It has always been
understood and too often
forgotten. Spring comes.
Tag Archives: poetry
CIVILITY
Civility is not servility.
Civility ends when aggression begins.
Civility ends when sexism begins.
Civility ends when racism begins.
Civility has no place
when legislation threatens harm.
Civility has no place
when incitement threatens harm.
Civility has no place
when lawlessness threatens harm.
Civility has no place
when disinformation and lies threaten harm.
Servility cannot become an excuse for civility.
Are we to be lead by uncivil hate and greed?
And should we then be civil and agree to bend a knee?
Servility must never be mistaken for civility.
Civility must not become servility.
No bending knees before hate and greed.
No bending knees at the death of democracy.
No bending knees at any man above the law.
No bending knees at freedom’s last straw.
No servility for me.
I resist any suggestion to show civility
to those insisting upon my servility.
SWEET LITTLE OLD LADIES
This is the face of white supremacy,
the sweet little old lady
who lives down the street from me.
She praises the Walz-Harris and
Sherrod brown signs in my yard.
She gleefully says they make her happy.
I offer the extra signs I have to put in her yard.
She gracefully declines, “my family
would make it hard on me.
“So, your family bullies you,” I reply.
Taken aback I watch her smile fade.
“Yes,” she says,” I suppose that’s true.”
“It is just that Black people are so…”
her hands in the air waving away thought…
“They want to take over the country, but ought not.”
“Do you hear what some white people shout,
about taking over government to have their way?
Do you fear them taking over the country?” I say.
A look of confusion crosses her face.
I ask if she thinks every white or Black person
is the same, and if blanket descriptions are really O.K.
This sweet little face now looks away.
Then turns with a frown and admits it’s unfair.
I have family who are MAGA, too, I explain.
If they do not like my signs I simply reply
that they should put out their own signs
and take responsibility for their incivility.
She tells me she is really afraid,
for once glad to be old with death on its way.
I remind her of all dangers she has faced.
I smile and encourage her to take her place
among our past heroes who gave voice to renew
the promise of America for me and for you.
I promise her she is stronger than even she knows,
that together we are strong enough to fight any foe.
I remind her everyone fears what the future portends
She nods and she smiles but her eyes tell a different story
She yearns for the time when being white
meant she could claim control and full glory.
I am an old white lady, but have never been sweet.
Being real is neither pretty nor neat.
I handle truth in its complexity,
dirtying my hands and feet
placing signs in my yard,
refusing to give in to hate and racism.
Ugly truth-teller is my only “ism”.
Silence is complicity.
Fear and hate do not deserve pity.
WRITING
“Start writing” the app says.
So easy is it to reveal
The secret places in the heart,
The solemn vaults in the mind,
The wounded spaces in the body?
Think that is not a really big deal?
Hiding from self seems the norm.
For a very good reason
From the day we are born.
First we must grow into one we know
Can protect and defend
The one we hide deep below.
What risk writers take to open wide
A self hidden and safeguarded inside.
Risk is too small a word for the task
Of showing self vulnerable, anxious, naked at last;
seeking connection inside you, with words that will last.
Filed under POETRY
THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
Only one thing is certain.
In your heart, you know it to be true.
The only person who matters is you.
That is the core of democracy,
a republic which is not a theocracy,
nor a monarchy, nor autocracy.
No man or woman will come to save your nation.
Now, pay attention
to school boards and zoning boards,
and definitely boards of election
where you will find your greatest protection.
Watch the mayors, governors and secretaries of state.
Do they make decisions with love or hate?
Vote out those who help keep his curtain closed
before it is too late.
The man behind the curtain is a wizard and a clown
who loves the limelight and will never fight
to keep the nation safe, nor guarantee your rights.
The man behind the curtain entertains himself
by entertaining fear in everyone else.
Those who serve him bow down in disgrace
and forfeit the security of any safe space
to exercise their freedom of ideas.
They can no longer listen to you.
They must do what he says they must do.
He looks for a way to escape.
Leave him to stew.
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
Only one thing is certain.
That is you.
VOTE!
Filed under POETRY
POETS
Beyond the words is a place
every writer longs to be.
