Tag: hope

Infinatum

 

 

Infinatum

•

…this is an ecstatic poem echoing the mystic tradition…

their fire and light
incandesce my essence
burn deep my soul
stir my spirit
unsettle my being
ignite my wonder

and whet my seeker’s vessel
with need to be filled full

at once familiar
yet exotically foreign
strangely boxed
but exquisitely wrapped
in longing
loss
love
and infinitely more

they reach to a hollow place
deep within
echoing a past
awakening a myth
exposing that which I embrace
in the moment
as truth

stirring my pain
my loneliness
my hope

offering just enough answer
that I combust with questions
sacred uncertainties

suspended in inquiry
in memories of neverwas
recognition of evermore
enrapt in blissful cognizance
of that which is not known

I am transfixed by mystery
elevated by insight
impaled by vision

spellbound

• • •

rob kistner © 2010

• artwork entitled “Infinity Portal” by: rob kistner © 2010

___________________________

…you can find more cognizance at One Single Impression…

NaPoWriMo #5 – Kathleen / Blossoms

This is my fifth post for National Poetry Month 2010
• one free verse poem
• one haiku
____________________________________




 

Kathleen

•

he has kept it locked for so long
none can pass
his grief makes certain none will try

this is a dark forbidden place
high-walled
cold and barren
unyielding
lifeless

brutal night has fallen
no sun can penetrate

the darkness soothes him
he retreats into its depths
hiding
shielded from any further pain

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
this is wrong
this is trespass
this is cruel betrayal of his lost beloved

he has no right to leave this place of sorrow
no right

but 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 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

• • •





________________________




 

 

Blossoms

•

sweet pink blossoms fall

red spring buds will take their place

soon will be cherries

• • •

poem and haiku by: rob kistner © 2010

• photorendering entitled “The Key” – by: rob kistner © 2010
base image by: Getty Images
• photorendering entitled “Blossoms” – by rob kistner © 2010
base image by: Harold Davis
____________________________________

…for more personal NaPoWriMo 2010 poems: readwritepoem…

NaPoWriMo #4 – Now / Time To Smile

This is my fourth post for National Poetry Month 2010
• one free verse poem
• one haiku
____________________________________

Nelle Lytle put forth a fascinating and challenging prompt at Read Write Prompt for day #4 of NaPoWriMo. We were to look at things inside out. At first I was perplexed. I kicked a number of ideas around and was hitting the wall, when it struck that inside out is a condition of perspective – a point from which things are viewed. You see one from the other.

I started thinking about situations in which I view one from the other, when it hit me – time! I continually view the “other” aspect of time from where I am… looking at the past or future while being in the present. That’s all it took. My muse (and Ram Dass) carried me from there.

I not only wrote a new poem, I created a new collage. Thanks Nelle! 😉

____________________________________




…collage above entitled “Time” by: rob kistner © 2010…

 

Now

•

the future — the past
tomorrow — yesterday
time’s not hard and fast
moments slip away

fretting what we miss
we ponder destiny
yet today is all there is
ever was — will ever be

days not yet arrived
ones that slipped away
not present in our lives
there only is today

can’t change what’s gone astray
or know what is to come
embrace what is this day
stop running to and from

forget the come and gone
all the who what when and how
don’t get lost looking beyond
learn to truly be here – NOW

• • •

________________________




 

Time To Smile

•

turning clocks forward

evenings last longer now

so too will my smile

• • •

poem and haiku by: rob kistner © 2010

• graphic rendering of smiling clock configured and colorized by: rob kistner

____________________________________

…for more poetic perspectives on NaPoWriMo 2010: readwritepoem…

NaPoWriMo #3 – The Leap / New Life

This is my third post for National Poetry Month 2010
• one free verse poem
• one haiku

____________________________________


…facing one’s fear…

 

The Leap

•

she need not be frightened
she knows the moves
sees the steps
clearly in her mind

she knows the stride
the position of her body
just before elevation

she understands the speed
the run up
the lead foot
the plant angle
the knee bend
the thrust

she has done this
literally thousands of repetitions
no need for trepidation

she knows the energy of the moment
of the crowd
as they anticipate
as she anticipates
the lift off
the rise

the glorious weightlessness
the thrill of flying
the feel of returning to earth
to her toes
her feet
how to offset the momentum

to snap to a graceful stop
come to point
straight and strong
arms raised and extended

the applause
that exhilaration

she knows this all
to her bones

she can do this
in her sleep

she has this mastered
she is a master dancer

but

that flash of doubt
and again
she fails

there is now one leap
she fears she cannot master

the leap
back through time
to her youth
to her glory
her invincibility

still
she leaps

she will always
leap

• • •

________________________

 

