On the Road … Again

Like links in a chain
I was strung out
somewhere between
those merry little elves
reaching for the light
and the servants of pain
dwelling in the dark
Having spent
a lifetime bent
circling the extreme
of an astral plain
within a fevered brain
headed down the drain
The ecstasy
and the insanity
Yet the message was sent
Called by name . . .
“Be wholly sane!
And man …
don’t forget to repent!
You’ll never be the same.”

No doubt
just what that meant
Setting my face like flint
for a Kingdom event
with a newborn glint
High time to quit
that losing game
For now I’m tapping
a flowing vein
I know not
from whence it came?
Hope, faith, and love
… what a surprise !
Making it nice
A savage beast to tame
A miracle to my eyes
Should I try to refrain
or fly the friendly skies?
To wrestle the pestle
in a mortar of spice
seasoned to death
with morphia and lies?
A bite
of bitter delight
is that free lunch
courtesy of Hell’s Kitchen
With hungry me
never counting the cost
Justice is a dessert
slow in coming

Throughout
all the pleasure
of plundered treasure
and all the pain
beyond mortal measure
there was never anyone else
but myself to blame
A head
in the jaws
of a heavy metal vice
Has the best of what’s left
all been spent
or left for last
on just one throw of the dice?

The spirit aflame
The soul yet to tame
The body to rust
For I do enjoy the high
of skating around
upon this quest majesté
To gracefully glide
and at times
awkwardly slide
across the thin ice
of a cosmic jest
Always by my side
an honoured guest
who’s paid the price
for me to be
in this roller derby
of a high stakes game
All wisdom to gain
Holy mindfulness
beyond earthly wealth
and fleeting fame
With peace
unsurpassed
the welcoming host
reaching out
to a world that’s lost

That’s me
between the black
and the white
hopping the tracks
of a midnight train
coming into sight
and heading out
on the road again

Words & Artwork:
David B. Redpath © 2018 – 2020

“I will bring the blind by a way
that they don’t know. I will lead
them in paths that they don’t know.
I will make darkness light before
them, and crooked places straight.
I will do these things, and I will
not forsake them.”

~ Book of Isaiah

Photography;
Linda & David Redpath © 2018-2020

193 thoughts on “On the Road … Again”

  2. Did you paint that!? Its incredible. The post too is so well written.
    Happy writing!
    Check out my blog, if you can give some suggestions , that would be great.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

      1. hey! My name is Ananya…. “ananvats” is just my user name.
        You really have a great talent. Keep Going!
        Award winning Blogger will be too experienced ….someone like normal crowds opinion is much better for me. I value your opinion. Thank you. ….My blog looks professional, is it a good thng or a bad thing!?

        Liked by 2 people

      2. To each their own Ananya .
        A professional look is in the eye of the blogger.
        I’ve kept things simple as I’m a technophobe,
        and could do no other. But I have admired the
        graphic wizardry achieved on some sites.
        I feel it’s the Art that is paramount, the content.
        Be it the written word, or graphic expression.
        ( Or the call to rebellion )
        The rest is window dressing. And The content
        should be You. Your freedom of expression boldly
        on display. Short and sweet, or long but relevant.
        For there are plenty just chatting away …
        and time on line is a precious commodity.
        All the best Ananya. I’ll be reading you in the future.
        ~ David R.

        Like

  9. … counting the cost
    and heading out
    on the road … again: I love how this ends. Being on the road again –that’s what life is all about. And counting the cost is wisdom.

    And this is a very good painting!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

      10. It was ‘Vegan Now’ magazine, loudly declaring,
        don’t eat snail or cow 🐄.
        That meat is a bad scene.
        No escargot
        for this little duck!
        With my meagre cuisine
        them snails of Paris
        and those cows of Texas
        are truly in luck.
        Garlic butter
        best for cooking pasta.

        Liked by 1 person

      19. Still using that old thing? Adds some color, I suppose. I’ve moved on to the vacuum cleaner. Much faster, and shows you’re keeping up with what’s new in the profession.

