when the walls collapse

December 29, 2014December 29, 2014 ~ reneeisokay ~ 44 Comments

Maybe I was there.

Maybe you were there.

Maybe you and I

looked up at the stars

as the eyes

of infinite gods,

or the infinite eyes

of one god –

and we imagined

the possibilities.

Maybe we stood

at the feet of

rhythmic waves

as their rumbling

voices hinted

of secrets beneath

the arc of deep blue,

and we imagined

the possibilities.

Maybe there was

a time between lives,

before and after

everything was named,

when we witnessed

the ground beneath

our feet

and skies above

our eyes

without condition.

This meaning

without name,

value

without cost,

reverence

without judgement

is lost

when human eyes

are closed

and the blind

pursuit begins.

As if life’s beauty

itself isn’t enough

to satisfy

the reason

for being,

we shamefully define

that which

defies definition,

breeding foolish pride

with each steadfast

proclamation,

widening the rift

between man and nature.

Greed and power

construct the

revolving doors

of perceived reality,

keeping our

eyes on what

everyone else has

and our minds on

how badly we

want it,

but the universe

with its endless eyes

doesn’t blink

a single one

when we’ve

earned or

lost a million.

Our tiny order

doesn’t mean

a thing

when galaxies

collide.

Renee Novosel

on avian matters.

November 26, 2014November 27, 2014 ~ reneeisokay ~ 6 Comments

Each morning

neighborhood crows

fly toward

a gently

rising sun,

hundreds landing

softly on the

highest hilltop

as our golden orb

slides into

watercolor skies.

Chattering of

breaking avian

news beneath

trees undressing,

they welcome together

daylight in

funeral attire and

with shrill songs,

doing a thing

that the human

in me can’t

help but join

in doing –

we marvel

in the sunrise

together.

Never minding

my presence

or admiration,

never minding

their bad reputation

for doing

dirty jobs,

never minding

their tenuous

flightpath

between

death and life,

they do their

crow thing

each day

and fly each

evening back

toward the sun

as it slips

into a fiery

goodnight.

Inhabiting the boundary

between heightened

existence and

ambivalence,

they’ve little

concern for where

November winds

blow decaying things

during the cold night,

rather they

sleep soundly

amongst the dead

before gathering

for tomorrow’s sun,

rising once again

upon a world alive

with morbid

avian purpose.

Renee Novosel

fruits and nothings.

October 16, 2014 ~ reneeisokay ~ 14 Comments

What does

it mean to let

come what may?

Formless words

dense with

abstraction

dripping with

the tart juices

of something

less than love

and greater

than reason

shock a tongue

expecting

the tickle

of sweet

fruits and

nothings

tasted and

whispered

after the

world was

asleep

and only

the stars

were

watching.

Bitter fruits

growing from

the soft petals

of decadent words

(with vibrant hues

and sweet aromas

that trick the bees

into yielding

poisonous honey)

are innocent

carriers of the

impolite pain

of sacred words

lightly thrown

into the face

of a one who

craves them

like breadcrumbs

toward the

eager beak of

a starving pigeon.

Renee Novosel

a matter of perpetual creation.

September 25, 2014 ~ reneeisokay ~ 23 Comments

The carbon of my body

recalls the best of it all:

the time before

worry and loss,

the time before

hunger and pain,

the time before

good and evil.

The time when

atomic collision

was the long

and short of it.

When molecules

that would travel

far and wide

before becoming

you and I

and the skies

and the trees

buddied up

in the belly of an

elemental bakery.

A super-massive

pulsating, churning,

bubbling womb.

A hostile incubator.

Our celestial mother

martyred by iron

so that we

might live as

rearrangements

of her labors,

her reflection

eternally trapped

in the eyes of

those who

know her best,

reminding us

to never ignore

that we are

all born

together.

Renee Novosel

the weak cog.

June 11, 2014 ~ reneeisokay ~ 19 Comments

So we’ve got

these things

that are just

the best at

what they do –

fruits and fireflies,

trees and tigers,

demons and dogs,

each commanding

a unique

genetic purpose

without question

or doubt.

Countless creatures

of leaf and fur,

of scale and skin,

of life and breath

working and resting,

foraging and nesting,

attacking and defending,

keeping this

clockwork ticking,

while we struggle

with our big brains

and fancy thumbs

to get at

the meaning

of life.

You’ll never

see a bear

slumped over

on the forest floor

wallowing in

the despair of

meaninglessness,

an ant paralyzed

by fear of change,

a fern listless

in the wake of

unrequited love.

Human beings are

simultaneously

the most effective

and defective

animals

on the planet.

Renee Novosel

the blindness of busy.

