Poetry2ponder's Blog

“Radio waves traverse my brain” by Trevor Witt

Radio waves traverse my brain,
The music dances in my skull,

Transformed from electrical impulses
Into sound waves, generated by
A speaker, a musician, a poet,
Converted by my eardrum
Into mechanical energy,
Transformed into fluid motion,
Assisted by my ossicles,
And activating neurons via cations,
Delivered via channels,
Opened up by swaying stereocilia,
Generating chemical-electrical current,
Processed by nerves in my brain,

I can feel it,
In my bones.

(I enjoy the inner workings,
Of the interconnected.)

“Answer (lost)” by Trevor Witt

Everyone has an answer,
They all believe in me,
When I tell them I don’t know,
When I express doubt and fear,
But they have their own vision,
Their own monsters, and their own dreamworlds.
While well intentioned,
they are not in my mind,
Only I can expel my worries,
And articulate my art.
In time, I will create my own path,
For now, it is okay to be lost.

“I don’t have the energy” by Trevor Witt

We moved quickly,
Into each other’s orbits,
Like particles in an accelerator,
We were destined to collide.

You showed me the “god” particle,
Leaving me shattered, like an ice cube,
Thrown onto a frozen lake, our love,
Leaving ripples in our space-time,
Turning you into a wave, goodbye,
Goodbye, you told me you couldn’t see our future,
Can anyone?
See the future?

Now, I am beta decay,
With a positive and a negative outlook – no longer a neutron –
Composed of opposite charges,
You’ll ask, “What’s the matter?”
And I’ll say,

I don’t have the energy.

“You better not be bitter” by Trevor Witt

You better not be bitter,
It tastes like resentment,
A yucky mint,
An icky feeling,
A painful sentiment.

Give yourself a spoonful of sugar,
Try a little sweet laughter,
Practice being a clown,
Let go of your hurt,
It is heavy and only makes you frown.

“Take a step back” by Trevor Witt

Take a step back,
From the edge,
Of your reality, your perception,
Of your seat, the cliff,
So that you can see,
The vastness of the sea,
And the canyons, the spaces between the hills,
And the peaks and valleys of your moods.

“I have laid out a plan (full of change)” by Trevor Witt

I have laid out a plan,
Strategized and devised,
Courses of action and contingencies,
I’ve ran with half-baked ideas,
Refusing to let them leaven,
And so I do not rise,
But no matter what level of planning,
It all starts with planting,
A single seed of action,

To sprout

A glorious dream,
Full of hope and doubt,
Beautiful and strange,
And full of change.

“The future is abundant (unbounded)” by Trevor Witt

The future is abundant,
A series of uncertainties,
Probabilities which we might try to evaluate, approximately,
To estimate our fortunes – or our losses,
But the sheer absurdity of our ignorance
Is rooted in the enormous cliffs of our imagination,
We cannot even define our own minds.
How can we hope?
To understand?
Reality?

The future is unbounded.

“Brother, I need your help (freedom)” by Trevor Witt

Brother, I need your help,
They won’t let me eat here,
And I can’t use their roads,
Because they are so full of fear.

Stuck in a city full of bigots,
I wish I could turn off hatred’s spigot.
Sometimes I think I should give up,
I’ll go to another water fountain to fill my cup.

But, if I run now, I’ll be running my whole life.
And that shame and anger hurt worse than a knife.

They tell me to accept the status quo,
Saying it will change one day, you know.

But I won’t wait my whole life to be free.
I will stage a sit-in and I will take a knee.

Please stand with us as we take a stand,
Let’s sing “Let freedom ring” and hold each other’s hands.

Our love can light the path,
Every one matters, you do the math.

Stand with us as we take a stand,
Let freedom ring in each and every land.

“I am not a perfect computer” by Trevor Witt

The paralysis caused by fear
Slows my pen and hinders my pick,
Short-circuiting my creative outlets.
But I know that I have power,
And I choose to rewire my worries,
Unperturbed by my human insecurities.

I have faults,
I make mistakes.
There are bugs in my system,
And I often need updates.

I am not a perfect computer.

“A damn good cappuccino” by Trevor Witt

A damn good cappuccino
Can change your entire day,
Shifting your perspective,
Propelling you forward,
Waking you up to possibilities.
Coffee, an algorithm for rewiring the brain,
A method of madness,
A science experiment gone right,
Fertile grounds for a new beginning.

“Imagine (Looking out for one another)” by Trevor Witt

Imagine housing for everyone.
Imagine having enough to eat.
Imagine having a good night’s sleep.
Imagine not being harassed by police.
Imagine having a place called home,
A safe space,
With neighbors who care,
Sharing a meal,
Relaying job opportunities,
Looking out for one another.

How beautiful it would be!

“The Juxtaposition Of Images (And the chocolate croissant in my stomach)” by Trevor Witt

The juxtaposition of images,
Like words, paints a picture,
As do taste and smell,
Like the swirl of espresso,
Mixed with steamed milk,
And I am overcome
By the shades of green,
As they fade into yellows,
And I am intrigued
By the shades of brown,
From dried leaves, to branches, to dirt,
And I am fulfilled
By the blue sky and the trees overhead,
And the chocolate croissant in my stomach.

“Shift Our Ways” by Trevor Witt, inspired by SOW Collective

Shift our ways,
Sow community,
Sow friendship,
Sow a seed,
Sow a garden,
Sow an oasis,
A break from the desert,
Reclaiming land for life,
Cultivating growth and curiosity,
So we can continue,
To survive and to thrive,
Shifting our ways,
Sowing humility,
Sowing opportunity,
Sowing collaboration,
Sensing our wisdom,
Shifting our ways.

“Be still (Will you?)” by Trevor Witt

Be still,
Or move,
There is no other action.

Spin,
Vibrate,
Build momentum from a single point.

The world is turning,
Will you?

“Afraid to bloom” by Trevor Witt

Afraid to bloom,
Because criticizing critters might consume,
My petrified petals,

Afraid of my own judgements,
I feel unworthy of bearing fruit,
Unworthy of love, unworthy of my roots,

Ready to wither,
I am already decaying, slowly desiccating,
And yet I receive water,

From some kind souls,
Filled with love and compassion,
And slowly, the ground softens,

They lay fresh mulch beside me,
And slowly, the earth begins to heal,
Replenishing the soil and nourishing me.

Now I will grow into what I know I could become,
A giant oak, with a sturdy trunk, overlooking my saplings,
My leaves and branches still tremble, in awe of the winds and rains of Giving,

And I am finally ready to let my acorns go.