New blog

Please go to The mind's sky -- Der Himmel des Geistes--my new blog as of 29 May 2011. I look forward to your visit. Thank you.

The poet's voice

"Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting with the gift of speech." --Simonides

Whenever another poet can fathom your poem and hear its music in their mind's ear, it is like two souls resonate for a moment in an intangible world. But when this poet is able to express the meaning and music of your poem with their voice, so that it is heard, it is extraordinary.

Abigail Baker, is one of those talented poets, who engages your mind and heart with her words. You can read her blog here.

She was particularly intrigued by my poem "Letters pronouncing kisses" (previously published on my blog on 27 March 2011), which she rendered beautiful with her vivid voice in a recording, which you can listen to here.

Letters pronouncing kisses

Purse the lips and exhale the air when saying:
Where, which, what, with, whom, whether and why--
The breath of air should extinguish a candle burning.
Tantalise, titillate, scintillate, exhilarate with breath, the lips, like a sigh.

Before baffling and babbling, becoming beloved, and beaming blossom,
Peering into eyes, parting lips, pausing pleasurably, placing lips upon lips,
pulsating with passion, panting, the proof, the promise; then, as smooth as eating a plum,
Most marvellously the meeting of lips, mmmmmmmm, until touching the tongue tips.

Mouth in motion, melting, in momentum with its own miming and rhyming.
Bitter sweet; bitter the marjoram, sweet the cardamom.
Mumbling, fumbling and then the tumbling.
The tongue trembling saying renaissance romance; souls to fathom.

The rising and falling sound song of every diphthong.
Thirsty, hungry and lovelorn; kiss-drenched with love life long.

by

Quirina Roode-Gutzmer

Teestunden

Ein Drache durchstreift den blauen Himmel,
aus weiβen Wolkenfetzen locker genäht.
Seinen gelben Bauch von Raps beleuchtet,
auf der Suche nach einer Zauberformel.

Der Kirchenturm durch weites Land steiget,
markant wie ein Gedanke an eine Freundin.
Kaum gedacht und schon sind wir begegnet.
Treffen wir uns gleich? Zu ihrem Haus hin.

Von Tee war erst die Rede, Blätter gewählt,
Grüner Oolong, der Teetrank von Wonne.
Wir saßen lang in der prallen Sonne.
Wir sprachen von Geburt und Fehlgeburt.

Von der Kirchenglocke, Ruhe schmücken,
Von der Stille der Seele spüren reden,
Von Sonnenstich, und dann Regen, flüchten.
Durch die Seelenwälder Trauer wandern.

Die Beerdigung, drüben Spiegel sprach,
Der Geist als weiβer Engel Frieden schimmern,
Kinder leben, und reden lieb und frech,
Deren Ängste, immer wieder kümmern.

Dämonen, zärtlich und ehrlich enthüllt,
Goldenes Vergnügen trotzdem geholt.
Wir malen schon unseren Grabsteinschmutz,
nie sagt es, „Fenster waren schön geputzt.“

von

Quirina Roode-Gutzmer

Letters pronouncing kisses

Purse the lips and exhale the air when saying:
Where, which, what, with, whom, whether and why--
The breath of air should extinguish a candle burning.
Tantalise, titillate, scintillate, exhilarate with breath, the lips, like a sigh.

Before baffling and babbling, becoming beloved, and beaming blossom,
Peering into eyes, parting lips, pausing pleasurably, placing lips upon lips,
pulsating with passion, panting, the proof, the promise; then, as smooth as eating a plum,
Most marvellously the meeting of lips, mmmmmmmm, until touching the tongue tips.

Mouth in motion, melting, in momentum with its own miming and rhyming.
Bitter sweet; bitter the marjoram, sweet the cardamom.
Mumbling, fumbling and then the tumbling.
The tongue trembling saying renaissance romance; souls to fathom.

The rising and falling sound song of every diphthong.
Thirsty, hungry and lovelorn; kiss-drenched with love life long.

by

Quirina Roode-Gutzmer

Life is like a row of dominoes

Life is like a row of dominoes. Everybody places them. Some have good motives and some don't. But, when one event kick-starts the domino effect, all sorts of things happen that you cannot blame on anybody in particular, because we are all connected some way or another in a very complex, and sometimes ironic, web.

by

Quirina Roode-Gutzmer

Respect

Have no fear when thine spear is near,
but be gracious and sincere,
heart to heart, eye to eye, and ear to ear,
and never veer to the rear.

Be a warrior on the frontier,
defend what is dear, and confront here,
turning only when all is clear,
shake hands in triumph and cheer.

by

Quirina Roode-Gutzmer

November 2009

A star for you

Our feet sinking softly on the white sands,
of the peninsula's carbonate shore,
our loving clasping hands,
we all of each other so adore.

Walking on land that the Miocene Epoch brought,
where rock is ground offshore, onshore and alongshore,
for each other we are fraught,
with gems of heart and mind, loving to explore more and more.

The ocean tide gently rippling o'er our feet,
and Helios gently kissing our skin aglow,
when we're together, all is so complete,
and our feelings and thoughts simply flow.

The ocean air caressing our senses,
the sound of waves falling and nearing
the ocean mists on our cool skin condenses,
despite passions deep within us searing.

When Uranus is farthest from our Earth,
we shall stride together in harmony,
basking in each other's mirth,
rivalling even the holiest matrimony.

At sunset, one of the gentlest kisses we shall share,
to each other we are eternally drawn,
resting upon our shoulders all of my longer hair,
until, emerging in the sky, the son of the Titanic goddess of dawn.

Hesperus, the evening star, mirroring our own beaming,
and later the waxing moon visits,
touching each other, proof of our not dreaming.
Eos, with her rosy fingers fidgets.

She opens the gates of heaven,
so that Apollo can ride his chariot across the sky,
the beauty of the night to us god-given,
our exquisite love as perfect as infinity and pi.

by

Quirina Roode-Gutzmer