observations… from the porch.

January 7, 2019 by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

lighted suspension bridge during nighttime — Photo by Guilherme Rossi on Pexels.com

1.6.2019 From the Porch (series) (I’m a little cold but it’s my fault for wearing shorts when taking out the garbage on sunday night edition)

I wish that I could truly transcribe how I see the night sky this evening, this was not a remarkable day, in any way or form, this was a day birthed in the shadows of a nasty storm, amazing to think how common storms are like common arguments, so fierce in the moment, unrelenting, encompassing all the landscape of the eyes, but they pass over and the common tongue returns to banal banter, that was today if I were to give it a name, some leftovers of bluster rustling the bamboo spires against a bedroom window (such an unmistakable rattling) – but back to my shortcomings, or maybe my lack of complete mastery of my craft (not for lack of practice), I suppose I should be content to compose with the tools I currently possess, not that which I have not mastered yet, so use the only lens I might, describe this most un-descript of nights, but in that exercise is where I shall, let me not fail to interject, to pause, to detect the wonder surround in even these so common of moments, so I paused –

(and took a deep long breath)

this night sky is a mix (not a mixed bag, not a mixed sack, just a combination of the usual customers), some stars that seem set behind a slow motion procession of wispy clouds, just slowly drifting by in sync and guided by some hidden hand, there is a calm to all this and the calm resonates inside (if you let it in), the silent cold, bare trees reaching upward like living statues grasping for something they know they can never attain (but do so stretch anyway), the winter has a way of revealing, the true essence of beings, all the lovely sequins and dressings of the other seasons fallen away, just bare bark, trunk and arms, save for the giant pine stoic, there still in full dress, another deep breath, as the clouds are truly to meander much that like a lazy river, flowing over carefully framed pockets of stars in still pools, in this I try to describe, this most usual of nightly sky.

Remember to pause, look and take it all in, the miracle of life – never ends.

observational.

January 6, 2019 by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

apartment apartment building architecture building — Photo by Expect Best on Pexels.com

I don’t know if this is a thing, and frankly I don’t care to google it… I call this observational poetry, meaning, I have a natural disposition to composition so… I might just want to describe a scene, is that not what some painter’s do with their brush? a landscape ? so here it goes…

12.17.2018 “sitting in a parking lot across from a building at night”

office building

a rectangle of squares

fifteen by three tall

the light is on in a corner

third floor

I wonder who is there

white car

two doors

is it theirs

some trees are black lines against the night

others bathed in false upright light

branches bright with no leaves to hide them

hover above patterns parallel parking lines

I can see the lobby

empty chairs

lights half on

all seems still

so calm

from the outside.

I back out of my spot

and move on

notes… been busy with life, when you work 6 days a week, every week art can be stifled, and also it is winter, and I am a bear in creative hibernation (actually I have a ton to get to but I can’t seem to get to it). I admit I have fear about running out of ideas, but I am actually hindered by not giving my ideas the time to germinate sometimes, usually I am on the spot and so damn immediate, but inspiration comes and goes, or perhaps my drive goes through throes, there is so much out there to inspire, even in this little space I occupy, here (and I try to remember that).

music – temple of the dog – hunger strike

probably the best culmination of the “seattle” sound… I never loved Pearl Jam nor Soundgarden, but there was some real talent in that whole pool (Alice in Chains as well)… but this song… resonates, at least to me, and that is enough of an admission.

Thanks for all comments, follows, and corn bread recipes (although I would really like some deep cajun recipes).

The Yoke of comfort… and that ain’t no yoke…

January 4, 2019January 4, 2019 by David Koblentz ♥ 2 Comments

fried egg with seasonings — Photo by Megha Mangal on Pexels.com

I am perhaps worse than most, to actually like the confines of the yoke of comfort, much like egg yolk it is sunny, gooey and oh so comforting rolling like delicious lava all over the plate (and in that process infecting everything), but perhaps that plate needs to be swapped with a contemplate (or a quantum plate?), as I said I might be guiltier than most, the familiar is a familiar coat, every pocket worn, every corner turned, it is so easy to slip into the easy cave and slip on your slippers and slumber into oblivion, but life is finite, as is our choices, common things just feel great, I imagine that is our evolution, our protection, but we must use that thing that raised us out of the norm (intellect) and overcome those barriers of Darwinism.

All this because I ordered some Korean fusion food today. I saw an article online and a place was within a couple miles of my office. I have had tons of Korean food before (hello, Ft Lee is a few towns over) but I fell for comfort the world over. So maybe I won’t like a lunch one day, better to break the yoke/yolk and say…. I tried something different today.

Sometimes roads lead somewhere else, somewhere unexpected, GPS is not a human trait, and that, is a good thing.

and not to be droll but comments and thoughts are always appreciated, thanks!

more musing about stars…

January 3, 2019January 3, 2019 by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

sky space dark galaxy — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

As you might know I am a stargazer and a SETI aficionado so it influences my work often, and this would be one of those works, when I think of topics things just flow, it is just the way I write, I mean, cmon man how can you not look up there and wonder! ?

