So Blue

I wrote the very first draft of this homage to Shel Silverstein 22 years ago — 1999


Where The Sidewalk Ends — Shel Silverstein


 
From down there, down there,
it’s coming from down there,
that’s where — down there
yes Sis, I swear!

That horrible smell
that’s filling the air,
the one that’s most certainly
impossible to bear,
is coming from that women
with the massive blue hair
sitting alone on the patio chair,
on the deck of the house,
that’s below us — right there!

What a putrid aroma,
you’d think that she’d care,
that there’s simply some things
that one never should share,
like the stink that is rising
from that patio chair,
on the deck of the house
that’s below us — down there.
the smell is outrageous
it’s terribly crass
look, it knocked our poor Rover
right flat on his ass.

And the hideous color
of that mountain of hair —
I can’t help it, can’t help it,
I can’t help but stare.
it’s tangled and horrible
and it’s disgusting too
an eye-blinding nightmarish
shade of bright blue —
and it’s causing a feeling
of nausea too!

I must look away
my heads starting to whirl,
and I feel that my toes
are beginning to curl,
I fear over the edge here
I’m going to hurl —
and I don’t want to do that
in front of a girl.

Maybe I’m wrong
but I would assume,
if one’s going to bathe
in a noxious perfume,
they’d at least have good manners
and exhibit some pride,
and not foul the ozone,
instead — stay inside,
and not be the cause
of such a mind-numbing fume
but keep the eco-disaster
contained in one room.

And if you’re chromatically challenged my friend,
consider the others that you might offend.
A monumentally grotesque rat’s nest of blue,
is not something I care to look at on you!

Look Sis, look look, look quickly down there,
that woman is getting up out of her chair.
oh joy, for joy, that’s all I can say,
thank our lucky stars, she is going away!

I hope away she will stay
for the rest of the day,
or as long as the damned wind
keeps on blowin’ this way.


 
rob kistner © 2010
revision © 2021

More poetry at: dVerse

OLN poetry at: dVerse


 


Sheldon Allan Silverstein: September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999

Dream Dream


”Beware what you dream” — Morpheus

I see you staring in the door. Welcome. This is The Shoppe of Dreams — I’m Morpheus. I have many types of dreams, so no matter what you desire, you can find it here. Whether you seek a special fantasy, or just some everyday wonder, I do my honest best to have it available. One thing that my shop is well known for — everything here contains an element of truth, even the nightmares.

You seem very curious about this unusual dream I hold here. You can examine it, if you’d like. I designed it as a thing of vivid rarity — oddly dark, constructed of angst, but as strong as youth. This one belongs to Billie Eilish. Not to worry, I do have others

So please, if you are a dreamer, come in, look around. You just might find the exact dream you are looking for.

rob kistner © 2021

More poetry at: dVerse




Red Red Wings


”Poppies will put them to sleep” — Wicked Witch

 
I will leave the earth today
air currents warm and soft
will fill my red red wings
lifting me excitedly aloft
carried off in free flight

I will feel the rush
as I’m swept up high
into the azure sky
lost in this thrill
spellbound — I fly

I will soar fast and free
above the trees and sea
undulating far below me
listening as I feel
the warm winds’ whisper

I will watch the world
roll silently to infinity
over the far horizon
floating upward rapidly
climbing further skyward

I will now be on my way
so I must close my eyes
then sail off far away
dreaming deep and still
‘midst these sweet poppies’ sway

rob kistner © 2021

Poetry at: Sunday Muse

 

”FLYING” high with the Beatles




Day 9 poetry at: NaPoWriMo 2021

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

}<:>{

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…

Folding Together

My daughter and son surprised, I should say shocked me yesterday, revealing the name and photo of my actual birth father — and the name of my birth mother. This information was unknown to me for 74 years. In fact, I was unaware my kids were genealogy mining. I was stunned to look at the picture my son showed me of a man, heretofore unknown to me, and quite clearly and eerily see “myself” — and the unmistakable faces of my son and daughter. Joseph Lawrence Perrmann and Evelyn Tieke — my birth father and mother. I was utterly floored. Using De’s prompt, I’ve created an imagined romantic scenario of that day they met, and I was conceived as a post WWII bastard — later to be placed in a “sealed” adoption.


 
she is as bright as sunshine
and as beautiful as a summer day

what a most unususl place
to find such beauty
he muses to himself
as he paints her fondly
with his admiring eyes

“come here often miss”
he rolls off his lips
with a slow sly smile

“only when my laundry’s dirty”
she smiles back
with a perky snap

“what brought you in mister”
she banters jokingly

“like you, dirty laundry”
he emphasizes dirty

“you got a big load there”
she observes coyly
with a lingered downward glance

“you got a nice full basket too”
drawing ‘nice’ to a sly sssizzle
“what’s your name”
he asks, seductively

