PERVADE TODAY

06 18 99

Hollowness, what brings you to pervade today?

There once were days of selflessness

when gracious gluttony nestled in its slumber

and its dreams relayed the open spirit of me

I thrived upon the open soul

and picked from vital sources

with a mind's eye of second-hand empirical forte

Now I must join the fallen file

Their empty line-up calls

The crystal-flapped velocity of time

seemingly dared us to take it for granted

In binge we ate our cornucopias raw

and sacrificed our jaws to sinewy slavery

We sucked some dry, we swallowed whole

but now we lick the bowl;

A taste of demotional practice

for the high and mighty

occupation for the rank and flighty

Whoever thought the lexicons would know their limits?

They hid advice and sought the artifice

The psalmists have all grown disgusted

Pessimists say they can be trusted

now

Who am I or we to argue?

Eyes they plod and still we still prod

with our progressive passion

We hit and run the paradox

of FM radio stations

Time will fly yet we insist

on letting the imagination float

The poor neglected ears

paralyzed and stale

register no connections;

no agent to honour the scream of the handwriting

Urgency of idiom will only come through in a remix

This is my portrait of hollowness

I wish I could convey its claws

Venturing through the curls of a mind at a standstill

guarantees a boring trip

Even the piecemeal moments of genius

are compelled to buy into the program

in hopes of a future renaissance

and funnel-free harmony

I tried to treat too much like nothing

now this emptiness feels stuffy

No orphans in this sober square,

conception's what I seek

On I rage into the grainy

Goliath grip of seduction

Something's not right in the magic

bellows a fatherless voice

He'll be in humble Hades' gut

before his thought's a star

And it will glimmer

It'll shine out there when it's dark

(like a blemish on a perfect record)

Smitten, the converted ebb and flutter

in the bowels of each new revelation

seeking wow in flow

exposed in response to orator's silken tongue

But that's a yackety past,

get on with history

A notebook lies unheeded on the cold headboard

enjoying its Appollonian role

in a fallen mecca for convention

Mid-June and nothing

The figureheads are faithless

In my sleep I hear their sighs

and with the doves I sympathize

What can't be trained will not pertain

No one care for how you got there

or the image process

End credit, bottom line;

here's your sign.

Author's Note

Written in 1999. Untouched since.

Reviews

[Rosalind Gale]

I care for your writing very much (though I do not review so often). I admire the complex image, or perhaps its simplicity. Also, the range and obscure emotion, on occasion. I do not change anything of mine, I write from the heart and soul - no drafts in poetry (drafts are for my history students) I sink into your work, like I do some others on here, too. Not many, Elisa, Corset, PoppySilver, Bongo, Rushin. Always with you there is a sense of mad singularity, yet I know you, I know you.

[kublakhan27]

Thanks so much Rosalind, it means a lot to know that my words can click with someone on such a deep level. I write with the intention of never having to go back to something to revise. I'd rather labour over a stanza for a week than scribble one down and have to return to it. You do have a deep understanding of where I'm coming from. Many thanks.

[Robbie~xoxo~]

"He'll be in humble Hades' gut

before his thought's a star

And it will glimmer

It'll shine out there when it's dark

(like a blemish on a perfect record)

Smitten, the converted ebb and flutter

in the bowels of each new revelation

seeking wow in flow

exposed in response to orator's silken tongue"~ Where do you come up with such an astounding imagery? This completely blows me away..WOW! If pessimists can be trusted are they being realistic, and are dreamers facing the ultimate downfall? I think not!...but then again, I'm a dreamer, and optimism is my fuel. ;)

Thought provoking write... I believe there are several messages in this piece. (if you look hard enough)

[kublakhan27]

Thanks so much my dear, I don't know where it came from either, even now haha I wonder though if I was subconsciously writing a sort of time capsule, something assessing where I was then, then literally forgotten for years until I found it again, to compare to where I am now. I'm glad you like that part in particular, I think it's the core of the piece. But it certainly veers off into many other places too. I guess it has stood the test of time judging by the response, which was far more enthusiastic than I was anticipating, so I'm glad I posted it now :)

[Pete Langley]

To me, this has Miltonian shades about it....in this case, the pragmatist versus the dreamer! I`m not sure who wins here. How much can we indulge our dreams against reality....and at what cost? Another finely woven tapestry, Steve. P.

