Tag: Nature

Perspective

Perspective

by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment
amazing balance blur boulder
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So I had an absolutely brutal install on monday night.  I install computer systems in supermarkets which generally we have to do after hours as to not interrupt the business.  Needless to say I didn’t arrive home until dawn was just creeping up on the world (ok, just New Jersey) around 5am… have you ever worked through the night ?  A strange experience to try and fight off tired but not OD on coffee.  But enough about my job (it is decidedly boring to talk about, I much imagine I am like a butterfly in a blank box).  So working like that screws you all up (hey, we all have our routines) so my phone started to rumble around 4pm and my blood responded by starting to boil (I was literally exhausted and not wanting to deal with work).. so of course my mind starts in like a sneaky suggestion “screw this job, I should tell my boss off, I should quit”… and then, a moment, of zen I suppose, I said to myself “self, stop!”.   I walked outside (lovely day) and thought “dead people would kill to have your life”… and that is right.  So I sat down on my porch, took a deep breath, and wrote this…

“peeking” 6.26.18

little rays of sunlight

sneaking past the trees

illuminates corridors

in the gaps between the leaves

 

late afternoon

the light summer breeze

carries refreshment

a caress

just like yours

but not quite the same

little rays of sunlight

diffused by the setting day

does this poem succeed ? I wonder.  I was sitting there and there was like this lens flare in-between the leaves across the street.  I could feel the warmth of the sun and just relax…. and realize I don’t have it so bad.  I think perspective is important.  Should that be taught in schools ?  Instead of just 12 times 13 ?  Should we teach kids skills to cope with life not just readin’, writin’, and ‘rithmatic ?  Just something I was kicking around the ole tin can that is my head.  I don’t know if it is because I am older now and more thoughtful or am I just a slow learner when it comes to the philosophical trough.

music?  sure, I always think about it… I play guitar (not as well as a I could after all these years)… so I gravitate to guitar playing…  so here is some slick playing in a swing setting Eric Gales – Double Dippin

So Fate and I…

So Fate and I…

by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

“I insist”
so, I sat down for a cup of coffee with Fate
actually, I am sitting by myself because she is late
(so typical of her)

been a long time since we caught up
so long I can’t even remember how we first met
I really shouldn’t be surprised
I’ve known her for basically my entire life
I really don’t think she does it to be rude
I know she has a lot to do and lots of other people to see
I remember how she would tell me about work
and she felt like she had been there “forever”
how every time she got through a pile of work
there would magically appear another
so, I get it
but I must admit (between me and you) it is still a touch annoying

I guess I just have great anticipation
she always has something interesting to say
and the stories…
man! the stories, she has the best stories
I always tell her she should write a book
but of course she would say
“you know my stories do not work that way,
I have to tell them in person, person to person”
so then I suggest she should do some stand up comedy
(she is very funny you know, a bit dry but very clever once you get used to her twists and turns)
so she would reply
“ugh, knowing me, and you know me, I would have to come up with a new act every night, and that is just exhausting”
of course I agree on reflection
but you always want your friends to ride their talent to full potential
I know she does great at her job,
so I really shouldn’t worry,
human nature I guess
is that her car?
no, I think she has a newer model

(maple latte please)

oh, here she comes
(finally…)
I wave
oh no
she has brought a guest…
…
death!

nature brook creek stream
Photo by Jaymantri on Pexels.com

My notes are usually up front but I wanted to flip the script…. because, why not?  I wrote this while digging in the middle of a brook for fossils today…  must have been a strange (amusing) view, I am up to my boots in muck and the idea hits, so I had to scramble to the bank in thick schwup (sound) steps through muddy sand, dry my hands, pull my journal out of the plastic bag, and scramble these words, the whole time cursing the dumb pen I packed (because damn it sucks but I can’t bring my Mont Blanc or Cross into the woods).  The idea of treating abstract ideas as people is of course not new but I don’t recall if I have done this before.  My personal favorite at this is Neil Gaiman, to say he is a master story teller is under selling.  Check out this video with him and Stephen Fry, I found it utterly entertaining.  So, back to my post.  Fate? Pre-destination ?  What do you think of fate?  I vacillate.. we think we know so much, but in a universe defined by billions of years how can our intellect really grasp how this all works given our blink of an existence?  We all want to believe we have free will.. but how can we actually prove that … … … ?

