"what's hidden inside our chests?"

With every shift in my life, I'm so glad to look back at these words and say "I still feel this."

"what's hidden inside our chests?" (april 2010)

This is almost challenging

So much light,energy,

joy

Caged next to my lungs

That my organs are crowded

And I burst,

Am never the same again

-----------------

I can’t stop laughing

It’s all so lovely here

Like pain doesn’t exist

Like there’s no corner

this Light can’t reach

Words don’t make sense anymore,

It’s all hysteria,

Gorgeous hysteria

Everything I am,

is just a fit of laughter

"I don't know what to say, I say"

I don't know what to say, I say

As you ask me to dance

I smile, it's been a while

Since I've taken the chance

You say: it's okay

And our hips start to sway

Lost in your laughter

I forget my own name

Ashamed as you catch

My eyes look away

"Stay..."

stay.

The sky welled with tears

As I got in the car

And your eyes when your ears

Heard "I can't be where you are"

Perhaps I'm afraid if I stay

Nothing will change

The lines in the street

The sound of your name

"stay..."

no.

This is a love letter,

A knit sweater,

To keep you warm

To have the work of my hand

When you don't have my arm

"Stay," okay, but we're

Changing our names

We'll be different people

In a different place

"No", you said, "Stay."

Then, I don't know what to say, I say

You treat me to your lips

And I walk away.

seeds of impermanence that i just can't tell you

14 (august 2010)

Impermanence swallows

the ground

our beliefs stand upon

All we hold are the bare

bones

Perhaps this is

Truth.

But even that truth is

variable.

whispered (july 2010)

I'm repressing

the

only secret

[the

only thing]

That I want you

to know.

But you can't

know; it'd be

best though

If I told

you.

seeds (july 2010)

I wonder:

would a seed willingly

die

if he didn't know

he'd become a

beautiful

tree?

but the seed

dies

anyways.

Secret Meeting

(I just wrote this like a minute ago, so this is about as fresh as my poetry gets)

Secret Meeting (august, 2010)

I'm the only one in the house

The only one who even knows I'm here

So we all come out and talk

Update each other on all the news

Every me's [eyes] open up and see

All the people staring at us through the window

Perhaps they want something.

I know some of them, in fact

Some of them Love me

But they saw a secret meeting

And we're all embarrassed

One of us motion to close the blinds

But we urge him to stop

And just stare back, smiling.

It's Morning

morning (june 2010)

It's Morning

Sunlight peels the darkness

slowly from the earth,

and opens its eyes,

Yawns

Stretches

She gets up, shakes it all off like a nightmare

A little semblance of something

Perched in the back of her head

But she moves with a purpose

Today will be beautiful

She'll make sure of it

trees (july 2010)

Trees naturally grow and grow

and yet we are still surprised when

their branches break off

(this next one is real old; i apologize for my own adolescence. but it might be worth the read.)

ii (december 2008)

take, take all i have

here's what i've kept

it should be a part of you

as much as it is of me

i am what i'm not

and i'm not what i am

i'm giving to you

all i've ever had

i've been carrying it all

and it's breaking my back

i have what you don't

you have what i lack

we'll be like torches

we'll build a church

there's nothing like confession

to prove your worth

months of silence

three days of speech

a little bit closer

to what i'm to reach

but i'm scared to talk

more to be heard

afraid of misinterpretation

of my written words

i am what i'm not

i'm not what i am

i'm seeing how i'll fit

into some bigger plan

he's more than i am

but he put me here

he took when i said take

and all i had was fear

dogs, roads, and the ocean

old and new; really trying to give a good overview of my body of work. also, i just have one more push of editing to finish my first collection. it's like 50 poems, i think, perhaps its more like 40 or 35. the name is "i tried to whisper, but it wouldn't work". i could probably diy rig some copies for those who are interested, but i'm not prepared yet.

dog in transit (april, 2010)

A dog, in transit

from one owner to the next.

He's hardly been fed;

But the youngest boy in

his old family

loved him

The dog is wary,

in his little box,

in the back of the van

He looks at every home

Every family, thinking

"which one's mine?"

Roads (march 2010)

Darling, let's keep moving

Though the cars broke and

You blamed me

Let's not regret a single mile

or take back any word

Maybe you can't tell,

but I understand

shh, speak quietly and carefully

Please, stop hurting me with

Your eyes, your lips

That which once gave me the purest peace

Darling, don't stop walking

I know your feet are blistered

Mine are too

If you were willing

I would carry you

I could love you again

The Ocean (august 2010)

I stood and spoke

but didn't Say

a word

I shut my mouth

and Heard

crashing waves

The pond

I swim in

is actually

The Ocean

three poems

some more recent than others

Ideas (may, 2010)

I have the most wonderful idea:

Let us never stop laughing

like we're keeping a secret

Let us always dance when we're together

as if we're performing for the world

Let us act like we're alone together

even when we're surrounded by people

Let us act like we've been One for many lifetimes

though we've yet to meet

And let me never forget

all the things I've yet to discover with You

88:88 (june, 2010)

I set the clock to 88:88 and I watch time unravel

and I travel to the place where the structure has collapsed

I gasp, it's obvious why the whole thing has snapped

Once the damage is done, well, there's no going back

There was but a thin grasp on reality holding it up

So of course it came down, it simply wasn't enough

To keep the universe from falling to its knees

We scream at everything we've come to believe

"I know this happens to others, but why'd it happen to me?"

You see, this structure is weak because when I look at Faith

I see shattered expectations, and hope as the bait

This place didn't come down due to lack of faith in some God

Its when your soul has a longing and your head tells you not

to pursue these things that make us feel so alive

We simply do these things because otherwise we'd die.

It's 88:88 and I watch the world spin out of control

and spin off into this gigantic and gorgeous black hole

My soul looks at it all and begins to find peace

The skeptic inside says "Don't be deceived"

Why am I so concerned if God is a lie

When I'm convinced by fragile things like structure and time

My senses are the deceivers, the would be receivers

Catching every arbitrary thing it knows how to catch

Then we see a thing like You, and it all quickly snaps

In this little chaos, I feel oddly at home

As if I'm remembering why I was never truly alone

It dawns on me for a second that I'm staring at God

Because God is everything about us that our soul has forgot

"please leave" (july 2010)

I put on a blanket,

bundled up,

But it's no longer cold

Sweat and discomfort build

I sleep this way

for days.

You walked in, completely

Uninvited

But I let you

stay

for days.

An Introduction to Everything

Hello. My name is David Ori Skattebo, and I am a writer (at least that's what I tell myself). It occurred to me recently that I should probably indulgently insert myself into the blogosphere. So this is it. Considering I'm on year six in my poetic life--though the first three hardly count, considering I was twelve--I have a lot of catching up to do as far as posting material. So I might do a small "best of" series, punctuated by newer poems. Thank you for reading. Much love.