Only a moment
in time, outrage so profound,
turns nation around.
Unknown woman posts “I VOTED” sticker on Alex Pretti memorial.
Tag Archives: Republican Party
Mid-Term Haiku
Nightmares roam freely
while voters watch fearfully
death of a nation.
BLIND EYES
So enamored of myself am I
that I do not see you
though I look you in the eye,
all sincerity belied.
When I face you so confidently
the only one I see is me,
reflected back clear as can be.
Every charge I make against you
is really my confession.
I speak with such aggression
to hide all fase impressions
lest you take the time to think.
I use the fear I sense you feel,
reflected back at me,
in a never-ending loop;
which only makes me more afraid
to ever acknowledge you.
I must seize your power for my own.
It is the only way I can survive.
I can only live my life
if I steal yours
Your life or mine?
There is but one answer.
It is why you take my side.
It is why fear makes you hide
any conscience you once knew.
I will always be watching you.
I love watching myself.
All narcissists are blind; you see.
BE NOT AFRAID
As the first female attorney to advise the white males controlling the institution I worked for I understood the underlying hostility that colored every conversation. I sensed the fear of most of those men, fear of a female with power. At one meeting with 3 levels of administrative authority needing my legal advice regarding a personnel matter, I summed up the position our institution faced and explained the necessary actions needed to avoid liability. I asked if they understood and they nodded “yes.” I picked up my file and prepared to leave, raising from the long table around which we all sat with the words, “I shall leave you to it, then.”
One man directly across from me sneered and said with derision, “You’re a cold bitch, aren’t you!” I paused, slammed down my file folder and leaned into his angry face and replied, “Yes, and I worked damned hard to get this way.” I smiled “good-bye, gentlemen” and left as a single man applauded me, to my surprise.
I have been called a communist, a pinko, a flower-child, a “n” lover, a socialist, a racist, a bitch, and worse (use your imagination or locker room references) since my late teens while I sat-in, went on hunger strikes, marched and protested racism, war, sexism, ageism, homophobia, classism, unfair tax relief for corporations and unearned wealth, privatization of hospitals-schools-infrastructure-roadways-anything originally financed by laborers’ taxation and turned over to privateers. I watched this agenda progress in the name of conservatism (talk about turning truth on its head)to utility grids, farms and farmers, schools, universities, the internet and other technology, our immigration system…even NASA.
I learned that calling me names was a projection meant to distract others from the goals of the Republican Party on the rebound after Nixonian corruption was exposed. Nothing new really. Ask the Native Americans and those enslaved by greedy Americans whose self-interest always overcomes the common good. Call me any name you want. I welcome it. Bullies always go a step too far and say too much when we stand up to them. They look and sound like the fools they are. Be proud of the names you are called. You are getting our nation’s true enemies and worst game-players to show their hand.
“We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” – Winston Churchill
Filed under COMMENTARY, POLITICS
GARDEN OF LIFE
The pulse of life beats strong,
beset by all that is wrong.
Animals prey in the yard at night,
entering as we lose the light,
to eat the crops and uproot the flowers,
creating destruction hour by hour.
Every effort seems for naught.
Undermining all we’ve been taught.
No respect for decades of effort
to create a safe space for all who enter,
a space free of willfulness, woes and want;
a space where diversity and beauty abound,
where seeds breed and reseed in dark ground
so readily that we forget the dangers around
every corner, and under every rock.
It is imperative to finally take stock.
To pay attention to those lurking in the dark.
To those who would steal our garden’s wealth
with deceit, lies and stealth.
Single spotlights, motion sensors for lights,
individual porch lights and flashlights
have not been enough to stop the raccoons and skunks.
The unseen predators who hide beneath
that which bloomed from our labors,
until we finally notice what has been lost.
We cannot count the cost
although we desperately try.
Our pulse beats strong as we cry.
I think we have found a solution
to the critters who invade like pollution,
unsightly, unseen, willingly mean.
