Alchemy

“Went digging through some of my older poetry to find this piece I wrote 9 years ago, March 2010. I remember being inspired to write it watching Hermione’s love potion scene in ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Price.’ I had just purchased the DVD at the time. My grandson was watching the DVD last night, which put me in mind of this poem. Wanted to share it here for dVerse OLN #252. It contains very minimal revision and a slight upgrade in graphic embellishment”

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Alchemy

~

you cannot change
a heart of iron
into a heart of gold

no precious warmth
will manifest
from something hard and cold

a love that’s locked
and set in cast
can never be set free

there is no hope
nor magic spell
not even alchemy

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you cannot stop
the hands of time
from spinning ever on

when the sand
is through the hourglass
those days are ever gone

you cannot bring summer back
when the leaves
are off the tree

there is no hope
nor magic spell
not even alchemy

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~ ~ ~

rob kistner © 2010
revision © 2019

 

  • Click below to check out some fine poetry at dVerse:

    OpenLinkNight #252

  • Sing

     

     

    Sing

    •

    a tear can cloud the brightest day
    song will brush aside the clouds
    is not sadness just a passing state
    but what a melody can chase away

    a tune played true with voice in tow
    little sorrows flee from such display
    thing is, so few will dare seek joy
    and thus succumb to feeling low

    yet when life is lived in harmony
    what hurt you have will drift and fade
    joy in chorus will lift the heart
    it swells the soul in reverie

    is it not foolish to keep bliss entombed
    to see not but the dark and gloom
    sing — and laughter will light the room

    a song is but a little thing
    and yet what joy it is to sing

    • • •

    rob kistner © 2010

    • photorendering entitled “Sing For Joy” – by: rob kistner © 2010
    _______________________________

    …catch the other tunes at Carry On Tuesday

    Unyeilding

     

     

    Unyeilding

    •

    my muse is hard to capture
    though I do try each day
    just goes so fast

    I turn around
    it’s past me in a blur
    leaving little inspiration

    each day becomes each night
    here I sit in the wee hours
    while the sane sleep
    steeped in contradiction

    thoughts vague
    filled with doubt
    words tossed about the unyielding page

    I start then stop
    I write then not
    caught mercilessly unclear
    in terminal hesitation
    in quiet rage

    fickle muse – please…
    a spark to light this dark
    that grips me like a cage

    • • •

    rob kistner © 2010

    • photo collage entitled “Seeking the Muse” – by: rob kistner © 2007
    _______________________________

    …see who is going fast at Carry On Tuesday

    …discover who is hesitating at One Single Impression

    Duet

    Duet
    •

    rounding a bend
    brushing through waist-high fern
    I crest a knoll and stop

    mesmerized

    awash in the warm brushstrokes of evening
    filtered through this woodland realm
    as the waning sun paints the world golden

    below me
    a pristine ribbon of silver-blue water
    flecked with sunlight
    sparkles like a strand of gems

    transfixed
    I marvel at the beauty
    at the power
    of this mighty river

    as it tumbles in timeless clarity
    over boulder and falls
    ever onward

    its lyric voice
    beckons me

    I come
    entranced
    stand immersed in its energy
    captivated by its duet with the wind
    that plays the boughs of the towering pines
    singing down the lofty climbs
    to gently brush my face
    toss my hair
    and dance past me round a bend
    in perfect harmony

    serenaded in this evensong
    sunset has melted into moonrise
    the waters ripple sterling in soft applause

    the moon sets aglow this splendid concert
    so I listen
    spellbound

    • • •

    rob kistner © 2010

    _____________________

    • photographs taken near my home in the Cascade Mountain foothills

    top photo entitled: “Sunlight on the Clackamas”
    bottom photo entitled: “Moon over the Santiam”

    _____________________

    …this edited rewrite of an older work of mine was inspired by sunday scribblings

    Racing

     

     

    Racing

    •

    right
    keep right came the response
    redirecting the runner
    in reaction to his rapid-fire request regarding the route

    racing recklessly in redoubled resolve
    certain this resurgence would redeem his rough start
    he ran rampant

    refusing to relinquish his radical pace
    no longer rambling
    he raged like a rogue renegade

    determination renewed
    hope refueled
    spirit refreshed
    his belief was rekindled that a resounding victory would result
    if he would just run
    run
    run

    his rally realized
    lungs raw and ragged
    he rocketed ‘cross the finish line
    reared his head
    and roared raucously

    arms raised in release
    tears rolling in relief
    he rejoiced
    triumphant

    • • •

    rob kistner © 2010

    …discover what else is running at One Single Impression

    Phantasmagoria

    I’ve grown dark in my spirit over the past year, and I want to find my way back to the light and the wonder that used to fill me. I am posting this piece I wrote a couple years ago to remind myself of when I was still in touch with my sense of wonder.

