Month: June 2019

hands of time now spin round so much faster
life is carvin’ his journey in his face
the backbeat pounds steady its insistence
he wonders how long can he keep this pace

a wiser man he sits here etched in spotlight
he riffs his sadness but never he complains
alone he plays his harp in contemplation
was all he’s lost really worth his hard-won gains

but sweet memories like candles softly flicker
friends and lovers cherished — come and gone
all the pain and joy forged in his blues harp
so though the years are dimmin’ — he plays on

rob kistner © 2019

maybe we need look
at all that plastic
as just so much
nautical bric-a-brac

what climate change
these rising seas
are a realty upswing
more ocean-front opportunities

it’s certainly not like the world
will just collapse
and abruptly come
to an instantaneous end

what’s all this foolish fuss
about momentary issues

but is it all folderol
are the issues momentary
are the issues solvable

we need to be more lucid
in our creative thinking
we need to tackle this
with some genuine derring-do

too many just pontificate
nag annoyingly about their opinion

yes — we need to think more green
but — we need to think more clearly
everyone need not be so damned smug

all the extreme doom-sayers
also the foolhardy naysayers
each with their slanted
and sadly sometimes manipulated
statistical analysis
or their too-often staged photo-ops
conceived to prove their point

all these conflicting facts
and images
pointing out the slipshod conduct
by the other

it’s like special interest hokey pokey
each side putting their whole self in
to try to put the other’s whole self out
while each side fist pumps furiously
to their righteous
self-serving viewpoints

not suggesting every group
slink off demurely
or lollipop their issues
to downplay urgency

and yet — we must all avoid
being snookered
rendering our important decision making
dangerously misguided
and we must avoid
being spoon-fed bitter blancmange

we must all use
a smidgen of thought
of informed common sense
avoid the operatic trumpeting
of self-serving zealots

the world needs knowledgeable
responsible individuals
making truly informed
genuinely useful decisions
about our precious environment

each of us must
research
read
and realize the problems

think

then react
effectively

respecting
and rescuing
this rare miracle
that is our earth

hoping it would matter to her
hoping that an empty place
would open in her heart
that only he could fill

hoping his leaving
left such a void
hoping deeply
ever hoping

walking
away
sad

rob kistner © 2019

the foreboding ice moon
stabs a sliver of gloom
through the heart of the trees
where I tremble on my knees

trapped in unanchored dreams
my forsaken soul screams
lost in a tangle of fears
I am adrift on my tears

smothered by this emptiness
rigored by my loneliness
this void smuggles my breath
I pray for sleep — deep as death

rob kistner © 2019

rob kistner © 2019

a sound of longing
of a broken heart
mournful for the one
lost to these silent fathoms
so very far away
on that long-ago day

now only they
know where her lover lies

so everyday she comes
and paints this magic portal
to this far off sea
to seek its mystery

and every night
as darkness falls
the enchantment breaks
and her flood of tears
washes it away

and yet again
her lonely heart
shatters in the silence

but she will return
in the light of every day
in spite of her sorrowed pain
to paint this sea again
and with plaintive call
beseech this cruel sea
to reveal its precious mystery

rob kistner © 2019

body oiled and tan
sunning by the swimming pool
sun glasses look cool
stealing hearts this sizz’ling day
breaking hearts this simm’ring night

clothes drape grey boulders
sun beats down on brisk blue lake
summer skinny dip
the joy of the naked plunge
hot fun in the summer time

mugs of cold gold beer
baby backs on the bar-b
backyard summer feast
red potatoes with grilled corn
it all smells so delicious

soft sand warms bare toes
love as fresh as ocean breeze
summer at seaside
kisses hot as sizz’ling sun
send us over the rainbow

~

rob kistner © 2019

like a tempest was your passion
I was swept up in its force
but lightning has stopped crashin’
this storm has run its course

my thoughts grow cloudy grey
my eyes are now steady rain
my heart shivers cold today
your bad weather has brought pain

the warm winds may return
as should the clear blue skies
but my frozen heart will yearn
for your wild and stormy eyes

no clever thoughts engage
I am filled with doubt
vague words tossed about
the unyielding empty page

frustrating consternation
now I write — then do not
I am clear — then I’m caught
in merciless hesitation

oh please fickle muse
perhaps one small spark
to light this barren dark
why is it you refuse

cruel muse — you outrage
let’s be off with you
so I might start anew
free of quandary’s cage

she reached in and stole my heart
but fickle beauty did depart
she’d found a better heart she said
and left mine hanging by a thread

my heart grew heavy with her farewell
my heart-thread snapped and down it fell
my fragile heart crashed to the ground
these pieces shattered all around

I’m trying to make it whole again
but not sure how, and can’t say when
I’m working on it piece by piece
hoping soon this pain will cease

oh how I wish
ill-tempered weather
would ensue

to drive the joyful
all around
to indoor spaces

so I’d be spared
the pain
of smiling faces

and the bitter
bitter memory
of losing you

rob kistner © 2019

callused digits
yellowed by habit
depress taut strands
no longer catgut

blood and bone
grip
connect
sculpting emotions

true life
cries from pearled rosewood
ride’n spiraled steel

playin’ the blues

rob kistner © 2019

what’s with all this buzzin’ chatter
you’re bumpin’ and thumpin’ and all a’clatter
frettin’ with the frontporch light
steamin’ on this humid June night
such racket over a minor matter

while here below you
my heart breaks in silence

rob kistner © 2019