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Sep 09, 2020
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Under Blue Berkshire Skies
Stevie, we were free,
Stevie, you and me,
On that golden day, was it ’68?
The decade’s last few days,
The whole wild world was crazed,
But where we were was peace,
For you and me at least,
If I stop for a moment,
I dream groves and country paths,
Green’s 'Albatross' is playing
In this our past,
Whole empires were falling,
The old ways were fading fast,
Things never last,
But you and I found pleasant peace at last,
We walked and talked
For many hours,
Safe under blue Berkshire skies.
About This Poem
Last Few Words: 'Under Blue Berkshire Skies' was originally written as a song in 2003 in praise of a friendship enjoyed several decades previously as a ‘new boy’ at nautical college in the English county of Berkshire, and yet haunted both by the Spirit of ’68, and the Beach Boys’ 'Surf’s Up', which, originally written by Brian Wilson and lyricist Van Dyke Parks for the mythical lost album 'Smile', somehow serves to evoke the twilight of an era of historic momentousness.
Style/Type: Free verse
Review Request Intensity: I want the raw truth, feel free to knock me on my back
Editing Stage: Editing - polished draft
Comments
Geezer
4 years 10 months ago
Those were the days...
The days of care-free companionship. When you could still find a little peace and quiet, before the Internet and cell phones.
But yes, those days were fast disappearing and I'm glad that you made the most of them to forge friendships that last a lifetime. Nice imagery. ~ Geez.
.
Carl Halling
4 years 10 months ago
Thanks, Geezer...
You are so right, I love the internet, but it has certainly changed things, in some ways for the better, in some ways perhaps less so...
Carl Halling
4 years 10 months ago
The Swinging Sixties...
...I knew them as a child, Teddy, and ended up at military/naval school in Berkshire just as they were ending, I was a tiny little rebel there, and a terrible dunce, and left early, but I have great memories, of friendships &c. I adore the Beatles too, always have done. For sure, some great men were lost in that decade. We all stood in silence for a minute for JFK as I recall, but some kid broke it and was chucked out, that it wasn't me is a miracle. I was sad about Otis Redding; Bobby Kennedy hit me quite hard as I recall. An especially strong memory was Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones: I was waiting to get my hair cut off a dusty road in Spain, and read about it in a newspaper. It's one of those moments you never forget. Jimi, Janis, Morrison, all survived into the 70s, just.