~
Spring
(haiku)
~
wings flutter gently
spring breeze bends full flowered stems
meadow dance begins
~ ~ ~
Summer
(haiku)
~
green leaf on blue pond
turns in golden summer sun
red bird softly sings
~ ~ ~
Fall
(haiku)
~
stalks lie down in fields
arbors burst with ripened grape
fall is on the land
~ ~ ~
Winter
(haiku)
~
coarse lands cloaked in white
lakes bejeweled in crystal
winter’s dressing hand
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2007
_____________________
Morphling
I will not be confined
always in motion
eternal ebb and flow
perpetual like the seas
my spirit an eternal liquid
in everlasting flux
expands unrestrained
seeking freedom
I will not be defined
my nature is fluid
my essence is turbulent
deep but ever changing
my heart in constant surge
challenges boundary
seeking balance that is mine
to change at will
reach not for me
I will not be held
do not name me
I will not be yours
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2012
Footprints
angry at the wind
at the rain
at daylight
angry at your smile
at the sound of your voice
angry at it all
this now
is where I live
and how
still you come
the storm-tossed nights
like a vapor
void emotion
leaving false footprints
in my rutted dreams
puddled shallow promises
with an offered coat
of synthetic sympathy
edges rough as a rope
peeled back
hypocrisy exposed
shivering
I wrap it ’round me
seeking warmth
but it is not supple
ill-fitted
it does not hold my form
nor bring comfort
your footprints
mark my soul
but you do not remember
the bend of my arm
nor the linen
that slid
slippery underfoot
on the marble aisle
as we stalked love
nor the vain promise
it would be constant
as the wind
as the rain
as daylight
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2012
~
had she not appeared in that clearing
so lost
had she not crossed my threshold
on that september day
had not her voice
drifted like silk on a summer breeze
to wrap sheer and sweet
around my heart
had not I been drawn
like a bloom to the morning sun
had not I been captivated
as a hummingbird
by a drop of nectar
crystal on a velvet petal
had not my love come down
soft as a rolling mountain meadow
had not this dream been born
had not my life begun again
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2012
~
on the boulevard
outside
last night’s rain
puddles
midst the chaos of metro-clutter
as if abandoned
by the waters of earth
it shoulders its way
through the culverts
in search of mother sea
this day begins golden and crisp
bird songs echo empty sunrise streets
lovers and their beloved
sit by morning windows
with tea
and curiosity
they talk
in these moments
their souls spill
one into the other
entranced
somewhere
tender lips
are sculpting sweet words
but here in this quiet
I drown in your eyes
fallen into azure pools
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2012
~
this heart’s now yours
this damaged heart
this brittle fractured aching heart
broken by you, every part
I’ve no use for this ruined heart
plucked here from my chest
I seek a new and vital heart
one that’s far less stressed
a fresh heart that’s unbreakable
a heart able to forgive
unmarred unscarred yet tender
beating with the joy to live
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2012
•
standing at the edge
feeling far below
the great tides
the ebb and flow
the rise and fall
the come and go of centuries
wave by wave
day by day
might incarnate
the power of indifference
the surge of perfect apathy
and I
as insignificant as the grain of sand
bounced and tumbled
dragged helpless in the undertow
and that crest of froth
rises up in beckon
the silk of azure blue
slides smoothly down its slope of back
as it dances on the deep
how easy I could slip
into that fathomed realm
down down ever down
into the waiting silence
without so much a noticed sound
absorbed into the churn and roar
without so much a ripple
to disturb the steady surf
a subtle crease
irrelevant
erased even as it came
• • •
rob kistner © 2011
•
golden lady in sensuous silk
a beauty sure to mesmerize
sculpted by a master’s hand
so seductive as to scandalize
a stare of comely crystal blue
floats above a ruby pout
spellbound by her magic eyes
she holds your soul with no way out
her tongue tip teases her top lip’s edge
like a supple paintbrush flowing
her smile will fire and hypnotize
then wrap around you knowing
you are now her helpless captive
quite hopelessly addicted
in the velvet grip of this smoldering waif
is she an angel — or is she wicked
• • •
rob kistner © 2011
____________
image by Bert Stern
•
beckoned to the final tide
called forth by the ferryman
spirit stirs to the distant voice
that draws you to the journey
caught still in this mortal realm
soul resigned to embarkation
time folding in upon
as slow you approach the vessel
• • •
rob kistner © 2011
____________
image by Mostafa Habibi
“we all shine on, like the moon, and the stars, and the sun”
Rebel Rebel
•
I’ll not listen
not be shackled
not be handled
not be ruled
I’ll not be managed
nor be played
manipulated
or be fooled
you sure as hell
will not tell
me
who
what
where
when
how
or why
what you offer
I’m not taking
your extended hand
I am not shaking
the world I walk
is of my making
and
I will not have it
any other way
your iron fist
I destroyed it
your sage advice
I avoid it
you can
rant
rave
condemn
and preach
your approval
I do not beseech
I seek only
my good counsel
I’ll not succumb
to might
or muscle
not be swayed
by your slick hustle
I am a man
of my own mind
and I will live
as my own man
this is all
I want to be
well-traveled
loved
and free
• • •
rob kistner © 2008
_____________________
image at top entitled: “Lennon”
10/9/40 – 12/8/80
• • •
…inspired by writing prompt #54, found at “readwritepoem”.
Something life’s experiences have taught me: seeing the world for what it is makes you smart, envisioning the world for what it can be – makes you wise…
•
there are countless contradictions
in the elements of the work we do
and conflictions as we strive
but bring these not to table
for I am you
and you are me
and we are all together
in this constant labor
for our daily bread
and this toil to sustain the body
this does not feed the spirit
this is not our true work
to lift someone in need
to measure well in tolerance
to seek the components of peace
to create enduring possibility
this is the true work
in the final sweep
‘round the face of time
this is what the soul eats
• • •
rob kistner © 2011
…to loved ones missed, now sadly departed…
•
•
let us dare
sweet lust’s advance
to intertwine
in love’s enhance
I burn to offer
love’s special kiss
to fire your soul
in passion’s bliss
to enfold you deep
in nocturne’s hour
to taste the nectar
of your tender flower
you are the dream
that I adore
my one desire
to love you more
• • •
rob kistner © 2011
•
here is the change
the forgetting
the slipping away
into the haze of memory
the frustration
of no longer being able
and still
the burning longing to…
remember
and you
dimming in this fog
midst the times we have cherished
the places we have loved
fading beyond reach
an ever-mounting loneliness
like so many vacant seats
empty
• • •
rob kistner © 2011
