Considerable wrestling in my heart took place over the course of half an hour before I posted the poem/song that follows. I could tell you about my circumstance (another hummin’ bean awash in the poo of sub-nominal circumstance), or I could be “the poet” and share something I felt might move others — and my froggy self — to engage constructive recourse to prevail against said circumstance. That I find myself blessed to be capable of creating and appreciating poetry — as I was in 2005 when what follows and today when I chose to share it — moves me to this option. I hope the point of the poem/song reaches beyond my heart and circumstance to touch you and yours as well.
Here’s to the Spirit
by Job Conger
written 5:30 pm, December 21, 2005
(chorus)
Here’s to the spirit of hope in our hearts —
The spirit, the ghost or the flame —
That shows you the sun with the gift of a smile,
No matter the credo or name.
In the darkest of winter a warm breath to brighten
Horizons of those who are dear.
Yes, here’s to the spirit that moves us to love
And here’s to a happy new year.
Life is a voyage through tumbling tides
In the quest for safe harbor and land
As we seek sweet surcease from our sorrows and pain,
When the sailing’s not smooth as we planned.
Blame your dad, blame the devil, blame a deck of bad cards,
But they won’t wreck your ship on the shore.
When you stand at the helm, show the world that you care,
And you’ll reach where you’re going and more.
(chorus)
The world will be better from what burns inside,
Not from whining and running away
To a bottle or needle or palavering cult.
What you need, you should be. Show the way.
Let the glow of true passionate dreams light the world,
And the lasting rewards they will sing
As the dawn of each new day to arise to our hopes,
And we’ll know life is worth everything!
Yes, here’s to the spirit of hope in our hearts —
The spirit, the ghost or the flame —
That shows us the sun with the gift of a smile,
No matter the credo or name.
In the darkness of winter, a warm breath to brighten
Horizons of all we hold dear.
Yes, here’s to the spirit of hope in our hearts
And here’s to a happy new year.
Yes, here’s to the spirit of hope in our hearts . . . .
And here’s to a happy new year!
==============
Live long . . . . . . . . . . . and proper.
I love the line “what you need, you should be.” And the music of words is satisfying. You are so creative, Job. Love to read this song. And to hear you sing it someday.
Thanks, Barbara. I miss the creative days. Engaging people — even the deletable explitives — was much more affirming than engaging the aviation museum. In poetry and song, found reactions I could see and hear. ALMOST everything I find at the airport aviation museum are brick walls of silence, and the only force which keeps me from walking away from aviation is a sense of destiny that commands my allegiance. At one time in the poetry days, I knew and loved a nucleus of six or seven people who kept me alive, who sustained me with their friendship. Over the years, those beyond that nucleus soured me toward the dimmer “bulbs beyond that glowing chandelier” and I returned to my firstt love: aviation. I’m doing what I believe needs to be done, but I”m not happy. And the “glowing chandelier” is a foggy memory of its former self. Only two or three bulbs burn at all, and soon the light will be gone forever. May your skies be CAVU and may you always return softly, to home.JobVisit my AeroKnow Museum website – http://www.aeroknow.com Visit my blog – Honey & Quinine – https://jobconger.wordpress.com Visit my AeroKnow Museum blog Abe Lincoln’s Air Force — http://aeroknow.wordpress.comVisit my AeroKnow Museum Gallery bloghttp://akmgallery.wordpress.comVisit my poems and learn how to book a performance — http://www.aeroknow.com/arts/poemsofjob.htmVisit my Vachel Lindsay website — http://www.aeroknow.com/arts/lindsaypoet.htmVisit my Conger genealogy website — http://www.aeroknow.com/arts/congerfam.htm