Sue Vincent

Productive Reality ~ ekphrastic poem ~ with audio

/ Ken Gierke / rivrvlogr / 31 Comments
 

Productive Reality

Productive RealityExpand your mind. Suspend
disbelief and bring relief. Seize
that fine line between yesterday
and tomorrow. This moment,
any moment, is yours to uncover.
Whatever you find, wherever
you find it, you’ll still be here
when you get there; always
be there, even when you return.

The deeper you go the more
you’ll know. With no load
to carry, the world is in your hands.
Experience sonic expansion.
More than memory, the mansion
of your mind is a palace, no less
than the world that surrounds you.
More than you know,
and more than that, awaits you.

This ekphrastic poem is my response to Day One at napowrimo.net, where the prompt is to write a poem inspired by the animated version of “Seductive Fantasy”, by The Sun Ra Arkestra.

NaPoWriMo 2021

~ Day 1 ~

Also shared with OH MY! It’s April Fools’ Day!
(or Open Link Night) at dVerse ~ Poets Pub.

Friendship ~ for Sue

/ Ken Gierke / rivrvlogr / 34 Comments

Friendship

FriendshipPortal
Sharing
Relevance
Perspective
Manifestation
Understanding
Interconnectedness
Inspiration

Joy, like a flame
A gift of enlightenment
The warmth of intrinsic value
Closer than the far horizon
Saying goodbye

One aspect of my discovery of the community of poets at WordPress is the connections I feel I’ve made. While we cannot completely know all of the thoughts of those who are miles away and of whom we’ve never met, I think it’s possible to understand them through their poetry and to share that connection. Sue Vincent has been one of those connections. Sue has been much more than a poet, but there is poetry in everything she has written. She has weighed heavily on my mind since she told us of her grave illness, nearly six months ago. Since then, I have written four poems with her in mind, and I’ve culled some words from those poems to create this poem.

She will be missed. If you read anything of Sue’s, please read this.

Photo courtesy of Helen Jones.

That Final Destination

/ Ken Gierke / rivrvlogr / 14 Comments

That Final Destination

That Final Destination

(right click image for larger view in new tab)

The beauty held in the far horizon
cannot be gauged until it is experienced.
There is no chill in the unknowing,
only an awareness of heights scaled
and heights waiting to be achieved,
the warmth of their intrinsic value.

Light or dark, each moment
along the way brings me closer
to enlightenment, the hindsight
to reveal the gift within each moment,
in that moment when all fog is lifted.

This poem, with 99 syllables, is a response to a challenge at The Carrot Ranch, which was to write prose of 99 words or a poem of 99 syllables, inspired by the provided photo (above). Although I inadvertently submitted an earlier draft of 98 syllables, the challenge was for a worthy cause, which was to raise funds to assist Sue Vincent with expenses incurred as she struggles with her illness. The entire collection of responses can be found here.

The Waiting Portal ~ #writephoto

/ Ken Gierke / rivrvlogr / 8 Comments

The Waiting Portal

Never far,
yet always distant.

Darkness or light?
What is the relevance?

Some questions
remain unanswered.

Obscured perception will
one day open to distinction.

What lies beyond?

KL Caley has taken over as torchbearer for the photo challenge started five years ago by Sue Vincent. This poem is my response to Beyond the Door – #writephoto Renewal, which uses the first photo used by Sue in her challenge.

the journey ~ found poem

/ Ken Gierke / rivrvlogr / 26 Comments

the journey
a gift of love, life, and Mother Nature

to write of hope
of survival, like a flame
to have mattered is a joy

to become a better vessel
letting go of illusions
learning how to say goodbye

tomorrow is an uncertainty,
rebirth an existence beyond this one
more than belief… the Design

brought into manifestation
part of the One, still part of the One
the fruits of our learning

Creation’s understanding
the One is All… separation
through loss or death is illusion

seeing both sides of life
we know how deep love goes
in the end, choosing the way forward

learn from living
even more, dare to dream
love is always enough

This is a found poem. I hesitate to say it is a blackout poem, because I would not dream of blacking out one word from its source. Sue Vincent’s health is failing, and with no way of knowing when her time will have run its course, she has put into words her thoughts on life and what it will mean to be gone. The full body of that message, The Last Post? can be found at The Silent Eye. By no means is my poem meant to be a summation of her words. It is inspired by her message.

 

Known, Yet Unknown

/ Ken Gierke / rivrvlogr / 38 Comments

Known, Yet Unknown

A friend you’ve never met
shares,
and you are the better for it.

Vision, with an eye for detail,
provides inspiration.

Vision, broad in perspective,
raises questions, brings understanding.

Vision regarding history
offer an interconnectedness.

Vision of the earliest moments
becomes a portal to the future.

And though still obscure,
as the final moment approaches,
a friend you’ll never meet
is willing to share it.

for Sue Vincent

Photo courtesy of Helen Jones

Serenity’s End ~ #writephoto

/ Ken Gierke / rivrvlogr / 43 Comments

Serenity’s End

The heartache of our final moment shared,
at a distance greater with each passing second,
cannot be denied. You, nearing the horizon,
on a sea of sadness as I watch under a gray sky
bluer than any we have known together.

This is my response to Thursday Photo Prompt: Serenity #writephoto,
from Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo, with her photo.

Also shared with Open Link Night #273 at dVerse ~ Poets Pub.

Secret Beach ~ with audio ~ #writephoto

/ Ken Gierke / rivrvlogr / 11 Comments

Secret Beach

Silence in the sounds of nature,
my footsteps just another element
lost in the whoosh of waves
on this, my lone companion,

a deserted beach not so deserted.
Seclusion amidst the raw edge of nature,
a hundred gulls the voice in my ears.

Removed from myself in this isolation,
the silent voice of my thoughts
surrounds me, a greater force
of freedom craved, achieved.

Ever-changing, from tranquil to wrathful,
from granite gray to aqua, this beach,
this enigma, is as uncharted as my life,
never knowing what lies beyond the horizon.

Here, I am myself,
unquestioned, unchallenged
as I think, consider, compose.

Inspired by and distilled from “My Secret Beach,” by Keith Hillman, at Keith’s Ramblings. Thank you to Keith for graciously allowing me to post this poem.
Please visit the original, here.

This also serves as a response to Thursday Photo Prompt: Glisten #writephoto,
from Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo, with her photo.