Ten years of deliberate
and tireless practice
That is one expert’s opinion
on what it takes
to master a craft
But we know that the cost
lies in much more
than just time
If you choose this mastery
you may end up working
to the exclusion of:
Weeknight television
and it’s unending unimportance
A new car
that turns over in the morning
What could have been
within other seductive alternatives
Overnight success
amputating the workbench
Sycophants and groupies
slithering on your ear
Three weeks in Spain
bringing life and a momentary rest
Downtown cocktail parties
murdering your precious hours
Large and regular paychecks
bringing options
The praise of man
poisoning the soul
The love of a woman
raising the dead
Some of these
all of these may be lost
as you labor
As you labor
for one of the only things
that cannot be taken from you
no matter who’s doing the taking
You will have chosen
the one thing
over the many
The well-made
over the third-rate
The enduring
over the sensational
And what will you be given in return?
A lusty and sturdy
body of work
A small kick against
the obscenity of death
And a fat middle finger
to the face of a culture
obsessed with
the
bottom
line
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
if you’ve ever made me feel guilty about going with the flow and surrendering to The Man, this was it. nice poem
damn. my site is blocked at school. now i cant respond in poetry. damn school authorities.
I read something recently that said, in essence, that it takes 5 years to do something well. Doesn’t really matter what it is - starting a business, playing guitar, learning a language - proficiency and ease are 5 years away.
So take the 5 year model, and apply it to the number of years you have left, statistically speaking. Makes weeknight tv even more soul decaying if you ask me.
potterspoet - That’s OK, more time to work your craft….
Peter - No doubt. There is very little time left for any of us. Very little. Why blow it on that?
I wish you had written this 5 years ago, I’d be really good at at least one thing! Inspirational Mr. Bruce.
ten years in my field this coming may. still feel i have plenty of room for improvement. and i’m often looking at that middle finger.
Markus - I wish I had too… thanks man.
Randall - In thinking about this, it’d probably be fair to say that a LIFETIME isn’t enough. Maybe what you’re getting at, I sure buy it. Of course, the point being, it’s the road baby, not the arrival.
Yes, me too, on the middle finger…
yes yes yes!
“the one thing
over the many”
I don’t know exactly
when it happened…
the moment I figured I’d
trade in the faith
in that one small, quiet thing
that I had always loved
and given to more openly
than anything else
for xxxxxx.
I never thought I would be that person.
Well, I am. I let desperation and fear
get a hold of me.
It is good to know…where one stands
before death shows her face.
No self-delusions, sweet lies etc.
This is knowledge a guy can work with
get back on track etc…
I’ve come to seriously believe that for alot
of us this one thing lies in service…to family,
friends, those around us…
doing the small, overlooked, daily tasks…
doing them well…
I see so many people looking “out there”
for fulfillment, failing to recognize their
own small strengths and gifts that could
very well be for them the one thing…
but they don’t recognize…maybe because
we’re taught to look out there and to strive
to do something big and bold and powerful,
and so for many people their greatest gifts
are never fully given.
no, this is not a poem, just how the thoughts
are running today.
anyway, my way of saying, nice work.
Jeck-
Beautiful, I could not have said it better my friend…
Weeknight television is not the problem… it’s the machine, with its call of things always to pay attention to at night…
candice -
You’re right, that’ll make the final edit in some form.
Great stuff. The idea of a craft you labor over to perfect, so foreign. I obsessed over a decade with the art and science of throwing a discus. It a physical poetry and for most leading to zero financial gain. I may take up blacksmithing now after this poem. My first creation will be a warhammer to destroy the television.
It is just past 1, and I should be asleep by now, but thanks for that.
I’ve missed the poems.
c - Thanks for that, always.
th’ well-made & the 3rd-rate
sitting in my 8th grade civics class
Mr. McGraw is clawing at my earlobes with
his economika, his rezources
I’m blocking out the old man’s spit
pondering the psychology of neighbors
you know, the ones who haven’t paid
for my mowing services,
Clip & Cut Lawn Care, LLC
the first of many entrepreneurships
sailing pennies in my pocket
Lincolns nostalgically wanting
to be Washingtons
with autumn grass blades
and summer leaf cadavers
it’s always q ov’r q
quantity >> quality,
as a function of greed
but you try telling a young kid
the worth of something,
he’ll just recite the price
of a GameBoy
Arthur - Thanks for that brother.
And I like your site…
Nice poem! I’ve published your poem, ROI, to my site at http://www.kalambacal.blogspot.com. I find it “relevant” to my blog topics.
Happy New Year!
Thanks, Robert. I’ve been reading your work for a while. Keep ‘em comin!
kalman - Thank you, much appreciated…
Arthur - Thanks man, I will. At least until that whore Death comes around…