Standing Barefoot on Rocky Ground

The winds of change are blowing as I walk warily over the long rocky pathway...There's something in the ethereal air that leaves my soul unsettled, grasping for an evocative stability that eludes me..

Come walk with me a mile...

Walk on without our burden’s weighty shoes,

warily trudging over the long rocky

pathway of a lifetime in my soul,

a final liberating voyage to freedom.

The winds of change are blowing briskly

as we walk charily over the long

rock-strewn passageway.

I shed these boots and skin, no longer fitting

my scared, blistered and calloused soles.

As time has slowly passed

the pebbled passage has evolved from two ways

into one-way jagged forage…

 

Standing barefooted and naked on rocky ground,

dark sunken sleepless eyes scan

the rolling vista view as the wind blows 

dust from the halo around the sun

blurring the delicate wispy cirrus clouds.  

The sun’s radiance paints frozen ice crystals

into a vivid aura of prisms’ glittering corona

of rainbows around the closest of solar stars.

There's something in the ethereal air

that leaves my soul unsettled,

grasping for an evocative

stability that eludes me...

 

The pain and suffering has vanished 

as if the body and soul have separated, 

numbness from severed nerves

sharp reflection on serrated edges,

deadened useless flesh cut to the bone

by misjudging obstacles once too often.  

The barefooted soul travels on, suffused

in the solar rainbow dust

yearning, longing to saunter

above and beyond the feathery pillows

of cumulus clouds finally resting at peace. 

Dipping the numbed toes and heart’s lesions

into a healing bath of stardust...

 

An unfinished life

of an open ended dream

reluctantly waking to take the last and final

steps timidly taken alone.

A long and winding rocky journey’s end draws near as the halo around the moon

illuminates understanding 

of pending imminent soulful rain.

The shower of tears that shall mourn

the loss of body as the soul lives on,

eternally, barefooted, naked and free

like the dust in the wind

at last... 

Reviews

[. serah .]

@ narrator (read the narrator of this piece)

i would willingly walk with you
you know of the soul's ways
you know of nature's soul
and you know where paths
take us to dreams and beyond
the body and mind are but instruments
it is consciousness that rules and reigns
for what you speak of
reaches my consciousness
in an instant
i am a traveler
much like you
i have unfinished dreams
and a puzzling life
i am not averse to death
for each day i die
to reconstruct me
with greater precision
to notice the details of my ways
to weed out my biases and prejudices
and to do my best to emerge divine
and then when i meet travelers
along the way
i sigh
thankful
that i'm not alone

[SyberRose]

I really love this barefoot and naked poem...I was looking for you but you were hiding in the trees haa. and I couldnt find you...beautifully written Harlon...loved it.

[Harlon Rivers]

Would it surprise you to know this is one of the favorite poems I have ever written? It is good to have undiscoverable traits but this one speaks volumes. I am glad you found it...There is probably a few dozen more getting dusty in my unpublished manage writing zone here, written about this same time period. Maybe I need to do some spring cleaning ~

[Cassie Fraga]

AWE STRUCK..... kept me wrapped from beginning to end!! you pen with so much soul and I appreciate that!! **tips my lyrical wand to you** that was an AMAZING WRITE!!

[Urosh D. Stojanovic]

What a write! It's raw, beautiful, pure. I don't know which part I liked the most, every part of is great.

I don't need to tell you this but, just keep writing, fantastic poem!

[SecretShadow]

i enjoyed this one, it was almost peaceful, yet sad too.

[PerlySunflower]

Well you've done it Harlon...left me speechless...this is absolutely one of my favorites of yours...Such depth...I especially like the last two stanza's...touched me deeply...Amazing piece

[Myth]

wow, this is truly beautiful, I've read it about five times over and it feels so familiar, I know I haven't read it before, maybe it's the journey inside the write that feels like a long lost friend....the weight is gone, all the things that held you back. It feels like finally coming to terms with the path you had to walk alone...a path of self realization...I absolutely love this write.

[Brittany]

Wow. Exceptional piece...a couple of misspellings. I just loved the words, phrasing, and images. Very imaginative and beautiful. I echo all the other reviewers compliments.

[Neva Flores - Changeful..]

I shed these boots and skin, no longer fitting..... An unfinished life of an open ended dream reluctantly waking to take the last and final steps timidly taken alone. Astonishment..........what a poem Harlon. Bravo.

[joshua deathdealer]

This is fantastic!! You have used the natural world to convey a important message. Several messages for me..lol. This is brilliant man.. Absolutely brilliant.

[†Tracey†]

Eternally barefoot in body mind and soul, I can relate to your every word. Your dust is the glitter that shines for all.