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  Apr 2016 Ryan Frisby
Timothy H
Brief love is greater than none
Tiny truths, more than some
Sunrises they are, reasons to wake
Keep fresh in mind, for soul's sake

Maps have regions that can't be seen
Pegs that fit, never intend to be
Betray not truth and love known
These are gifts, these your own
  Apr 2016 Ryan Frisby
Sjr1000
Births and deaths
Debts and success
Floods and droughts
Cyclones and hurricanes
Earthquakes and tsunamis
Misery
Chaos and serenity

All in flux
Milling about
Constant movement
Constant din
Silence within
Raging against
the dry dry winds.

Another restless moment
in the universe
Stars are born
go cold and die
Galaxies collide
Black holes
hold
no return
Super Novas
bring silence
to light years
eons wide

Another restless day
on the planet
in this our
moment of time
in this our place
in the universe.
  Apr 2016 Ryan Frisby
Pablo Neruda
And it was at that age...Poetry arrived
in search of me. I don't know, I don't know where
it came from, from winter or a river.
I don't know how or when,
no, they were not voices, they were not
words, nor silence,
but from a street I was summoned,
from the branches of night,
abruptly from the others,
among violent fires
or returning alone,
there I was without a face
and it touched me.

I did not know what to say, my mouth
had no way
with names
my eyes were blind,
and something started in my soul,
fever or forgotten wings,
and I made my own way,
deciphering
that fire
and I wrote the first faint line,
faint, without substance, pure
nonsense,
pure wisdom
of someone who knows nothing,
and suddenly I saw
the heavens
unfastened
and open,
planets,
palpitating planations,
shadow perforated,
riddled
with arrows, fire and flowers,
the winding night, the universe.

And I, infinitesmal being,
drunk with the great starry
void,
likeness, image of
mystery,
I felt myself a pure part
of the abyss,
I wheeled with the stars,
my heart broke free on the open sky.
Ryan Frisby Apr 2016
I am not
who I want to be
like the addict
with the needle
I'm stuck on
being feeble
seeing moments
and not seizing them.

In the mirror
my reflection is
that of someone I recognize
like the friend
who always seeks advice
but never follows it
my mind is
a schematic of pipes
that do not connect.

My intentions
drip from my
open ends
once real and
once there
each one
broken by distraction.

My focus is
honed in to the
weight of the world
like the single mother
spread too thin
fighting this many battles
I'll never win.

My content heart
seems to depend on
factors outside myself
like the young girl
caught in the politics of
middle school social hierarchy
I can't make decisions
when I can't hear myself.

Listening to my intuition
is something I've
forgotten to do
it's muscle memory
like tying a shoe.

It's seizing moments
reflecting on my life
living according to morals
and recognizing that action
sometimes belies intent
and it is then that
apologies are necessary
they are
not signs of weakness
when they are used right.

It's focusing on
the right things
in deep
meaningful doses
making sure to stop
and smell the roses
to your heart's content.
Ryan Frisby Mar 2016
what is a moment
but a blink of an eye?
yes you are here,
but are you really alive?

you physically exist
mentality persists
but tell me,
what is it you resist?

is it the collapsing of your being
into all that is freeing?

is it letting go of the notion
that the only thing worthy of your devotion
is a love sick potion
perpetually pushing you in forward motion?

what if you took a second to breathe?

came to understand the landscape of who you are
without setting the bar?

the only thing worth raising
is the cultivation of a life worth praising

a garden worth growing
ideas worth knowing

relationships worthy of your love
compassion for yourself that fits like a glove

faith that the universe is working for you

look at your valleys, hills, canyons, and peaks
shhh don't speak
just ask yourself from where you stand
"do i like the view?"
Ryan Frisby Feb 2016
Today I looked into your eyes
and saw straight into your soul
elation was all I saw
reminding me of our fatal human flaw
in finding any reason not to be happy.

Why would we choose to be free,
when we can hold
grudges
and contempt?
When we feed hate to our hearts
we will always be starving on discontent.

I can't formulate any words
as comforting as your favorite blanket might be
or the smell of your home,
familiar faces,
and friendly streets
where it's no longer safe to meet.

But know, that when I caught your gaze
and our eyes locked
you reminded what it means to act with pure love.

Like an electrical bolt to my system
you revealed what I was missing.

Apples are not oranges
they cannot be compared
but any pain that I've been through
doesn't scratch the surface of yours.

I am overjoyed by the smile on your face
while simultaneously disgusted
with the entire western human race
that forced you to endure tragedy
then had the audacity
to label you a threat
unworthy of our compassion
undeserving of our resources.

When our backs are turned against the oppressed
it sure is hard to see they don't live like the rest
pushed to the corners of society
in the good ole' U.S.A that's our notoriety.

Any xenophobia we harbor
is just plain shameful
yet you don't see anyone as blameful
and when I think about that
I can barely breathe
How is it, that it's only love you seethe?

We drew pictures for each other
and I distracted you from your lesson
but you taught me a valuable one.

I have more to learn from you
rest assured, it won't be the last time you see me
under the Swedish sun.
Today I visited a school in Sweden comprised primarily of refugees and recent immigrants. I was moved by their attitude and their love. The school was quite impressive, doing the most with what they had to give their students the best education possible. I bonded the most with a 3rd grader from Syria, who this poem is based on.
Ryan Frisby Jan 2016
drinking but never getting drunk
eating but never filling up

at some point i got stuck
in a stupid little rut
that wiped me clean of all my guts

no guts, no *****, no intuition
there were too many cooks in the kitchen
confused about which voice was meant to be listened

but sooner or later they'll quit their *******
turn the lights back on
and soon i'll be singing the song

we all do
when we know in our hearts the way we're living is true
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