humid tea and dry pines poetry

Leap through the Mist

2011-12-25T09:10:00.000-08:00

Leap through the Mist

My mind is a mountain path
with shear cliffs rising on one side
and falling on the other.
There is a temple somewhere above,
perhaps on the peak,
but the architecture is difficult
to see from the gray path.
However, in the lush fertile valley
the gold shimmers
through the cloud covered peaks,
revealing existence.
As feet crack
and green is forgotten,
the thought seeds
to jump to feel the fall,
a measure of the height reached.
Without weight, but within the drag of the air,
perhaps the full spectrum is painted,
and feathers spread from the brush.

-Robert L. Jackson III

Middle Ages

2011-11-07T12:04:00.000-08:00

Middle Ages

From the moldy thatched hut

steaming on the mountain side

I finally emerge

with a gleaming sword

and my eyes squint

still strained from the white hearth fire.

The modern man follows

leaving his right angled room

after conquering the equations

he has poured over for centuries.

The mist conceals

a distant coastline,

the goal that has devolved

in my ancient mind.

The hills I must travel

disperse into perspective,

seeming like leaping stones

on a turbulent river in the distance.

I feel the hilt

wrapped in new leather

as my finger tips

tap at molded plastic pads

inscribed with language,

and my blade

states a memory

in the metallic reflections.

The hollows between the hills

hold mirrors

that will reveal new scars

as I batter through

the wilderness

of kin I’ve never known.

As I approach the divide

between the rigid and malleable,

the dispensable articles

will fall and return to their sources.

The electronics will whirl,

heating my skin

in a humid swamp,

until I submerge

and close all circuits.

-Robert L. Jackson III

Entanglement

2011-10-10T05:42:00.000-07:00

A brand new poem...

Entanglement
The city morphs
to match the tourist’s demands.

The atom vibrates

to dance with the investigator.

A snow globe swirls

sending sparkling flakes

around bright dulled landmarks

all at room temperatures.

The electron smiles

as its location is measured,

or is it smirking

of condescendence?

The tree grows

around older metal bars,

slowly replacing the original pillars,

wrought for support

and carrying the gravity

of celestial life.

Parents nourish children

and shield them from

crystals of water

and photons from the sun;

until the walls crack

the roof leaks,

the foundation tilts,

and the next generation

must reinforce, rebuild,

or start from spent soil.

-Robert L. Jackson III

On the Eve- an older poem

2011-08-24T08:11:00.000-07:00

On the Eve

Beyond the traffic

a collision of metal bodies

had occurred.

The muddy waters

of ancestry had stilled

to a mirror.

Some may have

perished in the asphalt

but the caught

were concerned with time.

Grass flew out on the gasps

of emergency vehicles

on a yellow median.

Glass cuts like a door,

apparent as a result

of a researcher’s life.

Mud oozed

from beneath wearing tires,

and the warm month

uncannily tired the followers.

-Robert L. Jackson III

This one is excerpted from Shedding Layers of Ocean.

4. aus der 2.

2011-06-19T13:41:00.000-07:00

4. aus der 2.

The true swans float
on melted snow
while the plaster avian
made from the ground gypsum
of a mountain brook mill
erodes into wayfarers' water
and the stone castle king
sinks in a shallow water stream
bobbing on the ripples
of composers
and knights coated in dragon blood,
now lost, latent,
and reborn in animation.

Robert L. Jackson III

From the Beach at Cape San Blas

2011-05-24T12:59:00.000-07:00

Here's a half baked poem written from Cape San Blas...

Castles and cities of sand
accelerate the world
on a small scale.
Rivers erode curves in minutes
rather than decades.
Mountains crumble in moments
rather than eons.
The age of man
passes with the lunar tide,
but is deceiving
and returns
to reclaim each ruin
and repopulate each once saturated settlement.

