Category: art

Elton The Elf

…I wrote this in response to the spirit of the July 26th prompt at Big Tent Poetry…


Elton The Elf

•

an angel-eyed velvet-clad curious elf
was sitting alone on a leaf by himself
quite lost and he didn’t see anyone else
he was scared and he hid and he tried to be stealth

“I wish I was home like a good little elf
‘cause I left my big glasses on my bedroom shelf
and this is no a place for a song-writing elf
these damp woods are not very good for my health”

his mother warned “Elton, you’re a wee little elf,
don’t go wandering off in the woods by yourself
take Bernie along, and your cell phone as well,
dear son please consider your fame and your wealth!”

but wee little Elton was a quite stubborn elf
tired of playing piano in his room by himself
bored with being a world famous rock ‘n roll elf
with gold records – Don’t Go Breaking My Heart was his 12th

you know it really is hard being a curious elf
curiosity is why he’d snuck off by himself
now he’s lost and can’t find his way home without help
sometimes its dangerous being sneaky and stealth

could this be the end for sweet Elton the elf

• • •

rob kistner © 2010

Always Options

…in response to the 10th prompt of 2010 on Writer’s Island, I offer a perspective on perspective…




Always Options

•

he came upon divergent ways
that stretched beyond the road he’d trod

he would go forth this was his mind
but had no notion which way that was

the pathway left was sparse with step
the roadway right was traveled plenty

leaning low to great extreme
he examined close the evidence

it came clear that those who journeyed left
were light of weight with timid step

while those who traveled onward right
wore finest boot of heavy heel

he thought on this for quite some time
until at last he knew for sure

he started neither left nor right
but instead went straight ahead

he hacked and carved and blazed a trail
into the new for those who’d follow

wise in life possessed of logic
he realized to where he’d come

the threshold of a new frontier
too raw for the sated too brute for the weak

those that would survive and prosper
would be among the enlightened bold

it would be those who’d choose this trail
full of promise made by his hand

with spirit full and muscled zest
he whacked and chopped and cleared the way

for those who’d come who were empowered
to seize possibility — a bright new world

• • •

(haiku)

•

trail forked this spring morne
white-tails chose the woods instead
always more options

• • •

rob kistner © 2010



• dedicated to the visionaries who see beyond •

Extinction’s Shadow

…these are rewrites of prior drafts, edited fresh for the June 21st prompt at Big Tent Poetry
and strongly influenced by prompt #7 at We Write Poems…


Extinction’s Shadow

•

smothered by big oil
our blue planet is dying
greed’s shadow falls hard

•

future is mortgaged
to petrochemical lust
fatal addiction

•

mankind is drowning
in a flood of fossil fuel
black tide of folly

• • •

rob kistner © 2010

• 3D color rendering at top entitled: “Too Long in the Shadow”
by: rob kistner © 2008

Eve’s Eyes

• In response to prompt #5 of the newly opened We Write Poems, this is a surrealistic poem I created using a technique of creative omission called erasure. I am generally not a fan of fashioning a poem to or from a form or device — but this was interesting. The original poem I “mined” was entitled “Pointed Roofs”, by Dorothy Miller Richardson. You might find it interesting to compare Dorothy’s piece with my finished piece…



Eve’s Eyes

•

plentiful
the long faces

the girls
numerous
brought the sense of misery

the girls
nervous
were part of the remuneration

the very first
eve
playing a melody

swollen
her fingers weak
unexpectedly stiffened
her trembling hands
dreadful

she stood
angry

stupid people
had made her play

her discomfiture forgotten
she simply poked the piano

almost unrecognizable
she played with burning eyes

thumping
and thumping again
she played afresh
laughed into the air
back to the wall
behind the piano

• • •

rob kistner © 2010

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…the painting above is entitled “HOMAGE for GILLES CARLE”, by: Estelle St-Pierre…

Blue Temple

…response to prompt #14 from Magpie Tales…



The image of this plate above, this week’s prompt at Magpie Tales, immediately put me in mind of serenity. Also, while the plate may be Chinese in origin, it also made me think of the ancient Japanese poetic form called tanka.

Tanka are 31-syllable poems that have been the most popular form of poetry in Japan for at least 1300 years. As a form of poetry, tanka is older than haiku, and tanka poems are evocative.

During Japan’s Heian period (794-1185 A.D.) it was considered essential for a woman or man of culture to be able to both compose beautiful poetry and to choose the most aesthetically pleasing and appropriate paper, ink, and symbolic attachment—such as a branch, a flower—to go with it.