There, where unvarnished truth
resides alongside unlimited expression.
Poets would take you on the journey
beyond the words.
The path is not straight.
The path cannot be seen.
The path can only be felt.
The path takes one beyond
the land of dreams
and thoughts unscreened
to the place nothing seems.
In nothingness all lives.
Every possibility sounds out
silently.
The song cannot be heard.
The song can only be felt.
Until nothing erupts quietly
and words return
surprising me.
Art flows not from the poet.
Art flows through the poet
from that place
beyond the words
where all art resides.
The journey is within.
HAIKU FUNDAMENTALLY TRUE
No confessional
can hold the sins of men done
in God’s Holy Name.
Right-wing Pharisees
roam the halls of governments
exercising hate.
They lie to themselves
stealing freedom’s greatest truths
to lie to us, too.
Money flows and fills
pockets-to-let to control
greed’s supremacy.
Unregulated
democracy fails to be
free for you and me.
Fascism now reigns
in God’s name, on lips profane
from pulpits and schools.
Separation fails
to protect laws, or faiths,
when religion rules.
Time to drive out the
money-changers from temples
of government, now.
We cannot allow
such hate and such harm to be
offered in our name.
Such Offertory
should be left at the altar,
not legislatures.
POETRY’S PATH
Poetry may hide under rocks, too.
Poems litter the path with words
often unattached
to any reality,
and blocking the way
to progress.
But, poetry exposed to the sun,
and shared with everyone,
opens up paths of discovery.
Poems can be used as tools
to bring back home
fearful fools
who climbed too high,
led astray by fraudsters
who use their fear
to build a gate,
and create hate
to block the way
to unity and community.
Our village awaits
the return of those who thus roam.
Let poetry guide you home.
Leave hate behind.
Make easier your climb,
unfettered by false letters
in tweets and squeaks
by cowards, hour upon hour.
Such false facts weigh you down
more than personal adversity.
Community will share the load,
no matter how hard your road.
Love, not hate, always finds its way.
Come home.
Come home.
Come home.
Today.
Available on Amazon.
All profits go to Ukraine World Food Kitchen. Ukraine still needs our help. If you enjoy reading my poetry I ask you to either buy this book so more money can be raised. Or, even better, if poetry is not your “thing”, simply make a donation in whatever amount you can afford to a charity of your choosing to help Ukrainians
SLAVA UKRAINI: POEMS FOR PEACE
by LOUISE ANNARINO | Dec 3, 2022
FREE delivery Fri, Jul 7 on $25 of items shipped by Amazon
Or fastest delivery Wed, Jul 5
Filed under Uncategorized
FIREHOSE OF LIES
The firehose of lies
was no surprise.
Propaganda tries
to bind our eyes
that we can only see
distorted reality.
First the claim
of aging incompetency,
then the firehose of lies overcomes
and brings us to our knees.
Suddenly, we panic with loud cries
Find someone who can remain on his feet
or in the election we face defeat.
Yes, President Biden stumbled trying to debate
a firehose of lie and keep things straight.
The force of the hose un-checked
was simply too great.
Instead of taking away the firehose
wielded by Trump to our government depose,
we ask another to stand in place
of the man most able and willing
save America’s world leadership place.
The firehose of lies is the disgrace,
as is the man who wields it
as he sneers and smirks
watching democracy fall on its face.
Putin, it is clear, admires Trump’s stance
laughingly watching Biden dance
as he tries to withstand, tries and tries
to awaken us all to the firehose of lies.
Instead of taking away our presidential prize,
take away the firehose of lies.
Firehosing is a propaganda tactic that involves pushing out large mounts of false and misleading information at once. The term was first applied to Russian propaganda strategies intended to silent dissent and mislead the public. Wikipedia, Jan.13, 2021. Actual use of firehoses is used in this country to silence protesters. It has been used against those Americans active in Civil Rights campaigns.
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Filed under COMMENTARY, POETRY, POLITICS
Tagged as Biden, civil rights, CNN Debate, design, fact checking, firehose, firehose of lise, news, poetry, propaganda, RUSSIA, Russian strategy to defeat Biden and install Trump, substance over performance, trump