Cheers Beamer you are right re acquainting with old  pals quiet often ends up with the  realisation that the common bonds of the past are no longer there because they and you have moved on.I think what happens is at differant stages of life we go through differant seasons. Some music I loved as a teenager I can’t listen to now. Our outlook changes.I guess as humans we have differant attitudes and mental outlook  phases at differant stages like stages in nature a   butterfly egg to larva which is a caterpillar, from caterpillar to a chrysalis where it then grows into a butterfly.
Just like adults in the wild when we grow out of the cub stage and become interested in the mating game, hunters and protectors our world view changes.
Adult lions have differant relationships to Cub Lions. Back in 1993 a school I went to had its centennary celebration with a big school reunion. It was held  over three days. Those of us from my era had a great time catching up, but by the end of day three we all were ready to go back to our individual adult worlds knowing that we wouldn’t bother staying in touch with each other.