Soulfruit
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Free Verse, Image, Poetry, beauty, ecstatic, erotic, joy, love, memories, mystery, nature, photo, sensuality, whimsy, wonder
and the August 30th prompt at Big Tent Poetry.
•
my mouth on you
soft
like a peach
you glisten
trickle from my lips
I bite you
sweet
like an apple
your hushed breath
staccato crisp
you taste
tart as strawberry
succulent
as love’s nectar
• • •
rob kistner © 2010
Mag 30
For No One
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Free Verse, Image, Poetry, art, courage, joy, minimalist, nature, philosophy, wisdom, wonder
and prompt #69 at Carry On Tuesday,
also the September 1st prompt at Three Word Wednesday…
•
to which I tight step
pulses
in my heart
alone
it is my coursing vital
stirs my spirit
steels my resolve
drives me on
into the fray
emboldened
“to thine own self”
resonates
the chambers
of my soul
sweet
as the song
of angels
if one is not
author
of the life
one lives
it is
plagiarized
and its essence
forged
it is my pen
scribes my epitaph
the spark
must be authentic
or the fire
arson
the flame
that burns within
is mine
do not expect
I will ignite
for you
or blaze
to your vision
you are not
my flint
do not attempt
to chart
my course
I search
my own
horizon
do not
contain me
I live
outside
do not
seek me
on the surface
I break deep
below
the negative
do not
summon me
to your queue
yours is not
my grid
or file
you are not
my piper
this
I know
I stand in line
for no one
• • •
rob kistner © 2010
The Box
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Image, Short Story, action, beauty, courage, dark, dark drama, love, love story, memories, mystery, photo, regret, sensuality, suspense, tragedy, wonder
and the August 25th prompt at Three Word Wednesday,
and prompt #18 at Writer’s Island.
…a short story of intrigue…
•
“What do you mean Taylor,” Gwen inquired, the strain obvious in her weary voice. “Who exactly is going to confront Dylan… and why?”
Her voice trailed off to an exasperated whisper. The why was not so much a question, as an exhalation of confused frustration. She seemed to know the answer was much too complicated to address at this hour, and she was too spent, physically and emotionally, to want to hear it.
Gwen turned away from Taylor, head lowered. Her arms fell limp at her side, fingers splayed. She was trying her best to process what Taylor was saying, to understand him – to understand the recent events that had brought her to this place in time… trying to make sense of anything. Her head was spinning, and she could feel the fatigue deep in her bones.
She dropped back onto the sofa, half sitting, half lying down – an exhausted slouch. She felt paralyzed, thoughts racing through her mind – fragmented, disconnected thoughts. If only she could clear her head. She was in trouble.
(more…)
True Work
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Free Verse, Haiku, Image, Poetry, Tanka, art, beauty, courage, dark, gratitude, love, mystery, nature, philosophy, photo, tragedy, wisdom, wonder
and prompt #16 at We Write Poems,
also the August 23rd prompt at Big Tent Poetry,
and the August 25th prompt at Three Word Wednesday,
and prompt #18 at Writer’s Island,
and finally prompt #131 at One Single Impression…
AUTHOR”S NOTE: I had this incomplete 3-year-old draft of my poem “True Work” (loosely inspired by Gary Snyder’s “Real Work”) that I had wanted, for some time, to edit into a piece with which I would be more satisfied. As I read all the above listed prompt sites this week, I began to see a serendipitous relationship among the current prompts, and my “True Work” piece. This inspired me to create a ’suite’ of poetry, threaded together by the ‘true work’ phrase, with the focus being the ‘world’ and its inhabitants — which was the crux of the “True Work” draft I already had. The digital rendering I created of the hand holding the world helped me finish my vision of this poetry suite.
•
I bend my back and squat
then straighten at the waist
hunkered ‘neath the weight
I lift clean the load
the warehouseman’s refrain
always on my mind
“back straight
lift with the legs”…
the first test — no result
I try a second
then a third
on and on
day after day
long hours in the lab
the formula must be perfect
only perfect will save lives…
drywall must be flush
and plumb
also square and seamless
meticulously
I set each sheet
with the level and the bob
then pause
to wipe my sweating brow…
I curse the clay
do battle with fatigue
I coax my muse
to commit to form
the first draft of my vision
to then modify
and remold
until the ultimate creation…
these are elements of the work I do
or did
or may yet do
and I am you
and you are me
and we are all together
in this endeavor of our daily life
but this is not our true work
to bend to lift someone in need
to help carry their burden
until they again stand steady
to seek the components of peace
to formulate the dialog
that fosters understanding
to measure well tolerance
to stand squarely flush
with truth and level justice
to visualize universal love
to create the enduring model
for a free and vital world
this — is our true work
so little done
so much to do
• • •
If Only
•
stressed beyond limits
earth’s fragile balance falters
but this can be changed
her future is in our hands
if only we do true work
• • •
Endeavor
•
abstain from false pride
prayer does not a halo make
that requires true work
• • •
rob kistner © 2010
______________
Clarion Stones
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Image, Poetry, beauty, courage, dark, gratitude, joy, love, memories, mystery, nature, photo, rhyme, wisdom, wonder
and offered for prompt 130 at One Single Impression,
and for prompt 229 at Sunday Scribblings….
