gentle mother (new poem with Poet's comments)

"gentle mother"
by tim kavi

(a poem for my mother on her 80th birthday)

gentle mother
sings softly
her smiling face
in view

pink babies
look back
gentle mother
grateful for the likes
of you

breezes soft
as rose petals
with garments
warm and blue

as my gentle
mother guides
each day anew

later I watch
graceful dealings
constant revealings
of a love
so true

always life long
we remember
our mothers

for how can we
forget
their comforts
when away
our troubles flew?

oh my gentle
mother
without you
what would I do?

lost hopelessly
in flight
from the nest
but your sweet guidance
is always there,

from the one who
loves me the best!

Poet's comment's

this poem was written live on my mother's 80th birthday. After writing it on her birthday, I then read it aloud to her on her special day. (Now about five weeks ago). My mom has been a very important person in my life. Much of my compassion for others comes from her.

There is a change in person in the middle of this poem and it is intentional. It switches from a third person point of view (babies) to an assertion of self (first person), and how a mother is perceived. It is an intentional shift, because in a sense we assert an independent identity and sense of self as we relate to our mothers and other early caregivers.

You can see that shift in the last few stanzas of the poem which includes terms like 'I" and "me". In psychology, there is a theoiry called object relations theory. Although I cannot discuss the theory itself in a fuller sense, it basically states that the role of the mother (or a nurturing other) is so important to infantile development that the baby's sense of self begins to develop as he or she peers/experiences the mother and begins to see her as another person distinct and seperate from themselves. As the infant develops and this is a loving interaction, the infant feels more secure in their separation from others and begins also to define themselves as a separate person.

In this poem, when I sat down to write I tried to imagine this process in a sense, how it might feel to be a loved baby and then to feel that sense of perceiving a loved and loving mother.

That is why the poem ends the way it does with a sense of self asserted so strongly. There is much more sentiment of appreciation in the poem such as a lifelong sense of feeling cared for as well. -- T.K.

Blog Special: "Immigrant's Journey" (New Previously Unpublished Poem) with Comments by Poet

"Immigrant's Journey"
by Tim Kavi

treacherous journey
nature itself
fought her in elements
as barriers
to her own progress

languages disparate
cultures askew
she embraced
the edge of all of it

the dazzling beauty
saw her
tears in the snow

the sled continued
the dogs pulled
it to the
horizon

where the dawn's
sun
was gracefully appearing

all her disappointments
must melt
in the light

of the upcoming spring
as she advanced
to the newland

of hope
and promise
and love

if that was found
it was all
she could hope for

the founding
the discovering
the happiness

of a new place
called home.

poet's comment:

this poem can be described thus:

answering a poem with a briefer poem

in the painted
landscapes of
consciousness
we are all like this

but to the lovely
immigrant we know the
sure dance
of the sure acceptance
of new identity and consciousness!

I say this:

this poem is really about the journeys of consciousness and human strivings for and achievement of potential and development
life is a journey
love is a journey
many aspects of life are journeys

yet it is also the conscious unfolding of our unconscious aspects
of identity
moving from winter to spring
from night to day
from shadow to light

it is the attainment of that which is hoped for!

this poem is as much about the uncovering of the anima in men and the animus in women as anything else...

by the way, I am touched by my own immigrants who came here from other lands to America. In fact my grandfather's family the 'Newlands' knew what it was like to come to a New Land. My grandma Newland one of the poetic goddesses in my own life taught me much about hope in everyday existence! (hence the term Newland used in the poem has a double meaning (double entendre)--as it shows the two words together "New" and "Land" as 'newland' in the poem this is by design. as this stanza shows:

of the upcoming spring
as she advanced
to the newland


as such this poem is not only a testament to all immigrants, (and immigrants of the soul's journey), but also to my Ancestors and their struggles to come here.

--T.K.

