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My Spirit Is Like the Eagle begins with a poem sharing its title with the book. The central image of the poet as an eagle provides a unique introduction to the variety of themes in this poetry collection. Some verses soar high above the landscape, while others swoop down from the heights to grasp the small gestures that make up daily life.
Poet Roy Forrester has Parkinson’s disease, and it has changed his world dramatically. What began as a poem to his wife expressing his love for her has turned into a dynamic collection of poetry on many different topics, from love and passion to humour. He also writes of the frustrations he encounters with his disease. This debut poetry collection represents the end of a long journey for Forrester, and he invites you to join him in considering that journey.
My spirit is like the eagle.
It is an illusion that I am bound to this earth by an aging body.
It is an illusion, as is life itself.
It is an illusion that this existence is finite.
My spirit is like the eagle.
I, too, scan the earth below,
and though I search for sustenance,
sustenance for my soul,
it is the beauty of the journey which fulfils me.
—from “My Spirit Is Like the Eagle”
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781452508696 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Balboa Press AU |
| Publication date: | 03/15/2013 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 116 |
| File size: | 211 KB |
Read an Excerpt
MY SPIRIT IS LIKE THE EAGLE
By Roy Forrester
Balboa Press
Copyright © 2013Roy ForresterAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4525-0868-9
Excerpt
CHAPTER 1 MY SPIRIT IS LIKE
THE EAGLE
My spirit is like the eagle.
Like the eagle I scan the earth from my lofty station.
Some may think the eagle only searches for prey,
They do not fly with the eagle's awareness.
They do not see the beauty which the eagle's eye perceives.
My spirit is like the eagle.
It is an illusion that I am bound to this earth by an aging body.
It is an illusion, as is life itself.
It is an illusion that this existence is finite.
My spirit is like the eagle.
I, too, scan the earth below,
and though I search for sustenance,
sustenance for my soul,
it is the beauty of the journey which fulfils me.
SHE IS MY LIFE
I love her as I love life.
She is my life.
She is my music, she is my art, my prose, she is all that I value.
She is my life!
She is the delicate morning mist.
She is the colour of the clouds at the dim end of the day.
She is the moon that rises, red out of the sea.
She is the warm sun on a spring afternoon.
She is my life.
Her musky scent is my very essence.
Her soft warm skin my comfort when I am troubled.
Her voice is my conscience and my truth.
Her thoughts inspire my imagination.
Her values are a target for my belief.
Her eyes show me to myself as I would not otherwise see.
She is my life.
She can lift me to the loftiest heights with her praise,
or dash me to the very depths of despair with just a single word.
I am a god if she sees fit to make me one,
or I am the devil if she so judges.
She gives me purpose and reason,
or she can shred my very existence to tatters.
BUREAUCRACY
Bureaucracy! Bureaucracy!
Not my responsibility.
It's not in my "In Basket",
so it's not in my domain,
and if it tends to go all wrong,
I'm not the one to blame.
Efficiency! Efficiency!
It's all about efficiency.
You must go always by the book
or you'll never get it right.
On matters of procedure
we must all stand up and fight.
Obligatory! Obligatory!
To the book you are a signatory.
You must stop work for morning tea.
You must obey the rules.
Remember that the public that
you deal with, all are fools.
Paperwork! Paperwork!
There is no more important work.
No job is truly finished
until it's all been done.
It's a record of all dealings which we can all depend upon.
TIME TOGETHER
A time when time itself,
was removed from reality.
A precious captured moment.
Like a photograph that will never fade.
Our lovemaking was intense,
Rising to an immeasurable crest,
That moved us closer and closer
to edge of the cliff.
Immersed in unbounded pleasure,
We toppled, two souls entwined,
plummeting, crying out together
in joyful exultation.
Afterwards, breathless, we caressed, touching skin,
our fingers quivering, our eyes bright,
as we talked of other sweet moments, reminiscing,
grinning gleefully at our wanton pleasures.
WINTER
A column of smoke drifts listlessly into the grey sky.
The clouds hang heavy over the valley where nothing moves.
The sea is the colour of castle walls.
It has an air of foreboding.
Time seems to pass slowly.
The day progresses bit by bit.
Suddenly a wind springs out of nowhere.
