dear OSLIST !
now let me strike up the cymbels for to converge
the rich harvest of 27 poems we´ve got
initiated under the motto
"five objects in the space of my sight"
every text has a number as if it had come in.
i edit it under the name of the authors
because every text had been sent under
the name of its author to the list, so we knew
already from whom it is, and we knew us together
to be familiar instead of formal.
without asking her
i take aine corrigans insight as part of the contest to start with.
hi, aine, please be so kind to agree.
like laurel agreed when i asked her to give
a special part of her letter as poetry into the contest.
now, every one of you all there
has five (5) virtual sticky dots to spend.
put the five dots to the poem or the poems
which are telling you "it´s me to be dotted"
the author of the poem which will get most of the dots
will be named as the next oslist poet laureate.
that is mainly including the honour to open space and to hold space
for the next following semiannual oslist poetry contest.
beside that he or she will get a little gift .....
and let me say, the contest, as i understand it, is not to
elect or to decide about best of poetry, but is to encourage
everybody of us to give space and voice to the poetic aspect in
everyday life
and in our work. as it had been established from our friend ralph
copleman.
please let me know up to the 2nd of february
how you have spent your 5 dots
to what numbers of the poems.
for example:
#.. / 2, #.. / 2, #.. / 1
please send it to me:
florianfisc...@ff-wey.com
thank you authors for taking part
thank you all for listening
thank you all for joining now in convergence.
florian fischer
----------------------------------------------
#1
aine corrigan
5 words in-sight:
"Thank you space, for everything"
------------------------------------------------
#2
jeff aitken
"(W)e have moved from product- and service-driven stages of the economy
to
an era that is driven by staging and co-creating customer
experiences..."
-- Illuminating the Blind Spot: Leadership in the Context of Emerging
Worlds (Arthur, Senge, et al, 2000)
Like a lily it flowers from base to wide mouth,
its sharp edges softened for contact with lips:
this glass is a giver of sustenance.
Five experiences surround my desk
waiting calmly in their guise as things.
let us gently lift their veils:
Comfort is dressed as a black desk lamp.
safety rests easy, disguised as a map.
pleasure awaits its unfoldment as apple.
But here is the most transparent being:
this old white telephone is love.
look! it is not always love that flows thru,
But that it is made is love. to lift this slim handle
and feel the softening heart of my father,
what else can it be?
And now all five call out to me:
let us be a love economy.
----------------------------------------------------
#3
jeff aitken
lamp apple phone map glass
glass map apple phone lamp
apple phone lamp glass map
map lamp glass apple phone
phone glass map lamp apple
-----------------------------------------------------
#4
jeff aitken
apple apple lamp lamp
map apple lamp lamp
apple apple glass glass phone
apple apple glass glass
lamp apple map map
apple glass map lamp map phone
--
glass glass
glass glass
glass glass glass
glass glass
phone map apple
lamp
phone map apple
lamp
glass glass
glass glass
glass glass glass
glass phone
map lamp apple
glass
glass glass phone
---------------------------------------------------
#5
cris corrigan
WHAT IS ON THE TABLE
A vase that Vivienne left us
Stuffed with dried lavender from the summer
A wine bottle, green with emptiness
Its spirit having been drained
A half empty tea cup
Whose contents have filled me with insomnia
And delirious contemplation
Of a school of rice cake crumbs
That have spread across the stained pine
Like a creeping army of sadness
In search of their temporary state of communion
Mourning their rediscovered agency
----------------------------------------------------
#6
harrison owen
What's on the Desk?
Not a lot.
A pen for writing I haven't done.
Spectacles for tired eyes.
A coffee cup still hot.
And in the back
With blinking green eyes
My network router
Connecting
To all the world.
What's on the desk?
You.
-----------------------------------------------------
#7
ralph copleman
poem about everything
i
like
this
a
lot
------------------------------------------------------
#8
ralph copleman
The Purpose of Butterflies
It1s rumored
west winds begin with
a single thought from you, showy Lepido,
fluttering still pale air,
stirring the atmosphere1s slightest doubts
into creases, notions, rising torments
blowing fulvous skies over the Pacific
and reaching my sandy shores in soaking torrents.
