The Dark Forest

Tower

2011-12-19T10:37:00.002-05:00

tireless towers jut from ground
terrestrial beings talking around
penetrates innocence within the steel
beaming a radiant, invisible sound

seeming to sway into the clouds
staring up, the sky surrounds
the pinnacle of our perfect zeal
to perpetuate simple souls aloud

we rise and fall and then rebound
aspiring somewhat above the mound
from the toil, sweat and dirt we seal
willed divination, damn the downed

pressing forward to sign the deal
to release the god inside the wheel

— Jason Kichline

"What Ifs"

2011-12-08T00:56:00.001-05:00

whispering eyes and a nodded grin
you opened up and drew me in
I remember us without regret
in rebuilt moments years forget

a sheen on brunette locks within
an innocence revealed upon pale skin
smooth and touchable, wanted whet
I caress the realities I've never met

our laughter still carries on longing's winds
flirting with frolicked could-have-beens
you paid my heart with passions meant
to write a check I would've gladly spent

for an exchange of touch or a cautioned sin
might have changed a past we did rescind
but instead we came and saw and went
two parallel paths that bumped and bent

looking back, if we knew then
of becomings begun back who knows when
would we have wandered from windows lent
of opportunities found in chances sent?
but now time and space and fate transcends
these "what ifs" wafting between our ends

Jason Kichline

Jeremy

2011-07-15T12:32:00.003-04:00

his calm quiet precedes his presence
like consistent ticks of timed progression
he sculpts the pages with careful chisels
both in digital and temporal essence

neat and buttoned like perfection
luring it out like true confession
quiet whispers that make a noise
impacting masses in coalescence

the journey starts, the journey ends
either here or there or beyond the bends
and in the middle we find simple joys
with friends found in mere acquaintance

as one we witness your evanescence
lauding your greatness as acquiescence

2009-12-09T06:09:00.001-05:00

an act of worship makes a noise
loud above the status quo silence
bold beyond an accepted inaction
as clanging a bell, breaking night
rushing the dawn in lifted hands
we stand as one, a union, church
in one song, swaying and playing
but a family in need is mentioned
and we, the body hear and weep
call for a basket to hold blessings
and one comes forward, clanging
jangles on wood, a stretched skin
dancing, she turns it upside-down
laying down her worship for love
and each coming, carrying money
replacing music from our open lips
with open wallets from their hips
showing what true worship brings
in lives laid down and tambourines

Jason Kichline

To Whom It May Concern

2009-11-30T01:28:00.006-05:00

I write to you from the precipice
a frightening prospect ascending
a mound of bound ink rendering
how much I now fear to reminisce
as though if these words cease
the journeyman would release
and I would be lost here, alone

a mailbox stands near the tree
gnarled from howling weather
nailed and assembled together
to house this hiker’s dirty diary
read by those who wander by
and wonder at this backlit sky
where stars that die are flown

living life is not a single line
from point A to B envisioned
charted with a stern precision
geometry mapping the divine
proving God really does exist
found in everything we missed
along our walk in the unknown

what I’ve found upon this trail
from the dim lit bars to theology
and all the weakness within me
is we are made to chase our tail
the sun may rise and fall again
but failing to love will never end
tripping and falling on the stone

I stubbed my toe, it hurts like hell
some have walked with me a while
then left before this marking mile
but you have denied your farewell
stuck with me though feet were raw
and sharing the hurt and heart of all
you, a love I can never call my own

the path circles back into the wood
flesh rising up to grasp what’s mine
my spirit finding brokenness to bind
for I set my mind to do what I could
I leaned towards good, but you know
I let my lust and weakened will show
so looping back I’ll reap what I've sown

then once again there’s a familiar fork
a tired way, I chose correct before for
a dead end lay behind the other door
a promised way always comes up short
and tedium adds nausea to the route
to figure out solely what I’m all about
finding my soul through endless roam

so what do I acquire from this trip?
there’s vistas, valleys, flats and hills
but slowly I tire of those scenic thrills
but this one thing I could never skip
for life is not found among the page
but spoken from the words who age
despite the trial and temptation shown

you’ve walked with me, and I with you
sharing struggles and laughs and such
and not afraid of your warming touch
we strengthen the form of what was true
leaving our regrets to never turn back
collecting polished pebbles in our pack
rejoicing in all of the ways we’ve grown

for you, my friend, are my greatest prize
found in adventure started in your eyes
and ended here on number four forty one
finding that you and I have only begun
for days that end are the end of days
as a music too serious never plays
but we, eternal, are bound always