White caps appear on the wave tops.
Then slowly the sea disappears from view, as a shadowy
blanket of rain drifts menacingly towards the land.
But it's only a trick.
By the time the rain has reached the parched valley
it is only a pitiful drizzle, a few spots,
but the wind continues to gust,
dampening any desire to leave one's comfort
and venture outside.
The only thing to do is watch through the window,
as the wind and rain morph into something more threatening.
The drizzle was only a ruse,
now the rain arrives in earnest,
turning the window into a rattling drum,
as a howling wind blows it against the glass.
It distorts the image of the valley, with rapidly changing
patterns of droplets that acquiesce mindlessly
to the whim of its wild and furious master.
The cold rain droplets on the outside of the glass
have challenged their brothers on the inside
to come out of hiding,
and the window is the loser in the war,
fogged over on the inside and bespattered relentlessly
on the outside.
Only an elbow wiped across the glass will allow a brief sight
to the other side of the valley where vaporous tails of cloud
extend their sinuous tendrils down into the trees.
Like miniature tornadoes, the Devil's messengers.
THE STORM
In the distance the sound of a thousand horses' hooves rumble,
as if approaching through the thick grey sky.
The
(Continues...)
Excerpted from MY SPIRIT IS LIKE THE EAGLE by Roy Forrester. Copyright © 2013 by Roy Forrester. Excerpted by permission of Balboa Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Foreword.................... ix
Foreword by Christina.................... xi
My Spirit Is Like the Eagle.................... 1
She Is My Life.................... 2
Bureaucracy.................... 3
Time Together.................... 4
Winter.................... 5
The Storm.................... 7
Her Healing Touch.................... 12
On the Back Seat.................... 13
Gaia's Revenge.................... 14
Love, Glue of the Universe!.................... 15
Temptation.................... 16
Ode to Computers and Poetry.................... 17
Everything I Touch.................... 20
Who Knows Where?.................... 21
To A Courageous Friend (Passed away from MS).................... 22
Doctor, Please Can't You Fix What Ails Me?.................... 24
Getting Old.................... 25
Butterfly's Wing.................... 27
My Favourite Things.................... 28
The Butterfly Effect.................... 30
From Where Comes Genius?.................... 31
Justice Is Not Death.................... 33
Man's Imagination.................... 34
Figaro.................... 35
Cats.................... 36
Brain Chemistry.................... 38
Life.................... 40
'Joy' And 'Pleasure'.................... 41
The Ginger Cat.................... 42
Maths Genius.................... 43
Well I Asked For A Feisty One Didn't I?.................... 44
Perfection and Imperfection.................... 46
Bad Dreams.................... 48
Eye Contact.................... 49
Life's Tough!.................... 50
She Still Loves Me.................... 52
Fear of Commitment.................... 53
Seconds of Joy.................... 55
The Death of a Tree.................... 56
What is Consciousness?.................... 57
What Is Love Supposed To Be?.................... 58
Whatever We Do.................... 59
Who Is Responsible?.................... 60
Australia Oh! Australia,.................... 62
Coffs Harbour.................... 64
Bushfire.................... 65
Turn Off the City at Night.................... 67
Xanana & Kirsty.................... 68
You and I.................... 70
Your Warmth and Solace.................... 71
Oh! How We Waltzed.................... 72
The Red Honeymoon Dress.................... 73
The Infinite Universe (Existence).................... 74
J.S. Bach & Pink Floyd.................... 75
The Golden Cage.................... 77
Why Is My Spirit Troubled?.................... 79
Sci–fi (The Formula).................... 80
In The Forest.................... 82
I Grieve For a Bird.................... 83
Would That You Never Fell In Love (Memoirs of a past liaison............... 84
The Eagle and the Crow.................... 85
The Humpbacks.................... 86
Whales.................... 87
Violin Student.................... 88
The Power of Prayer.................... 89
Oh! Such Beauty.................... 90
Xmas at Moonee Beach.................... 91
I Knew That She Was Angry.................... 92
The Black Dog.................... 94
WHO?—Dr. Who?.................... 95
The Truth.................... 96
Where Do You Draw The Line?.................... 97
Didgery Doo.................... 98
Significant.................... 99
Blood Lust.................... 100
More Poetry.................... 101