slip-sliding away…..

Over the next while, I’ll be publishing pieces of my book – Let it Flow – on this blog. If you like what you read, please consider purchasing the full book. The details are at the end of this post.

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A Bird’s Eye View

While the world goes on below,
I am free,
I am calm.
A place so far from it all –
yet close enough to reach in minutes.

On this day, I am thankful
for the absolute beauty.

That I am able to experience this, in my life.
In the sky, almost…clouds so close,
the warmth of the sun,
on this otherwise chilly summer’s day.

I see the ocean on one side,
the mountains bordering it.
The bay on the other:
foamy white waves,
crashing on the shore –
So lively down there,
yet so still from where I sit.

Perched up here,
the starlings stopping by on occasion.
I’m in their territory now:
a place high up,
where the beauty of creation can be seen.

The world below stretches out,
but I look not at it,
for down there is activity:
busy-ness, and business;
running around; rushing here and there.

Work to do, people to call,
places to be.
I revel in this break –
this window of solitude.

A peaceful existence up here…

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Back on Earth, however,
life goes on as usual.

And, though my window is shut again,
for now,
I am content with my secret perch; my safe haven…
for up there, I don’t need anything.
I don’t need anyone.
It’s just me, the sky, the occasional bird,
and my Creator.

So rare, nowadays, are moments like these:
A time to stop.
A time to be free:
free of my world,
free of my usual reality.

A new world. A new vision.
Lying with one eye covered,
I’m almost floating in the clouds:
engulfed in blue and white;

no longer constrained
by the physical limits down below:
no buildings, no trees,
no electricity,
nor concerns to capture my time.

I am free of all that.
I am free of the world.
It’s serene – being detached from it all;
up where there’s nothing but fresh air…
no desperation,
no deception,
no temptation…
just here and now.

Nothing else matters.
Just here and now.

I could die now…leave my life behind,
because this is peace.
My Blessed place.
Which I hope to never lose…

 

Date written: October 2006

Background:

I wrote this – the first poem I ever shared publicly – during a period in which I worked at one of the world’s most beautiful universities. Although I appreciated the nature around me, I was at a difficult stage in life: living alone for the first time, and weighed down by the responsibilities of grown-up life – which I’d finally accepted, years later than I should have.

In the midst of all this, I found a place of refuge – a hidden-away spot on the campus’s highest rooftop – where I could escape from the world, and to some degree, my life, and just be alone – in solitude.

I spent many serene moments there, never encountering a single soul on that rooftop. I had a 360-degree view of pure beauty:

• The Muizenberg coast and parts of the Table Mountain range that stretch to the South.
• Table Mountain and Devil’s Peak.
• The Atlantic Ocean and coastal areas.
• Cape Town’s Southern Suburbs – set against the backdrop of the Ceres mountains.

The undisturbed solitude comforted my soul, and helped my cluttered mind break free – momentarily – of the physical, psychological, and emotional burdens that weighed so heavily on me during a difficult phase. That exclusive hideaway was just what I needed at the time, and it’s a place I’ll never forget.

 

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The full book – Let it Flow – is available electronically via Amazon Kindle, Google Play Books, Apple Books, Kobo, and more. A print edition is available in South Africa via direct order.

If you’d like to see more, click the image below for a comprehensive sample: