Open Wide Green Pasture
Do you ever find yourself wanting to go back to something that you have no more association with…in the least? You wanted to enjoy the time you had when it was part of your life…but you just kept putting it off…for one reason or another. And now…when you are finally ready to move ahead according to your plan…or when the wish has become so big that it is DEMANDING to become a reality. Your “association” with it is long gone. It has been gone. A long time gone. You absolutely have no association with it…at all.
Open Wide Green Pasture
Forget about the bills that I need to pay…
I have something more pressing that’s getting in my way.
I have been putting this off for…far too long…
And its memory is rolling back…like an old familiar song.
I can’t think much more…until I figure it out…
I won’t know anymore until I see what it’s about.
Now that I have the time… I have no association with you to bargain for…
I left for good without fully spending time with you…when I left and closed that door.
There is a green pasture that I use to ride through everyday…
I never paid it too much mind…and traveled through it without much delay…
It was a large green pasture; We used it each Spring to cut hay…
“I’m going to jump off the saddle one day and sit out there…all day”…
At least that is what I would always say…
Then I would imagine just sitting there…one entire day…enjoying my stay.
The Pasture had a small crest to it…and looked down on a large pond…that in Mid-day Sun turned blue…
Years have gone by…and I never have spent the hours upon you…like I thought I was going to…
Someday…I’ll spend time with you.
But I never do.
Each day comes much like the day before…
And I’d like to spend an hour or two with you…maybe even more.
I would love to lay down in your tall green grass…
And watch the birds hop from tree to tree and all the clouds pass.
I would love to have a minute to take a deep breath and smell your nearby Pines…
But I’m sorry…I just don’t have the time.
Life just keeps coming at me and I don’t do the things I really want to…
I’ve got excuses for each and everything…that I must do.
And so I tend to just keep going…on my merry way…
And forget about you…for yet…another day.
I tell myself there will come a day when I sit alone in the middle of your field…
As my mind goes back to my many “To-Do’s”…so my fate is sealed.
I always said I’ll be back later to enjoy the view and now all I have is a memory of you…
I procrastinated way too much…and did not see my plans all the way through…
Oh…a breather right now…would be a dream come true…
But I’ll have to pencil you in for later…There’s too much to do…
Someday…I’ll spend time with you…
But I never do.
Open wide green pasture; Do you still sit there amongst the trees…
Is that big ol’ tree still there in the middle…where you can feel the breeze?
I smiled every time I walked out in your field in the Sun…
How many times did I walk through you to get done what needed to get done.
No…I’ve never sat out in your field like I said I would…
And No…I never spent any time there and I wish now…I could.
But now you are far away and I am a stranger to go back there…
How easily I walked through you and took you for granted…without a care.
Now your memory stays so strong in my mind and I don’t know why…
I’d like to spend a few hours with you as my soul starts to sigh.
For sure…I always thought that I would spend a perfect day alone in your open meadow…
But I never did… Each day my heart said “Yes”…but my intentions said “No”.
It was just a personal thing and I never spoke…at all…about it…
A dream I hoped to someday fulfil…and I never did doubt it.
I can’t go back and I can’t change the way things worked out.
There never will come a day when the dream will come about.
Someday…I’ll spend time with you…
But I never do.
I never do.
~~~
Steve Walters -joined TCE in the Fall of 2021. Keep an eye on his author page for many great works to come.
https://www.creativeexiles.com/author/stevew/
You can also find works by Steve Walters (who uses the pen name of ManlyPoetryMan) on: ManlyPoetryMan on HubPages.
https://hubpages.com/@manlypoetryman
And on Manly Poetry Man’s website: Home | Manly Poetry Man
Enough of that intro. It is really great to be writing here on: "The Creative Exiles". I am lining up some of my best writings for this website. Going to "Bring-it" with a variety of "Poetic-able" Topics. So just kick back and enjoy some of the Poetry I send out to you. It’s all for “Entertainment” purposes only…so all you will have to do is read and enjoy my writings.
And, I really hope you do!
Now, it is time for me to go and write in a "Poet-icized" manner like those long ago “Men of Old” Poets would’ve once long ago done it. They have primarily inspired me to write Poems in a manner that is “Manly” like how they use to write Poetry.
Please stay tuned for more of my Poetry works.
