•
moonlight keeps dark at bay
pressing in
as night winds stir
mocking final breath of life
lost to the lightless realm
beyond the chill encircling me
no emotion here
save grief
failed digits of a graspless hand
on a broken stair
where ankle bent
and held oranges spilled
no voice came to the futile cry
those lips will not know again
sweet fruit
nor love…
• • •
rob kistner © 2010
…this piece evolved from both a visual prompt (see below) on Magpie Tales, as well as a “hinge” prompt on Read Write Poem…
•
so many times
I return home from a business trip
swing onto our concrete carport
pause – and key the engine off
all is silent – save the tick and popping
as the engine cools
my favorite moment
just before I open the door
to step out
to approach the house — approach you
this moment of anticipation
knowing you are waiting
bathed and fragrant
warm and soft
dressed in something that will whisper
welcome home my love – I’ve missed you
to take you in my arms
fall into your loving eyes
pull your willing body close
to wrap ‘round you
drink you in – intoxicated
these moments melt into sweet love making
that continues until exhaustion
we both love when I return
but tonight
I do not key the engine off
I do not reach for the handle
do not open the door
I simply sit
my warm hand encircling
the coolness of the ivory fob
you gifted me with
on our African honeymoon
you are no longer waiting
not in quite sometime
not since you lost your battle brave
not since I held you, that final time
your body still soft and warm
warm as my trembling hand
• • •
rob kistner © 2010
•
unfurling in linear spiral
time escapes into the future
tethered to the past
ever captive in the now
over and over
repeating in my head
these same strange words
the same chilling voice
over and over
unfurling in linear spiral
time escapes into the future
tethered to the past
ever captive in the now
always the same fevered dream
the fear
the guilt
the regret
I am fallen
paralyzed
unable to lift my head
it’s then I see him
see him coming
slowly out of the mist
coming
always coming
his sour smile
menacing
condemning
I want to rise up
run at him
scream at him
strike at him
run from him
run
but I cannot
I cannot
again that haunting voice
unfurling in linear spiral
time escapes into the future
tethered to the past
ever captive in the now
but what
what does it mean
I’m going
going — I think
going mad
mad
what does it mean
why — charles
it means nothing
and everything
and yes — charles
you are going mad
who
who are you
how do you know my name
why won’t you leave
leave me alone
what do you want!
want?
why – you, charles
tethered to your past
ever captive in this now
• • •
rob kistner © 2010
•
he runs his fingers through her hair
tears run down his cheeks
he holds her near
cradled
too late protected
he runs the events
over and over in his mind
the horrible events
daisey
our golden lab
running out into the street
you running out after
right into the path
run down
why
why
why did you run
now time
and your precious life
running out
running out
• • •
rob kistner © 2010
…this is a poem about the horror and ethical dilemma that is war, and the devastating impact it has on many soldiers…
crisp red from the scalding sun
from devastation’s fires
from cruel vision of relentless horror
scorched by vicious exposure of sentenced gaze
take refuge in this heavy late evening dew
thick with munitions soot
settling like a shroud
lubricious
opaque
obscuring
I am sustained by this damp cool pall
that descends upon me
wraps ‘round my pained countenance
fevered with fatigue
deafened by weapon’s roar
crippled with despair
driven by faint memory of honor
of duty
of human dignity
I stumble
broken by this sin I shoulder
this perversion
not of my making
but of my charge
my sin
conceived and unleashed
by those who would impose their will
their twisted utopian vision
who would advance their agenda of domination
those who would take it all
wear the conqueror’s crown
who would rule the world
a world now broken
corrupted by their vision
spoiled by their vanity
a world in chaos
I have but this bloodied ruin-riddled highway
of deepening nocturne
of dying dreams
crushed innocence
destruction
death
decay
of my duplicity
of my guilt
my shame
fear not for the future
weep not for the past
…impossible
and so I stumble on
muttering mea culpa
saturated with this falling evening
with this drenching sorrow
slinking in exhausted alert
nerves shattered as eggshells
numb to panic
hollow
empty
into this coming night
and the next night
and the night that follows
that always follows
captive on this road of murder
of mounting evil
of brutal human arrogance
prisoner of this lost highway
seeking forgiveness
• • •
rob kistner © 2010
•> click HERE to read The Failure of Architecture, a poem I wrote about the ethical dilemma of the corporate world <•
…this is a love poem, that addresses its sometimes sad impossibility…
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
NaPoMo poem #22
This is twenty second of the poems I will write this April, in honor of National Poetry Month, as proclaimed by the Academy of American Poets.