•
all those years ago
in the time of dangers
they were placed in secret
as a silent beacon
in the realm of night
waiting for the day
when the shadowed world
would waken from the nightmare
of its narrow petty ways
and embrace the light
stacked by those of vision
blessed in hope and courage
one upon the other
like knowledge upon learning
the standing stones of peace
hear — they call across the ages
and beckon us to rise
come forth to a new dream
we have traveled to our future
let fear and hatred cease
the place of peace is here
the time of love is now
• • •
rob kistner © 2010
S’wonderful
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Free Verse, Image, Poetry, erotic, joy, photo, sensuality, whimsy
•
slow
satisfying
soak
serenely steamy
soft supple skin
salaciously slathered
shaved smooth
satin-silky
seductive scent
subtly spread
sensuous strokes
sliding
stimulating
stirring sighs
shivers
savoring
so
so
so slippery
• • •
rob kistner © 2010
Wilt
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Free Verse, Image, Poetry, beauty, nature, photo, regret
•
curtains hang limp
at the front room windows
through which no breeze
has blown for days
only the sound of tires
crackling like slow-torn velcro
as cars roll sluggish
past our porch
tugging the molten tar patches
of our sizzled street
watering the roses
I see the gerbera daisies droop
panting in their porcelain pineapple pots
toasting on the withered wooden stoop
paint cracked and dry
scorched from neglect
even the silk plant on the kitchen sill
is wilted from the triple-digit heat
the glowing zeroes stare red
from the temperature display
like a pair of burning eyes
vacant as my baked brain
I bring the cool stream
from our garden hose
to quench my thirst
and moisten my parched lips
they do not smile
simmering deep in summer
• • •
rob kistner © 2010
Old Man’s Prayer
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Image, Poetry, art, courage, dark, love, memories, mystery, philosophy, photo, prayer, regret, rhyme, tragedy, wisdom, wonder
and visual prompt Mag 27 at Magpie Tales (see image at bottom),
also offered for prompt 129 at One Single Impression,
and for prompt 228 at Sunday Scribblings….
•
the grind became my home
and I a conduit of worry
could I keep the crazy pace
years spun wild as a top
around faster ever faster
life layering its patina
etched deeply in my face
suddenly no longer young
now looking back from 63
I’ve known triumph I’ve known tragedy
they’ve marked me both the same
I’ve borrowed bought and sold
strayed through several shades of grey
but have I leveraged my soul
just to play the fleeting game
I pray I will not be an old man
gazing lonely out my window
trying to remember
exactly how long it has rained
not sitting silent by the fire
lost in contemplation
wondering if all I lost
was worth what it was I gained
• • •
rob kistner © 2010
Mag 27
Machine Mind
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Essay, Free Verse, Image, Poetry, Tanka, art, collage, dark, humor, humor noir, love, mystery, photo, photorendering, rhyme, science fiction, suspense, tragedy, wisdom
the August 9th prompt at Big Tent Poetry,
the August 11th prompt at Three Word Wednesday,
and prompt #65 at Carry On Tuesday.
they didn’t stop to think if they should…”
Dr. Ian Malcolm
•
you wink awake at morning’s light
beckoning me to focused task
prompting me of promise
you collaborate
in my keeping touch
in work dispatched
in thoughts transcribed
in matters pure creative
you are my portal into virtual space
to probe mysteries
the vast unknown
the tool I wield
to unearth facts
dig the dirt
to search for truth
tightly spun
within the web
you tend my life
make all cogs turn
my instrument of whim
device of my distraction
are you my submissive
or master of my will
when you’ve surpassed my vision
will you serve me still
have I the power to shut you down
turn my back
walk away
to truly let you keep
in the deep subconscious
does your machine mind
really sleep
• • •
TechReGret
(a lighthearted tanka)
•
my laptop’s frozen
and my cell phone’s out of range
it’s at these times when
I think how life used to be
hand-written letters have soul
• • •
rob kistner © 2010
IN CLOSING: We live a in a world immersed, if not drowning, in technology. The idealistic and naive early vision was to create technology to serve us, make life easier, less complicated – but the joke is on us. We now serve the technology, and life is more complicated — traveling at a pace we struggle to keep up with. We’ve leveraged our peace of mind in the misguided pursuit of leisure. Is there a remedy? If we do not open a global dialog focused at finding ‘balance’, the situation will, I believe, resolve itself – and the world will not like, and may not survive, the ultimate solution.
