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Rigmarole Dec 2019
for a brief moment
a nano second
I was aware
unaware of it
it's globular mess
those molecules
green, red, orange, white, blue
bursting
outwards
but pressed to tightly inwards
there was no room for their expression
they repelled
that spherical mess held together with an invisible membrane
explosive
wound up
each desiring to escape from it's counterpart
similar but vastly different
and then the bears claws
elongated
abnormal
scratching a tear down and through my very soul
the inner world met the manifest fears of the outer world
every cell, no, molecule in my body screamed
screamed
screamed
I could only help myself
I awoke
big dreams and the feelings they invoke are worth paying attention to
Rigmarole Feb 2019
I remember, everything.

From the time before I was born, that time when I was in the warm, dark, tight place where I could hear my mothers heart beat and where I could feel her loving embrace all around me.

I also remember she wanted me out, into the bright, white light of the day, to a place where I could live out my potential, for it was a great and momentous life I was to live.

The place where I sit now is where she gave birth to me. She pushed me out and promised to keep a watchful eye over me as I grew. She nourished me, and the elements fed me, they washed me, and kept me warm. Brother wind, sister rain, father sun, my loving family gathering around me, moulding me into maturity, my shape and form developed over time.

I grew taller, so high I reached into the heavens and grew dizzy in it’s atmosphere. I grew lofty and wise, and my dominion over all frightened many, and many died at my hands when they tried to conquer me.

I held my position for a long, long time. Time passed slowly. I watched the world change around me, the sun rose over head, and set, the moon rose and her radiance made the most of my ageing, withered face.  I learned the rhythms of these universal life forces and they became my friends. I could feel the vibration of life coming up from below me, from above me, from within me.

I knew everything.

And as I wept I took this knowing with me, in the little rivulets of tears that ran down my face, eventually finding their way to lakes and oceans, for the fish to know me, and for you, to drink me in, and hold me in your hand as a smooth white stone.
#remember #mountain #life
Rigmarole Feb 2018
Dear Douglas so wise and kind
You know you blow my mind
With your black eyes and shining bright soul
You have helped me fill a very deep hole

With knowledge and wisdom that I have absorbed
No memory of words you've spoken can be recalled
But simply a knowing of what is right and wrong
My soul rejoices and sings your song

I’m grateful beyond words to know your voice
To feel its vibration, it was my choice
To open and welcome new ideas of old
And grow and develop myself into gold
  Jan 2018 Rigmarole
harlon rivers
Gray Owl hearkens
the dappled daybreak knell
echoing through
the wildwood forest stand;
rock doves and frosty stones abide,
where a marooned heart doth dwell,
disrobed by the longest night's frigid touch

Timber stand grips tight
red clay and bedrock of ages,
postured tall and strong
as eagle's spirit throne

Pine cones hide
in the low drifting clouds,
ripe acorns tumble down alone
unto  a  windblown
shallow earthen grave,
hillocked  beneath
the sky-high canopy

Bones of branches,
furrowed bark from burled oak,
wood-grains of pith,
natural gnarled achings
peeled by the shivering
wind's breath

Paling autumn memories
grow dim as the receding sunlight,
recollections of ebbing Jasmine's
mellowing fragrant balm
waft aloft in a favorite fading fantasy,
the edge of winter metamorphosis
bears down with a prodigious weight
of a different kind of retreating light;

brindled Queen Anne's lace
hold sway across
the tawny frostbitten meadow
imbuing the poignantly
whetting breeze

The blink of an eye winks,
to catch sight of
an intimate glimpse,
an unspoken
solitude holds forth,
the mesmerizing coo of rock doves,
reverently mirroring
the sanctity of the forest wildwood
lingering amongst the frosty
ferns and stones

The harmony of tranquil silence wanders;
only the bowing resistance of the boughs
manifest the shapeless wind’s
whispered  breathe
swirling above the labyrinth threshold;

therein lies an unfractured fault line
rooted deeply beneath
the earth’s crust
like the sonorous heart
of a sanctuary hearthstone

Hence there is symmetry
felt in silence that only whispers
in the deep toned consonant
of our own harbored sighs

a holy human blood link
born of  heritage wilderness heartwood
beats keenly alive


written by:   harlon rivers ... December 2017
Notes: Midwinter orifice into the North-woods

Thank you for looking through a soul's portal at winter solstice
Rigmarole Jan 2018
I went to the ocean today
It was warm and muggy, I longed for the spray

We drove the short distance to park
Then took our time to look for the shark

With a towel, surf board and shades
It does not take much to make the most of the place

I picked up a straw on the way to the shore
I thought of the moments of pleasure it gave just before

So many at the beach this time of year
So many enjoy plastic cups filled with cheer

My feet hit the sand, it’s warmth filled my soul
The sound of the gulls filled my head as they soared

Pink beach towel spread out, I positioned myself
Watched as children laughed and played for their health

When my skin became hot I decided to go
Into the surf crashing to and fro

First steps are tentative, the braver I become
As the warm ocean laps around my tum

Seaweed strands wrap round my legs with
Burst ballon strings and single use bags

Bird feathers are scattered and head for the sea shore
I dive beneath waves through bubbles am born once more

As people we live the way we want
We must incorporate our waste in agreement

Otherwise we have no luxuries you see
No straws to make our fizzy drinks quite so fizzy

No lids to hold our mommas milky coffee
No plastic bags to carry our goods from the shop so cocky

So embrace the ocean and all that lies within
But do it now before it’s turned into one mega bin
No excuse for single use
Rigmarole Nov 2017
I saw her from a distance
Her evident difference
alarmed me for a moment
My eyes hidden behind glasses
made split second assessments
My confusion in this place of fitting in
was considerable, unknown to me

I saw in her hand the cigarette burning
Her fat perfectly rounded belly held
and wrapped in red flowering
frilly and flowing dress
It was hiked up at the front
showing pudgy white blotchy skin
the time for babies was long behind her
We moved closer toward each other

Her difference and indifference grew
I noticed her saunter with unstable gait
Her long dried out died blond hair
Her own attempt at glamour stood out
The mismatched colours, the loose layers
and the string of large yellow beads
wrapped around her goitre throat
Her eyes gazing downwards
We were going to pass soon
I knew she was different

It was surprising and unexpected in this place so the same
I was unprepared in those seconds left to pass
Thoughts and feeling arose and changed
Those thoughts and feelings are mine to question

"Good morning"

And on the wind the smell of old cheap perfume
and cigarette smoke, delicious
Reminding me of who I was before
Of a far away time brought to mind
by that perfect mix of smoky chemicals
a place with happy memories
a place I longed to return to
my youth

I was left with a realisation
Our desire can lead us down a one way path
This one dimension forbidding alternatives
Designating an end point
A reminder not to forget who you were, is who you are now
Made from pasts both good and bad
To celebrate our differences
A moment in my life, so fleeting, yet so important, this morning, I awoke.
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