Friday Night Follies…

Friday Night Follies…

by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment
hot iron steel glow
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I am a wordsmith, truly my trade, a pen is my hammer, paper is my forge, I love to play with language in any form, so another week has passed and as is my habit with sharing my refrains, time for some lighter things, I am feeling a strain of Twain, I say that not to boast but with deference and irreverence to old man Clemens, so enjoy, these are just for pun, go out into the world and blow her a kiss, she deserves it…

I call this series animal crackers… and as usual I wrote these all at the same time, enjoy my cornball goofball sideswipes (hopefully, I don’t know, you tell me)

rats have long tales
but do not write books

the possum was the life of the party
until he passed out

fish are quite mischievous
they always skinny dip

song birds fill the air with music
but don’t take them to a Karaoke bar

worms, like children
sometimes eat dirt

amphibious scenery
newt beach

triceratops did not spin

killer whales
only have black tie affairs
although penguins are invited
pandas, skunks and zebras
all feel slighted

snakes? complainers
constant belly aches
and scrapes

a kangaroo’s preferred drink?
served on the rocks
hop scotch

a dog stops and stares
dramatic paws
the same dog joined the navy
and became a sub woofer

a lion’s residence ?
main street

snails love westerns
“happy trails”

an elephant’s car
has two trunks

the octopus
has eight cats

the starfish
is surprisingly dim

bats tend to hang out
to all hours
but they make great air traffic controllers

Musical selection ?  Let’s go amusing… to assimilate the mood, a little strange funk to accommodate the junk I thunk above…  Mr. Bungle “Squeeze Me Macaroni”… a band fronted by Michael Patton (Faith No More, a damn interesting guy) mixing funk, metal.. and well just about everything.  oh, and please tell me you get why I linked bats to air traffic control.. hello out there? is anybody out there? (pink floyd) damn, sometimes I feel like the Dennis Miller of blogs with my references…

Live poetry jam #2

Live poetry jam #2

by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I must be in a mood today… the only way I could have posted this faster is with my brain… I must admit this experiment is intriguing.

edit 6/21 12:51am… just cleaning this up for looks, that is my actual scribble there, I was in a supermarket working on a self checkout (I’m a NCR certified tech, you know, to pay the bills)… I think people must have found me weird scribbling away on paper and then furiously trying to learn the wordpress app in the maelstrom of a busy market.

6.20.18

horse and carriage

traveling about this map of roads

might I pick up a companion

how will I know?

might we ride awhile

and let the story tell

hearts and clubs

as they fell

from hands

the cards

horses always forward

carriage half full

(Live from Jackson Heights, Queens NY)

Drive by…

Drive by…

by David Koblentz ♥ 1 Comment
person holding fountain pen
Photo by John-Mark Smith on Pexels.com

Live poetry, i would say the ink is still drying but i use a modern pen not a cool antique… which reminds me i might quite like one of those… posting from my car and phone for the first time…

edit 6/21 1:02am… just cleaning this up for aesthetics, I also want to note that I think it is important to capture moments and try to convey them. Robins are ultra common here.. but not so in other places, I think we get familiar and forget things like that.  Robins are very much land dwellers and territorial little maniacs (with bright blue eggs).. anyway, their behavior is so distinct, look around, pay attention, tell me about your reality.

6.20.18

I was talking to a robin just now

walking to my car

robin hopping

I tried to explain

we are going the same way

the robin

did not listen

and finally

had to fly away

Simplicity…

Simplicity…

by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment
purple petaled flower on white surface
Photo by Jess Watters on Pexels.com

Sometimes less is more (or so I have heard).  I have a busy mind which runs and races.  There was a time I tried to subdue this engine and be “like everyone else”… but I am tired of that and willing to release the reins to see where it goes.  I used to have strict things in mind when it came to poetry… what exactly is it ? Is there a pure definition?  I imagine it is alive, like people, and diverse, like the community of minds here (and throughout the known world).  So even a simple form of simple words can hold the spark of imagination, the fire of inspiration, and capture the heart or light a thought… I wonder.

6.16.18

ego
broken

humble

6.16.18

I thought I had found

a four leaf clover

but I had

no such luck

6.16.18

fierce in name

the fear subsides

once you realize

dragonflies

do not bite

“dial” 4/26/18

why does it feel

like my sun is setting

when the clock-hands

only show noon

“dandelions” 4/27/18

last night

maybe three, four at most

this morning

a yard-full

of brazen yellow heads

threatening revolt

5/6/18

I look at my driveway

the only car is my own

I walk back inside

there is no one at home

5/14/18

power lines

bring light to millions

enlightenment to few

“ineffective” 5/22/18

a week

I weep

I pray

I fall

nothing changes

nothing at all

5/25/18

if time is a river

swim to the bank

dry off

does it stop

do you exist

“regrets” 5/28/18

the stem was cut

before the flower can bloom

now it will never be

a flower

 

“scheduled arrival” 6/2/18

I am sure

upon my death

I will arrive

right on time

“pain” 6/1/18

if this poem is a promise

these words are poison

stitched into wounds

forever broken

musical accompaniment ? Eric Johnson – Fatherly Downs

In the same breath EJ inspires me.. and makes me want to throw my guitars out the window…

The Weekend is for…

The Weekend is for…

by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment
blogger text
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

whimsy.  I have two whole days off (a rarity) so I will be out and about here in New Jersey digging for fossils… yes, you can do that here.  One of the best kept secrets of NJ (ahem, besides myself) is Big Brook Park.  You are allowed to just hop in and dig (so I do). But anyway here is a silly little thing I threw together the other day while looking at my stat page (as most of us surely do here on wordpress).  Surely this is an inside joke for wordpress folks only… so, find art wherever you may roam (or blog).

