Tag: Nature

dirt.

dirt.

by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment
agriculture backyard blur close up
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“tasked” 4/27/18

I paused

I stopped

to look around

I never noticed

-the sound

until now

at first a gentle scratching

scraping tapping

on the ground

I try to recall

when I was put to this task

a minute, some months

decades past?

I look up and about

from half ways down

try to estimate my position

and to what contract I am bound

to this

 

across the plotted fields

the very same sounds

a constant beat

against the ground

metal clinks

and again

same refrain

chanting thumping metal frames

penetrates and lifts a mound

metal, dirt, metal, dirt

always down

always down

notes…  I sort of was thinking of the Matrix scene where Neo is “reborn” and also the “fields”… a great metaphor for life, so I imagined that we are all just on this endless plain digging our own graves… because, in a sense, we are, we are all traveling in that way, I am not saying I like it, but it is the truth, which makes me understand suicide more from a rational sense but it is something I could never do… even though honestly, logically the equation is the same… can you really argue that ?  the only thing I can champion is maybe just maybe instead of suicide there is creation- of art, of life, of cures of disease, of inspiration of invention, of children… because the human experience tells me.. things are possible, the impossible is possible, death will never be cheated or defeated (everything has an end), but the fight… remember the fight and try to win even when you know you will not. that is the hope of humanity, at least that is what keeps me going, and my hope to inspire.  I am just a man but I want to be more. the question is… do you ?

Musical choice ?  I will not pull punches.. I think Anna Murphy is the goddamn balls…

Cellar Darling “Black Moon”

She is of course originally from the band eluveitie, and if you have to ask she is playing a Hurdy Gurdy… yeah, totally obscure mechanical violin instrument from the middle ages

One of the Wonders of 7.

One of the Wonders of 7.

by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment
bloom blossom flora flower
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“gardens” 5/30/18

of light and seed

of rain and soil

through many gardens

have I come.

the path, looking back

winds around

framed by memories

of wilt and drought

of bulb and bloom

yet when the sun rises

there is always you

my seven tiers of babylon

our brief time of perfection

under the golden sun.

 

that was then

now lost to time

so I carry on

my will, my prayers, my hope

carry on

I will always remember

my heart is gone

but will not forget

you

my seven tiers of babylon.

notes…  I had some differing things in mind here…  of course I am referring to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (one of the original 7 wonders of the world, and no… not from the mini golf course in Overboard (the original not the remake))… I was also thinking about the all time great poem Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge… So.. throw that all in a blender and make it about love as well in a personal context… love being like a garden we cultivate (hopefully) but like a real garden there are so many factors that factor into the outcome… the rest I will leave up to you, because if you got this far, well, thanks.

post note… I forgot to mention.. 7, it is considered a magical number, my birth date is 7 times 3, both considered magical numbers, so no, I am not into astrology or numerology… just sayin…

Also, 7 days in a week.. seven “tier” (tears)… 7 openings in your head… all these things are in this poem, in my head … and now yours I suspect.

music? … ok, maybe…  here is something pretty nature-y and ambient (I hate that word sometimes as it may imply boring electronica but… there is no other genre word, I think… so just trust me).  Sounds from the Ground has put out some awesome stuff over the years, this particular track always stuck with me… it tells an old fable/tale over cool calm music… very unique… you have to listen to get it…

Sounds from the Ground “Pearl”

grains of…

grains of…

by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment
seashore under blue sky
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“sand” 4/27/18

I wish I was sand on the beach

faceless, shifting

I could encompass the whole coast

a shoal of shores

bearing the burden

of appeasing the great ocean

of wrath and caress

tides stretch my miles

eternally to the human mind

though even sand will find

the bottom of an hourglass

and run out of time.

Music : “Built on Sand” Solution .45 (one of my favorite vocalists of now (and about the last 10 years).. Christian Alvestam (he does all the vocals, you can not argue he can’t sing)…   I get most people don’t like heavy music (especially death metal), I do, I dig the aggression (am I not wrath and love?) but I also listen to tons of classical and electronica… so … who knows… just what I have been listening to lately.

Twitter Dee… Twitter Dumb.

Twitter Dee… Twitter Dumb.

by David Koblentz ♥ 3 Comments
motorcycle in the middle of street
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“Social Media Drive-By” 7.27.2018

a whisper feeds
a rumor grows
in an instant
on twitter
reputation
shot out from under,
a post
a feed
inbreeds in innuendos
goes viral
in circles of pop up juries,
they snicker
they laugh
they injure and incinerate,
-and the moment passes
they forget
behind, a wake, an aftermath
they forget
the wreck
they sank
to the bottom
on a whim, with a whisper
they forget.

notes… So, I’m a dork, I googled “drive by” and it is supposed to be “drive-by”…. why on earth would it matter but I am an honest cat on here sharing it all (warts and dorks as it were).. this was written in my car after work today (gee, that never happens…).  Just contemplating the cyber lynchings that seem to happen with regular frequency these days… it seems the moral superiority of some people online equals that of the religious types that they mock for the same behavior (I guess not having a belief in a higher power somehow makes it different?)… how ironic.   When you revel in the demise of others you are swimming in a tar pit full of sharks… is it worth it?  What happened to the value of taking a breath and assessing things with some perspective (and remembering we are all little flawed islands in the sea of humanity).  One post does not a total Dbag make.  Just something to ponder as I go wander off into … some silly distraction probably.