Tanka have changed and evolved over the centuries beyond the traditional expressions of passion and heartache, and styles have changed to include modern language — but the form of five syllabic units containing a total of 31 syllables has remained the same.

Each line of a tanka consists of one image or idea. One does not seek to “wrap” lines in tanka, though in the best tanka, the five lines flow seamlessly into one thought or feeling.

This particular visual prompt also sparked my recall of a simple, but wonderful piece of art I discovered a few years back, entitled “Blue Temple” by Vorffy.

So here I present my tanka entitled “Blue Temple”, including for your pleasure, the Vorfffy art piece of the same name.

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Blue Temple

•

birds in the blue sky

sampans on the blue waters

blue temple gateways

serenity is sacred

approach with your heart open

• • •

rob kistner © 2010


Boxes – Contemplation in 3 Parts

In response to the Ist prompt on the newly opened We Write Poems, I contemplate boxes




Boxes

Contemplation #1

•

my memories gather and squabble
like crows in fallow fields
they pick clean
the bones of my recall

bones against the cruel clay
of an arid barren mind

bones spilled from soul boxes
in which I’d desperately collected
the scarred and damaged pieces
of my broken dreams

dreams now parched and withered
dried brittle in the coarse winds
of my dire confusion

their promises scratched and raspy
slowly slipping unintelligible
into the chaos and cacophony
of the crows in fallow fields

• • •



Contemplation #2

•

tanka

wonder’s trapped within
a box within more boxes
so deeply buried
by the years of failed dreams
you must not lose your wonder

• • •



Contemplation #3

•

tanka

love is sealed within
a box locked inside your heart
lost in the rubble
of years of broken promise
you can find it if you look

• • •



rob kistner © 2010

NaPoWriMo #30

This is my Thirtieth, and final post for National Poetry Month 2010

…presented as a warm farewell to readwritepoem, a brief creative oasis in a soul-starved time…

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The Poets

•

damaged in their special ways
they like the path unclear
the route unmarked

fond of stumbling in
fumbling through
finding the way that’s theirs

engaged by the obtuse
the uneven
the asymmetric chord
they see grace and form
in brilliant imbalance

seduced by the clue
drawn to the fog
they seek the wonder
it withholds

where they long to go
is always round the bend
over the hill
behind the door

their ears prick
to the distant sound
that calls
just beyond clarity

to all these things
their souls are pulled

because

down the trail
in the mist
around the curve
over the crest
shut away

the clarion awaits

• • •

Till

•

to all things an end

time wears dull the perfect edge

rendered frail and soft

so too memories of when

till that time may come again

• • •


poem by: rob kistner © 2007 — tanka by: rob kistner © 2010

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artwork entitled “Temenos #8 • The Poet” – by: Gregory Eanes

NaPoWriMo #29

This is my Twenty-ninth, and penultimate post for National Poetry Month 2010

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…this poem was inspired by D.S. Apfelbaum’s day 29 post at readwritepoem…

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Space Is

•

a lightless void of soundless vacuum
spinning masses of revolving orbs
hurtling fragments in crystalline vapors

molten cores
mingled gasses
dead husks
black holes

magnetic icefalls
plasma rain
liquid lightening
solid clouds

attractions and repulsions
of precarious fragility

a frozen dance of chaos
on the tentative edge of balance

unfounded fear
unquenchable wonder
unrealized dreams
ultimate frontier

relativity’s fabric
tangled in the cloth of time

reality’s illusion
set in fantasy’s foundation

ceaseless hope
endless adventure
unexpected catastrophe
boundless courage

humankind’s triumph and sad folly
the seductive promise of the future

our salvation
infinity’s threshold
the eternal question
the elusive answer

the everlasting bastion
of never-ending truth

a longing call
a constant listening
a driving force
a reason why

fountainhead of myths
spark of religions
and other superstitions
home of the gods

magnificent obscurity
a source of mystery
font of knowledge
cause of fiction

the unknown of the unknowable
nothingness absolute

the billions and the billions
ever expanding everything

…space is

• • •



rob kistner © 2010

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artwork entitled “Infinity’s Door” by: rob kistner © 1998

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…see what offerings are this day at readwritepoem…

NaPoWriMo #28 – part 2:

This is part 2 of my twenty-eighth post for National Poetry Month 2010
• one free verse poem
• one ecstatic poem

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…this first poem was inspired by Julie Jordan Scott’s day 28 at readwritepoem
the second is an edited rewrite of a poem I wrote a couple of years ago that I wanted to share…

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In following Julie’s suggestion that we let intuition guide us to a theme, a subject, essentially to the “prompt” for this poem for day 28 of NaPoWriMo 2010 — what presented itself to me several times was a question. Why do I write poetry? The answer that surfaced — for my personal solace, my peace of mind, for my sanity. Thus came forth the prompt for this day.