1.2.19 “constellation”

if I might be a constellation
once a nebula in contemplation
expanding outward toward the never
procession onward with the season’s lever
all from a man’s eye might notice the change
and map these stars with lighted frames
magical creatures and mystical charms
our imaginings drawn upon cosmic forms
our first attempt to travel there
even if only to see beyond
but imagine a world outside our own
light that travels at the speed of dawn
still yet older than our ancient spawn,
might I be a constellation
and favor back
plot the earth with mine own tack
and see a marble of brightest blue
tracking cross my nightly view
and report to all in time’s sake
stories, myths, and legend’s take
upon that which what we devise
a range of spectrum in these eyes
to pass down the rumination of stars
the engine of pure imagination – ours

Revolution! (not resolutions)…

January 3, 2019January 4, 2019 by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

art backlit dark dawn — Photo by Matheus Bertelli on Pexels.com

Of course the ole tradition of making resolutions… much older than you might think in a blink, the early traces are back to Babylon (more of a right of honoring the harvest) but our tradition is most likely traced back to Janus (a two faced god… well, in a good way) whom could look back at the past year and into the new one (and sacrifices were made hence to ensure the year to come). But resolutions… like the breath of wind upon the prairie, gone in nary a second as the dreamy bubble of the holiday expires and we climb back into our normal star ship of life (and blast off forgetting). So, dispatch with resolutions. If you want something done in your life commit to a revolution. That is a plan of action in the place of words. The latin is “revolutio” quite literally meaning a turn around and if that is what you seek – seek revolution! If your tool is resolutions they will wind up as bits of fast food wrappers on the side of the highway of life in a few moments by. Revolution takes effort, planning, put through and then… more effort. Revolutions are never won and done, they are messy, they are looked back upon with gilded guides but in the moment – nothing glorified as such – but the end result is what matters most.

You want to make a change? Commit to a revolution in the scope of the next revolution of our planet around the sun, that new year, from this then old one. Not so far now we will already have come, the countdown begun has the first shot rung?

new year’s reflection.

December 31, 2018 by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

brown book page — Photo by Wendy van Zyl on Pexels.com

“scraps we hold” 8.28.2018

a scrap of paper

a scrap of words

a scrap of film

is all you’ll have

when I’m gone

(and these electrical impulses).

I circle my index and thumb

together

as if searching for a grain of sand

of a trace of man – so soon gone.

life is a tenuous lot, be thankful for what ya got…

From the porch (morning edition)…

December 30, 2018December 30, 2018 by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

(a continuation of my porch series)

black wooden bench near bare tree — Photo by Lina Kivaka on Pexels.com

A two-fer this morning, plus a poem, yours for only $19.95 in 192 installments! new and improved! just set it … and forget it! So sit back on your my pillow and if you spill something don’t worry about it, just sham wow it ! if you’re hungry just chop some nuts and if you want a relaxing boat ride I have just the solution… now, without further nonsense my entries to my actual collection…

reason for being 12.29.2018 in the AM walking out to my car for work

I noticed the flap of red overlap of a local newspaper plastic sleeve in my driveway bend up and over this morning in the breeze, if I was not there to witness who might be, so was this event just for me? a universe wink? something to ponder? or nothing at all (aside from a racing mind)? the immensity of what had to transpire in the universe (to this point) to just have this simple, seemingly meaningless moment of my notice is beyond calculation, barely in the grasp of comprehension and surely more complex than humanity may ever know, but there it was, a moment just for me to see in a world of all happening and motion, of lives starting, ending and being, of the earth spinning, the sun breathing radiation upon our goldilox home, the sheer perfection of the amalgamation of circumstance, in a blink and I move on, to the mundane spectacular that is this daily life. (but listen closely, for a moment, just a fraction I bet, time stopped and froze, for that pose my eye composed in just that very precious second in between all seconds, I did not chose this, it chose me, and in that exists the birth of miracles, if you stop to notice).

branches close up cold daylight — Photo by mali maeder on Pexels.com

winter flowers (driving to work)

not that today should be (or is) any different than the next (or previous), but decidedly I feel a different vibe going on, driving to work this morning the sky feels more alive, the winter sun’s emissaries bursting in lines out through the unmanned outposts of barren branches, casting long shadows across the road (right to left) showcasing cars upon the median wall in a procession of shadows like the projection of a carousel at night, the light adding a shimmer to the leftovers on the asphalt from yesterday’s never ending deluge, somehow things seem better, warmer, surely not in truth by empirical data (my usual cozy), but in feel, who am I to argue, but rather observe and revel, something about the winter sunlight beams as the earth’s pores broadcast open wide and soak them all in, the clouds all in place in one layer, sitting there aligned as a blueprint laid on top of the blue by a steady hand, many times I ponder that which is beyond this atmosphere, out there, but today… I am perfectly grounded within that laid out in front and behind, this morning drive, I can’t quite put my finger on it, but maybe that has been my problem sometimes, sometimes it is better to sit back and take it all in, smell the roses, even in winter when flowers are rarer but not unknown.

