NaPoWriMo #9 – Jazzzzz

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




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…this piece was written in keeping with the spirit of a prompt by Robert Peake, over at read write poem…



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Jazz in a Parallel Universe

•

we was scorchin’
torchin’
in the zone
lighting chops
flamin’ righteous

primo riffin’
smokin’ sacred
glorified ‘n sanctified

fused bruised and overused
the big axe jumped
pumped
and thunder thumped
lubed ‘n locked âN lugnut crazy

scene was pure
to the fringe
slammin’
jammin’
come to jesus

skins was raucous
reeds was rippin’ trippin- sanity slippin’
blood ‘n bone on broken tusk
brass ‘and n balls to the bell-tone edge

soul elation
elevation
riot smooooooth
‘n devastation

upright
‘n bottom tight
we brought down the house
this velvet night

• • •







 

Jazzin’

•

first notes soar skyward

stars shine in the clear night air

jazzin’ has begun

• • •

poem and haiku by: rob kistner © 2010

• artwork at top of post entitled “Hot Licks” – by: rob kistner © 1997

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…for more NaPoWriMo 2010 day nine poems, go to readwritepoem

NaPoWriMo #7 – Free / Ready to Roll / Old School

This is my seventh post for National Poetry Month 2010
• one free verse poem
• one haiku
• one onomatopoeia
• one noxious fume

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Free

•

fueled by the freedom of the open road
we race our way into the sunset
leaning tightly into curves
wind whipping our hair
our knees tucked
heads down
we rocket

thriving on the thrill of the throttle
embracing the magnificence
living in the moment
not counting time
or keeping track
just being
free

• • •

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Ready to Roll

•

engine oil changed

grips cleaned tire pressure checked

spring’s highway beckons

• • •




 

Old School

•

(onomatopoeia)

kick down — kick down — kick down

rest

kick down — kick down

rrrroarrr

rev rev rev rev

• • •

poem, haiku, and onomatopoeia verse by: rob kistner © 2010

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Here’s a little sumpin’ sumpin’ I wrote for Alan Summers’ day 7 RWP prompt: “humor in love”.

 

Phew

•

who knew lovemaking would end
with my lover breaking wind
oh god did that foul stench offend
we’ll not soon make sweet love again

here’s one thing that I’ll be hope’n
if we do the windows open
no refried beans next time we’re flirty
‘cause on a scale of ten that fart’s a thirty

•

(in tanka form)

our loving did end
when my sweet lover broke wind
a stench to offend

no beans next time we’re flirty
ten scale – that fart’s a thirty

• • •

poem and tanka by: rob kistner © 2010

• photorendering of man holding nose from: Getty Images — modified by: rob kistner 2010

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…for more NaPoWriMo 2010 day seven poems: readwritepoem

NaPoWriMo #6 – The Cast / The Rise

Rhiannon had suggested in the day 6 NaPoWriMo prompt at Read Write Poem that we sort through a collection of our pictures as inspiration for this day’s poem. Although I veered a bit from her precise suggestion, the process of sorting brought me to the pictures I have of my fishing adventures, and that inspired this — so thanks Rhiannon!



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

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The Cast

•

cliff-climbing conifers
stir in the brisk dawn
as breezes swoop the gorge
rustle my jacket
nip my cheeks

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

• • •





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The Rise

•

fly reel freshly oiled

new tippets cut and tied firm

spring trout on the rise

• • •

poem and haiku by: rob kistner © 2010

• photorendering at top of this post is entitled “The Cast” – by: rob kistner © 2010
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…for more 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

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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! 😉

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…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

• • •

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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

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…for more poetic perspectives on NaPoWriMo 2010: 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

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…this piece inspired by readwritepoem

• photorendering entitled: “gathering” by: alice popkorn

Flower

 

 

Flower

•

young flower fresh-bloomed
engorged with succulence
bursting with life’s urgency
vibrantly seductive

dewy lips of supple petal
lay open in offered sweet delight
velvet pistil of gentle blush
enwrapped in throat of golden hue

this vision of tender ecstasy
entices with a lilting sway
a fragrance to intoxicate
wafting from the luscious folds

breathing in the rich bouquet
all senses stirred and tantalized
my eyes embrace this visage rare
pleasured in the heady moment

captive by such vital beauty
consumed, one savors slowly
exquisitely delicious
this tender bud, full bloomed

• • •

 

Flower

(minimalist version)

•

young flower
fresh-bloomed
engorged
bursting
seductive

supple petals lay open
velvet pistil
soft in golden throat

lilting fragrant folds
stir the senses

consumed
one savors slowly

exquisite
this tender bud
full bloomed

• • •

rob kistner © 2010

…come see what else is blooming at Magpie Tales

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

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• you can find more aura’s at One Single Impression

 

The Book(s)

Two books that changed everything for me — “On The Road” by Jack Kerouac,

and “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” by Tom Wolfe.

I was a disenchanted-college-student-rock-musician and had just been awakened by the ’67 Summer of Love, when I came upon both of these books in the Spring of 1968 in a bookstore in Clifton, Ohio, just down from the Ludlow Garage, where my band, Stone Fox, had just opened for the Allman Brothers and Santana.

These books fueled my frustration with “the system”, sparked my wanderlust, and eventually found me and my three best friends, astride internal combustion iron horses, young men heading west — and thus began the rest of my life.

