We walk with heroes
On paths of love for freedom.
Let us walk in peace.
Tag Archives: courage
NO KINGS DAY
The day begins with signs
Of all that any patriot finds
In need of expression
To resist oppression.
We line the streets
Feet deep
Only to meet
Aggression
From those who seek
Our suppression.
Gerrymandered districts
Are incomplete,
Unable to meet
Fair representation,
Denying the nation
one person one vote,
Intimidation afloat
In every state.
We pray it is not too late.
We pray our efforts matter.
We pray our mad-as-hatter
Administration
Stops destroying our beloved nation.
We sing. We dance. We shout.
This is what democracy is about.
No kings today.
No kings in any way.
No kings over courts’ justice.
No kings over any of us.
Every king eventually falls.
We do not want a king at all.
DREAM OF MY SELF
In dreams we are known
in ways we can’t know ourselves.
Keep dreaming, my soul.
Filed under POETRY
AMERICA DANCING TO MAGA-TIME
The ballerina pirouettes.
Round and round she goes.
Her satin slippers turn endlessly
as she balances on her toes.
Dizzying it would certainly be
to spin so unnecessarily.
But, she uses a trick she very well knows.
She picks a single point in sight
and holds her focus on that point, so tight.
She keeps her balance and dances on,
steady as the graceful dancer we all know.
And when the music ends
as every song must
she takes her bow and we all cheer.
America is well and still on her feet,
avoiding the fall we all feared.
America shall dance again
as soon as the new song begins.
Voters shall pick a tune they enjoy,
one that cares for every girl and boy,
for every color, race and creed,
for laborers and workers, rather than greed.
The Land of the free.The home of the brave.
The audience of those who refused to cave.
Ballerinas keep their eyes on the prize.
Focus and keep dancing: a word to the wise.
Keep dancing to your own true beat.
Stay focused and stay on your feet.
WHERE HAS LOVE GONE?
I do not know where love has gone.
Into hiding, I believe, free from harm.
So much anger clothed in love’s costume,
hate hidden from view so I am not consumed
by the true nature of what the costume hides;
all except the hands fisted by my side,
which velvet-suaded gloves still reveal
all the angry violence I could wield,
if I were not so terrified of the pain
I could visit upon others. I refrain.
I refuse to become just like those
who name-call with fake smiles and pose
under crosses, and above crowds,
saying the the ugly hate-filled truth out loud.
I desperately try to maintain my balance.
I believe compassion bears no allowance
to strike back when under attack.
But, turning the other cheek is a trait I truly lack.
Never take a punch and not fight back, I heard dad say.
But, never start the fight, if you can safely walk away.
Is this where we are now, afraid to put up the fists
when the attack is scheduled on government lists?
How long do we wait for the blows to fall?
How far before we are imprisoned inside the wall
of government ordnance and secret police?
How will we ever know any peace?
I do not know where love has gone.
I search and I search for however long
it will take me to find it and hold it tight
while I build strength for the coming fight.
THE RAINS CAME AND CAME AND CAME
We keep thinking
it cannot become any worse
this placid earth
awash in excess or in drought.
Hibiscus big as dinner pates
strung among drenched leaves,
hangs in drooping loops to the ground.
Sun makes its way warily
through clouds weighing the sky down,
new-born leaves water-logged and drowned.
The heavy weight of watered threats
is nearly too much to bear.
Too heavy to breathe, saturated, air
keeps me waiting inside,
Parched lips and dry-aged skin
too thin to accept such weight again,
hangs loose, losing all pride;
jealous of the hibiscus
which still stands tall
strong enough to resist it all.
I anxiously await a break in the clouds,
days of hope and rest in the sun.
Even the earth is in tears these days.
Like a child I hold my sign and sing aloud
“Rain, rain, go away. Come again
another day.” Or not. Never again
should we women and men
so misbehave and reduce our gardens to tears.
MEMORIES
Memories
The heart’s memory
Holds truth close for but a moment.
Then moves beyond truth
To a greater reality
To become something more,
Something that can last challenging and comforting,
cherished and caressed
Through boundless eternity.
The stories we tell ourselves
May have little basis in reality.
The heart too easily
Makes fools of us all.
Yet, we become enthralled
As our stories unfold,
Especially with those stories
We have never told.
Held close to the chest,
Such untold stories
Make us look, and feel, our best.
Their power keeps us strong
And able to face all the rest.
Filed under POETRY
LIGHT UP
I am made of stardust
lit by sunlight.
Like lilies of the field
I dig deep into earth
with my toes.
Like birds of the air
I soar on currents stirred
when heat meets cold.
I seek. I soar. I laugh out loud.
I raise my face to the sun.
I dance in moonlight.
My spirit takes flight.
I grow strong.
My beauty abounds.
As earth, my earth
turns round and round.
Time has no meaning
I have found
except to tether my hopes
that change comes around
when most desired,
bright with sounds
of laughter, and courage
unleashed and unbound.
Rejoice in the day,
the month and the year
but stay in the moment.
Have no fear.
Filed under POETRY
ART THERAPY& Haiku
When things are too hard
to take, take to creation
within and without.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2025
Worn and weary I
run away from words hidden
in the dark of night.
Pained and poured out I
slowly ascend the mountain
reaching toward the light.
Strained and so sore I
peruse the new horizon
coming into sight.
Battered but brave I
reach into my open heart.
Love overcomes fright.
