War Heroes

Monsters

kikirosner

articulating the depths

of your vulnerability

for the children you brought forth

was unbearable

made you powerfully belligerent

which in turn immobilized

those who could

the ensuing disaster

the sense of being both the victim

and the perpetrator, at the mercy

of your madness

*

Monsters also age,

where fire once raged

puffs of smoke swirl

into cloud formations

but knowledge of damage done

never fades

only memory thins

such a transparent veil

where what exists is what’s before you

and you, you billow, in a wind

of nameless remorse and gratefulness

Would it be Grace?

Photograph By Nick Zungoli

Photograph By Nick Zungoli

The Thinning

kikirosner
Art Work By Yaron Rosner

Art Work By Yaron Rosner

Winter has numbed us in ice,

faced with mounting crystals

your presence retreats

 

I turn in circles

 

books unopened, pens untouched

the day runs by, meals made,

a night, another day,

 

I turn in circles

 

feeling you wane

as if your breath were fainter

your body more transparent

preparing your soul

to lift from its bones

home for 88 years

 

I turn in circles

 

From armor to onion skin

a warrior’s challenge

to go in peace

without fanfare, artifice

or gun powder

 

rather a slow fading of the edges

a pacifying of the will

a softening of your ardor

now saved for me, only

 

and in the wake of your silent withdrawal,

you leave an emptiness I apprehend

 

and I turn in circles

 

 

To my father, 4 years before you passed

 

****

Utterances

kikirosner

Invisible Babble

in the background of my life

Ghosts of my inheritance

flailing behind my Mother,

dragging their feet behind my Father

One surrounded by Mist threatens

to dissolve the fiber of my resilience

the other covered in tired dust,

ancient Dirt calls me to my purpose

reminds me of my origin

The Legacy of deep sorrow

and profound joy in the wisdom

of the earth’s Beginning

The maddening Utterances

no longer outside

live Within me, those that Resonate,

the others have melted

like Vapor in the sun’s warmth,

some still come as Whispers

life Encouraging itself.

Yaron Art 5

Immortalizing Those We Love

kikirosner

In your honor

I tie my sandals,

Wipe the Dust off the table

Open the Window

In your honor

I break twigs

Build fire

Cook the food I like

never settle for Less

never compromise

Always accept what I am given

In your honor

I exercise my limbs

at times strenuously

other times less

but always with Purpose

In your honor

I bow to the power

of what I might not know

Yet stand up

For that which I do Know

In your honor

I grow Lavender

all around your house

 Our house

Watch the Bees buzz

their Worker circuits

Tirelessly,

In your honor

I sit on this Hill

Overlooking your favorite Vista

See you everywhere

I set my Gaze

The Black Mountains in the distance

Where You Once Fought

the Cypress

Where You Now Rest,

the Sunflowers

the Wheat, and finally

the Ever-Giving

Fig

In Your Honor

Borio Blanco Trees

OLD STONE

kikirosner

old stone

To my father,      Memorial Day 2014

 

Resonant memory stored,

such centuries of utterances

cooling and warming

each flagstone,

the scent of mold

 

We ascended the large steps

you felt as I did, moved

by the voices you’d heard

echoing time immemorial

but from which you have kept

yourself for so long,

the wave of feeling swept

through to your brow

and as it transpired

you could no longer

hold yourself,

Too many whispers at once

too many greetings, entreaties,

too many

 

So we will sit here for awhile,

gather ourselves for awhile,

and I will wait

till you are ready

to go home.

My Vercingetorix

kikirosner

Standing in the Shadows

Of my oldest basement,

Poised at the threshold

You watch

Are you waiting

for me to take your hand

Or are you waiting

to step forward?

Hidden in the Depths

Of my earliest underworld

You Breathe

Your presence Strong

Like a Scent

Ancient battles, Ancient

Victories, until the Final

Inevitable defeat

The Odds so Uneven

You tried, You Believed

You Remain

For all of us who Fight

Invincible

the defeated warrior

Singularly Victorious

 My Fallen hero

You Stand

Painting by Yaron Rosner

Painting by Yaron Rosner

Extermination And Football Fields

kikirosner

The stretch of Earth

which carried

those rails Eastward

stands empty now, empty

with lush green grass and white markings

ninety by forty-five meters

those Rails which brought me

and mine to death,

appear and Dissolve

with the Radiance of light speed

the White and Black ball

is practiced from side to side

heedless of steel and gravel

of screeching metal

of huge arches delineating

three massive platforms,

Only the Bright lights that allow

the players to Kick by night

are like those which forbade us to Run

Leaning against the Ruins of the Great Station

I watch the rails, there for me always

thunder of my Fate

and see a Football Field.

 

Anhalter Train Station Memorial, Berlin

Anhalter Train Station Memorial, Berlin

Cesar Must Die

kikirosner

Blood Bound

my love

Runs deep

I breathe in your breath

Move in your shadow

Your clothes,

the striped Shirts

multi-colored

Bowties – your smile

my smile

*

You stand we all look up

You speak we listen

Fight and Struggle

With your Obstinate

Convictions

And hidden desperation

You are both

man and god

Too mercurial to be the father

We seek

*

Cesars too must die

once they are done conquering their world

incessantly marching, declaiming

they lose strength, tire, abate

Objective Reality

seeps in

like gas overtaking

Limb by limb

anguish subsides

*

Worthy your Vision

Momentary your Life

you too my Cesar, moved on

and are missed

*

Painting by Frances Oberbeck

Painting by Frances Oberbeck