Archive for the ‘courage’ Category

Pierced

…a rant about my diabetes
written for Day #17, NaPoMo 2011…

Pierced

needles
hypodermic needles
needles needles needles
BD 30g
sterilized syringes
needles in my arms
needles in my legs
needles in my gut
needles six seven times a day
needles 3 am because
I forget the 11 pm needle
even tiny lances in my fingertips
to verify the needles needles work
needles so that I can see
needles so that I [...]

Limitless

…limitless talent, unfathomable spirit…

Limitless

• written for Writer’s Island

Poet In Arms

 
Poet In Arms

poet
abandon vague image
do not weave a fabric of myth
or speak to us in grand verse
telling of the song of the spheres
or the days before this dark time
you see many things poet
but you talk in riddles
you avoid the cold hard way
for the soft path of platitudes
of metaphors
of meter and rhyme
but this is not the [...]

The Keepers

The Keepers

from the spark of cognizance
at the dawn of awareness
through the ions of fire and conflict
forward past the dark times
beyond the ages of change
into these centuries of new growth
they have kept it
locked in their hearts
burning in their souls
the keepers of the secret
and now
on the threshold of actualization
realizations unfold
its safeguard is the catalyst
it must never be [...]

Sooth

Sooth

seek not the pompous
swelled with false confidence
dispensing the formulas of bliss
condemning you as the un-visioned
while fleecing you of your hard begotten
follow not the kings and queens of mammon
who worship the bottom line
desiring the upper hand
who would despoil the world and all it offers
as their playground of gratification
suffer not the priests and priestesses
who would say that [...]

Panther

• this is the final in a series of edits of a poem I first drafted in 1997
it was born of my contempt for the barbarous act of caging wild animals in a zoo •
this final edit inspired by prompt #24 at Writer’s Island,
prompt #23 at We Write Poems,
and prompt #74 at Carry on Tuesday.

…a [...]

Emerge In Grace

…this tanka was inspired by prompt #26 at Writer’s Island,
and by prompt #139 at One Single Impression.

 
Emerge In Grace

go down in trial
endure the tribulation
emerge rapt in grace
steeled by the tempering fire
molten molded pure and strong
• • •
rob kistner © 2010

Champion

Offered in response to prompt #138 at One Single Impression.

Champion


search not in the bright lights
that illuminate the field of glory
nor midst the din of exaltation
if you seek a hero’s story
look instead outside the glare
in the quiet place beyond
where no accolades are strewn
and no ivy laurels donned
where daily life is hard
and the living less than grand
where [...]

No First Ink

Offered in response to prompt #136 at One Single Impression,
and in response to prompt #73 on Carry On Tuesday,
also in response to prompt #189 at Three Word Wednesday.

No First Ink


I lean upon my folded fist
cool against my temple
elbow solid on my cluttered desk
eyes droop and flicker
aflame with spoiled sleep
face slacked
head now dropped
held in my hands
heavy [...]

The Taste

This type of poem is known as a haibun, and combines prose with haiku. It is offered in response to the September 20th prompt at Big Tent Poetry.

The Taste

It was an embrace I’d wished had been endless, at our tearful farewell – your body supple and warm, pulsing with life.
lips lush as cognac
open softly to [...]

Mother-less

This piece is offered in response to prompt Mag 31 at Magpie Tales

Mother-less
(bastard’s lament)

undesired
discarded
thrown away
though whole
sound
and useful
no matter
labeled mistake
misbegotten
unfortunate
shown the back
outside
looking in
left behind
alone
by the side
of life’s road
to endure
the harsh weather
of abandonment
tried
convicted
sentenced for life
to suffer confusion
shame
the sorrow
of the unwanted
condemned
guilty only
of the crime
of inconvenience
• • •
rob kistner © 2010

You & Me

…I offer this piece in response to prompt #69 at Carry On Tuesday,
and prompt #18 at We Write Poems,
also the September 6th prompt at Big Tent Poetry,
and the September 8th prompt at Three Word Wednesday…

You &Me
(a poetic quadratych)

The Secret
what I said was
don’t touch
go away
leave me be
while inside
I cried out
draw near
stay with me
you are light
you are [...]

Breakthrough

…this piece is in response to the 19th prompt of 2010 on Writer’s Island,
and offered for prompt 132 at One Single Impression,
and for prompt 231 at Sunday Scribblings….

Breakthrough

rise up
clad in colors of a joyful life
rebuke the strife
tilt against convention
the prevailing norm
is a toxic storm
buck the winds of rebuff
ignore the false contention
stare down the face [...]

For No One

…this piece is in response to prompt #17 at We Write Poems,
and prompt #69 at Carry On Tuesday,
also the September 1st prompt at Three Word Wednesday…

For No One


the cadence
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 [...]

The Box

This piece is offered in response to prompt Mag 29 at Magpie Tales,
and the August 25th prompt at Three Word Wednesday,
and prompt #18 at Writer’s Island.

The Box
…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 [...]