 

Sanity

•

in the sorrowing hours
at full depth of night

alone with my thoughts
my terrors
my dreams

sculpting words into wedges
that pry open my psyche

expose raw emotion

lay bare my soul

that I might glimpse who really I am
and be certain still that I feel

here is my sanity

• • •

 

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∞

•

step gently through the dream-gate

take hold the strand continuum

ride the light that carries you

to the is, was, the will be

transcendence moment

when the all is one

in the perfection

of pure being

here now

alive

∞

•


• poem and ecstatic by: rob kistner © 2010

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…see what else was intuited this day at readwritepoem…

NaPoWriMo #27

This is my twenty-seventh post for National Poetry Month 2010
• one acrostic
• one tanka

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• inspired by Carolee Sherwood ‘s day 27 prompt at read write poem to write an acrostic

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Evolution

•

Even in chaos nature finds balance.

Violent floods beget fertile fields.

One thing ends, another begins.

Life is a cycle of birth and death.

Untamed wildfire creates forest ash.

The ashen remains nurture growth again.

In the caterpillar lives the butterfly.

One thing ends, another begins.

Now and forever, the mandella spins.

• • •

 

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Stone Fox First

•

garage sound check great

groupies at the ludlow door

allmans soon to start

damned duane is still m-i-a

we stone fox boys are ready

• • •


• acrostic and tanka by: rob kistner © 2010

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…check out who’s gettin’ acrostic at readwritepoem…

NaPoWriMo #26 – Power / Alternatives

This is my twenty-sixth post for National Poetry Month 2010
• one free verse poem
• one tanka

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• inspired by Jill Crammond Wickham’s day 26 prompt at read write poem

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Power

•

let us speak of power

the writer’s words
the artist’s eye
the craftsman’s hands
the singer’s voice
the player’s soul
the actor’s courage

all who rise up in creativity
to share their gift

who elevate our humanness
shun our negative self

who share their spirit to inspire

who see great possibility
in the face of great challenge

who will not succumb
but prevail
as a kindled flame
to light our darkness

theirs is the power
they are the powerful
for they empower

• • •

 

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Alternatives

•

three hundred miles gone

we’re just above dream canyon

big storm front building

cycles won’t make the snow pass

guess we point our two wheels south

• • •


• poem and tanka by: rob kistner © 2010

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…check out the other offerings at readwritepoem…

NaPoWriMo #18 • part 2 – Mask

This is part 2 of my eighteenth post for National Poetry Month 2010

• VARIATIONS ON THE MASK •

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…these two free verse poems are inspired by prompt #112 at One Single Impression…

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Unmask

•

outside
evening breezes freshen
a wind chime hangs in the eave
rings time to time

inside
we sit with dinner
complacency
little resonance

we care for one another
our love
goes without saying

meal finished
we clear the table
converse very little
no need
we know each other
know without saying

task done
we part quietly
me to my keyboard
you to read

outside
sunset paints the deck soft amber
tubular bells welcome twilight

inside
a silent shadow lurks
indifference

I reflect
times we’ve hurt each other
caused thoughtless pain

that carelessness forgiven
we are bound
goes without saying

outside
brisk wind greets day’s end
chimes pleasantly keep pace

inside
turbulence stirs as I type

I wonder of our happiness
surely we are
goes without saying

but
why is it we do not say
so much we never say

we wear masks of silence
to hide the vulnerable face of love

how dangerously foolish

my heart wants to cry out
shatter the stillness
rouse you from your pulp & plot

talk with me
it shouts
I lift my mask
see me now
see me new

talk with me
I can still surprise

let us speak what is not spoken
unmask what’s in our hearts
before love is gone

without ever saying

• • •



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The Mask

•

the other smoulders
when donned the mask
the fantasy that you desire
heart of passion
on wings of dreams
when she is the other

unleashed at light of moon
brought forth at your request
sustained at her delight

she is isis
she is venus
she is your every longing
loosed
to bring you every pleasure

she is everything
and all of this
bestowed
with aphrodite’s kiss

beneath the mask
the real bliss
your precious wife
your treasure

• • •

rob kistner © 2010



• 1st art piece entitled “Gamayn”
• 2nd art piece entitled “Peacock”
both fabulous works by: Marilena Mexi



