Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Oh Captain! My Captain!

Robin Williams' Dead Poet Society character John Keating once said, ~To quote from Whitman, 'O me! O life! Of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?' Answer: That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?~ If you think about it, the powerful play that is life itself gives each one of us the opportunity to most definitely contribute a verse that is deemed meaningful and so impactful it lingers on for years to come. For it's a verse or verses that certainly have different variations indeed as we all try to eloquently put into our own poetic words, which can be quite difficult at times to convey. So, what verse/verses have you been contributing to for your life thus far?

Without a doubt, for a number of people they've contributed the verse of adventure in which the goal of fulfilling dreams involving various recreational activities both planned and unplanned is considered to be poetry that's constantly in motion, so to speak. In other words, the call of the open road and/or having your passport stamped. A poet such as Henry Van Dyke can truly be appreciated by any avid adventurer as it pertains to his poem "Life". Essentially, it's deeply soulful embarking on the quest to go to wherever the journey leads you and no matter what happens you take nothing for granted knowing full well it leaves you hopefully wanting more. What it primarily comes down to is having the persistence in not allowing any obstacles to hinder you from writing your own adventurous verse or verses to proudly reflect back on.

As I said before, every person's verse or verses of life has different variations in trying to eloquently put it into our own poetic words, which can be quite difficult at times to convey. Thinking about it further, the verse/verses of utter heartbreak is a subject totally familiar and relatable that for certain individuals it's what he/she unfortunately solely focuses on. True, one can have a Sylvia Plath poetic mindset where there is a seemingly constant mental, as well as emotional chaos brewing within their heart and mind like in Plath's classic poem "Mad Girl's Love Song". Sadly, when it comes to the possibility of being able to rewrite the verses of sadness to happiness it's a considerably difficult task to undertake due to the fact that their dark and dreary outlook concerning love/true love will never come to fruition.

Let me ask you this question in regards to the friendships you share, how would you so eloquently put in verse/verses in being able to be a great friend as it pertains to your best buds/gal pals? Gillian Jones captures the essence of true friendship in the verses of his poem "A Friend". In summary, it basically lists all the wonderful qualities about her friend Ian. Yet, at the same time she also reminds the reader through a particular verse that even though you've established a strong bond it has the potential to be lost. You see, we all have in all intents and purposes a golden friendship where it should be a more give than take type situation. However, if it's more take than give, the friendship loses its shiny golden luster, in a manner of speaking. Hey, how many of you can freely say they have a purely golden relationship despite experiencing moments of losing the shiny luster?

On August 11th, 2014 Robin Williams passed away leaving a meaningful and not to mention deeply impactful verses that were shared on and off the screen. Of course, it's been 3 years since his unfortunate passing and yet the verses he has conveyed still make a significant impact so much so it makes any person who grew up watching him tear up or even cry for that matter. Ultimately, the powerful plays of life have given you a stage or in this case a desk to stand up on and articulate whatever verse in the form of art, music, dance, etc. What will you say? What's your message? Will it be heard? Will it linger and make a lasting impact? Will it even be remembered? All good questions. In the end, give credit to the person who helped you express those verses as you stand on your metaphorical desk and say with a proud smile on your face the following 4 words: Oh Captain! My Captain!

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