Time Window
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Free Verse, Image, Poetry, family, memories, photo, regret
•
In the solitude
of my assisted exile
the window above me
frames a grey
and barren sky
but with eyes closed
I see home
of long ago
alive with morning
the scurry of creatures
warmed by summer
I hear nature
in splendid voice
the chuff
of tree’d red squirrel
the song
chirp
and trill of birds
chickadee
goldfinch
western bluebird
and others
fly
flutter
and flit
cracking black-oil sunflower seeds
that spill from feeders
a red-tailed hawk
calls
from atop a Sitka spruce
swaying
in the crisp blue sky
the muffled belling of a deer
wandering the safety of old-growth
whispers
through the foothills
the distant bark
of a neighbor’s dog
echoing the basin
up along our stream
reminds me
we have friends nearby
my wife’s
gentle laughter
validates the friendship
her tender smile
validates our love
the rustle of leaves
stirred by the breeze
wafts through the valley
smartly punctuated
by the staccato
of conifer cones
that fall
from time to time
wrested free by chickaree
and chipmunk
chattering high in Douglas fir
busy with their forage
wap wap wap
they bounce off our roof
striking the ground
closely followed
by the scamper
of their liberators
crunching their way
to the heart-meat of the cone
the delicacy
that elicits this furious industry
drifting in the window
intoxicating fragrances
cedar
pine
fir
lily
rose
lilac
grasses
loam
and more
a rich
earthy bouquet
caught in my reverie
I breathe in
deeply
to suddenly remember
I am alone
carefully banished
to this forgotten cloister
sobered
I exhale
and do not open my eyes
a solitary tear
escapes
• • •
rob kistner © 2010
July 23rd, 2010 at 1:24 pm
This a very sad but beautifully written tale. Thank you for sharing.
July 23rd, 2010 at 3:18 pm
Lovely poem, and the addition of natures wonders was simply sublime.
July 23rd, 2010 at 4:58 pm
Thank you Robert for your kind words…
…rob
July 23rd, 2010 at 5:00 pm
Eric, thank you, I’m pleased you enjoyed the work…
…rob
July 23rd, 2010 at 5:05 pm
lovely just lovely and sad too that you aren’t in your chosen environment. You must live or at one time did in the Northwest perhaps as I hear all those critter and bird noises too.
July 23rd, 2010 at 5:35 pm
Thank you Kathe, for your kind words - but this free verse is fiction. My wife and I are blessed to live in the Pacific Northwest, now for 20 years. I was describing the actual surroundings of my home in this piece, as though they were the memories of an aged widower, confined begrudgingly to assisted living…
…rob
July 23rd, 2010 at 5:37 pm
sad and touching.
Thank you for sharing
July 23rd, 2010 at 6:56 pm
Thank you Gabriela…
…rob
July 23rd, 2010 at 7:10 pm
“carefully banished/ to this forgotten cloister” is one of those lines that just stops you.
You set such a scene, the real and the imagined, the remembered and the lost, and not.
July 23rd, 2010 at 7:33 pm
Thank you Maureen, your continued support and encouragement are genuinely appreciated…
…rob
July 24th, 2010 at 12:27 am
Oh this is so beautiful and so sad.
July 24th, 2010 at 2:04 am
Marilyn, thank you…
…rob
July 24th, 2010 at 6:50 am
Beautiful! I love the way you round it up in the end.
July 24th, 2010 at 10:32 am
Thank you RA…
…rob
July 25th, 2010 at 7:38 am
Dea Rob: The remembrances of love captured in the the wilds and the synapses abound with nature’s evoking sensuality.Aand the core of the squirrel’s nut? The heart of the matter. How I remember those squirrels and their nuts! Washington State sounds like heaven scent! I guess I feel as confined to my bed as the old man you write about today. It’s called blogger addiction. I think I’ll go for a walk today and enjoy the love that is all around me and maybe in the woods to lose that part of the ego. Thank-you for this comfort albeit sad in part not whole! We’re still Winners All!
July 25th, 2010 at 8:38 am
“Assisted exile” lends a sad and mysterious tone to this beautiful piece. Nice one, Rob.
July 25th, 2010 at 9:50 am
Such beautiful writing and sad.. the word pictures and memories are amazing. I am in awe of such talent.
Christine
July 25th, 2010 at 11:46 am
Thank you Willow, I enjoy your prompts…
…rob
July 25th, 2010 at 11:52 am
You are so very gracious Christine, thank you…
…rob
July 25th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
I am glad this engaged you Jane, and the state of Washington is wonderful, as is Oregon, where I live. I spend time a bit every day in the abundant nature here in Oregon — and I applaud you for deciding to get outside, it is where the soul lives…
…rob
July 25th, 2010 at 11:48 pm
I love the voice of this, Rob.
July 26th, 2010 at 7:08 am
Thank you Nathalie, I appreciate the kind words — and it is so nice to have you visit again, been a long time, hope you’ll return…
…rob
August 1st, 2010 at 4:38 pm
hi rob
i think i shall go for a walk outside…
August 1st, 2010 at 10:26 pm
N. Davis, I think a walk is a great idea, and look all around — not just down at your feet…
…rob