I try talking to you
with spoken words.
Silence.
I stare into the past
waiting for a sign.
Nothing.
I sit in stillness
timing my breath.
Exhale.
I exchange burdens
in return for life.
Category: Creative Writing
resilient
the storm is fierce,
but mountains know
not to resist.
** Photo: Mount Bierstadt, August 5, 2017
front range
mountains stacked
upon mountains.
layered rows of rock
compressed by time
and the crushing
weight of trauma
and energy,
colliding to create
a scarred version
of perfection.
** The photo was taken a few days ago after hiking just below the summit of Mt. Bierstadt in Colorado.
Along the Way
The road is worn by years
of heavy wear, and I breathe
the familiar scent of trees,
brush, and wild flowers mixed
with slow decay. But then
it was there, around a turn,
and startled my mid-day trance:
three small stones stacked
upon a stump, still wet
from their home in the creek.
You were nowhere in sight.
A Week or More
So I’ll be on vacation for the next several days. The triple digit Texas heat is a great excuse to get out of town and head to the mountains. My posts over the next several days will either be photos or repeats…but hopefully inspiration will strike.
Be well and write on. You never know what the next word will uncover.
Anthony
Photo: Windmill farm in West Texas.
34
so it is here
strange to look at
to consider
to comprehend
a number
without a signifier
a signified without
a number
between the years
are days minutes seconds
measurements
of past
nothing to show for it
a dream
a vision
did it happen
only if remembered
so 34 measurements
are gone
how many more
will tick by
like reflectors
on roadways
illuminated
by lights
12.3.2008
Discovery
The photographer scurries
through the park, his camera
swinging across his chest.
His eyes disclose
that he captured something,
so he hurries to the darkroom
where a revelation of black
and white awaits.
Subdue the colors of day
where shades of light permeate
the façade of all we believe.
reflection
in time
we recognize
the self
but seldom
the self
we recognize
in time
Writing Process
What is your writing process? How do you get from point A to point B to clicking the Publish button on the blog?
Here’s the process that helped me get back into writing poetry more consistently:
Week One: Write a poem every day. It doesn’t matter whether it is thirty lines or three. I just write and see what appears on the paper. No revisions. Once I finish, I don’t look at it again until the following week.
Week Two: Revisit each poem from Week One. I find that looking at a poem with fresh eyes helps me spot a line that I don’t like or find a better way to say what I was thinking. In a sense, I lovingly shred each poem to pieces through revision and rewording. Sometimes it hurts, but it helps me create a better image in a poem.
I continue this process for several weeks, and then look back at what I think is “finished” and revise again if necessary.
How about you?
A Starting Line
I stumbled upon a line in an old journal that has stumped me. I’ve tried working with it and just haven’t found the right words or image. So I’m going to leave it here, a starting line of sorts, for anyone interested in creating something from it. If so, I’d like to see what you make of it. Perhaps the line isn’t mine to finish and instead belongs to one of you.
be gentle to the shadows who bear the weight of all we’ve lost
Awaiting the Images 