The Folly of More

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The Folly of More

~

they rose gargantuan
these icons
of the clever human

they once vibrated
with the rush and chaos
of synapse and sinew

they hummmed
with networked urgency

a torrent of data
outdistancing comprehension

‘we can’
beyond the reach
of ‘should we’

multitudes chanting
more more more

a time too blind
to see its faulted fate
a time to turn back
sadly came too late

bedecked in stainless
stone
and arrogance

a halogen blaze
of neon fire
burnt logic

they surged
with the impulse of power
and greed

in varying shape
and differing size
they flanked for miles
in gridded corridors

that crissed and crossed
blinked and beeped
buzzed and hissed
they stank!

temples of avarice
now but this lone
crumbling monolith

this final tribute
to human folly

~ ~ ~

rob kistner © 2020

 

 

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Sal Vince & Frida

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Sal Vince & Frida

~

seduced by the siren song
of sacred soul revelations
on this starry starry night
Sal Vince & Frida
are top down’n flyin’

sanctified artistic beings
stalking their unreal visions
as time and reality bends away
prowling the eclectic realm
lusting for some surreal magic

gesso-deep in life’s illusions
fingers burned to the bone
from fresco fire-dancin’
with the gouache-devils of
pain angst and perception

rollin’ like infernos
three combusting fireballs
longing to boldly set aflame
every forbidden bristle‘n bit
of passion knowledge and truth

~ ~ ~

rob kistner © 2020

 

 

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  • Nocturne (video poem)

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    NOTE: To watch me read Nocturne: CLICK HERE

    Nocturne

    ~

    hawk moon hangs heavy
    in the damp night sky

    bulbous moist pearl
    rolling
    in a cold chromium fog

    wet slivers of cloud
    smear themselves
    across its face

    irregular

    like translucent sacks
    of moonbeams

    breathing

    glassine billowing pillows
    oozing

    soaked with midnight

    stars float and spark
    glinting
    dripping
    shivering

    frozen splintered crystal tips
    diamond chips
    pinprick rips
    in blackened space

    they wink and wane
    and flutter
    shattered bits of silvered light

    snapping here then not

    behind the ghostly white vapor
    that slithers
    through the firmament

    the world
    devoid of color
    aglow in sterling grey
    a negative of day

    thick and chilled

    filled with the sound
    of stalking after-dark things

    nocturne

    the sorrowing hour
    to lay bare your soul
    in pale introspection

    in grief of secrets

    ~ ~ ~

    rob kistner © 2020

     

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  • Forever Sacred

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    Forever Sacred

    ~

    the consumed moon
    haunts his grey life
    stirring yellow dreams
    of soured sorrow
    stealing his solitude’s wish
    of a soul’s peace
    yet he will not despair

    even trapped in torment
    as in the skulls of saints
    persecuted for their truth
    he will hold her love sacred
    lidded ‘neath his heart’s brow
    secreted like a palmed rose
    he will never forget

    ~ ~ ~

    rob kistner © 2020

     

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  • The Universe

    The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) have published a comprehensive analysis of this largest three-dimensional map of the Universe ever created, revealing that six billion years ago, the expansion of the Universe began to accelerate. Bigger Bang!I

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    The Universe

    ~

    lightless void
    soundless vacuum

    molten cores
    mingled gasses
    hurtling shards

    black holes
    plasma rain
    liquid lightning

    revolving orbs
    in evolving orbit
    with beings aboard

    attractions — repulsions
    magnetized masses
    in precarious fragility

    inconceivable
    ever expanding
    frozen dance of chaos
    on the tentative edge
    of balance

    ~ ~ ~

    rob kistner © 2020

    Liquid Lighting” — A bit of poetic license, drawn from the fact that recent studies indicate that ice, hail, and semi-frozen water drops known as graupel are essential to the creation of lightning anywhere in the universe such conditions exist

     

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  • Nein Lives

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    Nein Lives

    ~

    yes, I know you know the movie sucked
    you can blame that on Bombalurina
    but did you have to put all of us
    on the blackball don’t hire list
    I would like to at least hope
    we have a few lives left
    in our film careers
    I mean damn
    her fault
    hers
    *
    *

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    ~ ~ ~

    rob kistner © 2020

     

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  • Indescribable

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    Stand of Oregon old growth.
    Oregon Lakeshore Trail #656, at Inlet Creek.

     

    Indescribable

    ~

    my footfalls
    drum the root chambers
    of the old growth

    each step
    cushioned by centuries of needle-drop
    deep in this ancient forest

    enjoying the rise and fall
    twist and turn of the trail
    I’ve ringed a portion
    of the cerulean mountain lake
    my crooked walking stick
    smooth in my right hand

    rounding a bend in the trail
    brushing through waist-high fern
    dappled emerald in scattered sunlight
    I crest a knoll
    by the restless azure brook
    and stop

    mesmerized
    as before

    I have reached my wonderland

    filtered by the towering woodland canopy
    light drifts down dreamlike
    settles golden
    into the natural cathedral before me

    were it a manmade cathedral
    or a grande ballroom
    truly gorgeous
    might describe it
    but this is so much more

    breathtaking
    falls short

    even magnificent
    feels wanting

    a cool lake breeze
    enfolds me
    filled with the heady scent
    of the living earth

    cascade red cedar
    douglas fir
    ponderosa pine
    moss
    fern
    bark
    loam
    wildflower
    ionized mountain air

    intoxicated
    I grow very still

    listening

    breathing

    I become this moment
    rapt
    in touch with my soul
    with the eternal

    I’m transcendent

    this is — paradise

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    Mt Hood seen from Oregon Lakeshore Trail #656 just before old growth stand.

