The Telescopic Eye

Running, Cranes and the Skyhook

One advantage of living near Belmont Harbor is the proximity of Lincoln Park. That is where I, occasionally, run early in the morning as I did this past Sunday. It seems that the park is under permanent constant renovation and on my run I was confronted, fortunately not on the running path, by a huge construction crane blocking the vista of the lake just south of the harbor. Along with a backhoe it was just another reminder of the man-made change occurring in the park. I often meditate while running and my thoughts are usually focused on far different things.

All of this is by way of indirect introduction to one of my poems written more than ten years ago. I am planning to include my poetry in this blog on a more regular basis, perhaps new, but more likely those few that I have created and I am willing to let loose into the world. The following is not about the park or cranes, but rather the source of the ideas behind cranes and other machines.



THE SKYHOOK


A telescopic eye peers down at the earth
From a satellite hovering far above in the sky.
The eye mechanically gleams in the sunlight,
Reflecting the motion of those on earth below.

Does this machine lift them toward the stars --
Those below who wander in a dream of illusion?
Does their wonder create their heavens
With colors from their imaginations as shading?

The eye continues to peer from beyond
Their reach -- the furthest reach of nature’s sky.

The reach of our mind is found on earth,
Below the telescopic eye, in the books
Created by the minds of the men and women
Who built the satellite in the sky.

We represent the dream and we share
it by devouring the fruit of their spirit.
The books of our minds and our lives represent
The elements of motion in harmony with our selves.


From Preludes of the Mind, 1995, James Henderson