you said you loved me — you seemed so sincere
but your integrity proved weak my dear
there was evidence that you might not stay
it was plain as day — couldn’t be more clear
but this lovesick fool simply looked away
rob kistner © 2019
This is a memory of the 1940’s and 1950’s, when I grew up in the HOT HUMID STAGNANT 95/95 (heat/humidity) Ohio River Valley summers. OPPRESSIVE! We would offten have to sleep in screened-in “summer rooms” — porches with overhead fans trying to beat the heat, that soaked your bed, while protecting yourself from the hordes of July/August mosquitos.
No Relief
relentless din of crawling prowling night
pours steaming through my window
midnight intrudes damp and searing
insistent
scalded air too hot and thick to breathe
a heat to suffocate
blades beat and drone overhead
promising relief
in vain
sweltered darkness lays heavy upon me
unbearable
I toss in labored half-sleep
gasping for cool relief
restless
I inhale deep to fill my lungs
seeking satisfying breath
only to bake them in cruel heat
no relief
salted droplets trace my spine
baste my neck
pool in the hollow of my fevered chest
bloom and seep
from beneath the smother
of matted soak atop my head
to weep their way ‘cross smoldering brow
into my eyes
and sting
in this nocturnal furnace
night clings and stifles
even dreams are scorched
simmering in summer
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2019
skin smooth as satin
bathed in amber glow
as you lay before me
seductive in the summer sunset
you torched my imagination
ignited my spirit
fired my soul
I wanted you so badly
to fondle you with fingertips
caress you with trembling lips
you promised such sweetness
but I’d been warned by others
who had dared partake
of your fiery charms
“it will end in tears” they said
but I did not heed their counsel
wholly and utterly seduced
I fell upon you hungrily
taking you passionately
in the lust filled moment
our union flared
hot as lava
scorching as an August sun
I was swept away
as I consumed your charms
aflame with desire
as I tasted sweet
your forbidden fruit
in a wanton blaze
I took my fill
but just as quickly
it ended
regrettably
I should have listened
they knew you all too well
you burned me badly
and left me crying
but I never will forget you…
habanero!
rob kistner © 2019
got ‘em on your face
‘specially on your nose
you got freckles
down to your toes
got ‘em on your hands
and up your arms
and what’s even better
you got freckled *charms!
rob kistner © 2019
* beautiful, bold, unpredictable, adventurous
mimicking the blaze
scorching my heart
my burning love
for only you
nor the night sky
deep and vast
freckled sterling
above our heads
that precious moment
when first we kissed
rob kistner © 2019
I bestow my dreams
wings of trust
to carry me
to wisdom’s shore
I share my dreams
with an open mind
so resonant truth
inspires me to be more
rob kistner © 2019
early shadows fall softly ‘cross my face
as peaceful vesper’s rich velvet blanket
drapes its soothing comfort ‘round my shoulders
eager I keep pace — as ends my journey
drawn by the beauty rendered before me
splendored by the rising moon in sunset
I’m welcomed by the freshened eve’ning breeze
as sundown’s amber wanes upon the lane
last light slips slow over far horizon
fog soon will rise and waft — full in moonlight
as darkness falls quiet on the valley
our home hearth’s glow will warm chill silvered night
my heart soars — lifted by this wondrous sight
our sterling stream cascades its serenade
to enwrap my soul in tender homesong
rob kistner © 2019
I sit quiet
at peace in this stillness
close by this fire
soothed by its crackling glow
warmed by the memories
that huddle ’round me
you are here
quiet in my memories
I like that you are still
with me in my heart
this recall is a sweet ache
other memories come
from near and far
into the past
they drift forward
through the years
to visit gently
one by one
memories of others
I’ve been blessed to love
a tender tear for every one
there is a sweetness fills the air
just a touch of soft regret
my heart is full
my spirit calm
a peaceful surrender
to fate’s embrace
would that this evening never end
but soon the flames will falter
as the lingering embers die
as darkness blankets my chamber
