Friday 12 November 2010

One Stop Poetry Spotlight: Signed...bkm (bkmackenzie)


Welcome to Dustus Friday on One Stop Poetry!

Considering her excellent blog, Signed...bkm, poet bkmackenzie
continues to impress me with her skillful posts. In addition to earning a runner-up honor in our tightly contested "Autumn" poetry competition with her entry When I Dream in Autumn, ...bkm's offerings for One Shot Wednesday display both creativity and detailed attention to craft. Reading her work, I always get the sense that she maintains a scholarly respect and dedication for poetry itself.

About ...bkm:

Originally from the Midwest, Bkmackenzie now resides in Northern California with her husband.  She fell in love with the concept of writing and handwriting at the age of five—after the first day of entering parochial school.  There on her desk was a blank notebook and a stack of pencils neat and clean. From that point forward, she became addicted to both of them, as well as fountain pens.

Having been introduced to poetry at an early age, one gets the sense that bkm developed into a talented writer who maintains great respect for learning about the poets who came before us:

"As with most it was nursery rhymes and limericks that served as my introduction to poetry, which I could not get enough of.  Later I fell in love with the poetry of Robert Frost, Poe, and the sonnets of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. I started writing when I was about twelve and have written off and on during different times in my life keeping all the pieces and scraps together throughout the years.  And though I have never pursued the field professionally, I always in the back of my mind knew writing was my first love—words and what they represented. Words to me are symbols no different than the jewelry or color we uniquely choose to wear; the writer wears their words, they become a part of their identity in the same way a work of art becomes the symbolic image of that artist." —bkmackenzie

Here are some selected poems written by bkm...


In Writing

in writing I cast my heart
very much alone
       in a void
       in a crevasse
in a labyrinth with a quill

castles all around me,
      left naked,
without the two buck toll
to pay the greedy gatekeeper
at the entrance to my soul

up going Jacobs ladder
     to scale the Kingdom’s wall
     I read a message in the mortar
of a prior writers fall -

taking focus on the moment
I glanced from where I came
      I saw Jesus in the junk-yard
      Buddha without shame –
corruption in the structure
only magnified the pain – what gain?

ascending upward
to the underground – what left unfound?
     but a virgin in a breadbox
     recording a world
     with no sound –

she motioned – enter
the apparition fell away
leaving a mirror and a mantra
only without prayer

and a writer rapt in parchment
         ink just laughing everywhere...


****************
Long Sought
 
do not love me like another or one with feathered hat you bought
love me like the lover your heart has for so long sought

take me to the morning, the one the dawn has yet to kiss,
take me there, there where long since lovers in forever reminisce
held between the moon and midnight, between the stars and eternity
holding my name as your next breathe - is held in sweetest ecstasy...

do not love me like another or one with feathered hat you bought
love me like the lover your heart has for so long sought

give me but the moments that write volumes without end
suspend the ever after knowing full well it shall not come again
let me read within your eyes the words your silent lips dare not address
and press them to the pages that my life will inscribe as - its happiness

no, do not love me like another or one with feathered hat you bought
love me like the lover your heart has for so long now - sought....


****************

"It has not been until about the last ten years that I have spent the time to work at and develop a style that I find speaks true to now I see the world.  I have realized that my poetry more often than not is of a romantic or surreal nature, though I work at diversifying the form which is rarely structured.  Also, I tend to avoid dark or depressive poetry and find it difficult to celebrate writers who solely write in this form.  I can appreciate their writing but not the living and or dying in a self- destructive way.  I wrote a poem recently titled I Will not Celebrate You in Death right after reading a bio on Sylvia Plath and a subsequent discussion of suicide and depression among young people; the poem speaks for itself on the subject. " —...bkm

****************

I Will not Celebrate You in Death

I will not celebrate you in death
so - should you go there you are on your own
I came to like you here after
your birth - not scorning the soul you came with, equipped to fight
fires much greater than the spark I could
provide you -

I loved you as a human - half god, half
demon that crawled my leg and bit my
heart - I love you still as a friend, a fellow
worshiper of medieval wisdom - and as I

nursed you towards the climbing tree
(that now lays on its side), I celebrate you
watching the fallen - still with leaf
and life - clinging to beauty and breathing
in its own sorrow - no self- pity or denial

my hands fractured in service to
aid you any further - and loving you yet is easy,
never painful, even as I watch your own - I celebrate
the breath you embrace --but I will not celebrate
you in death ---

No, I do not believe in it....

