Month: August 2018

Lampreys and the Theory of Simplicity.

Lampreys and the Theory of Simplicity.

by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

lamprey

Often, well, more often these days I am trying to look for the simple things, the little things, the beautiful things… all around us in everyday life.  Nature brings us so many of these things (including ourselves / humanity itself).  So this brings me to my toothy friend, the Lamprey (often improperly identified as an “eel” which is way more evolved…oddly).  This strange little thing, a marvel of engineering really, has been around some 300 million years on good estimates (based on the fossil records). So… this strange little blood sucker with barely developed systems has been around longer than us by a long-shot… Humans.. the pinnacle of everything? hmmm ?  Just some perspective (we have only been around an absolute fraction compared to these slimy little bastards). So I felt like posting just some of my simpler poems… to communicate a simple thought, or feeling, or moment… sometimes I am just a simple one minded thing latching on to something for dear life.. and other times I am matryoshka doll…  life is like that, I am trying to unpack my dolls within dolls and just be my core for all the world to see… we’ll see…

5/31/18

I can not express

in these words

what life is

to be

without you

(*note: this is my version of haiku, I think it encompasses the feel of the form)

5/31/18

in length

I am a rope

bound together

in knots

frayed ends

holding on

tied

together

(*note: another haiku feel for me… at least but also I was kind of also calling EE Cummings)

5/31/18

runways

maps for planes

lights at night

to guide

lines of sight

grounded flight

(*note: haiku feel… damn I said that already… but this was specifically about Teterboro Airport which I pass all the time driving home or about the local town)

“stairs” 6.1.18

I am at the bottom of the stairs

no recollection

of getting there

I look up

spotlight shines down

sitting

do I attempt

to climb my way out?

(*note – I wrote this in my basement, here in the northeast US we have “finished basements“, essentially totally another level of the house underground, I was doing some sit ups and looked up the stairs… hence the thrust of the poem…)

6.1.18

happiness

you were once a confidant

a neighbor

a friend

a lover

and now

no longer

“simple line” 6.2.18

I point

there is life

there is death

your only disagreement

a single breath

“support” 6.3.18

bridges built

bridges lost

bridges burned

I drown so fast

6.18.18

you are my flower

to plant

to water

to love

my treasure

to love

forever

Notes… as always I appreciate all feedback… I welcome criticism.. in fact I invite it, I want to be beaten up because I do not have your eyes, your ears or your mind, I am not looking for acceptance or sycophants, I am confident in my own dome, this, my home of words, but I want to understand other people’s land that their voice is planted on… because how else can I grow… if I do not know what else is out there in this virtual planet?

Music ?  I thought you would never ask…

Phillip Glass “Glassworks”

you have heard his works before, you probably did not know it… if you did know, well… kudos my fellow traveler.

observations from my porch…

observations from my porch…

by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment
architecture building conifers daylight
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Again out here contemplating all things, looking out on the world (or just the little patch of here), after dinner, chinese take out, sort of a Sunday ritual here in New Jersey, I’m not sure why (convenience I suppose), they screwed up my order and gave me the wrong dish, such things used to really infuriate me – but hey I still got shrimp – either way

Summer, this is a quiet night (not silence, just… quiet), the audio volume of the summer insects seems light (like a gentle hum replacing a boisterous conversation), the usual strangle and yoke of summer humidity is decidedly relaxed, everything just seems… still, you really have to concentrate and stare to see the slightest movements of air in the very tops of the trees just to catch a glimpse, steal a peak, of the slightest breeze, the expected chatter and spunk of my neighborhood birds is quite absent, the occasional chirp here and there, a spare bird sneaks by without sound as if to not disturb this brokered peace

I hear car door shut on the next block but even with the sound it seems to say “I’m sorry”, the last light of day is pulling back, the last soft orange and purple hues illuminating just the clouds in the space of sky just above the treeline, the day’s horizon seems literally to end at the top of my street, because, alas – “perception is reality”, or so I read, in a fortune cookie I think.

add this to my “porch series“… I am trying to sit out on my porch and observe the world as it is.. in front of me… maybe you can feel my eyes, my sight, that is my aim, how can I know anything else?  I truly hope I can paint the picture in my words and ignite your mind.. ambitious, I agree, but something inside of me is telling me to do this… I would hope it is not just DNA or the will to live and pass on same… but I have my doubts… I always have my doubts.

escape hatch…

escape hatch…

by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Franklin Lakes, NJ Reservoir and surrounding lakes…

I was in the area for work for a couple of days… yes, this is New Jersey (stop snickering…).  A real treasure hidden up in the north of my home state.  Part of my quest to find beauty wherever I may go every day (if possible).  Taking a minute or two… or forty out of your day to just realize the amazing surroundings you have near you is important, I am trying to stop and smell the.. nah, I ain’t doing that cliche, but it is not wrong in intent, I have to say.

