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Writer's pictureSteve C

I've Got To Go Back

Updated: Apr 16, 2022

I've got to get back to the tall timber soon,​


Back where the big firs saw at the sky.​


Back where I rise to the cries of a loon,​


Back where the osprey and eagles still fly.​


The city and its woes scare me to death,​


The squalor and stench burns in my eyes.​


My heart is pounding I can't catch my breath,​


To tell you the truth, I'm sick of the lies.​



The bells and whistles, the honking of horns,​


The screech of tires the curse and the yell.​


I need to wake up to clear, quiet morns,​


To be stuck in this city's like living in hell.​


I'm gagging on a swill, mistaken for air,​


And I can't trust a soul that I see.​


I'd just as soon lie in a rattlesnake's lair,​


I can't stay in the city, I need to be free

I need to have my campfire at night,​


I've got to be able to count my stars.​


I'm blinded by the glare of the city's light,​


I'm froze like a deer in eyes of their cars.​


I've got to get back amid valley and peak,​


I need a good lashing from the wind and rain.​


I crave the culture of a babbling creek,​


I've got to get back to my mountains again.​



I've not seen a smile since I looked in the mirror,​


Their taut furrowed gaunt faces tell of their fears.​


They scurry like mice, amid the din and the furor,​


And they've all got cell phones stuck in their ears.​


I gave it my best,​


I failed your test,​


Now, I need some rest,​


I need a good lashing from the wind and rain,​


I've got to get back to my mountains again.


-- Michael Barker


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2 Comments


Evy
Jul 30, 2022

Hoss--

I love this poem. It reminds me of the days when I was a child and my dad would take me with him in his log truck up into the woods. Always a special time, enjoying nature and time with my dad.

Evy

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Kurt
Jul 27, 2022

Michael, this poem is really powerful! The ending says it all

"I need a good lashing from the wind and rain,​

I've got to get back to my mountains again."

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