Power & Grace


She is sculpted strength
she is pure balanced grace
head to her amazing toes
a work of athletic art
finely lathed
performance perfection

see the powerful slender neck
the defined sinewy form
of her athlete’s body

tuned muscle
connects tuned muscle
they enwrap the reach
of her strong graceful arms
firmly span her solid shoulders
empower her straightened back
ripple her taught stomach
tapering to a tight waist
down long lithe limber legs
of cut carved precision power

she is stunning
she is breathtaking
she is a prima ballerina

in this moment
she is anxious
but she is also
filled with excitement

she knows she need not be frightened
she knows the fluid moves
sees the precise steps
clearly in her mind

she knows the stride
the position of her body
just before elevation

she understands the speed
the run up
the lead foot
the plant angle
the knee bend
the thrust

she has done this
thousands of repetitions
no need for trepidation

she knows the energy
of the moment
of the crowd
as they anticipate
as she anticipates
the lift off
the rise

the glorious weightlessness
the thrill of flying
the feel of returning to earth
to her toes

she intimately understands
how to offset the momentum
to snap to a graceful stop
come to point
straight and strong
arms raised and extended

she remembers well the applause
that exhilaration

she knows this all
to her bones

she can do this
in her sleep

she has this mastered
she is a master dancer

but?

no!

she squelches the flash of doubt
she grows quiet in her mind
she is ready
she is in the zone

her body is coiled
she hears only the orchestra
there is now only they
and she

with the first note
she leaps
to her joy
to her glory

she is invincible
enraptured
swept up
in the consuming fire
and magnificent fury
of her honed body
in the dance

 
rob kistner © 2021

More poetry at: dVerse

 


Day 8 poetry at: NaPoWriMo 2021

11:59

THE DREAM

I watched
as generations
moved forward
as civilization
painstakingly
progressed
set foothold
knowledge
unfolded
slowly

I observed
the millenniums
of human endeavor
as they awakened
to self-reliance
less dependent
on hive mentality
mastering machines
eliminating conflict
striving for truth
ever evolving

I saw
nature
the world
tempered
reshaped
resilient
proud

I stand tall
a mighty tree
heaven’s tether
thrusting skyward
much further indeed
than any rooted thing
the constant sentinel
a perpetual presence
witness to triumph
of the humans

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THE NIGHTMARE

I watched
unable to help
so utterly horrified
as generations receded
as empires crumbled
greed ran rampant
wisdom ebbed
civilization
imploded

I observed
millenniums
of human folly
misguided logic
flawed reasoning
poor decisions
ever flailing
stumbling
in a cold
isolated
world

disconnected
from one another
from the environment
serving their machines
serving their avarice
perfecting violence
racing to ruination
becoming aliens
in a mad eden
disillusioned
depraved
diseased
finally
death
took
all

I watched through tears
as the natural world
slowly declined
diminished
withered
scarred
died

now
putrid
toxic air
permeates
burnt terrain
to far horizons
and now I stand
thrusting skyward
in this decaying hell
praying for a heaven
the only living thing
the pitiful survivor
the final sentinel
time’s witness
to tragedy
watching
the end

\/
 

…which comes true — we decide…

 
rob kistner © 2021

More poetry at: dVerse


 

To Us


To all d’Verse poets — Salùte!

 
L et us drink deep
this wine of friendship
ripened well with time
aged to a vintage true

may this nectar rare
sweeten all our days
may its heady warmth
linger long and lush
lighten life’s burdens
and ever lift our spirits

here’s to us!

rob kistner © 2021

More poetry at: dVerse


 

Tanka Tragedy



UH OH!

 
I am a lion
I want to maul you to death

not me — I’m a lamb

but I’m just a reflection

so I’m sorry — you are …screwed!


rob kistner © 2021

 

Can you please sing, while you — RUN?!

 

Poetry at: Sunday Muse

Poetry at: Poets & Storytellers

Day 4 poetry at: NaPoWriMo 2021

Seductive Fantasy


…a stream of consciousness trip…

 

Soaring psychedelic
colors pierce my eyes
to bleed into my mind
pulsing into shapes
and melting forms
dancingly irregular
a brilliant cacophony
of fully beautiful discord
that flows in time displacement
blared breathing blending abstract

wow dude!
~~ drifting drifting ~~

so wondrous and magical
as to create a dreamspace
where reality steps away
to a seductive fantasy
that roils and broils
a seething serenade
of sounds and vision
a sanctified vibration

simply too gone!
immaculate!

joyful noise’d orblets
flaring and flashing
in hues and shades
in timbre’d cadences
they spark stiletto sharp
stabbing staccato’d stealthy
and again colors pierce my eyes
lovely rumblings fill full my ears
shifting spinning and floating
to journey a’new through
my beautiful bountiful
and utterly blown
mind garden

}|=|{

psssst! hey! you!
am I conscious man —
— or halluuucinating truuuth?

rob kistner © 2021

Day 1 poetry at: NaPoWriMo 2021


April’s Fool


 

Early spring can make one
forget better judgement’s rules
filled with lust’s anticipation
desires sparkle bright like jewels

April’s fey intoxication
can make winter’s pale heart yearn
to feel this grand unfolding
to see nature’s great mandala turn

this sweet inebriation
can spark love’s eager soul
can ignite the rash impulsive
can draw one to the jester’s role

the elixir of the world in bloom
is to the lusting lovelorn
a most dangerous of potions
causing clear thought to be stillborn

remember well and here be warned
passion’s frenzy can be cruel
spring’s fever, it is well known
can make one act sweet April’s fool

rob kistner © 2021

Poetry at: dVerse

Day 3 poetry at: NaPoWriMo 2021

 

…here’s a little April foolishness…

…a bit less foolish…