Freefall
~
today
I slipped beneath
the waves
caught in a cloudy
slow
free-fall
no bottom in sight
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2013
Freefall
Author: Rob Kistner
Life is Duality
Life Is Duality
~
on catching a glimpse of the Great Mystery
I sometimes get very dark
my emotions get brittle
and heavy
an anger at life swells
every time I dig deep enough
be it on my own
or in counseling
I come up against two constants
things I cannot change
but have left a most indelible mark
one unfolded
over a horrendous period
of my early years
the other
happened in a horrible flash
during my mid-life
both so horrific
they changed forever
my humanity
try as I do
their darkness still surfaces
and in those moments
my inner light gets smothered
but I will never stop facing them down
ferociously
when I feel their chilled grip
that is what life is
keeping the good fight
and embracing
with love and gratitude
the beauty we have also been given
and we have been given so much
so amazing
life is duality
life is balance
the keeping of it
and the regaining of it
when it’s lost
and it DOES get lost
at times
very lost
but life is an awesome opportunity
an experience of the profound
and mysterious
the mystery we are not meant to solve
but rather
to celebrate
with grace and wonder
peace to all
may love touch all of our lives
for love is the gateway
to the great mystery
as John
one of our last
great
modern prophets said
love is all you need
and in the end
the love you take
is equal to the love you make
so find your lover
and make love
with great freedom
abandon
gratitude
and the power of the spheres
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2013
Stardust Thief
Stardust Thief
~
ride the moon
like the ferryman’s craft
to the secret place of dreams
ride the moon
like the stardust thief
pilfering the jeweled night sky
ride the moon
to seek the truth
hidden in the folds of time
it sparkles there
just out of reach
waiting for the worthy man
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2013
Scamper
~
where do you come from
little guy
you
here
alone
under our bed
what are you doing
waking us
from our sound sleep
what is your intention
what’s under there
that’s so interesting
perhaps a morsel
of snacks-in-bed
maybe a wayward
snip of thread
certainly your intention
is not to hide
not scratch scratch
scratching on the frame
like you are
maybe
it’s just your nervous tick
wow
I get it now
my wife’s annoyance
with my constant leg bounce
but then
there’s her incessant tapping
with her writing pen
marriage is nothing
if not tolerance
but her sister
really
damned hard to believe
she’s from her family
and you
down there
where do you come from
where is your little house
mouse
you’re lucky
you know
you’ve been pardoned
tonight
granted a reprieve
my wife loves critters
critters all
large and small
she thinks you’re cute
she thinks you’re funny
she thinks you’re innocent
though you and me
we know better
don’t we
but
you’ve picked the right house
little mouse
the right bed
to be under
to pursue your plunder
you’re safe
…for now
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2013
Speechless
~
as he reached the threshold
he hesitated
stopped
breathed in
partially turned
head cocked
breath caught
hand resting on the door
their eyes met
held
each wanting to speak
…silence
she sighed
looked away
he dropped his head
exhaled
pushed open the door
stepped through
walked slowly on
never looking back
it had all been said
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2013
By Bliss
~
there is a quiet golden
in this evening as it settles
unequaled in its beauty
by even that of precious metals
it embraces vesper’s waning hour
with a subtle gentle heat
lays down upon the eager land
like the roll of amber wheat
it dances in the silken air
strokes your hair aglow in smolders
folds its warmth upon your face
fondles fiery ’round your shoulders
it ignites a special magic
as though dreams are coming true
paints the world in sensual splendor
almost beautiful as you
like a goddess of the sun
in this moment you catch fire
my frail heart a helpless tinder
now sparked by love’s desire
caught by beauty’s reaching flame
I’m filled with passion’s yearning
my captive soul is set ablaze
please don’t leave me burning
before I am but all consumed
quench me with your precious kiss
for if I am to be consumed
I pray it be by bliss
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2013
(revised 2018)
Here
Here
upon seeing the car
coming up the drive
the lover ran to greet
the beloved
you have returned
my beloved
you had gone
so far away
and for so long
no
said the beloved
I never left you
my lover
but you did
I saw you drive away
and here
I see you return
but don’t you know
said the beloved
my love is bigger
than this vehicle
closer
than the distance
of any journey
and it knows
no time
I am always
right here
