Posted in Creativity, Culture, Poetry, tagged creative writing, modern poetry, Poetry, Writing on 15 Mar 2024| Leave a Comment »
what if this
is heaven
where love rains down
on dreaming fields
to feed a soul’s desire
what if this
is hell
where acidic hates flood
shanty-clad plains
to burn flesh bone-deep
what if this
is both
where the ebb and flow
is merely a response
to our intention
k
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Poetry, tagged Creativity, K-drama, modern poetry, Poetry, quiet living, retirement on 22 Feb 2024| Leave a Comment »
the percussive exuberance
of K-drama dialogue
drifts down the darkened hall
a cryptic lullaby in
rollercoaster tones
leading me past
anxious abstraction
to plush midnight
Posted in Poetry, Writing, tagged aging, Life, modern poetry, Poetry on 06 Nov 2023| Leave a Comment »
I am not the man
I used to be
not in any sense
I have been rebuilt
a half dozen times
sloughing off my past
for a new shell
Top to toe
each atom
each molecule
has been replaced
like parts under warranty
I raise my refurbished hand
to shade my eyes and
sunlight fires my flesh
with light aeons old
But the iron in my blood
the carbon in my bones
though new to me
predate this blazing sun
My ever renewing form
is a gift from dying stars
birthed of elements
roared into being
at the genesis
of the universe itself
Posted in Creativity, Poetry, Writing, tagged gratitude, love, modern poetry, partnership, Poetry, Relationships on 26 Oct 2023| Leave a Comment »
I have walked
From land to land and star to star
I have walked
Through lifetimes and histories unwritten
I have walked
Learning living loving leaving
One place one life one breathless moment
For the next
I have walked
Though not alone
For with each step each thought each dream-built notion
Through crepe-hung heartaches and clean-scented joys
To lead to follow or simply to be
There has been you
We
We have walked
Posted in Gardening, Poetry, Seattle, tagged autumn, fall color, fall colors, Garden, modern poetry, Poetry, seasons on 21 Sep 2023| 2 Comments »
sumac, feathered fronds waving, hear it first
autumn’s gentle rapping on the garden gate
put on parti-colored togs to greet the arrival
nearby maples eavesdrop on the reunion
catch half the meaning but all the sense of joy
don festive gloves on five-fingered leaves
sweetgum and dogwood wake with a start
having overslept in summer’s waning sun
leaves blushing with groggy embarrassment
wisteria, in denial, refuses to join the fun
and with tendril fingers in viny ears
will sing la-la-la until their guest departs
evergreen elders tower over the festivities
enjoying the youthful exuberance at their feet
preparing for storms they know will come
Posted in Creativity, Gardening, Poetry, tagged context, creative writing, gardening, history, modern poetry, Music, Poetry, praetorius, renaissance music, Writing on 17 Aug 2023| Leave a Comment »
Walking my garden paths
fingers inspecting leaves
snips cutting spent blossoms
I hum a tune born
four centuries past
across continents
and seas
I wonder if the author
as he wove his tapestry
of notes and voices
imagined his music
would live beyond his life
persist through time
as empires rose
and fell
I wonder if he
as the ink dried on
quavers and triads
imagined his melodies
would grace the flower-scented air
of distant gardens
in a land
unknown
Posted in Poetry, Writing, tagged creative writing, Creativity, modern poetry, nonsense poetry, Poetry, Writing, writing tips on 03 Aug 2023| 5 Comments »
do not put vowels
in the dishwasher
as they are made
of air and intention
and will likely melt
consonants are built
of sturdier stuff
and may go in
the upper rack
punctuation is best stored
in the garage with
nuts and bolts and
other fasteners
words once crafted may be
machine-washed and tumble-dried on low
but avoid fabric softener
unless the water is
especially hard
take time assembling
phrases and sentences
aligning them to the meridian
in a clean well-lighted place
free from excessive drafts
paragraphs benefit most
from a finish on the line
in springtime when the
breath of the waking world
begins to blow
non-fiction requires precision
and regular maintenance
so for peak performance
tune to 4° before
top dead center
patience is recommended
when assembling fiction
to ensure tight seams
and a proper fit
stir poetry
over low heat
until reduced
by half
k
Unraveling Time
Desert Wind
Ploughman's Son
Ploughman King
The Year the Cloud Fell
The Spirit of Thunder
Shadow of the Storm
The Cry of the Wind
Beneath a Wounded Sky
Cryptogenesis: A Memoir
Kurt R.A. Giambastiani 