Image – Page 73 – Image & Verse

How Thin the Veil

How Thin The Veil

as I lie
alone
in the dead of night

burglar moon at the window
having stolen the colors of this day

the world chill and quiet

I wonder
how thin the veil
between here and gone

and what will be the final breath
the beckoning breeze
the courier gust
to part that curtain

to lift me
shed of mortal husk
and carry me through

to where
to what
I do not know

only that the day
the hour
the moment
draws ever closer

as I lie
alone
in the dead of night

~ ~ ~

Golden Morning

Golden Morning

across the meadow
last night’s dew clings
fondly to the old-growth

wrapped in crystalline embrace
it adorns the stately cedars
as if diamonds
that sparkle in the morning sun
a splendor befitting their beauty

this Spring day begins bright and crisp

bird songs lilt
carried on a light breeze

I see you afar
approaching on the path
backlit by sunrise
your hair golden in dawn’s glow

lover beholding beloved

I sit
warmed in daybreak’s window
with tea and fascination

I watch you
as you stop to rest

in this moment
my love spills over
floods ’round me
until I am consumed

your lips sculpt a smile
I’m swept away on passion’s tide
on this golden morning

~ ~ ~

Blue
~
This is Tanka Prose, similar to Haibun. Instead of the Haibun’s Haiku ending, this features a Tanka, of my composition, at its close. The 31-syllable Tanka has been the most popular form of poetry in Japan for over 1300 years. As a form of poetry, Tanka is older than Haiku, and Tanka poems are intended to be evocative.

During Japan’s Heian period (794 to 1185 A.D.) it was considered essential for a woman or man of culture to be able to both compose beautiful poetry and to choose the most aesthetically pleasing and appropriate paper, ink, and symbolic attachment, such as a branch or flower, to go with it.

Tanka have changed and evolved over the centuries beyond the traditional expressions of passion and heartache, and styles have changed to include modern language. But the five syllabic units, containing a total of 31 syllables, has remained the same. Each line of a Tanka consists of one image or idea. One does not seek to wrap lines in tanka, though in the best Tanka, the five lines do relate, to evoke a cohesive feeling. The feeling here is serenity.

birds in the blue sky
sampans on the blue waters
blue temple gateway

blue is the soul of serene
let it calm your restless heart

~ ~ ~

________________

This tanka was inspitred by the wonderful art seen above. It is entitled “Blue Temple” by Vorffy.

Through The Veil

“Infinite Instance” by: rob kistner © 1997

Through The Veil

I am nearing the veil
soon to push through
to see that which
is not shown us here
on this side
of that gossamer curtain

unable as we are
in this manifestation
to comprehend
the incomprehensible
the infinite secret
the truth that bursts to light

but when I push through
I will ride that light
in all ways through time
simultaneously at once
at the eternal instant
the open door of forever

existance will be no more
I will be absolute
indivisible from time
absorbed by all of space
a joy so profound
as to be pure energy

I was given the gift
of the briefest glimpse
beyond the veil
I was not ready
I again near the veil
I am ready now

~ ~ ~

This is a contemplation on crossing over. On April 6th of 2017 my heart stopped while in the hospital, the night I was recovering from a heart operation. The memory of that lingers. It is the memory of that experience that has inspired this poem. To be sure, this is an idealized imagining of what crossing over may be like. However, it is informed by an amazing and singularly unique feeling of blissful well being that had filled me that night, and from which I was grudgingly roused by the act of being awakened, from what I thought then, was sleep. Very soon thereafter it was confirmed by my cardiologist not to have been sleep. He explained to me it was a state that could have remained quite permanent, and I was about to receive an urgent Pacemaker implant. That night still holds mysteries for me.

Shhhh!