with you
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2013
Vault of Dreams
~
rise up
clad in colors of a joyful life
throw off the strife
just as the figured eight
rejects a narrow fate
tilt against convention
buck the winds of rebuff
ignore the false contention
stare down the face of ridicule
avoid the vapid scornful fool
disregard rebuke
spurn condemnation
shun the foolish blown off course
by the ruinous brutish force
of mindless conformation
the prevailing norm
is a toxic storm
be not inclined to fear nor falter
choose not to hear it
nor let it alter
the path of spirit
stay your ground
lean hard on raw conviction
wait the weight of mind’s confliction
it’s here your strength is found
be anchored bold
and firmly hold
to what the heart deems genuine
until patience spent
returns again
do not resent
be flexible
to withstand the blows
resisting those
who would see you swayed
and lowly bent
who would see
your spirit broken
a cruel tawdry token
they might savor
laugh instead
raise up high your head
don’t ever waver
be ever strong
be never rigid
never brittle
prone to break
do not forsake
your soulful song
eschew the wayward
noisy throng
hearken wisdom’s subtle whisper
be drawn the way of hope
and wonder
never consent to knuckle under
to the whim of fools
make rich your vault of dreams
your trove of true enlightenment
seek what inspires
what makes you
you
breakthrough
breakthrough
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2012
Oh to Fly
Oh to Fly
oh to glide
in buoyed flight
rocket skyward
loop great circles
lift high on mighty thermals
never be earthbound again
not tethered to stone and clay
no slave of gravity today
oh this day to be soaring
swooping diving
banking flying
to be drifting
on the jet streams
all alone
to feel the joy
of total freedom
aloft without trying
to live as one
possessed of feather
and hollow bone
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2012
Perfect Pair
Perfect Pair
a perfect pair
quite mesmerizing
a luscious fantasy
so round and delicate
firm but soft
a pleasure just to see
warm and beckoning
such succulent centers
begging for a nibble
temptingly tender
so tantalizing
drool threatens to dribble
I lick my lips
my tongue imagines
each teasing gentle bite
resistance gone
they will be mine
these orbs of pure delight
I close my eyes
my heartbeat quickens
I’ve dreamed of these all night
my desire’s piqued
my hunger’s tweaked
for two poached eggs this breakfast
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2012
Sanctuary
“Under Windsor Bridge” by Adolphe Valette, 1912
Sanctuary
dead calm envelops me
moist morning fog
adrift on the water
wraps ’round me
like a cool blanket
it muffles the sounds
of daybreak’s industry
alone with my thoughts
in peaceful privacy
safe anonymity
the regrets of last night
dim and fade
this brief sanctuary
a soothing balm
so welcome
at the start of this heavy day
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2012
No Respite
No Respite
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 August
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2012
Bam
Bam!
free verse is my heart’s elation
stiff forms and rhyme make me depressed
my muse balks at forced creation
imagination dims repressed
I’m feeling empty null distressed
when bam a true epiphany
to meet this task I’ll do my best
to write my angst as poetry
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2012
_______
Cloistered
image by René Magritte
Cloistered
when another
tells you of yourself
you’re shown the dance they see
your outward choreography
but you hear not of the music
that rings true in your mind
that leads and drives the steps
to this inward dance they’re blind
you are shown the reflection
not the light that shines inside
that illuminates your soul
to guide your steps and stride
are we the I that we know
the self that we so treasure
or are we in fact the other
the one the others measure
for if the valid I
be the one that is most known
then we are in fact that I
the one to ourselves not shown
for surely when compared
the majority story shared
is of the outward other
the one seen by another
and so we live our life
cloistered in this other
and live this life alone
even when by many known
for the I that’s outward shown
is the I that’s not our own
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2012
Morphling
image by Francesca Woodman
Morphling
I will not be confined
always in motion
eternal ebb and flow
perpetual like the seas
my spirit an eternal liquid
in everlasting flux
expands unrestrained
seeking freedom
I will not be defined
my nature is fluid
my essence is turbulent
deep but ever changing
my heart in constant surge
challenges boundary
seeking balance that is mine
to change at will
reach not for me
I will not be held
do not name me
I will not be yours
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2012