Monday, January 31, 2011

'Eros, lust: Thank you'

'Eros, lust: Thank you' timothy r gates, 1/31/2011

intuition,
presumption, consumption
Solomon's apple erupting breasts
rose peddles, moistened
rise like incense
try not to take in another breath,
lest my bones melt
fantasy, reality
knowledge
Ish and Isha knew Elohim
Eros chants lust's silence
Agape only appears to be in the tree,
all the while, praying silence,
in the cool of the storm's eye,
whispers (stuttering intermittently),
'Thank you,' pausing to catch some air,
'Thank you.'

Saturday, January 29, 2011

'blessed repose'*

'blessed repose'* timothy r gates, 1/29/2011 

just the thought of her touch
a nudge through the shower
curtain
a whisper through the door
a message left while working
an old picture,
piggy-backing through the woods
immediately i smell the ferns,
and her

*time and space does not effect the present memory of love, even when buried. Memory Eternal.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

'the gift of her nape'

'the gift of her nape'                       timothy r gates, 1/27/2011
 
the gift of her nape,
the small of her back
a river with tributaries
marvel at this mapless journey
darkness, purple hues into plum roses
light, blinding enlightenment
'please,' she whispers,
'don't forgot to start again,
this time from the back of my ankle'
i concur, oblige, submerge
a baptism worth redoing
this amorous embrace
has no competition
has no need to compete
this is what i sing of,
the gift of a blessed repose
she speaks into my ear, again,
'i love our cacophony given into harmony'
i agree, affirm, baptize
amorous is this journey starting from the nape

Friday, January 21, 2011

'everyone loves their own shit'

'everyone loves their own shit' timothy r gates, 1/21/2011



theirs doesn't hold up

hers is putrid

his is bullshit

politicians cannot know otherwise

religious leaders are full of everyone's

some pretend that they know shit

then only spew more

amorous, not an operative

save for our own,

damn, everyone loves their own shit.



subscript: proverb, opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and they need cleaned regularly or you're only smell like what you're unwilling to admit to being full of.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Older Collection/Poetry (w/gothic amish too)

Older Poetry Collection/ http://logostim.blogspot.com/2005_08_01_archive.html

first, one of my favorites:




"gothic amish?" (timothy r gates, 3-14-2001)



buggy pulls up,

uniquely attired folks

step out

for a night of poetry readings

shared with

a local mystic of sorts

and myst's Lady;

all seems normal, whatever

that is, until someone

notices a lone tattoo

not meant to be found

under the dame's black stockings --

this is what happens when

you forget to check for holes --

the rather well done

piece of work, not that i would

ever pear, was

the normal colourless

hooded damsel in her

normal colourless cloak; with one

unique exception...

this vamp had similar

colourless netted stockings

and a whip to match,

with a neat little word

of advice:

"Don't fuck with me English!"



Axios dia Theopneustos kai eis sabbatismos



Now, older Collection:

‘I am offended’ (timothy r. gates, 09/10/2005)



Opinions other my own

Art that I don’t particularly like

Long short stories

Classic literature that’s truly romance novels

Art that pretends to be porn

Porn that pretends to be Art

Erotica literature that goes nowhere

Musicians that talk about their gift

Musicians that exploit their religious audience

Lovers that introduce each other as cousins

Lovers that are first cousins

Married people who are not lovers

The killing of inconvenient life

The violation of a life birthed

Religious groups that pretend that they don’t have the truth

Religious groups that presume that they have the truth

Religious groups that don’t care either way

Hidden agendas

No agendas

Blame that is placed upon the other person

Blame that is not owned by the person doing whatever

Blame used as an excuse for the perpetuation of violating others

People who know what the other person is thinking

People who know they’re going to heaven and those others are not

People who know little but argue about everything

National leaders that send our sons, daughters, fathers, mothers to war

National leaders saying that the slain are collateral damage

National leaders tearing another nation apart so that we can help build them up, again

