Paul Willason Poet Free verse

Bottlebrush and Greyhound

There are times
when I long to move
beyond the edges of myself
as when, this morning, alongside 
the power station fence,
I passed under a red cloud 
of bottlebrush flowers
dripping nectar in a frenzy
of birds feeding on the sticky
clusters overhead,
too high for me to reach 
and plunge my hand
deep into the pure joy 
of that crimson feast.

And when a greyhound,
let loose from its leash, 
ran past me with such speed 
and grace, I longed to be 
its stride, the power propelling 
it across the grass 
and into the distance, turning
in the wide arc 
of its own happiness.
I would have given anything
to dissolve into its bounding
freedom, undone from my leash
of old age and the slow shuffle
of aching feet. 
There are times 
when I long to move
beyond the edges of myself,
if only for a moment.

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Daniel Henry Rodgers April 24, 2024 at 5:28 AM Hello Paul, I felt a profound sense of longing for liberation and transcendence. The imagery of the bottlebrush flowers, dripping with nectar as birds frenzy overhead, evoked a visceral yearning to break free from the confines of the self and immerse in the pure joy of nature's abundance. I loved how in these moments, you have captured the universal longing to transcend one's limitations, if only for a fleeting moment, and experience the boundless expanse of existence. - Blessings, Daniel Paul Willason April 25, 2024 at 6:26 AM As always Daniel a thoughtful, sensitive and almost forensic summary....my gratitude for the time you kindly give to this and my other poems in reading and providing such informed commentary. Sincere thanks.