for winter flowers are rarer to see
blooms on stark precious domain
a lifeboat rises in the barren sea
when all hope has left for none
winter blooms in the faded sun

Music…

photo of man playing electric guitar — Photo by Wendy Wei on Pexels.com

King’s X – Goldiliox (live)

Never my favorite song (but other KX fans love it to death) but this video shows the devotion of the fans and what it is like to be at a show… the band does not even have to sing (have you been a part of anything like this? I have over the years, mostly Over My Head), by the way Dug is almost 70 (the lead singer), seriously, they have been killing it out there as one of the most original bands since the 1980s, here is the original version just for comparison. Ty Tabor is the reason I picked up a guitar (before Eric Johnson blew my mind, and SRV). Jerry ? A NJ guy so what can I say, I’m partial…

and as always, likes, follows and thoughts (comments) are always appreciated.

Ultima Thule…

December 28, 2018 by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

milky way illustration — Photo by Philippe Donn on Pexels.com

no, it is not some old school classic RPG (I loved the early ones on PC especially V), it is the next destination of the New Horizons probe (the craft is a pretty small thing, maybe the size of a piano traveling @ 32,000 miles per hour), Ultima Thule is located in the Kuiper Belt (think of it as our solar system’s leftovers after the really long wedding party), this knowledge is less than 100 years old in our dialog, amazing to think about, in the past 40 years we have moved out of interstellar space only recently (Voyager) and now are checking out the Kuiper Belt… and this is just our little neighborhood in this little solar system in this one galaxy in billions… there is literally endless possibilities out there… but we are all worried about the latest Iphone, silliness but I understand it, I would love to tell you I am above it, but I love all the little gadgets that distract me from being just a grain of sand on the grandest beach of all…

to think, we are all star material (molecule wise)…

December 27, 2018 by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

person sky silhouette night — Photo by Snapwire on Pexels.com

12.26.2018 “goodbye”

not from the stars do I think judgement comes
as the sky changes by forces rung
but as I examine the sky tonight
I notice one missing, a closing light
as in stars we might not know
the light we see or how old
but eventually with distance lens
even the brightest must meet an end
and all folds back to cosmic dust
to return to life on the cusp
and once again form another
from the same constructive endeavor
but only once ever a star is born
never the same as it was before
materials remain but have no soul
for that we turn our inner eyes
to find love, the eternal sign

notes… strange to think we are stars, but surely we are, more important than the hollywood ilk, we are surely cosmic beings in construction, and all this we have built around us,the distractions from all that, these little things that are chains of amino acids walking led to candy crush? who knew… do I overthink things? probably… but I am fascinated by how we got here, the process is almost overwhelming to ponder (almost… 🙂

the first line is a call out to some guy named Shakespeare (specifically sonnet 14), I like the old classic stodgy poets as such, just my thing, I enjoy the ring of their cadence (Milton, Shelley, Byron, Dylan to name a few). just my thing.

Music… Minus the Bear – Last Kiss (live acoustic) “I can’t believe it ends this way…”

I see things in motion…

December 26, 2018December 26, 2018 by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

photo of person walking on deserted island — Photo by Tom Swinnen on Pexels.com

12.25.2018 “generations”

so, the wave has begun
the first domino has fallen
a generation has come
to begin an end.
I have seen the wave coming
off on the horizon
everything seems so far off
in the inevitable ocean
but so soon crashing upon the shore
this is the way of things
for we are mere pillars
rock fashioned of sand
drawn down and back into the surf
from which we once rose
in and out the flow
just life
for us to suppose
and follow, as if we have a choice
but we pretend
to have some modicum of control
ever looking at the horizon
and the coming waves
as they come for me
surely, some day

might I be aware
and enjoy the warm rays
bright bouquets to grace the peaks
one more time
upon the waves
that carry my soul away
to some other place
I hope
to some other place
I pray

notes… as I stated in an earlier post, I have been spared death more than most, but that will not be so anymore, and I sense it, I hope I have the strength to relent it and continue on, in the pattern of such things it becomes difficult to reconcile self worth, or more plainly my life’s worth upon this earth, there is no accomplishment any of us can make that will satisfy my view of the world, so I just have to fall back on faith, and fate, and the two combined will be my future, I know what that is but do I accept it ? do I quit? or do I fight and meet the same outcome? these are the thoughts that cross my mind. There is so much to life, so much, that needs to be the focus but I must admit, I struggle.

Shades of My Garden

a window into a life, a conversation with a soul, a gateway to a heart

Tag: inspiration