     

     

    Phantasmagoria

    •

    I’ve watched
    golden Fire Clouds
    hanging in pale green skies
    over the azure seas of Toluras

    heard the haunting call
    of the coral-winged Lellurt
    soaring Droon’s violet skies
    over teal Darpin Bay

    seen the copper leaves
    of Parmus fronds
    flashing from indigo mountains
    in the crystal mists of Gemin

    been seduced by saffron Remmors
    a’swim with siren song
    translucent in the amber waters
    of emerald Topiarus

    I have beheld exquisite beauty
    of otherworldly delight
    but nothing to please my eyes and ears
    as you, whispering here, tonight

    • • •

    rob kistner © 2008

    _____________________

    fantasy artwork above entitled: “Time Window”
    featuring elements from justin and rob kistner
    final composite created by: rob kistner © 2006

    On The Edge

    If hell froze over and if pigs could fly, then perhaps there would be an additional host-venue candidate for an upcoming Olympics — and Kevin Bacon and Mia Hamm could be on the US Alpine Downhill Ski Team? Until then, Lindsey Vonn, Bode Miller and all the international skiers are flying down the frozen slopes in Vancouver, BC… so this is a short prose piece I wrote a couple of years ago, but have never posted here on image & Verse — and to celebrate the 2010 Olympics, I am unveiling it here.

     

     

    On The Edge

    •

    It has all come to this. No turning back now, no room for doubt, no fear, no place for mistakes. Years of preparation, visualizing my dream, of tenacious conditioning, practice, of sacrifice, of hope, is finally culminating in this one moment in time.

    I hear the winds whistle in the shell of my headgear, the snow crunch crisp and fresh underfoot as I step off the aerial tram and stride to the starting gate. My skis, waxed to perfection, are thrown over my right shoulder, both poles gripped in my left hand. I vibrate with nerves and pure, refined energy.

    As I make the short walk I reflect, “over 90 miles per hour for 90 seconds, airborne, hurtling down the mountain like a rocket, free-falling just at the edge of control, at the edge of disaster… at the edge of euphoria! I love this! I can do this, just don’t catch an edge!” I push that brief slip of negativity out of my head, and begin to visualize, while repeating, “tuck tight, knees flexed, eyes down the mountain, fearless… fly!”

    I sit to tighten my boots and affix my skis. I hear the chatter of coaches and officials, the mantra-like self-talk of my competitors, and the clamor of the crowds that collect along the course, gathered exuberantly dense at the bottom.

    I begin to slowly tune all that into a background monotone buzz, then a quiet hum, squelching –– until finally, I tune it out altogether. I focus, dialing myself into my personal space, my place of vivid concentration, intense presence… my zone.

    Here I wait until my coach comes to lead me to the starting gate, where I check in with the race officials, and queue up. It seems just a blink of an eye and he comes, and I go –– go to what I believe will be victory, my time of destiny. I am ready!

    Standing behind the next racer poised to start, I acutely envision the entire course, racing section by section, successfully making and re-making the run in my head, the same one I’ve made many times in practice. I imagine the gate fly open, see myself push off, thrusting with all my might into that first steep drop, accelerating fiercely into the first turn, building a torrid pace, knifing down the mountain, as if an apparition, a vapor, a blur… gone 90/90!

    At last, alone in the gate, I see the mountain stretch out below me, the crystalline white falling and twisting –– down, down. This is it, it’s here, my dance with fate; but this is no gamble. I am so totally ready for this, ready to roar down the icy slope, surge across the finish line… ready to fly!