“login” 6.8.18

wordpress

my domain

free with a plan

upgrade

menu

view site stats plan

manage

pages and posts

counting visitors

coveting followers

as close as I come to “commercial” music… R.I.P. Shannon, saw these guys at woodstock 94 (maybe I will tell you about that sometime, I wonder where Jodi is…hope you are well out there!), they were great…  “No Rain” – Blind Melon

Trying to be a good person…

Trying to be a good person…

by David Koblentz ♥ 1 Comment
selective focus photo of pink flowering tree
Photo by Isaac Pollock on Pexels.com

Not sure if there is such a thing.  I am trying though for what it is worth.  I think deep down (or not really at depth) we all know what we should do but we actually do moment to moment varies.  If everyone moved in a certain way the world would surely be better… but is that the way everyone thinks? or stops to think? or should think ?  Sometimes I look around and think everyone here is dead, more or less true.. so what does it matter?  I guess I am searching for the answers also.  Smarter and wiser people than I have pondered these questions and will… for ages.  Maybe words are my sanctuary or at least a temporary refuge.

“unfamiliar” 4/1/18

I saw a creek I do not know

I have driven this stretch

of the parkway

a thousand fold

a body of water

a basin of life

flows into a forge

becomes a river

and the sea

begins

off mile-marker 131b

dmk Note: Mile markers or more specifically exits on the garden state parkway (GSP) are a very new jersey thing. For us there is a common occurrence “hey, where are you from? what exit?”.  I do not claim to know if other states are like this.  The GSP runs like a spine and in a way is the spine of the state from tip to toe or point to cape (as it were).. it is a part of being from this state as much as being New York’s little brother.

“easterly” 4/1/18

my neighbor’s easter chatter

in their backyard

a letter to another neighbor

washed up on my lawn

from these late spring storms

 

I return the lost parcel to the plastic mailbox

filled with mail already

how odd (for a sunday)

 

I’ve known this place

my whole life

familiar

 

a woman

walking her dog

whom I do not know

 

easter is letting out

as my neighbor’s family disperses

to travel to their homes

“goodbye grandma” a little voice

followed by the heightened whine

of the minivan pulling up the block

 

the sun is almost set now

peeking behind fifteen lynnwood

I guess I had not noticed

the buds on the trees

ready to burst and transform this tract

once and again

from pale green slumber

to lush with leaves

soon we’ll have summer

there is always hope

I tell myself.

“poison” 4/3/18

a toxic house is poisonous to all inhabitants

walls pulsing seething

membrane

throbbing beating

even in the calm still of night

labored – breathing

constant – pounding

never – sleeping

doors closed, air stifles

cripples motion

throats crack

strangles the air

choking choking

4/3/18

are you a wolf?

no

but yet you hunt

are you prey?

no

but yet you are stalked

As is my custom (and my burning desire to spread good tunes) here is some music to enjoy… “Steve Morse – Modoc” … known well in musical circles (one of my favorite guitar players) but outside those circles probably  not so much.

Horses…

Horses…

by David Koblentz ♥ 0 Leave a Comment
two black horse on field
Photo by Jan Laugesen on Pexels.com

I really did not plan on posting this the day before the Belmont Stakes (really, I swear).  I wonder where inspiration really comes from.  Divine spark ? (as it were).  I have always sort of written poems in these veins… sort of like Ozymandias (one of the first poems I really remember striking me).  This is another work that is word for word (sans punctuation) exactly what I jotted down in an instance (inspiration – Divine Equine?).

 

“once a stallion” 3/28/2018

I was once a glorious Stallion.

thundering through fertile fields,

as carved in stone

from the Roman age

power , engraved

in a glance

my mere stance falls tall

cast of my shadow confidence upon

in the noon sun hour

glistening to behold.

DMK note: R.I.P. to Anthony Bourdain, I suppose we have all contemplated suicide but it still comes as a shock when we see someone who seemingly “has it all” go that way.  Take happiness where you can get it… and hold on to it… as long as you have breath you have hope.

music : My Dying Bride “For My Fallen Angel”