Dark Skies

[Baut Images: Dark Skies]

Dark the skies.

Dark the clouds.

Dark the Age.

Dark the thoughts.

Dark the leaders.

All the darkness

One could want!

Spawned

By witch hunts,

Inquisitions,

Persecutions,

Corruption,

Greed,

Intolerance,

Torture,

Abuse,

Ignorance,

Bigotry,

And Wars.

Dark the leaders.

Dark the thoughts.

Dark the Age.

Dark the clouds.

Dark the skies.

Roger Allen Baut

and yet...

"Don't let

The eyes of sadness

Reflect on

Your inner soul

Let the Light shine through

Let the Light shine.

And deliver you through

The passages of life."

Delerium

I Remember Autumn II

[Baut Images: Amongst the Leaves]

I remember Autumn (as a child).

Smoky scents upon a crisping breeze,

And images of baked potatoes.

Frost.

Clear blue skies.

Hazy amber sun setting.

October's children running past the house.

But most of all, the cool, fresh evenings

That chilled me to the bone,

And made me long for All Hallow's Eve.

But I was a child (then).

A potential.

Dreaming.

Dreaming still.

Though the child's body has gone,

Yet, the child lives on inside.

I remember Autumn (with a sigh).

Roger Allen Baut

Posted for dVerse Open Link night

http://dversepoets.com/

Fire in Ice

[Baut Images: Fire in Ice]

  

I have seen the fire in ice
And sunshine days of a brilliant Summer.

I have felt the crisp bright blue touch
Of Autumn's frosty kiss.

I have tasted the flavour of snowflakes flying
And revelled in a pristine Winter bliss.

I have flown my kite on the breezes of March
And danced on that very first day of Spring.

I have seen the fire in ice
And wept at the beauty of all these things.

Roger Allen Baut

 

Requiem for One Stop Poetry

[Baut Images: Ecolo]

ODE

We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams,--
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers,
Of the world for ever, it seems.

Arthur O'Shaughnessy
(Initial lines)

As I awoke this morning, I felt very motivated to write this blog about One Stop Poetry (OSP) since I had participated in some of it's activities; namely One Shot Wednesday and One Shoot Sunday. I had also been interviewed by Adam on one occasion, and with Chris on another, with some of my photographic images being shown, along with one image that was  used in the Sunday challenge. What a great and positive experience that was!

The following are some of my personal sentiments regarding OSP:

• One of my primary beliefs is that our species, if it is going to survive, is going to need to bring people together, and work for the mutual benefit of everyone. Our forefathers knew this, when they said, "United we stand, divided we fall."

• This, indeed, is what I saw in OSP. People working together for the benefit of all participants and co-founders alike. To me, OSP brought bright and talented individuals together and provided an online experience that addressed the several aspects of the Arts.

• It was absolutely amazing to see how these Arts were presented, and that presentation must have been pretty darn good to pull me in. Especially, since I'm one of those rather selective individuals about what I do, or participate in. I look for quality, and I do mean high quality, and OSP manifested that!

• Everything about OSP was a cut above anything else I had seen regarding the Arts. Pages, layout, graphics, images, Mr. Linky (methinks) for participants to link their sites to an activity, programming, et cetera, was literally TOP OF THE LINE! Whomever did all of this work (and I think I have an idea of who it was) certainly should have been given more than a Shorty; preferably an Emmy and a cash bonus in gold; not paper!

• As I participated with OSP, I became acquainted with, and was fortunate enough to interect with some very extraordinary artists and a few of the co-founders associated with it. I really enjoyed this intereaction, as visiting their sites expanded my insight into how some of them presented their work, and how they did things. I also appreciated comments that were made from other participants and co-founders, when I wrote a poem for one of the events. I found the comments to be a wonderful tool to help me take a second look at what I had written or presented.

• So, it was, I felt a bit of sadness when I first heard about the departure of co-founders, and then to learn later on, that others were leaving too; especially since OSP had only recently celebrated it's one year anniversary. One short year, and so much accomplished. One short year and a concept that was so very much needed in today's materialistic and tired society. One short year and a model that is hopefully an inspiration to others. One short year and a Shorty for a job well done for the co-founders.

• To Adam, Peter, Leslie, Brian and Claudia, Chris, Gay and Jessica, some of you I know a bit better than others. I want to say to each of you that I am sure your efforts with OSP have touched the minds, hearts and lives of more people than you can ever imagine; I know it did mine! And, in touching those lives you have made a difference in them, and I am certain it is a positive difference.

• So a BIG personal "Thank you," is in order to each one of you, for giving me the opportunity to encounter One Stop Poetry! The path each of us travels is often a "pathless path" whether we realize it or not, but that path takes all of us to the same place at journey's end.

