Like a Rising Stone

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Like a Rising Stone

A time to live
to seek
to be found
to hear truth
how sweet the sound
Veritas
to be tasted
To love
and to be loved
Without it
a lifetime
truly wasted

For once upon a time
you would drift so fine
crossing the line
past your prime
Didn’t you?
Within the spin
of a freefall
you heard the call
but yet you felt
to open the door
to the One for all
was somehow beneath you
You used to laugh about
everybody that was reaching out
Now you don’t talk so loud
upon your mobile cloud
Now you don’t seem so so proud
scrounging around
for some last minute exit deal

Now how does it feel?
Tell me … how does it feel
to be on your own
into the great unknown
with no direction home
downhill and alone
like a rolling stone?

Always . . .
the cat walking
stalking and talking
the survival fit
Nobody ever taught you
how to seek
the meek discreet
now you find
looking behind
you shoulda oughta
have sought after it
You used to fly so high
with your raptor pack
as on a vulture’s wing
circling after
some drive-by snack
whilst speed feeding
that link missing
upon your back
Ain’t it hard
when you discover that
mother lovin’ really wasn’t
where he’s at
after he took from you
everything he could steal

Now how does it feel
holding a dead man’s hand
with no cards left to deal?
Like an unpaid loan
to a creditor unknown
serving a vanquished throne
Like a sinking stone

Never saw through
that mystery guru
as he blew
voodoo smoke at you
Never understood
that it ain’t no good
you shouldn’t let
old men in robes
… and suits
get your truths for you
Those spurious priests
with hearts of stone
and their religious yeast
that’ll strip you
down to the bone
Are mere illusions
glittering delusions
of lightning sky diamonds
to be your chosen prize?
Will you never recognise
the question burning
before your eyes?
The splendour
of higher nature
calls even the fallen
and broken to arise
To win forever
a treasure
beyond all measure
or to ever
just compromise
with Lucy in disguise
who supplies you
all your false alibis
as you pray over
a vacuum of old lies
and say
you’ve found a new way
of keeping it real
and how
absolutely everything
is just so surreal!
If all those paths
lead to paradise … Hun
how come you’ve become
such a mess
whilst dumpster diving
you’re last meal?

Now … how does it feel?
Tell me … how does it feel
to be without a home
exposed and prone
like to a pointed bone?

Another people’s princess
of bewilderness
roaming
rolling
and stoning
the great waylaid
How you gonna lay waste
how you gonna lie straight
now that your bed is made?
Reflections of magnificence
and all precious gifts
to you God gave
But who took and broke
your token innocence
then went and pawned it Babe?
You used to be so amused
by the man of faith
and the language that he used
Go to him now
he calls you
How could you refuse?
Truth for the seeker
dazed and confused
Restoration divine
for the broken and bruised
Liberation sublime
for the captive accused
A right and royal refuge
for the used and abused
When you’ve got nothing
you’ve got nothing to lose
You’re transparent to him
You’ve got no secrets to conceal

For I know how it feels
Lord … I know how it feels
to be on your own
in despair
threadbare and prone
like a seed unsown
by a wild wind blown
places mother
would never condone
beyond all flesh and bone
like the dial tone
of a disconnected phone
Lost within a floating stone

Yet found . . . to find
you are not alone
There is a King
upon the throne
with the directions home
The way being shown
out from a twilight zone
All curses broken and thrown
like weeds being mown
A mighty tree being grown
from just a seed that is sown
upon the Rock …
like a rising stone

Words & Images;
David B. Redpath © 2017-2025

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Hearing the Roar at An Stòr

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Isle of Skye in the Beholder’s Eye

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The Outstanding Stones of Stenness

New Morning Uluru

52 thoughts on “Like a Rising Stone”

  2. “Never saw through
    that mystery guru
    as he blew
    voodoo smoke at you
    Never understood
    that it ain’t no good
    you shouldn’t let
    old men in robes
    … and suits”

    Riveting! 😁

    Liked by 9 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks for that positive rivet 😎
      Yes, one should never let a fraud
      get between you and God’s truth.
      Otherwise you’re allowing a
      charlatan, or a hypocrite, to be
      closer to God than yourself.

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply

  3. Wow! what a rich feast for the eyes and ears; cereblations for the brain; eat your heart out, Dylan: this is vast and ambitious; my fave section is Not listening to those old men in robes and suits; but so many quotable lines; one reading is not enough 🙂

    Liked by 9 people

    Reply

    1. Multiple imbibing is the highest
      form of literary flattery, John.
      Greatly appreciated.
      I do like to stand on the giant
      shoulders of Poet Laureates, to
      question the wind, and even try
      to catch it 😎

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply

  10. That is some wonderful work there! It has to be one of my favourite songs from back then.
    The rhythm of the poetry is so upbeat in itself that I can imagine Dylan singing it onstage and people not knowing!
    Wonderful work David. (not to forget the psychedelic ‘artwork’ in the end.)