Euphemisms used so frequently that they’re no longer euphemisms

Implied accusations

Implied statements of what one truly believes but lack the courage to say

Hypocrisy other than mine

Hypocrisy at the expense of the less confident

Proselytizing unless I’m doing it

Proselytizing those with an intellectual disadvantage

Proselytizing those outside of your faith, or other agendas

Sexuality and sensuality not seen within beauty

Sexuality equated with beauty

Sexuality not beheld as Eucharist and Sacrament

Innocence robbed from children

Innocence not applauded in young adults

Innocence never known by adults

God who knows all

God who is everywhere present

God who is omnipotent

I am offended

by whatever I have no control.



posted by Timothy's at 12:09 PM 2 comments

Tuesday, August 09, 2005



War is coming collection



'War is coming' (trg, 2/18/03)



War is coming, so we're told.Maybe that was, whore's coming?Either way, both are illusionsfor lies, more lies and more lies.



There are no good people elsewhere.

We are the good protectors of all.

Look at our wealth, God has blessed us.

At least the whore knows what they're about.



War's coming and all will be saved.

We won't hurt anyone, though

there might be a tad of collateral damage.

But who manages the damage control?



Killing brings out the religious in everyone.

God of one kind or another is invoked,

else the sacrifice will not be accepted.

The evil demons, said, is even applied to wee ones.



War is coming, inevitably so.

Presidents and Dictators are tired of playing,

their lead soldiers called back by the EPA.

At least the whore knows why they're in their position.



War is coming, heroes on their way, soon,

wrapped snug in red, white and blue body bags.

The trumpeters of victory will give us badges,

telling us this is the reason for their prone position.



I pause, thinking that it should be the ones

propagating violence who should be

wrapped so tight.

But then I'd be like them, instead of the virtuous whore.



Have you every noticed,

Saints and Heroes are among the dead?

This is how the good win.

...God bless us, everyone.









‘Things that count’ (trg,3/17/96)



a glass of good wine,

fresh bread,

aged cheese

and some fruit;

all but the wine,

though fine for the others,

makes for good company.

A fresh cup of coffee,

strong, maybe French-pressed,

are almost all one needs.

Oh yes. An honest friend creates a banquet.





"what if..." (praying...)



what if...birds sang always

dogs never bit

cats obeyed

there were no races

pigeons didn't poop

neighbor's dogs never barked

lions and lambs danced

cancer only a sign

a bull pranced

sea lions hummed

snails ran

rest came like sleep

an eagle liked hugs and kisses

a sparrow was timid

crows were quiet...children were only loved?



'A happy shit' (trg, 10/19/03)

Some days shit falls from the sky,

it seems to.

Other days it seems to not go away.

Then there are those who are full of it,

always having something to spew.

Not all days are full of it,

thought the stink might linger.

One thing that's important when shit is hitting the fan,

is to get out of the way.

Then there are days when you need to walk away,

as you say, 'Fuck off.'

Did I say that?





‘Mixing of Follicles’ (trg, 12/01/03)



Longing for a brush against,

my beard catching an aroma

to be enjoyed later in the day,

I navigate from our lips stilled for a necessary resting.

There’s a certain joy

in the mixing of follicles

intended to meet for more than a moment,

where the body’s voice in known without words,

yet when spoken it doesn’t matter what language

they come…from.

Here my preference of gender matters;

so does hers.

Gender doesn’t matter here for the communication;

we all whisper our pleasure in a common tongue.

Latter I look down,

loving the way our limbs entwine,

our variance of flesh hues contrasting

while touch blends,

here our unique perfume fills the room.

I do hear my heart, her breath, we breathe,

here I pray that this is not a lone dream,

a fantasy without any fruition.

I pray here for daily refreshment

even as I pray for our daily bread.

I pray to live; I think she does too.

Even this hope of beauty baptized into

allows what might be a fantasy’s prayer

to anticipate someone’s breathing besides my own.

Now I lay myself down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep;

if I should die before I wake,

I pray the Lord my soul to take…

In the meanwhile, you are welcome to it.





‘Why a Beard?’ (trg, 10/13/03)



I like it, that’s why.

I’ve never been concerned about whether it’s in or not.