Faerie lights of all colors with patternless pulse
strung throughout the yard, across every row
where our treasured plants grow
threatening with uncertainty those who prey
as dark nights take over our days.
On at dusk, off at first light.
We have finally set our garden aright.
The pulse of life beats strong
with each push of the button on voting machines
the faerie lights come on.
Filed under POETRY, POLITICS, Uncategorized
START YOUR DAY THIS WAY
Start each day with something to say
that cheers the heart and paves the way
for kindness unbound by fear of loss
of reputation and a safe situation,
threatened by retribution for your contribution
to truth and justice hour-by-hour, day-by-day.
We are on a common journey lifted higher
by a deep yearning for freedom and equality
to which every American and immigrant aspires;
tied down with words in our Constitution
and protected by laws, enforced by courts
which pledge apolitical, neutral decisions
rendered with stated grace and precision.
But, when law is ignored, or twisted by greed or hate;
when SCOTUS corrupts its mission and states
precedent no longer controls politicians
who are free to break laws and showcase their flaws
without any constraints, our laws carry such taint
that constitutional words become blurred on the page.
Crying over each turn of the page by a party of miscreants
takes too much energy and lessens our pace.
We are still here. We are still to be feared
by those who would take our freedoms away.
We are not going back. That is not the progressive way.
We only go forward to claim a new day
where America’s promise wins over the fray
created to disrupt and corrupt election day.
Stop whining. Stop crying. Get out and register voters.
Drive them to the polls. Guard their way.
There are more more than enough of us to hold sway
and create a better country, one we can take pride in every day.
TAKE A MOMENT
I only want a moment of your time
to reflect upon un-poetic rhyme.
There is so very much to do.
I ask either too little, or too much, of you.
His need for subserviency, adoration and greed
takes no notice your own, real need.
You were never meant to be his white serf,
one-step above Black slaves, laboring on his turf.
The DOJ and SCOTUS handed back the whips
to those who do his bidding as he flips
from cruelty to cruelty arranged by Putin’s calls
plotting and planning The USA’s trips and falls.
Military is used to manipulate stock prices so the wealthy few
can buy low and sell high, with no care for you.
Your coins build a ballroom in which you shall never dance.
A triumphal arch between the Washington Monument and Lincoln’s glance
will be constructed that you may no longer easily recall, nor see
American aspiration to realize true equality.
MAGA,Trump, MAGA,Trump! You chanted your power by chanting the name.
The power was a never his but yours.
The conman wins the game, and dances as he scores.
And you cheered. Oh, yes, you did; even gerrymandered lines of hate
for Democrats, Black citizens, college students in every state.
You joined the game without concern, without a qualm
while team leaders covered up crimes, you stayed calm.
Pedophilies, rapists, liars, cheats and colluders in corruption
steal our nation’s health and wealth and reputation
while you stay silent, subservient and take satisfaction
that you can cheat your way to success in every upcoming election.
Detention centers hide concentration camps, not deportation.
If any one of us is not free, none of us are free, don’t you see?
Or are your eyes only on gas price increases, and food costs?
When will you realize nearly all we love is lost?
Get you head out of the book, your eyes off the screen.
Look around at the suffering, MAGA is offering in between
the crazed tweets and mean-spirited acts by the nation’s elites
who refused to be taxed and share the wealth
they gained from your labor with a soft, thieving stealth.
I only want moment of your time
to discover the truth inside their rhyme.
Then I ask you to stand, speak, even shout
until every single one of us learns what MAGA is really about.
