Busy days boost the sun
however faint his gaze.
No time to moan
his wandering ways
over the banks of snow.
Sun warms the heart
and soothes the soul
even when he strays
too far south
to take the time
to light our way.
Busy days ease our wait
for sun’s return
To grace us with his kiss
and hold our heart in his.
Filed under POETRY
There were rivers to cross,
then oceans;
and hills to climb,
then mountains.
Common language was lost
in failed use.
New languages grew
in its place.
The Tower of Babel could not be built,
but lay waiting,
for the day
boundaries could be crossed
minute by minute.
Applications translate
while we communicate.
Photos bound oceans.
News climbs mountains.
We build a common language
internetted, and interconnected.
No more need for State’s Rights when we
can all see a shared reality.
A united people is difficult to control
so Republicans lose their party
to the control of the trolls
who lay waiting under the bridges
we cross to meet one another.
And Right where we cross
they argue State’s Rights
to obfuscate and create
The United States of Babel,
making it impossible
to Build Back Better,
or vote.
And they do not stop at our borders.
Right wing trolls mine under the bridges
which unite the world’s democracies,
creating Towers of Babel
across the earth.
Filed under Uncategorized
I held grief at bay
in tightened fists
determined not to allow
its escape, until I lay
it down upon the page,
Where it sapped my strength.
Taking up the pen
is little help today
when the nip etches lines
of grief about my brow,
too close to allow the flow
of ink upon the page.
Democracy means more to those
More recently saved upon its shores.
The lands of autocrats and hypocrites,
we thought, had been left
behind, beyond our pained sight;
now resurrected by the Republican right.
A Right reinforced by clerics bent
on reasserting ties long rent
between church and state,
Now reinstated by the Court
and pro-life misogynist dictum
making women victims.
The Right backlash to Obama
is a fierce and hateful trauma
which dares to take away
our diversity and our vote,
our personhood and culture,
our history and democracy.
Grief is still heavy today
but less than yesterday.
Today ink flows steadily,
freely, hopefully daring leaders
to find the courage to save the vote,
and this beloved country.
Filed under Uncategorized
Saving face
By creating truth
Is the only means of escape
From harsh reality
For those whose core
Is thinned and weak
By lack of moral exercise.
Bread and circuse
Did Rome in.
History ignored
Is repeated evermore.
Distraction through attraction
Diverts the gaze, the ear, the tongue.
This is who we live among.
Doing what is correct
Does not reflect the Right
Constantly claiming false
It’s moral might
Over those whose outrage
Threatens their control,
Their wealth, their privilege.
New faces in new places
Where they were not allowed before
Distort the world view
Of the autocratic few.
It takes strong core
Muscles to stand tall
Before the attack of falsehood
Destroys us all.
Filed under POETRY
GRIEF LINES ABOUT THE BROW
1-15-2022
I held grief at bay
in tightened fists
determined not to allow
its escape, until I lay
it down upon the page,
Where it sapped my strength.
Taking up the pen
is little help today
when the nib etches lines
of grief about my brow,
too close to allow the flow
of ink upon the page.
Democracy means more to those
More recently saved upon its shores.
The lands of autocrats and hypocrites,
we thought, had been left
behind, beyond our pained sight;
now resurrected by the Republican right.
A Right reinforced by clerics bent
on reasserting ties long rent
between church and state,
Now reinstated by the Court
and pro-life misogynist dictum
making women victims.
The Right backlash to Obama
is a fierce and hateful trauma
which dares to take away
our diversity and our vote,
our personhood and culture,
our history and democracy.
Grief is still heavy today
but less than yesterday.
Today ink flows steadily,
freely, hopefully daring leaders
to find the courage to save the vote,
and this beloved country.
Hours bestow the power
to dribble away
a perfectly fine day.
The mind has no budget.
The sets are free;
The actors free of equity.
The script entertains
every possibility,
until dusk drops the curtain
upon our play.
The hours of the night
require footlights
whose cost we often cannot pay.
Daylight hours are meant
to store treasure to purchase
all we have dreamt.
We rest most easily
and dream most peacefully
when day has been well spent.
Filed under Uncategorized
We all see it. The Pope and I wonder “why ?”.
Pet owners walk right by
the unsheltered homeless
on streets where they lie
on cold pavement to pillow their heads.
Then stroll on home
to put the doggy in his doggy bed.
We all see it. The Pope and I wonder “why?”.
Children hunger for safe water, safe schools
and safety from gun play.
No leash on gun violence to save innocent lives.
While redesigned leashes protect thyroids,
keep our dogs safer than our children
who remain threatened by lead water and bullets.
We all see it. The Pope and I wonder “why?”.
Children and teachers drill “Run, hide, fight”
barricading doors, fearing for the day to come
when they will fear for their lives.
Trainers and doggy educators face no such threats.
Do animal shelters run such drills?
Would we permit such atrocities there?
We all see it. The Pope and I wonder “why?.
Pantries struggle to feed the working poor.
Tiny pets sit in purses on shopping trips to buy
shoes and jewels and more and more, always more
including doggy treats, and doggy sweaters, and doggy toys.
If only the needs of children and the poor
were handled with such concern.
We all see it. The pope and I wonder “why?”.
We mean no offense. We question the intention.
We unleash the suggestion there is a reason
we all see it. There is a reason to explore
the millions spent on pets that drives
a breach in social accord
played upon by those who seek to sow more discord.
Perhaps pet owners fill pantry shelves,
schools, homeless shelters, and soup kitchens
with needed goods and volunteer hours.
Perhaps pet owners are teachers and preachers,
nurses and social workers, bankers and barmaids
who offer their services to all in need of them.
Perhaps they, too, are in need.
Perhaps the loneliness engendered
by 5G speed-brokered connection,
and hanging on to a blue planet
speeding to fiery destruction
is soothed by a purring cat, or by stroking a dog’s fur.
Perhaps walking a leashed pet is the only control
they can imagine, the only comfort they can take.
Perhaps a generation splitting apart
heart by heart, takes heart from keeping
one friend, furry or not,
safe and alive,
happy and well.
Perhaps that pet fills their well
with love, repair and loyal care.
Perhaps we should all leash our emotion
and fear, and care for ourselves and one another
as we care for our pets.
Pet owners surely know this better than most.
They already have the skill to love and protect.
Unleash love. Harness loving acts. Save the world.
We all see it. The Pope and I question “why not ?”
Filed under Uncategorized
TIME TO DANCE
Beats sound
a groundless thump
against the heated air
of bodies dancing
worry laid bare.
To dance, to leap,
To sing, to weep.
Undulation and ululation
sound the escape
with brave elation.
Dance, dance
with butterflies and bees
as if life depends upon it.
Flutter and flit
On currents of air.
Rhythm and blues
are every day news.
Dance, dance.
Sound the best with feet
lifted above despair.
Dance, dance
with joy unabated.
Float like lilies
on pads created
To go with the flow.
Dance into the future.
Dance down the past.
Dance up the present.
Dance as if this chance
may be your last.
Filed under Uncategorized
