the sun is behind the clouds can it rain for a lifetime? a gray-black morass hangs over all this damocles sword denying all of happiness who reside amongst this, constant apprehension this novel storm that rages cuts all to the quick while remaining an affirmation of life despite the suffering
#IamWriting
The Great Leveller
all paths eventually arrive at the same destination whatever one’s station be it the cross or another unity at the end playing fields are levelled for in death all are equal paths of glory or despair all lead to death none can transcend or escape the level playing field
© 2020 Michael D Emmerich
© 2020 mikesnexus.com
Chasing Rainbows
the moon behind my back with shadows stretching out before, distorting, lengthening, changing the way that lies ahead standing in the gray hoping to arrive as I keep chasing rainbows to dry my tears
© 2019 michael d emmerich
© 2019 mikesnexus
A Life Discarded
rolling highways of aging steel spikes of steel arching upwards stretching from here to wherever even possibly infinity remnants of a life discarded frantically clinging to rusted spikes as the blustery wind plucks and rips desperately trying to set them free these cast aside fragments finally break free to fly but only to be caught by yet another highway of steel which proceeds to agonisingly shred, rip, tear more of its life away right down to the marrow
© 2019 michael d emmerich
© 2019 mikesnexus
What to Do?
what to do? ……. when your heart turns to dust all you want is just … yet your blood becomes rust when in flash all turns to ash as your life is slashed as all you can feel is cold steel as you slowly reel what do you do to survive? when you only feel alive after five
© 2019 michael d emmerich
© 2019 mikesnexus
Standing Serene
in the waxing and waning of life as the sea of tranquillity transforms with the fast approaching misfortunes of poseidon be that island of serenity in the raging storms and pounding waves of life's tempest ….. just stand serenely and be
© 2019 michael d emmerich
© 2019 mikesnexus
Like Water
walk with me in the woods dig me a hole just pour me into it make me like water filling every crevice and cranny and then …. leave me be
© 2019 michael d emmerich
© 2019 mikesnexus
Five Came Back – My Thoughts
This is not a Review!
This is: Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the series 3.5 stars out of 4, writing, “Arguably the best documentary ever made about Hollywood and wartime, Five Came Back is nirvana for movie lovers and a real eye-opener for anyone new to the subject.”
The 3 part mini series on Netflix, Five Came Back explores the experiences of five U.S. film directors – John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens – and their front-line film work during the Second World War, whilst enlisted into various branches of the US Military in Europe and the Pacific. I watched all 3 episodes in one sitting. The producers have then also paired 5 modern day directors and each modern director discusses the impact and legacies of one of the five earlier directors: Steven Spielberg (Wyler), Francis Ford Coppola (Huston), Guillermo del Toro (Capra), Paul Greengrass (Ford), and Lawrence Kasdan (Stevens).
I found the series fascinating, captivating and an emotional journey. Emotional, as it dragged me back to the recollections and memories, from my own experiences in War and years of work in EMS, and the mental stress and PTSD, that those times inflict on us. What they saw and how it changed them, and the reality that came rushing to meet them, in ways they could have never conceived, impacted on their lives forever. Changing the way they saw the world and notably their creative output post the war.
The director George Stevens who before the war used to make romantic comedies never made one again in his life – and the tone of his movies changed, they were thoughtful and dramatic; Giant and The Diary of Anne Frank are two I remember seeing in the 1970’s with my mom …
But this is not a review…. back to how this series made me think and reflect …
A powerful and thought provoking moment came for me in the opening segment of the final episode (3) when, the narrator Paul Greengrass makes this (for me) very heartfelt observation:
“what is the witness that you’re giving to the world that you see out there”
I am still processing the full extent of what this means in the here and know, and how it impacts my life’s journey. The questions and thoughts I have on this are: what type of world do we see out there (as I am sure its different for many of us) and what is the image that we portray to that world. In this frenetic age of social media, where we can choose to live our entire lives in the public eye, dragging out our 15 min of fame to previously unimaginable lengths! And then how does this impact on the witness we bear and the world which we want to see?
Often we are moulded and haunted by a past, we did not always ask for, and facing an uncertain future and unknown destination. Yet even with that uncertainty staring us in the face we soldier forward. The biggest battle, at times is finding our way home or a home.
The section on PTSD of the soldiers and the 5 directors is thought provoking and raises more questions than answers, and another blog post is brewing on this subject and a short documentary film directed by John Houston. The 1946 film; Let There Be Light and its portrayal of soldiers suffering from post traumatic stress disorder led to Let There Be Light being suppressed by the U.S. government; it was not released until the 1980s.
Let me close out with the powerful optimistic hopeful words from a Capra post WW2 film, which was a flop on its release but later became a classic:
The world is not all evil.
Yes, we do have nightmares, but we also have dreams.
We do have villainy, but we also have great compassion.
There’s good in the world.
And it’s wonderful.Frank Capra – It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
© 2019 michael d emmerich
© 2019 mikesnexus
No Limits
rose petals pressed between blank pages bleeding out, total commitment to the cost of pressing on
© 2019 michael d emmerich
© 2019 mikesnexus
Moving Towards Hope
heard you feeling down show me where it hurts? tell me your story so, I can share your pain I to have that feeling, again of pain fast approaching from where you ask? from the chasm of my self let me get up to hopefully, walk away from this pain this is not who I am, not numb to life, rather alive to possibilities
© 2019 michael d emmerich
© 2019 mikesnexus