CONFIRMATION SLAP
There was one day each year our Catholic parish could expect the Bishop to visit. Every year the children in the fourth grade, age 10 or so, made their Confirmation of Faith. We studied the tenets of our faith so we would understand more fully what it would mean to be confirmed. This was critical because the one thing that sank in was the idea that we would not only promise to live our faith, fully and with integrity; we would pledge to be willing to die for our faith, as many of the Catholic saints had done over the centuries. In fact, we chose a name for ourselves of a saint who inspired us to live our faith as fully as they. I chose Bernadette, a young girl unable to be shaken from her spiritual experiences, despite opposition even from church leaders. She was open to the unexpected, unexplainable mysteries of her faith; courageous and persistent, resilient and humble. She could face down any opposition to live her faith experience.
We had learned through study and life experience that others opposed our beliefs, and especially, our assumed authority to represent Jesus Christ’s teaching . We saw our priests, and even ourselves, as part of the line of succession from Peter the Apostle. A lot of wrongdoing and audacity occurred in between Peter’s time and mine. We were taught to acknowledge errors, correct them and move on. A daily examination of conscience and frequent confession kept us on track.
As a very short child, I led the procession into church. The Bishop asked us a few questions ascertaining that we understood what we were about to promise. I was the first to be confirmed, kneeling at the altar rail, shaking like a leaf, praying for courage. The Bishop spoke the words reminding me that my faith required a willingness to die for Christ. I responded that I would. The Bishop then struck my cheek with a blow so hard those in the back pews could hear the slap, my head snapping to the side. The Bishop looked horrified. I could feel the sting of his hand. I was reminded alright!
After the service ended, we processed from our pews to the rear of the church, the Bishop and altar servers before us. The Bishop waited for me at the door and joined my parents and family as we stood on the church steps. His handprint was still visible on my cheek. He humbly apologized to me and to my parents. Since I was the first child he had underestimated the strength of his blow, and was mortified. I had never expected to see a mortified bishop. It made my heart open to him as human being, no longer an authority figure. Those moments of my confirmation remain with me, 67 years later, as if they happened yesterday. Over the years I had need of the lessons learned that day.
I learned that faith is not a mind-game, nor a mere consideration. It is a calling to act with integrity, love and compassion. It requires the willingness to suffer for others; to learn them, see them, hear them even when I had to “suffer through” them. I suffered through those I did not like nor respect, as well as those I respected and loved. I learned that those in authority held no power over me unless I gave it to them. I could have withheld respect and forgiveness to a bishop who hit me so hard it hurt. I chose to forgive him and accept his unintended harm. However, I never shirk from showing those in authority the harm they do. It is probably one reason I became a lawyer. I experienced justice that day. Too many in our America do not. It is those we must be willing to die for. Our faith requires it.
I listened to two Catholics, Senator Bernie Moreno from my state of Ohio and Vice-President J.D. Vance defend and protect the President Trump’s unlawful war, threats of genocide, and destructive blasphemy the past few days. They were confirmed. Do they not recall their vow to defend and protect our faith and our church as they attack our Pope? Do they not understand integrity and morality? What did they promise as they affirmed their Catholicism when confirmed? I am not truly surprised because they also seem to have forgotten their vow to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and Ohio, and the laws of both when they sworn into office as senators and then, Vance, as Vice-President.
These are not men of conviction willing to suffer for their faith. They are not humble. They lack integrity. They lie. They attack when they should defend… not just the Pope but human beings in Gaza, Iran, Minneapolis, and every city and hamlet in America. They attack instead of defend our people of color, LGBQT and transgender citizens, our women and children, our elderly and disabled, our working poor, our refugees and immigrants. They would suppress votes of students, women, the working poor, the elderly and disabled and brazenly support the provisions in the SAVE act suppressing our votes. All the while they pretend to protect us and our vote. They stay silent while our military is used to perform war crimes, and while our country’s leaders threaten to annihilate others in violation of the Geneva Convention and human rights.