Meadows1 breathy pastels,
serrated stripings, lustrous primary slashes,
rainbow glow, sky fire1s full flush.
Needlework on a timeless, frameless canvas,
To look that good,
for exclusive rights to the most fruitful coalescence,
to unfold heaven1s radiant robes
you will never glimpse,
you sifted genes through brightening strainers,
twinging at the level of chromosomes
for just the right hues,
coding whom to attract, what to mimic
to make a decent living,
You could have gone for simple stealth,
or murder-loving camouflage,
You chose
to be seen.
------------------------------------------------------------
#9
winston kinch
Hmmm... lets see... five things... around me on my desk...
a buzzard pinion waiting
in a bamboo cup
for the gentle breath of love
to lift it up
to soar with a bronze eagle
wave a magic wand
move us past the rage and pain
that's swept the land
of course Pooh is here as well
talking stick on lap
always opening more space...
for you? mayhap!
-----------------------------------------------------------
#10
esther ewing
Five things on my desk?
Coffee, steaming,
Waking me to my blessings
Perking me up...
Pen, pointed,
Poised for perception,
Or banality...
Camera, full of good times
Captured but fleeting
Family and friends...
Computer, open to email,
A window to good friends and
Ideas...
My heart, engaged and en-spirited,
Within and among and
On my sleeve,
Open and spacious.
-------------------------------------------------------------
#11
michael herman
suite 1105
LAPTOP sits atop old cardboard box,
in a trick i learned at lisa heft's house.
keyboard, mouse, printer
and all of the internet
dangling...
with my TEACHERS ever-present,
wide awake and holding all beings,
watching me here from photos,
a mosaic of compassion
tacked on my wall...
over my breakfast BOWL now empty,
save for the spoon glued to its bottom
by oatmeal and dried fruit.
it invites a stretch down the hall,
back to the kitchen...
as the big brick box of the SCHOOL
booms with amplified administrative authority.
it blankets the neighborhood but talks over the heads
of the children screaming and laughing
on the playground...
and the clouds steaming ever-eastward,
across the great LAKE, michigan
which is big enough to be seen from space
but is resting now in pieces,
between tall buildings...
on my desk.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
#12
reinhard kuchenmueller
der fischer ist ein florian,
zieht wie die maus die dichter an.
ein herz aus samt, auf das mein kater
sein koepfchen legt.
wuerd wie im maerchen fische fangen,
mit eurozeichen auf den wangen,
ganz unbewegt.
or something similar in english:
the fisherman is florian,
attracting poets like the mouse.
a heart of velvet, where my cat
can rest it's head.
he would go fishing funny fishes,
with euro-signs, alive or dead,
in fairy tales instead.
-------------------------------------------------------------
#13
jeff aitken
And it came to pass that chaos ruled the land.
and fear arose, the sounds of shallow cries,
as people nailed boards across their doors,
and gathered food, and slept by candlelight.
and in despair the leaders huddled close,
and broadcast weary speeches from someplace.
but then a child among us found a book
and let a smile light her shadowed face.
she took two days to walk the quiet streets
and fill a cardboard box with items five,
as fine as gold they were, yet light and cheap;
she left her piggy bank inside the store.
come out, she called, at sunrise. come and see!
and slowly people gathered in the square.
come look, she cried. come close; they're in the box.
all that we need to lift our souls is there.
by now, dear list, you know what she had found.
let's name them one by one together, friends.
the simple tools we use to do our work
then brought the land together once again:
a box of
a roll of
a pad of
a ream of
a pair of
---------------------------------------------------------------------
#14
dan chay
Positive Aspects of Negative Space
>>From the black morning DARKNESS of the window
our grey CAT mews back at me
just beyond my own flat dazed REFLECTION
on the other side of my glowing MONITOR
past this becoming of black pixels on
white OPEN SPACE
poem?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
#15
audrey coward
gifts
My hand holds my favorite PEN
space opens space closes
Memories reawaken
My pen is a gift from my only child
space closes space opens
My eyes enjoy the sight of a SCULPTURE
mother and son
holding each other in love
carefully bought for me
he was thirteen
Memories reawaken
space opens space closes
I touch my "STAR SHAPED BOX"
A gift from a special friend
space closes space opens
My mouse is a gift from my only child
space closes space opens
My COMPUTER connects me to the gift of you
My soul is soothed
space opens...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
#16
alan stewart
When I raise my sights
I see a place where creatures of all descriptions
come to meet with their mates, have a dip,
take a long cool draft, preen in the sun,
then whirr off into the blue.
