Tag: sad

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…

Avatar

 

 

Avatar

•

you do not see
me

no shadow do I cast
that you perceive

no movement
to catch your eye

no color
no shape
no texture that is truly mine

you see
the avatar of your fantasy
the puppet of your desires
the specter of your lust

to you
I
am invisible

• • •

rob kistner © 2010

___________________________

• you can find more avatars at One Single Impression

…image found here…

 

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…

The Collector

 

The Collector

•

this day as I journey
I come upon a stranger
standing by the road looking sad
heavy box held in his arms
clutched close to his breast

he stares into my eyes expressionless
his gaze stops me still
fixes me in place

his face is tired and drawn
etched in withered worry

when at last I move
I draw close enough to see
this sullen man is me

everyone is born with some special talent
he sighs
I am a collector
of tears shed in moonlight
the pain of love’s betrayal
the grief of empty lives

he concludes
and offers out his hands
that open on the box

he beckons me retrieve
this container he protects

filled with apprehension
I reach and grasp the case
lift it cautiously from his grip
lay it gently at my feet

it opens as I do
slowly
to reveal its strange contents

three lone broken hearts


mute with wonder I behold
confused yet riveted
I ponder haunted as I do
then inquire of the meaning

these are yours
I am told

created by your deeds
cruelly left behind
as coldly you moved on

each belonged to one who trusted you
a trust you did betray
without a second thought
love you tossed aside
abandoned carelessly

now the burden of this box
is mine beyond the grave

eyes lowered in fatigue he exhales

it was on a road like this
that it was passed to me
I have carried it too long
I am weary from the load

looking into my eyes he points

now you must bend and lift
and clutch it to your breast
to struggle with its weight
until you pass it on

searching the distance he goes on

someday a stranger will approach
over that horizon
he will stop and stare
transfixed by your presence

you will charge him with this chest
then he will lift and carry
as I do
in this cycle of forever

for he too
will be you

• • •

rob kistner © 2010

• photo collage entitled “Broken Broken Broken” – by: rob kistner © 2010
_______________________________

…see other special talents at Carry On Tuesday…

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…

The Elephant

…this piece evolved from both a visual prompt (see below) on Magpie Tales, as well as a “hinge” prompt on Read Write Poem…

 

 

The Elephant

•

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

…come see what else this little elephant inspired at Magpie Tales…
…and check out what’s hinging at ReadWritePoem…

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

 

For Granted

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

•

you prepare for sleep
each night

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

 

I will Not Forget

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)

•

there are days I still can feel
the breeze of youth gently stir my soul

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

IMG_8652

 

Stir Of Love

____

he has kept it locked for so long
the horror of that night
holds the seal tight

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


IMG_8653

____

 

rob kistner © 2009

 

Gone / A Leaf

NaPoMo poem #17 & #17-A

This is a pair of poems I offer for the seventeenth day here in April, in honor of National Poetry Month, as proclaimed by the Academy of American Poets.

These two works, though written separately, have revealed themselves to be joined as bookends of emotion — the piercing ache of separation, and the bittersweet tenderness of eternal longing.

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

 

Gone

•

turning to leave
you cover the distance
to the door
in a few heartbroken steps

you look back
I will miss you
in your eyes

you hold my gaze
as if to speak

nothing is said

you lower your eyes
turn your head
step through the door

and are gone

• • •

 

 

A Leaf

•

sitting
I watch a leaf
fall from a tree

forever parted

the evening light
settles soft on my face

my eyes
fix on the far horizon

a tear
warms my cheek

you have never left my heart

• • •

 

both poems by: rob kistner © 2009

___________________________

• you can find other NaPoMo offerings at read write poem

 

15 Days To Go

NaPoMo poem #16

This is the sixteenth 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.

 

15 Days To Go

•

I just sit here and stare
my creative cupboard’s bare
I find I just can’t write
but I can’t be up all night
not when there’s still 15 days to go

no matter how hard I try
I just come up dry
I am most bereft
I’ve nothing poetic left
and there’s still 15 days to go

I’m not at all amused
that my muse has refused
to offer inspiration
and to add to my frustration
there’s still 15 days to go

I think perhaps I’ll draw
and hope that this will thaw
my rock-hard writers freeze
I beseech you sweet muse – please
there’s still 15 days to go

I’ve struggled and I’ve stammered
I think I’ll just get hammered
if I really tie one on
the pain will all be gone
screw it, it’s only 15 days – ya know

• • •

rob kistner © 2009

___________________________

• you can find other NaPoMo offerings at read write poem

 

Two Views

NaPoMo poem #15

This is the fifteenth 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.

I interpreted today’s read write poem NaPoMo prompt a bit differently from Christine’s example. This is still a response to “instead of”, but I wrote two poems, each from the perspective of an ancient old-growth tree. One looks at our world from a ‘glass half empty’ perspective, the other from ‘a glass half full’ point of view.

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

 

Two Views

•

(pessimism)

I watch

as generations recede
as empires crumble
as wisdom ebbs

I’ve observed
millenniums of human folly
as they stumble
to a cold isolated existence

disconnected from each other
from everything
serving the machine

perfecting violence
as they race to ruination

aliens in eden

I see the natural world
reshaped
scarred
diminished

but still I stand
thrusting skyward
closer to heaven
than any living thing

a perpetual survivor
rooted in perpetuity

the constant sentinel

a witness to tragedy

•

(optimism)

I watch

as generations move forward
as civilization painstakingly progresses
as knowledge slowly unfolds

I’ve observed
millenniums of human endeavor
as they awaken
to self-sufficiency

less dependent on conformity
on hive mentality
mastering the machine

enduring strife
as they strive for the light

evolving beings

I see the natural world
reshaped
tempered
resilient

and still I stand
reaching skyward
closer to heaven
than any living thing

a perpetual presence
rooted in perpetuity

the constant sentinel

a witness to triumph

• • •

rob kistner © 2009

___________________________

• you can find other NaPoMo offerings at read write poem

 

The Return

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

•

the ruby’d chains
sparkled and stretched away
pulling me along

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