Another semi-obscure band… to me they are legendary, but what do I know ? (well, a lot if you ask me, but that is another story for another time fraulein…) …double shot music post RARRRRRRRRR!!!!!!

Fugazi – Long Division

Fugazi – KYEO

Credit to Neil C. from back in my Rutgers days for turning me on to this.  Ah… seems like a different life, it was a short time but a good time.

bravery/fear/doubt

bravery/fear/doubt

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cold dark eerie fear
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“late” 4/24/18

a triangle of ravens

portends in the rain

is this dusk

or looming gray

no sun to foretell

still spring has yet to slip into bloom

the bare trees do agree

that spring has not yet arrived

this, where doubt creeps in

knowing season into season

passes with regularity

why do I fear?

“bravery” 4/24/18

why do we fear anything at all

save for the one

that holds the key

to all we know

 

how brave of me

in this time of quiet

and not of need

notes… poem 1 (up there) I was driving home (as I am known to do) and there was this weird triangle of ravens flying over the GSP…  ravens don’t fly in formation, well, I haven’t asked them but from experience I think it so… also, spring was late, so as fluid as time is… we relate to what is our “now”… spring has been ‘late’ probably a billion times (and probably does not care what I think, dammit).  I was toying with how limited our experience is but we expect it to be “the norm” which is totally silly given our short lifespan compared to the machinations or more real the gears of nature that work beyond our scope (and could care less about us even being here), I was also commenting on how we panic when things kind of don’t work out like we think they should based on our experience.. such limited experience even after 40 years on this rock….

poem 2… it is easy to say I am not afraid… but we all are. it is easy to say all I fear is death… but we all fear plenty of things, we all forget, we drive, take showers, go on vacation, have kids (well, none that I know about…), etc… it is much harder to actually let go of fear in times when the real pressure of actual life is applied.  I am trying to live life free of fear, to live moment to moment.. to trust my instincts… but honestly I am not doing the greatest job of it.  People can’t believe some of the things that come out of my mouth but really I am not being me 100% and I should because this is the only life we get as far as I know… and that is all I know, my limited little brain, as smart as I think I may be… death has taken us all from Einstein to Hitler, so I want to be free…

totally random music…  this is a mix of cuban/puertorican/island (with brass instruments) music with metal… one of the most unique bands that ever was… I love mixed up mutts like this…

Puya “Fundamental”

Voyager (3)

Voyager (3)

by David Koblentz ♥ 1 Comment

A continuation of my Voyager series (1, 2)… and now 3!  Of course there is not an actual 3rd mission but I had to number these to avoid confusion among the handful of people actually reading them…and myself honestly.  They all have a common thread but different flavor (I hope).  Maybe I am like voyager throwing things out into the universe to see what I see… throwing my own golden disc into the vast expanse of the internet perhaps finding an alien I can teach my language… or maybe I just like to write, or somewhere in between the two probably is the domain of the truth, at least for now… and without further adieu…

electric lamp over black background
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“voyager 3” 7.2.2018

a faint –

distant

memory

ever traveling further

every moment every second every hour

a thin beam of light suspends dust

through the seam of a midnight door

a whisper slithers down the hall

barely audible

I strain to hear

I might remember

how I came upon this place

in darkness

this cold space

a litany of stars

but none are close

none are warm

all are far

notes… I am specifically commenting on Voyager 1 here… It is in interstellar space now (see my original post to learn about all that).  So… it takes 17 hours (more now) to receive a message from Voyager 1 so hence the ‘strain to hear’ reference… and the line ‘a thin beam of light suspends dust’ is a specific reference to this photo… Our planet… from the perspective of Voyager after it left the solar system…  humbling, to say the very least.  This little satellite that could is now in between stars… which illustrates the sheer vastness of space, hence the rest of the poem, maybe some people think I should not explain things or whatever… but these are very specific references I am playing with here that I want the reader to understand… now I am leaving huge gaps in metaphors as well… so this poem has other levels (like personal) but I want people to understand the core of the feeling as it energized me to write the piece(s).

so… some more trippy ambient avant garde stuff ? sure… I got that in spades folks.

