Original DDE™ art: “ume ni karasu (Crow in Plum Tree)” — by: rob kistner ©4/16/26
—-<§>—-
a thought arrives
sideways
or maybe
it never left
just waited
….
there
in the seam
of the window
wind
finding its way
again
coffee cools
forgotten
remembered
forgotten
….
but once
I trusted
straight lines
maps
edges
that held
….
now
feather
ash
memory
passing through
passing through
my hands
….
a crow
lands—
or something like it—
we pause
together
brief
shared
gone
….
there was a street
once
I can’t return
no map
no path
only
the feeling
still there
precise
like breath
held
too long
….
why
do certain moments
stay
stay
no answer
just this
….
the day
continuing
indifferent
generous
unfinished
….
and me
carried
or following
carried
or following
not knowing
not needing
to know….
not needing
<~>
Original DDE™ art: ”karasu (Crow)” by: rob kistner © 4/16/26
<~>
rob kistner © 4/16/26
Joni pulled together some fucking primo players on this one…
…my gift to you below — the entirety of that landmark concert.
I enjoyed this very much, Rob. The repetition of phrases was very effective. A very poignant poem!
🙂
I love the formatting of the lines, like being swayed by the wind back and forth. I like the idea of being carried away to unknown places.
Thank you Grace! The physical motion was a key aspect, like tye back and forth of the paint brush — but also the shifting of thought… 🙂
Very nicely done, my friend!
Thank you Dwight! Hope all is well with you my friend… 🙂
ag to reach that state of not-needing!
That is the unattainable, at least in our mortal form… 🙂
I love your flowing thoughts – Jae
Thank you Jae… 🙂
This poem has such great shape and structure, Rob, which reflect the words and meaning well, the repetition and stream of consciousness, especially in the opening word and the lines:
‘but once
I trusted
straight lines
maps
edges
that held’
and
‘feather
ash
memory
passing through
passing through’.
Thank you so much, Kim. I’m glad you appreciated the fun Rite.
I enjoyed the flow and repetition of your brushstrokes in layered thoughts, Rob!
Thank you Lynn… 🙂
Great poem, I felt like a crow being taken along with you on your journey of brush stroke/words. Like you mention above almost like the wind moving through the page. And that last stanza, kaboom!!
“and me
carried
or following
carried
or following
not knowing
not needing
to know….
not needing”
Perfectly said!
Thank you Cara. I had fun with this… and I love the freedom to express — at least the way I interpreted the nature of the style… 🙂
Great stuff Rob, angular and absorbing, JIM
Thank you Jim, I am pleased it resonated… 🙂
I think this is brilliant!
Thank you Rosemary… 🙂 this piece was not difficult for me to write, it is essentially the way my mind works, when I relax, and cease to hold discipline. It got me in trouble from a young age, speaking out in class. Every thought I have, triggers a different, but logically spawned branched thought. Took me a long time to get my mind to quiet and move linearly. I now can control it, but when I choose not to, it can be the mad hatters tea party. It sparks my creativity.
enjoyed the journey… so many phrases that spoke in a whisper…. joni mitchell love her….
Thank you Ms. Pie… 🙂