"Outsiders" [Reflections on Chris Orwig's Book Visual Poetry -[Chapter 9 - Generally] (John 1:1-34; Ezekiel 2-3 )
There’s something ’bout the out-of-doors – eccentric’s seen a plenty;
I saw it in the North, of course, of them the North’s not empty;
Perhaps it makes them bend this way – get “bushed”, go bearded, “squirrely”,
However they may come to be, eccentric they are clearly.Conventions they don’t care about; tradition’s in each pocket;
The formal ways done in the South? They take off like a rocket;
“Give me the open air”, they say, “the bush, the sea, the saddle;
A kayak in Nahanni gorge, I’m quite content to paddle.“I’ll bike down mountains, surf the waves, and sail-board in the canyons;
Work oil rigs, bike Tour-de-France, camp out with my companions;
I’ll scale the mountains, dive the seas – put any task before me,
But not a shop or office job with traffic in a city.So if you’ll photograph the wilds, or sports, or action venues,
Be sensitive to those around; take note of brawn and senues;
For underneath there often is a deep abiding mystery –
A cup of coffee, kicking back, and you’ll hear vivid history.It’s out of that you’ll photograph, skip formal as a basis;
Enter yourself into that life – be one of outdoor’s cases;
If you’re already down that road, you’ll be at home and rooting;
To Northern, action, sporting life, you’ll also be recruiting.In shooting pix just be prepared for life outside the margins
Of time and space – like dawn and dusk, and swamp, not English gardens;
You’ll get in shape just to keep up, and soon with cheeks so rosy,
You’ll grasp this way of doing life – in roughing it be cozy.navigation