Never Too Late
It’s too late for Woodstock
but not for that leopard-skin pillbox-hat
the one Bob Dylan made fun of
and Jackie O passed over for pink
It’s too late for a star on Hollywood Boulevard
to walk the red carpet
or become a Jungian psychologist
It’s probably too late to hike the Camino
but not to see the cherry blossoms
in Washington D.C.
It’s too late to wear that polka dot bikini
to live at the beach off writer’s royalties
But it’s never too late to know a groove from a rut
to wear your heart on your sleeve and let it break
It’s never too late put flowers on the table
to let the song birds of your childhood
sing like Jericho through middle age
To let them be blue
and enjoy them when their golden
to visit Claude Monet’s garden in spring
____Colleen Redman / Poet’s United / Imaginary Gardens with Real Toads
May 22nd, 2016 9:00 am
I had one of those pillbox hats, hated the damned thing.
But it was the last line of your elegant poem, about the wood thrush, that did me in. We have one here that gives us morning and evening and I never weary of him.
Thank you for that.
May 22nd, 2016 9:52 am
I love, love, love the message in your poem, Colleen. We can always find something new to do to enrich our lives…no matter what age or stage we are in. It is NEVER too late for finding some kind of new joy.
May 22nd, 2016 10:06 am
Wonderful message in your poem 😀 Kudos.
May 22nd, 2016 11:03 am
Especially love the last two lines!
May 22nd, 2016 11:37 am
it’s never too late indeed!
May 22nd, 2016 12:17 pm
I think this is such a masterful poem, what we can deliver in that juxtaposition of what’s to late and what’s not.. much like how Neruda wrote his sonnet 17.. I love it, and would like to see more of this…
May 22nd, 2016 1:06 pm
This is wonderful, and I so resonate! And, heavens, hasnt Leonard Peltier been freed yet? He has been in there forever! I loved that reference.
May 22nd, 2016 2:01 pm
I was amazed to read there were 400 000 people at Woodstock, quite a flash mob for the day. I wish the feeling to come together in love and unity was as strongly felt today. the world needs it.
I love the progression of the poem, and the final stanza delivers a punch.
May 22nd, 2016 2:52 pm
The closing line was a superb end – almost peace and resolution after those profound questions
May 22nd, 2016 5:26 pm
It may be too late for woodstock. but you still can enjoy the gift of music. It is everywhere. You can still go to Bethel to see shows. The ghosts of the past are surely present on those grounds.
May 22nd, 2016 8:12 pm
What an outstandingly beautiful poem Colleen. It is never too late and we all should remember that.
May 23rd, 2016 5:11 am
Like the wood thrush’s song, this is LUSH. I especially appreciate that single fifth line (in the penultimate stanza)
G.R.E.A.T writing, CR!
May 23rd, 2016 6:08 am
I love everything about this poem.
May 23rd, 2016 12:49 pm
Awesome!
May 24th, 2016 11:01 am
What a beautiful, positive way to look at the world… and the song of the thrush… just an outstanding poem
May 25th, 2016 10:21 pm
[…] 4. It’s too late for going to Woodstock / but not for wearing that leopard-skin pillbox-hat / the one Bob Dylan made fun of / and Jackie O passed over for pink – See what else it’s not too late for HERE. […]
May 26th, 2016 7:48 pm
This poem was wonderful! I loved “but its never too late to close your eyes to see.” So deep! I enjoyed it very much and Woodstock was the best.