This poem is an homage to Gaia, our mother earth, in celebration of Earth Day 2009. Embedded within this free verse poem are a trio of haiku, each focused at our earth.
• NOTE: these poems will all essentially be early drafts, so edits may occur after their initial posting.
Earth Day 2009
For Granted
•
consciously
or unconsciously
confident of gravity
that it will keep you
anchored
in your bed
snug in your bed
that you won’t wake
to find yourself
having floated off
now entangled
in the sweeping branches
of the willow
in the backyard
that wonderful weeping willow
always bending
and swaying
like some sinewy
sap-laden
great elephant
trundling
great elephant
trundling
and swaying
on the lookout
for water
in the arid
african bush
such majestic
mysterious
beautifully dangerous bush
in africa
the amazing dark continent
with zebras
and giraffes
and lions
and of course
elephants
in africa
in the earth’s
southern hemisphere
and all of this
kept firmly aground
by earth’s gravity
pretty astounding
when you consider
earth hurtles through space
eighty times the speed of sound
racing toward hope
our frail earth needs hope
desperately it needs help
it is in trouble
our earth’s crying out
it’s balance has been disturbed
we humans don’t hear
all we ever think about
is bed
money and bed
and gravity
and then
often only in passing
when we’re not
simply
taking it for granted
the earth
and all these incredible things
for granted
• • •
rob kistner © 2009
___________________________
• you can find other NaPoMo offerings at read write poem
NaPoMo poem #19
This is the nineteenth of the poems I will write this April, in honor of National Poetry Month, as proclaimed by the Academy of American Poets.
This poem is an edited rewrite of an older poem I’d written, but not completed to my satisfaction. Today’s prompt brought such deep feelings flooding into my heart, I was compelled to revisit the draft of this work and bring it to a fitting completion. I am very pleased with how it has turned out.
• NOTE: these poems will all essentially be early drafts, so edits may occur after their initial posting.
I Will Not Forget
(rappelé toujours)
•
days remembered of grace and lightness
when faith in truth sparked splendid dreams
those days of you
when all we touched was fresh and new
and the world was full of wonder
when we were certain we’d live forever
our strength made each day a great adventure
those carefree days
the days we witnessed one for the other
as we made vows to our chosen life mates
raised our children
grew our careers
our families close through these days of joy
but not these days
I’ve grown unyielding
rigidly braced
against the winds of time and fate
my soul is rooted in life’s demands
I search its blessings
curse its burdens
these brittle days
I am bent by the yoke of worry
heavy with the weight of loss
I am haunted by the ghost of memory
the lonely days when I think of you
these empty days
how can this void be filled
when one so vital has departed
this world was denied much wit and wisdom
kindness and love lost
when you passed
how can this void be filled
when one so rich in these is gone
one who understood the need for giving
in a careless world darkened by greed
a tender heart
truly unselfish
whose warm embrace included all
how can this void be filled
when a brilliant light has been snuffed out
I will not forget
I will remember you
and all those days
that’s how I will fill this void
with the seeds of friendship
you planted deep inside my heart
now filled with grief
may they grow to make me gentler
and me — the world a better place
good-bye my friend
ever will I tend these seeds
and think of you
I will not forget
• • •
rob kistner © 2009
___________________________
• you can find other NaPoMo offerings at read write poem
Stir Of Love
____
the memory riveted
securely barring entry
none can pass
his bitter resolve
makes certain none will try
this is a dark forbidden place
high-walled
cold and barren
unyielding
lifeless