    The starting tone begins to pulse. My mind links into the cadence, my body feels the rhythm. My vision grows sharp, my senses keen, my surroundings –– vibrant. Time is folding into slow motion, honing down to the long-awaited instant, the critical split-second. My legs are wound springs, my arms and shoulders are powerful pistons, my heart, a thunderous locomotive. The brink is reached, then crossed. The gate swings away as I launch, in one mighty explosion…

    • • •

    rob kistner © 2008

    _____________________

    •> collage above entitled: “On the Edge” — by: rob kistner © 2008

    …this post was sparked by a prompt at sunday scribblings

    The Failure of Architecture

    …this is a poem about the dehumanizing impact of the cubicle’d corporate world, and the often questionable ethics that pervade it…

     


    …collage entitled: “Robotomy” – by: rob kistner © 2004…

     

    The Failure of Architecture

    •

    they rise gargantuan
    icons of the clever human

    they vibrate
    with the chaos of mixed agenda

    they hum with networked urgency
    data outdistancing comprehension
    ‘we can’ beyond the reach of ‘should we’

    bedecked in stainless
    glass
    and stone
    ablaze in halogen and neon
    strewn here and there with art
    their essence remains sterile
    their foundation is profit
    their cornerstone often cupidity

    in varying shape and differing size
    swollen with the buzz
    rustle
    and clatter
    of corporate cacophony

    they flank in concrete corridors
    that criss and cross
    ensnared in the honk
    screech
    and roar
    of gridlocked anguish

    soaring above the drone and glare
    and the dirge of dying dignity
    these pretentious monoliths can intimidate
    emotionally eviscerate
    creatively castrate
    spiritually suffocate
    stagger and stun

    a cold calculated majesty

    ultimately — this architecture fails
    for it does not move the soul
    that seeks the folded petal’s mystery

    that marvels
    at the smallness of a sprouting frond
    the beauty of a burled oak
    the magic of a budding branch
    at the glory of a redwood’s rise

    it does not lift the spirit
    soothed by a morning breeze
    whispered in autumn aspens
    or stirred by a loon’s lament
    over the still water of a dusk lake
    or thrilled by the song of birds
    the mighty swoop of a redtail hawk
    or captivated by a coyote’s midnight call

    it cannot touch the heart
    that needs to see a salmon’s trek
    the dolphin’s arc in an open sky
    the roll of unobstructed clouds
    or a fall of stars

    it offers nothing to the dreamer
    who needs to hear the crack of thunder
    resound for miles across the plain
    then off the mountain’s face again

    yes…

    this architecture fails the human core
    that needs the fresh embrace of rain
    the crisp and quiet drift of snow
    the hues and sway of living fields

    it leaves the spirit cold
    that needs to watch the orchards bloom to fruit
    see forests thick beyond horizons
    or feel the lift of cresting surf

    no…

    there are no human constructs
    that satisfy this need to know true splendors
    evolving natural wonders

    wonders that inspire
    resonate the heart
    that liberate the soul
    to leave one…

    …transcendent

    • • •

    rob kistner © 2010

    …this edited rewrite, of a poem I wrote in 2007, was inspired by a prompt at sunday scribblings

    Shut Down

    …this is a love poem, that addresses its sometimes sad impossibility…

     

     

    Shut Down

    •

    I hope to find you,
    Find you, the elusive,
    Elusive, hiding from the light.

    I want to see you,
    See you, the hidden,
    Hidden, cowering out of sight.

    I long to know you,
    Know you, the evasive,
    Evasive, running, ever in flight.

    I want to touch you,
    Touch you, the distant,
    Distant, and as dark as night.

    I want to love you,
    Love you, the frightened,
    Frightened, damaged by your plight.

    But I can’t reach you,
    Reach you, so broken,
    Broken, untrusting, shut down, closed tight.

    • • •

    rob kistner © 2010

    …poem written in response to prompt #113, found at “readwritepoem”

    Naked

    …this is a love poem, that is also a yearning for honesty, in the face of our fundamental human tendency toward insecurity and fear…

     


    photorendering entitled: “Liberated”

     

    Naked

    •

    I want to see you
    see you naked
    naked — backlit by the sun

    naked — in a mountain meadow

    naked — running in the rain

    naked — in a flower garden

    naked — lying in the surf

    naked — walking in a forest deep

    naked — smiling on an autumn morn

    naked — in a peaceful sleep

    naked — in a redrock desert

    naked — by a waterfall

    naked — in a gentle breeze

    naked — on a silvered night
    silhouette ‘gainst a sterling moon

    naked — folded in my arms
    with your heart and soul laid bare
    all your dreams and fears exposed
    every pretense stripped away

    …naked

    • • •

    rob kistner © 2010

    …poem written in response to prompt #113, found at “readwritepoem”

    Spellbound

    NaPoMo poem #20

    This is the twentieth of the poems I will write this April, in honor of National Poetry Month, as proclaimed by the Academy of American Poets.

