Inching Toward The Abyss by Klaus J. Gerken 2012 Poems written 13 September 2012 Severed Where is the razor blade On a priceless morning When I need some blood? 12:34AM * Yoric God sends the fools To test the wise. Only no one knows How to distinguish Between them. Know thyself. 12:47AM * Toward Inching toward the abyss I look back and see nothing. 12:55AM * Future Alas poor Yoric Dream on. 12:59AM * Finale Walking ever walking down an endless road. 1:06AM * Continuity With the harvest done, I get ready for the spring. The work never ends, Even in the winter. 1:09AM * Firefly Even a small light Illuminates. 1:12AM * Poet Singular. 1:18AM * Love Merging into one Apart. 1:30AM * Speak! If you say nothing Expect nothing. Even a small victory Is important. 1:32AM * Future The past gave me a foundation: The rest is mine to build. 1:40AM * Me I am one of many: I am many in one. 1:41AM * Give and take If you only look to others for sustenance, Others cannot look for sustenance in you. 1:47AM * Reality If you admire yourself in the mirror, Notice that the image is reversed! 2:13AM * Fools Wisdom does not restrict itself to the wise. 2:37AM * Additional Poems Memories What you hold dear Doesn't always survive. 127am 27 Sep 2012 KJG * Epitaph Those who have no children die alone. 137am 27 Sep 2012 * Time Machine If I had one I would go into the perpendicular. KJG 154am 27 Sep 2012 * Reality Between the smell of your underwear and the fallacy of your intellect there is only the hope of absolution where the illusion of reality takes you a smear on the slab of hope gathered in eternity of what we comprehend Nothing 202am 27 Sep 2012 * Stench Admit it The smell of reality stinks! KJG 27 Sep 2012 352AM * Sanitized Was your hands so your body will never get used to the germs it has to fight to somehow keep you alive. 356AM27 Sep 2012 * Poem The perfect poem is out there somewhere when finally found it will go unnoticed. KJG 1025pm 27 Sep 2012 * What it takes You have many grand schemes, The Emperor said to Mozart, But you do not persuade: Persuade. KJG 1035pm 27 Sep 2012 * TV and War It's so sanitary, isn't it? No stench of death. Unless we can smell it, It's just more entertainment. KJG 6:31 PM 29 September 2012 (After watching the news). * The leaves are falling Autumn rejoices in the Blanket on the ground! * You do what you can I once picked up an injured sparrow sparrow in the middle of a busy intersection stopping traffic to the honking of horns and angry shouts from divers fuck off I said When I picked him up and cupped him gently in my hands I could feel him shaking to the beating tremors in his heart I took the sparrow across the street to a bench next to a flower pot and put him on the cool earth in a shady spot where he stayed quietly for many minutes and then slowly stirred shook himself chirped and flew away into the summer city sky free again KJG 1242am 2 October 2012 * Me Every time I see a dead squirrel on the street or a pigeon run over by a car I say a little Buddhist prayer just in case... KJG 1249am 2 October 2012 * Election Strategy Dangle a carrot they will always bite and pay for the carrot after you've been elected with their money. KJG 312am 5 October 2012 * Truth Lies. KJG 317am 5 Oct 2012 * English falsified Haiku The autumn slowly Settles, and the winter waits, A stalwart keel. KJG 324am 5 oct 2012 * Haiku The dawn is breaking: I'm still awake. Too much wine In my empty cup! KJG 328am 5 October 2012 * Word Sonnet The dawn is breaking: I'm still awake. Too much wine In my empty cup! KJG 328am 5 October 2012 * Autumn (not so serious) Haiku Autumn mist regales; Falling leaves give pleasure too: Squish, squish under foot. KJG 401am 5 octorber 2012 * Illuminato Yes, I see! KJG 403am 5 Oct 2012 * Poet I used to write long epic poems Now I write long epic poems Condensed into a few words. Age and learning Conquer everything! KJG 408am 5 Oct 2012 * Recovery "I hope to hop and skip some day, Like other children do, but for now I have to stay and sit all day, Until my legs arrive anew... You see a drunken driver struck Me down and didn't think to stop; I hope he get's the help he needs - I hear he needs a lot. And when I get my legs put on And learn to walk again, I think I'll go and help his kids... I hear they're mighty low." KJG 1258am 6 Oct 2012 * Sober attitude: Shoot to kill! Shoot to kill! Don't ever question Shoot to kill! Stoned attitude: Hey dude, Is it time to wake up already? KJG 2am 6 Oct 2012 * Discovery Search for the purest diamond in the dirt Never be afraid of the dirt. KJG 6 Oct 2012 * Vinegar As the rain washes tears away, the encrusted salt left behind reminds us of the disdain Nature has for man's