What these books represented was not a map for the rest of my life, I’m well beyond that angst. Rather, they’re important to me because they were the catalyst that first ignited my genuine independent thought, and empowered me to act on that thinking.

Following here is a poem I wrote which reflects, quite well, where my head was during that period. You can also click on the highlighted passage young men heading west in the previous paragraph to read a poem I wrote about the motorcycle journey.

 

Bohemian Nightfall

•

when night fell on bohemia
the streets were set ablaze
in black light
in strobe light

it was tie-dyed psychedelia
when night fell on bohemia

jack and neal were on the road
ridin’ with the fire-whores
of angst and indignation
like combustin’ carnal fireballs
when night fell on bohemia

allen was howlin’
pal’n with corso
and long’n for peter

hunter, groin deep
in the brain-drug flesh festival
…hunter was fearful
and loathing it all
when night fell on bohemia

bill, stark naked
was lunchin’ with the devil
jelly-rollin’ in a hell fire
when night fell on bohemia

gary headed for cold mountain
to watch it all from sourdough
electric bob went subterranean

me – stung by disenchantment
the swollen outlaw bastard
coming fast
hard as holy hell
cresting and crashing in
just as night fell on Bohemia

I was on my way
howling mad
and mind-expanded
in a rolling demon’s fire,
lighting the night
dancing with beelzebub
raving and blazing
hormone’d-hungry
lusting and longing to gorge
every forbidden morsel and crumb –

the smorgasborgadelic mindfeast

when night fell on bohemia
ken and tim
gathered up the faithful
on the magic bus
and stole off with the future

like pranksters

ever further

• • •
rob kistner © 2008

…this post was inspired by sunday scribblings

The Sculptor

Silver Falls, Oregon, USA
The Canyon Trail system leads hikers along the banks of the north and south forks of Silver Creek, to 10 majestic waterfalls, including the grand South Falls (177 feet) pictured below.

 


•


• magnified section of photo to show scale

 

The Sculptor

•

gazing upon this magnificent canyon
cut by time and current in 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 boulder and falls
ever onward

• • •

photo & poem by: rob kistner © 2010

here is another artist’s view of these falls…

…for more eye-candy check out this site: Scenic Sunday

Graspless

 

 

Graspless

•

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

…come see what else is in hand at Magpie Tales

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
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…see who is going fast at Carry On Tuesday

…discover who is hesitating at One Single Impression

So Amusing

…this is a fond homage to Theodor Seuss Geisel and Sheldon Alan Silverstein…

 

 

So Amusing

•

what is it you find so amusing my dear
perhaps it’s the fact I have only one ear
it makes it difficult to accurately hear
so you’ll have to speak that much louder I fear

yes it’s true, as you see, I have only my right
the left was cut off in a terrible fight
and I have not been quite the same since that night
it’s hard to be happy when you’re a pitiful sight

my glasses are impossible to keep on my face
and my hat just refuses to stay in its place
where there once was an ear I have only a space
but having one ear surely is no disgrace

with only a right ear my intake’s askew
I only hear things from a right point of view
so my right point of view I assume to be true
and therefore it’s righteous — what I think and do

now what is it you find so amusing my dear
I hope you’re not laughing at my missing ear
I suggest you had better stop pointing, you hear
’cause a righteous right-eared man is someone to fear

• • •

rob kistner © 2010

…discover what else is so amusing at Carry On Tuesday

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

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• you can find other NaPoMo offerings at read write poem

 

Ziggy

NaPoMo poem #7

This is the seventh 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.

 

Ziggy

•

ivory silk french-cuffed bar-collared shirt
soft as butter sweet as cream dessert

cuff links of diamonds and pure white gold
a heady treasure – bourgeois and bold

pearl-stick-pinned satin tie knotted tight
elegant as paris on a saturday night

desert-tan gabardine three-pleat slacks
euro-cuffed razor-creased sharp as tacks

snakeskin braces buttoned sterling bright
hip and killer as a rattler’s bite

black-patton striders with alligator spats
steppin’ out classy as the coolest cats

fine pinstriped linen coat double-breasted
uptown savvy and velvet vested

full-blocked rolled-brim felt chapeau
in the deepest red of a fine bordeaux

he was crisp and smooth as a dry martini
they all called him ziggy
but his name was bob

• • •

rob kistner © 2009

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• you can find other NaPoMo offerings at read write poem

 

This Path

NaPoMo poem #6

This is the sixth 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.

 

…photo below entitled “Edges”, by Pensiero

This Path

•

I have followed this path
ever onward
to where it has lead

followed its rise
and its fall
in concentric circles of time
sweeping always outward

there is much I have seen
and have experienced

much I’ve missed
and left behind

much I’ve stumbled upon
stumbled over
always to collect myself
and follow on

I have encountered the unknown
been confused
lost my way
and suffered sorrow

I have embraced the wonder
found enlightenment
understood
and known joy

but ever on
this path does lead
and I
in measured step
must ever follow

for I’ve discovered the mystery

I am not on this path
I am this path

• • •

rob kistner © 2009

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• you can find other NaPoMo offerings at read write poem

 

…poem inspired by a different photo from Pensiero, the individual who created the photo seen in read write image #13, found at “readwritepoem”