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Greatly appreciated, Shanyu.
      I was privileged enough to see
      the Poet Laureate of Rock in
      concert a few times before his
      voice hit the gravel … and a
      couple of times after.

      Like

      Reply

    1. Thank you, Joni 🙏💛
      The first few photos were taken
      in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 on the Isle of Skye,
      and the Orkney Islands. Of course,
      the big rock is Uluru, in the dead
      centre of Australia 🇦🇺 😎

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Wow I would love to visit there some day. The photographs were amazing. We love the show OutLander which is filmed in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 and what a beautiful place. I bet it gets very hot in the center of Australia. Thank you for sharing. ❤️🤗

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Best time to visit the Scottish
        Highlands is summer 🥶 just
        as winter (the dry season) is the
        only time to visit the red centre
        of Australia ☀️During the wet
        season 💦 it’s way too hot 🥵 and
        the crocs 🐊 go prowling. They
        can’t resist the exotic taste of
        foreign tourist 😎

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Thank you for telling me. I wouldn’t want to be sampled by the starving crocs. The photographs make it look beautiful and I bet you took lots of photographs. I would love to go to Scotland. Perhaps someday. I would love to travel more. Blessings to you and your family. Hugs 🤗 Joni

        Liked by 1 person

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    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  15. Pingback: Like a Rising Stone – Precious walkingshadow

    1. Greatly appreciated, Tanmay 🙏
      I started this piece as a simple
      one verse hommage to Bob Dylan,
      but it then seemed to take on a
      life of it’s own 🤔 🕶️
      Thanks for rambling through my
      poem like a roll a rolling stone 😎

      the painter covers the surface
      a preoccupation
      the artist captures
      what lies beneath
      riding high on creation
      the genius driven
      by an all consuming passion
      to plumbs the depths
      chasing divine inspiration
      whilst dissecting reality
      with the tooth of a dragon
      grasping
      an inexplicable explanation
      to light the flame
      before they could run
      Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali
      doing art school in Spain
      the entertainer
      offers temporary relief
      some light distraction
      extraverted conflict
      a cracked actor honing his craft
      with the tooth of a dragon
      from James Dean to Kurt Cobain
      your choice
      a sports car or a shotgun
      loaded karma
      splashed with trauma
      too heavy for some
      Andy Warhol on the run
      Lou Reed meets David Bowie
      a cultural transformation
      since Mick Jagger
      can’t get no satisfaction
      with the tooth of a dragon

      … and then there’s Bob Dylan
      who skinned the dragon
      after chasing it to the gates of Eden

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. I shall comment to you in verse
        From this moment on
        If you don’t mind, that is…
        It’s so much more fun!
        It might take longer
        To craft a response
        But I think it’s worth
        The effort

        Liked by 1 person

      3. The turning Byrds
        Ponder at your words
        Old Father Time
        Will need to climb
        That Mount of non-temporality
        Sooner or later
        Verse seems to beget more thoughts
        than simple constructed sentences
        White spaces between like baby cots
        Is it the mind or the soul nursing these musings?
        Only time will tell 😎
        I wonder what a dialogue would sound like
        Outside time…
        Too complex a mystery for me to ponder
        But even a small understanding of it
        Leads me to believe every prayer is heard and answered
        Just maybe not right now
        Thank you for the conversation, David
        Time and linearity will be my evening meditation 🧘‍♂️

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Yes, creative poetry is evidence
        of a higher reality, glimpsed 👁️
        in a fleeting flash of artistic poetic
        neural activity ⚡🌈🌀🫧❄️😎

        May the peacocks 🦚 dance
        with your every arrival, Tanmay
        May the Eagles of Imagination
        glide you high upon the thermals
        far beyond the Doors of Oblivion
        as you ride the Storm of Revelation 🙏

        “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but
        then face to face. Now I know in part;
        then I shall know fully, even as I have
        been fully known.” ~ Paul of Tarsus

        Liked by 1 person

      5. Wait, what happened?
        Your comment exploded
        The tooth of the dragon is probably
        Infecting WordPress with its fell magic
        The state of affairs on this platform is tragic
        Thanks for the video too
        It’s been a while since
        I listened to something new 🎶 🎵

        Liked by 1 person

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