A place in which I noticed with new eyes
the wonder of flight
which brings feathered friends and bumblebees daily to
the circle of their birdbath.
Higher in my sights are lanky limbed eucalypts
Swaying in the breeze like overgrown parsley;
ever survivors of great bushfires,
reminding me that I am in Australia
or could this be California?
Whichever, I'm in the right space right now.
Lowering my eyes I confront a source of
delight, terror, connection, surprise.
Not ever knowing what today will bring
with its messages from fellow travellers
on our precious little planet.
Yet ever ready to click send/rec -
sometimes with great trepidation -
to reveal whatever happens
to be lurking behind the screensaver.
And to respond or to initiate in time.
Always there, not always hot wired
(the law of two ears applies)
is the wondrous brainchild of
Signor Marconi.
I remember when two or more playmates
tuned in together, in rapture to 'Top of the Pops.'
Now its just it and me, as I do
my sometimes lonely, anxious rearranging.
Constant companion in the wee hours,
with its voices of affirmation.
And catching my musing eye
is a reminder
of how from time immemorial
we humans have renewed things the way they were
by using energy wisely, softly,
with no reliance on non renewables.
Nature's abundant warmth and wind
drying the washing on the line.
I acknowledge the gift of the invitation
to notice and reflect on these things.
And now these musings are over.
---------------------------------------------------------
#18
judi richardson
Learning -- a movement from moment to moment?
This moment an everyday desk holds learning.
A rock sits strong in its vulnerability,
A ring of keys reminding the key is the same,
regardless of the situation,
A picture of a bridge -- crossing from effort to active stillness,
A calendar -- subtle in its illusion of accountability.
Glancing quickly at the window,
A snow encased tree branch nods up and down in the wind
affirming the stark reality of nothing.
What is less than nothing?
------------------------------------------------------------
#19
peggy holman
I look up in time to see a hummingbird fly by (on a winter day!)
My telephone calls my name (not humming)
The printer whines, churning out the page I just requested.
A rose, painted on silk, memories of my Russian friend
greets me as I look up again.
My partner quietly working alone beside me completes the picture.
Sights, sounds, smells of work, love, play surround my desk
Keeping the space open for whoever comes, whatever happens.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
#20
chrsitine whitney sanchez
Some Blessings of Open Space
Show Up in My Work Space:
Smile, Focus, Gift, Connection, Trust
Dalai Lama
Ocean of Compassion
standing in my desert
bowing his smile.
Mountain Lion Mama
Princess of Power
drinking from the stream
reflecting her focus.
Calendar Wombat
Sturdy Little Fellow
winking his containment.
sharing Aussie Alans gift.
Rainbow of Floppies
Creativity Capturers
Waiting for expression
Serving the connection.
Apache Creation Story
Blue Road Messenger
Beaming Thunder Beings
Telling me to trust.
------------------------------------------------------
#21
lisa heft
Five Things At My Desk, January 14th, 2001
A shell that looks like a butterfly.
My mother used to collect them
and place them on the windowsills
And every time she would pass them
she would tap them lightly and
set them to fluttering...
Ethel, my cat.
She sits by my side when I am at my desk.
She is my administrative assistant,
periodically filing papers onto the floor.
I lean over to put my face in her fur.
An old photo of Rodney Heft holding the baby Lisa.
She is in a fluffy dress and is sucking on a finger.
She looks hesitant and shy.
My, how she's grown.
Still loves her daddy.
An illustration of three horses.
Colored pencils on yellow grid paper.
An early Lisa Heft,
drawn by the daughter at her father's drafting table.
A photo of Laurel, Rick and I.
We are in their red kitchen
Warm and relaxed and showing the beautiful plates of food
Nuran has cooked for us.
