Summer brings strong sunshine for the strong,
but what happens when its tread
falls disinterestedly upon the weak?
Behold they have become silent,
the sky bleaches bones
and does not look backward
to what crumbles behind it.
These are the stones
that ground dull nails and sharpened talons,
they have slid under mountains of ice and fire,
are polished by the grind of a glacial momentum.
The stones endure now as layers of motion
sealed within catchments of stillness;
some are wind-tools shaped by a tireless chisel,
other’s glint with a history and crushed starlight.
The river has left signs of its scouring trace.
I turn a stone over –
look backward to a molten world,
imagining the imperceptible burnishing
of such relentless forces.
Thought is a fish out of water here,
mind at one with the ice floes momentum,
a witness to the passing away of all density,
the defeat of every bulwark in the stream
of this rivering,
this endless whittle of creation.
I was taught the commutative property of addition back when I still counted on my fingers and my thumbs…which stated: no matter how we group our addends…it doesn’t change the sum.
When I grew up I left the commutative property behind…
I didn’t think it had much worth…until I heard someone say the other day…
One People
One Love
One Earth.
We may not all look alike and we may pray under different steeples
But when all is said and done we are still
One Earth
One Love
One People.
I hope the next time we pray to whatever God we pray to…
as we look up and search the sky above…
we pray that we remember we are:
One Earth
One People
One Love
And as we look backward and forward at a world that because of us is misbegotten…
let us pray we can remember the math we have long ago forgotten.
Math we were taught when we still counted on our fingers and our thumbs…
that no matter how we group our addends…
it does not change the sum..
More humans are needed, to have a good economy
so the powerful have seeded, that of a root, to be greeded
The greed of money, directs everyone forward
to have your taste of honey, so you don’t, look backward
Back to Mother Nature, is the only way, for our future
Get rid of this obnoxious weed, that makes us all have, a need of greed
These are the stones
that ground nails and sharpened talons,
they have slid under mountains of ice and fire,
have been polished by the glacial dead.
The stones endure now in layers of motion and stillness,
some are wind-tools shaped by a tireless chisel,
other’s glint with a past and crushed starlight.
The river has left signs of its scouring trace.
I turn a stone over –
look backward to a molten world.
I can hardly imagine
the slow burnish of such immutable forces,
suddenly I am a fish out of water,
my mind wriggling across an ice floe.
Once upon a time undefined by algorithm
In your arms you had me
As we slow dance to mild blues
Our hand and legs in a lover's tango
Like a puppet,you spun me to the rhythm
The walls echo my laughter and glee
So carefree, a heart that never felt a bruise
Once upon a memory forgotten long ago
Your tight grasp slipped away
It hurts to remember
The tempo increasing
How you caught on but I was stuck
know your place! you said,make it work! they said but u were faraway
I helplessly watched our fire burn out to a dull ember
Your whispered promises of a life of love unceasing
Were forgotten or did I run out of luck?
Once upon a time I blamed me
It was a race and I couldn't keep up
Sunbeam cast it's glow of a new beginning
I was more than enough,too much for a coward
If two do not work together,how do they agree?
I rock to the morning beat with a sherry in my cup
I am lucky, I am free, I am winning
One step at a time,never again will I look backward.
Hey boy, I’m crushing on you;
Why is that so hard to admit to?
You once said you were under my skin,
I guess it’s time to tell you I’ve fallen;
I hear your voice when I’m all alone
2 am wanting to grab you through the phone;
Wishing I could roll over and get a hug,
when I’m with you it’s never enough;
All night long, silently calling your name,
my heart my dreams have no shame;
Looking in your eyes is a punch in the gut,
ambivalence is a painful choke up;
I was wrong to look backward at a fire
When I see you? Pure desire.
Hey boy, I can’t stop crushing on you;
You knock the wind out of me
when you walk in the room.
Contest: I’m Crushing on You
Date: 4/7/19
Sponsor: Julie Leigh Rodeheaver
A Look Inward
For all I ever once was
all I ever want to be,
fleeting mists singing
and rising fogs in morn
sunset views triumphant;
resting deep inside of me
shadows of a spirit
cold and stark in reality.
R. J. Lindley,
March 11, 1976
A Look Backward
For all I ever once did
and all my heart sees,
glowing memories
and loves beyond measure
days the sun stirs;
rainbows softly drifting
spirit patiently waiting
love's hopes sweetly livin'.
Robert J. Lindley, 10-04-2015
Found this old poem(very rare free verse from 39 years ago) and decided to give
a new and up to date answer/reply.
Silence, the power of noise that brings stillness to the ear
Power, the audacity of every man’s desire to manipulate
Resilience, what a way to bounce-back, the mass is always intact
Imminent, it’s here it must be, for you see it’s your plan for victory
Never, lose hope; there is always a possibility if you don’t give out
Goodness, what a way to go, just live right and you will overcome your plight
Function, a way of life, a stepping stone to an ultimate goal
Organize; this will make your day, and delight you in every way
Worship, your creator a call for victory and empowerment
Acknowledge, what is right from wrong, that your scorn will be gone
Restoration, a new place to begin to alter your thrill
Destiny SPRING FOWARD never look backward to prevent
a regrettable calamity
The light comes on
You can see the road
But you know not how long
You will carry the load
Don’t look backward or forward
Or stray side to side
Take one step
Take one stride
And look for your guide
Look inwards and upwards
Your path will be clear
For when you walk in the light
Your guide will always be near
Shadows in the dark are now what I see
Murky pictures of the loved ones no more with me
I stare at them with a trembling heavy heart
For we are now millions of light years apart
Shadows line up as an army of ghosts at my door
Asking me to exit the door without the hurt which I once bore
Grappling with the painful thoughts, I take a step forward
Towards my loved ones, and never look backward
Ah! The reflections disappeared with the break of the dawn
I Ran around to find them with a mind so bogged down
Alas! I fell off from my bed, it was a dream insane
I shouted,'Hold on! I am feeling no more inane'
For they showed me glowing light even in the dark
Now I can find a way no matter how loud is the life's bark
Shadows in the Dark will always show me the light
To fulfill zillion dreams and win life's every fight
We just come here and go
And go with the time's flow!
We only see things
And touch while going
And look back crying!
Only new bleak hopes
Take our life forward!
We can see false hopes
If we look backward!
Broken strength carries endless desires
Both bright and dark
So broken output is obtained from
Do or die work!
We sail our broken boat in the sea with goods!
Our broken language can't express all moods!
Half acquaintance in our hearts!
Our half sentence needs more words!
In shame and fear our faith is half
So we offer only half love!
Amid the deceit and pain of this modern era,
one will be born
who shall embody bygone times and ways;
he will want naught more than an uncomplicated life,
to do what he must and be what he can.
Always shall he look backward
to notions of the past,
like the gallantry of the chivalric knights of old;
in his own way thus he will be looking forward,
ever seeking a return to such goodly tenets.
Yet think not of him as a peerless warrior,
a brilliant mind or a charming lover,
for a failure he shall be -
mistakes, his accustomed routine;
regret, his vigilant companion.
Not alone will this wanderer travel;
for one will also be born
who shall see through his disguise of joy,
reach the agony underneath the surface
and whisk it off with nary a trace.
She shall be the most exquisite being
to exist outside of the heavenly realm;
yet never will he convince her
of the undeniable truth of such claims;
forever she will view herself unfavorably.
Stubborn to the last, he will profess his unworthiness -
surely one such as he, a pariah and buffoon
deserves not a creature such as she,
yet both of them shall depend upon and cherish
this love of the ages.
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