I Have Always Been a Traveler [Day 89]
I Have Always Been a Traveler
—original poetry—(with audio recording)
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I Have Always Been a Traveler
Physically motionless,
worlds come to me
with a deft flick of thought.
Over verdure and ocean I soar,
Reveling in the vibrant hues
of habitations, temples, arenas;
the edifices of a million races
call my feather'd soul to communion.
Spiny towers cactaceous with majesty,
Squat buildings with painted cupolas.
Over the ridge of snowy mountains,
Black tents bristling with fire.
This cannot be flight.
For surely, flight becomes tiresome,
Yet this soujourn is effortless.
Ecstatic with the liberty of this realm,
I spiral downwards towards a modest chapel.
Mahogany bark-skinned acolytes gaze at me
With tolerance and sernity, yet say nothing.
I cannot seem to coexist with this alien architecture.
Walls like scrabbling fingers swell and recede;
Strange ladders about the periphery loom,
Yet I feel I must not trespass any further.
This cannot be teleportation.
For surely, in translocating there is awareness
Of before and after, some sense of continuity
Within memory. Yet this transition
Is underneath the resonant surface
Of conciousness o'erbrimming with glee.
These knolls are not colored;
They are not monochrome.
Suns of every tone splash primary hues
On a nexus of cloud.
Vines become dense hedges,
Hedges become walls.
Earth becomes cushioned,
Propagating the comfort so craved
By concrete beings: beds, curtains, sheets.
The firmament falls into a gossamer roof
Allowing the crystalline stars to shine through.
Moiling strands of fabric among the two
Star-beings seduced by proliferation.
Mimicing the spirits that intertwine
They honor polarity—
With the vast innocence of the divine.
This cannot be a dream.
For surely, dream is something lofty, unattainable.
Yet these lands of wonder and alien delight
Feel as familiar as my footsteps.
I have always been a traveller:
Though at times I rest my wings.
I have always been a minstrel,
Composing tales of wanderings.
Poetry & Audio
Created by
@d-pend on 6/3/18
.
Photos by
CitizenFresh
.1 — "Eilean Donan Castle 6"
2 — "Pozzo di S. Patrizio"
3 & 4 — "Civita di Bagnoregio 7"
.
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Notes
I have had extensive experience with lucid dreaming in the past 5 years or so. Here's a website with a basic explanation of what it is. Anyone can learn to become more lucid in the dream-state. I have had some of the most profound and spiritually-enlightening experiences of my life in this state of consciousness. During and after the dreams, not only is there a strong conviction that these experiences are real, this feeling persists into waking life. In fact, many of the adventures are so vivid they surpass anything "waking life" has to offer. I sometimes refer to this quality as "hyperreal."
This piece is an abstract rendition of one such experience (from last night, so it is still fresh on my mind). In the course of time, I intend to write a book compiling accounts of the many powerful and extraordinary lessons I have learned while lucid dreaming. Sometimes, one dream-filled night can seem to cover many months of experiences exploring vast, ethereal lands.
There was even a period of time in my life, some three or four years ago, where my lucid dreams were so expansive and paradigm-shifting that I found my waking life bleak, depressing, and stagnant in comparison. This caused me to become wary of consciously intensifying them. So, these days I allow them to come and go, no longer forcing their occurrence. After all: deep, restful sleep is important as well. Lucid dreams are more invigorating than restful per se.
Hey @d-pend! I've tweeted this one out as part of the "Steemit-Twitter Marketing Campaign" - another JUICY perk for the generous upvotes you have consistently given to the posts in that series. Let me just add some (hopefully constructive) feedback on your posts, as I have in the past, and which you have enjoyed. I'm not sure of the reason behind this, but I am just better able to "get" the works you put out which have an AUDIO component - including the spoken word poetry pieces, and your awesome beatboxing pieces. I think that a few of reasons for this include : that it feels like the audio readings of your poems significantly reveal all of the nuances of your writing (such as : pace, intonation, pronunciation, etc.) which it is difficult - or perhaps nearly IMPOSSIBLE - to convey via the written word. I KNOW that you make use of various stylistic tools in your written poems, but I just think that the audio format NATURALLY and EASILY brings these elementsto the forefront of your pieces. Secondly, it may be because I am a highly "auditory" person, as well as a musician/composer, and so the autio pieces just naturally "resonate" (pun intended) with me on numerous levels. So, I am going to be on the lookout specifically for your spoken word poetry and beatboxing posts, which I will likely include in the posting routine of my campaign. The #dsound tag is CHOCK FULL of gems of all things auditory. I would also like to suggest/request that you try to do more of those excellent beatboxing posts. Those are REALLY funky, and not many people are doing that. Finally, I just wanted to say that I have been following your "poetry class" posts, and think that you are really doing great work with that. Education seems to be a forte of yours, amongst other things. Keep up the good work, and I will continue tweeting out some of the audio works you put out which resonate well with me...
Hola amigo, siempre he escuchado que los sueños son: Simplemente reflejos del sub- conciente que revelan todas y cada una de nuestras vivencias desde que nacemos hasta el presente. Este tema es super interesante, al igual que la hermosa poesia que la antecede. Un saludo para usted.
Well that was a delight to read. I often think that single greatest disadvantage humans face is a lack of sleep. The ability to sleep and dream our fill ... lucid or otherwise ... heals almost all ills and bolsters so much creativity. I dream lucidly from time to time but confess, I prefer to be surprised by my dreams.
I have always been a traveller, Though my feet had stopped walking. I have always been a traveller, as in my mind, I have been to million places I didn't know it existed.
"After all: deep, restful sleep is important as well. Lucid dreams are more invigorating than restful per se."
Very true! I adore the conclusion to your notes. I feel relatively, but had not yet fully come to such conclusion. Your perspective is genuinely appreciated. Thanks for sharing.
Your plume is still quietly fine my friend, It feels nostalgic knowing you still keep writing in these platform and now i'm back on-track after months of laziness!!!
Good riddance my friend!
Hey @d-pend! I am coming to realize that I really resonate MOST with your pieces which include an audio component to them. Your spoken word poems add some dimension which I need for the words to come to life more for me. The pauses, stresses, intonation, etc. add additional sensory information to the work. Therefore, I am trying to focus on consuming and sharing (like this one, via Twitter : https://steemit.com/dsound/@d-pend/20180604t022546426z-i-have-always-been-a-traveler specifically your spoken word poems and beatboxing music. Maybe it's because I am a poet and musician as well, and this is why I need the audio dimension to really "get" these pieces. But if you continue to put out the spoken word and beatboxing music pieces I am happy to continue sharing them as part of my ongoing "Steemit-Twitter Marketing Campaign". Keep it up...
Proof-of-reposting-to-WeKuBeing a traveller is fun when you have such an amazing poem aside you :)