Ben Gieske Poems

She rises
Neptune’s daughter from the deep
warming to the movements of a symphony
for an instant poised in Boticellian style
...

Can a cat catch cold? Certain cats certainly can. Clumsy cats can. Can a cow chew their cud? Cows can certainly chew the cud. Can a cowardly crow caw? A cat can’t cow or cackle like a chicken or cock. Cowardly crows can caw but not cluck like a chicken can. A cheetah is a cunning cat and certainly can catch cold, a crow, cunning cats and certain canines. Call a cat and the cat comes. The cat circles, curls and canoodles. Cheetahs can’t canoodle.

As the cock crowed, a cunning cat climbed into a cave, crawled, circled and calmly curled in a close-knit clump.
...

shimmering moonlight
tethered boats
rocking with the stars
...

Man: Why do you sleep so much?
Cat: To dream.

Man: What do you dream about?
...

We never drove to Harlan
Over the ridges and through the high land.

We never shared the dreams of Schubert’s Traumerei
...

Grandma
wearing her sweater
the one with the hole
...

.....MEMORIAL DAY
.....at the cemetery
counting the shadows
...

just beyond
sunset’s burst of color
a glimpse of promise
so far between wishes
...

raking with the breezes
as long as it pleases
just a patch with no boundaries or limits set
maybe from that rose bush
...

To what lengths do we seek Wahrheit?
Climb how many mountains to their very height.?
Is it true that we confuse Freude with Leute?
Which truly comes first Leben or Lieben?
...