Two New Poems from the Online Poetry Show: (Variations on a Theme of Orpheus and Stone Buddha)

Poet's note: as per my prior blog entry, these two poems were part of the recent online Poetry Show exhibited by my friend and fellow poet, Rory. These were previously unpublished and are considered NEW poems. Enjoy! -- T. K. About the photo: The Buddha image above and the poem "Stone Buddha" are both inspired by Samuel Fuller's film, "The Steel Helmet (1951)". You should readily see that the film influenced the poem as you see the film.~~TK

Variations on a Theme of Orpheus
by Tim Kavi

moonlit night
foggy breezes
beasts of the wood
melodies of
Orpheus always pleases

across the river
in a dark place
turned away
from Eurydyce's face

tears flow
on this last time
such sad longing
missing the beloved
wife's belonging
by his side
she was
the gentle bride

she is
passioned and gone
he sighs
hopefully in destiny's
dark design

there is a returning

notes rising
to the heavens
as goddesses
take flight
birds uprising

heaven is silent
instructed in woe
descending below
turned away
by the dark foe

Orpheus keeps playing
captured by hope
that his notes
are delaying
destiny's defraying

of his continual
mourning
bringing comfort
to the masses

these are the ways
of the passioned
artist
always comforting
others
from his own place
of veiled
loneliness darkest

playing to the
audience
while Rome burns
or armies
wait in the wings
or his heart
trembles
dance! sing!
jovial things!

filling the air
with notes
sweet ministry

twilight says
night is coming
death the final
post

together finally
with Eurydyce's
now, happy ghost!

This poem is reprinted with permission from my publisher TiLu Press, and also appears in my collection Ascending Goddess. You can read this poem along with many more in that collection by clicking here to purchase the book! Thanks for supporting my work!~~TK

"Stone Buddha"
by Tim Kavi

up on
the narrow
ridge

there is
what was
once
a contested
bridge

enclosed
in stone
fruited plains
in the valley below


a shrine
still sits
where
corpses line the way

the light
still shines
through

follow the path
up to the
light for
it ever shines
bright

blind ones
receive their
sight

when the
fragrance
of the blossoms
meets
the morning
dew

the troubled
ones'
troubles
are few

if they
continue
to the light

broken paths
stones
overturned
such

places
are not
earned
or won

grace's
appearing
is in the
clearing

where the
stone
Buddha
sits.

Blog Special: Friends (New Poem)

"Friends"
by Tim Kavi

when friends
speak
the messages
are always clear

no matter
what or where
ten thousand miles
away from here

something about
my friends
their kind words
are always near

in my heart
they are always
here

I can write
a thousand poems
but no goddess
is a better dear.

poet's note: I wrote this brief ditty today, after I realized upon receiving some nice emails and comments at some of my web sites, that indeed, I do have some very good friends--who care about me and what I have to say. It reminds me that even an existential man is not alone if he has friends, friends who laugh with him at the absurdities, the great joys, and the everyday pleasures and pains of life. --T.K.

FREE Online Poetry Show of Tim Kavi

Dear Readers: 

2025 update: Please note this is a historical blog entry as the site that was linked here has been taken down by the owner.  Nevertheless, you can still read some of my poems that were presented at that blog right here at this link in my own blog: https://timkavi.blogspot.com/2008/09/two-new-poems-form-online-poetry-show.html

A fellow poet, Rory

has given me the distinct honor this week (Sept. 15 through Sept. 19th, 2008) of being a guest blogger at a website called "Rory's Poetry".

You can visit this inspiring site at: (link removed as it was taken down by owner sometime in the years following).  

Included in my featured work will be new poems, song lyrics, and a collection of some of my other poems.

Please visit this Online Poetry Show of Tim Kavi--and have a great time.


Thank you Rory! Thank you my readers!

tim kavi

Wings of Destiny: New Poem (with brief comment)

this poem is actually optimistic... we fight change and sometimes the scary changes are the most difficult. Nature leads us sometimes to emerge with great beauty. This poem could be about death and dying. The fact that it was written during a week just after the funeral of a relative is inescapable.--T.K.

"Wings of Destiny"
by Tim Kavi

the fear
of things changing
when destiny
brings only the
promise of rearranging

how we fight
brave struggles
not understanding our
internal troubles

until finally
we seem bound
by nature itself

only to push back
the bindings
and discover
that our wormlike
nature
has grown beautiful
wings

memories of our past
selves
keep us bound
to old traditions
that dont allow
flying lessons
for the new air
we breathe

we look to the
cosmos
donward to our
feet
hoping to glimpse
a former
self

oh comfort
of the gray
and dying past
sweet nature

has birthed in us
the future
a butterfly at last!

To A Fellow Writer...

I wrote this to a fellow writer after admiring their work:

"I know this journey. We the emerging heroes strike at words that fly in the air until at last some of them fall like snow or tears onto the canvas of our creations below, finally resting until all who read it can see it, but not know, the pain, the suffering, the blood, that birthed such words into existence! Is it enough that they appreciate it? To a fellow writing hero, I am glad to journey with you...and follow you along the narrow ridge..."