• FINAL THOUGHT: The sad thing is, that I do not feel One Stop Poetry had to end when it did! I think there were some other dynamics involved that brought OSP to its conclusion. There were enough people involved who could have carried on the torch of OSP, even if some other individuals didn't want to. OSP could have continued bringing people together for the benefit of the Arts and people everywhere...Think about it...Did OSP really have to end so abruptly? And why does it seem that our species keeps doing this sort of thing to itself...over and over and over...But it is over...sad...Sayonara to One Stop Poetry. Perhaps Sayanora to Homo sapiens..."The moving finger writes, and then moves on." Kahlil Gibran.

"For each age is a dream that is dying,

Or one that is coming to birth."

Arthur O'Shaughnessy

Roger Allen Baut ☺



Quietude

[Baut Images: Sunstained Warrior]

Quietude.

I see you sleeping.

Physically,

Yet, a traveler

In other lands;

In other realms.

Quietude.

A silence and peace surrounds you.

Angelic,

Yet, still human

With a dozen frailties;

Will a million perfections.

Quietude.

Your wisdom veiled by the ages.

Buddhic,

As you lie upon the lotus

Opening the incarnation;

Opening the kaleidoscoped eye.

Quietude.

The day awakens about you.

Light,

Filtering through gold-green leaves

Upon the warm broad meadow;

Upon the sunstained warrior.

Roger Allen Baut

Hopes and Dreams

[Baut Images: Breaking Through]

Hopes and dreams, dreams and hopes,
Bundles of hopes and dreams,
Tied together with strings of aspiration!

Roger Allen Baut

Hidden and Revealed

[Image: Adam Romanowicz]

Hidden and revealed are the secrets of life.

Each of us searching our lives and selves

To find the answers to the mystery

That lies behind the door of our mind and soul.

A flower of windmists, a foggy day, a drop of dew,

An amber afternoon in October, a summer's night,

And a winter's day. All hold the precious answers

We are looking for, if we but only look within,

And see with our mind's eye.

Hidden and revealed are the secrets of life.

Each of us holding within the essence of truth,

And a spark of the Divine;

That lie behind the door of our mind and soul.

Roger Allen Baut

It Happened While...

[Image: Chris Galford]

Dusting the crop

Of harvested featherheads

Icarus pondered

On the abstraction

Of indesolate spheres of incandescense;

Burning brightly, in the Autumnal candles

Of forest delights.

Condescending the metachimes of clearessence

He speculated on the matters of improvisation

In spectral meanderings.

Momentarily gesticulating

On the gloating fusion of afterfacts,

And indulging in the cohesion of solar flares,

He plunged into the fragrance of coronal mandarin.

Arising from the sparkler fires of thought

Icarus merged with the complexities

Of the entirety, gaining,

The ultrimagination of the future born wizards

Of integral motion.

Erasing the dew from his brow

He plunged into the morning sunset.

Roger Allen Baut

Can You Hear Me?

[Baut Image: Flying to Avalon]

Can you hear me calling

Through the fogbound memories

Of Childhood;

And hiding by the carousel lights

As Christmas carols are chanted

Through cold December nights?

Can you hear me singing

On pastel mornings

In April;

While I fly my kite

Against the breeze, as you,

Sit drinking Jasmine tea?

Can you hear me running

Past the faceted mirrors

Of memory;

Casting smiles at the glistening

September sun, as you pack

A picnic lunch of forgotten dreams?

Can you hear me speaking

Of winds;

As laughter swells within

Your breast, and passes upward

Through your halo hair,

Casting reflected glints to the stars?

Can you hear the crackle

Of frostfire;

Growing on the indigo horizon,

As shifting spectrums

Glisten upon your dew dropped skin,

And bringing us together on eternities edge?

Can you hear the spheres

Of music;

Playing together in hues

Of unknown colours,

Becoming One with all that is,

And forever shall be?

Can you hear me calling?

Roger Allen Baut

Realm of the White Heron

The Heron is a bird that has been given a symbolic nature in many cultures. In China, the Heron represents strength, purity, patience and long-life. In Egypt, it has been honored as the creator of light. In Africa, the Heron was believed to communicate with the gods.

As a creature of the water, the Heron is symbolic of going with the flow, and working with the elements of nature, rather than trying to manipulate and struggle against it.

The White Heron may then be seen as a representation of the purity and cleanness that is present in nature when it is not tampered with by mankind, and that is why I have chosen to title this project the Realm of the White Heron.

It is time for Homo Sapiens to stop its insane plundering of the planet and it's resources, as well as the blatant manipulation of plant and animal life. Already we are seeing dramatic climatic change in many parts of the world, as well as the melting of the polar caps.

Those perpetuating these insidious crimes against nature, or associated with them through greed, are guilty of crimes against humanity and the planetary bio-sphere. It is time to hold those who are perpetuating these horrendous acts accountable, as has the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society http://www.seashepherd.org/. This society has put a damper on the brutal whaling industry in the Southern Ocean.

