I am the night wind that caresses the hills,
I am the moonlight that lights your path,
Even the waves that the wind's blowing wills,
Don't seem as simple,
As I thought they would be,
It's all a complicated pattern,
That grips my soul,
Like a bird grips its prey,
And flying so high,
That it looses all sense of the moment,
When my feet left the ground,
So free but still caught,
In the vines of desperation.
By: Charity C. Cowgill, Justin L. Joy, and Jamie L. Binnington
Written on: March 9th, 2000
I gave this poem to several people and asked them what it meant to them. I found that most of them thought almost the same. They thought it had to do with love and someone who is afraid of rejection. Here is an example of a response that I got to that effect:
“To me it symbolizes maybe someone who is desperately in love with someone else and either, that love is not reciprocated, or the person is afraid of rejection and cannot tell the other person how he or she feels. The love they have for that person makes them fly, soar, feel light as a feather, makes them want to do anything and be everything wonderful for that one person, even metaphorically speaking, yet the reality of the situation keeps them from flying too high and yanks them back to earth with the crushing realization that maybe, some things are not ever going to be and it is like a bittersweet pain in the heart for the love and hurt that are intertwined together for that unrequited love that gives the person a sense of freedom, yet ultimately binds them from finding someone else that might be better for them because of the strength of that love that they have for the object of their affection. “ ~Nicole VanderSloot
Then I looked at some others and found that they thought it meant frustration of the teenage life. Here are a couple of examples of that:
“It appears to me that this poem suggests frustration or an inability to realize ones hopes. The poem begins with the idea of freedom and ubiquity, but the middle section suggests that these ideas may be illusory. The last three lines finally confirm this fact by suggesting a specific, physical entrapment.” ~Tim
“It's reeks of teenage angst. Unfortunately most adults simply look back at their own struggles at that time and hope a speedy recovery to those that follow. I have sent a poem of my own in a separate e-mail. It may or may not get there. But it only goes to show that angst, whether teenage or otherwise seems to be something that stays with us most of our lives.” ~Cycocat3
Here is part of her poem:
ZONA ROJA
Time, a commodity of mind that can't be changed has aged her face.
"I had a man once," she tells me,
"Who treated me like a queen.
But the vanity of youth and the stupidity of my conceit,
Destroyed what would otherwise have been a decent life,
With kids perhaps and maybe even a garden where I would have grown red roses." ~Cycocat3
Yet others thought that the Poem was a riddle like this person. Here is their response to what I asked:
“When it starts you expect it to be a riddle (a la Hobbit - what am I?) but for me it quickly gathers momentum and there is a good deal of interesting imagery. It does, for me need a bit more explanation as to who/what you are. It's like a flowing river, it's going somewhere, and we want to know where but we don't see. It needs a result - is it the wind, love, a child's thought tossed into the other.” ~David Chandler
Then I found someone who wrote their thoughts in the form of a poem:
“I am the thought that warms my inter-self,
I am the Faith that shows you right from wrong,
I am life with its sorrows and happiness.
Appears that growing up isn’t simple
But a complicated pattern for life
With a balance of love and the need to be Free.” ~Ernie Knapp
But the most interesting thing I found when asking people what they thought the poem meant to them was that one of them thought it had to do with the soul of a person:
“This poem tells of the emptiness of ones own soul. It tells of the inner struggle of the poet’s own being. It also tells of the loss of a dream and the loss of hope as things come to a close. ~Johnny G.”
But my understanding is in this poem that I wrote after rereading So Free:
I am the love that holds you close,
I am the hope that directs your life
Even the waves are at my command.
When it appears that life is complicated,
Just ask for me,
And I will come,
To set you free,
From all your pain,
That hurts you so.
I thought the poem was about the lord and how his love and hope are a part of our love for others. The truth of it is... I don't know what the true meaning is. My friends Justin, Jammer and my self wrote that as we sent email back and forth to one another. It took us a little over a month to write, but we had fun writing it.
Nicole VanderSloot Personal Interview November 23, 2000
Tim Personal Interview November 23, 2000
Cycocat3 Personal Interview November 23, 2000
David Chandler Personal Interview November 23, 2000
Ernie Knapp Personal Interview November 25, 2000
Johnny G. Personal Interview November 26, 2000
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