a wasteland of the lost
inhabited by the dead
the gate grown over
by a tangle of grief and anger
any memory
of a once vital presence
of a living breath
of warmth
of joy
forever gone
brutal night has fallen long ago
that no sun can penetrate
the blackness soothes him
he retreats into its depths
embraces its lightless void
hiding
sulking
shielded from any possibility
of further pain or remorse
he is unfeeling
safely lifeless
but see
a shadow
falls across the threshold
someone approaches
a comely being
warm and alive
lays gentle siege
threatening to breach
his hardened fortress
but
this lovely creature
fair and fragile
can not possibly gain entrance
must not
he will resist
he must
this is wrong
this is trespass
this is cruel betrayal
of his lost beloved
he has no right
to leave this place of sorrow
to step into the light
no right
but it grows inevitable
all seems lost
his stronghold is succumbing
falling to this delicate advance
he is vulnerable
terrified
but it is useless to resist
searching with a patient heart
she has found it
the key
grasped in her loving hand
fingers tenderly enfold it
gently
she slides it into the lock
turning with great care
he is defenseless
he feels his heart slowly open
the long forgotten
stir of love
begins to warm his soul
____
rob kistner © 2009
NaPoMo poem #14
This is the fourteenth 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.
• NOTE: these poems will all essentially be early drafts, so edits may occur after their initial posting.
The Return
•
as 2 cords
of diamond bright white
clustered up from behind
to nudge me onward
the precious ribbons
stranded for miles
disappearing over the horizons
the freeway had been dense
this night
as I made my way
from the busy airport
back to our beloved home
our sanctuary
the one we’d found together
deciding immediately – this was it
on that crisp spring saturday
when we were beginning
to feel we never would
the home we’d come to cherish
but finally
this turn
down our country lane
I could make it in my sleep
so familiar
I anticipate every bend
and rise
every dip
they are welcome as a friend
like the sound of my tires
as they trundle ‘cross
the narrow wooden bridge
that fords
our crystal trout stream
as it falls
brisk from mountain snow-pack
and coming round
I see the corridor
of faithful old-growth Doug’s
stepping back for me
to nestle the foothills
inviting my return
guarding my safe passage
they sway
as if to celebrate
that I am back
now
it’s left up our gravel drive
the pebble and crushed rock
crunch and clatter in stony rustle
as I traverse our hill
then swing onto our concrete carport
pause
and key the engine off
all is silent
save the tick and popping
as the engine cools
this is my favorite moment
just before I open the door
to step up
and approach the house
to bring myself to you
this moment of anticipation
knowing you are waiting
bathed and fragrant
warm and soft
dressed in something that will whisper
welcome home my love
I’ve missed you
then I take you in my arms
fall into your loving eyes
pull your willing body close
to wrap ‘round you
and drink you in
intoxicated
these moments
melt into sweet love making
that continues until exhaustion
we both love
when I return
happy ending, stop here…… from a business trip ……stop here, happy ending
• • •
tearful ending, read on…… but tonight ……read on, tearful ending
I do not key the engine off
I do not reach for the handle
do not open the door
I simply
sit
you are no longer waiting
not in quite sometime
not since you lost your battle brave
not since I held you
that final time
your body still warm and soft
not since then
not since then
now
my business trips are longer
my returns
fewer
and farther between
• • •
rob kistner © 2009
___________________________
• you can find other NaPoMo offerings at read write poem
•
a spoken word murder mystery in rhyme noir
To hear “Reaper Groom” read by the author, click below
• • •
rob kistner © 2008
• image above entitled “Thief of Hearts” by: rob kistner © 2008