When I was a prisoner in my mind
I used to dream of lifting up my head
and one day observing the open sky
reaching to feel the sun warming my face
and tasting rain that’s since lost its poison
Those were the days I thought would never end
And yet now that I’m shackled to freedom…
and now that I’m free from the old strongholds
I am beset by not one but hundreds
of dreams that run amok..like kids off-lock
jostling for pride of place between my eyes
I’ve now become a teacher to my dreams
-learning that freedom is a training camp
for students with vision who dare to dream
©Vivian Zems
dVerse poets-MTB iambic pentameter…Frank hosts today
October 11, 2018 at 9:03 pm
Oh … shackled to freedom… that’s a thought that I like…
Why does the caged bird sing.
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October 13, 2018 at 12:07 am
😀
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October 11, 2018 at 9:04 pm
Very nice line: “I’ve now become a teacher to my dreams” I like how those dreams have something even they need to learn.
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October 13, 2018 at 12:07 am
For sure! Thank you Frank😊
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October 11, 2018 at 9:13 pm
I like the notion that the dreamworld can be influenced and manipulated. As an old man, I wake up often during the night, and sometimes can be successful in rejoining the dream I just left.
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October 11, 2018 at 11:22 pm
I like the positive spin to : dreams that run amok. Becoming a teacher to my dreams can be an exciting adventure.
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October 13, 2018 at 12:06 am
Thank you! And yes, an adventure indeed😊
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October 11, 2018 at 11:27 pm
Interesting twist, Vivian – exchanging one prison for another.
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October 13, 2018 at 12:05 am
Thanks V.J!😀
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October 11, 2018 at 11:37 pm
Love this! Shared on Go Dog Go Cafe – Pay It Forward Thursdays.
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October 12, 2018 at 2:15 am
Thank you!!! 🙂 🙂
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October 12, 2018 at 2:50 am
🙂
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October 12, 2018 at 12:03 am
when you are free – daring to dream becomes a possibility
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October 13, 2018 at 12:04 am
Absolutely true!
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October 12, 2018 at 12:08 am
Yes, seems like life is a series of trade=offs. Just when we thing we have freed ourselves another shackle grabs our ankle. Great poem. I love that you are a teacher of those who would dream!
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October 12, 2018 at 11:57 pm
Thank you 😊🙏🏾
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October 12, 2018 at 3:49 am
I love the message in your words. Freedom is definitely a training camp.
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October 12, 2018 at 11:53 pm
Indeed it is! 😊
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October 12, 2018 at 5:10 am
Learning as a training camp is such a wise view. Beautiful
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October 12, 2018 at 11:53 pm
Thank you 😊
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October 12, 2018 at 7:09 am
I like the contrast of ‘prisoner in my mind’ and the oxymoron ‘shackled to freedom’, Viv, and the lines:
‘I’ve now become a teacher to my dreams
-learning that freedom is a training camp
for students with vision who dare to dream’
which sum up the rest of the poem well.
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October 12, 2018 at 11:51 pm
Thank you Kim! 🙏🏾
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October 12, 2018 at 11:00 am
Free free free yet still want to be
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October 12, 2018 at 11:50 pm
Indeed!
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October 12, 2018 at 5:03 pm
Beautiful concept.
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October 12, 2018 at 11:50 pm
Thank you 😊
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October 14, 2018 at 12:43 am
I love the lining of hope and that dreams are possible, even when they seem impossible. ❤️ 🙂
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October 14, 2018 at 2:39 pm
Indeed! Thank you for reading 😊
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October 14, 2018 at 3:02 pm
You’re very welcome 😊
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October 30, 2018 at 4:37 pm
I too liked the juxtaposition of being shackled to freedom — the course of this poem is situated in a certain understanding and knowledge of how to dream and be free in ways that are the best for the spirit perhaps. The last three lines show this restraint to make it work.
Well penned! 🙂
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October 30, 2018 at 6:14 pm
I absolutely love the lines “freedom is a training camp for students with vision who dare to dream.” This really speaks to me as a teacher.
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October 30, 2018 at 6:53 pm
A doubled edged sword. As is most of life. Dreams. Freedom. Hope. Light. Darkness.
I suspect it’s how we choose to hold, handle or grasp the tool(s) that makes the difference in the results.
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October 30, 2018 at 8:35 pm
I like this. A prisoner shackled o freedom and the last two lines -“learning that freedom is a training camp for students with vision who dare to dream”. Yes it is so very true.
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October 31, 2018 at 9:16 am
When we find a better life we should never become complacent and forget the old one or in fact stop dreaming.
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October 31, 2018 at 10:36 am
kaykuala
And yet now that I’m shackled to freedom…
and now that I’m free from the old strongholds
I am beset by not one but hundreds
of dreams that run amok..
A great play of some kind of paradox in your take Vivian! ‘shackled to freedom’ , how nice a thought to come up with!
Hank
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November 1, 2018 at 3:46 am
Freedom needing to be trained, I can relate to that
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November 2, 2018 at 7:54 pm
😊
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December 13, 2018 at 1:08 am
Wow! check out my blog, it’s all about dreams and I’d love to have you as a guest writer if you have any interesting dreams!
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