– Jason Kichline

Family Friends

2009-11-29T00:24:00.001-05:00

hearts strung with handspun love
no bloodlines formed between us
but friendships formed tighter
than what are found in nature
shallow commons, echoed plaster
we are seen as small yet again
judged by what has been last
and not who we have become
because they see us as we are
the men and women accepted
in love and not blood to family
just by the warm conversations
about homes still not finished
for the last nail in the house
will be the first in the coffin
or about the picnic missed and
the lawn volleyball, bickerings
to show me they belong together
or how the Latino highs accent
lows of Pennsylvania Dutch boom
faking an Alabaman southern draw
coaxing laughter from my father
this has become my true family
knit together not from genetics
but from the sinews of chance

– Jason Kichline

Eggnog

2009-11-28T08:07:00.002-05:00

we roll around the time once more
something spiced and sweet before
reminders of moments gone too soon
pressing dough and licking the spoon

sweetened cakes, baked in batches
the counting done until it matches
morsels of memories now aligned
as flavors savored one more time

just a year since you invited me
sharing laughs and cookies and tea
spilled as truth and crumbs and more
than we had expected a year before

across the counter was something new
a different taste for me to chew
I looked and saw the sugar fade
into a place that time had made

I saw it in your scared, hazel eyes
the little girl who was trapped inside
the hopes and dreams, sugar and spice
poured out like eggnog, it did entice

drawn like butter and stirred as dough
the days and weeks and months did go
and here are we, just one more past
the tip of the earth, the tip of a glass

but inside each, have noted a change
that for a moment, life was strange
as the sugar rushed in visceral veins
crystallized into a love that remains

and though I long to see that girl
and watch her as the flurries swirl
released from all she had overcome
chasing snowflakes with her tongue

– Jason Kichline

Ears

2009-11-27T18:49:00.001-05:00

it sounds a silent hiss
barely heard whispers
highly tuned unspeakables
no words, no syllables
utterings of understanding
of intangible worldly things
radiating as heat from flesh
rush of pain from the soul
shrieking in the spirit
echoes aimed at heaven
absorbed into the clouds
on it's way up I hear it go
like the wind in the treetops
a distant whistle of steam
or falling waters in streams
I feel the cry of your heart
I hurt for you, I make a sound
not aware of a proper prayer
ones that start with "our father"
or that end with a unison "amen"
just a whimper from my lips
just tears dripped down cheeks
into shared memories and care
soaking liquid hurt into a wad
resounding it to the ear of God

– Jason Kichline

Eyes

2009-11-26T10:01:00.002-05:00

until nothing you've given can be returned?

our friends and lovers cannot be owned
for in truth, they were never really yours
but bought to soar high, I have learned

I love when it hurts, in heaviness
for a prayer must be crying out in pain
from the hurt in you and in me and in them

it pierces heaven like a midnight shrill
waking others, but mostly God to rouse
and walk down the hall and stairs descend

into your hell, for that is where I belong
rattling the keys of the kingdom, grasped
unlocking cages, raining on the devil's parades

for the purest of love, the really good stuff
the stuff that changes people and the world
gets you whipped as your worldly want fades

your limbs chained as your hope wanes

spit upon as acid rain because true love

is tough, has teeth, tortures your very core

will they beat you?
will they imprison you?
will they watch you die for it?
until you are remembered no more?

or will you stand on street corners and wave
smiling like pageant princesses declaring
the superiority of your pathetic little cult?

the proud will fall like fragile cards, stacked

meticulously into a shoddy house for the eternal one
queens and kings, jacks and aces, fools and numbers

rules of randomness rule the congregated players
who hope in a human institution that they believe
to be of God – lost and blind – we become an insult

how big is God?
how big is Love?

