Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Dreaming Large


image borrowed from sodahead.com


Dreaming Large

“My dream got bigger & bigger--and the box
got bigger than the message--than the Gospel.”
--Jim Bakker.

As a younger more gregarious man, I
     dreamed of putting together an Artist’s
         Colony, where fellowship, love, & creativity
     could flourish & co-mingle--but not in
an old warehouse firetrap like in the
urban artist clusters I had seen,
No, mine would be out in Puget
Sound on one of the smaller
islands, sprawling over a 100
acres, rife with wonderful forest
trails, walking distance to the
sparkling inland sea. The artist’s homes would
                       include dome houses, domiciles
                   built underground with sod & moss
               roves, mountain man log cabins, and
             ambitious tree houses with spider web
           catwalks connecting them, each with its
   own studio for sculptors, painters, musicians
actors, dancers, & writers.

My house would be on a high bluff overlooking
the colony, with a clear view over the top of the
pungent conifers of a lighthouse nearby, that
would be festooned with red & white stripes.
It would be 20,000 square feet,
    all on one level, with 15’ cathedral
        ceilings, several tall stained glass picture
                      windows with their brightly colored
                      depictions of orca pods, Roosevelt
                      elk, bald eagles, seahawks & gulls.
                       black bear, timber wolves, forests 
                       and beaches.

My wife and I would have a palatial bed chamber,
with separate bathrooms connected to a spa, 
cavernous walk-in closets, a canopy bed with
red & black velvet curtains, a tall functional fire
place, two red leather love seats, with no TV’s.

The monstrous kitchen    would have several kinds
of ovens, a plethora of     hanging brass pots and
pans, and a dinette          table for immediate 
family that adjoins            a huge King Arthur style
dining hall, complete        with several hand-carved
oak sideboards and a       humungous carved redwood
dining table that could      seat 30 guests. On the blond
paneled walls would         hang the Buttkus family crest,
sent from a German         castle, dozens of authentic
samurai & European        cavalry ornamental swords
& spears, interspersed     with weapons of the American
Old West, from buffalo      rifles to carbines.

Of course, there will be
a library laden with books,
movies, and music, adjoined
to a home theater with a
20 feet screen & Dolby
surround sound, that could
seat 50 people, with a glass
cabinet by the door that displays
real Oscars, Emmys, & SAG awards.

The roof of my rambling home would be fashioned like
a tall ship, with railings. thick masts, red & black sails
and large flags. Rising majestically out of the center of
the roof would be my personal circular Tower of Silence,
an apartment perched a hundred feet above the trees,
fitted with an elevator, the old fashioned kind taken from
a pioneer building in Seattle, with flashing lights atop it
to alert planes at night & a cell tower to power all the Wi-
Fi wonders below. This is my retreat,
                                         my office,
                                         my eagle’s nest,
                                         my den in the clouds,
                                         my writer’s space.
                                         my meditation space,
                                         my home for Muses,
                                         my cradle of creativity.

What good is great wealth--
if you don’t share with friends and
loving family?


Glenn Buttkus

Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub



12 comments:

brudberg said...

First that wonderful house and then the sharing... a royal setting worthy Ludwig of Bavaria, but with that gregarious touch of sharing...

But it would be too much trouble for me I think

Kim M. Russell said...

When can I visit?
Please...

tonispencer said...

And I pause in reading and ask...and who will clean this huge house? I like your take on the prompt - part Socialist, part trump Towers, part executive, part poet, part friend. Lots of stuff going on in this house. I have my swords arranged in the living room of our home. Very simple stuff...

Jane Dougherty said...

It's not much, but it's home. You'd have room for an army of squatters and you'd never notice :)

Frank Hubeny said...

I like the underground homes and the tree houses with catwalks and the tower of silence.

Grace said...

I would love to visit you and run along that mostrous kitchen and watch movies with that amazing sound system ~ And then rest in that Tower of Silence ~ Dream big and share it with loved ones ~

De Jackson said...

Sounds fantastic to me, Glenn. A wonderful place to live, as well as visit. I shall bring cake.

Anonymous said...

A grand dream indeed. I'll bring drinks :-)

purplepeninportland.com said...

Wow, Glen. What a fabulous, well thought out house. Love the treehouse, catwalks, and that amazing Tower of Silence. I hope to be invited! Thanks!

Maria said...


What good is great wealth--
if you don’t share with friends and
loving family?"

~yes, indeed!

Waltermarks said...

What time do you serve dinner? I'll do dishes, windoss, but no laundry :)

lillianthehomepoet.wordpress.com said...

Well surely my Hundertwasser Haus will fit right into this colony, tree tenants and all. -- and I shall come calling to have a glass of wine with you and we and our spouses shall sit in your library and close our eyes and listen to music that shall come pouring from the speakers hidden within the walls - surround sound but to each individual's taste. And yes -- always a canopy bed and a tower of silence too!