Magpie Tales Photo Prompt 102: Between Lines And Color

issues


beneath the composite 
of your complications 


lies the deuced canvas 
of your fears. 

Red Spot II, 1921, Wassily Kandinsky

Poem © 2012 R. Burnett Baker

Photo prompt shared by Tess Kincaid

Turning Pages: When Nothing Else Mattered

reflex




expectations were unnecessary.
life's moment(s) gave all needs 
reason enough to be. 


days were colored black and white
of yesteryears, 
sherbet hues
of summers to come.  it was all 
that was required. 

Poem © 2012 R. Burnett Baker 
Photo of "LilRicky" by Ina Jean Stovall Garner, circa 1960.

恭喜發財

dragon's wisdom 

not the 

dragon to fear, 

the myth of beast, 

but rather 

myth makers 

of men, 

north south 

west and east. 

Poem ©2011 R. Burnett Baker 
Images borrowed from Google Images

Magpie Tales Photo Prompt 101: An Artist's Pose

From Boris Hoppek's Tokyo exhibit "Ever"

artiste

no one cares

why the sun rises 

above your 

consort bed. 

all that matters 

is you -  

the artist's muse, 

fringed in comfort, 

listening for a 

lover's footsteps 

fading distant early 

morn; 

you - 

posed languid 

for this never-ending

sculpted ruse 

of night. 

Poem ©2012 R. Burnett Baker 

Photo courtesy of Tess Kincaid. 

Legacy And Posterity

Photo: Self portrait by Walter Fisher

foreverness

lift me from 

this page of

posterity and

sepia recollection; 

color the 

landscape of 

life with my 

shadow, 

the outlined 

essence of 

foreverness 

and past. 

Poem ©2012 R. Burnett Baker 

Photo ©2011 Walter Fisher 

Photo:  Self portrait taken by Walt Fisher in Quartzsite, Arizona, 2011. 

Never Ending Quest

search for 
meaning 




self destruction 
is our religion,
our past, our 
destiny, 


and hope 
be damned for 
control over all 
shadings of life 
real and contrived. 


we kill to preserve 
and preserve self-destruction
through every collective
action, except love: 


even then, 
what have we 
if flames light 
night skies, 
or smoke the 
bluest of days? 


but love? 




Poem ©2012 R. Burnett Baker
Photo ©2012 R. Burnett Baker 
Photo taken by R. Baker at Lake Buchanan, Texas, October 2011. 

Magpie Tales Photo Prompt 100: An Ocean Of Faith?

beatitude 




religion I've discarded, 
the comprehension of which 
drowns my spirit. 


voices of supplication
to an unseen all-knowing 
require suspension of doubt: 


I cannot live in repressed fear
of the unknown, having heard
the clarion call of life 
and pleasure.


for now, my prayers 
are answered. 




Poem © 2012 R. Burnett Baker 
Photo: sculpture: Jason deCaires Taylor
Courtesy of Tess Kincaid

Believe In Only What You Know

Photo from Biome.com.au

news 

when media create the news 

they, too, tell a story. 

listen. 

carefully. 

Text ©2012 R. Burnett Baker 

Magpie Tales 99: Of Kings And Empires

Photo by Lee Friedlander, courtesy of Tess Kincaid

Click image to embiggen

Kings and Empires 

As the banner unfurled, the

 image was of no consequence 

to Father Duffy.  

"TOTAL ENCHANTMENT" 

for him was reflected in the title. 

Text © 2012 R. Burnett Baker 

Iowa And The GOP: Children Of The Corn. (Be Afraid. VERY Afraid)

Another quick break from poetry:

Now that Rick Santorum has had a strong showing in Iowa, I'm re-posting an opinion piece I wrote last June on my other blog, BakersTake™.  I still believe that this man is crazier than a s**thouse rat.  

Click on the title:

Santorum Or The Sanitarium?

Where have all the leaders gone?? 


RB 
1-5-12 

Magpie Tales 98: Imagined

River, Marina Moevs, 2005

Shared by Tess Kincaid

river you 

I imagined you 

a mirrored path,

distant past, 

and refused 

to ripple 

that facade, 

that glacial 

face. 

still, 

walls wait 

to rise, 

to be 

raised, 

to shelter 

idyllic 

that which 

exists only 

in imagination. 

Poem © 2012 R. Burnett Baker