2009-10-31T23:59:00.003-04:00

in darkness the demons creep
chased by light into the deep
such evil things made like new
concealed by clever plastic masks
for this time of year, no one asks
why we welcome in taboo

perhaps the dark comes from light
shadows shining ever bright
in between my favorite hue
comes the lurking deep within
playful evil has always been
encouraged secrets between two

2009-10-22T07:59:00.001-04:00

there once was a wall
laid between us as brick
between rising tall
we stand curious

water splashing in it's fall
crashing over moist nude
bodies, we inward call
to the mysterious

I hear your voice as it lulls
my concerns of age thick
within my shower stall
it swirls delirious

my mind sees you in raw
a fragile and subdued
beauty of you I saw
in visions spurious

our words echo above all
hands lather skin slick
hidden, we enthrall
instincts to possess

on each side, we each fall
a logic unable to preclude
sensual desires crawling
as joy turns serious

honestly, I only want it all
is that too much, too quick?
to tear down this wall
joining us into us

afraid this life spark will pall
dark, I claw through to you
risking an intimate recall
bearing flesh injurious

but my eternal soul's knowing
is worth a moment of showing
risking depths we could regret
raising consequences we beset
to never forget a splash in wet

– Jason Kichline

Go

2009-10-21T07:35:00.005-04:00

it's a simple solution
to an ancient problem
to wake the mind from sleep
to snap the soul from moments
like a buzzer ringing in the night
less of a bell and more like a hum
a gentle column of steam blowing
whistling like a teapot off walls
brimming over in anticipation
coupling perfectly the flesh
bridging the divine inside

tingling deep within
trembling at my core
crawling below like my fear pangs
seeping slowly towards a rear chilling
opening up sealed passageways forgotten
then in a rush as a storm strengthening
it closes down my facade strongholds
reducing my oratory to grumbling
deep below in the engine room
and my body wins the mutiny
the flesh overwhelming

– Jason Kichline

Breath

2009-10-19T04:38:00.001-04:00

each breath
is nothing
sucking of the wind
chasing after the whirls
so small
but each inhale
means everything
without it
we die
rushing intakes
the aroma of life
touching our soul
cold and clean
tickling at impurities
coaxing them to let go
automatic gasps so small
we hardly notice them at all
gushing intakes
the smell of him or her
the fragrance of citrus skin
the closeness of fabrics
igniting the ignored fires
damp wood and musty
smoldering wicks lit
hushing intakes
and I forget to speak
and I forget to breathe
speechless and breathless
without an answer of love
for nothing
like the air around
is the best answer found

– Jason Kichline

Differences

2009-10-18T18:24:00.004-04:00

are these differences nurtured?
the ones between boys and girls
are we not the same?
made from the same image?

made from the same mud?
yet...

we amplify nature
we magnify the smallest things
stereotypes and pigeon holes
neat compartments
filled with
pink ribbons
soft gentleness

flowing fabrics on frames
underhandedly coddling weakness

as if strength does not exist

strength is in her
more than in me

another woman speaks
of not writing to a man
of not talking to one either
as if there is only one way to go

a downward spiral of toxic words
am I toxic?
do my teeth have fangs?
am I thirsty for flesh?
I ask the deep questions
I prod for the answers
I want to see your strength
bite me like a dog
show me your teeth
it's natural to have anger

you were not born to be ruled

you have given birth
what have I done?
you have beauty
what have I done?
do I steal it from you
and cage you like a dog?

is it right to...
hedge you in with a fence
cut you like the grass in the yard
beat you like bushes until you submit?

his borrowed wine pours
in the deepest of nights
as the moon star soars
you bear commitments
behind unlocked doors
hidden newborn lights
teenage flesh as words
speak of adopted parents
repeating "oblivious obelisk" for
only expressed alliterative rights
and annoying a daughter
trapped in meaning meant
to stay as common as lore
or as random as flying kites
turn chasing wind into chore
they dart into empty flights
just as vaguity of hopes adore
her receptive ears and sights
her father found in flailed fluster
her friends drudging in wet cement
and she held captive by her core
striving to decode chaotic blights
noticing random is the tenet of order

