Through Shaded Eyes

Oct 3, 2013

—

A breathless beauty,
enchanting and fanciful,
where castles of ice abound —
if we didn’t know just where to look
they never would be found.

A wonderland of mystery
in a public park downtown.
The squirrels know what life’s about —
through Antonio’s sleeping bag
they tunnel in and out.

They scamper
over drifts of snow,
no boots upon their feet.
When he awakes, he’ll feed them
the little he has to eat.

Through shaded eyes
he views, the world passing by.
With gentleness and thoughts of kings
he tells me of his precious dreams.
A shopping cart
holds all his worldly things.

Comments

17 responses to “Through Shaded Eyes”

aerig

October 31, 2013

I liked this. Its strange how the destitute and impoverished often seem to have most time for others. But I wonder if it is merely that we are most touched by their greatest sacrifice while we fail to notice that of those better off.

A potential blindness that I just made a mental note to try to correct.

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1. Dennis Cardiff
  
  November 1, 2013
  
  Thanks for your kind words. In my experience those better off don’t notice me. Maybe it’s just blindness.
  
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CC Cairns

October 26, 2013

Dennis, if most of us had the “gentleness and thoughts of kings” one associates with people living on the street, and all of the struggles each one has—not only to
to survive another day—but also to make sense of the incomprehensible, the world would be a much better place. My heart goes out to them!

This poem is very poignant and clearly conveys the NOBILITY of such people—and of you yourself. Some lovely turns of phrase, Dennis! I enjoyed it.

Regards, Colin

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1. Dennis Cardiff
  
  October 26, 2013
  
  Thanks Colin, I truly felt the nobility of Antonio. I haven’t seen him since he had his teeth kicked out, while sleeping on a park bench. He’s now living in another part of the city, afraid to come downtown. I enjoyed his stories, some of which I’m sure he made up on my account.
  
  I re-read your poem A History of Feeling: Dreams & Nightmares. Again, it nearly knocked the wind out of me. Powerfully worded, yet there’s also the quiet of the confessional. Great writing. ~ Dennis
  
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  1. CC Cairns
    
    October 27, 2013
    
    Thanks for your kind words, Dennis.
    
    You know, I received a message from another interesting writer recently, about two months ago. Her name is Sophie Nussle—she has a blog on WordPress. Some of the things she said about her adopted homeland in Spain (although she is Swiss) really keeps one awake to the plight of ordinary people, particularly those who suffered tragedy at the hands of the bankers and their obsession with making money.
    
    In this communication she referred to the foreword to my poem and its references to those that were lost in that economic tsunami, and the Spanish people who literally jumped from their balconies when everything they had lost was washed away in the collapse. And spoke of people she knew. She also told me that the local police, (I think she lives in Seville, if I recall correctly), men not known for expressing their feelings, were refusing to evict any other people from their homes at the the behest of their commanders—under pressure, no doubt, from local politicians being paid by the banks. Apparently these hardened policemen were unable to sleep at night due to the many suicides which had risen in correlation with loans being called in by the very people who precipitated the economic crisis. And it was causing mental health issues and illnesses among the men. It just goes to show how far ranging the consequences of greed actually are. And if there was even a hint of genuine redistribution of wealth, we wouldn’t have people like Antonio walking the streets—for the resources, including trained humanitarians like yourself, would be available to help someone who had went off the rails and replace the structures in his life that he had lost.
    
    However, there is certainly a growing awareness among the world’s public of their human rights. Indeed there is a groundswell of protest, civil and human rights groups, all coming to the fore. It is slow, but it is tangible! But it is absolutely imperative that those in power are not allowed to isolate people on the street any further to the point of ‘otherness’ and fashion a culture of indifference to people like Antonio who are guilty of nothing but simply being vulnerable. The moneyed classes have so much to answer for.
    
