Occasionally Free – Dave Olson's Creative Life Archive

Occasionally Free

My half life
Is the better part of me
up to you entirely
which half you want to see

Stolen library books
Or loud guitars
I exist
Somewhere in between

Diamonds and dungaree
Top floor hotels
Or a flophouse squat
Something in a middle path
On a train or out to sea

Weirdness follows along
Wherever i wander and roam
Tiniest palm islands
Or festival jamboree

Trails up mountains
Without a map
Trying to get lost
Cities with no language
Means or currency

My skills are entirely impractical
Sitting in patio cafes
Writing letters to loves i never knew
And drinking watery tea

I’ve minted banknotes on vellum
Carved ink stamps in balsa wood
And manufactured clandestine postage stamps
Printed in Singapore

Who will you choose when we meet
Out here on the globe
Will you recognize my face
As a friend or
Consider me an enemy

Three miles sideways
Just a couple of pals
Perhaps a lover and a best friend
Rotating walk-on characters
In a dramatic documentary comedy

Will you cast me in yours
If i perform well in your required auditions?

Scars from stingrays
A list of broken bones
Initials carved on noble trees
Scrapbooks full of secrets

I’ve heard of something called a home
But not sure where i left it
You ask me where i’m from “from”
I ask you where we are

Observe the world with binoculars
But a monocle shows more clear
Usually hidden behind dark glasses
To hide my joyful tears

Shortwave radio brings me
News from a decade or four ago
Explorers gone before me
Charting meandering paths
Pointing the longest way
To warmth and mystery

Maybe i can be the one
Who inspires or perhaps
Breaks you out of everyday
You are whoever you choose
As though i know
When reality suggests
I know a little except
How to be occasionally free

1 thought on “Occasionally Free”

  1. Pingback: Lost the Plot (Finding Home) – Postcard #85 — Dave Olson Creative Life Archive

Leave a Comment

Scroll to Top