Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Room for All




painting by Norman Rockwell


Room for All

For some, life may be a playground, simply a
vainglorious game of theatrics, self-deception,
and lack of empathy; just another empty room.”
--Erik Pervernagie.


Is there room in my
heart for compassion for those
dying in Brazil?
Nature treats us as pariah,
attacking every country.  Glenn Buttkus.

Many people hear voices
while shut up in rooms, staring
at four silent walls.
Odd that as writers, we pretty
much do the same damn thing.  
--Margaret Chittenden.

It was not the room’s
disorder that was frightening;
rather it was that
I could see no key to repair it.
--James Baldwin.

There is a room with-
in me, a chamber actually,
where Love waits to trump
the cruelty of some men, that being
their highest goal it seems.
--Glenn Buttkus.

Twas a cozy room,
books packed tight on shelves,
or lying in piles.
It smelled of very rich words
and very deep thoughts.
--Jenny Nimmo.

If your thoughts are only
as tall as the height of your
ceiling, you will never
fly above your room.
--Israelmore Ayivor.

For some, a prison
cell is their only room,
for others it may
be an appliance box, or
an abandoned car, or alley.
--Glenn Buttkus

When a small night-lamp
alone illuminates our love-
making, the room be-
comes circular, passing through
night humming with stars.
--Fernand Dumont.

Today, we’re divorcing
the past and marrying the present,
divorcing indifference,
and marrying Love, finding
God in every single room.
--Kamand Kojouri.

No room at the Inn
is biblical in tone, and
now plenty of rooms.
Christ could have been born without
the lovely Ode de la Cowdung.

I have triple pad-
locked the racist views of my
past, banning them for-
ever, cuz humanity is actually
a brotherhood, our family.
--Glenn Buttkus


Glenn Buttkus

Renga

12 comments:

kate said...

Diverse and profound collection ... plenty here to contemplate as go into my room

Dale said...

I love the melange of your stanzas mixed in with the others. Was a lovely flow.

Jade Li said...

Rooms are metaphors for all kinds of things. Wonderful sampling. I like how you put yourself among the others.

Glenn Buttkus said...

This is the second time I tried a renga, which is challenging and fun to do, but a real collaboration renga with 1-2 other poets would be the dope.

indybev said...

This was intriguing, Glenn. Very impressive.

Frank Hubeny said...

I like how you link prison, appliance box, abandoned car and alley in this thought:
"For some, a prison
cell is their only room,
for others it may
be an appliance box, or
an abandoned car, or alley."

Kim M. Russell said...

Thank you for sharing the Norman Rockwell painting, Glenn, it’s one I’ve not seen before, and I love this new form you you’ve been using, each writer with their different room and perspective on rooms. I especially like the ones from Margaret Chittenden and Jenny Nimmo, and yours about the chamber where ‘Love waits to trump the cruelty of some men (great wordplay) and the prison cell – I’ve seen too many in appliance boxes and alleys.

Laura Bloomsbury said...

I love the range of interesting voices in your room Glenn - glad you invited them in to share this prompt

Kerfe said...

I love this form you've invented, a call and response that expands the rooms of all the words.

Rashi Singh said...

These words are really profound! Thanks for compiling the pieces of poetry into something so beautiful!

brudberg said...

I love how you take the quotes from others and respond in your own voice... it's something we should do more... talking to the poets.

lillianthehomepoet.wordpress.com said...

Had to look up this form. I find it fascinating and will try it myself! Thanks for introducing it to me.
I really enjoyed all of these reiterations of responding to "room"....I loved your last one...throwing away the key to racism. Really enjoyed how you responded to the other quotations and how the post proceeded and moved.