Robert L. Jackson III

The Oaks on Toomer's Corner

2011-02-25T13:40:00.000-08:00

A poem I originally wrote about when one of the Oaks on Toomers corner in Auburn was burnt, but I edited and finished it after the recent poisoning.

Tree on the corner

I am an oak
that lives
in green
through all seasons,
where two young
straight flat rocks
meet and combust
in blinking lights
and driving smoke.
My twigs intertwine
but never grasp
with another
whose roots
share my soil
below the rhythms
of travelers,
revelers
and the lost.
I have never been
to a Fall competition
and don’t know
what it is,
but the long white leaves
and the fire
have found me,
in frequent moments
over the years,
stinging leaves and bark.
My species
can last a millennia
and never see another
the same,
or never even grow past
the underbrush,
but in the storms
our branches
fall the same.
A tree in the forest
shelters, holds soil, and soars.
A tree on the corner is more significant
in human eyes and a target,
and a trampled idol.

Robert L. Jackson III

New Poems in Epiphany

2011-02-03T13:08:00.000-08:00

The poems Shallow Time and Traction have been published online at Epiphany Magazine (these are actually old poems that are finally out there):

http://epiphmag.com/

Thanks,

RJ

Jordan - a poem about a river

2010-11-29T05:39:00.000-08:00

Here is an old poem:

Jordan

Sorted through the locks

social ships float

on the sludge’s displacement

and are moved by the eddies

recycling flagella and movement

to an upstream altitude

of red bolted cranes

and the tobacco leafed trees

swaying underneath a group

of popular photons

and the waterline embeds

only dipping with new loads.

-Robert L. Jackson III

Previously published in The Parnassus Literary Journal, 1998

and in the book Shedding Layers of Ocean.

Poems Published

2010-11-10T08:22:00.000-08:00

Good news...five poems (Aethereal Gap, Arbor on Arc, Roman Glass Necklace, Eclipse, and Blinding Blizzard) have been published online at Carcinogenic Poetry:

http://carcinogenicpoetry.blogspot.com/

Another one, 'Psycho-monetary' is going to published in the November issue of the Houston Literary Review:

http://thehoustonliteraryreview.com/

Later y'all,

RLJ

Aethereal Gap

2010-10-23T19:51:00.000-07:00

Aethereal Gap

I draw the ghosts from the earth
and the brittle bricks still holding
lodged projectiles from distant cannon.
Their swords become solid only at night,
when the cemetery gates are closed.
Only when the light no longer reflects
have they frozen and revealed geometric perfection.
Only water that has frozen
can bear any shape.
Although I had opened the iron latch
their metaphysical beauty
caused eyes to evolve to a fertile green
and brought my flesh to flatten
against the hard ground
of a gaped wood floor,
assembled by buried bones and dust,
yet aethereally more complete
than the modern tile filled with polymer sealant.
I am swimming in the aether
without armor, and without a shield
but with no gap
between what is untouchable
in the broad daylight.

-Robert L. Jackson III
From http://www.pbase.com/merriwolf/image/37346403

a little ole' one

2010-09-20T14:53:00.000-07:00

a while ago,
my pages would fill
without time
for creases
or wear to appear,
but my mind
has become less prolific
and now
the creases on the pages
match the wrinkles
in the mirror.

-Robert L. Jackson, 2010

Family Tree

2010-06-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

My family visited the Angel Oak near Charleston, SC this past week and this poem was a product.

Family Tree
(at the Angel Oak)

A stable trunk grows like the ground,
expanding its roots
through new soil and territories,
but still unable to provide
a solid foundation for every limb
and every leaf.
So the branches grow;
some high into the air,
toward the perfect light of the sun,
only to crack and fall
and decay
from a winter weight
or a summer swirl of a tornado
or a steady hurricane force.
Other appendages return to the earth
to stabilize
and provide anchor
for the heady ones.

-Robert L. Jackson

http://www.angeloaktree.org/01_DSC3519-raw2.jpg

Diameter and Distance

2010-02-25T08:55:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to post this for a long while...