– Jason Kichline

Song

2009-10-07T07:36:00.002-04:00

on my mind
in waking dreams
you sing softly to me

a Celtic tune
whispered truth
as fog rolls over sea

the waves roar
ever chasing the shore
rushing, they never meet

lips weaves threads
on looms in our heads
fine fabrics of destiny

to and from
your melody goes
tongues entangling we

between the rests
breaths heave breasts
caught wind, my eyes see

continuing on
I hear your song
echoing over knelt trees

your silken dress
drifts off into mess
secrets revealed to just be

under the moon
your song in the nude
unveiled and given to me

we make our home
among edges of known
our two souls singing free

– Jason Kichline

Ballerina

2009-10-06T06:34:00.002-04:00

sleep won't come
hiding behind shadows
staring at my restlessness
with all my being
I want to drift away
sweet seduction of slumber
my body presses
against the door jam
refusing to go into peace
my mind stresses
thoughts and paranoia
of demons lurking beyond
I have found for you
a jewel within treasure
boxes opened from forgotten
memories playback
like a spinning ballerina
songs played on metal tangs
spinning discs
songs for twirling lives
dizzy imperfections perfected
this ring of hope
uniting across ethereal
gaps of cementing purpose
this focal colloquial
ringing truth above noise
sorrowful lies stealing abundance

– Jason Kichline

Words

2009-10-05T21:57:00.002-04:00

the words may change
but the meaning stays the same

I see red letters crossed in red ink
I see the oppressors struggle to think

then in a stroke, appalled
their broken agendas flawed
are deep fried in religion
trans fatty oils anointing
the word of God like a donut
stuffed with sickening sweetness
powdered, glazed and put in a box
and consumed by round bloated kings
too fat to see their own hypocritical toes
too blinded by the piles of things
sold in temples of self-gratification
while puttering around in Walmart carts

we, fat asses consumed with ourselves
if only this ass would talk as Balaam's
the whirl of the electric motor hum
silenced by drained batteries from
the obvious revelations, hidden:

we are the word
we are the light
we are the way
we are the sight

and if we bother at all
to scribble on the page
the poorest of penmanship
the illegible writings of God
fresh ink for those
living eternal words
struggling for breath

– Jason Kichline

Scared and Lost

2009-10-05T21:26:00.002-04:00

many people to not know
inside I am a fearful mess
though my shaking doesn't show
the reasons why are yours to guess

at everything I aim to do
at love or life or work or prayer
I'm constantly reminded by the cue
that losing's reserved for those who dare

"loser" is what I call myself
though "cocky" is what others see
though told otherwise by my wealth
in the things of life, love and liberty

so, for now, I press onward on
driven by my becoming to be
sorry that all I do as wrong...
sorry will you please forgive me?

humbly, believe I don't have a clue
I'm as scared and lost as all of you

– Jason Kichline

Ageless

2009-10-05T20:44:00.010-04:00

to souls, time has no bindings
memories free of ticking chains
and I, caressing your smooth wrists
watch whole lifetimes appear at once

I see you, as a little girl
unaged, unchanged by the world
raging, relentless, the push and pull
now tearing at your simplest features

I remember you in prophecies
I recall the non-existent days
I smell the sweet wild flowers
the ones I had plucked
the ones I had tucked
behind your perfect ears

yet I never knew you then
nor do I know you even now
yet you drive deeper within
seen in a fog of distant years
of white hair and wrinkled skin
an essence, still beautiful somehow

I forget the lifetimes delivered
I foresaw you before it all began
I taste you like the cold autumn air
the feeling of life perishing and then
the feeling of life rebirthing again here
the feeling that I have known you forever
and miraculous indeed our ageless souls, have

– Jason Kichline

Sometimes

2009-10-04T02:43:00.002-04:00

sometimes words do not express
no matter how hard we try
to deliver in written form
every moment of life

sometimes my mind is impressed
caught up in the silence of
experience that remains
unspoken and unbroken

sometimes I cannot simply stress
the edge of eyes or sullen sighs
to capture life in squiggles
like dissertating giggles

sometimes I must cleanly confess
that life is so filled with life
that capturing fragments
only stagnates it's flow

sometimes we marvel at the mess
mesmerized by it's near necessity
as basic and as unstructured
as we mimicking future woe

