free verse

My Video Poem Appears on BCTV

/ rivrvlogr / 27 Comments

My Video Poem Appears on BCTV

My video poem, “transmission remission,” is featured in the NAP Connection presentation of Spirits of Isolation – January to June 2020, an international exhibition of artwork produced during the Coronavirus Pandemic which was broadcast on 24 June 2020 on BCTV. Mine is the only poem presented and appears at 19:52 of the program, which is 55 minutes in length, but I am just one of the 90 artists featured.

Artists were asked to show how they were surviving during the COVID-19 pandemic through art created from January to June 2020. Hundreds of works of art are seen in the presentation, which includes paintings, sculptures, multimedia art, and photography, with some of the art associated with the lock down and isolation.

My thanks go to Organizers Ron Schira and Lisa Foster for including my poem in this presentation.

NAP Connection is a production of the New Arts Program, Kutztown, Pennsylvania.

BCTV (Berks Community Television) is a public access cable provider in Berks County (Reading), Pennsylvania.

As Above ~ ekphrastic poem

/ rivrvlogr / 33 Comments

As Above

so below, within the pulse that emerges
star fields forming just beyond

flames engulfing, just as quickly receding
depth in layers revealing what was always there

currents that conceal nothing and everything
eclipsing perception even as stars dance

their light washing away all you perceive
offering instead an amorphous birth

life in starlight

This ekphrastic poem is my response to the prompt for Reena’s Exploration Challenge #141 – Free Flow, which is to express a free flow of thoughts inspired by As Above, a video by artist Roman Hill showing the surface of a fluid chemical reaction accompanied by a pensive score.

Also shared with Open Link Night #269 at dVerse Poets Pub.

Image: screenshot from the video “As Above”

 

AS ABOVE from Roman Hill on Vimeo.

Transition ~ with audio

/ rivrvlogr / 13 Comments


 

Transition

Wait for the brink of the falls to touch the roiling waters at its base,

or the maple to bend its branches to kiss the leaves lying at its feet.

One drop will follow another, and the precipice remain.

New buds will open, and the tree stand tall.

But autumn leaves will crest those falls,

kiss the waters waiting below.

I will breathe the mist hanging motionless.

The moment will end.

My life will continue,

each moment on the cusp.

“Transition” originally appeared at Vita Brevis in October 2018.

Image: The American Falls at Niagara Falls ~ 13 August 2009, 10:26pm

Transfiguration

/ rivrvlogr / 33 Comments

Transfiguration

Years have passed
since you emerged,
and still your wings unfold.

A dark world
would make you a victim.
Don’t live in its shadow.

Certain, within yourself,
pride is yours.
Wear it.

This is my response to dVerse Poetics: On Pride. Anmol asks us to write a poem on pride, gender fluidity, sexuality, protest, et al. I have seen how cruel the world can be and the damage it can inflict.

The recent US Supreme Court decision regarding employment discrimination, with the inclusion of LGBTQ, is a step forward. There are many more steps before us. Other poems I have written relative to this matter can be found here.

Image source: screen capture from this YouTube video (Nature in Motion).

fws: a journal of literature & art ~ Improvisational Collection

/ rivrvlogr / 22 Comments

My poem “One True Constant” appears at formidable woman sanctuary as a part of fws: a journal of literature & art, Renga Issue, Spring 2020. The issue is an “improvisational collection,” updated as submissions are accepted. Poets are asked to join by submitting a few lines/stanzas that are “responsive to the evolving work.” So read on, here, and consider adding your words to this great project.
Many thanks to d. ellis phelps, editor of formidable woman sanctuary for including my poem.

Ken G.

Pieter Caspersen van Naerden  [1600-1664]

/ rivrvlogr / 22 Comments

Pieter Caspersen van Naerden       [1600-1664]

In your world,
where Amsterdam was New,
would I have known you?
We are not all that different.

Horsepower hauled my loads,
it’s true, but it would seem
alien to you, with oxen
drawing your wagon of spirits.

I never delivered beer,
but I’ve enjoyed drinking it.
Did you quaff a pint or two of ale
after a hard day’s work?

Your beer served warmer than lagers
and ales of today, had you seen
another fifty years you might have
enjoyed a porter or a stout, my favorites.

Across ten generations,
from one teamster to another,
here’s to you,
Pieter Caspersen van Naerden.

This poem is my response to Poetics: Back to Life, from Laura at dVerse Poets Pub, with the prompt to write a poem by reconstituting a dead person, one that is unknown to us, neither family nor famous. I’ve taken the liberty of choosing someone who may, or may not, be from my family tree. I’ve yet to confirm that.

A Dream of Peace

/ rivrvlogr / 22 Comments

A Dream of Peace

Beyond the horizon, that point
between here and there,
now and then, there is peace.

Freedom from strife,
often imagined, is the norm,
and harmony is enjoyed by all.

Beyond the horizon, the moon
calls to me. I wait for her to cast
her light on that peaceful scene.

This poem is my response to Triplets, the prompt from Frank at dVerse Poets,
calling for poems utilizing tercets.

The next full moon is at 2:12pm CST, 05 June 2020. Clouds are moving in tonight and expected through tomorrow, so I hope to catch a glimpse of the near-full moon tonight. I could use some peaceful moonlight. The top photo is of last month’s full moon.

*The second photo was taken this evening – 99% full – 05 June 2020
(Click images for larger view in new tab.)

POTUS Ulcerous ~ video poem

/ rivrvlogr / 10 Comments

POTUS Ulcerous

What is so appealing about this ulcer on the American soul,
this anathema to everything that is great about this country,
that anyone would be willing to encourage it to ooze and fester,
just to see it consume whatever flaws they perceive
to be plaguing our society, even as it sows anger and hatred?
Only when it is excoriated, stripped of all its power,
and removed completely, can there be healing.

The More They Stay the Same ~ quadrille

/ rivrvlogr / 25 Comments

The More They Stay the Same

Centuries of segregation
Legalized discrimination
Human rights violations

Racial inequality
Standard public policy

Finally recognized
Civil rights realized

As the decades slip away
Generations feel betrayed

Living still with bigotry
And police brutality

Dressed up in the guise of justice
Citizens deprived of justice

This is my response to Quadrille #105: Cry Havoc and Let SLIP the Dogs of War —
the prompt from Linda at dVersePoets Pub, which is to use the word slip
in a 44-word poem, with no required meter or rhyme.

This started as a simple, spare poem that I decided could be a quadrille:

A year slips away

A decade

A generation

Two

Bigotry and hatred
Remain

In the guise of justice
Belying justice

 

Image: screenshot of George Floyd dying as he’s choked by Derek Chauvin (25 May 2020)