 ****************
I believe that writers do not actually write for the reader, but to fulfill the self.  It being an agreement made between writer and muse. If the writer is fortunate and the piece comes quickly and without pain than they are almost certain that the self will be fulfilled and usually the reader quickly justifies that initial feeling.  I know for myself that if the write is long and labored then I am never really pleased with the piece or find it worthy of revisiting. Personally I feel that my most fulfilling and best writing is when the words come even before the images,  that is when I know it is truly my muse at work. She knows exactly what she wants to say and needs little help from my imagination.  When she is so kind to show up in this way I find I end the piece by saying thank you, yes.. Thank You for never failing to surprise me with words. ” —bkmackenzie


Check out more of ...bkm's poetry @ http://signedbkm.blogspot.com/
Comments & feedback are always appreciated!

Cheers,
Adam

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Truly one of my favorite poets I've found in blogland. Even more so now after reading this post.

Marshy said...

loved reading this..bkm writes fantastic poetry...and to read this spotlight about her and her thoughts made wonderful reading...a great spotlight on a great poet...cheers pete

Brian Miller said...

nice...i agree...i appreciate bkm and she is a matvelous talent....

Bubba said...

I read bkm's work often, since she joins in with many of the same weekly themes as me - she's always good. I'm glad she's in the spotlight, so others will discover this talented writer.

annell4 said...

I love this writer. She is a true romantic, and I mean this in a "fine way, indeed." I love to read the words she chooses to write, and hold them tenderly.

Katherine Krige said...

Her words are always well chosen. An excellent choice to highlight OS!

Maureen said...

One of the many things I've enjoyed since finding One Stop is the spotlight you shine so well on poets I otherwise might not have read simply because I wouldn't have known of them. Today you've highlighted another deserving poet; bkm's work is full of the kind of detail and language that invites more than one reading. I look forward to reading more of her poetry.

Sherry Blue Sky said...

Wonderful to learn more about you, bkm, and to read your words. This was a great spotlight feature. Your poems are wonderful. I especially love "without the two buck toll to pay the greedy gate keeper at the entrance to my soul." That is simply brilliant. I loved reading this - great to hear more about you and your writing process. Shine on!

Anonymous said...

one of the handful with a true understanding of her craft....who continues to put the right word in the right place, with unerring sensitivity

hedgewitch said...

The images and moods here are striking and originally put; a much harder thing to do than say. I agree very much with the sentiments about dark & depressing, and admire those who can shine a light through what makes up so much of poetic expression as done here. And speaking of shining a light, this was another exceptional spotlight. Thanks all.

Claudia said...

i always enjoy my visits on bkm's blog, she's indeed a fantastic writer and i also appreciate her honest, heartfelt and encouraging commentings on other people's works
a great feature dustus - thanks

moondustwriter said...

BKM's poetry has been a favorite since I came on the blogsphere. Your poetry never disappoints always strikes at depth

thanks for letting One Stop feature you today

hugs from the moon

Sheila said...

Dustus, thank you for featuring Signed...bkm. When I started reading her poems, I immediately admired the way she wrote about love and romance. I think I even told her that I looked forward to learning from her since my work tends to lean more towards the dark, depressing side.

Months later, I have learned a lot from her and many others as well. As a result, I have enjoyed concentrating on more hopeful writing themes lately.

I really like her last quote. Earlier this week, I wrote similar reflections in a piece I am preparing.

Finally, I have enjoyed participating in bkm’s Monday‘s Child prompts on occasion. Check it out…

slpmartin said...

Enjoyed these Adam...thanks for the introduction to her work.

Gigi Ann said...

I only found One Stop Poetry about two months ago. The one poet that caught my attention was Signed...bkm. I found I liked her poetry and always looked forward to reading her poems. I have to agree with her I don't care much for the dark and depressing poems, and I especially appreciated her poem "I Will Not Celebrate You In Death" It put into words some of the feelings I had after my son's suicide. I like the poetry that leans toward the romantic, but not the surreal so much. Thanks for the sharing this visit with Signed...bkm, today. It was nice learning a bit more about the poet.

Tina said...

I'm so glad you featured bkm, she is one of my "don't miss" stops in the blogosphere. Her style really speaks to me in the images she crafts, and I hear her heart speaking, and know she is true to what she believes.

libithina said...

this was a great spotlight and read ~ 'I will not celebrate ..
utterly captures the unstinting support ~ despite ~ and the painful watch besides still in support ~ so hard to do sometimes to walk beside ~ but the line is drawn 'I will not celebrate ... brilliant ..Lib