110415

I turn two score old today, but in Mars years I am somewhere between 21 and 22.

Anyway, here is a brand new poem wriitten for the Poets United Midweek Motif on tranquility ( http://poetryblogroll.blogspot.com/ ). I may get in trouble for righting a poem about thermodynamics, because I do not teach it.

110415

Thermodynamics

states that with age,

we will all become uniform,

equal, and tranquil,

with no differences 

in our heights or color.

Boundaries no longer exist

and nothing is marked,

with no migration of refugees

from one system

to another, 

once perceived green 

from prosperity.

No water or mineral

is traded

because they are worthless

without individuals.

-Robert L. Jackson III

Open

Open

The German clouds

want to rain

but just slide by.

Then bells 

from a modern steeple 

emit an ancient sound, 

warding off thunder 

and bringing the sun 

to glimmer on the river,

contained in stone walls. 

The willows 

still reach down

toward the common center 

of our worlds,

as they always will,

but now they are green.

-Robert L. Jackson III

Here is a link to a video of the bells that inspired this:

http://youtu.be/xlVgB--Lo-w

Lists

Lists

The glass under the full spectrum of energy

will sag, scratch, and cloud;

but keep the boundary intact

between the two atmospheres.

The impatiens and ivy may unravel beyond

above the window box and pot rim

or be sheared by teeth,

but still keep the roots watered.

Let the gypsum dry wall warp

and pale paint peel,

while the grass grows high

around a rusting mailbox,

but do not let

the timber beneath rot and buckle.

-Robert L. Jackson III

June

Somewhere there is a meadow

that has never met

metal, herbicide,

or the soles of bare

and rubber covered feet.

Each bloom located

by the wind or the animal

with severed blades

never bagged in plastic

but digested in grazers.

Somewhere the sounds

of speed and electrons

has never resonated

stalks to follow

invisible dances;

Instead they sway

-Robert L. Jackson III

13

Ringed stalks

knobbed from the gnawing 

of mammals

and browned in droughts

can bloom again

from beneath the decaying straw

in the wet Summer.

-Robert L. Jackson III

New Poems in Epiphany

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

Diameter and Distance

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

Samual Clemens

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

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

Poem about Iran and the State of the World

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

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