Not posting

Not posting

by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I thought about not posting tonight.. I am pretty tired,  I tallied my hours at work and I am about at 74 for the work week… and I am on call tomorrow from 11-10. Not complaining… just explaining, but inspiration does not rest… and really neither should I, I have to live it all because that is all I have (or any of us)… it seems weird to think about it that way but… that is the reality, I am trying to be the better me, the me I know is in there but I can’t say I am succeeding… I wonder about so many things, especially when I see documentaries about all these amazing places (like my last post)… am I meant to just be stuck here in the US due to circumstance ? but yet… I lead a comfy life compared to millions so does that make me greedy that I want the means to explore the nooks and crannies of this amazing planet ? (and yet not even having explored all the wonders of my own state, let alone country or my great Canadian friends to the north or our friends to the south in Mexico?) I suppose this is all rambling… but I wrote something tonight, on my exercise bike, which is annoying hopping off and on, I was watching more Ireland stuff and the words as such… came to me as they do…

“the song” 8.12.2018

might I come to know
the song of birdsong
filling the hills and valleys
all the warm season long
might I learn their politics
theories
and secrets
surely they have tales to tell
of wind
of wing
grazing on trails and tracts
some travel far and wide
yet while others are humble local guides
might I come
to know their tongue
speak the language
the song as sung
might I come to know
the song of birdsong
and take to the air
dare to listen closer more
to the notes
the composition
the hidden meaning
natural symphony
unfolding, informing
transforming
take flight
become
a part
of the ever living
listen to – the birdsong

music… Toad the Wet Sprocket – Is It For Me / Nightingale Song (live)

You know a band is good when a live clip is what kills… Toad is criminally underrated in the scheme of things imo.

Skellig Michael (a place you might know)

Skellig Michael (a place you might know)

by David Koblentz ♥ 1 Comment
mountains near body of water
Photo by Nicolas Postiglioni on Pexels.com

I watch a good deal of nature shows from all over the globe (torrenting does have it’s advantages – tangent, I highly recommend PrivateVPN for privacy, been using them for years!)… and I tend to gravitate toward the ocean (as you can see in my poems, landlubber I am not).  Tonight I started watching a series “Wild Ireland : The Edge of the World” which chronicles California.. just kidding, it features a dude (Colin Stafford-Johnson who happens to be a wildlife videographer) traveling up the Irish coast exploring all the nooks and crannies of same.  Excellent watch first off, secondly the first episode is all about the Skellig islands, more specifically Skellig Michael… it must have been a cosmic thump of total geekdom that this happens to be the island featured so prominently in the last Star Wars movie “The Last Jedi” (which I thought was good… not great, Rogue One was the best of the recent ones, but stop distracting me alright…).  So… you might recognize the island, it wasn’t fake.. no CGI, nature made this one out of the same sandstone that is the isle of Ireland (it is not a volcanic island like most we think of… at some point it was part of the larger island… quite eons ago).  The island was literally at one point the western most point in Europe (for ages.. even the middle ones).  It was actually occupied by monks for some time but now is just a tourist destination when the tides and weather permits… those cool huts from the movie are actually there.  The porgs?  Has to be the puffins that nest there…  There is tons of inspiration / material to write about (just the bird population is amazing)… I probably will, just not right now, long week of work has sapped the old well of energy but I am a fast recover-er…. so look out for some work based on this island (and the wildlife) in a galaxy not so far away…

Check out this video about the island…. (click here, and ponder, wonder)

Almost forgot some music!  check out my old friend Yogi !  he rules, great guitar player and a great guy … Yogi “The Imperial March” (Star Wars)

Gravity is a toll road.