June 6, 2014June 6, 2014 ~ reneeisokay ~ 33 Comments

It’s walking

down a road

stunned by

the beauty

only to realize

you’ve driven it

hundreds of times.

We miss so much

when we hurry.

It’s the golden finch,

the baby mantis,

the fuchsia wildflowers

nestled amongst

thorny weeds,

delicate,

gorgeous,

and hidden from

hurried faces.

Rushing past

the loves of our lives

to make the bus,

catch the light,

get to work,

blindly chasing

the empty dream,

finishing gold-plated

in this heated race

toward death,

rushing past the love of your life,

past walks and drinks,

past hands held shyly,

past nervous lips

meeting beneath

flickering street lamps,

past quiet conversations

draped in dawn’s

blue light,

rushing past

what songs

and poems

and lives

are made of.

Rushing past inspiration,

we are driven by the

constant fear

of slowing down

for long enough

to look it all

in the eyes

and see the truth

that proves

this madness

wrong.

Renee Novosel

manifest destiny

May 28, 2014 ~ reneeisokay ~ Leave a comment

'Betrayal' by Mario Sanchez Nevado — ‘Betrayal’ by Mario Sanchez Nevado

The river muddy and deep

is somewhat welcoming

and even warm looking

as I ponder the farther distance

of walking the bridge

over swimming the waters.

Just an angry current or two,

a shorter distance

for the price of

a few hundred calories

and a swift gray undertow.

(Just my clothes and phone

to sacrifice to

the trash and filth.

Just me and the river.)

The sun shines hot

on my back

for the first time

in always and never

as the striking

primitive valley

reminds me

with it’s velvety hills

and garish billboards

that we’ve squandered

genuine beauty

for the sake of

hideous vanity.

Renee Novosel

when the weather wants to talk.

May 26, 2014May 26, 2014 ~ reneeisokay ~ Leave a comment

The storm nudged me

through the window,

through the world

as I sat on the couch

just waiting

for something

to happen.

Through the window.

Through the woods.

Over the hill

strange lights

made crazy

in the clouds,

drawing me out

toward the park

on the mount,

through the woods

and toward the light

the hill crested

revealing the sky’s

silent inferno,

a hellish orange

miles away,

slow bolts of

skeletal lightning

cut through the

cream soup air

toward dehydrated ground,

reading it like braille

and drawing me into

the heart of the storm,

an alive thing

with a secret to share:

“Don’t be afraid of complexity:

I am a ghost of change.

You smelled me coming,

am I not welcoming?”

Renee Novosel

journey home

May 15, 2014May 26, 2014 ~ reneeisokay ~ Leave a comment

Sitting here on this

brisk spring morning,

feet snuggly in fluffy boots,

sipping rich creamy coffee and

heavy sweater hugging tightly,

I’m as warm as I’ve ever been

while the grasshopper hosta,

pine cone lily,

hearty iris,

delicate succulent,

and dancing Japanese maple

uncoil their leaves

for the welcoming day

in a breezy

synchronized sway,

beckoning me back

to this daylight

from a Neptune night,

(sentinel on the

edge of light,

frozen azure orb of wind

and unforgiving darkness

makes an eternity

of spinning

six thousand miles per hour

through emptiness,

keeping me

just beyond reach

of return home

or permanent escape

into interstellar space,

forcing feeding

the easy answer to a

taunting question:

for every winter

there truly is a spring.)

Sometimes we survive by

remaining dormant

in frozen soil,

awaiting the

beckoning warmth

and tickling rays

of sunlight

to remind

our slumbering roots that

there’s more life to live,

(at least for now),

so come out and live it.

Renee Novosel

Moveable ocean.

April 30, 2014May 26, 2014 ~ reneeisokay ~ 2 Comments

Wet and warm

like a first real kiss,

her raindrops fall

in a heavy, steady, rhythmic

symphony of drum beats

on the canvas awning

above our mountaintop window,

rolling green hills

become a veiled dragon

sleepily watching

the rooftop patchwork

lazily bathing

as I sit quietly reveling

in this dousing

downfall of a

movable ocean,

April rain quenches

chartreuse shoots

and mud-born buds

as she soothes our

winter-weathered souls

with restorative moisture

carried far and long

over glacial scars

and endless plains,

wafting through

open windows

a welcome friend

with open arms

and cerebral ambiance,

generously lending us

her ancient sedation

while passing through

on her journey

to reunite

with the sky.

Renee Novosel

Wallflower Whimsy

Words from the introverse.

nature

when the walls collapse

on avian matters.

fruits and nothings.

a matter of perpetual creation.

the weak cog.

the blindness of busy.

manifest destiny

when the weather wants to talk.

journey home

Moveable ocean.