“Evelyn, what’s yours”
she flirts back

“Joe, but friends call me JL
you can just call me
whatever feels good to you, Evelyn”
he offers with an inviting smile
“can I call you Eve”

“sure, Eve is nice
what’s the L for, Joe”

“Lawrence — Joseph Lawrence Perrmann
purr, you know — like a cat”

“I’m Eve, Eve Tieke
you know, like the wood”
she says
“wa d’ya do JL,
rather, Joe”
she teasingly purrs

“I’m now a cop,
was Navy shore patrol,
I’m just back from war”

“where’s your gun officer”
she coaxs

“I keep it holstered
until I need t’use it”
he warns mockingly

“is it a big gun, Joe”
feigning wonder

“it’ll do the job Eve
you like guns”

“not usually
but I bet yours is nice”
she says breathily

they continued chatting
and flirting
while they laundered
growing more interested
and mutually attracted

just then
buzzzzz

“well, laundry’s dry Eve
wanna help each other fold”

she looks around
“these tables are awfully small”
she replies encouragingly
“I live just around the block Joe
and I have the perfect table”

“great Eve, let’s go there
and fold together
— how does that sound”
he asks suggestively

“purr-fect, Joe
I would love to fold with you”
she says directly into his eyes

“OK,
then let’s go
show me the way Eve”

they pause
their imaginations fully engaged
smiling deeply into each others eyes

“OK” Eve says warmly
body language relaxed
eyes willing

then JL turns
grabs both baskets
full of their warm laundry
and out the door they go

together

and into my history


rob kistner © 2021

Poetry at: dVerse

Burst of Blossoms

 

The burst of cherry blossoms outside my window, always heralds an uplift in my mood. Their bright blooms bring a lightness to my spirit, that puts a smile in my heart. Their delicate countenance speaks to me of peace and gentle beauty, while the heady fragrance stirs thoughts and feelings of love.

They deliver me from the doldrums of winter into the joys of the unfolding spring, celebrating renewal and new possibility. The time of cherry blossoms is a sacred time of transcendence, to be honored and embraced with gratitude, for the blessing of rebirth. May this stricken world find rekindled hope.

sweet pink blossoms burst
red spring buds have spread their wings
soon will be cherries

rob kistner © 2021

Poetry at: dVerse


 

Fallen


…oh, again to soar…

 

Would
I could but glide
like a bird in flight

I would soar skyward
on feathered wings
in sweeping circles
lifted on mighty thermals

I would not be earthbound
not a captive of gravity

if I could
but break the gravity
of time
I would not be a prisoner
of regret

this day would be soaring
and swooping
and giving thanks
for feathers
and hollow bones

and forgiveness

rob kistner © 2021

Poetry at: Sunday Muse

 


These women can SING!!

Danza del Deseo


…burnin’ it down…

 

He feels the weight of her thigh
pressing against his

the flesh of her hip
urgent against him

the warmth
as he responds involuntarily

a heat spreads through him
a quickening of pulse

he swoons
and swells

a deep need overtakes him

he reaches ’round her
firmly encircling her waist
with his strong arm
pulling her forward
bending her backward
with the power of his body
consumed by her passion

thus begins the danza del deseo

his urges hot and husky
on her ear and cheek
they churn in slow pleasure

building in lustful pace and tension
they dance and dance
well into the starry starry night
spinning into a carnal fury

until finally
a great release
sweeps over them

they melt together
in fevered bliss
matching breath for slowing breath

his lips
soft on the nape of her neck
they drift to earth
entwined in the joy
the afterglow
of love’s lingered embrace

rob kistner © 2021

 

 
Poetry at: Poets & Storytellers

Day 5 poetry at: NaPoWriMo 2021

Sorrow


…born in water, in water she’s swept away…

 

Beauty sings to the sea — love’s tone
on this broken, cloud-covered day
slipping into the surge alone
silently, she kicks away

on these broken, cloud-covered days
alone with her fractured wishes
she drops so silently ‘neath the waves
deep, deep down to the fishes

alone with her fractured wishes
a’tumble in the seabed’s sway
down down deep with the fishes
she is leaving it all today

sorrow’s a’swim in the seabed’s sway
beauty’s nothing left to say
she is leaving this lonely world, today
the sea will sweep her away

rob kistner © 2021

*Check out: Joy’s Pantoum


 
https://youtu.be/K5oAf7bs7_U

 

Read more poetry at: dVerse

Day 2 poetry at: NaPoWriMo 2021