Towering crumbling columns fill the air
Empty endless ribbons guard silent brick edifices
Nestled among the stacks
Dry sandy brown dervishes skitter endlessly across
Sun parched fields untouched by incessant wind
Barnacle encrusted shafts creak in darkness
Below long abandoned rotting planks

White contrails fill a cold blue sky
Sewing together fleecy white rainless clouds
Swelling waves rush to the shore
Cresting crashing on driftwood littered beaches
Rich green fir trees carpet hillsides
Uniform in height and size

Elephant ears sizzling in bubbling oil
Soon to be drenched in white powdered sugar
Wailing saxophones soaring crashing filling
Ears leaning towards a distant stage
Rabbits pulled from black top hats
Beautiful women cut in half

Selected by Jenn Zed
Image credit:Nathan Trampe
Stan Kehl

I’ve spent my life moving through several worlds; business, nonprofit leadership, and civic service,  and all shape the way I write.

 

I wrote poems decades ago with no thought of publication. Now, years into retirement, I’ve returned to the practice with fresh attention, revisiting early work and writing new poems with fresh attention and a desire to share them. I post poems twice a week at www.WalkWithStan.com and https://substack.com/@walkwithstan

 

My work moves across a few strands:

  • Presence — staying attentive to the moment
  • Personal reflection — making sense of life’s challenges
  • Documentary clarity — honoring the real and the specific
  • Civic reflection — noticing the communities and systems we’re part of
  • Creative discipline — balancing freedom with structure.