No Traction

Been awhile since my last write
though ideas have been in my head
the words that make them live won't flow.

so I've come to this special zone
reserved for times that I can't move
around the barriers in my head

it's here that I permit myself
to move the cursor or the pen
across the lines without constraint

to let the words just come and go
and fill the space non-sequitor
and act a kind of eductor

the ideas have been rather grand
professing love for those at hand
and seeing chaos in day's milieu

Absolute Conviction

absolute conviction often known as righteousness
a state of mind reflection has no business to transgress
a state of mind which human fallibility should render unapproachable
by any with a history of tolerance as checkered as the race which tolerated

pogrom
slavery
holocaust
internment
apartheid
inquisition
house committee on un-american activity

to name a few of our transgressions
in the name of truths which are clearly beyond our ken

reflect on that before you beat the drum
and instigate the next crusade

before you set in motion
another absolute conviction

Circus Tricks

multitasking is a lie
unless you have a staff
an exercise in spinning
plates on sticks

the illusion of success
rests on them being round

it is the oblong platter
that will bring you to your knees
as all the plates slow and precess
and in procession leave you with
ceramic shards cascading to the ground

and an empty oblong platter

Inspired by RC deWinter's Life Interrupted and JJ Walker's deckplate ruminations

talisman

though mute and still
the fire you light
illuminates a place long dark

its warmth unlocks
the bittersweet
tears fill an upturned smile

at season's end
lovingly stored
you'll light that fire again

Inspired by a g+ post by Jessika O'Sullivan



Rocks and Shoals

navigating rocks and shoals
never are there two alike
each its own configuration
light of day or dark of night

tide and current always matter
and the hand upon the helm
don't forget the lowly wiper
answering desired bell

more important than the outrage
or the spin of charlatans
is the need to work together
for the betterment of all

Inspired by Chris Flegel's Angry Men: Impossible Play

threshold

if all the media coalesce
about a single dream
with seams as smooth as sharkskin
fore to aft

if all the aspects intertwine
in helical gavottes
diurnal rhythm beating
at their core

if artist in the fire consumed
and ego disappears
as intuit immersion
catalytic commandeers

the reign of chaos
patterns finally make sense

is this art imitating life
or just life

Inspired by RC deWinter's Schizocreatophenia


constant strain

a single sailor
gently moves a battleship
patience is the key