for every step you take
doors of possibilities are closed
as other opens up
you’re strong and young
with songs that leads you on
on convoluted paths
silently converging into one – until
you reach the last lighthouse
sitting on its precipice
you sit a little while
and realize you’ve reached
that lonely point
where you once began
Cabo da Roca .. from wikimedia commons
This is a poem for Real Toads, doing old prompts again. I have chosen the one by Kerry on the garden of forking paths (Jorge Louis Borges. I have not read that particular concept, but it’s about all these choices we can make, and it’s consequences. I will also link this to Poetry Pantry
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August 23, 2014
Björn Rudbergs writings 
I like the idea that the last landmark will be a lighthouse. I am not so sure about the precipice though.
the beginning folds itself into its end.
Very profound – I like the lyrical quality to your poetic voice here.
Grin. Certainly it corresponds to the same point. But isn’t it–or you–a little higher?
I once had a wise man tell me that you won’t find anything anywhere else that you can’t find right where you are. So for me no surprise that he’s right back at his lonely point again. (He may never escape it.)
and realize you’ve reached
that lonely point
where you once began
As often in life one seeks to see and to reach out but the sad truth is that when one comes to the end of the road one is still searching. Great thoughts Bjorn!
Hank
I like it, most of the time what we want to reach is in our hands.
I love the mental image of the lighthouse standing in this window, door and path poem.
This reminds me of a poem by Keats…the speaker there followed his nose to the North & from England he reached Scotland where he found everything was same as it was in England even “That lead / Was as weighty, / That fourscore / Was as eighty / As in England”…i think journey itself is more important & worthy than reaching a destination….
that’s nice – the Keats bit. He really played about with language.
Bjorn, We have to realize that there are some things that are never finished. There are always new beginnings. Well-written piece. 🙂 —Susan
…that lonely point where you once began.
That is really cool – but maybe “lonely” won’t mean the same thing – I used to think “solitude” the same thing when I was young – but now I know the difference. (there I go, trying to turn a sad ending into a happy ending 🙂
In this case I selected loneliness over solitude to give it a tone of melancholy.. It’s interesting how those two words would change the meaning of the hole poem
they say only the lonely can really see…
maybe because they have no-one to talk to 🙂
Thoughtful. And hits home, much too closely.
The begin and end are the same despite the sadness that this must convey. Neither are important it is what we did in between that counts.
I admire the circular path your words have weaved ~ To walk to the last lighthouse sitting on its precipice, only to discover you are back to where you started ~ But this is reality of life, we are always taken back to the starting line ~ Have a good Sunday Bjorn ~
its like ouroboros….the snake that wraps back around to its tale…how frustrating at times to realize we have come full circle…until we figure out a new way…
I really like the idea of a lighthouse being at both the beginning and the end of a journey.
I echo Grace’s comment about the starting line…The Greek Gods like having a laugh at a mere mortal’s expense.
lovely ponderings Bjorn, luv the “convoluted paths”; thanks for stopping over at my blog
much love…
no matter where you go, there you are – paths always lead back to ourselves – loved the idea of the guiding lighthouse K
love this! it goes out to everyone who has ever strived for the best until they find out that it is lonely being at the top. Creative writing at its best.
Jamztoma
Jamztoma.blogspot.com
Yes sometimes you must go back to the beginning.
This sounds to me like someone who feels lost and has no direction, going around in circles, and ending up right where they started ~ a great metaphor for that type of lonely feeling.
I have a great love for lighthouses, there lonely locations speak to my inner hermit, and also say so much about life lived on the edge of nowhere. Yours is an outstanding detail in this poem.
Oops! Wrong their!
Beautiful write! This is/was me in all of my early years–and maybe again now–
gosh that first line just slammed that Police song (“Every Breath You Take”) into my brain and then underscored it with your reference to song. not sure that’s what you were going for but i can’t escape it now! trapped… like in a maze, or a lighthouse!
beautiful… the lonely points in our lives lend us time for thought speculation inspiration and most of all for ourselves..
Really like the ending of this piece. Devastatingly real in its simplicity.
Elizabeth
http://soulsmusic.wordpress.com/
This reminds me of the book by Jon Kabat-Zinn who wrote the book “Wherever You Go, There You Are.” Love the lighthouse looking out…at the possibilities.
This is beautiful. Yes, I like how it begins at the lighthouse and ends with returning to it.
Bjorn, this reminds me of our “The MTA Song,” where the train rider (Charley) can never get off. He keeps going and going, round and round. I know you enjoyed writing it. 🙂
..
Interesting Bjorn as the journey begins and ends with light where we all stand alone.
Ha–we do tend to relive patterns and tendencies, even when we think we are moving far away from ourselves. So true. k.
i tend to think of lighthouses as hope.
loved the thoughts expressed in this poem. 🙂
Love the image of lighthouse! and this idea of coming to where you started can be interpreted in different ways…I feel in some way this is true not for everyone…from another point of view: be happy as where we started with minimum at our hands and more turned inward of our inner truth – it’s all we need…~ Thanks for the idea :)x
How true…
Does that loneliness gives happiness or…?