each step upwards into the sky a test
each footfall's hollow metallic ringing
like bells marking an ascension
and standing at the top
with the wind catching in my hair and my eyes
i stop long enough
to see this place
the you
of this moment
expanding
no need to return to earth
for now
i was listening to "indian summer" by riceboy sleeps
There is such a different point of view from down here, looking up into the sky, and being up at the top, looking down. Thanks for the reminder that I need to stop long enough in the moments of others to see what they see (or at least something of it).
ReplyDeleteBeing atop will give us a good view of what is happening. But such a good feeling when you are on the same ground with others. Love this post Sir Steven!
ReplyDeleteJJRod'z
It appears so protected up there, in between the safety bars, just before you take the big slide.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. The wind is great up here!
ReplyDeleteruth this is the top of one of the slides at the school i teach at. i watch the little weebles climb up it and stand at the top and sometimes they look around and i remember that moment so well of seeing so far and feeling the tugging of the wind and the very real need to return to earth where somehow things seemed more stable. steven
ReplyDeletejj - i agree. i used to worry so much about vantage point and perspective and being on top and all of that is just a chimera. it really is. it's more about being exactly where yuou are right now. in this moment. steven
ReplyDeletejohn romeo alpha - you're so right! i watche d aguy (for a buck) ride his road bike down a slide twice this size and i relaized more than ever just how much i crave "safety" and then too the price that i pay for letting that be my norm! steven
ReplyDeletereya - look at you and i with our chins resting on our hands!!!! the wind is great!! steven
ReplyDeleteNeat! I remember the tallest slides on the playground, and that momentary feeling, beginning the descent, that this was filled with danger! But we always made it to the hollowed out dirt below.
ReplyDeleteSteven, your header is beautiful...from your lens??? That is a greeting card waiting to be sent!
Rick
hi rick! the header was taken by me a few days ago. i walked across the frost-covered front lawn to a bed i built a few years ago and this sight was waiting for me to see it and wow did it ever come through!!! steven
ReplyDeleteI love our profile pics. We look like quite the pair!
ReplyDeleteha reya!!!! i thought so / think so too. steven
ReplyDeleteThe image is so interesting - red-orange stripes on a blue-gray sky. I wonder if you played around with it by zooming in on just the pipes - I bet it would be a cool abstraction. Well, even this on is, great color and rhythm. And in the words, I'm drawn to the "bells marking the ascension" and most especially, "no need to return to earth for now"... oh yes, how I go there....
ReplyDeletevalerianna - it's the very top of the slide at my school which is used by the little kids. i took the picture on a day when a storm was blowing in from the west. i was on "yard duty" maing sure the very little weebles were safe!!! like your thoughts around abstraction. steven
ReplyDelete