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…to read NaPoWriMo #18 • part 1, CLICK HERE…

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…like masks like I do, click here…

NaPoWriMo #18 – Human Arrogance

This is my eighteenth post for National Poetry Month 2010
• one free verse poem
• one tanka

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• inspired by Irene’s day 18 read write poem prompt / and #49 at carry on tuesday

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…a thing of beauty is a joy forever, a captive wild soul — is a tragedy…


 

Pacing

•

from rippled sinew black as midnight
bores a stare of molten gold

a furious but calm inferno
searing deep to burn your soul

I watch helpless this panther’s pace
held captive in this foolish zoo

cold eyes rivet snarled contempt
unfathomed pools of quiet rage

on this panther paces paces
turns and paces back he paces

graceful stride of brute resolve
presses on to test the limit

proud this captive soul just paces
frustration turns anger retraces

this brutal prison of false environ
does not fool this mighty beast

observe how he continues pacing
instinct certain this is not home

his piercing gaze fixed well beyond
his suffered fate of cruel confine

see the panther pacing pacing
his nature steeled his spirit strong

relentless sorrow wild longing
drive on and on his constant stride

this will not break his fierce resolve
he tracks freedom he stalks life

imprisoned he will forever pace
and he will pace

and he will die

• • •

 

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Out Of Step

•

nature is a dance

transcendent syncopation

rhythmic side by side

but the chorus line falters

humankind is out of step

• • •



• poem and tanka by: rob kistner © 2010

…collage just above entitled “Nature’s Anger” by: rob kistner © 2006
…panther image digitally rendered & edited by: rob kistner 2010 — base image source anonymous…

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…check out what’s prowling over at readwritepoem…

NaPoWriMo #9 – Jazzzzz

This is my ninth post for National Poetry Month 2010
• one free verse poem
• one haiku



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…this piece was written in keeping with the spirit of a prompt by Robert Peake, over at read write poem…



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Jazz in a Parallel Universe

•

we was scorchin’
torchin’
in the zone
lighting chops
flamin’ righteous

primo riffin’
smokin’ sacred
glorified ‘n sanctified

fused bruised and overused
the big axe jumped
pumped
and thunder thumped
lubed ‘n locked âN lugnut crazy

scene was pure
to the fringe
slammin’
jammin’
come to jesus

skins was raucous
reeds was rippin’ trippin- sanity slippin’
blood ‘n bone on broken tusk
brass ‘and n balls to the bell-tone edge

soul elation
elevation
riot smooooooth
‘n devastation

upright
‘n bottom tight
we brought down the house
this velvet night

• • •







 

Jazzin’

•

first notes soar skyward

stars shine in the clear night air

jazzin’ has begun

• • •

poem and haiku by: rob kistner © 2010

• artwork at top of post entitled “Hot Licks” – by: rob kistner © 1997

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…for more NaPoWriMo 2010 day nine poems, go to readwritepoem…

NaPoWriMo #4 – Now / Time To Smile

This is my fourth post for National Poetry Month 2010
• one free verse poem
• one haiku
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Nelle Lytle put forth a fascinating and challenging prompt at Read Write Prompt for day #4 of NaPoWriMo. We were to look at things inside out. At first I was perplexed. I kicked a number of ideas around and was hitting the wall, when it struck that inside out is a condition of perspective – a point from which things are viewed. You see one from the other.

I started thinking about situations in which I view one from the other, when it hit me – time! I continually view the “other” aspect of time from where I am… looking at the past or future while being in the present. That’s all it took. My muse (and Ram Dass) carried me from there.

I not only wrote a new poem, I created a new collage. Thanks Nelle! 😉

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…collage above entitled “Time” by: rob kistner © 2010…

 

Now

•

the future — the past
tomorrow — yesterday
time’s not hard and fast
moments slip away

fretting what we miss
we ponder destiny
yet today is all there is
ever was — will ever be

days not yet arrived
ones that slipped away
not present in our lives
there only is today

can’t change what’s gone astray
or know what is to come
embrace what is this day
stop running to and from

forget the come and gone
all the who what when and how
don’t get lost looking beyond
learn to truly be here – NOW

• • •

________________________




 

Time To Smile

•

turning clocks forward

evenings last longer now

so too will my smile

• • •

poem and haiku by: rob kistner © 2010

• graphic rendering of smiling clock configured and colorized by: rob kistner

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…for more poetic perspectives on NaPoWriMo 2010: readwritepoem…