 

New Life

•

wife in her mud shoes

clatter in the potting shed

soon will come new life

• • •

poem and haiku by: rob kistner © 2010

____________________________________

…for more fearless NaPoWriMo 2010 poems: readwritepoem…

NaPoWriMo #2 – The Willow / Spring

This is my second post for National Poetry Month 2010
• one free verse poem
• one haiku

____________________________________


…Remembering Willow Pond…

 

The Willow

•

the old man sat quietly
day after day
hands resting on his knees
day after day
hardly moving

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
watching the pond
so quietly

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
not to this park
to this tree
me
and all my friends
came to willow pond
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 say
I see

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
for anything
anything familiar

a small tear
glistens
in the corner of his eye

• • •

________________________

 

 

Spring

•

purple finch sings out

budding trees are plentiful

spring is upon us

• • •

poem and haiku by: rob kistner © 2010

____________________________________

…for more NaPoWriMo 2010: readwritepoem…

NaPoWriMo #1 – This Journey / Birds

This is my first post for National Poetry Month 2010
• one free verse poem
• one haiku

____________________________________

…written in the spirit of the wonderful journey that is NaPoWriMo 2010…

 

This Journey

•

this journey has been one of wonder
joy, sadness, awe, and tears

it’s carried me ‘cross boundaries
borders
mass of lands
‘cross time and space

it’s shown me magic
marvels
the mystery of love

the best
the least
the good
the evil

it’s brought me pleasures
fame
and fortune
to claim them back
with no remorse

I’ve known satisfaction
adulation
a woman’s love
a child’s passing

it’s been true and faithful
genuine
just to turn away
and break my heart

it’s been fantasy
fact
and fiction
clear as light
then contradiction

I’ve been ignored
I’ve been betrayed
honored as a man of standing
then left behind
to cry alone

I’ve traveled light
I’ve traveled fast
I’ve stumbled
burdened
weighed with grief

I’ve lead and followed
lost my way
regained direction
just to go astray

I’ve walked hand in hand
with fear and death
stared down depression
to be consumed

then arose
to again go forth
without a clue my destination
with no regard for the fated outcome
and to my plight
no consideration

long ago I abandoned worry
having learned it’s of no use

I’ve realized despite our difference
at the core we’re all the same
this realm we enter all alone
from here we’ll leave alone again

but all of this is of no matter
foolish so to dwell upon
of no concern
of no regard
most certainly not worth the measure

because in reflection
one sees too late
it is this journey
that is the treasure

• • •

________________________

 

Birds

•

no wind at feeders

suet and the black seeds swing

evidence of birds

• • •

poem and haiku by: rob kistner © 2010

____________________________________

• five shuffle titles used to create the poem “This Journey”

Digable Planets – Time And Space
Marianne Faithfull – The Mystery Of Love
Bad Company – Fame and Fortune
Metallica – No Remorse
Finger Eleven – Lost My Way

NOTE: shuffle courtesy of my son’s iPod — me, I’m a jazz man…

____________________________________

…get shuffled further into NaPoMo 2010 at readwritepoem…

Caisson

 

 

Caisson

•

see you
see you in this carrion half-light
unworthy scavengers

you cluster to ravage
to defile the entity
drawn in this caisson

but you cannot

the living presence it bore
is greater than you

your gluttonness lust
might pick the meat clean
pick the bones dry

but this being has lived well beyond the muscle
beyond the sinew tendon and bone
these were its limits

now it is set free

so help yourself brother crow
sister raven
birds of black
help yourself

this essence has gone beyond
far beyond
to become infinite
pure thought
unbound spirit

what you pick apart is the afterimage
of a mortal now eternal

so take your fill crow
have your way raven
blackbird — do your best
engorge the glorious

then be gone
scatter
and far off

this caisson has delivered its miracle

unus est privatus

• • •

rob kistner © 2010

_____________________


…this piece inspired by readwritepoem…

• photorendering entitled: “gathering” by: alice popkorn

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

51A71700-37A0-46A2-8732-6ED479833CDF

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

2B51D4D0-8D43-418B-82F5-4FED8AB9C058

~ ~ ~

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…

    Bridge of Auras

     

     

    Bridge of Auras

    •

    possessed of all it is I am
    I breath a sigh of longing
    and wish for what it is I’m not
    across the bridge of auras

    I covet not a kingly right
    nor scepter gold to rule a realm
    I seek to fill my barren soul
    across the bridge of auras

    worldly wealth is not my goal
    nor power over minions
    enlightenment is what I seek
    across the bridge of auras

    • • •

    rob kistner © 2010

    ___________________________

    • you can find more aura’s 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…

    So Many Gifts

    NaPoMo poem #29

    This is the twenty ninth and the penultimate 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 a tongue-in-cheek, but well intentioned look at life’s many gifts, inspired by prompt #29 at read write poem.