I like the way that my beard looks

and…

Yes I run my fingers through its hairs,

some days merely for fun.

Self-indulgent? What isn’t?

I have smelled the aromas of colognes and perfumes,

some better and others worse than some.

To this day the highest benefit of my facial hair:

The lingering odor of a lover,

ever so slight;

sometimes all I need to do is pull it a bit.

There’s nothing of magic here,

yet nothing is more magical

than my lover’s presence,

present or lingering.

Funny, time and bathing

doesn’t seem to eliminate these delights.

Funny, the anticipation

of one not known as of yet is known,

we both know we’ll not soon get up quickly from our bed.

At least this is what I’m told.







'Once - I wasn't innocent...' (trg, 9-16-2002)



Once I believed in Santa Claus, tooth Fairies, God

and Mommy and Daddy, those

who loved little souls, protecting them

until they could choose to raise, or not, their own fists.

Once I prayed, this I still do, believing

that such perpetual breathing made a difference, that

a good God loved all, rewarding the just

and the unjust accordingly.

Once I looked into the mirror, wishing

that St. Nicholas, the Holy Mother, God, Jesus

and Mommy and Daddy, those idyllic dreams,

would not raise their fists or move their hands in other places,

thinking that a good God would certainly help.

Once I thought, 'It would have, I think,

been more than nice to know the innocence

of my children,' of which I'm more than glad for them.

...I awake, knowing, I

have not known this, save for

Once upon a time...













‘Streams of heat are felt’ (trg, 1/16/04)



Streams of heat are felt

cutting through the most frigid of nights,

she makes no specific movements other than walking,

a pleasure that the air around her has always known.

The frost melts as she extends her legs one by one

causing steam to rise even as from city grates in the depth of winter.

Her innocence of self-awareness is telling,

all she thinks that she’s doing is walking,

making her way through the season’s cold as quickly as possible.

Without guile she goes from place to place,

doing what she needs to do,

most often for others in their places to places,

not doing more than breathing out a sigh, momentarily,

not wanting to call attention to her loss of wonder in life.

The Earth’s wonder and the Moon’s wonder of her beauty

needs to be instructive here,

the universe, our galaxy all around us certainly takes note,

when she extends her hand into the space in front of her

the forces of all things moves, like ripples in a lake from a tossed pebble.

I felt that bump and am glad to know that it’s her.









‘Pressure of a Kiss’ (trg, 5/03/04)



The pressure of a soft kiss,

aromas begin to rise.

There have been those who have thought,

‘Let me impress him with my toughness,

swallowing or manipulating a wrestling pin.’

No, not fond of my teeth being pushed through my mouth.

No, not fond of razor burns either.

‘The Kiss’, ‘The Embrace’,

paintings that open up intimacy’s splendor,

call us into their reality,

not merely a game, though this is fun too,

a mutual intrusion, nirvana’s moisture.

A kiss, tasting our juices,

an Icon opening swirling intoxication,

sweet yet sometimes humorous noises come,

embarrass those not fond of delirium,

these lips make us both smile.

I enjoy watching a friend dance,

their thrill found in each move,

soon there is no particular move,

they forget the move and merely move.

A jungle beat, some have decried.

Bull shit, it’s the heart beat.

To slow dance with such a friend,

my fingers placing discriminate pressure

to the small of their back, my other hand

holding theirs, both sweating, not concerned

-- they capture me and I their willing captive am,

on a dance floor we are lovers,

we give into each other’s intuition.

Lovers entwined no longer are found pensive,

lingering is a delight,

crevice seeming to open

into a hallucinate crevasse,

a silhouette over me inspires me to my canvas.

And, hell, this is just a kiss.





‘Narcissus I am’ (trg, 3/17/03)



Narcissus I am not

and I am.

We write, paint, play music

and those who are unable

they still hum, doodle and scribble,

not believing that they too

are narcissistic.

We all believe our words

to be the most important,

not being given to self-indulgence;

however, if you have the time, I’d

like to share with you my work.

There is one sole item

that separates the narcissus

and the narcissus’ illusions,

save for the few transparent souls,

one is paid for their work

the other wished that they were.













