Change Elbert

The Aperture

2007-05-10T11:45:00.001-07:00

At birth,
The doctor substituted a camera
For my missing head.
Thus the light of the world,
Which any man is able to perceive,
Fluoresced through my lens
As the shutter was released
With metronomic frequency
By an indifferent force.
Andante.

As an infant I was,
The oblivious-egocentric king of the universe;
Where random images were etched,
Upside-down and backward,
Onto the fertile glass plates of my memory.

In childhood I became acquainted,
With anxiety born of familial circumstance
And genetic yahtzee.
I sought to manipulate the photography,
That provoked the ethereal specter of doubt.
Still, the controls eluded me;
Save one...

The aperture.

During adolescence I seized upon the aperture,
And held it nearly closed with all my might,
In a vain attempt to dull the glare,
Of painful pictures;
I only imagined might appear.
And along the way I neglected to live;
Pissing away the irreplaceable nectar of youth.

Perhaps I’d grown too weary as an adult
To hold the lever in my hands,
Or maybe I just resigned to accept my fate.
I cannot be sure.
But one day I let loose the aperture,
And allowed the fear wash over me
In waves of searing light.

I persevered with eyes wide open,
While stumbling around in the light of day.
Until, by God, until,
It came to me in the blink of a shutter,
That there, nestled between the images of my demons
Were my missing angels.

By restraining the blazes of hell,
I had denied the radiance of Goodness.
The revelation left me searching
For a block of wood to jam
The aperture full open.
So that I might finally experience
All that life might parade before my lens.

The Aperture

2007-05-10T11:45:00.000-07:00

Absence

2007-05-10T11:42:00.000-07:00

Tell us you were seduced by a siren
Whose compelling song drew you into the rocks,
Describe in exquisite detail the curve of her back
The legs that seemed to go on forever
Close your eyes in a vain attempt to resurrect the image
Of her supple body in your longing arms
Admit that you were rendered helpless
By the mere scent of her perfume

We will understand your absence without question
And exchange knowing looks amongst ourselves
As we celebrate your returning
With relief in our hearts that you have endured

Tell us you grew weary of the familiar dancing
And sought the refuge of the road
Describe becoming lost in a cannabis forest
With an ipod full of Bob Dylan and a case of oreos
Close your wasted, bloodshot eyes and dream
Of school yard apple trees reluctant to share their fruit
Admit that you’ve grown impatient with youth
And covet the freedom of adulthood

We will understand your absence without question
And exchange knowing looks amongst ourselves
As we celebrate your returning
With relief in our hearts that you have endured

Tell us that your poetic soul unexpectedly went off line
And you fell into a rage staring at the empty screen
Describe your overwhelming thirst for words
When the once abundant well of expression went dry
Close your tear filled eyes and remember the joyful ease
With which you once painted your virile perspective
Admit that you feared it was gone forever
And we would think less of you

We will understand your absence without question
And exchange knowing looks amongst ourselves
As we celebrate your returning
With relief in our hearts that you have endured

Tell us that you listened to a jingoist
Who appealed to your patriotic heart
Describe his Amero-centrist view of freedom
And how you could be the central hero
Close your eyes and imagine the parade
Of the welcoming and appreciative homelanders
Admit that you were convinced
That you could be an army of one

We will understand your absence without question
And exchange knowing looks amongst ourselves
As we pray you will survive unbroken

Tiny Waterfall

2007-05-10T11:35:00.000-07:00

The rays of the sun,
Having lost their lazy winter slant on the world,
Finally elude the needled canopy
And excite the silvery coverlet of snow,
That has veiled the forest floor below
Since before the Christmas feast.
The grainy ice crystals;
Once minute and perfect flakes,
Sparkle as they slowly dissolve.
They glisten as they quietly slip
Beneath the cold white mantle
to a still frozen ground.

The moist caresses lure the earth,
To slowly waken from its frosty slumber,
While whispering tender promises of green
That disappear in glimmering rivulets
And meander toward a little scarp
Outside my cabin window.

Standing in my doorway,
Lost in mundane ruminations;
A meadowlark, desirous of my attention,
Sings me to my senses
So that I might know the tiny waterfall
and the sweet laughter of Spring.

Walking with Gaye Ellen

2007-05-10T11:28:00.000-07:00

The Autumn sunset lit her comely face,
And stirred love’s embers deep within my core.
Her azure gaze did take my breath once more,
And gently held me in her timeless grace.
I wondered when she sensed I’d lost her pace,
And went adrift near passion’s charming shore.
She eased me back to where we stood before.
My rescue needing only mild embrace .
A stroke of luck, a gift at rainbows end?
Can accidental love like this occur?
These gardens will not flourish without care,
And still, these rows I rarely had to tend
No pest or weed took hold, of this I’m sure
T’was providence began this love affair.
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