—Poetry by JD DeHart, Chattanooga, TN
—Photos by Katy Brown, Davis, CA
GAMING THE SYSTEM
Forget the trees
Outside my door a moment.
I was seeing the bright colors
Of future worlds by the time
I was ten. In the films I watched, I met
Cities and skyscrapers.
Batman saved my reading life.
In the video games I played, I found
The ability to hop into new worlds, and leap
Over unfamiliar obstacles.
In those days, we had to level up,
You started back at the home screen if you
Stopped the game. No re-spawning.
So, my days were spent trying to beat
A boss—then starting back at square one,
Over and over.
Forget the trees
Outside my door a moment.
I was seeing the bright colors
Of future worlds by the time
I was ten. In the films I watched, I met
Cities and skyscrapers.
Batman saved my reading life.
In the video games I played, I found
The ability to hop into new worlds, and leap
Over unfamiliar obstacles.
In those days, we had to level up,
You started back at the home screen if you
Stopped the game. No re-spawning.
So, my days were spent trying to beat
A boss—then starting back at square one,
Over and over.
How many days, wrapped in blizzards,
Did I spend navigating a digital character
Through a video snow.
Home of M.C. Escher
There is Space
where space should be.
This poem is not about
rockets, I assure you.
There is a wondering
absence where there really
is not absence. Am I
an arm, a mind, an interconnected set
of thoughts and instruments
moving ensemble
what is my motion
my e motion
what is my work
life, work life
the continuation, the
meaning.
Just Don't Go There!
I Have Tried
too long to brace verdant reality,
bunching up worries into an
easy-to-follow guide,
warnings whispered on websites,
and more time, time
to linger longer in the quiet,
stillness of the waters that pass,
decorated with litter.
Now, I linger again in the
stillness of this time, unsure
of where the world goes from
here. Hopeful. Realistic.
Almost a year ago, I lay
on my back as I do today,
different purposes, new reasons,
lack of reason.
I thought of what would
be ahead, framing moments
of trust
in unseen figures. A constant
hope.
Weeks earlier, I accepted
a new path that would
come to reality.
I try to know myself,
thinking, reading, believing
in bright promises ahead.
I sought connecting
as I wait for warmer
weather.
Others see me as
warrior
mentor
soul friend
collaborative writer
Appalachian scholar
supportive
attentive leader
one with kind eyes
dependable
covenant partner
educator
sincere
one who invited
healing.
I am only one person
making a way
in the world,
mindful of footprints,
seeking
true words and actions.
There is
a space where
space should be,
there is a wondering
absence where they really
is no absence. A hollow
that is filled but still echoes.
Am I an arm,
a mind, an interconnected set
of thoughts and instruments
for making syllables and other
sounds.
What is my motion
my emotion
what is my work
life, work-life,
where are those boundaries
now?
the continuation, the meaning,
as days stack up.
I want to be a better
teacher, a voice that’s honest
a clear teacher of teachers.
NEW PATHWAY
beginning of a forest,
dogs trotting ahead in the path,
fresh air adjusting leaves
like ornaments around me,
warmth of summer
years ago, remembered again
point of a branch, and I know
I’ll return here soon
again and again, and never leave
as I once did.
Preserving the silent world.
__________________
Today’s LittleNip:
We Rushed
to the sound of broken
water and crashing streams.
A thundering knock
at the door, early morning. These
are the pools we stepped in.
For too long I’ve spent too much
time puttering on things that just don’t
matter, trying to peddle my goods.
Time to stop applying a metric
to my faith—good, better, best—
Just be.
It’s enough.
Really.
—JD DeHart
___________________
Many thanks to JD DeHart for his fine poetry today, and to Katy Brown for her fine photos! Food for thought on this day of continuing Advent.
This day is a busy one in NorCal poetry events, too, beginning in Placerville at 1pm with the International Human Rights Day Celebration, featuring poets, speakers, art, music and more! (Go to www.mtdemocrat.com/prospecting/community-invited-to-international-human-rights-day-event for the article in Placerville’s Mountain Democrat.) Then at 4pm, Sacramento Poetry Alliance presents Jeff Knorr and Jeanine Stevens, 1160 Perkins Way, Sacramento. Tonight, Second Saturdays at the Brickhouse Gallery in Sacramento features Terry Moore. Click UPCOMING NORCAL EVENTS at the top of this column for details about these and other future poetry events in the NorCal area—and keep an eye on this link and on the Kitchen for happenings that might pop up during the week.
___________________
—Medusa
Photos in this column can be enlarged by
clicking on them once, then clicking on the x
in the top right corner to come back to Medusa.
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Just remember:
the snakes of Medusa are always hungry—
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