Posted in Creativity, Culture, Poetry, Politics, tagged creative writing, glory to ukraine, modern poetry, Poetry, ukraine, Writing on 10 Mar 2022| 1 Comment »
I need a new word
for the conflict that
rages within me
I need a word
for the feeling that hits
when I see
a response to force
so primal
so basic
so innately human
yet
so brave
so admirable
so worthy of honor
that
I become a forge
a crucible filled with
heart and spleen
love for the spirit
hatred for the reason
This alloy of
love and anger
horror and awe
this reactive nexus to
the best
and worst
of humanity
surely deserves
a word of its own
k
Posted in Poetry, tagged cold war, creative writing, hot war, modern poetry, Poetry, russia, sanctions, ukraine, Writing on 23 Feb 2022| Leave a Comment »
from beyond our horizon
comes the sound
tympanic booms
savage rumbling
the faraway growl
of stomachs hungry for
power
control
more
so we fret
with brows furrowed
in cultivated concern
whilst
we mumble apologia and
with clucking tongues
serve imported tea
at finely-set tables
but that thrum
that urgent pulsation
to our distant friends
is the pounding of fists
on skins stretched taut
a percussive temblor
shaking hearts and lands
a crescendo of chaos
building
to the cymbal’s crash
to rimshot snares
to the xylophonic dance of bones
once was a time
this selfsame song
danced upon the breeze
a faint and subtle rhythm
we listened and
with pallid interest
chose to admire
the musician’s technique
rather than critique
the tune
but the cacophony spread
and others took up the noise
until the world shrieked
through those bloody measures
and millions vanished
beneath the grinding treads
of war
in time
we wrote a coda
to the obscene chorale
having learned
that for some
more
is never
enough
Posted in Creativity, Poetry, tagged creative writing, haiku, modern poetry, Poetry on 03 Feb 2022| Leave a Comment »
purple-robed dawn creeps
past evergreens cloaked in fog,
lifting night’s dark veil
sleeping birds awake,
unfurl dew-draped wings and sing
the morning to life
a cat on the sill
chitters, a phantom huntress
prowling her grey world
k
Posted in Creativity, Poetry, tagged creative writing, dawn, modern poetry, morning person, mornings, Poetry, waking on 16 Dec 2021| Leave a Comment »
Waking is hardest
with heart still open
from night’s departing shades
and the dawning world without
so harsh and saber-sharp
eager for blood
My somnolent soul
has yet to splash its face
much less don plate or shield
and so lies bare before
the onrushing sweep of
life’s unforgiving blade
But since memory shows
my every morning has seen its afternoon
courage pulls thews taut
and thus is joined the daily battle
between my dreams
and the unsleeping world
—
k
Posted in Creativity, Writing, tagged creative writing, love, modern poetry, Poetry, requited love, Writing on 10 Nov 2021| Leave a Comment »
—
your need is my desire
your desire is my hope
your hope is my dream
your dream is my heart
your heart is my home
your home is my love
your love is my comfort
your comfort is my need
—
Posted in Creativity, Writing, tagged community, individualism, modern poetry, Poetry, society on 21 Oct 2021| 6 Comments »
wolves we once were
and strong
with sharp-eyed mien
and lean-limbed hunger
joining together
to face
our foes
loyal to the pack
we protected our young
aided our weak
our society of many
united
but the fire drew us in
offered us warmth
against the world’s chill
taught us to hoard
the tossed scrap
rather than share
the pack-won prize
wolves we once were
but no more
having chosen the fire
our pack is weak
divided
with fleck-spittle snouts
we snarl at each other
through our broken fences
unable to wonder
who it is
that tosses us
their scraps
Posted in Creativity, Writing, tagged creative writing, managing stress, modern poetry, Poetry, quiet living on 14 Oct 2021| 5 Comments »
the fraught world
retreats
powerless
in the face of
recycling boxes
tidying the garage
fixing a broken chair
global tensions
dissipate
impotent
against the power of
weeding the garden
harvesting tomatoes
clipping summer’s last rose
folded laundry
smooths global supply chains
clean countertops
muffle rattled sabers
they’re not solutions
but they ease my pain
for an hour
or a minute
and sometimes
that’s all I need
to continue
k
Kurt R.A. Giambastiani 