[kublakhan27]

I am truly humbled by the mere mention of Milton my friend. This was indeed written around the time that I was just beginning to discover the epic poetry of Homer and Virgil and so on. It was a truly formative period in my life, which would never be the same after the exposure to those larger-than-life characters and mythologies. Being the ambitious and overachieving lad that I was at the time (haha) I decided to attempt a lengthy piece. I didn't really know what I was getting into, but I think I learned a lot about myself and my poetic voice by the time it was done. I had no idea that it would stand up after all this time, but needless to say, I'm happy that it has. Thank you Pete.

[Jack...]

As we continue to run through this maze called life, crashing head first into well manicured dead ends and forgotten turns we once took. What we realize as we pace in patterned steps is that there is an exit and an entrance and boy I sure would hate to exit through the entrance. Very cool my friend. A little vault fodder for our minds.

[kublakhan27]

Life is a maze for sure my friend, and writing this piece was very much like navigating through a labyrinth. I ran into a few Minotaurs along the way, but lived to tell the tale, probably because I was too young and brash to acknowledge that I was supposed to get gored at some point haha. Today I still struggle to distinguish the exits from the entrances, but at least I know I'm moving in some direction thanks to the poetry. So glad you were able to take a message from this one. Thank you Jack.

[Leslie Philibert]

This a complex, well written poem, with considered, quality imagery.

[kublakhan27]

Thank you Leslie, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[quixotic_rose]

It's like I can literally feel the emotion that went into this piece, which is absolutely amazing. Somehow when I read it I feel like I'm coming from a great argument with your words, it's quite lovely, if you understand what I mean, if not then re-read and think it over haha :). Seriously, this is beautiful. The language/word use is freaking amazingly crazy! Awesome work

[kublakhan27]

Haha I haven't mentioned this in any of the other reviews, but not only is this piece posted just as it was when I wrote it, I didn't even READ it in all that time. Reading it again was surreal...I was disillusioned then, I'm disillusioned now, but as you can probably guess, I saw things in it that I never saw fourteen years ago, and I do pull a little more optimism out of it than I did then. So glad you were able to take so much from this piece bud, thanks as always :)

[quixotic_rose]

you were one intelligent 14 year old haha. I didnt even like books when i was that age! I love them now though. I'm glad you read it again, it's a beautiful piece.

[Rita L. Sev]

I tried to treat too much like nothing
now this emptiness feels stuffy...

Lines that stood out to be mulled over... Things must be put into proper perspective, hollowing out the "stuffiness", filling up the hollow... or there is imbalance, possible tipping over beyond salvation...

Where your amazing use of the language has taken me, K.

[kublakhan27]

This is one of those poems that could only have been written at that point in my life, even though I haven't changed much at all since. As always, you astound me with your reviews, I wish I could provide you with the same depth of understanding...but you know I love your stuff ;) Many thanks as always my friend.

[Rosaria_V]

wow, this is sooo great!! Awesome job

[kublakhan27]

Many thanks my friend :)

[MsJewel]

Your words are quite thought provoking and written with strenght and emotion. The end is quite powerful. You have an amazing talent my friend.

:) Julie

[kublakhan27]

Thanks so much my friend. That means a lot coming from one of my favourite poets here :)

[MsJewel]

That is very sweet. Thank you

[icelandicblue]

What have we really created? What is it that we seek and do we really know? You cast a wide net in this intricate poem and although written in '99 it holds up as if it were written yesterday. What is to become of us I wonder when pessimists say they can be trusted now- what we need are dreamers and visionaries but it feels that as a race we have become blinded by what we can take with no forethought to what the consequences might be. An erudite write and one that deserves more than one reading.

[kublakhan27]

This piece may have never gone public if not for the writer's block I'm going through at the moment, and I don't have many left from the vault to fall back on, but this was one of them. I sat on this one for all those years cuz I just wasn't sure how it would be received. So I'm really happy to hear that it made you think about those things, which were basically the same things I was thinking of, and continue to ask myself to this day. There are no easy answers, that's for sure. Thanks very much for reading and commenting, I appreciate it greatly^^

[Inda]

Fantastic write! Talent's been with you for a long time!

[kublakhan27]

Thanks so much, greatly appreciated :)