Sometimes it feels as if I’m living in a painting. Chaotic skies, colorful landscapes, seasons passing. It’s almost a series… The circle game.
Sometimes, even this late in life, I feel just like that child in the song… Wandering through the wonder of life. Living from canvas to canvas to canvas. A circle never-ending. The puppy chasing my tale… making my myth…
Joni Mitchell wrote the song, Buffy Sainte-Marie sang the first version I ever heard in the soundtrack of the movie The Strawberry Statement. One of the nice things about growing up in the Movie Theater business was the perk of publicity items… posters, records, movie stills. And somehow that album ended up in my record collection. My bedroom walls were decorated back then with posters… All kinds of posters… layers and layers of posters… almost a collage of overlapping images and text… typical teenager.
A lot was happening back then at the end of the ’60’s and the beginning of the 70’s… protests, riots, war, racial prejudice, police injustice… oh damn… the circle keeps repeating. But, even then there was a sense of wonder and possibilities… 1970 was the year of the founding of Earth Day, The Mother Earth News was founded, The voting age was lowered to 18. 1970 was the year everyone discovered that Kent State University was located in Ohio. A turbulent time in America and the world… A turbulent time to be a teenager… A turbulent time to come of age with the threat of the draft hanging over your head. A time of alternative lifestyles and communes… back to the land and intentional communities in the cities… searching for reason and direction… questioning everything… and everyone… especially authorities. Not much seems to have changed.
The Circle Game Song by Joni Mitchell Yesterday a child came out to wander Caught a dragonfly inside a jar Fearful when the sky was full of thunder And tearful at the falling of a star And the seasons, they go round and round And the painted ponies go up and down We're captive on the carousel of time We can't return, we can only look Behind, from where we came And go round and round and round, in the circle game Then the child moved ten times round the seasons Skated over ten clear frozen streams Words like, "When you're older" must appease him And promises of someday make his dreams And the seasons, they go round and round And the painted ponies go up and down We're captive on the carousel of time We can't return, we can only look Behind, from where we came And go round and round and round, in the circle game 16 springs and 16 summers gone now Cartwheels turn to car wheels through the town And they tell him, "Take your time, it won't be long now 'Til you drag your feet to slow the circles down" And the seasons, they go round and round And the painted ponies go up and down We're captive on the carousel of time We can't return, we can only look Behind, from where we came And go round and round and round, in the circle game So the years spin by and now the boy is 20 Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true There'll be new dreams, maybe better dreams and plenty Before the last revolving year is through And the seasons, they go round and round And the painted ponies go up and down We're captive on the carousel of time We can't return, we can only look Behind, from where we came And go round and round and round, in the circle game And go round and round and round, in the circle game
Well, my coffee cup has been empty for a good while… Breakfast is late… So, y’all stay safe, stay healthy, and pray… for our nation and our world. Pray this circle game doesn’t grind to a halt anytime soon… my mind is still full of wonder,,,
Enjoy the coming weekend…
