Original DDE™ surrealistic art: “Shattered Heart” by: rob kistner © 11/28/23
H e shattered her heart
spilled her wine of joy
then drank deep
the red red warm
no concern
he’d brought their love
to harm
he toasted every moment
whether great
or whether small
as if he triumphed
in his betrayal
he celebrated all
the crystal clanked
as it sang the pours
swirling bottom to the top
a captured cyclone
of canted pleasure
pouring would never stop
goblet and stemware
filled full measure
with this ruby
liquid treasure
he tasted
he drank
he danced
seeking love
his heart was empty
still so
her heart
was shattered
given time
so too would his be
rejecting honest words
he only wanted
to be flattered
he never learned
that trust and truth
are the things in life
that truly mattered
he sang sweet songs
to the nurtured grape
tried filling the years
with laughter
Original DDE™ surrealistic art: “Let It Flow”
by: rob kistner © 11/28/23
but all he harvested
were bitter tears
he’d not realized
what might come after
with their vintage love
now crushed and broken
he’d driven her
from their home
love’s bitter words
were cruelly spoken
so now he pours alone
the harmony to his song
went mute
now no one sings along
betraying love’s a ruthless study
with great pain he finally learned
now the presses all are broken
the barrels overturned
the corks are dry and brittle
strewn across the floors
the wine has spilled and puddled
now sadly no one pours
his heart broken
now bleeds burgundy
and mixes with his tears
the blessed nectar of the vine
has not been poured
for many years
Original DDE™ surrealistic diptych: “Winehouse Chaos”
by: rob kistner © 11/28/23
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rob kistner © 2021
expanded revision © 11/28/23
Poetry at: d’Verse
This is so poignant and beautiful at the same time!
I appreciate your kind and thoughtful words Sunita, thank you… 🙂
“a captured scarlet cyclone” … I love that. Also “and filled the years to vintage” and the last stanza. Beautiful, tragic piece.
Thank you psyche, very kind words! 🙂
what a wonderful poem Rob- filled to the brim with feelings and some excellent lines
“now the presses all are broken
the barrels overturned”
Thank you Laura, very much — I appreciate your kind thoughtful words.
I can feel the pain of loss in your beautiful lines Rob, and certainly there is no true harmony with only one voice in song.
A lot one hand clapping Carrie…!
This poem is as satisfying as the finest red. Cheers to you and yours, Rob.
Salute Helen! 🙂
Another beautiful example of your word mastery, Rob. Bravo
Thank you for your gracious words Bev. 🙂
Deeply poignant. The wine is a wonderful metaphor, as well as able to be taken literally.
I am pleased you found the layers Rosemary… 🙂
Yes, masterfully done, Rob. Reminded me how fortunate I am, still sharing being able to raise a glass (or whatever) with My Beloved Sandra. Your piece is deeply moving. Thanks.
You are most welcome Ron! 🙂
This is sad and so beautifully told. The rhyme scheme is perfect. So many lovely poignant phrases. “The harmony to my song went mute.” So well done.
Thank you! 🙂
The transition from happy to sad feels incredibly real, raw. Well done, Rob.
Thank you Helen, I appreciate your kind words!
Rob, this is a beauty of a poem – I can feel the grief. Such lovely lines: “the harmony of my song went mute”…….the tears, and nectar not poured for years. I really feel this poem.
Thank you Sherry, I am glad… 🙂
“we sang sweet songs
to the nurtured grape
and filled the years to vintage”
The state we all crave. But life is full of surprises, lesson learnt.
Happy Sunday
Much????love
Always surprises, but may there be always song Gillena! Much love my friend!
Love the way you link the wine and life. Beautiful and warm and then heartwrenching.
Thank you Chrissa… 🙂
My relations lost lost young sons in five families – my wife’s nephew, my sisters’s son, my brother, my youngest cousin, another cousin’s son – those losses become the vintage now, a shared grief. Sorry for your loss. A fine elegy here and thanks for sharing it at earthweal.
It was for me Brendan, a poem gifted from a place within. I began it as a conscious construct, but it became a very genuine experience as I wrote. I discovered, upon completing it, that it speaks to mr on several levels personally. A number of pieces ov my life in it. It is meaningful to me.
This is quite the emotive stab into the heart. Wine should be shared both in true form and as metaphor.
This one came from a place within as a poem writing itself Joel. The writing of it was a moving experience for me. I reread it now on multiple levels of meaning in my life.
What a beautiful and poignant poem, Rob.
Thank you Linda. I am pleased this touched you. 🙂
A song that carries such richness and sadness too. Wonderful lines in here – I especially love: ‘a captured scarlet cyclone/
of corked and canted pleasure/ this liquid ruby treasure.’
I am pleased this resonated for you Marion.
Bleeds burgundy… aww.
Another lovely poem, masterful. So lovely. Wowed again. Thanks.
Thank you so much Selma… 🙂
Mrs. Jim and I have red valentine hearts on the sides of our glasses.
“my broken heart bleeds burgundy”
A teetotaler I’ve become.
Been there, done that for three years, then Mrs. Jim#2 came to rescue me.
..
Happy ending 🙂
An intoxicating tale of heartbreak, Rob!
I am always a bit blue, so this type of writing seems to bubble up from time to time. I’m a melancholy man.
Effective imagery and transition from the happier times to the sad
Thank you JYP!
To drink of life and to finally find the glass empty. I love the storytelling of this. That it isn’t just a broken glass, but a broken press and overturned barrels. Even if you wanted more wine to drink there isn’t any left to be found.
Yes Lori, the wine is gone. I like your grander perspective here. Thank you for reading, and going deeper! 🙂
Beautifully poignant, and an amazing response to the image!
Thank you Jenna!
That’s a deeply felt one. It would make a great song lyric.
Thank you Graham. Yes, I agree with you, this piece could be fashioned well into a song. I have written many lyrics in my life, so I guess that influence hangs in my subconscious.
Thank you for inspiring me to finally watch the official UB40 video for Red Red Wine. The pathetic, foaming at the mouth women videos got me curious about the men. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXt56MB-3vc
You are welcome Maria… 🙂
What a sad story of a shattered heart, Rob, and what a cruel man, spilling his loved one’s ‘wine of joy’. I’m glad he got his just desserts and I love the sounds in:
‘the crystal clanked
as it sang the pours
swirling bottom to the top
a captured cyclone
of canted pleasure
pouring would never stop’.
Thank you Kim. He was a mean one my friend, but in the end, he got what he deserved… 🙂
Such a sad, poignant tale. Rob. I can imagine it as a song. The wine metaphor worked very well. Thank you for sharing it for my prompt!
Thank you Merril. It started out about wine and became what it is, pulled to its final form by your prompt
Beautifully written and balanced in meter – and so very sad.
Thank you Freya… 🙂
The wine is such an excelent metaphor for a life that is shattered and broken.
Thank you Björn, very much… 🙂
“the crystal clanked
as it sang the pours
swirling bottom to the top
a captured cyclone
of canted pleasure
pouring would never stop”
Even the wine eventually dries up. Excellent poem, Rob!
Thank you Sara, and yes, it certainly does… 🙂
A powerful reflection on loss and reaction Rob, very moving.
Thank you Paul… 🙂