Posts Tagged ‘tragedy’
This Night
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Poetry, courage, dreams, love, memories, mystery, rhyme, tragedy
…as you read this Christmas poem, with its taste of bittersweetness, see it not in a dark light — but rather, embrace it as a tale of a long-awaited journey, to be with the one beloved…
digital collage entitled: “Christmas Tear” - by: rob kistner © 2011
This Night
•
brushed my shoulder on this morning’s train
then at the [...]
Rebel Rebel
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Image, Poetry, Rants & Rambles, art, wisdom
…I republish this piece today in fond memory of John…
“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 [...]
The Dimming
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Free Verse, Image, Poetry, dark, love, memories, regret, tragedy
The Dimming
•
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
• linked at Magpie Tales
Silent
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Free Verse, Image, Poetry, beauty, dark, horror, love, memories, photo, regret, sensuality, tragedy
Silent
•
do you hear the autumn wind
stirring in the branches
do you hear the leaves rustle
do you hear my breath
whispering your name
do you hear my heart beat
do you hear my tears fall
or is it silent
silent as the light-less realm
that hauntingly engulfs my soul
silent as that night
when apples spilled
on the broken stair
where rail eluded
your grasping hand
silent as your [...]
Hope
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Free Verse, Image, Poetry, courage, dark, family, horror, photo, regret, suspense, tragedy, wisdom
Hope
•
I lift myself quietly
very quietly
from beneath the sheets
soiled with neglect
soaked with my nightmares
I am again awake
from another dark night
that began with fear
fear I might not survive
and ends in sorrow
realizing I did
I rise
make my way carefully
past the shallow-breathed crumple
that lay milky-eyed
in a heap on the floor
un-moving
save a twitch of the head
a head which now harbors demons
where [...]
Silence - two reflections
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Free Verse, Poetry, dark, horror, regret, tragedy, wisdom
These two poetic reflections are unrelated, beyond their focus on silence. The first reflection here considers what it is to fall into the deepening silence of old age. The second reflection looks at the silence that causes, and also results from repression…
1ST REFLECTION
Endings
•
shrouded by evening in waning october
as autumn tumbles towards winter
is [...]
King of Sunrise
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Free Verse, Image, Poetry, dark, fantasy, introspection, mystery, philosophy, regret, tragedy, wisdom, wonder
King of Sunrise
•
on the boulevard below
last night’s rain puddles
midst the chaos of metro-clutter
held hostage by tire and curb
as if abandoned by the waters of earth
it shoulders its way through the gutters
in search of mother sea
this day begins golden and crisp
bird songs echo empty sunrise streets
me and the first edition
we sit by this morning window
with coffee [...]
Aeropachydermicide
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Image, Poetry, art, dark, humor noir, introspection, myth, nature, regret, rhyme, tragedy, wisdom
Aeropachydermicide – recklessly causing the death of someone or something by actions that result from the foolish belief that one is so smart and powerful that one can make an elephant fly.
Aeropachydermicide
•
somewhere between our petrochemical insanity
and our reckless dance with fractured atoms
we believed we were the miracle
and it all went seriously awry
we fantasized we had [...]
Images - a ten year vigil
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Free Verse, Poetry, courage, dark, dark drama, homage, horror, introspection, love, memories, photo, prayer, regret, tragedy, wisdom
…lest we ever forget
Images
•
images
unreal
unfathomable images
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 [...]
Clown
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Image, Poetry, art, dark, horror, irony, love, mystery, rhyme, suspense, tragedy
Clown
•
I’m the sad little clown with the frowning face
the round red nose and the great big tear
this meek facade and silly sham
belie the horror that I engineer
life’s dealt me cold my hand is slack
not one queen no king nor ace
so violence now dwells in me
masked behind my woeful face
no one suspects the evil soul
that festers [...]
Sea Song
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Free Verse, Poetry, art, beauty, courage, dark, love, memories, mystery, nature, prayer, regret, tragedy
• this poem linked at Writer’s Island and One Single Impression
Sea Song
•
sad she comes
everyday
to these empty shores
on wings of memory
to serenade this sea
a song of longing
bowed on strings
of a broken heart
mournful for the one
lost to these silent fathoms
her tears
steady as the mists
relentless swept away
by these cold
indifferent waves
only they
know where her lover lies
so everyday she comes
taunted [...]
Limitless
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Free Verse, Image, Poetry, art, courage, gratitude, homage, joy, memories, music, mystery, photo, regret, tragedy, whimsy, wisdom, wonder
…limitless talent, unfathomable spirit…
Limitless
•
• written for Writer’s Island
La Nature du Feu
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Free Verse, Poetry, dark, nature, photo, regret, tragedy, wisdom
…per this week’s prompt at Big Tent Poetry, this is a gentle rewrite of a poem of mine
originally published in the 2010 RWP Anthology…
La Nature du Feu
The Nature of Fire
A Poem Using Three Lines from Norman Dubie’s “Of Politics & Art”
(the borrowed lines are italicized)
•
here
on the farthest point of the peninsula
an office building is burning
ignited [...]
The Mourning
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Free Verse, Poetry, dark, homage, love, memories, tragedy
The Mourning
•
the hollow wallow
aglow in the spotlight’s heat
to boast odes of praise for him
in death
who had few words of warmth for him
in life
while those who love him
pay true tribute
with searing tears
of silent grief
• • •
rob kistner © 2011
Wedges
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Free Verse, Image, dark, horror, mystery, tragedy
Wedges
•
he was slicing wedges
prepping for the night crew
when the stranger entered
walked quietly to the bar
it happened fast
no one saw him draw
the shot traumatized the patrons
no one saw his face
he vanished into the evening
before anyone comprehended
the frail thread of life
severed in a heartbeat
• • •
rob kistner © 3/1/11
…written for Magpie Tales
