hope stirs
the promised breeze
begins to freshen
gathering strength
anticipation mounts
building currents
draw taut the line
heartbeat quickens
with insistent tugging
my kite fills
stands
sculpted against the frame
whoosh!
it rises
DAY 23
save to raise his hand
to brush his brow
or adjust his cap
day after day
quietly
on the same park bench
at the pond
near the same tree
same willow
you could watch him come
mid-morning
see him leave
at dinner time
day after day
sitting there
hands on his knees
quietly
same bench
same tree
one morning
as he sat there
I left my office
walked across the street
into the park
approached him
smiled
and sat down beside him
quietly
he said nothing
so we sat together
for a while
quietly on the bench
by the tree
finally I spoke up
why do you sit here old man
sit here everyday
day after day
here on this bench
quietly watching the pond
he tilts his head
speaks softly
I’ve come here for years
he says
but how can that be
I say
these office buildings
this park – they’re all new
how could you have come
to this park for years
not to this park
he says
no – not to this park
– to this tree
me and all my friends
came to willow pond
every spring
to this tree
this old willow
for years
day after day
why
I ask
why to this tree
quiet smile
we played cards
in its shade
he explains
we talked – laughed
we listened at the pond
in its wonderful shade
day after day
this wonderful willow
where are your friends
I ask
why are they not here
with you on the bench
because
he hesitates
they are gone
he says finally
quietly
gone – gone where
I ask
gone
is all he says
quietly
unmoving
hands on his knees
all gone
oh – I see
I say
do you
is all he says
so why do you sit here
day after day
I ask
he stares straight ahead
and after a bit he says
I’m listening
listening
I say
listening for what
he sits quietly for a while
then
without changing his gaze
without raising his hands
from his knees
he says haltingly
for our laughter
our beautiful laughter
I still hear it
here
on the breeze
through this willow
rob kistner © 2019
DAY 21
green leaves on blue pond
float in golden springtime sun
red bird softly sings
buds burst forth through limb
streams run fast beyond their brim
April arrives strong
rob kistner © 2019
DAY 21
Author’s note: On the Oregon Coast, about an hour west of where I lived for 25 years, is a wonderful little artist’s village called Cannon Beach. The beach is vast and rambling and features an amazing natural wonder called Haystack Rock. Its name explains its shape, but you must see it to understand its incredible mass.
Just north along the coast lies Ecola State Park, where you will find a beautiful meadow hugging the very top edge of a towering ocean cliff. From this lofty viewpoint you look over the vast ocean, waves crashing below you.
The cliffs, with slivers of white beach at their feet, stretch left and right as far as you can see – broken occasionally by a widened expanse of sand. To the left, as you face the Pacific Ocean, tucked into just such a widened expanse, is the village of Cannon Beach. To your right is Indian Beach, mildly famous as the setting for the film, Point Break, which starred Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze.
This cliff-top meadow’s vista is absolutely breathtaking — soul-stirring. It served as the inspiration for “Hoping To Fly”.