We stand at a nexus point, or crossroads in all of our lives. We only have to look about us, or listen to the daily news, to understand that the path mankind travels each day is becoming more and more precarious. Each day our planetary bio-sphere is being subjected to new abuse from chemicals and toxins, whether through technology, mining, nuclear energy, or the oil industry. Our air, water and food is becoming increasingly more and more contaminated and unstable, as well as the emerging of new virulent species of bacteria, such as E. coli, which has recently emerged in Germany, and already spread to many parts of the world.

The images you will see within this ongoing project, entitled the Realm of the White Heron depicts a world that is visually free from the many toxins that are polluting and driving our planet and species into a crisis mode. It presents the wonder of nature as it is, and may be, by simply becoming environmentally friendly, and working together for the mutual benefit of the planet and mankind. If we do not begin in this "now" moment to correct the damages to our bio-sphere, planet may one day look like the surface of Mars.

As you view the images presented herein, and the beauty that earth's wildlife and nature has to offer us, please consider taking part in some type of action, to help stop the destruction of our species and planet. Whether you write or email letters to your local, state and/or governmental representatives, and/or join groups such as the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Green Peace, or Wildlife Conservation Society, whatever you do, can only make a positive difference. We know not how long these images from the Realm of the White Heron will be a valid representation of life forms on Earth.

"One little light can light ten thousand." Koichi Tohei-sensei
To view the Realm of the White Heron, please go to: http://www.behance.net/gallery/The-Realm-of-the-White-Heron/1543327

We are the Children of Earth

[Image: Fee Easton]

We are the flowers of Earth,

And we come in many colours.

We reach toward the Sun in its glory,

And kiss turquoise skies that meet land.

We live in peace and unity,

And celebrate our life every day.

For we are the children of Earth,

And at-one with all flora and fauna.

We sing and dance on the breezes,

And fill the air with our scent.

For we love all that life has to offer,

And to play with and tease humming birds.

Yes, we are the flowers of Earth,

And we bloomed long before Atlantis.

We watched as life crossed the planet,

And brought food and shelter to Man.

Yes, we are the flowers of Earth,

And our fate lies within your hands.

Roger Allen Baut

Today’s One Stop Poetry Challenge prompt was shot by UK photographer Fee Easton

Ecolo in the Sky

[Baut Images: Ecolo in the Sky]

Ecolo, Goddess of Earth.

Bright jewel of blue in Sol's great system.

Bringer of air, and water,

and life to all your children.

I see your fractured beauty,

As you gaze upon your realm.

As you remember, dreamlike,

The flora and fauna of days gone by.

What cruel fate is it Ecolo,

That has brought your path to this?

Yet, despite all the heartache,

You still try to heal your world.

Ecolo, Goddess of Earth.

Bright Lady even in these darkened days.

Just remember it's foretold, in future days,

Your life, and world, will be renewed.

Roger Allen Baut

Within the Vessel

I Am the Spirit Being

[Image entitled: Spirit Being]

I am the Spirit being

That lives within my physical body,
And I have experienced much

During my sojourn on Planet Earth.

I revel in the senses

That my vehicle provides me,

From touch, to taste and sight,

On to hearing and smell.

The flowers and forests,

Lakes and rivers provide us all

With a wondrous opportunity

To explore and nurture our world.

I am the Spirit being

That lives within my physical body,

And I have traveled much

During my sojourn on Planet Earth.

I have seen the sun rise and set

From an old Ryokan on Sagami Bay,

And beheld the Shrine of the Black Madonna

Tucked away in an Einsieden monastery.

I have watched the seasons pass

From blossoming Spring to Summer,

then Autumn's colours to Winter's chill

And back again, on their epic journey.

So much, so much to see and experience

As we all travel in our vessels of clay.

Collectors of experiences and memories

As we travel through time and space.

I am the Spirit being

That lives within my physical body,

As you are the Spirit being

That lives within yours.

Roger Allen Baut

I See You!

Picture Prompt Challenge!
inspired by the imagery of Rosa Frei

Photograph and copywrite by Rosa Frei

I see you,

And I see right through you.

Though you think

I am blind, I see!

See your subtle diversions,

Covered in nods and dispersions,

And laced with a honeyed Corexit.

I see you,

And I see right through you.

Wearing a fine mourning cloak,

That's been skillfully woven,

From sackcloth, ashes and mace.

I see you,

And I see right through you.

To your banksters, and gangsters,

And politicos, who are fracking

The earth 'til it breaks.

I see you.

And I see right through you.

Gazing into your heart filled

With wars and the corporates,

And a nation that's lost its grace.

I see you,

And I see right through you!

Though you think

I am blind, I see.

I see you!

My first submission to One Stop Poetry's
One Shoot Sunday Photo Prompt, with the portraiture of Rosa Frei.

Roger Allen Baut