Best and Humble Regards, Steve Walters
(Or the Artist still known as: Manlypoetryman)
- Un Espejismo - May 22, 2023
- The Ol’ Cowboy’s Poem: “The Very Heart Of Me” - April 21, 2023
- Answering to High Command - March 31, 2023
If only we take the time to enjoy those fleeting moments of joy and pleasure in nature as we often think about doing. It is really never too late though. If the particular place one wished they had spent time in is not possible, maybe there is a similar place that would bring peace to our heart and soul. I enjoyed your poetry, Steve.
Phyllis…You’re right…It is never too late to go back and enjoy something. I search for newer places that will bring me fond memories…like a simple old Pasture that I use to ride through when I was much younger. Funny thing is that this particular Pasture still comes to mind as the one I would love to ride through again and spend time. I don’t think any other one could compare. However, we have to enjoy all fleeting moments…like you said…because we may never pass that way again…before we know it! Next time…I find me a good Pasture that I have some kind of new “association” with…I’m going to plop my seat down and enjoy it for a nice long time…’til the Stars come out. Yep…that’s for sure. Thank you for reading this one and for getting into the spirit of the Poem…and for your wonderful comment.
Amazing story telling Steve. Your poetry is the perfect vehicle for this story. Every decision, long line versus short line for instance, added to the dramatic effect and by the end I was drained emotionally. Well done! Jamie
Jamie…Thank you for reading this one. And for commenting on the positioning of different length of the lines through out the piece. Glad it had a dramatic effect. It all comes from my “Kooky” brain…maybe some of those short lines were suppose to have been long ones….Ha! Whoops!? Appreciate you stopping by and viewing “Open Wide Green Pasture”.
This is a wonderful piece, Steve. I often wish I could go back and visit a place that I often said i wanted to visit but never got around to. For you, that green pasture was one such place. You described it well,
Thank you, John. Always appreciate hearing from you…the one who helped get me on TCE. Thank you for your comment on this Poem and for reading it. I really wanted to capture that feeling of going back to visit a place that I never got around to spending the quality of time that I desired to do….for a very long time. And now…it is too late. Like most things that I keep putting off…eventually the window of time for that thing closes. Best Regards.
This is excellent Steve. Telling a story we’ve all lived through. I know life gets in the way most of the time. Sometimes the hustle needs to stop and we need to enjoy the things we want to. Great work
Paul…Thank you for reading this one. And, for your comment. I agree that sometimes the hustle needs to stop. “Hustling” takes up way too much of our time with nothing but a bunch of “hustling” to show for it. Before we know it…we have been too busy to enjoy life and all the things around it. Especially at the fast-pace that we are all cruising at. But for letting important places, people, and times slip though my fingers without stopping more to appreciate them…I blame myself. Because…the time has gone by way too fast…Like lightning-quick. One thing good about “Hustling” though…is you tend to have to do it…to make a living. So there is that to say for it!
I really like the message of your article because it helps us think about really important things and look inside ourselves, reminding us how valuable our true needs are and how important it is to meet them. Unfortunately, we really often drown in routine and in performing important tasks, but forget to spend time in nature. For me, such a pastime is the best way to recharge your batteries and learn to enjoy every moment, becoming more conscious. It is so cool that you shared your experience because I think it helps people reconsider even their approach to life. Of course, it is really sad that you haven’t implemented what your soul desired and that you have never sat out in this field, but I think that this experience will help you follow your heart to a greater extent. It will help you not make the same mistakes in the future because now you know that there is no right moment and it is important to act so that life does not pass by.
Thank you, Marina…for reading and commenting on this one. I’m glad that you liked the message that this one tries to convey…even though it is too late to really “go back” to the central inspiration of this Poem. It occurred to me…as I was trying to complete many “To-Do’s”…where exactly I’d rather be at that particular moment…and then it dawned on me…that I’ve been thinking this…just about my whole life. And, that I’ve really never acted upon it. (Probably…like a million other things!) From your comment…it appears like you can relate to this theme. And you’re right…if I can fully learn from this experience…then next time I might have a notion to follow my heart…and then, maybe I’ll pay a little more attention to it. But, I’ll probably screw it all up…all over again…if I had to guess about it…in advance…Ha! I miss that “Open Wide Green Pasture”…if it is possible to miss such a thing. I really do hope…I can sit in the middle of its field…someday…soon…down the road.