poetry
…on quantity…
Quantity of life
Inexorable memories
Breathing
Seeing
Feeling
Your touch
Body close
Warmth like the sun
Love radiates
Whispers
A breeze lilting
fluttering leaves
My heart
May it only end in old age
The passing of you or me
When flesh grows cold
Memories warm forever
…on… nowhere
EXIT TO NOWHERE
Where is Nowhere?
Can you take me there?
Will others welcome me?
What will it look like?
Will it be someplace just like here?
Will I be entering a place everyone else is trying to leave?
Is there a road to nowhere?
Is there a train to nowhere?
Is there a door to nowhere?
Nowhere is home
Somewhere is always someplace else
The elusive “other”
Always going and never arriving
Living the dream
While ignoring reality
White line fever
Tracks of our tears
Knocking on the doors of opportunity never to be opened.
We have taken the exit and are now here.
…on one spring evening…
…faint glow of incense burning
night of a thousand warriors
plum blossoms in the rain…
….end of religion….
…frail attempts…
eyes brighten
morning sky wakes
jasmine tea
>>>>>>>>
meditations
yesterdays flowers are dead
dry fire burning
<<<<<<<<
shattered reflections
fish jumping through surface
new reality
A memory…
I’ve been reading SEEDTIME, writings from the notebooks of Swiss poet Phillipe Jaccotet. His writings about the swiss countryside bring back so many memories. Memories of growing up on the farm near Kidron, OH (USA) So here are some thoughts of my own:
Murmured Lowing. Distant cowbells. Waking sparrow.
The light is dark at dawn.Blue-black sky. Green-black landscape. Summer morning.
Fence post sentinels line the pasture lane.Early to bed, early to rise. Morning chores beckon. Lids heavy slow response.
The bed is warmest when waking.
My Grandfather used to make trips to Switzerland our ancestral homeland and in 1948 he had a set of cowbells made that covered at least two octaves on the western musical scale. Here is an image of one of our family’s cowbells that I’ve been able to salvage. Not sure what happened to the rest. Bells were cast in Bronze, included the family name (Geiser), date (1948), image of a cow and decorative Edelweiss flowers, the text “Made in Switzerland” and name of the foundry where bell was cast (Barinotto Co. Fonderie La Chaux De Fonds)
And what do cowbells sound like? What sound became so familiar to me during summer?
(fyi – there is a 20 second gap in sound near the beginning).
Perception, Knowledge & Ability
“Poetry. The better you understand how it should be done,
the less you are able to write it.
Virtuosity comes with the void.”
~ Philippe Jaccottet
…and I have found this true of all things in my life, whether at work or play. My study of music theory destroyed my ability to perform. My study of Theatre disabled my ability to act. My beginning studies of art history nearly destroyed my ability to see & create. All have blinded me to the possibilities outside of limitations. In the “void” I was free. But the muse of creativity is fickle; for some, she inspires through seeing while others she inspires through blindness. How can anyone say, “There is ONE way?”
Values
WHAT VALUES
Who co-opted our values
Who changed the primary meaning of the word
Who dared to stare at the face of God
and say, “Who are you?”
and, “How much?”
When did values change to only mean
deal
sale
cheap
bargain
When did the noun co-opt the verb
Will we ever be able to recover
prize
cherish
appreciate
those things
which cannot be defined
by material value
Maybe some day
it will be an innocent child
who recovers the truth
and once again
focuses and directs
away from materialism
the values of humanity
breathing new life
into old meanings
This morning…
7AM ONE JUNE MORNING
The muffled sun
A quiet hum of tires on pavement
Sleepy twittering of the waking sparrow
Mournful train whistle in the distance
And Discreet Music by Brian Eno on the stereo.
The day comes alive in the city.
A Christmas Prayer
Lord God,
Father in Heaven
Thank you for this day
Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth
A man who would be, and did, become Messiah
The hope of all Israel and all of humanity
A man who taught, and showed us,
That we CAN have a relationship directly with you.
In this way he was the door, the gate,
Through which your spirit that dwells within us
Has been awakened.
We thank you for this awakening that removes all Hindrance
Even if that separation is political, social, religious
And now we thank you for this meal
And time of togetherness between family and friends
We bless this meal in the name of Jesus
That it may give us physical strength and stamina
We bless you that you may give us the mental and spiritual strength and stamina
To be a blessing to others we come in contact with;
Removing all wrong perceptions
In Jesus name, Amen.
I believe the best prayers are not prayers of thanks and requests (or to use consumerism terms – supply and demand). The best prayers are when we pray what we believe – not what we want or hope for. For example when we pray the Lords prayer do we hope these things are true that are mentioned OR do we really believe them? And how do we believe them?
Maybe some day I’ll dissect and expound on the Lords prayer specifically.
But for now – Merry Christmas everyone. Enjoy one of my favorite Christmas songs.
When the Crows Awoke
I was there when the crows awoke
I’d seen them the night before
Flocking to nearby trees
Under cover of night
A whole murder of crows
Ominous shadows filling up tree branches
As if the trees were in full bloom
Large black blossoms
Shimmering with city light
In the winter’s night air
Now at daybreak
I was there when the crows awoke
Their cawing and chattering so loud
Drowning out the sounds of morning rush hour
…and then…
With excited whispering wings
took flight and were gone
Only the rumble and buzz of morning traffic remains.