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    This is the natural gateway on Trail #656 opening on the old growth stand.
    Both well over 200 feet tall, and hundreds of years old.
    1/2 mile ahead you leave the path, wandering into the heart of the giants!

    mighty sentinels
    guardians of the old growth
    may ever you stand

    ~ ~ ~

    rob kistner © 2020

    First 2 of my 3 words are imbedded, in order, in poem. 3rd word: swanky

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  • Wiped From History

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    Wiped From History

    ~

    Why is Seth Wheeler not famous and revered? Why do we not celebrate his outstanding contribution to the world? Why is his accomplishment not taught in schools, as part of the fabric of our nation?

    We all know the name of Thomas Edison. Though, in current time, we’ve learned Nicola Tesla is the man who actually fathered the AC electric current, which now powers the world. But, the names of these two men glow brightly through history. And Henry Ford, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs — we know these men because they made our lives easier, more comfortable.

    Poor Seth, uncelebrated. People have fought in the streets over his invention! Yet, he’s essentially unknown. Undoubtedly, we look at him through the wrong end of the long telescope of time. Like he’s been wiped from history. Sad! After all, he invented rolled and perforated toilet paper!

    ~ ~ ~

    rob kistner © 2020

     

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  • Daybreak

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    Daybreak

    ~

    the moon sets in pre-dawn’s soft glow
    as comes the fire of day’s first light
    carried confidently by the lantern bearer
    to chase ashened dreams and welcome morn

    morn’s a feeling
    a wonderful healing
    the sunlight revealing
    all darkness was stealing
    from our sight
    from our heart
    in this night

    daybreak is magic

    ~ ~ ~

    rob kistner © 2020

     

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  • Dawn – Two Looks

    dawn is a feeling
    a wonderful healing
    the sunlight revealing
    all darkness was stealing
    from our sight
    from our heart

    .rtk.

    FB09AFAA-75CD-447B-99E7-71A014CCBC8A
    Got inspired by Louise Glück’s poems about Dawn.
    Took the word dawn, did the Google thing — ended up here.

     
    Dawn – Two Looks

    ~

    Personal

    when the fire of love
    flickers and dies
    a shadow falls
    in empty eyes
    words of love
    become but lies

    that open door
    of a tender heart
    has quietly closed
    ‘round the fragile part

    what once so sweetly natural
    no longer feels quite right
    the drift and fall so unseen
    as but the passing of night

    until one morning no dawn breaks
    no tenderness nor warmth awakes
    a loneliness encircles slow
    you seek the one that you’ve loved so
    you search their face in the predawn glow
    whose eyes these are
    you no longer know

    ~ ~

    Societal

    I gaze
    through gossamer curtain’s fall
    at a dark waking dream
    hallucination
    of a polarized reality

    dual worlds
    close enough to touch
    through which truth
    stumbles blind
    beyond reach

    walking as a wraith
    moving in these worlds
    captive to the bonedeep lie
    implicit in the toxic grin
    of inflexible conformity

    lethal tradition
    revered in mindless trance

    change

    shackled cold
    to the stone of fear

    change

    bound
    with a grip
    rough as rope
    at the shadowed edge
    of dark and light
    ignorance and knowledge

    change

    so far to go
    so much to learn
    rise from this night
    beckon the dawn
    someone needs
    release the light

    ~ ~ ~

    rob kistner © 2020

     

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  • Homeward

     

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    Homeward

    ~

    late afternoon descends upon the land
    golden in the downing sun’s embrace
    my stride — ever brisk and steady

    early shadows fall softly ‘cross my face
    vesper’s velvet blanket
    drapes gently ‘round my shoulders

    eager — I keep a lover’s pace
    where this fall eve — homeward

    ~ ~ ~

    rob kistner © 2020

     

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  • Lunar Spring

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    Lunar Spring

    ~

    Mad March finds me on the moon. I’ve brought me some flutter-bees, in hopes my humor may actually survive. Winter rains held on long this year on earth, but skies are clear up here — though cold as hell. This weightlessness improves my attitude, lifting my mood. Makes me feel like a feather. My prodigal smile breaks through a bit, watching the damned butterflies escape and flit.

    We brought some paneled sun and bottled rain, gonna try to ignite these seeds here in my spacesuit pocket. Maybe we can get’em pushing their sprouts through this boxed fertile earth soil. Brought it all the way from Oregon’s Willamette River Basin. Oh look, the butterflies are cavorting among the moon rocks. Gotta get a picture of that, though they really don’t look very well!

    We brought some recordings of chirping birds, and sealed fragrances of new blooms. We are working our butts off, and this lame luna wind ain’t gonna waft the fragrances. Well, we got the synthesized smells, hues, and sounds of Spring, but it ain’t makin’ my heart sing, or my spirit dance! Spring on the moon’s no romance, it sucks! Oh look, the fucking butterflies are at it again.

    moon wind’s blowin’ badly
    butterflies behavin’ madly
    gravity’s flyin’em upside down
    zero oxygen’s droppin’em to the ground
    won’t be long before they’re expired
    and me and the crew are totaly tired
    spring on the moon sucks!

    ~ ~ ~

    rob kistner © 2020

    Image: Eddie Schrieffer

     

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  • Big Bull

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    Big Bull

    ~

    clear blue summer sky

    deep azure crystalline lake

    bull frog rises slow

    ripples lap the bulbous ryes

    crisp scent of water lilies


    memories of you

    ripples on this mirrored lake

    rise and drift gently

    into the golden sunlight

    big bull croaks softly — dreams rise

    ~ ~ ~

    rob kistner © 2020

     

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