– Jason Kichline

Football

2009-10-02T21:12:00.002-04:00

dots of wonder, specks of awe
waves of splendor drowning out
the swaying of short surrender
grass and mud mix in dew swell
to nostrils enlivening a glorious
recall and the pride of childhood
bright glares stand proud on poles
light stares on a graduated green
hard fought impact hurts muscles
and bruise the resilience of egos
but the band plays on as they do
continued on as a victorious song
modern remakes set to tubas and
snare drums snapping in a valley
the true fight of wills lifted up as
horns in brass and pounded heads
shouting repetitions from mouths
simple choreography dancing for
those resting on aluminum seats
basking in the victory of this life

– Jason Kichline

Ache

2009-09-21T06:56:00.003-04:00

fractured hope, ruptured dream
color viewpoints of what is seen
in a life as fragile as her own
small mistakes, now full grown

anger flashed as heated steam
scalding skin from pressure mean
pain raw and tender to the bone
beaten down, picks up the phone

for "I" does not belong in teams
especially when it comes to teens
with dreams, deciphering your tone
that "I" resides in "bitch and moan"

– Jason Kichline

Superficial

2009-09-20T06:48:00.007-04:00

a kiss? superficial
lips pressed warm
parting entrance to
tongue tracing teeth
breaths hot and moist
engulfing senses in both
we melt into one another
juices and nails combined
scratching under the skin
where you reside in me
this dance of biology
tickling at my core
knocking at the door
trembling at my knees
representing an invisible
longing of a soul's unity
charged young energy
entwined underbrush
undercurrent forces
a kiss is only skin
meeting mouths
mingled haze
and always

– Jason Kichline

Stuffed

2009-09-19T08:37:00.003-04:00

even the chair challenges
as the stairs do
as the stares do
squeaking under strain
bolted joints ache pain
laughter without refrain
a bag lady's harsh laboring
luggage without wheels
and carry on carried
double airfare for
her and dirty looks
from her neighbor
a cockeyed surprise
of damage of outside
of crushed wills inside
prolonged waste of time
piled up like sand bags rolled
damming unwelcomed floods
of restricted belts and bands
flabby laps overhanging
bright white cellulite
still lacking fight

– Jason Kichline

Autumn Saturates

2009-09-18T18:46:00.002-04:00

autumn saturates senses
generate wait commencing
to flow change in nature
with a glint of chill on skin
prickling hairs hint within
the harvest and rapture
capture a solo crow cawing
echoing spanned hollows
tall rooftops and empty sky
over a burnt green tinge
on brushed trees singed
by God's steadfast sigh
as if to say, "rest comes
soon in days of the moon
traced branches in nude"
and the fields of corn strip
old fashions worn, slipped
intimately off Indian beads
and leaves float down gentle
like orange mental rock-a-byes
sung softly on the fall breeze

– Jason Kichline

It All Started

2009-09-18T06:38:00.006-04:00

it all started with belief
from her shun-stunned heart
flailing quietly in the quicksand
surrounded by who don't understand
standing to helpless watch silence depart

it all started with a cry
a scream unbellowed by lungs
loud to transcend from her spirit
commanded desperation a this tacit
recollection of intimacy yearned young

it all started with grief
death to life filled mistakes
joy replaces sorrow with change
dark turns towards light's rearrange
hides pain for acceptance a truth makes

it all started with a sigh
dropping heavy bags weighing
down her energy and inner beauty
breaths of heaven exchanging dull duty
brightened eyes opened by a faith praying

– Jason Kichline

He Never Left

2009-09-17T20:36:00.005-04:00

he never left
tousled sheets
bunched dreams
scattered pillows
like the aftermath
of pre-teenagers at
a slumber party tussle

he never left
tired feet dipped
between cool layers
refreshing combining in
moments of moist warmth

he never left
still waiting in dark
fogged memories of them
flannel over down comforter
elongated yawns and worn jersey

he never left
still surrounding her
holding curled up curves
hands hover on a lover's hips
warm touch pressing on her chest