***background: I live in the city. And we have a lot of old trees still standing. Of course all the leaves are gone now. I was watching an old silent movie on TV and out of the corner of my eye saw perpetual shadows flickering past my windows. Finally my curiosity got the best of me. I went to the windows and saw the trees filled with hundreds of crows… their arrival continued for at least a couple of hours. Of course I didn’t think to move my car which, although not directly under the trees was close enough for the birds to leave their “mark”. When I went out to my little blue car in the morning it looked like a Jackson Pollock painting with streaks, smears, splats and lines of crow droppings in white, yellow and brown as well as small twigs that had fallen from the trees. What a mess. All-n-all it was a magical experience and worth a trip to the car wash. 🙂
while at the hospital – 2 poems
Two poems while spending time in the hospital with Dad.
**************************************************
He
standing by the mirror
face unknown
memory of youth
now
naked
frail
weakened
memory of showers
remembrance of shaving
smooth skin
now
wrinkled
unsteady
dry
now there is trouble, shaving a chore
nothing is comfortable
and all you can do is wait
now
tests
results
hope
~ 10/13/14 Aultman Hospital, Canton, OH.
*****************************************************************
old skin hangs on old bones
through the back of a hospital gown
the time is slow
caution steps
one day at a time
ice cream melting in the sun
life is still present
but changed
my love is still present
but changed
a time of fast questions
slow answers
and wonder
~ 10/13/14 Aultman Hospital, Canton, OH.
*******************************************
If blood will flow when flesh and steel are one
Drying in the colour of the evening sun
Tomorrow’s rain will wash the stains away
But something in our minds will always stay
Perhaps this final act was meant
To clinch a lifetime’s argument
That nothing comes from violence and nothing ever could
For all those born beneath an angry star
Lest we forget how fragile we are
On and on the rain will fall
Like tears from a star like tears from a star
On and on the rain will say
How fragile we are how fragile we are
On and on the rain will fall
Like tears from a star like tears from a star
On and on the rain will say
How fragile we are how fragile we are
How fragile we are how fragile we are
Silence…IS…Golden
The video today is for a great girl band called Savages with their song “SHUT UP” from their debut album SILENCE YOURSELF. This group “gets it” Amazing lyrics and the spoken word introduction of the cover poetry is simply amazing!!! There is almost a Taoist feel to this.
Introduction
The world used to be silent
Now it has too many voices
And the noise
Is a constant distraction
They multiply, intensify
They will divert your attention
To What’s convenient
And forget to tell you
About yourself
We live in an age of many stimulations
If you are focused you are harder to reach
If you are distracted
You are available
You are distracted
You are available
You want flattery
Always looking to where it’s at
You want to take part in everything
And everything to be a part of you
Your head is spinning fast
At the end of your spine
Until you have no face at all
And yet
If the world would shut up
Even for a while
Perhaps
We would start hearing
A distant rhythm
Of an angry young tune –
And recompose ourselves
Perhaps
Having deconstructed everything
We should be thinking
Putting everything back together
Silence yourself
SHUT UP
TOO MANY TO CONVINCE
TOO MANY TO HIRE
AND NOTHING YOU EVER OWN
THE WORLD’S A DEAD SORRY HOLE
AND I’M COLD, AND I’M COLD
AND IM COLD, AND I’M STUBBORN
I’M SICK TO KEEP IT OPEN WIDE
AND SPEAKING WORDS TO THE BLIND
SPEAKING WORDS, TO THE BLIND
SPEAKING WORDS, TO THE BLIND
AND THE SOUL OF THE PURE
AND THE EYES OF THE LOVER
AND THE ONE WHO TRULY SAW YOUR SOUL
AND THE ONE WHO TRULY SAW YOUR SOUL
I’M THE ONE, WHO TRULY SAW YOUR SOUL
I’M THE ONE, WHO TRULY SAW YOUR SOUL
AND IF YOU TELL ME TO SHUT UP
AND IF YOU TELL ME TO SHUT IT
DID YOU TELL ME TO SHUT UP
OH IF YOU TELL ME TO SHUT IT
I’LL SHUT IT NOW
YOUNG, JUST BORN
FRAGILE AND TREMBLING SOUL
YOU HOLD IT TO THE LIGHT
THAT POURS DOWN THE MOON AT NIGHT
YOU KEPT ON HOLDING IT
YOU KEPT ON HOLDING IT
IT WAS A DANGEROUS THING TO DO
BUT YOU DID IT WHEN NO ONE KNEW
WHEN THE EYES WERE CLOSED
AND THE PEOPLE ASLEEP
NOT AN ANIMAL
NOT A HUMAN
NOT A SOUL
NOT A SOUL
AND IF YOU TELL ME TO SHUT UP
AND IF YOU TELL ME TO SHUT IT
DID YOU TELL ME TO SHUT UP
OH IF YOU TELL ME TO SHUT IT
I SHUT IT NOW
I AM A BREAKER OF OCEAN
LEADEN LIKE A BULLET TO THE SUN
I AM A BREAKER OF OCEAN
LEADEN LIKE A BULLET TO THE SUN, TO THE SUN, TO THE SUN…
FCK the Beliefs
Saul Williams is one of the finest poets of our time. Urban prophet, wordsmith, actor and musician.
FCK THE BELIEFS – Saul Williams from Saul Williams on Vimeo.
... on being and becoming ... 