Tag Archives: defund I.C.E.

DECLARATION 2026

Photo by Tara Winstead on Pexels.com

It is time to open words stored in safe spaces.

Behind the clock where time passes unaware.

Behind the freezer where thoughts hunger for truth.

Behind the bed where slumber overtakes rage.

November cannot come soon enough for words.

Words cannot wait to learn their fate.

Voices may be denied, decried, deceased.

But, words?

Words persist long after we are gone,

long after we overcome, or we are overcome.

Speak now, beyond the pain and indifference to them.

Speak now while breathing still moves you to act.

Speak now into a future which never looks back.

Speak your words, joined with mine;

words recorded for all time.

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DIABETIC LESSONS

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich on Pexels.com

Each morning I draw blood

pressing a needle beneath my skin.

It no longer hurts nerves 

deadened by repetition.

I watch blood drawn in the streets,

the blood of others

I shall never meet.

I have learned to bear my own pain.

The pain of others is a heavier rain

upon a parched soul

in need of hope.

My greatest fear is that one day,

as in all things,

that greater pain will fade away.

I will become numb to others’ pain.

That is the day I shall be dead

even as my heart still beats

and I still bleed.

Blood will flow in streets I no longer see.

But, I shall no longer feel a thing.

Government has become 

too sickeningly sweet.

The only cure is to stop feeding off

brutality, lies and corruption,

hoping for gain that is never enough.

A nation feeding off its own

cannot survive.

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THE COLD SPELL

The Rev. Carl Ruby, center, speaks to trainees at Central Christian Church, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Springfield, Ohio. (RNS photo/Kathryn Post)

The below zero control cold weighs heavily today.

Springfield, Ohio lies not too many miles away.

Sheltered and warm my grief holds sway.

Guilt freezes any hope of keeping evil at bay.

Years of massive effort bears down, gains gone astray;

after stopping racism in its tracks, day after day.

Leaders fear of conflict makes their protection wear and fray.

Peace in our cities is lost, no matter what they say.

How I long for the strength to fight one more day.

We all know in our hearts the price this nation must pay.

Training by role playing how to respond to I.C.E. and protect Haitian neighbors.

P.S. According to the State Department’s website, Haiti is currently under a Level 4 travel advisory for U.S. citizens. No one is currently recommended to travel to the country due to kidnapping, crime, terrorist activity, civil unrest and limited health care.

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