Honoring Father Mike Gribble. Fr. Gribble was a life-long friend to all who knew him. He will be sorely missed and never forgotten.
He had a direct
line to heaven, and now need
no longer phone home.
Category Archives: POETRY
WINDS OF CHANGE
I want to listen to the wind
scouring down the mountainside
of hopes and dreams still unseen
to tinkle tunes in the gravel below
where the river flows awash
over dislodged stones
from past faults now crumbling
as water goes tumbling making music
of each thought and each sigh,
buried deep, yet still alive.
The wind brings melodies to bear down
on each unhappy sigh and sound
choked back by river’s tears.
I want to listen to the wind at water’s edge
with a courage that washes away all fear.
I want to listen to the winds of change.
Filed under POETRY
NUCLEAR RECORDS
The clock keeps ticking.
TICK-tock-TICK-tock-TICK.
It has not stopped since
Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
Three Mile Island,Chernobyl
and Zaporizhzhia.
TICK-tock-TICK-tock-TICK.
Closer to midnight
with each strike or two.
Morbier’s clock may be needed
to remind us of the danger.
TICK-tock-TICK-Tock-TICK.
Power grids and greed and more
lead us into endless war.
What did he want nuclear records for?
TICK-Tock-TICK-tock-TICK.
What financial gain was sought
to hide such secrets in his house?
TICK-tock-TICK-tock-TICK
Or what power was sought
TICK-tock-TICK-tock-TICK
by fascist bullies with threats
TICK-tock-TICK-tock-TICK
holding hostage democratic republics
TICK-tock-TICK-tock-TICK
with nuclear threats, treason
TICK-tock-TICK-tock-TICK
and crass insurrection
TICK-TOCK-TICK-tock-TICK
to seize re-election?
TICK-TOCK-TICK-tock-TICK
Which enemies hold him
and our nuclear secrets close?
TICK-TOCK-TICK-TOCK-TICK
Merrick Garland, reset the lever!
TICK-TOCK-TICK-TOCK-TICK-TOCK
TICK….
Filed under POETRY
SEARCHING MAR-a-LAGO
What will seized papers show
of secrets only a few could know?
Would Russia have invadedUkraine
for what President Trump thought to gain
if he served President Zelensky on a golden plate?
That is his way, as we all know,
never enough gold his greed to satiate.
What cabal operated amidst the Oval Office din
across Foggy Bottom from Russia then back again?
What criminal enterprises are hidden in the folds
of papers boxed away in Mar-a-Lago?
The “Right to Know” answers to such questions
Is the National Archives most sacred treasure,
and the people must know every measure
of every step taken at government’s direction.
Archives exist for our most basic protection
as a free people in a free nation.
Filed under POETRY
THE NEWS
“An historical event,” unless you read history.
“No one saw that coming,” unless you were looking.
“Totally unexpected,” unless you were not thinking.
Trite sayings tell us more about ourselves
than the events described by talking heads
who always seem to be surprised
so listeners can feel honored to be let in on
some great mystery that defies
reality and makes room for conspiracy
to feed on shards of factual disarray and we
are left bereft of truth in a fragile democracy.
“Garbage in, garbage out” warned Sister Robertine.
Her warnings have now come true it seems.
Filed under POETRY
Ruby Slipper Hydrangea
Innocent white petals first unfold.
Pink hearts softly begin to show.
Soon her petals redden in the sun.
All innocence comes undone.
She begins to slowly grow old.
Autumn stealthily takes its toll.
Finally, she turns russet and gold.
Such changes offer chance to survive
The winter of a life which thrived.
Lesson from the garden to live by.
Haiku
Perhaps you are not
Where you planned to be, so create
Wherever you land.
Filed under POETRY, Uncategorized
LETTER TO EMILY
Dear Emily, you taught us that
“Hope is a thing with feathers
that perches in the soul.”
That thing with feathers also
perches on bush and tree
and carries seed
to remake the world from
dark and crass
to life renewed
as flowering blooms
and melon vines which zoom
across the flower beds
so carefully planted
and now supplanted
by delightful fruit.
We call such wonders volunteers.
I call them hope’s pursuit of faith
dropped into dark soil
by things with feathers;
expanding our gardens
and our hearts, too.
Never has the phrase feathered friends
rung more true
than in a garden making amends
by feathered seedlings born anew.
Filed under POETRY
CIRCLES
I circle each thought lost
inside out amidst
newscasts and social media
circling wagons to create stories
of fearful need to protect
the weakening interior of America
which knows not
an independent thought.
Which instead seeks death
and destruction of a nation’s
Constitutional protections.
No circles required with facts and reason.
Running in circles means running amok.
I watch the circles expand and contract,
circle one another forward and back.
I get dizzy with disgust as stories go round
and roll down hills that are fake
without any brakes. But, who cares?
Circles of bouncing balls under our feet
keep us off-balance, distracted,
our fears discouragingly protracted.
Where can we rest amid such rolling displays
of ignorance and false flags?
How can we escape from the circles of lies?
How can we find solid surface and stand
safe and secure in this most-beloved land?
Who will tell stories that are straight and flat?
We need much more of that.
Instead, we let the bleed lead a sexier tale,
circling like water down the drain.
We are sucked into circles of muck and disdain
so deep there is no easy escape.
The circle we live on is now on fire,
circling our sun among other stars.
Circles of life persists despite
our circular thinking and culture war.
Toss the circular balls to our children.
Let them play with balls in the air
tossing around new ideas.
Walk slowly until the surface is clear.
Filed under POETRY
RICHER OR POORER
Nothing is surer
than the rich get richer
and the poor get poorer.
Private equity firms
build wealth and power
through loopholes in tax laws
that like black holes
deeply draw in Sinemas
and Republicans
to protect their donors.
Black Holes that allow no escape
for clerical workers and truckers,
those who stock shelves
and wait tables, who wash the dishes
of the rich who eat at fine restaurants
teachers cannot afford.
While equity pays off at a lower tax rate
than those who labor,
not simply push paper.
Never has a black hole shown stronger
that no one can avoid voting, any longer.
If there had been another Democratic senator
we would watch that black hole close
and deprive the rich from getting richer
while the poor get poorer.
No one need be poor in this rich nation.
I applaud the compromise with elation.
And will vote to increase Democratic clout.
Voting is what we must be about.
And then we will see loopholes close,
and create true equity for all Americans equally.