    • NOTE: these poems will all essentially be early drafts, so edits may occur after their initial posting.

     

    This poem was inspired by the image below entitled “The Bride Wore Red”, by Pareeerica

    Spellbound

    •

    scarlet lady in crimson silk
    a beauty to mesmerize
    sculpted by a master’s hand
    so seductive as to scandalize

    a stare of comely crystal blue
    floats above a ruby pout
    spellbound by her magic eyes
    she holds your soul with no way out

    her tongue tip teases her top lip’s edge
    like a supple paintbrush flowing
    her smile will pierce and hypnotize
    then wrap around you knowing

    you are now her helpless captive
    quite hopelessly addicted
    in the velvet grip of her mystery
    is she an angle or is she wicked

    • • •

    rob kistner © 2009

    ___________________________

    • you can find other NaPoMo offerings at read write poem

     

    Val

    NaPoMo poem #10

    This is the tenth of the poems I will be writing each day here in April, in honor of National Poetry Month, as proclaimed by the Academy of American Poets.

    Suggested by read write poem as a poem for day 10 of National Poetry Month; this type is known as a ‘found poem’. Passages here are borrowed from the pages of Robert A. Heinlein’s science fiction masterpiece, “Stranger in a Strange Land”. While still holding fast to the spirit of Heinlein’s novel, I’ve slightly rearranged, and mildly embellished the text to create this piece entitled “Val”.

    • NOTE: these poems will all essentially be early drafts, so edits may occur after their initial posting.

     

    Val

    •

    valentine michael smith
    was a most intelligent creature
    a son
    of deep space pioneers

    he lived an alien
    on the far frontier
    his ancestry was human

    raised on mars
    by planet natives
    he thought and felt
    quite martian
    he’d never laid eyes
    on man

    brought to earth
    by scientists
    who knew not
    how to grok* smith
    who knew not
    how not to
    and quickly grokked
    the madhouse planet

    he understood earth
    and its suffering
    so thoroughly
    it became his own

    it nearly drove him crazy

    heartfelt
    val reached out
    to spread enlightenment

    for this
    he was despised

    feared and hated
    quite ungrokked
    smith was sadly slain

    his death was brutal
    he died as he lived
    a stranger
    in a strange land

    • • •

    rob kistner © 2009

    ___________________________

    *Grok – to understand so thoroughly, the observer becomes part of the observed

    • you can find other NaPoMo offerings at read write poem

     

    Skyward

     

    …photo below entitled “Followed by a Dream”, by Pensiero

    Skyward

    •

    if I could but glide
    to the top of these stairs
    like a bird in flight

    I would soar skyward
    in sweeping circles
    lifted on mighty thermals

    I would not be earthbound
    not a prisoner of these steps
    not captive by gravity

    and… I would not return to work

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

    • • •

    rob kistner © 2009

     

    …poem inspired by a different photo from Pensiero, the individual who created the photo seen in read write image #12, found at “readwritepoem”

     

    Love & War (two poems)

     

    Love & War

     

    The Nightmare

    •

    my eyes

    crisp from the day’s cruel sun
    burnt by devastation’s fires
    scorched by images of relentless horror

    take refuge
    in this late-evening fog
    settling heavy as a shroud

    clinging
    opaque
    mercifully obscuring

    I am sustained
    by this damp pall
    that descends cool upon me

    wraps ‘round my pained countenance
    fevered with fatigue
    twisted with despair

    drawn
    by a faded memory of honor
    a faint echo of duty
    a frayed thread of human dignity

    I stumble
    broken by this sin I shoulder

    not of my making
    but of my charge

    my sin

    unleashed by others
    who would impose their delusions
    to advance their evil agenda

    those who would rule the world

    a world now broken
    corrupted by their illusions
    spoiled by their vanity

    a world in chaos
    as darkness deepens

    this nocturne
    I have but this ruin-riddled
    highway of blood

    of dying dreams
    violated innocence
    merciless destruction

    of horrific death

    this path of my duplicity
    of my guilt
    my shame

    and so
    I stumble on
    bent by the weight of this falling evening
    drowned in its drenching sorrow

    my spirit hollow and empty
    I slink exhausted
    into this coming night
    and
    the next night
    and
    the night that follows
    that always follows

    captive on this road of murder
    of brutal
    human
    arrogance

    a prisoner
    of this lost highway

    seeking forgiveness

    • • •

     