he never left

– Jason Kichline

Confused

2009-09-16T22:36:00.002-04:00

a world of secrets twist down the shaded street
the sheen of lamplight gleaning crooked off of
thick cobble stone slabs smoothed by old wear
many have gone down the path but never ever
the same path once this discovery of love was
found hiding in familiar places far from hidden
she is a world unto herself of complex carvings
sculpted moss gracing deep passageways into
damp caverns of fragile knowing and treasure
exposed by the key and latch hasp underneath
etched pain in each crevice and curve towards
marble and limestone hew from rare quarries
shadows of exposure summon the dancing as
guides of torchlight refract in dew soaked ivy
like porous skin, sweet beaded midnight glory
always searching and never finding destination
only new sensations, eternal, ceasing unknown
and within this world of wandering water ways
confusion sets and cares evaporate like liquor
at lips and slips undetected by moral direction
lapped on tongues behind sealed kisses, hope
to capture her essence in a jar of his memories
but no one can grasp her changing patterns or
levels comforted by line crossing crayons, wax
poetic in words better off silenced as the voice
who summons a magic, melting walls as cream
poured into hot steam of black coffee dripping
and run down cold eyes, and surprised thighs
knees pull together today feet turn inward and
fingers run through hair in a disbelief disarmed
by one coming quickly like a warrior charging
in conquest with spoils for his ransomed king

bringing handsome gifts of gluttony in the dark
and scraps to the scrappy dogs who can't bark

– Jason Kichline

Forces

2009-09-16T06:18:00.007-04:00

forces tug at eyelids heavy in
gravity and the draw to sleep
keeps bodies falling together
warmed in distant presence

honesty sweeps as moist kisses
lips touch ears exposed hearing
quiet whispers of truth and love
held tight in arm's deep pretense

lovely in ways that sight betrays
alone in the night demonic chaos
torment a mind confused by cares
and he tenderly rushes to her side

cold youth comes alive in old bones
rocks sing dirges from lifted temper
sans microphones hands raised high
caught in an act questioned outside

because inside motives pure as lace
cover in a white naivety, a virginity
fingered ring casts stones of doubt
bound to shout death and disgrace

but tonight the silence held a vigil
soul lit as solitary candles around
a bed of our making, in our room
romance staking claims to chase

chasing you to stop and breathe
holding you, spirits weave ways
uncharted through tangled webs
words found in a speechlessness

stop shaking my sister, my bride
know you are special among the
lilies of the valley grown afresh
attest to pluck a reachless mess

– Jason Kichline

Moss

2009-09-14T18:13:00.002-04:00

lay me low to smell the kindred of dirt
the loose soils moist in nurturing depths
caressed of dew and shadowed canopy
gripped of rocks and roots holding loose

like an animal she tests with her feet
nude toes grope forest floor and the
mud touches her in tenderness return
pressing firm in between and on sides

her heart is holy under her bare body
flows under her garments like smooth
boulders under rushing falls of autumn
thin fabric brimming with hoped reveal

then by the waters she pauses to feel
soft brushes of soft bristles on arches
wiping caked filth from heavy travels
she slips from human to angelic form

toes toss her thin gown down on moss
and she slides into the crisp clear blue
pale and pink flesh blurred from waves
she makes love to nature and becomes

dripping she rests her exposed known
across a bed of green lush, surreal now
quivered white skin and auburn flares
her hair damp and gleaming in freedom

the ground holds her tight and grips
as roots rip and the ground shifts to
sanctify the most simple bed of union
filling each other on the mossy clay

–
Jason Kichline

Grandmom's Barn

2009-09-13T02:45:00.002-04:00

the thick grass leads up to the door
rough cut boards on thick barn paint
gold Yale lock next to galvanized pull
the doors swing open revealing ramps
heavy steel plates bolted to polished
two by tens laid across the timeless

the smells surrounds me like barn walls
gasoline in faded red and yellow cans
shiny wood floors with mouse turds
in corners and the smell of dry grass

ancient doors of antique cupboards
wide to waft the aroma of all-purpose
oil in squeeze cans or grease in tubes
an old awe and wooden handle Phillips
screwdriver on the abandoned workbench

tools propped in the dark corner with
splintery handles and forged purpose
clutter of mysterious objects in a pile

but we crawl into the ceiling above
on boards hovered over labor and toil
on trusses trusted with containment
we build castles in the childhood sky
of the pure energy of entertainment
and imagination knowing hard work
provides the stepstool to free thought

and barn doors open and the tractor
freed makes room for these memories

but the tractor came home, dinner time

– Jason Kichline