disrespect for his own kind. One does not hunger for salt unless one is thirsty: Perhaps Vinegar will do. KJG 240am 6 Oct 2012 * HOW? How to live? How to be simple and literal? I was always searching for that word, spoken only once, but must confess, to having never found it, yet I should have searched for simple words... Even unconsecrated wine cannot be mixed with something better. -- Vladimir Holan (Translated by Klaus J. Gerken) * ON THE ADVANCE Nothing frees the poet, - no, not even death. There's always some extension to his soul - his being that's not locked away - that's touched by all his other lives; none of which are perfect as if they were in paradise - in truth, they are still in hell... -- Vladimir Holan (Translated by Klaus J. Gerken 1976/6 Oct 2012) * THE PINE How beautiful the old pine is, which you visited again today on the hill of your childhood memories; beneath it's murmur you reflect on the dead, and wonder if you might be next. Beneath its murmur, it's as if you have finished your last book and in silence must begin to weep a silent tear...so that these words of yours can grow... And about your life? You sacrificed the familiar for the unfamiliar... And fate? Well, only once it laughed with you, and that was when your back was turned... -- Vladimir Holan (Translated by Klaus J. Gerken 1976/6 October 2012) * Resolution I would hope that when everyone dies in the final holocaust our bodies will decay into compost to nurture the earth. KJG 427am 6 Oct 2012 * Validity The validity of this table is that it holds my glass of wine without destroying the illusion. KJG 709 pm 12 Oct 2012 * Civil The barbarians are at the gates; shall we sacrifice another slave to appease the gods? KJG 21 Oct 2012 * Autumn It is raining coloured leaves: The leaving has enveloped us. KJG 21 October 2012 627am * Grounding The question isn't what is life; the question is, what is consciousness! KJG 632am 21 Oct 2012 * SANDY To TS Eliot April is not the cruelest month; October is. KJG 31 Oct 2012 * Leaders Ah the leaders they have lost their vision They order everything killed that does not threaten They celebrate chessboard victories No mud or blood upon their spotless uniforms They are jealous of the common soldier They shout, "I will never send them into harm's way" Then they drink another toast to the freedom We have lost -- they have lost their vision They no longer consult common reason They bask in the glory of whatever pleases them They sign papers without ever understanding They harken only to their future endeavours They lie and cheat and have no scuples They protect the "common" individual after all. KJG (last 3 lines 1 Nov 2012) * hierarchy oh little fruit fly on my monitor how easily my thumb could crush you but I am not god and you are not my enemy! KJG 6:46pm 1 Nov 2012 * Path The wind in my sails is the direction I go; however simplistic, I have my own goal. Don't try to follow, I won't show the way; My way cannot lead you Where you have to go. KJG 1027pm 28 Nov 2012 * 2am reflection I was born without commitment And I'll die without a cause Sometimes it is better To leave love's labour lost Where two of us might gather One will gather frost From a holy witness To tue love's labour lost I don't expect however To find myself alone The mind is like a shadow On a silent telephone Oh please don't try to follow You will only end up worse I harbour no resentment And neither will your purse. KJG 2`6am 30 Nov 2012 * Starlight In shadows cast The night remains Dark. KJG 30 Nov 2012 246am * Crazy As A Loon There is something odd about the universe; oh yes, it's us! KJG 253am 30 Nov 2012 * Christmas letter to God Dear God, It's Christmas time again, and "peace on Earth" should wash over us all, so I would like to place an order for some sanity on this planet. I know you have a lot to do and probably a billion or so other planets to look after - isn't that why you sent down your son the last time, but this time could you send us a "saviour" who doesn't cause such division? I know it's not HIS fault; it was a fault of the times, but still a bit less ambiguity would go a long way for the message to get through. KJG 2 Dec 2012 * Ring... Ring! Me (In a sleepy voice): Hello? Pretty voice: Oh sorry, did I wake you up? Me: No. I'm working, the phone just startled me. Pretty voice: Well, the Lord wants you to know he loves you, and has sent me to indoctrinate (stumbles on indoctrinate - obviously reading) you into his scripture. Me: Really? Pretty voice: Yes, I can come over and we can read the Bible together. Me: I don't think you would want that. Pretty voice: Why not? Me: Because in 1984 I translated the New Testament and I