Ebbing

•January 21, 2014 • 5 Comments

I miss the sea
Her brine in my sinuses
Clearing, cleaning, leading me
Towards her lace, chasing
The weightlessness that lingers
Deep in my brain and bones
After floating free in her belly
The taste of her tears on my tongue
Disguising the salt of my own
Crystals glinting, coating my flesh
For hours after I have left her side
The tiny sands she leaves behind, twining
My hair reminding me to let her stay
Thick, unwashed, and wild
The ache from who I was, unburdened
When I was with her
I miss the sea

— A.R.

20140121-170118.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Married to the Sea by Clare Elsaesser

Posted in Identity, Nature, Poetry
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Outside My Window (repost)

•January 21, 2014 • Leave a Comment

Snowflakes and crows
My thoughts with the trees
Chase after each other
On the wintrey breeze

Black feathers crisp
Against hills covered white
Sun blotted out by the grey
Tops of trees swaying slight

Bare branches like arms
They are reaching for me
Embraced by chilly dark dancing
Of snow, crows, and trees

All at once wrapped in a silence
Bundled up by the drift
Minuet moves to stillness
Like those mountains, I sit

— A.R.

Denver

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo taken by me in Keystone, Colorado

(Reposted in honor of the snow coming our way today.)

Posted in Meditation, Nature, Poetry
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My Bug

•January 20, 2014 • Leave a Comment

My daughter is sick
Soon I will be too
Cuddle and hug
Nothing else I can do

A back rub here
And a lullaby there
Books, broth, and banter
And her softest bear

— a.r.

20140120-123702.jpg

Photoshop image found on mayhemandmuse.com

Posted in Family, Humanity, Motherhood, Poetry, Whimsy
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Gray Day Revisted

•January 20, 2014 • Leave a Comment

Nothing

But rain dripping deep and hollow

On the roof a heartbeat

Irregular

Nothing

But cold coffee in my mug

Reheated and forgotten and reheated

Forgotten

Nothing

But churning in my stomach

Growling at me to be filled

Knotted

Nothing

But the smallest of blood flow reaching my toes

Unnoticed until I stand

Collapsing

Nothing

Published, but drafts of poems

Edited and waiting

Delaying

Nothing

To do today but file away

The moments as they dribble past

Drab and gray

Nothing

–A.R.

Gray Day

Trees, Clouds, Gray Day by Tom Brown

Posted in Food & Wine, Humanity, Meditation, Nature, Poetry, Writing
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Meditation Separation

•January 19, 2014 • 2 Comments

Have you ever meditated with a wedgie
It leaves you feeling separated and quite edgy
Your panties in a bunch
I’ve more than just a hunch
It brings you back to when you were a fledgling

— a.r.

20140119-143733.jpg

Oil painting by Tikva Adler

Posted in Body, Meditation, Poetry, Whimsy
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Say Something (again)

•January 19, 2014 • 2 Comments

Say something nice to me,
Not because I am good,
Or even slightly worthy.

Say something nice to me,
Just because I am,
Trying, living, making an effort.

Say something sweet to me,
While my own bitter tongue,
Lashes me so.

Say something sweet to me,
To tide me over,
Until I believe and am satiated.

Say something kind to me,
Because your voice soothes,
When self-doubt scorches my soul.

Say something kind to me,
As if yours were the last,
I would hear on this earth.

Say something, anything, to me,
To remind me that I even exist,
At all.

— A.R.

Chair

Posted in Family, Friendship, Humanity, Marriage, Poetry
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A False God (repost)

•January 18, 2014 • 10 Comments

I find salvation each morning

In that first cup of coffee

No matter my sins from the night before

There is a promise rising

From that warm mug

That pulls me close, gathers me

Plays with me and offers

More time, more energy, more

But then I have consumed it

Nothing remains

But the porcelain at the bottom

Barely coated and cold

By the time I pour that second serving

The potential has faded

And only my habit remains

–A.R.

coffee nick knight

Photograph by Nick Knight

Posted in Food & Wine, God, Poetry
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Damn

•January 17, 2014 • 2 Comments

A dam has been breached
A boundary broken
Gears knocked loose
There is a flood of me
Pouring onto pages
I’ve no choice
But to ride with it
Rushing
Swim in it
Let it carry me
Wherever we are going
If I fight it I will drown
Too soon
For death waits anyway
At the end of rapids
Jagged rocks or dried bed
Best to be swept by water
Drenched
I will feel its flow around me
Now while I am in it
I will not regret
The rupture

— A.R.

20140117-142602.jpg

Bible Dam by Jacek Yerka

Posted in Death, Identity, Nature, Poetry, Writing
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New Skin

•January 17, 2014 • Leave a Comment

My cells divide faster
Than I can allow
Roots are quite digging in
And they must be pulled out

That same spot I’ve seen
For many years upon years
Mutates right in front of me
But the division ends here

I will cut it away from me
If I have to, by force
Or I’ll let someone else do it
With my eyes open of course

The sting will be small
Perhaps we’ll numb it a bit
At once I’m healing upward
No longer frightened by it

Unless there are cells
That are traveling, invasion
Then much stronger poisons
Will be used and I’ll take them

I will root out the parts of me
Not serving me well
Letting new skin take over
Perhaps stronger as well

— A.R.

1842 Series Olivier Chomienne Face

Photo from Olivier Chomienne’s “1842” series

Posted in Body, Death, Identity, Meditation, Poetry
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Tragic Impermanence

•January 16, 2014 • Leave a Comment

Is tragedy preventable
We like to think it so
From one to next
Each single one
Appears controllable

But if we ask in general
The answer’s surely no
The variance
Impermanence
The only truth we know

So I say allow it all
Each day that comes and goes
Do not prevent
Embodiment
From elation to sorrow

— A.R.

20140116-140241.jpg

Painting by Elaine Despins at Artodyssey

A response to a post on speculativenonbuddhism.com blog.
I think my poetry represents my process more than my prose,
and is no less valuable.

Posted in Body, Death, Humanity, Identity, Loss, Meditation, Poetry
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