Diameter and Time

The dark thick earth
supports the stalks
of living things,
but sometimes they fall
and scrape the bark
or pull with them
the roots of close neighbors.
Horizontal they begin to decay,
but only slowly with time
and it takes longer
then the lives of the others
to be completely consumed
and returned
to the source.
The larger ones
hollow out and leave a useful shell,
and those in a rich mud
fossilize forever.

-Robert L. Jackson III, 2010

From http://grandpacliff.com/Trees/Img-Trees/rotten-log.jpg

Top 25 Most Poetic Songs part 2

2010-01-06T07:53:00.000-08:00

Top 25 Most Poetic Songs...Continued from Previous Post

Sorry it has taken so long for me to add more to the list:

23. Great song and the video is synchronized to one of a great movie:

THE BYRDS - Turn ! Turn ! Turn !
Uploaded by danadi33. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

22. Jim Croce was sadly taken well before his time.

Jim Croce - Time In A Bottle 1972
Uploaded by tch47. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

21. "Kids" by MGMT: Newer Band and song...I feel for the poor kid in the video being tormented

More to come...eventually.

Blizzard '09

2009-12-28T12:16:00.000-08:00

A new poem inspired by travel during the season.

Blizzard '09

The cotton bloomed
on brittle brown stalks,
still standing, waiting for a late harvest.
The pale fog materialized,
too thick for us to see
the concrete bridge and migrating island.
From morning to dawn
the dense humidity would not relent,
blurring the horizon and the coast.
After the pummeling of hurricanes
over geological history,
the tides and currents
still deposited the white pure quartz.
The wind broke the fog
to rape our eyes with abrasive
and pile the broken crystals
along ridges, corners and features.
The pixels reported
of a white storm
able to stop mechanical man,
destroying our precision schedules
until melting into life.
Colorless glowing satin draped itself
over flesh now promised.
Despite the cover,
white is not an effective
camouflage,
as it contrasts all colors
and flows past the smooth curves
while accentuating
the imperfections.

-Robert L. Jackson III

Movies and Books

2009-09-01T06:51:00.000-07:00

I've watched a few decent movies lately that I thought I would mention.

First, I just finished watching The Legend of 1900 which contains some quite poetic moments in the film. It blends music with the realization of these significant moments and the journey that is life. The film is about a man whom is born on a cruise ship in 1900 and never sets foot on land (a literary situation if you ask me, I am sure you can make all sorts of metaphors and symbolic meaning from it). Here are some the quotes that I liked from it:

"You rolled out in front of me a keyboard of millions of keys, millions and billions of keys that never end. And that's the truth Max, that they never end. That keyboard is infinite... and if that keyboard is infinite, then on that keyboard there is no music you can play. You're sitting on the wrong bench... That is God's piano."

"Land? Land is a ship too big for me, it's a woman too beautiful, it's a voyage too long, perfume too strong..."

"Why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why? I think land people waste a lot of time wondering why?. Winter comes, you wish it was summer. Summer comes, you live in dread of winter. That's why we never tire of travel."

I also watched Gran Tourino by Clint Eastwood. I have really enjoyed all of his movies that he has directed. They really have a human realism too them that connects as all (as is especially shown in this film).

Finally, we decided to see the Time Traveler's Wife. Unfortunately I was not as enamored with this one. The could probably be considered a great book and is genius. However, I felt like the movie was a watered down chik-flick version (the graphic parts were left out mostly). It wasn't that bad though and might still be enjoyable to see.

