~
fallen into night’s embrace
held down by dark shadows
I writhe in the arms of nightmare
would that I could rise
into the light of dawn’s nod
but I’m flesh, weak, consumed by flesh
purity laid raw entangled in my sin
skin to skin with my obsession
restrained to roil in my transgression
but soon the light of morne
will fold itself upon me pardoned
oh pray I not be too far drawn asunder
~ ~ ~
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
•
radiant vision silken skinned
translucent alabaster blaze
torrid as a teen’s temptation
leaned low here before me yearning
on plush cloud so sensuous
sweet comely goddess forward bent
graceful face aglow with craving
you conjure ardor’s obsession
a’bloom in beckoned fiery swoon
forearms rest on pillow soft
thoughts aflame in primal need
lips burning smile a fetched seduction
RÄgarÄja’s daughter lush with Spring
smoldering in golden light
that folds upon you satin supple
to bathe in warmth your arched desire
divinely-pleasing luscious morsel
served up by a master’s hand
passion bound to tantalize
to hypnotize my hungry eyes
lost in carnal fantasy
fired by this goddess buff
arises now my animal
in a beastly urgent lust
to wrap ‘round
this maiden magic
flesh to flesh
to full consume
to thrust
and thrust
my randy lust
’til passion’s seed
has turned to dust
and wanton
carnal flames
are snuffed
Spring’s sweet madness
at last
enough
• • •
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
•
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
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
•
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
•
you came to me
deep in my summer
on the wings of spring
filled with hope and wonder
fresh and sweet
as nature’s nectar
you brought my heart to quicken
breathed new life
to fill my soul
awakening forgotten passion
the stir of dreams
the fire of joy
we’ve lived life in celebration
touched mystery
embraced the awe
never ran away from trouble
the good and bad
we faced head on
we’ve traveled now into our winter
a place of challenge
a time of change
though the chill is at the door
still we’re blessed
with nurtured warmth
no matter what life’s weather threatens
we’re ever wrapped
in love’s embrace
side by side as was our promise
together true
to journey’s end
• • •
rob kistner © 2011
These are two poems about two powerful and indelible life-moments I shared with my son Justin.
The first “Night Sky” is about the courageous moment he chose, at age fourteen, to leave his mother’s home to move across our country, to live with me in Oregon — through the years of his high school and college graduations, and his early career. This was an incredible gift he gave me.
The second, “Book of Days”, is about the moment, two days ago, when he and his wife Christine, moved from Oregon to pursue a career advancement — a deeply bittersweet moment for me.
•
you arrived in spring
asking why I’d left
I had no good response
but the other shoe had fallen
with a deafening thud
so what was I to do
you looked startled by life
and asked me about sorrow
I had no good response
so I took you in
and watched as you untangled truth
marveling at your balance
for 19 years
together we watched the night sky
and wondered about love
• • •
rob kistner © 2011
•
in the book of days
clearly it is written
your time for moving on
beyond the reach of yesterday
in this book of days
so too is it written
clearly mine grow short
my grasp loosens on tomorrow
our miles apart grow greater
our time together lessens
as you pursue the future
I slip further in the past
and per the book of days
this is the way of nature
the son becomes the father
the father bows away
yet stands this father’s dream
would that this space between
but vanish with this pain
of bittersweet farewell
that the book somehow rewritten
would bend both time and space
and my days once more
stretch full to your horizon
• • •
rob kistner © 2011
•
in the book of days
clearly it is written
your time for moving on
beyond the reach of yesterday
in this book of days
so too is it written
clearly mine grow short
my grasp loosens on tomorrow
our miles apart grow greater
our time together lessens
as you pursue the future
I slip further in the past
and per the book of days
this is the way of nature
the son becomes the father
the father bows away
yet stands this father’s dream
would that this space between
but vanish with this pain
of bittersweet farewell
that the book somehow rewritten
would bend both time and space
and my days once more
stretch full to your horizon
• • •
rob kistner © 2011
•
to grow up
is to chase off
our innocence
our naïve belief
in the world as a beautiful place
to harden against the magic
of our childhood dreams
but if by chance
we can cling to just one
perhaps we can hold on
to our precious sense of wonder
• • •
rob kistner © 2011
•
he
a master of time and space
she
so young and trusting
he
a wizard of colors and words
dazzled her with danger and dreams
she
a nubile daughter of nature
anointed him with exotic pleasures
he
replaced the sun in her sky
with a fire he conjured and kept
she
warmed herself in its heat
came to his bed at its setting
they
the left foot and the right foot poised
to step forth in creativity’s dance
to whirl and glide persistent and true
in the measure and balance of love
• • •
rob kistner © 2011
the graceful glide
engulfed by the spire
in a roar of golden orange
horribly beautiful
perversely mesmerizing
obscene
devastating images
torrents of humanity
raining down
desperation their only escape
masses of humanity
racing
to outrun the unbelievable
praying
to be delivered from the inconceivable
traumatic images
shrines of free commerce
consumed
by the unbearable weight
of their fragile significance
plummeting to earth
in a cloud of self-destruction
heartbreaking images
screaming
dazed
terrified souls
consumed
by the unbearable weight of the moment
staggering onward
to outdistance the surging roll
of all-engulfing
pulverized aftermath
courageous images
battered
determined
tireless heroes
those who were called
who served unselfishly
some
who gave the ultimate service
haunting images
color
gender
ethnicity
wiped away
from the ashen-grey faces
of the traumatized throngs
now just masks of calamity
all made equal
by horror and grief
one nation
under siege
inconsolable
with tragedy and sorrow
for all
unforgettable images
burned into our hearts
•
that’s the thing about ruts
the longer we remain bogged
the harder it is to escape
•
stopping is no option
to lose the way
is to keep going
keep moving forward
lest one be rutted in uncertainty
rigid with the rigor of fear
bogged down in despair
paralyzed
stalled in hopelessness
the giving in
the giving up
caught in anguish
the rot that sets
with the loss of wonder
when grip lets go of dreams
arthritic loss of faith
debilitates the soul
cripples the manifest light
that shines forth
at the leap into dark unknown
into the sacred mystery
frozen is the doubting man
withered in a worried cage
terrified of the wrong step
of the journey all in
of daring the way unmarked
thus
he bleeds out the color of life
to become cold and grey
a petrified husk
of brittle remorse
mired in regret
for never having shone so brightly
as to blind the eyes of death
stopping is no option
• • •
rob kistner © 2011
• linked at Magpie Tales
•
time has etched a patina
on the heart of the sun
and marked my soul
with the scars of love and loss
equally deep
equally cherished
• • •
rob kistner © 2011
• linked at Magpie Tales