Warm food, warm friendship.
Family surrounds me.
---------------------------------------------------------------
#22
toke paludan møller
Do I dare - do we ?
Do we dare
Bring our hearts to the center
To the center of our own lives
To where we live ?
To how we work ?
To where we love ?
To how we learn ?
To simply see the world from real me ?
Oh what could life be ?
For me and we
If courage we found
To break new groundS
Do I dare ?
-------------------------------------------------------------
#23
joelle lyons everett
Waking Up
Gray winter sky
dark, heavy and silent.
Hot black coffee warming
my body as I sit with the day.
Handful of crow feathers, my token
for the raucous voice of truth and magic.
Your fiery voice, warming the blue-grey screen
with passion, compassion, the pleasure of shared laughter.
Poems, a trickle then a growing stream,
melt the silence of this winter's day.
-------------------------------------------------------------
#24
david adams
Seen and Unseen
Old stones shaped by uncountable tides adorn my desk,
silver inkpot (shining gift of love),
ceramic piglet fashioned by once tiny hands
(still surprised by its existance),
wooden stand for open books, and -
this Gateway through which I connect
with an unseen universe
Seen things, savoured in affection and in daily use,
enlisted as unwitting architects of desk doings and desk space,
servants of desk imaginings
Unseen, the space between is active, attentive, unknowing -
supplying an eternity of forgiveness
An opportunity for angels
--------------------------------------------------------------
#25
jim metcalf
Creative Space
Silence holds the open space
In tension. Striving with its
Own being, creative space
Changes without changing as
Silence grows and tension grows
Until a word is spoken:
Open space. Creative Space.
Tension holds space open now -
Talking tenses listening now.
Will listeners take two feet
And walk, or talkers? The hearts
Are trembling to know what they
Themselves will do. Tension grows.
Open Space, Creative Space.
Talking resolves with listening
As space opens, hearts open.
Listeners caring for talkers,
Talkers for listeners, balance
The caring of a heart for
Another , for self, until
Space opens creatively.
-----------------------------------------------------------
#26
laurel doersam
the space in my sight glancing into a mirror
I've turned into a Rennaissance painting!
Picture this:
an extra thirty pounds adorns my thighs and torso,
my eyes are Mona Lisa-esque
(read that "no lashes or brows")
the only thing missing is the long, flowing tresses.
I do, however, have a very short,
snappy wig interwoven with a passle of white hairs -
it's quite a good rug, but ITCHY. I'm still quite startled
every time I inadvertently glance into a mirror.
-----------------------------------------------------------
#27
julie smith
peace lily inhales
young eagle considers flight
Creation watches
wizard nods his head
soft green tendrils rise from dust
all life tugs forward
painted moon peers down
wind quiets --- to a whisper
One silently waits
glass dragonfly ? soars?
paradox of captured flight
flying yet not free
flying snowman ? smiles?
pasted glee is misery?
confusion rising
II
pale pink dawn arrives
snow tipped branches greeting sky
One wonders, waiting
dancing dust motes glide
wide open space, half-closed eyes
unbound life, alive!
steady heart beating
One door opens, inviting ---
ah --- missed mystery!
top spins round and round
swirling choices make their rounds
--- stillness beckons now ---
steady heart beating
One door opens, inviting ---
Unbound Life, Alive!
Wide Open Spaces!
Bursting Life, Unknown Places!
All Ways Expanding!
pale pink dawn departs
snow tipped branches deeply sigh
One pleased, beaming
III
flying snowman ? Smiles!
pasted glee is One with me ---
gleaming Joy growing
glass dragonfly ? Soars!
iridescent wings Glowing
colored Light dancing
Wizened painted moon
cherished Patient silent friend
now content, Smiling
wizard Stretching wide
Grasping lighting bolt from sky
all Life bows, grinning
peace lily exhales
all the world considers flight
Creation watches
-------------------------------------------------------
florian fischer
five capital letters in my sight
TH' END
florian fischer
begleitung im wandel
muenchener 6
10779 berlin
fon 0049.30. 2116752
fax 0049.30. 2115943
florianfisc...@ff-wey.com