RJ

Eclipse 7/22/09

2009-07-24T13:40:00.000-07:00

I saw the eclipse in Korea (about 80% of total). Talk about dumb luck for scheduling a trip at this time. I was running around the park showing the locals my pinhole viewer (a piece of paper with a pin hole in it). Here is a poem inspired by the subject:

Eclipse 7/22/09
The sun
tried to darken
and return
to my natural state
on the other side.
The moon’s shadow
fit perfectly
over the sun’s bulb
as if designed
for this moment.
The light, though dimmed,
still burned
my blue eyes.
Sometimes white clouds
would filter it enough
to reveal the sharp crescent.
Barbarically pierced,
a thin sheet
also projected
the image on the ground
and others saw
and defaced their newspapers
to see the spectacle
without damage or language.

-Robert L. Jackson III

Poem From Korea

2009-07-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

Started writing this on the plane and then finished it when I could not sleep early in the morning:

arbor on arc

On all global surfaces
the statically flailing limbs
always grow toward the light
and the roots
always grow into the dark
core of the Earth.
The mirrored green trees
grow apart
and away from the Earth's center.
Their roots are the closest
but still distant.
Some branches
seek to strangle the sky,
while some droop
in return,
and others float
parallel to the ground.
Except for their trunks
they follow no artificial law
but are punished
by the pruning
around power lines,
unlike the strict hedges
aligning the road

-Robert L. Jackson III

Top 25 Most Poetic Songs

2009-07-16T08:54:00.000-07:00

Well, for lack of anything better to post, I've decided to list the Top 25 Most Poetic Songs. They have to be the most poetic rather than simply the best to stay inline with the subject of this blog. However, because poetry and song are very closely related, an actual list could go on and on. In addition, any such list really depends on the taste of the individual who makes the list. To be on the list the song also has to have a video on Youtube, so it has to be fairly mainstream and popular. I've also limited one song per an artist or band. Therefore, in actuality, this is Rob's Favorite Poetic Sounding Songs that are available on Youtube. Remember, its just for fun.

I will undoubtably forget some good ones, so I'd like to here your suggestions of songs that I might leave off.

Here are the first two songs on the list:

25. Radiohead: No Surprises
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgzeqwhNTDk
24. Jimmy Hendrix - All Across the Watchtower

Broken Levees

2009-07-06T07:53:00.000-07:00

My family and I had a great trip to Missouri over the Independence Day weekend. On Friday I spent most of the day helping the Levee Czar (my father) inspect the levees surrounding about 800 acres of farmland. The levees had broken in several locations and flooded all the land and was inaccessible until just last week. It is amazing how fast the flow of water could erode 20 foot tall piles of soil, that even had large trees growing on it. The levees will eventually be repaired and the land will be used to grow a crop (probably soy beans), although much of the season has already been lost.

In homage, here is one of my favorite songs

When the Levee Breaks by Led Zeppelin

Here is also a short poem I wrote during the trip:

Levee Cracks

The levees were raised
decades ago
from virgin soil.
Maples and oaks
slowly separated
and grew into
the artificial terrain,
fortifying it
but initiating cracks.
Vehicles and weather
also slowly wore
the peaks down
until a 100 year
flood arrived
and pressurized
the aging walls.
The cracks
grew and joined
and the water
bled free
of containment.
The branches and trunks
fell and drifted
downstream
to dam
the flexing creek.
-Robert L. Jackson III

Samual Clemens

2009-06-30T12:06:00.000-07:00

I am going to Missouri, the show-me-state, tomorrow with my family, to visit the extended family. It is the land of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. Mark Twain is from the state and besides Harry Truman, might be the most famous individual from the state. It is very green and very beautiful. I have many memories of summer trips there fishing in the muddy waters and making mud slides (lot's of mud is found there). In tribute, here are some links to poems and quotes by Mark Twain, who is more of a humorist poet, but a great one.

Twain quotes about poetry

Genius -Humorous (but maybe true!) take on what true genius is.

Here is also one of mine, unfortunately it is more serious...