    Indeed, it is bad around the world. Here in Scotland—which is still subject to the whims of the English government in Westminster—the Scots are being subjected to a “bedroom” tax. In effect, if one has an extra bedroom in their home which they do not use at all times, they must leave their home and give it up to a larger family for a smaller apartment. Now, in principle this looks like a promising experiment, but it only works if there are other houses available for renting, and if part of this plan is to rehouse those who are homeless. Unfortunately there are very few smaller homes available because the English government has not put any money into public housing for forty years!
    
    Sadly, this is not aimed at getting people off the street and putting a roof over their head and a bed in which to lie; it is simply to make money for the Treasury. For if any one refuses to move they are immediately fined and a quarter of their benefits are withdrawn. The government is making millions out of this! (all to pay for the losses caused by the banks! Yet the homeless still remain homeless, and in some cases, those who had homes are made homeless. The whole policy is a dragnet, which makes the living conditions for some, who suffer from serious physical illness, unbearable and the financial loss unsustainable. The suffering this is causing is horrendous for many unfortunate people.
    
    Anyway, to return to Sophie Nussle, I though I would pass on a writer you may not have come across yet. Sophie referred me to Blaise Cendrars, a Swiss writer who eventually became a naturalised French citizen. She thought that my poem reminded her of his work. Of course, I was intrigued and looked him up. I wonder, have you ever heard of him? Anyway, I found two of his great poems on the Net: The first,
    ‘Prose of the Transsiberian & of Little Jeanne of France’. This text contains impressions from Cendrars’s real or imaginary journey from Moscow to Manchuria during the 1905 Revolution and Sino-Russian war while only sixteen years old! I’ve read this poem several times since Sophie mentioned it, and quite simply, it is breathtaking! So I highly recommend it. Cendrars also did another long poem: ‘Easter in New York’. Also very good, but not of the same quality, I believe, as ‘Transsiberian…’ Cendrars was seen as the first Modernist—even before T.S.Elliot—and father of the Avant Garde. ‘Transsiberian…’ is the most amazing literary ride and truly inspiring. Cendrars life is also a story in itself!
    
    Anyway, Dennis, I thank you for such kind, well meant words about my work and it is appreciated. You clearly see more than some who have read my work in Scotland and failed to grasp its deeper symbolic meanings. It is gratifying that you enjoy it so much. Thank you. I have been reading more of your own work and really enjoying your use of language, your phrasing and imagery—and also your unique view of the world! Keep scribbling.
    
    Regards, Colin
    
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  2. Dennis Cardiff
    
    October 28, 2013
    
    Hi Colin, thanks for referring me to Sophie Nussle. I read “Every time I look into your face”, about a Rwandan genocide prisoner. I was very moved by her reflections of the atrocities that haunted her. I feel the same way when I speak to some of my homeless friends.
    
    I also read “Prose of the Trans-Siberian Railway”. It is fascinating and reminds me of T.S. Eliot, one of my favorite poets. Thanks for your generous comment. ~ Dennis
    
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  3. CC Cairns
    
    October 28, 2013
    
    You’re welcome, Dennis. It’s my pleasure.
    
    Regards, Colin
    
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Bob

October 5, 2013

to notice is to do….bob

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1. dcardiff
  
  October 8, 2013
  
  Yes, Bob, he has acquired much wisdom by standing and noticing. ~ Dennis
  
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btg5885

October 4, 2013

Keep on keepin’ on. Well said.

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1. dcardiff
  
  October 6, 2013
  
  Thanks!
  
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britpref

October 3, 2013

I adore this tender poem.

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1. dcardiff
  
  October 6, 2013
  
  He is a very tender and gentle man. It is a pleasure to know him. ~ Dennis
  
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navery101

October 3, 2013

Dennis, very moving piece..your line ‘through shaded eyes he views’ is wonderful!

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1. dcardiff
  
  October 3, 2013
  
  Hi Nanette, Thanks, as always, for your kind words. Antonio always wears sunglasses because he is cross-eyed. He thinks that the appearance of his eyes will offend people. ~ Dennis
  
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skywanderer

October 3, 2013

NO to their suffering!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What are we going to to do about that??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

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1. dcardiff
  
  October 3, 2013
  
  I wish I had answers. ~ Dennis
  
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