First light.
The resident blackbird
is out early claiming his territory
with song and the stuttering
dance he performs
along the back fence.
I begin to claim mine,
that space inside me
I try to map with words,
the stuttering dance of a pen
across a white silence.
I am never sure
where my territory begins
or ends and have learnt
to listen to the quiet,
remain still before
a greater stillness.
Quite often I hold
a blank white page
to my heart hoping
it will print something.
One day it will.
the territory
cannot be mapped
but maps
appear to serve
a story's need
for a move to
chicago...
A breadbasket
has become a bowl of blood and mud.
The steel claws of hawks
crush concrete towers.
Peace shelters in cellars
bread is broken,
a thin soup stirs the dying.
A droning in the sky,
rabbit ears alert in a backyard cage,
a boy's hunger stole a carrot,
but it did not eat the rabbit -
not yet.
Fragile, delicate, beautiful thus rare
Three thousand meters above sea
In marked territory, listening to
Gurgling downward flow of
Waters of the sacred hill
A precious bloom stays
in the shades of tall trees.
A three feet high plant
Shy of sunlight,
Shy of plundering human hands
Shirui Lily, a pale pink bell-shaped
Flower that carries many tales
Shows rainbow colors
Through Microscopic lens.
Snubbed for being
So very mild, a lily
Not seen elsewhere
Bows gently to tell
Mother earth –
If I ever live
I live only here.
In marked territory, I must step with care,
For shadows past and present linger to snare.
Each step poised, measured, cautious, slow,
Falls on ground where furtive few, dare to go.
I kiss the bliss of ignorance, I know
Cannot dispel the florescent deja vu glow
Knowing virgin ground is non-existent,
All is done before, done for, insistent.
Even when I plow the field to furrows spell
Up pops the litter and glitter, that therein dwell
Echos, reflections, touche touches that smell
Of the death of innovation, pummeled pell-mell
For all out there is marked, scared, sullied and stained
As used before, or well past its use-by-date ingrained.
For machines are now omniscient, beyond what I could ever know
And all my steps are marked as plagiarist AI copies faux.
The ruler of his kingdom
He designates the lines
The pieces that belong to him
His subjects and their lives
He rules with domination
His disciples are but fools
This powerful head of state
Oversees and overrules
His commanding reign of tyranny
A symptom of his fear
That the truth of his own worthiness
Seep through his brusque veneer
Deep within marked territory
A little boy survives
A little boy who measures worth
On the ability to rule lives
In Marked Territory 10-28-24 - Sponsor: Edward Ibeh
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Marked Territory
Midnight tightly clasps the darkness,
Like a wounded heart,
In between topaz edges of twilight
And pastels of first light.
Jealous of its cosmos
Shoos away the master of the day
Turning the face of the daystar
To other skies
To claim small hours.
Guardian of vanishing infinities
Speaks
Indigo borders
For moonlight
Moonbows
And wishes on the first brave star
Where waves of the galaxy
Break
Over unseen edges of stellar sands.
Lit only by celestial lanterns
Enchanter
Conjures sovereign spells
Declaring jurisdiction over platinum roses
And
Lover’s sighs
That wax then wane under polar stars.
Night rules this welkin magic,
A sorcerer hiding a book of spells,
This realm under the starry arch
The moonrise
The nebulae decorating the firmament,
Where gravity hems in epiphanies.
The very hot summer is coming to a close,
fresh cool weather is in the air.
I love my walks on autumn days,
it puts a giddy up in my steps.
Off to the pretty park we will go,
looking for the In Marked Territory area.
The grass seems much greener,
with a very deep rich smell.
Open the gate quickly before I let loose,
a fun doggie park is the way to go.
One sign read
MINE FIELD
Follow the marked path
One sign read
MIND FIELD
Your path is unmarked
as a module of God omnipresent
one with oneness, dwelling in the vast void
as of heart’s desire, we chose to ensoul
a fetus unborn, pure and unalloyed
the terrain mapped and territory marked
we as living light for our earth sojourn
slowed down vibrations, crystallised in form
willingly burning in mind-body urn
here we are then but not on a mere whim
aim of the game was to become the flame
to which end, making head and heart align
tempests of thoughts became easy to tame
light transformed organic form made of dust
we became free from bondage to space-time
ego whence felled, delusion was dispelled
in marked territory, soothed by love’s chime
Find false flags,
gasoline rags.
Light a spark.
Cross red lines
in territories marked.
Not so fast.
Hold the phone.
Peacekeeper
or terrorist?
Rule the world
with an iron fist.
The hand of fate,
legitimate
targets that
proliferate.
This is mine.
Don't cross that line.
Flesh and bone,
ownership,
testosterone -
shut up,
I can't take it,
leave me alone.
I know my World,
Perhaps not your own.
Never will I assume we are in the same planet.
Though I know we are on Earth,
But, you may be a Queen of Mecury,
And I may be a little princess of Venus.
Hence, I am rewinding my steps.
Take enough oxygen,
I want you to breathe.
I sure know that a fish CAN'T breath out of water
Nor could a bird swim under water.
But, tell you what
I am that fish and i'm still learning
how to catch my breathe iin a foreign land.
I am no PRO in the game,
And this should put you at ease.
They say time flies,
But I say no need to rush.
One step at a time.
In my heart I know,
This is what you want.
And it is what I want too.
I wanna know you behind the shades,
Under the rain,
I wanna know you happy or sad
I wanna see you diving in and out of mud puzzles
And perhaps give you a hand if you need it.
I wanna see you in Clifton beach glittered with a smile,
And I wanna be the reason behind it.
I wanna have a gulp of your creamy cup,
And I want you to have a refill from mine if you wanna
bear
tree lean
urinates
territory
marked
Some cats mark their territory with claw marks
Shredding your couch, putting gashes in your vinyl seats.
Other cats leave strong urine in their zone,
a warning to others to “keep out!”
My own cat uses her spray paints and paints murals
Some call it graffiti, I call it "aggressively territorial”.
A white layer,
So enticing and
Humbling.
Where you my master,
My Teacher making
A canvas unpainted,
Unstained.
An exploration is in
Order.
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