Shhhh!

are you going with me to the coast
if so we will be leaving at first light
the need to be on time is uppermost
I want to be there settled in tonight

the party promises to be a blast
crazy friends drinks and food of ev’ry kind
these soirees have been epic in the past
if we are late we will be left behind

tomorrow it is breakfast on the beach
it’s there we meet our hostess for the week
she’ll have the masks we’ll need there’s one for each
remember after that we do not speak

then to the yacht where wondrous games are played
magic – this high seas silent masquerade

~ ~ ~

__________________________

Click below for more sonnetts at dVerse…

Poetry Forms – The sonnet

Hope

For society to have a real chance we need quality education!

Last Hope

I lift myself quietly
very quietly
from beneath the sheets
soiled with neglect
soaked with my nightmares

I am again awake
from another dark night
that began with fear
fear I might not survive
and ends in sorrow
realizing I did

I rise
make my way carefully
past the shallow-breathed crumple
that lay milky-eyed
in a heap on the floor
un-moving
save a twitch of the head

a head which now harbors demons
where nocturnal angels of sweet release
had lain down lush upon it
in fevered embrace
lustfully conjured
by last night’s spoon and lance
still skewered silver in the soured vein

this wreckage is my mother

I stop but for a glance
verifying life
then move on head down
angle to the bathroom
to the scum-brown bowl
to wash my face
lit sallow by the yellowed bulb
that hangs bare and lonely

strange eyes
hold me in the mirror
broken as my heart

eyes of knowing
eyes of sadness

grief courses through me
weighing upon my being
burning into my heart

I want to cry out
but there is no one here to hear me
no hero that can help me

driven by instinct to survive
by urgency to flee
I shudder away the paralyzing despair

in this dank food-less morning
in this ruined single room
in this coat-less chill of predawn
I gather up my books
step lightly through the door
down the damaged stairs
into the hostile streets
heavy with this childhood of strangled dreams

I duck and dodge
in and out of shadows
praying to once again avoid the evil
that lurks and slinks
among the garbage and graffiti
of these crumbled bricken’d canyons

that rolls slow and lethal
gripping cold blue steel
in predatory drive-by

evil
seductive as a smile
deadly as a snake

evil
which if diligence should fail
I fear will consume my soul

deliberately I continue
until at last I find my way
to the building
to the classroom
to my teacher
to my desk

to the only hope
to which I dare cling

~ ~ ~

___________________________

Click to learn more about toad’s social awareness

Had I Followed

Photo entitled “Edges” – by: Pensiero

Had I Followed

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

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

there is much I have seen
and have experienced

much I’ve missed
and never known

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

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

I have embraced the wonder
found enlightenment
understood
known joy

but ever on
this path does lead

and I
in measured step
must ever follow

had I followed another
what then

I know now
it would be no different
for I understand

I chose the other
every time

I am not on this path
I am this path

~ ~ ~

More answers to Merril’s question, “what if?” at dVerse…

Poetics: Time and What If?

The Sands

~
New Year’s Tanka
the glass nears empty
final grains are falling through
this year bids adieu

with love turn it right anew
may its fresh flow hold your dreams

~ ~ ~

rob kistner © 12/31/07
(repost 12/31/18)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Downpour

“Sunburst” by: D. Trifiletti

Downpour

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

my thoughts are chilled and cloudy
my eyes are steady rain
my heart’s caught in a cold front
bad weather’s bringing pain

the warm winds will return
as will the clear blue skies
but my heart will ever yearn
for that sunburst in your eyes

~ ~ ~

__________________

The image above sparked several impressions: rain, tears, cold, chaos, sadness, among others. These inpressions inspired this poem. The title of the image, and the small splash of yellow visible in the image, inspired the final line of the poem.

