
i was quite sure that i had taken some alluring photos of bamboo plants on my smartphone a few years back, but i was perhaps not smart enough to have saved them for times like this, so i am instead posting here the better bamboo photo of dragonlee1020 @ pixabay.com.
‘Rustles of bamboo leaves one fine afternoon’ is not exactly a new collection, though this is the first time that it is being posted for general reading. Written on a bright and breezy March afternoon, in six short parts, shelved and lost, rediscovered, rehashed, it is a collage of thoughts: not totally unrelated, but neither consistent enough to be considered as a single poem, except that they have been written to rustle with the bamboo leaves, and meant to let the readers weave their own images around these thoughts:
i. sweet strength is
sweet strength is that which
is felt in being pliant
like the bamboo plant
ii. rustles of light
rustles of light shoes kissing the floor,
lilting, dancing shadows hugging the wall
a breath of music, an ether of cool wind,
screwy, but pleasantly, screwy, i see
more than laughing bamboo leaves,
twisting, writhing bodies,
sighing bamboo trees.
iii. people, who bare
people, who bare their lives, naked,
like a see-through, glass, window,
when broken, like glasses, really break,
bits, and pieces, and fragments,
beyond repair, and, beyond amends,
by, the, blue, god, glue,
iv. i feel life
i feel life flowing through:
fiery dragons set free
so formless so furious so curious to be
inflicted with the earthly sins
of adam and eve.
v. cool river touches
cool river touches my feet
i am touched
and touch back i will
the cool river with my own
bare feet
vi. rustles of bamboo
rustles of bamboo leaves
one fine afternoon in march
always bring me the child
the image of the child
i was meant to be.
© SSJ 2017
ps: and if you ask me where the photo collage is, i hope you find them in your own thoughts. otherwise, can the one below be close enough? 🙂 – ssj, 14 july 2017

graffiti on bamboo trunks from raedon @ pixabay.com
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What a lovely breezy feel, warm as a summer’s day on the beach, congratulations Sand and Stars 💙💛💚
Thanks for the comment, Steve. That warm breezy feel on a summer beach would be perfect! I hope you had a lovely weekend. 😊
My pleasure. As is possible mid-winter. 🙂
Steve, mid-winter should not be a problem for a poet of such ‘demiurgic’ imagination and eloquence as you. 🙂 I’m reminded by your own poem, Chalcedony, to quote:
“…Although winged concrete seems unlikely, on days like these it’s better to pretend and not to question, not to disavow the facts of fantasy…”
— https://inconstantlight.com/2017/06/03/chalcedony/
Thank you so much for those generous words. I’ll try to live up to them. And I do stand by the quote, despite the chilly mornings. After all, it’s only reality. 😀
It has always been my pleasure reading your blog, Steve. Please carry on!
This is a gorgeous collection of short poems! They feel natural, fresh and true.
Thank you, Hailie. I was just browsing your Soul Writer blog, and THAT is what I call gorgeous, well-written, well-presented! 🙂
Thank you very much for so much praise. Your appreciation warms my heart.
My pleasure 🙂