The attack on a Catholic Pope is just part of the plan to replace loving faith and care for others preached by Jesus Christ on his Sermon on the Mount with power and control over others fed by greed and arrogance. It was easy to abuse the weakest among us. Now, they openly abuse a powerful church leader preaching Jesus Christ’s teachings. Of course, Trump posted an AI construction of himself as Jesus Christ. Of course Vance and Moreno, and other republicans think it is meaningless, a joke. The explanation is as great a lie. It has meaning. It is meant to promote abuse and control at the expense of others. These men were not slapped hard enough when they were confirmed as Catholics. They are not willing to suffer any political nor financial loss to help others. As a Catholic, I hold them accountable and ask them to recall their vows; to their church and to the American people.
Filed under COMMENTARY, FAMILY STORIES, POLITICS
ELECTIONS
The tree must come down.
It’s stump must be ground.
Know this,though.
Its roots continue to grow.
The lines we rely upon
To stay safe and strong
Will remain under threat
If we rejoice and forget
The threat those roots make
If we do not stay awake.
The tree may be gone.
But the threat still goes on.
We can take down the tree.
But, stay by me.
We must stay alert and fight,
the tree’s shadows alight.
It takes time for roots to die.
It takes time for truth to replace a lie.
TO BE OR NOT TO BE
TO BE OR NOT TO BE
The dark of night yet lingers and hides horrors from our sight,
as surely as using his poisoned pen our would-be king
claims undeserved, and hitherto unknown, power and might.
Disguised as feeble-minded and deranged in his fake rage,
surrounded by sycophants helping him turn every page,
he orders and re-orders freedom as his serpent
sibilant breath hisses and shouts across a stage,
revealing his sins and our own, as old as this nation.
Our fears and incoherent anxiety revealed with every breath,
as old as earth’s uncertain and unknowable creation.
Our American Garden of Eden has been turned into hell
for people of color and women, immigrants and refugees
who come with promise and work hard to make true
the promise that over 250 years determinedly grew,
and journalists pledged to tell us truth that is balanced and fair.
Even a live view of a firing squad of a criminal in a wheelchair
does not diminish the would-be kings charm
like a snake sung into action by Congressional inaction
which daily increases a litany of new harm
while they refuse to impeach and remove him
and his co-horts who claim he is only joking,
and ask us to believe he is such fun,
as he destroys the Bill of Rights, one by one;
and ignores every court order to cease and desist
his personal form of corruption and grift.
The rule of law, its lawyers and judges live in fear
as he unleashes his supporters to threaten and sneer.
Americans, it seems, find some ability to be tolerant,
though not as we hoped, to keep us solvent.
Americans accept racist and sexist firings
to make white supremacy in charge, and re-wiring.
Americans accept attacks on the Capitol and its defenders,
and pardons for criminals whose attacks never ended.
Americans can accept attacks on electoral process
and threats of vote seizures meant to intimidate
and stop voters who cannot wait to participate
in tossing the bums out with freedoms’ voting clout.
Americans can accept endless war financed by the poor
while the richer get rich making deals with enemies galore.
But, hands in our pockets, is a step too far for us.
You cannot steal our money like you steal our Jesus,
to convince us neither He, nor we, are who we once were.
Money has become our one, true god;
and whiteness, and gas prices, our only guiding star.
Vote evil out of this garden of Eden,
the serpent and all who will not act against him,
who now pretend they are on our side with false pride;
while cutting trees into crosses and debasing the wood.
The promise of America requires you vote Blue
to keep this nation free, progressing, and claiming what is true.
Join NO KINGS rally and marches near you on October 17.
Make a plan and VOTE on or before November 3.
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Filed under COMMENTARY, POETRY, POLITICS
Tagged as American voters, American women, bible, CHRISTIANITY, CIVIL WAR, con men, corruption and fraud, democracy at risk, faith, fascism, God, grifter, Haitian immigrants, immigrants, Iran War, Jesus, judges, MAGA, mail-in vote, mid-term election 2026, NO KINGS RALLY, politics, racism, religion in politics, Republican Party, rule of law, SCOTUS, sexism, Somalis, trump, US CONSITUTION, white nationalism