Written for “Imaginary Garden With Real Toads”…
More toad’s artistic interpretations

New Bloom

New Bloom

a newly bloomed flower
full and succulent

tender plumped folds
new-formed
glisten with dewy nectar

luscious form
and ripened blush
delight the eye

a gentle touch
parts silken petals
revealing the inner bud
swollen with the urgency of life

bringing face to flower
pleasures the senses
with heady fragrance

intoxicating
to breathe such vital beauty

consumed
one savors gently
slowly

exquisite
this young flower
full bloomed

~ ~ ~

Sweet Anticipation

My father taught me, I taught my son, now my grandson…

Sweet Anticipation

warm
familiar
comfortable in my palm
my fingers wrap natural cork
index raised
gauging line tension

precision brings the willow’d shaft
high above my shoulder
rod flexing expectantly

a flick of my wrist
and the line arcs forward
increasing the pressure
on my fingertip
as it rolls ahead
accelerating

then
a careful pluck
like a string
on a guitar

it is released

the golden lure
at line’s end
sails silently
into the squinting summer sun

with a subtle plick
the barbed hunter disappears
slipping ‘neath the sparkle
of the undulating steam

seductively
with quickening pulse
eagerly visualizing
I retrieve the bait
craving the strike

patience draws the lure
dancing ever nearer

I long for the sharp
powerful tug

for the slender thread
unreeled before me
to rise
and dart away
in a sliver of silver spray

for my heart to jump
as a proud trout
breaks water
victim to my seduction

in this moment
mind focused
breath steady
senses heightened
awaiting sudden contact

I reflect

there is a simple truth in fishing
as in life

the sweet anticipation
can be as rich
as the reward

~ ~ ~

______________________

Written for “Imaginary Garden With Real Toads”…
More toad’s childhood memories

Staying Posted

Staying Posted

I wrote poetry
wrote it for years
wrote it by hand
on randm paper
kept it all

in a box

wrote it
because I loved it
because I had to
to stay sane
but just put it

in that box

I still write it
I still love it
but now I post it
just for the

comments

not because
I need approval
or care much
what others

think

but at my age
seeing comments
helps me know
I’m still

alive

Promise Kept

“This is a prayer for peace at this end of year”

truework2

Promise Kept

would that the world pause with me this night

with open heart and thoughts of possibility

remembering when dreams were young

the breath of life so warm and fresh

beauty was in all we touched

love filled us overflowing

trust real as sunlight

truth was bedrock

tomorrow was

a promise

kept

~ ~ ~

__________________________

Click below for more wonderful poems at dVerse…

OLN #234 & Holiday Break

Voyage of Dreams

inspired by a small toy boat in my grandson’s bath…

Voyage of Dreams

fantastic is this spell I’m under
magic of a splendorous kind
a world of cornucopic wonder
treasure troves of dreams to plunder
in this voyage of my mind

here time and place are of my making
these winds of fate in my control
every pleasure for my taking
every rule just for my breaking
embracing secrets of my soul

here I live a life enchanted
here no fear of any threat
sorrow is by joy supplanted
no limit to desires granted
what I want is what I get

by fantasy’s elaboration
up through stars of wonder I ascend
soar in sweet hallucination
in ships of my imagination
oh, would this voyage but never end

~ ~ ~

________________

This poem is written in the rhyme scheme of Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”, namely: A,B,A,A,B. It also, like Frost’s poem, is four stanzas. I have always liked that particular piece by Frost, but ironically, the matching rhyme schemes and stanza lengths, are purely coincidental.

________________

More magic at dVerse…

Poetics – magic of ordinary things

This Cannot Be

this cannot be the way his story ends
his youth snuffed out by someone’s mindless deed
this cannot be the horror fate intends
if life be want mine now I do concede

his youth snuffed out by someone’s mindless deed
if debt is owed please I will make amends
if life be want mine now I do concede
consuming grief upon my life descends

if debt is owed please I will make amends
anger fills me like a poison seed
consuming grief upon my life descends
my soul is crushed my heart begins to bleed

this anger fills me like a poison seed
god tell me, did I somehow offend
my soul is crushed, my heart begins to bleed
a blackness here within me does distend

god tell me please, did I somehow offend
this cannot be the horror you intend
this blackness here within me does distend
god this can’t be the way his story ends!

~ ~ ~

see more at dVerse

Repetitive Forms – Meeting the Bar

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31