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

     

    So Many Gifts

    •

    we were granted
    many gifts
    when we arrived
    here in this life

    perhaps the most precious
    is the gift of family

    to endure
    the gift of family
    and any other calamity
    we were bestowed
    the gift of courage
    the gift of patience
    is a part of this

    now when we require
    more reinforcement
    we have the useful
    gift of friends

    should all these gifts
    prove just too much
    there is the gift
    of nature’s beauty

    if we overdose
    on all things tranquil
    the fallback gift
    is our creative spark

    to prevent this gift
    from being wasted
    we have literature
    music and art

    and to preserve
    dark karmic balance
    we’ve been blessed
    with the critique clique

    finally we come
    to this the greatest
    of all the gifts
    that we possess
    and that gift being
    the gift of love

    though we enjoy
    all of these gifts
    life still can be
    quite tough at times

    but don’t despair
    no
    don’t lose hope

    some secret gifts
    have we been granted
    to give us strength
    and keep us going

    the first of these
    our sense of wonder
    and hand in hand
    our sense of awe

    and should all else falter
    there is the failsafe
    the secret weapon
    our sense of humor

    but please take heed
    keep careful watch
    if you lose this latter
    my friend
    you’re screwed

    • • •

    rob kistner © 2009

    ___________________________

    • you can find other NaPoMo offerings at read write poem

     

    Seven Red

    NaPoMo poem-set #28

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

    This set of seven haiku were inspired by the read write poem NaPoWriMo prompt #28, “Seeing Red”.

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

     

    Seven Red

    •

    inquiries of heart
    from summer red lover’s lips
    float like butterflies

    •

    green leaves on blue pond
    float in golden summer sun
    red bird softly sings

    •

    golden sun burns bright
    scorching the red rock canyon
    Sedona summer

    •

    eyes red from crying
    words cannot be taken back
    she will leave today

    •

    a ruby droplet
    the yellow rose bears sharp thorns
    we will share red wine

    •

    path forked this spring morne
    white-tails chose tall trees instead
    redwoods are safety

    •

    spring snow-pack’s melting
    fresh mountain stream tumbles clear
    under red maples

    • • •

    rob kistner © 2009

    ___________________________

    • you can find other NaPoMo offerings at read write poem

     

    Unexpected

    NaPoMo poem #27

    This is the twenty seventh 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 a older poem of mine and was inspired by a moving personal experience, offered here in response to the NaPoWriMo Wordle prompt #27 at read write poem.

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

     

    Unexpected

    •

    unquestionable joy
    in a place most unexpected
    the crystalline eyes of an innocent
    cruel society deems disabled

    bent and stooped
    impossibly twisted
    confined to constant care
    and his rolling metal chair

    a hardscrabble life
    that would drive a lesser soul
    to lunacy

    but his gentle eyes reflect a wonder
    my jaded heart has long since lost
    by arrogance extinguished

    his timeless spirit knows only trust
    it pours forth from his being

    positioned close and cozy
    to the modest stage
    he is enraptured by the music
    engulfed within the rhythm

    enthralled by this magic
    he is beaming
    like an angel

    the band plays fast
    the band plays slow
    the band plays loud
    the band plays low

    he rocks forward
    he rolls backward
    waves in jubilation
    and launches heart and soul
    into a wicked shoulder wiggle
    as he vibrates unabashed
    with pure delight

    the veins of his neck
    stand out full and proud
    as he tosses back his head
    uninhibited in laughter
    tears of joy
    leaking down his cheeks

    his person full alive
    his essence full aware
    his nascent bliss aglow
    he is wholly in the now

    he is filled with every note
    wrapped up in the cadence
    sparked by the drumbeat
    thrilled by every nuance

    he experiences an ecstasy
    at which I can only marvel
    its clarity and power I can never know

    it’s at this moment
    that I realize
    how much I do not understand

    as I behold this able man

    faint envy stirs
    watching his unbridled joy

    so complete
    and unexpected

    • • •

    rob kistner © 2009

    ___________________________

    • you can find other NaPoMo offerings at read write poem

     

    Becoming

    NaPoMo poem #26

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

    This is my second metaphysical poem in two days, and was inspired by the NaPoWriMo prompt # 26 at read write poem.

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

     

    Becoming

    •

    as is the spark of birth
    the burst of a seed
    the first ray of dawn
    the tug of love wakening
    the moment of humility
    the pen to blank page

    so is the essence of becoming

    • • •

    rob kistner © 2009

    ___________________________

    • you can find other NaPoMo offerings at read write poem