‘What was that noise?’ (trg, 1/24/03)



What was that noise?

I wonder, was it them or one of them?

Friends for a middle of the night snack?

They could’ve waited till a respectable time.

Perhaps it’s only my imagination.

If it’s a delusion, I’d like to be in on the pickings.

Is this paranoia?

Isn’t that when you’re aware of you surroundings?

If Jesus knew his end, or beginning,

did he also know paranoia?

Did the Buddha know - many centuries

later - he’d be fat and laughing?

If he did, did it trouble him?

I’ve got to go now.

Sounds like someone’s at the door.

I wonder, is it them or one of them?











‘Heads up...I’d like some help’ (trg, 1/10/03)



Shall any species

come to learn war no more?

Even the pacifists, who

claim such, will yet

snub one once their own

to death.

The lion and the lamb, two species,

might well truly embrace

before we, one species and one race,

do more than contemplate the ideal.

Is it a reasonable thing to hope for,

that we of the human race, so

many have called it, would attain and

live with the ethics and morals

of what are called mere beasts?

I grew up hearing, that

all other species besides our own

live and breathe by instinct; we,

so I have heard, live by moral

imperatives as well as ethics of love.

Heads up! Everyone please listen!

Help me here. ...Has there ever been

any group of our species

who have continued living and breathing

in moral cooperation and love’s imperative?

‘Where have all the flowers gone...

long time ago...?’





‘Placed upon your tongue’ (trg, 3/15/03)



Placed upon your tongue,

being oh so careful not to move by impulse,

what would be to bite down, swallow

and devour in one luscious movement.

My preference is to

allow the morsel to melt slowly,

upon my tongue and between my teeth,

eliciting at least an intoxication of sweetness.

‘Oh, Jesus!’ words drip

from my lips quicker than I’m able to stop.

No chocolate Jesus here, used, consumed

and wrapper tossed aside. No chocolate divinity.

As the last bite of angel’s food

moves down exiting my mouth, I feel a thickness

at the middle of my throat,

I say to myself, ‘I’m so glad that I waited,

giving into the compulsion rather than the moment’s impulse.

...Wait a minute, there’s yet another piece

desiring my much appreciated lingering.




http://logostim.blogspot.com/2005_11_01_archive.html

‘Breeze, familiar’ timothy r. gates



Breeze wrapped around her,

familiar.

She smiled,

hugged herself like he was hugging her.

Shivered,

her lips even had Goosebumps;

now she knew,

this was no mere wind.

In the still of evening,

crickets can be heard,

an owl hoots,

every so often you can hear faintly a passing vehicle;

here his touch is surreal, true, cold,

then warm.

Not badly perceived phenomenon.

Nothing to observe and reject.

Nor is there someone playing tricks.

Caresses of a friend,

a desired lover,

need no time and space deliverance;

like being,

they are, they just are.

Grinning, she places her head upon a pillow,

reclining across an eighteenth century bed,

her great, great, great Grandmother’s,

clawed feet, high posts with carved lion faces for tops.

He comes to visit,

without announcing himself,

knowing that he’s welcome,

matters not who else is in her house.

Their home is true,

faith and love gives them hope,

whether in this life, or the next, whenever, wherever,

each is invited;

they choose each other.

She visits him too.

A door needs not to be open or closed.

No knocking, rat-a-tat-tat,

A breeze enters.

Familiar.



‘Under her chin’ (t r gates, 06/12/05)



Under her chin,

not the same as his

curled, multi-coloured,

facial hair

found months after their deposit,

like a catless family

screaming about cat hair all over their dark clothes,

though the house has been theirs for ten years,

Hair is just that.

Hair.







‘In transition’ (t r gates, 06/12/05)



For a second

she forgot she was being watched,

by me.

Her belly laughs

erupted through her eyes,

happy tears, we like to call them.

Before this transition,

going on for almost five years, now,

she never guarded her laughter.

I caught her, today,

enjoying an unfettered laugh,

her young woman’s frame,

yes, in transition,

flopping around in rapture.

She caught me, from the corner of her eye.

