Sixteen months ago, I was in hospital, and the specialists were not sure what was wrong with me, so I was place in a ‘Isolation/quarantine’ room for 2 weeks, and I have been reminded of that incarceration, by the present ‘Coronavirus outbreak, and I am reflecting on my time in that situation, and of being separated from the outside world….. During this isolation, I wrote a number of poems, and “Mystic Man” is one of those writings….. a mysterious poem, and obviously, in my mind I was desperately planning my ‘escape’……my imagination was running a fever…..
Mystic Man
I’m digging a tunnel
With my ball and chain
Underneath the great wall
Towards the east side of the moon
Away from these wasted days
Beyond the drain of pain
My eyes search for a light
Through my grotto’s ceiling crack
Resolutely my heart yells at me
“There’s no turning back”
Fingers are bloodied
Toes are blistered
My throat is parched
Lips are sweat covered with dirt
I’m desperate for the evening rain
And a cooling breeze
Fresh upon my old crusty skin
I’m to meet a mystic Arab
Cloaked in cloth of indigo blue
He’s been sent by Muhammad to save me
Burst me free, and find my lost kin
Ivor Steven (c) March 2020
Isolation in all it forms the source of so many words – a poem you can feel – well written, Ivor.
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Eric, yes I time to think, in silence, in my own little bubble, me and my imagination, of whatever condition my mind was in…..
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Reblogged this on Ivor.Plumber/Poet and commented:
Here’s my Throwback Friday poem on ‘Go Dog Go Cafe’… come and visit this fabulous site ‘anytime’….. a writers site, for writers to meet other writers
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Can anyone put a poem on there Uvor, or does Stephen have to select then? I saw this poem when you furst posted it on your site, and related to it so well from when I was three months in isolation, barrier nursed, with tuberculosis in the seventies. Yuk! You describe it well 😆
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There’s no selections on ‘Promote Yourself Monday’s’ Lorraine… just join in and post your link… I’ll post the link to you Monday, so you don’t miss it… xx
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Thanks Ivor. I do usually join in on a Monday, but very good of you to send me the link as I do tend to missvthings 😀
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Ok…no problems…
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Lorraine, you can contact godoggocafe@gmail.com and inquire about becoming a Barista or a Guest Barista in order to post or be posted on the site. Otherwise, you can leave your link in the current Promote Yourself Monday post, which you have done previously.
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Thanks Eugenia. I am having real difficulty in working out just as since work on WordPress. So that is really helpful thank you. Sometimes I can’t work out when people post things whether they are posting someone else’s work of their own. I know it’s at sensory block it is somebody else’s but there are other things that I can’t always understand nothing that is partly through being blind and not being able to read things properly. You have been very helpful and I’m so grateful to you so thank you very much
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You’re most welcome, Lorraine. Sometimes, it is difficult to determine if the post belongs to someone else even for those that are not blind. You are amazing and an excellent writer.
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Bless you Eugenia. Thankyou so much. You too are a winderful writer. 😊
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Lorraine,
We will do whatever we can to help you get a post up here. You can also send an email to me at sfrancis@fullbeardlit.org. Happy to support you and your wonderful writing. You are a blessed spirit around the cafe!
Stephen
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Aww bless you Stephen. Thankyou. I didn’t really understand what it was all about, but that is very kind of you. Thankyou for those lovely wirds 😊
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Of course! 🤓
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Yes Stephen, our help for Lorraine is the essence of what the ‘Cafe’ is all about….
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The wandering of a brilliant man’s mind – planning his escape back to the real world. Your words certainly do incorporate feelings of a person in isolation. Well done!!
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Thank you Jaquin, I look at my words now, and understand how scared I was at the time
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Ivor… the sense of being caged in… yes… I wonder if I dare… to put myself way back there…
When the sea rocked me silly… to see if I might bully… a poem or two about the prison it meant to me
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yep, it was a weird sensation Stephen, and I probably wasn’t fully comprehending my situation at the time, and looking back over these poems gives me a grand insight into my overall 3 month stay in hospital…… I’ll send you a PDF copy of my “Tullawalla Booklet, The Healing House” via your email…
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