    The Return

    •

    distant
    slurred
    reverberant

    like a voice in a canyon
    I hear you calling
    from the past

    my name
    rolling sweet as nectar
    from your lips
    soft as orchid petals
    full as a bursting peach

    glistening deep coral
    as they wrapped softly
    ‘round each pouted syllable
    when you bid me tender farewell
    so long ago

    our fingertips had strained to grasp
    until the final sensation of warmth
    of touch
    had faded

    and they drifted apart

    I had struggled
    to tear my eyes from your tears
    that glistened on your lashes
    and around your swollen eyes
    blue as a deep summer sky

    to slip softly
    over the crests of your velvet cheeks
    down the contour of your face
    flushed as sunset
    to lightly salt your quivering lips

    numb and dazed
    I tunneled down the loading gate
    toward the jet
    that took me to hell

    in those final moments
    I locked the image
    of your sorrowed face of love
    deep in my heart

    there it lives as my salvation
    my only grasp on sanity
    in these horrific years

    my lips too
    had quivered on that day
    from the sting of separation

    from the chilling knowledge
    I would soon taste
    the bitter blood of war
    foul with the stench of death

    not yet departed
    I had longed
    on that day
    to gaze once more
    into your brilliant blue eyes
    and taste your sweetness on my lips

    as I return this day
    trying to face reality at 30,000 feet
    I taste the salt of sadness

    I fear a kiss from me
    with my killer’s mouth
    will forever defile
    the fragile innocence of your lips

    soft as orchid petals
    full as a bursting peach

    that glistened
    and quivered
    when last we parted

    • • •

    rob kistner © 2009

    ___________________________________

    …photorendering entitled “Blood Orchid” by: rob kistner © 2008

     

    The Shine

     

     

    The Shine

    •

    I sit

    watch the flow of people

    the shuffle of feet
    with their different sounds
    according to their shoes

    I see wan faces
    of unsmiling lips
    their void curves denounce this night

    yet unseen
    is the gossamer curtain’s fall
    that defines their soul’s duality

    the divergent reality
    through which truth stumbles blind
    to move in the world
    rough as a rope
    taut as every promise made

    frayed as wisdom
    leaned in
    whispered from behind

    grab at time like dropped money

    I might learn something tonight
    if someone will release the light
    so I can shine like a child
    who likes ice cream most of all

    this child reads old men’s minds
    and notices the shoes
    the belts all made of leather

    I feel a shiver
    of sad imbalance
    a confliction in my soul

    so I will watch the shoes
    and practice non-attachment
    because I can

    but pieces of me
    stick to whoever gets too close

    you may have seen me
    silhouetted against the sky
    the coldest night in January
    howling with the frozen moon

    then moon and I sneak
    through fate’s construct
    among cages of studs & trusses
    we run

    from room to imaginary room
    the whole world close enough to touch

    we eat a midnight lunch
    of damaged bread
    seasoned by caution
    and foreign lands
    with onioned thoughts
    layered deep

    show mercy
    peel back the layers

    peel me away
    thin by thin
    skin by skin
    to my quivering soul

    I hope I am not ugly in your sight

    these thoughts
    become too heavy to hold
    to tough to chew or swallow

    my thoughts

    bone-white lies of morality plays
    open for you to peek

    hope they are not ugly in your sight

    hope they do not make you weep
    as you peel back all the layers

    onioned
    thought
    layers

    held fast and firm
    like a carapace
    to which I’m stitched and welded
    and can no more leave
    than you can truly enter

    they tie me down
    sometimes
    but sometimes barely so

    inescapable optimism
    in my barebones grin
    flashes in the brittle moonlight

    a stranger comes to where I sit
    to see

    his stare
    blinds the stars from my eyes

    behind his fey smile
    his radar dreams
    scan the forgotten creases
    and clandestine getaways
    in my mind

    standing over
    he peers down
    with probing gaze

    one of us will learn
    a thing or two this night

    • • •

    rob kistner © 2009

     

    ___________________________________

    …photorendering entitled “Cornered” by: rob kistner © 2008