She smiled. Me too.

This erupted through her eyes.

Happy tears, we like to call them.











‘Daddy’s cool’ (t r gates, 06/12/05)



‘Daddy’s cool,’

so he says.

He also says that he doesn’t get to see Daddy enough.

What is enough?

Today, my Father sits,

what he never did when I was a boy,

doing nothing, staring.

not knowing why,

or why not.

Sitting.

His wife, Mother, sits too,

breathing oxygen,

in between puffs from filterless cigarettes,

the kind that only ‘real men’ used to smoke.

A moment ago, I wondered,

‘What will he think of Daddy

when he’s my age of today?

What will he recall, as important?’

I pray that I’m not sitting,

not knowing why,

or why not.

Maybe I could be sitting,

reading, painting,

or talking with him.

Maybe, by then, he’ll be a Father, too,

and his Son or Daughter

will think that Grandpa’s cool.

Sitting.









‘Naked’ (t r gates, 06/12/05)



Au natural,

before the Divine I stand.

Here I stand,

most times, for all,

naked, timeless time,

no apology or apologetic.

Nakedness is ugly,

for someone hiding.

Funny, there are no hiding places left,

ones not thought of or used before.

One’s task?

Pretend to hide,

and do so well.

Some people need the room darkened

before they’ll make love.

I love to behold my lover.

I like to say,

‘Damn lovely.’



'If there is to be any peace it will come through being not having.' + Henry Miller 'Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.' + Martin Luther King Jr. 'The search for Truth is the search for God.' + Gandhi

'gothic amish'

"gothic amish?" (timothy r gates, 3-14-2001)

buggy pulls up,
uniquely attired folks
step out
for a night of poetry readings
shared with
a local mystic of sorts
and myst's Lady;
all seems normal, whatever
that is, until someone
notices a lone tattoo
not meant to be found
under the dame's black stockings --
this is what happens when
you forget to check for holes --
the rather well done
piece of work, not that i would
ever pear, was
the normal colourless
hooded damsel in her
normal colourless cloak; with one
unique exception...
this vamp had similar
colourless netted stockings
and a whip to match,
with a neat little word
of advice:
"Don't fuck with me English!"


Axios dia Theopneustos kai eis sabbatismos

Saturday, January 15, 2011

'nothing worse than once having the best' (truth, still the best)

'nothing worse than once having the best' (truth, still the best) timothy r gates, 1/15/2011
 
being told that you're a great son
that you deserve, and have, first Trombone chair
hearing and getting that aloof Guitar riff
adolescent masturbation
the same, but by a mature hippie
singing and playing on a mountain side
love's embrace
a friend's conversation
Déjà vu
bibliophile sharing
dream job, never feels like it's too much
when a mouth's sketch is found
when an eye's twinkle doesn't look like parody
(bush strokes and hues, like
the sublimity of rice with lemon and fresh dill)
telling your child they're the best, and they love it
the first time you want to read a book a second time
each time you read a beloved Poet's, any, line
the look in the eye of your friend
(she's sitting at a Poetry reading, and she knows
the Poem was inspired by her)
the first time you stand in front of a Van Gogh
the third time I read 'A Gentle Creature'
fifty-fifth time I read aloud 'From pent up aching rivers,' for another
that look
that touch
that knowing
intuition, every time
every first kiss, every time
lingering
applause
stillness

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

'it is what it is'

'it is what it is' trgates, 2/13/2011

jesus looked the other way,

cried out, 'my God! my God! you've left me alone!'

buddah looked on and thought,

for a moment

others posed, 'you'll understand the mystery someday.'

another offered, in obvious contrition,

'God's will be done.'

he looks today, without a need to equivocate,

'don't allow your heart to be overwhelmed --

i get it.'

re-ligion gets it

religious behavior instructs it

perhaps losing it is like finding it,

(i remember the humorous signs in the eighties,

'I found it,' and thinking, 'didn't know it/he was lost),

like my children are wont to say,

'it is what it is.'

so it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUaTJORlWdU

.

Saturday, January 08, 2011

What is a Poem? What isn't a Poem?

