Written to incorporate a derivation of: “I have left my signature on rocky shores, marked with hues and shades of fuchsia sin; each one a reminder of the kind of person I have been.” – Of the waters and wild.
…like a true nature’s child, I was born to be wild…
Left late
on a moonless night
my caddy shine’n bright
a wad’a dolla’s in my hand
visions of the promised land
enticing me ever onward
encountered some unexpected delays
unforeseen bumps in fortune’s highway
but obstacles weren’t turning me away
certainly had my fair share of scrapes
gotten real good at narrow escapes
had the all too frequent bad day
rubbed folks the wrong way
more than a time or two
scuffed my caddy too
lost me a little skin
paint n’patience worn thin
we took some pretty serious hits
saw well laid plans get blown to bits
and though tough times came in bunches
I learned to keep roll’n with the punches
kept the faith to follow my best hunches
my dream
and my caddy
have lost a little lustre
don’t you fret I don’t fluster
because I am on my way
along this highway
to my paradise
and I ain’t stoppin’
all signs still point to the promised land
and though fate’s dealt me a bad hand
and knocked me down a time or two
what I am tellin’ you here is true
though I may be black n’blue
I ain’t beaten
ain’t retreatin’
I have left my signature written on the winds
marked in hues and shades of my past sins
each a reminder of the person I have been
and a clear vision of what’ll soon begin
with a promise to never go back again
I’m goin’ where the lights are bright
and miracles happen every night
good luck is in the cards for me
I’ll soon be on a winning spree
figure bad luck is behind me
not completely certain though
‘cause my poor caddy’s
big back window
is fuuuck’d up!
*
rob kistner © 2021
Poetry at: The Sunday Muse
Creative writing at: Poets & Storytellers
Poetry at: dVerse
So I am guessing a caddy must be a Cadillac, and not a kid who carries your golf clubs. (Not a lot of them in Australia!)
I like the hard-bitten resilience of this, and its songlike rhythm.
Thank you Rosemary… 🙂 …yes, caddy is slang for Cadilac.
Road trip to Nowhereville. Cool write, Dude.
Thank you Ron! 🙂
Sometimes dreams can lose their luster for sure. I love the spit-fire determination in this and the rhyme made it even more fun to read!! Your cra cra worked wonderfully my friend!!
Thank you Carrie, I appreciate your always kind words my friend… 🙂
“not completely certain though / ‘cause my poor caddy’s rear window / is…” LOLOL!
I couldn’t resist JR, the picture in the prompt spoke to me… 😉
Given the times we are living through …. The mere thought of taking off, no plan, no worries, no agenda, no pandemic, no political craziness, no fixed itinerary ~~~ ahhhhh a slice of heaven! An oldie but goody composed this poem.
Helen, I needed this cross country road trip. Even as difficult as I made it — it was an expression of freedom and resolve. Also a reflection of my life in general. Me and my three best friends, all of us “long haired hippies” at the time, went across this country on motorcycles in 1970 — Ohio to the West Coast. Damn, it was so incredible. The freedom was transforming. Got a lotta jeers from the rednecks about our long hair — called us “girls”. My many bands and I used to get the same jeers in the 60’s & 70’s travelin’ in our “band van” to our gigs in different cities in the Midwest, Northeast, and South. We would all just smile, knowin’ the daughters of these stupid, asshole, rednecks weren’t a bit confused about our manhood, not even a little bit… 🙂
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This reads like a song played on the road, as the miles disappear under your wheels. I especially like “gotten real good at narrow escapes.”
The person started in a nice shiny Caddy, but the road put more than just mileage on the both of them. Great idea Sherry! I think Wille, Waylon, Johnny, and Kris could do a nice job on the song. So could David and the Talking Heads. Two interesting versions of “Ain’t Stoppin’”, with two different melody lines. 🙂
Thoughts that could be heard in every Caddy entering or leaving tinsel town….entering with great expectation, and leaving with abject realization!
