It's a Curious Thing

There are some people
(I’m one) who negotiate
their membership
in the family they’re
born into. They get by.

They continue to cope
and manage as they
move through other groups—
schools and jobs,
communities. But they
never belong. They’re
not exactly loners or
outcasts. In a way,
that would be easier–
the lines sharp.

They always feel
themselves to be
provisional members,
probationary,
forever trying to figure out
the rules and codes,
always and ultimately
awkward, no matter
how “successful.” This is no

complaint, only observation.
It is the shape of the path
for some of us—that’s all.
It is a curious thing, that’s all.


Hans Ostrom, 2013

"Hospital," by Hans Ostrom

"Squirrels," by Hans Ostrom

The Planet's Disease

Industrial humanity's become
a bad disease the planet suffers from.



Hans Ostrom, 2013

"Message from a Bookmark," by Hans Ostrom

"Worrisome Quatrain," by Hans Ostrom

Desire of the Keys

And the keys said,
"Let us off this metal ring.
We want to lead our
separate lives, travel
our chosen corridors,
try many locks,
and be seized
by an adventure of hands."


Hans Ostrom 2013

"Nights of Music," by Thomas Moore

"Poets and Critics," by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

"Dear March - Come In," by Emily Dickinson

No Answer to the Ocean

It's like this, maybe: A tide comes in.


It brings things you come to believe.


There they are, objects on glassy sand.


They're what's come of all your coping.


A stone, a crab-shell, a worn piece of


wood, a string of kelp. They're no answer


to the ocean. They don't add up to a code.



You keep walking on the beach,


trying to figure things out. There's


nothing wrong with that--walking,


wondering. What are you hoping for?





Hans Ostrom

"The Silent Voices," by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Elvis in the Holy Land

(based on found language)


Deadline approaching
to book
Elvis tour to
Holy
Land.



hans ostrom