Sunday, April 25, 2010

stripping and putting on

 

I always felt like a bird blown through the world.
I never felt like a tree.

I never wanted a patch of this earth to stand in,
that would stick to me.

I wanted to move by whatever throb my muscles
sent to me.

I never cared for cars, that crawled on land or
air or sea.

If I rode, I'd rather another animal: horse, camel,
or shrewd donkey.

Never needed a nest, unless for the night, or when
winter overtook me.

Never wanted an extra skin between mine and the sun,
for vanity or modesty.

Would rather not have parents, had no yen for a child,
and never felt brotherly.

But I'd borrow or lend love of friend. Let friend be
not stronger or weaker than me.

Never hankered for Heaven, or shield from a Hell,
or played with the puppets Devil and Deity.

I never felt proud as one of the crowd under
the flag of a country.

Or felt that my genes were worth more or less than beans,
by accident of ancestry.

Never wished to buy or sell. I would just as well
not touch money.

Never wanted to own a thing that wasn't I born with.
Or to act by a fact not discovered by me.

I always felt like a bird blown through the world.
But I would like to lay

the egg of a world in a nest of calm beyond
this world's storm and decay.

I would like to own such wings as light speeds on,
far from this globule of night and day.

I would like to be able to put on, like clothes,
the bodies of all those

creatures and things hatched under the wings
of that world.

-by May Swenson
-----

Hi Folks, There's something about this poem I identify with.  I dream a lot about flying.  But it also confuses me.  I don't think I understand the end. 

Parts of this poem led me to read about my astrology sign this morning, Gemini, which I do periodically.  My birthday, by the way, is 6/7/67.  Cool, no?  I had my chart read once and it was really fascinating and I do believe there is truth in it.  Do you?  I am absolutely restless and mutable.  I can be critical of others.  I love to learn.  It's true that I am both sympathetic and detached.  Full of contradictions.  This one bit made me stop and think, "Your emotions are on a more mental than feeling level."  Not exactly a compliment but I can see truth in it.  I also do enjoy people but at heart I am independent.  This can be a challenge.

So have you ever had your astrological chart read?  What do you think about it and what are your defining characteristics?

PS- the photo is of Siberia in summer.

7 comments:

Chloe said...

I'm a Sagittarius 12-05-68. I do think there is some truth in astrology, though I don't follow it in the way some people do. I'm also mutable and aspirational. Prone to over-confidence sometimes, and generally good-natured and trusting. I used to cry every time I heard that song "I'm like a bird" by Nelly Furtado, because I was like a bird for so long. Never roosting, always flying. Now I'm very interested in laying down roots and am much more comfortable with having a real home base from whence to fly and then return. Also, happy coincidence, your birthday is exactly the same as my best bud Emily's. Maybe that's why I like your posts so much. :)

Poem: is she saying she's beyond this world, like a god or something, and that the world is her mantle or maybe, I dunno.

ethanollie said...

for better and worse I am a virgo through and through 9-3-1970 (who married a gemini)

perfectionist
worrier
lover of calm and order
realist

and funnily enough "lover of the country life, but would make a bad farmer due to obsessive cleanliness"... which goes a bit far, but you get the picture. i DO garden in my bare feet and without gloves after all ;)

littlebyrd said...

I love astrology. I get a daily one in my email and can hardly wait to open it each day :) I'm Aquarius 1/28/73. Inaccesible, loyal, independent, critical.
Fun post! I like reading about everyone else's sign.

Sarah Ryhanen said...

astrology has helped me (in some really tough times) understand myself, my motivations, my relationships. it is an invaluable tool for me (leo sun, aquarius moon, and a whole lot of stupid Saturn shit to boot)

dear gemini; i always love your musings

Anonymous said...

fellow gemini here. i've never had an official reading. i am friends with someone who could, and though she hasn't (i've never asked), she understands things about me that i have yet to tell her or sometimes recognize myself - and when she points them out, she's always right.
the few things i've read re. geminis have been accurate. i don't know if i take comfort in that, or if i resent it.

astulabee/nicole said...

cancer 7.11.72 "Although they love people, they have the temperament of a loner." yep and "more concerned with how they feel about their lives than how successful they are." I'm a feeler.
I always think everyone else's signs sound cooler, more admirable...or that could just be the after effects of hearing my guy shout "Aries #1!" too many times. (we are an odd match, astrologically speaking!)

Liane said...

Posy- Well, say hello to Emily for me! Sameyear even? Awesome. Also like your poem interpretation. I agree except maybe not "god or something" just not quite earthly.

Kim- Just knowing you via the internet I can see that you are those things! I garden barefoot, too. But not flowers like you. I suck with flowers.

Rebekah- My lovely aquarius. I knew an aquarius with those same qualities.

Sarah- Glad to hear you subscribe. You know I love your musings. Sense of humor is important to us Geminis.
Up and down- I really love being a Gemini actually, but it's not an easy sign. We are complicated folk. :)

Nicole- Feelings are good. I think I can see you are that. I don't know a lot of Cancers. But be proud of your sign, baby! xo