As James Martin, one of our great modern thinkers and author of the “The Meaning of the 21st Century” points out in his most optimistic and uplifting book, man stands on the threshold of either the greatest era in human history, or the end of life as we know it - the outcome rests in our hands.
I wrote an essay back in 2007 which deals with humankind’s strange relationship with the technology we’ve created. You can click here if you would like to read it. …rob
Spellbound
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Free Verse, Image, Poetry, art, collage, courage, dark, ecstatic, joy, love, memories, photorendering, suspense, tragedy, wisdom, wonder
and further inspired by prompt #14 at We Write Poems…
•
you are enigma
darkness and shadow
you veil and shroud
fire and light
you incandesce
torch my essence
burn deep my soul
trouble my spirit
unsettle my being
ignite my wonder
whet my seeker’s vessel
with need
to be filled full
at once familiar
yet
exotically foreign
wonderfully strange
wrongly boxed but
exquisitely wrapped
in angst
indignation
longing
discovery
loss
love
with all these
and infinitely more
you reach an empty place
deep within
echoing my past
awakening my myths
exposing
that which I embrace
in the moment
as truth
stirring my pain
my anger
my loneliness
my hope
offering just enough answer
that I combust with question
sacred uncertainty
I’m held
suspended in inquiry
in memories of neverwas
enrapt by your careful words
transfixed by mystery
elevated by insight
impaled by vision
spellbound
• • •
rob kistner © 2010
Still
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Free Verse, Image, Poetry, beauty, courage, gratitude, homage, joy, love, memories, mystery, nature, photo, tragedy, wonder
•
it sits
still
atop the corner
of our garden wall
just where she left it
how many lilies
did it nourish
how many fuscia
lilac
rose
and morning glory
did it quench
it dispensed its
life giving waters
so gracefully
in her hand
such a delicate hand
gentle in its task
of planting new growth
but rugged on the weeds
that threatened her beloved garden
she was the giver of life
and the guardian
of her realm
but she could not
stop all that threatened
and I had not
her gift of life giving
and so it rests
atop the wall
no longer is it lifted
by her tender
hand of nurture
that hand now
is still
• • •
rob kistner © 2010
Blood Moon
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Image, Poetry, dark, horror, mystery, nature, photo, rhyme, suspense, tragedy, wonder
prompt #13 at We Write Poems,
and the August 2nd prompt at Big Tent Poetry.
•
icy round
the wolf’n eye
soft and round
the riding breast
roundness
in the grande dame’s fear
a circle round
the blood moon’s crest
there are lies
within that circled moon
that surround
this cruel charade
they gather
and collect the tears
‘til midnight’s debt
is fully paid
‘til innocence
is found to want
and purity
so deep defiled
that cold and soulless
lupen eyes
will cleave the sweet
in red and wild
and all that once
was tender
will on this night
turn beastly raw
and guilted
hearts be locked away
to deny at dawn’s light
the truth they saw
• • •
rob kistner © 2010
Mirrored
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Free Verse, Image, Poetry, courage, joy, love, wisdom
•
you cannot abuse my trust
you will not cramp my love
with hatred
never shall you
defile my dream
I am your mirror
the light
that fills your dark void
the found for your lost
the hope for your despair
the grace for your sin
I am your neutral
blanking your negative
expelling it
from the realm of joy
it cannot sustain
I watch
as it withers
and fades
away
• • •
rob kistner © 2010
What is / Continuum Redux
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Free Verse, Poetry, minimalist, mystery, philosophy, rhyme, whimsy, wisdom, wonder
•
yesterday is money spent
a corner turned
the choice that’s made
the tear that’s shed
the sentence spoken
the breath exhaled
the fuel consumed
it’s burned to ash
today is influence
momentum moving
the raindrop falling
hands on the wheel
the river flowing
the voice that’s singing
it’s face to face
it’s real time
tomorrow is the land of dreams
it’s the great unknown
the wheel of fate
it’s the far horizon
the dawn approaching
the planted seed
has no guarantee
yet it’s full of promise
• • •
Continuum Redux
•
yesterday was once today
today likewise was once tomorrow
tomorrow will be yesterday
but first it must become today
• • •
rob kistner © 2010
Barren
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Haiku, Image, Poetry, dark, love, nature, photo, tragedy, wisdom
•
no life without love
like a tree without blossoms
barren and fruitless
• • •