observing a seabird suspended in flight
aloft on the sea breeze
billowing up and wafting down the cliff
I’m mesmerized
stretching before me
undulating azure blue
falling away
over earth’s edge
into forever
unfurling below
a white ribbon of sand
fragile
pristine
a breath between eternal sea
and towering rock facades
flanking left and right
in sweeping panorama
a breeze freshens
tosses my hair
I shudder
bracing against vertigo
swept up in a feeling
oh to be un-tethered
weightless
no longer earthbound
my soul
like that seabird
takes wing
soaring skyward
the freedom of feathered wing
over hollow bone
riding the thermals
climbing ever upward
gliding
circling
then
diving earthward
wings tucked
rocketing to the sea
to sail out ‘cross wavecrest
bank left to the boulderd jetty
to flutter back in pull up
glide down silently
to land soft as a fallen leaf
atop the mighty boulders
of Indian Beach Point
beautiful
exhilarating
the true miracle of flight
my heart drifts
back to mother earth
full – intoxicated
rich with this experience
observing a seabird
suspended in flight
riding the Pacfic Ocean cliffs
DAY 19
DAY 16
evaporating skyward
penetrating the earth
we are tenacious, persistent
always seeking our natural level
breaking beyond futile bounds
returning to our azure mother – the sea
rob kistner © 2019
DAY 17
but I say
rise up now
clad in colors
of a joyful life
rebuke the strife
do not bow
tilt against convention
the prevailing norm
is a toxic storm
buck the winds of brute rebuff
stare down the face of ridicule
if buffeted by cruel
condemnation
from the foolish
sadly blown off course
refrain from force
be not inclined to fear
nor falter
choose instead
to tame the dread
to stay ones ground
leaning hard on raw conviction
steadfast bound
be anchored bold
and deeply hold
to the genuine
do not resent
remain flexible
to withstand the blows
of frightened those
who would see you swayed
and have you bent
your broken spirit
for so to savor
stand head high
back straight
don’t ever waver
be never rigid
brittle
prone to break
do not forsake
your heart song
wisdom is a supple soul
skewered through
by true enlightenment
pierced clean and strong
by wonder
bleeding hope
and justice
DAY 15
stranding at liver revel
in this amassing george
glazing upon this malificent wonderful
cut by lime and curtains
into the great cock of the girth
I marbel at the powder
at the booty
at the degeneration
of this repentantless liver
scalping this malignent worm
tumblering tumescently
in cynical charity
over bowlers and faults
ever awkward
________________
Spellcheck Gone Right
~
standing at river level
in this amazing gorge
gazing upon this magnificent waterfall
cut by time and current
into the great rock of the earth
I marvel at the power
at the beauty
at the determination
of the relentless river
sculpting this majestic work
tumbling timelessly
in crystal clarity
over boulders and falls
ever onward
DAY 14
I shot her twice
at close range
to witness
the power of life
crossing over
and
to feel her die…
cool precision
in a quiet rage
sacred act
of raw release
purity of instinct
DAY 13
morning hatch has them eager to explode
up through ripples into the morning air
from Spring’s stream so crystal clear, snow melt cold
I walk the bank alert but stay composed
searching for the best stream side view, of where
the chill of current has trout brash and bold
it’s in the brisk slack water big ones hold
ready to strike the tempting air borne fare
as Spring streams run crystal clear, snow melt cold
soon a mountain stream drama will unfold
when a mighty rainbow engulfs its prey
‘cause chill of current made it brash and bold
oh what a mighty wonder to behold
a rainbow breaking water with a flair
when Spring streams run crystal clear, snow melt cold
and chill of current makes trout brash and bold
across the casual rapids
near the stony shore
rainbows surface in slack water
hungrily gulping morning hatch
my most recent offering undulates past
in the glinting chatter of spring flow
unacknowledged
chuckling
I turn
elbow steady
I begin to rotate my lengthy bamboo
behind to two PM.
silently stripping the slender thread
from current’s surface
leaving a razor crease
disappearing quick as it comes
the lacquered rod bends forward as I lift
then slowly flexes back
the line arcs behind in flight
trailing silvery spray
backward pressure builds
as line nears full unfurling
but just before
a smooth return
slowly brings the shaft
again to ten AM
now
I feel the forward pull of the soaring mass
as overhead the line recoils
midair
the glass-green fiber
rolls out ahead
over azure ripples
the singing strand painting an “S”
in the cloudless sky
quick
smooth
and quiet
the line is re-wed to stream
the feathered morsel at the tip
offered yet again
coaxing a ready trout
to rise
and strike
DAY 11
DAY 9https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-NjdfOoPK9c
rob kistner © 2019
but soon his victor’s smile
was stricken from his face
when his opponent showed his hand
he held diamonds – ten to ace
rob kistner © 2019
to ignore it
to abuse it
to mistreat it
to misuse it
to mishandle it at every turn
no way am I deserving
yet over and over
you lay it at my feet
to protect each step
on life’s harsh road
time after time
you wrap it round me
as shelter
from sorrow’s storm
again and again
it nurtures and sustains me
on my journey through
the wastelands of the lonely
this light
this precious treasure
no way do I deserve
but forever will I cherish
your soul gift
of selfless love
would I could give you
such a gift in return
it would be my purest
my most unselfish gift
a gift golden as the sun
tied in a tinsel of stars
to nurture you always
to keep you radiant
my most precious gift
of a love supreme
rob kistner © 2019
DAY 7