        Liked by 2 people

      23. I do! I found out that if you pay for things, it’s easier to shake off the stigma of the evil witch, and be more accepted by society (good for business!)

        Besides, I can always turn myself into a big bully later, beat them up and take the money back. And no one suspects it was me.

        Liked by 2 people

      38. The Wicked Witch of the
        West feared the Chairman, but really, he was just a big
        pussy 🐱. She then tried
        to panda 🐼 to him, but he
        toyed with her, like a cat
        plays with a rat 🐀.

        Liked by 1 person

      40. That would be more burden
        than poor Eric could handle !
        For sometimes …
        I feel a little mad
        Every mother’s son
        Playing the angle
        But don’t you know
        that no one alive
        can always be an angel

        Liked by 1 person

      42. Eric Burdon and the Animals.
        They had a big hit with
        ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’
        back in the 60’s.
        Sorry Basilike, I forgot that you’re way too young to have made the connection.

        Liked by 1 person

      1. I love black & white photography, and i try to pick the right ones for the texts… The one on dark night is breathless.. ❤
        My artwork is on facebook only, not here… but is so simple compaired to yours…

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Who told you that, Bojana?!
      That was my guilty little beat
      secret.
      But the road does, at times,
      get seriously tedious.
      That’s why it is reserved for
      the rambunctious free spirit.
      You never see old people
      hitching a ride.
      But perhaps that’s the wisdom
      of surviving a ride on the
      wild side?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  21. If you decide to go out on the road again, where would you go, David? Do you have a destination in mind or just a journey? You have a wife, will you take her along, or would short hop for you that she herself might want to skip?

    The last stanza raises so many questions. Maybe there’s another poem there with the answers?

    Of the three poems I’ve read on your blog, I like best this one. I think that’s for the message, the questions at the end.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks for taking the time
      to read, and comment, Paul.
      These days I always travel with
      the love of my life, Lindy.
      We are both free range
      anthropologists, not tourists.
      So, for us, travel is a must.
      We are heading to Nepal &
      India next, with friends who’ve
      lived in that part of the world.
      I was a Buddha child, in the house of Zen, so it will be
      for me like a spiritual
      homecoming. I now know
      the King returning. So, with
      my loving wife, life is a win.
      Thanks Paul for asking.

      Like

      Reply

    1. I think maybe, the spot
      hit me.Thanks for taking the journey.

      ‘Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change, a bridge across our fears of what has never been before’.
      ~ Audre Lorde

      Like

      Reply

  25. Great post …some Willie Nelson lyrics … On the Road Again!
    Just can’t wait to get on the road again
    The life I love is makin’ music with my friends
    And I can’t wait to get on the road again
    On the road again
    Goin’ places that I’ve never been
    Seein’ things that I may never see again,
    And I can’t wait to get on the road again.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  26. the astral plain of your canvas terrain
    light and life, softness with edge,
    a bit of laughter and a lot of serious
    black and white and shades of grey, but bright with colour
    and not at all tedious.
    that’s the way, uh-huh uh-huh
    i like it. :))

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  29. Brilliance, Vibrance, Intelligence, Vision, Experience, and Understanding is what your writing brings to thought. ‘All wisdom to gain
    beyond wealth and fame’…Yes!!
    Is that you that has been knocking at my poetry door? Wasn’t sure. The ‘B’ threw me for a loop.🤔 David, your writing is a journey in itself! ✌️

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you most sincerely
      for that generous commentary 🙏

      Yes, I’ve been a knockin’ ..
      as the world keeps a rockin’ 🌎
      Seeking a shot of Mythology.
      Negotiating the ins & outs
      of WordPress isn’t easy
      for a technophobe on the run🏃
      Apparently there are a few
      of me out in cyberspace, so
      I added the B. to distinguish
      the real me 🤔

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Ahha! The ‘B’redentials to true identity, who knew the proof was in the ‘B’? Knock no more to an open door, and be or not to be!😀 You’re welcome David! Safe travels and happy trails👟👟👟👟👟👟

