~
rob kistner © 2019
Daughter: Jeni, Summer 2019
~
heard the haunting calls
fill Droon’s violet skies
as coral-winged Lellurts
took to flight
seen the copper hues
of Parmus fronds
fire indigo mists
‘neath Gemin’s crystal trees
beheld exquisite beauty
of bright new worlds
but none so enchantingn
as your eyes — tonight
rob kistner © 2019
violet sky of Droon Cluster
a crystal tree of Gemin
Shine On
~
old man gazes out his window
uncertain how long it’s rained
alone by the fire he questions
were his losses worth what he gained
memories like christmas candles flicker
of loved ones — sadly gone
entwined warmly in his heartstrings
thankful they still shine on
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2019
December Memories
~
ribbons
on bright papers
gifts bestowed
one at a time
round and round
the kindred circle
celebrating
unveiled affections
joy
love
and cheerful laughter
precious times with family
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2018
Go here to dVerse to get cheered up:
The Toast
~
I toast you all tonight
at this seasonal gathering
never forget this bond
that ever unites our spirits
now everyone drink deeply
this rich wine of friendship
may it ever warm your hearts
and lift your spirits high
to a place of peace & beauty
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2019
The Missing
~
without warning they were simply gone
we were left bewildered, to carry on
the entire family strangely disappeared
what happened here is truly very weird
they were taken in an instant long ago
to where, we will likely never know
midst this kitchen clutter, it abruptly ended
was life concluded, or just suspended
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2019
~
it can slip right through the tiniest hole
it can fill a room
it can fill your soul
the power of music has great potential
its power to fill
is exponential
feeling deflated — hope won’t float
music will fill it up
note by note
it can fill the void in an empty life
it can obliterate sadness
eliminate strife
it can flow into the remotest part
filling full
a lonely heart
score or lyric in your favorite style
will fill your face
with a bursting smile
music is powerful and invasive stuff
but in this angry world
can there be enough
rob kistner © 2019
Gratitude & Balance
~
Precious mother Gaia, you embrace us with your love. You carry us safely as we hurtle thousands of miles, every hour, of every day, through infinite space. You provide for us our every need. You sustain our bodies with your abundant bounty. You nurture our spirits with your beauty and endless wonders.
Your need is simple. That we live in balance with your rhythms, and with our fellow travelers on this amazing journey. You ask that we know gratitude, as humble stewards of your countless gifts. That we live in harmony, attentive and reverent. But we’ve grown arrogant. Foolishly we believe we have dominion over you, over all in your realm. In pursuit of intellect, feeding ego, we have lost our sense of equilibrium, lost our way.
Now we suffer, as we watch you suffer. Please forgive us. Be patient, do not forsake us. We can learn, as we must learn. Precious mother gaia, grant us time to again find our way, our humility, our center — to again find the gratitude, the balance.
rob kistner © 2019
~
you hit like a downpour
a thunderstorm of love
your kisses hot as lightning
striking from above
your passion was a tempest
I was swept up in its force
but now the winds have died
this storm has run its course
your moods now chilled and cloudy
no warmth after the rain
my heart puddles in sadness
this bad weather’s bringing pain
the fair winds may return
as might the clear blue skies
but my heart will ever yearn
to see the sun rise in your eyes
rob kistner © 2019
This was not a moment in my life when I was speechless, searching for the right words. I had no awareness of words, nor even of language. I was suddenly completely untethered, falling through a frigid void, with a building primal scream, roaring through my soul, fighting to escape.
~
the disembodied voice on the other end
asked into the silence that followed
“sir, are you there?”
all that finally came forth
emanating from the pit of my being
was a coarse choking guttural wail
like the keening of a wild animal
rob kistner © 2019
”Drinkin’ Thinkin’” by: rob kistner © 1997
DayBreaker
(hard-drinkin’, jazz-lovin’, workin’ man’s lament)
~
day breaks
on
a new week’s
sun
putrid
as the stains
on my
flesh-soaked
mattress
damp
as my sour
mat
of fevered
greasy
tangle
hot
as my
whiskey-foul
breath
another
un-commuted
sentence
6A-6P
’til
merciful dusk
delivers me
jack-knifed
into
my
jack and coke
don’t obsess
in sorrow
drown
all
‘da-way
down
a bottom-dive
to comatose
no virtue
feigned
nor
implied
mad goes
the struggle
‘til
saved by
jazz
48 over
‘da
dub-ya
hump
2
debauched
24’s
then
the hissing
sting
of monday
and
the mindless
6-6 grind
120 n’out
cruel numbers
game
goes
round round
and ever round
’til
the tombstone’s
tender
solace
~ ~ ~
rob kistner © 2019
Modified Tennyson imitation — nine lines with a rhyme pattern AABBCCCCC, and using four trochees per line, with a touch of surrealistic humor.
rob kistner © 2019
SURREALISM: Pure psychic automatism by which it is intended to express, either verbally or in writing, the true function of thought. Thought dictated in the absence of all control exerted by reason…
you may have seen me
silhouetted against your sky
in coldest January
howling
with the frozen moon
a duet
to make coyotes
cower in their dens
then moon and I run
from room to imaginary room
your whole world
close enough to touch
we eat a midnight lunch
perfumed with foreign lands
and your thoughts
onion layered
your thoughts
are too heavy to hold
show mercy
peel back the layers
peel me away
thin by thin
skin by skin
to my quivering soul
my thoughts
bonewhite lies
of morality plays
open for you to see
hope they’re not hideous
in your sight
hope they do not
make you cry
as you peel back
all the layers
onioned thought layers
held firm
like a carapace
to which
I’m stitched
and welded
and can no more leave
than you can enter
they tie me down
sometimes
but sometimes
barely so
survivor that I am
the inescapable optimism
in my barebones grin
flashes
in the brittle moonlight
exposing forgotten creases
and clandestine gateways
to your mind
someone can learn
a thing or two tonight
if someone
will ignite the light
rob kistner © 2019
I sit quietly
close by this fire
soothed by its crackling glow
warmed by memories
that huddle ’round me
soul settled
heart full
rob kistner © 2019