would just destroy your faith. Pretty voice (quite confused): Oh, OK, thank you for letting me know. Hangs up. 30 Nov 2012 * My Cheek Itches Having a lot of fun at 1am. Don't know if it's night or day. Dark out, I must say; But could be just a cloud array. Quiet here tonight. Watching The Mummy on video. "You have to open graves To find girls to fall in love with?" She asks. It's a private task. Death doesn't speak games, And neither does life... Not quite sure what it means, But a dream is a dream; What ultimately does reality mean? KJG 109am 6 December 2012 * I see everything! Don't I? There was a moment that I thought... And a moment I thought not... Strange how we conceive The questions of our knowledge Clothed in supreme redress Of functional permutations. It is not how we perceive things But how things perceive us. If that sounds like a fallacy, It is. Guided by no one, the universe Exists -- a fleeting glimmer Among the stars exploding All around us, unnoticed because The light hasn't reached us yet. KJG 153am 6 December 2012. * How I write... My poems are canvases of splattered paint; If you don't want to be part of it, get out of the way. KJG 204am 6 December 2012 * Once Once was enough Considering I never did it again If only I could remember What it was I did To not do again! KJG 8 Dec 2012 * NOW The hollow ecstasy Of being what you think you are. KJG 111am 12-12-12 (How's that for trouble?) * Love Being there without a purpose. KJG 12-12-12 * Being What if we all died yesterday remembering the past? Today is no more real than tomorrow is; Tomorrow is no more real as today. When the shadow merges with the morning light reality begins. KJG 703pm 12-12-2012 * Learning I will learn nothing until I piss someone off... Then I know the value of experience. KJG 709m 12-12-2012 * "I" I will not be a puppet to your arrogance nor will I be a slaughter to your ignorance The moment of truth considers fallibility you consider nothing but yourself. KJG 657m 12-12-2012 * Love song Sometimes you call to me and I don't respond; Sometimes I respond when you have no need of me. Sometime we both falter in our industry; But most parts we agree and that's enough for me. KJG 714pm 12-12-2012 * Purpose When we merge we are the essence of existence; when we part, we become the politics. KJG 733pm 12-12-2012 * I am a fractal reality. * Body language is a stronger indication of intent than verbal ingenuity. * 1 AM Song I would never question anything Unless you question too I need no explanation Of what you intend to do Moments of togetherness Are all we ever need Even apart we are together In the purpose of our deed And as we both grow older We will feel comfort where We find ourselves together In the purpose of our care Our love will fuse the meaning In the harbour of our bed The heaving of the midnight waves Will make our bodies wed KJG 1AM 23 Dec 2012 * Self Responsibility Lovely as the sanction Of a shadow on a rose, We cannot be what a shadow Promises to close. KJG 348am 24 dec 2012 * I left It All Behind Through the morning I was up and down I couldn't fathom Where I was to drown There's a hunger inside That scares the mind I walked away I left it all behind . On a city sidewalk In an empty bar It's an empty flavour In a foreign car I'm somewhere outside Where it's not so kind I walked away I left it all behind . It's a roller coaster With a circus clown Once you're up You think you're down So close the windows Draw the blinds I walked away I left it all behind . It's raining somewhere Where the sun is out The dancing beggar Has financial clout I draw a line In the sands of time I walked away I left it all behind . If you fault the silence The thunder roars If you fault the thunder You have no oars I step into the Barge divine I walked away I left it all behind. 539pm 30 Dec 2012 KJG * Event On The Highway There's an event on the highway There's an event on the highway There's an event on the highway And it leads nowhere The horizon is crooked The horizon is crooked The horizon is crooked With some blind empty stairs There's a bar that is empty There's a bar that is empty There's a bar that is empty Of whiskey and beer There's a chair in the corner There's a chair in the corner There's a chair in the corner Where no one sits There's a stage that is empty There's a stage that is empty There's a stage that is empty Where no one will sing One life has been taken One life has been taken One life has been taken In a drunken despair There's an event on the highway There's an event on the highway There's an event on the highway And it leads nowhere 3am 31 December 2012 KJG Published by Ygdrasil Press Copyright (c) 2012 by Klaus J. Gerken