{"product_id":"2940154122891","title":"Zen By Default: The Poetry of Marques Vickers","description":"\u003cp\u003eCalifornia artist Marques Vickers’ second poetic edition “Zen By Default” establishes a sustained interior dialogue between the poet and his ongoing life evolution living along the American Pacific Coast. His 300+ concise works address the ongoing themes of displacement and relocation and the challenge of cultivating and sustaining relationships in the midst of upheaval.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eVickers examines his spectator role with regard to his own life:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ei am a third party\u003cbr\u003eto my own life\u003cbr\u003espectator of my existence\u003cbr\u003emy river of words\u003cbr\u003ea stream\u003cbr\u003eoverflowing the banks\u003cbr\u003eof reason\u003cbr\u003eas if eros alone\u003cbr\u003ewere reason enough\u003cbr\u003eand i inhabit you\u003cbr\u003eyou me\u003cbr\u003efor the short span\u003cbr\u003eof eternity\u003cbr\u003ethose small hours\u003cbr\u003edestiny has provided\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReminiscences of youth:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe nutmeg radiance\u003cbr\u003eof youth\u003cbr\u003eadorns the summer sands\u003cbr\u003eforcing the amnesia\u003cbr\u003eof aging\u003cbr\u003einto remission\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLove and its complications:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe fire of my soul\u003cbr\u003efaces my terrors\u003cbr\u003econtrast and paradox\u003cbr\u003ei look at myself\u003cbr\u003ei look for you\u003cbr\u003eone to kiss, embrace, stroke\u003cbr\u003ea splash of dazzling wash’\u003cbr\u003emy heart packs itself and contains itself\u003cbr\u003emy heart astonishes itself\u003cbr\u003ewithout bar or barrier\u003cbr\u003emore vast than a memory\u003cbr\u003ewe trade vows we may not keep\u003cbr\u003ea time where the shadows die\u003cbr\u003eonly instants prevail\u003cbr\u003ethe broken silences\u003cbr\u003eshedding our perceived chains\u003cbr\u003eyes my love we do not inhabit the air\u003cbr\u003ewe must separate as simply\u003cbr\u003eas continents divide, waters disperse\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLanguage and sounds:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ei know the song of the night\u003cbr\u003ethrough the tenor of your words\u003cbr\u003ethe sacred chant of rossignols\u003cbr\u003eserenading a panorama of stars\u003cbr\u003ebeside me on the hillside garrigue\u003cbr\u003ewe trade candies of conversation\u003cbr\u003emuses and supposition\u003cbr\u003eover the lyrics of each song\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShredding Personal Limitations:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ea window shatters\u003cbr\u003eglass ceiling mirrors southward\u003cbr\u003eno longer\u003cbr\u003emosaic tiles of imagination\u003cbr\u003eadjoined and mortared\u003cbr\u003estray impressions fastened\u003cbr\u003eplumbed from the depths\u003cbr\u003emined from experience\u003cbr\u003ea simple twisted phrase\u003cbr\u003ekeying a bolted memory\u003cbr\u003ean unspoken phrase\u003cbr\u003ei bury my soul\u003cbr\u003eon the parchment\u003cbr\u003eof posterity\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA View of One’s Mortality:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ea man stares at the crossroad of his immortality\u003cbr\u003ea man realizes his years are passing\u003cbr\u003ehe looks back at the mirror of his youth\u003cbr\u003edistant and removed from the present\u003cbr\u003ean intersection with no return\u003cbr\u003epoverty no longer stalks his doorway\u003cbr\u003ehe is simply too far to take the return road\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe View of His Lover:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esettling slow and soft into an intimacy\u003cbr\u003esweet and sacred\u003cbr\u003etangled words like our wrapped bodies\u003cbr\u003eawaken my anticipation\u003cbr\u003eof dialogues in accord\u003cbr\u003eharmonies in synch\u003cbr\u003eyou cannot imagine\u003cbr\u003emy silent soliloquies\u003cbr\u003eshrouded in dreams\u003cbr\u003ethe tenor of your voice\u003cbr\u003esoft and slow\u003cbr\u003eas a graceful and welcomed caress\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs the Days Pass Between Them:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003edark days night descent\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eenter the dense night bravely beauty\u003cbr\u003eas a darkness descends on another day\u003cbr\u003elacking the lightness of youth\u003cbr\u003einnocence separated\u003cbr\u003eengulfed into the depths\u003cbr\u003eof rest eternal\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGoodbyes:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eyou are next to me\u003cbr\u003eas parallel wings on a soaring bird\u003cbr\u003ei carry a tear in my clenched hand\u003cbr\u003ebecause goodbyes wear poorly on me\u003cbr\u003ethere are few farewells in my existence\u003cbr\u003eonly separations\u003cbr\u003ewhere the fissures and pauses\u003cbr\u003eremain gray\u003cbr\u003erepairable\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMore views of time:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eby the flame of a thousand lit candles\u003cbr\u003ei scan the horizon of time\u003cbr\u003ean eternal reminiscence\u003cbr\u003eof the long grass of springtime\u003cbr\u003elying in our shared sunshine\u003cbr\u003eyou crawl inside my beautiful memories\u003cbr\u003emy cyclone of emotions\u003cbr\u003ethe roots of desire planted upon my lips\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe eternal crossroads:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003erows of light\u003cbr\u003eilluminate\u003cbr\u003ethe stranger within\u003cbr\u003emy vision blinded\u003cbr\u003eby the currency\u003cbr\u003eof strangely traded words\u003cbr\u003ecrossroads of time\u003cbr\u003eblind a caged bird\u003cbr\u003ewho must extend wings\u003cbr\u003eto fly\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcknowledging conclusions:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eyou may return to a place\u003cbr\u003ebut never a moment in time\u003cbr\u003ea young man old\u003cbr\u003ean old man feeling young\u003cbr\u003eit matters little\u003cbr\u003etime will not cease\u003cbr\u003ebut in your mind\u003cbr\u003eand you are laid to rest\u003cbr\u003ein the grave with your memories\u003cbr\u003eboth young and old\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eVickers works are typically untitled and entirely in lower case. His themes are interwoven into soliloquy compositions and internalized realizations. The process of discovery is as relentless and ongoing as the travels he has opted to pursue.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Marques Vickers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47103548784880,"sku":"2940154122891","price":9.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940154122891_p0.jpg?v=1764068921","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940154122891","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}