        Liked by 1 person

  30. “High time to quit
    that losing game
    For now I’m tapping
    a flowing vein”
    I agree with Nadine for the most part. The combination of serialized humor is totally awesome. Each sentence is able to drag shadows beyond the darkness, into the blue.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Been cruising at ground level Zero
      with an attitude of high altitude.
      Just about at the end of my bungee
      rope, so with a prayer of hope, I’ll
      soon be touching down in Hometown.
      Thanks Katy for your positive energy 🙏

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Yes Anna, I think Bob Dylan said it best;

      Counterfeited philosophies
      have polluted all of your thoughts.
      Karl Marx has got ya by the throat,
      Henry Kissinger’s got you tied up
      in knots.

      You got innocent men in jail,
      your insane asylums are filled.
      You got unrighteous doctors
      dealing drugs that’ll never
      cure your ills.

      You got men who can’t hold their peace
      and woman who can’t control their tongues.
      The rich seduce the poor
      and the old are seduced by the young.

      Adulterers in churches
      and pornography in the schools.
      You got gangsters in power
      and lawbreakers making rules.

      Spiritual advisors and gurus
      to guide your every move.
      Instant inner peace and every step
      you take has got to be approved.

      Do you ever wonder just what God requires?
      You think He’s just an errand boy to satisfy your wandering desires.

      You can’t take it with you and you know
      that it’s too worthless to be sold.
      They tell you, ‘Time is money’ as if your
      life was worth its weight in gold.

      There’s a man up on a cross
      and He’s been crucified for you.
      Believe in His power that’s about all
      you got to do.

      When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up
      When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain ?

      ~ Bob Dylan (When You Gonna Wake Up)

      Like

      Reply

    1. Indian rail commuters, in winter.
      So they’re all wearing those puffer
      jackets. Being a mostly Hindu
      country, leather is not in fashion.
      The compromise is in the footwear.
      Leather sandals are apparently OK?
      I once had a neighbour who was a
      plain clothed undercover policeman.
      He did his job so well he ended up
      addicted to heroin. True story, Peter.
      Needless to say his employer really
      looked after him, after he got the sack
      (they didn’t. I’m just being sarcastic).

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. So they didn’t all suddenly turn on you with (previously concealed) pointed guns screaming to a man, ‘Freeze! Put your hands in the air!’ ? Of course not. Just my imagination. That was a good movie, The French Connection.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Different continent, Popeye.
        (I was detained for questioning
        by the ‘Tourist Police’ in Delhi,
        but that’s a whole other story 😎)
        I had just disembarked off the
        midnight from Jaipur to Udaipur, travelling wirh a few friends from
        Australia, in a crowded train with
        no other western tourists. I think
        it must’ve been unusual, as people
        were staring at us and asking if we
        were lost?

        Like

      3. I was once detained, no, I lie, several times throughout my life, I was detained by cops, for no other reason then their bloody-mindedness. Once in Ireland when I was on a moped and a squad car screeched to a stop in front of me and four burly bullies in blue brought tears of sadness to my old eyes; another time in Milan when the Italian equivalent (but in plain-clothes) brought their Fiat to a halt in front of me and began to harass me… agh… pathetic… pity them for they know not what they do.

        Liked by 1 person

  41. That is a beautiful painting. I cannot decipher what you were going after, but it surely is loaded in allegory. Especially the lips over the candle. Stunning, especially the idea.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. Well it’s better you leave interpretation to the admirer. I see so much in the painting although it points to this inner void of some sort. Maybe that’s what it was, maybe it wasn’t, but you really got me thinking.
        Have a colorful day

        Liked by 1 person

  45. This is a fascinating poem…sounds like you’re a Christian wild man, which Jesus would surely enjoy 🙂 But it’s possible I’ve misread the whole piece. At any rate, no offense meant from this very vanilla Christian old lady.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. Nice to meet you, Brother–I’m aware that you’ve visited my various blogs, so I offer my belated “thank you’s”. May you be abundantly blessed😇.

        Liked by 1 person

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