Jano Klimas is a spoken word poet, scientist, writer and thinker. He first started writing poetry with the Downtown East Side Writers Collective, formerly the Thursdays Writing Collective, in February 2015.
janklimas.com/spoken-word
Our Place
here I am now
to keep the pen moving
I write about things that ail me
be they real or in my head
then we come here
to share and respect each other’s writing
discovering we’re not alone with our ailing
we all have some
some have more than others
we’re in this together
for all voices to be heard equally
all aches and troubles to be healed finally
for all of us to speak
from a place that is only ours
yet heartful, honest and equal
to make all of this matter
bring meaning to a senseless chaos of
pursuing one’s own ways and profits
leave them behind the closed door
hang them on the old peg
let us abandon what we are not
and embrace the seed that grows within
Exhortation
forget what you know
what you need
what has made you
make up a new life
forget all the answers
play with the questions
what you know doesn’t help
make up a new world
decide when to stop
forget the beginning
for there is no end to this
only you can decide
forget the evil black ice
drive with joy and resolve
shovel all snow in your garden
make an igloo
forget your sorrows
that won’t let you sleep
no, they won’t disappear
you just make up peace
forget why you’re here
discover it again
when you feel most helpless
make up hope
forget about the details
the devil sleeps around the corner
dream in the broad brush strokes
make up the big picture
forget how the line starts
you’ll find it when it breaks
unless we all forget
the pain will never break
november, november
why did you come so quickly?
who invited you when october slept?
and why did autumn let you in?
forget about the order
the only sequence is yours
you follow your thoughts
they lead you, make you
forget as many times
as you dare to
remember unimportant things
remember to breathe deeply
what must come will
forget the day of the year
forget what you asked about
I have a really important message for you
make it up, make it all up!
I am boundless
I bounce back
run through the rapids
wash away the trees
I am deep
my bed is soft
my banks steep
I smooth all sharp edges
I am everywhere
in oceans and seas
in cells and molecules
I am most of the world
the earth is soft
and fluid like me
no borders
I allow things
and if they stand
in my way
I find another way
I need no rules, no borders
although some like
to tame me
I always find
my way out
I am boundless
what comes to me
I hold
for as long as needed
then I let it go
at a bank, my bend
it can stay, or it can lie
resting at my shorelines
all is one in the water
I am the change, the force
that unites all opposites
merges all differences
and lets them co-exist
in peace
with each other
nothing is ever separate
no one is ever alone
I am all that is
I am all that isn’t
in my veins
a life power flows
please come closer to me
my waters are plentiful
my children scattered
believe me when I say
I am the river and
that’s my tale
the river is on my mind
cleanses my inner world
heals the wounded heart
where are you going?
I ask her
I don’t know and off she flows
like thousands years ago
and the millennia ahead of us
I can feel her touch on my ankles
rising to my knees, the river is
cold but pleasant, harmless
washes the dust away
hope will last forever