The harsher lessons of life Bev… 🙂
I like the progress your writer is making, going to BIG TIME!! The hard way. The shape form is neat too. My son Caddies for Tiger Woods at his Texas golf course, he was in a class of ~40 and only three qualified to work. Final exam, caddy for 36 holes, two bags.
Oh yes, I called this car a Chrysler, you picture is close minus the chrome.
..
Thank you Jim. Cool for your son Jim! The car in the prompt picture is a 1959 Cadillac Coupe DeVille. The identifiers are the way the fins rise, the placement of the taillights, the two large chrome rings on the ends of the back bumper, the shape of the rear roof line — ‘59 DeVille, albeit, a bit tattered.
The caddy took you a lot of miles and adventures. Hard to give up an old friend.
Owned many many cars Susie, including a Bill Blass Lincoln Continental — but never a Caddy… 😉
This is a country-western dude’s dream song!
Ain’t it though Sara… 😉
This could be a soliloquy for the stage, Rob, it’s that good. Reminds me of Death of a Salesman.
Wow! Thank you Lisa! It was written SOC with an active focus on some rhyme. Like the way wrap is written but sand rhythm track.
This poem deserves to be read loud and sung! 😀 I love how you took the quote and made it your own. Gorgeous, gorgeous work done. Thank you so much for adding your voice to the prompt, Rob! 😀
Thank you Sanaa, you are very gracious! 🙂
I can The Boss singing this as you drive towards your just rewards. great rhytmm to the feel of this
i can hear the boss that was ment to say
😉
Thanks Rog! 🙂
A no regrets mood. Luv this
Happy Tuesday
Much????love
Hi Gillena,thank you!
this definitely has that “hit the road seeking freedom and fortune” feel – and I think it tells the story it’s meant to tell really well – so success can be said, to have come to you, in the here and now then 🙂
Thank you!
This is so lyrical and fun! Great write, Rob!
Glad you enjoyed it Tricia.
I enjoyed this ride, Rob – this could be set to music. I especially loved these lines:
I ain’t beaten
ain’t retreatin’
Also the way you wove Sanaa’s words in subtly, and the whole shape of the poem!
I am very pleased you found this worked for you Ingrid — thank you… 🙂
Great way to incorporate Sanaa’s line …. Cheers Rob!
Thank you Helen. The entire project of pulling this poem together was wonderful, and I really enjoyed molding the derivation of Sanaa’s line — it fit perfecting in my piece. It resolved it perfectly and turned it beautifully down the final section to the conclusion.
Oh this poem is brilliant Rob. It’s surely also a C&W song…..
I love it all!
Thank you do much Kim… need to get a pianist to help me find the right chords and melody line. 🙂
The rhyming stands out, Rob and would be a wonderful spoken word poem.
Thank you Punam. I may read it at the next OLN Live.
Yay, and I feel that it’s not where you’re going it’s the ride itself that matters
Agreed Bjorn — The journey is the joy!
There’s no point in standing still, stop at the petrol station and fill, fill, fill.
Pull out of the lot and go go go, fill again when the fuel is low… thanks Sean! 🙂
*thunderous applause*
Thank David, very gracious my friend! 🙂
This is amazing! The rhymes, and the flow, and the story itself. It makes me really want to do a road trip, and also reminds me of trips I did when I was young – north/south and east/west across Australia, fixing the car as I went when it broke down. <3
Thank you Kate! 🙂 I i was in a road trippin’ frame of mind as I developed and wrote this piece. At 74, with lots of health issues, and the DELTA runnin’ amuck — I don’t get too far from home anymore. But as a young man, I did several East To West, North to South trips across the US — on my motorcycle. LOVED IT, and remember the trips fondly. The following is a piece I wrote and posted here on my Image & Verse 14 years ago. It’s about one of the MC trips me and my friends did in 1970.
http://www.image-verse.com/freedom
Rob,
I loved the ballad-like quality! I could almost hear the music and the engine purring behind it.
pax,
dora
Thank you Dora…! 🙂