Wrote this today...

Here is an open door

There’s a place to look through it

There’s a place to walk through it.

There’s sun on bone

Carrion-eaters swoop above

There’s dust in your mouth.

There’s color here

And a place to catch your breath

There’s a way to still breathe, oh yes.

Finally, there’s coolness between swelter and freeze

The sound of a plane high overhead

There’s the distance that sound always brings.

Here is an open door

There’s a place to look through it

There’s a place to walk through it.

Shore

Where to begin?

Where to begin?

Here.

In the quietest part of my mind,
I'm on that shore again.

In front of me is a darkness that breathes-
that curls its lips
and bares gums and teeth.

Cool, sucking black carries sand from underfoot.
It's soft here,
but the question comes again.

Would I dare an ankle?
Hazard a knee?
My nerve, a proud afternoon thunderstorm
breaks
and subsides. 
No.  No further.

I can hear, them, though-
hear whales singing to each other.
I can hear eels sweeping into reefs, blind as cavefish
(like me).
I can hear crabs sharpening their pincers,
shaving prime cuts
off of dead things,
and jellyfish
forever pulling water in,
pushing it out.

And among them there are also
beings of fathomless power, horror,
rage and beauty
roll silently in the pitch.
Undiscovered. Undreamt of by man.
I cannot see them, and something may brush against my leg.

My nerve is a red brick house in the sunlight
that proves empty and haunted in the dark.
No.  No further.  Not this night.

I know
in that quietest part of my mind,
that one distant and windy night,
I will stand on that shore
with the sucking sand and breathing dark,
and I will not be afraid.

I will disappear beneath black waves.

One distant and windy night,
I will explore all that reels beneath them.

Introductions all around...

Hello! 

My name is Steven Kuhn, and I am a writer who doesn't write.  At least not enough.  For years I have been writing poetry, occasional short stories, and random essays about various topics that affect my life, but not sharing any of my work outside of a few friends and family.  I have to say, at this point in my life, I'm beginning to stagnate with this formula.  So at the advice of a friend whose creative advice I trust implicitly, I am starting this blog as a way to share some of my work with a larger community. 

Odds are, if you're reading this, you know me- but here is a little bit of who I am at this point in my life, anyway.  I am 28, and I've been married for a little over a year.  I currently work as an English teacher for Memphis City Schools in Memphis, Tennessee.  I have a bachelor's from Indiana University, and a master's degree from the University of Memphis.  I have a bunny rabbit.  I like beer, video games, science fiction, and bad movies. 

I also like lists.  Here is a list of things I am:
1. Honest
2. Complex
3. A good friend, except when it comes to talking on the phone.  I suck at that.
4. Often, a walking cliche.  But I think we all are to some degree.

Here is a list of things that I want this blog to be:
1. A sounding board for my ideas.  Seriously- if you like something I'm doing, please tell me.  If you think that a poem I post on here is trite and hackneyed, tell me.  I respect honesty, and I'm a good friend- I need feedback.
2. A way to spread my work.  If you know somebody that likes this sort of thing- pass it along.  I would love to eventually gain an audience.
3. A way to show some of you who know me a different side of my personality.
4. A way to keep me writing.  Let's be honest here- I haven't been doing enough of what I have often proclaimed as my passion.
5. A way to share what inspires me.  Sometimes, I get numb.  So I will post song lyrics, pictures, poems, quotes, or anything else that I love as a means of spreading around the artists I respect and starting conversations.  I will always post the source, as well- so please don't sue me.  Feel free to do the same!  Post a quote, a picture, an article on here if you think I'd find it interesting!  Just make sure you post the source, also.
6. Fun.  I hold fun in very high esteem, and I respect those that have it.

Here's a list of things that I don't want this blog to be:
1. "Pity me.  I'm sad."  Most writers of poetry go through this phase at some point (usually in high school), and I think it is, for most of us, an important phase of growth.  I went through it too.  In high school.  I have moved on, and I want to continue to grow as an artist.  That being said, I want to reflect the human condition, and sometimes, as humans, we are sad.  There will be sad poems on here sometimes.  It is important for me to assure you, though, that I am not posting these things for attention, but to encourage reflection.
2. A circus gallery.  I have a very well-developed sense of humor, most of you know. This is also a free-speech zone. Funny is fine- post whatever you want here.  That being said, I would appreciate it if you would keep the more irrelevant stuff for other venues.  "LOLZ UR POEMS SUK!!1!" is not exactly constructive criticism.  If you want to share with me a funny video you found, awesome- put it on my facebook, though.  If you want to send me a picture of your idiot friend's penis, I'd appreciate you not doing it here.  Or at all, really.
3. This goes without saying, but DON'T STEAL MY SHIT.  If, God help you, you just really love something you read here and want to share it with someone else, by all means, do it.  Just make sure that you mention my name.  Everything I write here, I probably wrote on paper first.  I have the originals, I have the date stamp that shows when I posted, it'll be easy to prove it's mine.

All that being said, I'm excited to start this.  I truly want your feedback.  I truly want discussions to form here.  And I want to share the things I have to say.  I'll end with one of those things that inspire me- a quote from one of my favorite musicians.

"If I felt like I had something special to tell, why would I work against myself and hide it under my belt?"
-Atmosphere, "In My Continental"