Tetsu Inoue “World Receiver”

Voyager (1)

Voyager (1)

by David Koblentz ♥ 3 Comments
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Voyager is of course (well I say that because I am a science geek but I should not assume) the project that launched 2 ships in 1977 that are still out there traveling past our solar system into interstellar space (Voyager 1 is the first man made object to do so, Voyager 2 still has a ways to go to escape the influence of our sun… think about that, we launched something in 1977 that still is under the influence of our sun… and is traveling at over 30,000 mph all the time – nuts!).  So I recently watched a documentary about the Voyager mission called “The Farthest”… (I reviewed it here on my Facebook media review page).. it is amazingly inspirational to see what people in the 70’s were able to accomplish (and to see their enthusiasm and reaction to this amazing triumph of humanity)… The computers then compared to now… I mean..wow !  My cell phone has 1000 times the power those little Voyager units do… BUT… they will outlive us all, being in space there is a ton of … (wait for it) …. space! seriously space here seems so cramped (at times) but the space of space (that sounds confusing) is insane compared to what we consider here as the volume of personal space (I am trying to say they won’t have a car accident as astral traffic is very light). So these little voyager units are out there… zooming into the unknown, the vikings, chris columbus, hell… they ain’t got nothing on these little things.. totally inspiring.  So hence these poems the next few days…

“voyager 1” 6.15.18

might I walk upon

the surface of the sun

like a god

and look down below

onto the earth

a gem

a pearl

the cradle of life

the dawn of man

and all we know

I spy out into the endless expanse

and spot a messenger

a voyager

our postcard

our greeting card

our extended hand

and I utter

godspeed voyager

godspeed

as you blaze blindly bravely

into the unknown

your passenger of knowledge

forever into the cosmos

you go

I already posted once about the Seti : pharos album, that is some trippy space stuff… but it applies here, so I am posting it again… I have probably listened to that album 10,000 times, it is one of those things I play when I want to sleep and have dreams… that I am a voyager. Because… maybe the only scrap of humanity that will ever survive is aboard those vessels.. they are time capsules of our civilization…

Eons…

Eons…

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“eons” 4/29/18

I have no want of death

I do not wait for death

yet, the flicker of humanity

will extinguish

and the planet may pause

spinning eons by

carrying some other passengers

until the sun

burns out a billion years

the milky way

one star less bright

one less spark

against the canvas

of absolute night

who might notice

who will bear witness

no sky to look upon and ask why

death will have stolen all

from this little corner

of the universe

I actually wrote something about 9/11 today (in my car reciting it to myself until I arrived at work and feverishly scribbled it down)… but it is something I actually want to work on due to the nature of the moment (very not me, I know, you know if you read anything I write that I am usually just in the moment of now)… Every day I drive a certain section of the NJ Turnpike (geez, what an arcane term) and a hill crests where you can see NYC like a postcard (over that abomination of a train station)…. thousands of cars, we all pass this every day vision in the distance, so close you can almost touch it, I wonder how many pause and are struck by inspiration, surely not the A-hole in the Infiniti all over my bumper… I used to have road rage but now I smile more, because where the hell are we all going ? really?  plus I have great tunes on my USB stick….

So I posted the above because I am determined to post everything I write for the most part… good or bad, this is not about me showcasing my best stuff.. this is me unloading on the universe that which I am driven to create, and share.  I do not claim to understand how this works, if it works… or anything… if I can touch one life I suppose it is all worth it, even if that life is just mine.. maybe I am a fisherman throwing out my line into the ether… for another her… a companion or just friendship…  I’m not so sure about anything anymore, the more mistakes you make in life the less you trust yourself, but you are better at hiding it… so much better…

Obvious (sort of)

Obvious (sort of)

by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Take a Walk in the Woods. Doctor’s Orders (NY Times article).

trees in park
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now… I don’t claim to be some svengali or genius… but getting out into nature seems like a pretty natural thing.  Interesting read but I think it misses the main point… getting away from the grind of the common everyday gears we are party to in our “normal” lives (those of us who are not independently wealthy or write as a hobby not work).  My zen is totally getting off the grid (OK.. not that far, I’m not a savage ya’ know) but at least far enough to feel like you are somewhere else (at least until a plane flies over).   The routine of work can be just that… a routine which leads to boredom/samedom/dumbdom/doldrums… even as busy as my job is, sometimes it feels all the same, and honestly going to work in a cubicle in a converted warehouse probably is not the ideal human situation (but hey, I need to pay the bills and buy truly dumb stuff).   So I guess it is a question of balance.  I’m not saying I have mastered it.. damn far from it… the blog helps, it is an outlet but… I can do better to be the real me I think (well, I know, but the effort seems counter intuitive at times… but then time passes and you realize you’re just being an ass worrying about stuff that doesn’t matter)… I am human, I can’t say I wish I was something else, I just wish wisdom came in bite size and I could have consumed more along the way…

“back yard” 5.27.18

all these leaves

apartment complex of trees

they are only seasonal tenants

to soon all gone

back down into the world

until next spring

when new tenants

once again

move in

“games” 4/7/18

robins and jays play stratego

for sky and place

the jays are sky dwellers

robins roam the ‘scape

the board is set

the game is framed

timeless battle

so, engage

So… I thought about not posting any music as I was having trouble coming up with some linking idea, but as usual the me pulled through: “Nature’s Girl” – The Jelly Jam, Ty Tabor is the reason I ever picked up a guitar in the first place.