Creativity lands in unfamiliar,
communicates with the unknown –
unformed connections invite themselves in
I am open
Religiosity emerges from the crypt –
impoverished, depraved, and hungry –
overwhelmed, I am embarrassed, enraged –
should not have let my guard down.
Unsettled,
worry’s guest –
change binds me,
spineless…
this waiting is venom,
caution enticing,
pursue transformation,
big, small – and diversion
to eliminate the parasites.
Intellect needs a cure,
neediness burdensome –
taking charge messy.
Responsibility my own.
Rain teases, trickles,
more sweat than shower
air thick and smothering
sits on my chest.
I exhale in puffs
willing chest to rise
begrudging this outing
Cardinal whistles
happy scales, while
somber sky squeezes
a single droplet
kisses my skin
and then explodes
pellet-like missiles
of water soaking
clothes cling
as a river traces
contours of face
body melting
into flow
and through it all
cardinal sings
a laughing melody.
Relentless this turmoil,
fear-driven storm
battering psyche,
beating me down…
Hope trails,
a gossamer thread,
a faint flutter,
refusing to die.
(Tuesday are for Twitter. Â Follow me @Vjknutson.)
Fierce and majestic,
the bald eagles scour
the river, while I,
in awe stand witness.
Last year,
it was a mated pair
whose white crowns
commanded audience
Now, the offspring,
perches princely
claims this tract
and my allegiance
Feathered grandeur
and piercing eyes
a royal presence
somehow coherent.
(Inspired by the promptings of Ragtag Community: prince, and Fandango’s: coherent. Â Also linking up with Granny Shot It’s: BOTD. Â The image is from personal collection and available through Society6.)
On Patriarchal watch
the feminine is on trial –
crimes noted, abetted,
intervention and consequence
murdered –
suspects ride a pendulum
where witnesses are criminal
and the vulnerable run
no peace to be had
while justice sleeps.
Majesty is a tree
quiet strength
and vulnerability
no more sheltered
from acts of nature
than I – none
impenetrable,
although youth
believes it –
days when strength
equates with rigidity,
resistant arrogance
A right fighter, was I,
iron will, in control –
never measuring up
such foolish nonsense –
destructive, no doubt,
took illness to educate
recognize courage in
withdrawal, merits
of inviting understanding
physical limitations
birth potential –
gracious acceptance
surrender of struggle
open, vulnerable,
rooted, like a tree.
My muse speaks in muffled tones,
a susurrus of inspiration – too bad
I am hard of hearing.
(Tuesdays are for Twitter. Â Find me @Vjknutson.)
Looking for a rock at present,
preferably a boulder,
might dig myself a cave
and await resurrection
sacrilegious, I know,
but the tasks are overwhelming
and the words – just too much!
I mean, eleutheromania?
The mere utterance enough
to make me run for cover
and now I am to believe
that pulchritrudinous
equates with utter beauty –
oh my raspy voice
stumbles over the words
as brain loudly protests.
Too much, I say –
will have to save creativity
for another day
Meantime,
I’ll be under
that rock.
(Prompts today elicited irreverence: Â Reena’s Exploration challenge – see for yourself; and Ragtag Community’s unusual word; slightly tamed by Fandango’s “raspy“. )
Isolated, insulated, ignored –
islands we are not –
relationships define us –
we dance,
weave,
intertwine
stories grown
from love,
struggle,
encounters
Yearning for love’s
reciprocity innate –
to delight in discovery,
sludge through pain,
emerge stronger
markers of existence.
(Revisiting older pieces with a new eye. Â Existence first appeared July 2013.)
One Woman's Quest 