What is a Poem? What isn't a Poem? tr gates, 1/08/2011



What is a Poem? What isn't a Poem?

What is Poetry? What isn't Poetry?

I love the proliferation at various times of texts claiming to answer these questions. Better, is that most texts written on the subject are by those not appreciated beyond their institutions as Poets. Convenient. I've noticed the same when it comes to many telling others what is good prose narrative, yet their own never getting beyond the same where any think their words of advice worth passing on.

At any given time what at another time is said to be Poetry is decried, at best, in the same regards. Walt Whitman was considered a rebel with his free verse. Langston Hughes was banned at various times while he was alive, and since his repose from this world, for his non-institutional, yet sing-song Poetry, yet some today even claim as the precursor to modern hip-hop verse. Arthur Rimbaud, was at the same time applauded by Victor Hugo as brilliant, and abhorrded by many of the published, and older as well as institutionally more acceptable, European Poets of the same time. Anna Akhmatova was accused of having an affair with another writer, or more, simply because of the intimacy of her verse, yet the truth is that she never met some of these correspondents face to face. Dorothy Parker wrote great 'hate Poetry,' and was accepted, as such, in the 'men's world' of writers in the flapper period at their round table. Dorothy Sayers wrote stage plays and some verse, yet only respected the actor who could be on their mark on time, know their lines well, and get them said believably (she had no concern of their belief system if they could not act well the lines she had written. She also was accepted by the inklings, and she wore slacks/pants, way ahead of Americans, because she thought her gender looked better in them, and that there was no reason why her gender should accept to attired uncomfortably. Ha.) Add to this, Haiku, like the Psalster in another part of the world, was both liturgical and folk Art via landscapes via words. Yet today it is disputed as both brilliant, yet argued about what is truly Haiku.

I've known Artists to say they refuse to paint in realism, and forget to say aloud that they could not do so if they wanted. It doesn't change the relative value of their work, but it does change whether they are as credible as the person rejecting the accepted form for their own by first demonstrating that they are able to paint in the style they reject. The same, I believe, can be said for Poetry. I do know form and meter, as well as rhyme, even as I recognize the various Poetic formulas used in spiritual texts of various traditions. Personally, I love them all, but I do not prefer them all.

I do prefer the narrative, free verse, romantics and existentialists. My preference, today, is for contemporary minimalism, like Jack Gilbert, or from another angle, Sharon Olds. Yet I also enjoy Mary Oliver as well as Charles Simic. I still love to reread aloud James Wright, and never tire of Gwendolyn Brooks, Denise Levertov, Adrienne Rich or Robert Hass. This being said, I love to read aloud, sometimes even in the place of my own work, in public the words of the Russian Poet Anna Akhmatova or those of the American Poet Walt Whitman. Go ahead, read Whitman's 'From pent up aching rivers,' and watch the listening audience squirm.

Poetry is Poetry, and as it is with other Art forms, it is known. Louis Armstrong, by example, when once asked what Jazz was, quickly responded, 'If you need to ask, then it is obvious that you do no know.'

I have little respect for the writing of those to presume what is and what is not Poetry. It either works beyond the writer, or it doesn't. This in not necessarily a test of what is good or not, but it is a test of what we as people applaud as worthwhile Poetry and not. Perhaps this is sort of a blend of existential romanticism upon my part, but it is what we know. We only know the Poetry beyond its time because others have read them aloud and shown appreciation for them. The other works? Whether good or not, whatever this means, we know them not because they had little enough impact upon the reader and or listener of the verse. (I am intentionally being redundant here.) The same, I believe, can and should be said about prose, no matter the style.

What is Poetry? What isn't Poetry? Poetry.

.

Tuesday, January 04, 2011

'days give way' or 'spinal paths'

'days give way' or 'spinal paths' timothy r gates, 1/4/2011

days give way to
ways
waves give way to
drownings,
if not ridden well
stories give way to
another's story,
written well or not
spinal paths give way to
spinal tails
not without a need to
applaud another's path's end.
hell with it,
i clap loudly
i love the way of this path
to the small of her back,
yes, on any given day.