I pray
when I am called among the memories
would that I be carried away
in stillness
in sleep
rob kistner © 2019
No Option
to lose the pace
is to still keep going
keep moving forward
lest one be rutted in uncertainty
rigid with the rigor of fear
stalled in hopelessness
paralyzed
by the giving in
the giving up
caught in anguish
with the loss of belief
when grip lets go of dream
arthritic is loss of faith
debilitates the spirit
cripples the manifest light
that shines forth
at the sacred leap
into the dark unknown
but stopping is no option
frozen is the doubting man
withered in a worried cage
terrified of the wrong step
of the journey all in
of daring the way unmarked
to the destination uncertain
thus he bleeds out
loses the color of life
to become cold and grey
mired in regret
for never having shone so brightly
as to blind the eyes of death
stopping is no option
rob kistner © 2019
Well Traveled
a shorter stride
a stiffened gait
a lessened pace
guarantees it so
but being long a traveler
provides insight
to match the bruise and scars
of years and miles
and the will to move
can best the journey
where wisdom is employed
questions arise
what destination now
what provisions available
what light remains
with no destination
there is no journey
only aimless wander
and provisions grow scarce
the light more precious
loss of purpose
lack of focus
hastens journey’s failure
at this distance
this late hour
failure is not an option
so I will continue forth
eyes down the road
one foot then the other
in steady stride
mindful of the journey
holding to the dream
to arrive with love
spirit whole
full spent
from a road well traveled
rob kistner © 2019
In this moonlit forest, midnight shimmers through the mist-covered boughs of old growth, as if star clusters are dancing on the branches. Deep and still, mirroring the moon in the night sky, our high-mountain lake glows like cerulean satin. This night holds a sacred silence, save for a great white owl, echoing from the cedars, across the water.
We are lover and beloved, entwined in the pre-dawn, half awake, entranced by the spectacle outside our window. I turn to her whispering, “how long have I been awake?” I don’t really want to know. I’d rather lie here in her arms, falling again into gentle slumber.
Snuggling against me, her head on my shoulder, in her sleepy voice she says, “I awoke enwrapped in this wonderful moonlight, feeling filled with love!” Smiling, I say softly, “last night, my love, I dreamt I was the moon.”
rob kistner © 2019
your pre-dawn morning magic
shimmers ‘cross this sleeping world
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2019
rob kistner © 2019
I prance like a royal — regal and lean
I prowl like a panther — deadly and mean
I’m lush and lazy and I’m no ones fool
got a bad-ass human and we’re both cool
we take no lip from no-bo-dy-no-way
get on our radar and you better pray
we’re tough as leather and we got no fear
and I got somethin’ I wancha’ t’hear
so sit back and shut up and don’t be rude
I’m gonna tell you ‘bout my bad-ass dude
he rolls with a finger-snap jazz-jive strut
don’t mess with him ’cause you might get cut
he wears silken, french-cuffed, ivory shirts
they are soft as butter-sweet cream desserts
got diamond cufflinks of pure white gold
he’s high fashion treasure – precious and bold
pearl stick-pinned, satin tie — it’s knotted tight
lookin’ like Paris on Saturday night
desert-tan gabardine three-pleated slacks
euro-cuffed, steam creased — they are sharp as tacks
soft snakeskin braces buttoned sterling bright
hip — and killer as a rattlesnake’s bite
black-patton striders with real ‘gator spats
we step out classy as the coolest cats
red pinstriped linen coat double-breasted
pure uptown savvy — teal velvet vested
sportin’ a full-blocked, rolled-brim, felt chapeau
in the deepest red of a fine bordeaux
we’re crisp and smooth as a dry martini
he calls me Lil’Queen — his name is Ziggy
rob kistner © 2019
Digga Digga Doo – Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
you say you love me, but are you sincere
your credibility is weak my dear
all the evidence points the other way
i’m just not sure, the truth is so unclear
so goodbye — I’ll be moving on today
rob kistner © 2019