Gravity is a toll road.

by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment
person holding a chalk in front of the chalk board
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Often I think about how we fill our minds up with ‘stuff‘ (thank you George Carlin)… How easy it was to be in the blissful cross-hairs of youth.  Innocence is just one of those things that can not be put back into the bottle (as much as we may try).  I used to feel a sad pity for those with special needs but now at times I am jealous (to an extent as a mental exercise) that they can exist in the perpetual bliss of unawareness.  Sure, I would not be who I am if I was not self aware… but the pull of that other option, the temptation is certainly there.  Self awareness and in my case overly active brain is tiring at times… maybe that is why when I am on vacation I prefer a lonely beach so I can pretend that the waves are washing away all the crust the world has built up upon my hull…  but it takes a toll… how much? We will never know.  But if you do… I would love the answer, please tell me so… so I can truly rest before the true (final) rest.  But I suppose, like everyone I will just be out there sailing the seas of thought seeking islands of legend… and then one day running aground near some nameless forgotten port, sinking, absorbed into the shifting sands at the bottom of the ocean of time, my particles to become the building blocks for some other creation… be it animated or not, a crab perhaps but I would hope for more…. but like all else I am not in control of such things.

“simple observation” 6.10.18

children playing

children’s smiles

making up games

rules are loose

shoelaces

made up races

I miss the whimsy of youth

notes on the poem: I wrote this in a rest area on the GSP… (like many things), a couple and their kids had unloaded out onto the picnic area… and just… the kids did what kids do, making games of the world, amazing, I miss that.

musical accompaniment…

for whatever reason… this piece came to my mind:

Jean Sibelius – Symphony no 5 in E flat op 82

I like the peaks and falls, and the quiet parts…

Invading thoughts…

Invading thoughts…

by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment
war chess
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“home invasion” 8.18.2018

hostile dreams

haunt these

my lonely days

of this existence

among the people

who occupy the spaces

like so many chess pieces

I am long tired of the game

I can not seem to win

lose, or stalemate

or even more

move off this board,

endless gambits

my mind is on fire, no, it is at war

 

if I can not find rest

in my sleep

wherever will I find it?

when I’m dead?

 

hostile dreams,

as of late

they infiltrate

my perimeter

my daily thoughts

a train wreck

my horoscope

 

hostile dreams

they penetrate

my fortitude

my fortress

lays in ruins

not from attrition

but from the constant grind

of never ending erosion

exploiting the cracks

I have left –

the signatures of my neglect

 

hostile dreams

they have overrun the walls

hardly a pause

my resistance

is merely whisked away

my army

forgotten

in their space

empty armor husks

strewn about like so much relics

less steel than one step from dust

 

hostile dreams

they permeate

saturating my pores

stretch the air

the stench

overwhelms my nose

I can not escape

sensory overload

 

I have lost

the will

the will to fight,

so,

now I lay me down to sleep

overwhelmed

by these hostile dreams.

musical choice ?

my dying bride – the cry of mankind

one of the worst band names in history… one of the best bands ever… many a night or a time they have been my muse, my drowning, my immersion, I like this song because it is like a hypnotic meditation (with the constant sound in the background from beginning to end lulling you into contemplation or maybe sorrow… or maybe both, the world is not always cotton candy and apple pie… I would love for it to be so, so sometimes even optimism needs to sleep, for a time)

Sabre-tooth.

Sabre-tooth.

by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment
human skull with white background
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“extinction” 6.3.18

I am the last sabre-tooth

in a human mind

I survived

the great collide

yucatan

and so far survived,

the rise of man

notes… a mix of metaphor and some science thrown in for good measure, in a way I am juxtaposing the great extinction of the dinosaurs against the coming extinction… well, of us? or everything else?  something to think about…  (although I know the earth will be fine, she will silently outlive us all.. rise and fall… maybe even another whole genus of hominids (or talking upright donkeys with wings – pegassus ?) will rise after we are wiped out by ourselves or something else)

da’ music… I am going to go softball and toss an obvious one here…

Megadeth – Countdown to Extinction

pretty light fare even for them … and for me… but I don’t always need to listen to songs that blister my brain with blast beats… well, at least part of the time it seems.

we all have tried (admit it).

we all have tried (admit it).

by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment
white and yellow chicks on pebble covered ground
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“little birds” 6.23.2018

little birds

outside my car

they seem afraid

how do they know me

I toss them bits of bread

in an effort

to show I am a friend

I don’t think they buy it

but I had to try

notes… we all have tried to lure the birds, some are cautious, some are courageous, we pretend to think they understand us… but they are just trying to survive… how different  are we… who is tossing us crumbs ?

also.. this is me being kind of haiku-ish in mode but not form.  Total kudos to those who like the constraint, I’m not wired that way.

and for no reason… just posting one of the most underrated songs of the “grunge” (ugh that hurts me to type…) age.

Helmet – Unsung