{"id":4289,"date":"2023-08-01T06:18:43","date_gmt":"2023-08-01T10:18:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/?p=4289"},"modified":"2023-07-30T11:37:25","modified_gmt":"2023-07-30T15:37:25","slug":"poem-ghost-writer-in-the-sky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2023\/08\/01\/poem-ghost-writer-in-the-sky\/","title":{"rendered":"POEM: Ghost Writer in the Sky"},"content":{"rendered":"

This poem, weather a dream or a nightmare, plays with that often thin line in life between terror and hope.<\/p>\n

Ghost Writer in the Sky<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What was this?
\nAn exhilarating dream
\nOr night mare
\nTaking my breath away
\nLife suspended
\nAbridge to wear
\nA taut rope
\nIn spire
\nBefore me
\nBehind me
\nFrayed the win blow
\nAs plumb it
\nMy feat
\nMeasured in time, not distance
\nSeconds from heaven
\nWith no safety net
\nStretching my neck
\nCould knot
\nFree me
\nIn the end
\nMuch too my relief
\nAnd pants for heir
\nA wake
\nMy feet on the ground
\nJust
\nMy head in the sky
\nThe tallest tell
\nIf I\u2019ve ever seen won
\nGhost writer in the sky<\/p>\n

This poem draws on a couple of personal experiences that fill out this narrative poem. First, a tip of the hat to ghost riders in the sky<\/a>; that is not “mine,” except culturally in some sense. Also, the image of a tight rope walk is driven by the movie, “Man on a wire,” about Philippe Petit’s 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of New York’s World Trade Center<\/a>, an almost unbelievable stunt.<\/p>\n

The “hanging” narrative in this mixed metaphor comes from a short story, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge<\/a>, by Ambrose Bierce. I read this story for a college English class, where we were discussing possible endings for stories. This story is told in first person by a man being hung on a bridge by soldiers. The man vividly envisions an escape…but is ultimately hung. Such is life…and death. The professor, in a routine setup I imagine, asked, “Could a first person story truly be written by someone who dies at the end of the story.” Unbeknownst to her literal mind, she had walked into my trap. I said, in cool, deadpan equanimity: “Yes, of course.” She predictably said, “How could that be, he was dead?” Stating the soon too be obvious, I said, “He was a ghost writer.” The palpable groan this elicited was priceless.\u00a0 Yep, a gem from Top Pun’s early career.<\/p>\n

Lastly, in my ponderings upon high ideals in efface of brutal, on-the-ground realities, I have said that it takes a big man to have your feet on the ground and your head in the sky. The wrest is history [this applies to women as well; except in this case, it is herstory].<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This poem, weather a dream or a nightmare, plays with that often thin line in life between terror and hope. Ghost Writer in the Sky What was this? An exhilarating dream Or night mare Taking my breath away Life suspended … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,9],"tags":[385,538,506,559,388,618,579,359,438,529,723,287],"class_list":["post-4289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-about-top-pun","category-poems","tag-death","tag-dream","tag-heaven","tag-history","tag-hope","tag-ideals","tag-image","tag-life","tag-mind","tag-time","tag-top-pun","tag-women"],"yoast_head":"\nPOEM: Ghost Writer in the Sky | About Top Pun, Poems | Top Pun's Poetry, Funny Puns, Free Posters, Public Health Radio Show! %<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"POEM: Ghost Writer in the Sky, About Top Pun, Poems, Death, Dream, Heaven, History, Hope, Ideals, Image, Life, Mind, Time, Top Pun, Women Top Pun's Poetry, Funny Puns, Free Posters, Public Health Radio Show! 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