hope

“Cherry Black Blood” by Kay Bess

Posted on by lkthayer

Let’s outgrow our selves and be something bigger
Let’s forget them who ruined us, and be new and ripe and sweet
Let’s not go to a grave of their making
Let’s not let them win.

They cut from us our youth and beauty
But we know better, you and I
Though we crack and moan in winter’s rime
Our perennial Spring will soon become.

You’ll be my sun, and I’ll be your rain
We’ll soak up and stir and spill into each other
Climbing, reaching, blooming our way
To maybe, to somehow, to yes.

By the dogged and cherry black blood that teems through my veins
I swear I’ll never take your heart from you.
I will love you and the fruit of your future yet to be born on your steep stone hill
Not for what it might give me, but for what it’s given you –
Birthed in your dreams, formed by your hands –
Hope… promise… life.

Kay Bess – www.sometimeslife.com

© 2008

“Meaning” by Stephen John Kalinich

Posted on by lkthayer

 

 

I AM  STILLNESS
THAT LIVES
THROUGH EVERYTHING.
ALL EXISTS FOR ME.
THAT IS THE MEANING.
THE DESTINY.
THE PURPOSE
OF THE PAIN
OF EVERY WOUND AND HURT.
I AM THAT WOUNDED CHILD
ON THE STREET.
I AM  THE HUNGRY REFUGEE.
I DIED ON SEPTEMBER 11th.
I WHO AM ALIVE NOW
FIND THE DEAD WITHIN MYSELF.
ALL THE HEARTS
THAT HAVE STOPPED BEATING.
THEIR PULSE
IS NOT ONLY  HEARABLE
AND FEELABLE
BUT IT WAS NOT TAKEN AWAY
BUT ONLY UNABLE
TO RECOGNIZE
ITS ASSEMBLAGE.
ITS EVAPORATION
INTO THE ELEMENTS-
THE BUILDING BLOCKS
OF WHAT IS CALLED CREATION
WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY
REARRANGEMENT OF WHAT IS.
MAKING THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE.
WHAT IS NOT
INTO WHAT IS
THAT BECOMES
WHAT IS NOT
AND NOT KNOW
IT IS SOMETHING
OR A VOID.
I MOURN THE LOSS
I REDEDICATE
TO THE CONVICTION.
GOOD WILL RISE AGAIN
LIFE WILL NOT BE ANNIHILATED.
THESE VOICES THAT CRY
FROM BUILDINGS
ARE ALL CRYING OUT
TO ME.
I AM TOO WRAPPED UP
IN THE BELIEF
I AM GOING SOMEWHERE.
THAT I AM DOING SOMETHING.
THAT I HAVE
A DESTINATION
OR A GOAL.
WHEN I SHOULD JUST STOP COLD-
DEAD IN MY OWN FOOTPRINTS.
WHERE AM I ANYWAY?
I STAND IN TRUTH.
ALL MOVEMENT IS DECEPTION.
A BLANKET
STUFFED OVER
AN EMPTINESS.
THERE IS NOTHING
BEYOND
WHAT I SEE-
BEYOND WHAT IS HERE.
I HAVE TO SEE IT
CORRECTLY.
THIS NOW
IS WHAT I MUST EXPERIENCE.
IT IS ITS OWN MEANING.
THIS IS WHAT IS GRASPABLE.
ALL ELSE IS FUTILE.
THE WOUNDS OF CHANGE
RUSTLE THE AMBIGUITIES
REFRESH OLD WOUNDS
MAKE THEM RIPE
FOR HEALING.
THERE IS NO CRESCENDO
NO DENOUEMENT.
IT IS ALL NOW.
I CANNOT DELAY LIFE ANY LONGER
IT IS NOW
THAT THE WORLD
MUST BECOME
AND BE ALIVE.

Stephen John Kalinich

Photo by L. K. Thayer

© 2011

“I Hope Of (My Simple Dream)” by Stephen John Kalinich

Posted on by lkthayer

I hope of having enough room

to hang all my clothes up

without having them all hidden

in wooden trunks

and boxes.

I hope of having space

to hang my Art work

and my Paintings.

I hope of not worrying about

where I will live next month.

I hope of not

having to worry

about Medical or Dental insurance.

I hope of having energy for everything.

I hope of finding

an outlet for my work.

I hope of knowing my rightful place

in the Universe.

I hope of making a contribution to humanity.

I hope of World Peace.

I hope of a World

where we are all family.

I hope of a World

where we are not selfish.

A world where we think of others.

I hope of a World

where we feed the hungry.

I hope of the World

where everyone has a place to sleep.

I hope of a World

where Arabs and Jews

do not hate each other.

Where they

do not blow each other up.

I hope of a World

where people do not cheat and steal.

I hope of a World

where the rich

and famous are not favored.

Where all men

and women are equal.

I hope of a World

where

Blacks and Hispanic’s

and all minorities

have the same rights

as all of us.

I hope of a World

where people

do not have to live on the street.

I hope of a World

where we can awaken the possibility

within us all.

I hope for a World

where I live my love

and just do not talk about it.

I know

I must take the steps myself

through

Acts of Love

Live it out

in my experience.
I hope of a World
© 2011

Tupac Shakur

Posted on by lkthayer

 

“The Rose That Grew From Concrete”

Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature’s law is wrong it
learned to walk with out having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping it’s dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared.

Tupac Shakur

L. K. Thayer’s Foto Fetish

© 2010

Emily Dickinson

Posted on by lkthayer

 

“Hope” Is The Thing With Feathers”

“Hope” is the thing with feathers—
That perches in the soul—
And sings the tune without the words—
And never stops—at all—

And sweetest—in the Gale—is heard—
And sore must be the storm—
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm—

I’ve heard it in the chillest land—
And on the strangest Sea—
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb—of Me.

Emily Dickinson

“What Was Clean” by L. K. Thayer

Posted on by lkthayer

and we get caught up

caught off guard

caught in the wild ride

losing our pride

and what we’ve worked hard

to gain only

to remain anonymous

nobody knows us

and we want to express

the fire we feel in our gut

to make an impression

to make a deal

not with the devil

but to rebel

against apathy and rust

misery and mistrust

turn misfortune into hope

so we don’t hang from

the rope of despair

wanting someone to care

to reach out

escape the day to day tear

repair what hasn’t decayed

and remember

what was clean

to begin with

L. K. Thayer’s Foto Fetish

© 2010

“Short Tones” by Stevie Kalinich

Posted on by lkthayer

Photo by Bill Duke

when you are
at the end of the world
and no one is there
you swear you will fall off
of the edge
spiral into weightlessness
or crash down to the bottom of the pit
in an endless tunnel
just then
Grace can catch you
lift you
and it is horrendous
a bitch
the crows fly up as you descend
a tiny sliver
of a branch of hope
like a hand reaches out through you to you
and you begin to dance
you know
there is no rising and falling
no up no down
but only the symphonic
revelation
you can never fall out of God…

Stephen Kalinich

Photo by Bill Duke

All Rights Reserved

© 2010