Under Avalon, Missouri

Gray in the ground,
the fertile fields whistled
on the warmth of a winter
altered and molded
by a family of Avalon.
His dove spoke
in western chords
once to the carved bars
and recently, to a pure
congregation.
Under Avalon
a steam engine sifts
through harvested grain
and finds the staple
that is often overlooked.
The sky now is opaque
but the stars continue
to pierce and smear,
falling into our ground
after wandering the fields.
-Robert L. Jackson III
From Shedding Layers of Ocean

Shards

2009-06-26T09:14:00.000-07:00

Just a poem that seems to fit the day.

Shards

Many, many shards,
slipping through my skin.
Light glistening on the angles,
each beautiful, each unique.
I can't grasp any of them,
and each try, cuts.
The prism of colors,
reflects as they fall.
More still break off,
and come into reach.
I want them, I think,
but I lie on the brink,
of my own chaos.
The pain, the beauty,
the shards cutting through,
cuts healing and renewing
as they fall on through.
-Robert L. Jackson III

Available in Shedding Layers of Ocean

First Poem Published (about swimming)

2009-06-25T09:54:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been recently reviving or reinventing my poetic side. As part of that I was looking and finding old poems that I published. I came across what is actually the first poem I ever published. I submitted it to Splash Magazine in 1995, which is a magazine about competitive swimming. I used to be a competitive swimmer in high school and college. So I really don't think the poem is one of my best, but it does convey the feeling of competition and swimming. I liken it to a fun summer action movie, rather than a textured and layered drama. I think there is a place for that as fun and humor is an important part of life. As Jimmy once said "If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane." So, I'll stop rambling. Here's the link to a copy of the actual page in the magazine (hopefully it is legible enough to read):

"The Last Wall," Splash Magazine, August, 1995

Poem about Iran and the State of the World

2009-06-23T07:56:00.001-07:00

Well, I hardly slept last night. With everything going on in the world I couldn't resist writing my thoughts. I send my prayers to the people of Iran, Korea, the subway victims in Washington D.C. and people everywhere in the world. It appears that green is taking on a symbolic meaning. Here is what I wrote last night:

Green, Red, White and Blue

Beyond all borders,
whether covered
by branches, barricades, bridges,
or by blood,
we are similar
in our primal heart.
When it rains
we often relish
its sparse cleansing drops
until we grow cold
and find shelter
beneath the palms.
Green is the color of growth,
but vines
can tear down
the stone structures
of civilization.
Rather than plead,
let us build
our own palette
and become vivid
within the world
of ant hills and marble palaces,
of bursting forests and soft oceans;
forever finding balance without limits.

-Robert L. Jackson III

Post Number One

2009-06-22T19:52:00.000-07:00

Well, I've decided to open myself to the world, or at least my thoughts. I guess I need to provide a brief history about myself. However, before I do I'd like to define the intended scope of this blog. It is mostly for poetry and for discussing poetry, although I might post random thoughts from time to time. You can always easily find more information about me if you really want to, but I am not all that exciting.

I am a professor of mechanical engineering at Auburn University. I teach in this area and also perform research in friction, wear and lubrication. I went to Georgia Tech for all my degrees. I am originally from Florida and am still in love with the ocean and the natural side of the state, which is becoming harder to find. So none of this probably sounds much like the background of someone who writes poetry. However, I have been writing poetry longer than I have been doing research and I actually published poems before I ever published an engineering paper.

Well, that's enough about me. Here is the first poem that I'd like to post:

Hatching Eggs

Shedding layers of ocean
I've revealed my crustaceans.
With time we've had
more to remove,
but also more to remember.
Eroding layers of ocean
I've revealed the earth.
It will take forever
to reconstruct
all that was lost in the slide.
Flaking layers of ocean
from my dry skin,
the bones fossilize,
conditioning themselves
for the next burden.
Filling layers of ocean,
the creatures scurry;
I follow them
down the soft beach
toward the predator filled ocean.
-Robert L. Jackson III

This one also produced the title of my first book that is linked here:
Shedding Layers of Ocean