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.
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.
We live for the Super Bowl
after limiting the outcome
to two teams.
Three brothers all played
on our high school team,
wounded warriors, it often seemed.
Cold presses on bruises
and after-game body soaks
became a game-night theme.
How did you get that bruise,
I often asked with due concern.
Sighing, they asked do you never learn?
No one likes to be on the bottom.
I was tackled when I caught the ball.
Then everyone piled on.
There are rules it seems in every game.
And who carries the ball
has a special name.
We cheer the ball carrier who gained the right
to run down the field, ball in hand;
headed for the goal-post to our delight.
Opposing teams and its followers never cheer.
They moan and groan and shout in anger,
sensing competition they cannot abide.
Watchers of the game have more swagger,
are more eager to throw weighted hammers
of hateful words and punches in the air.
Losers are the worst and soundly curse players.
They cannot play the game themselves.
and berate their own team’s players worst of all.
No one likes to be on the bottom of the pile.
It takes more effort to climb to the top.
Clawing, and shoving against pinching all the while.
The guy on the bottom has no chance
without a referee, or two, or three.
All rights lost when thrown to his knees.
More men pile on top to hold him in place
where they believe he belongs,
until he is able to fight his way free.
We watch and ask,
our hearts in our throats,
where are the referees?
Not on our city streets.
Nor in Congress, it seems.
America has become a nightmare,
killing the American Dream.
Even the sun-rise is solemnly quiet today.
moving from dark black to half-mourning grey.
Protests no longer seem enough to keep evil at bay.
A nation dawns dark robes in courthouses along the way.
Its people gather in darkened-by-blood pews to pray.
Pews misguided by male power, compassion set astray.
We mourn the loss of liberty today, and every day.
When will white male supremacists finally be made to pay
for their evil, unlawful, lying, bullying craven displays?
This question continues and refuses to go away.
Our answer cannot afford to wait. We cannot delay.
Get rid of the cradles.
Make America strong.
All day long,
the same twisted song.
No cradles for children sitting at their desk.
Run, hide, fight until your death.
No cradles for special needs learning.
Defund dollars which fulfill childhood yearnings.
No cradles for child workers at night.
Employ them younger and later, even on school nights.
No cradles for the hungry, the homeless and poor.
SNAP and low-income housing supplements are no more.
No cradles for immigrants, nor refugee asylum.
Go back where you came from. You are mere scum.
No cradles for a republic and voting rolls.
Gerrymander away voting rights, for sole control.
America is no longer the beacon of old,
no longer the cradle of democracy, so we are told.
America refuses to follow any rules.
The Rule of Law has become a dictator’s mule.
Americans are almost put to sleep,
distracted by fables, eyes nearly closed.
A nation of immigrants seeking their rest.
Too weary, now, to even try to do their best.
Their minds drift off as their eyelids drop.
Their minds close down as they simply stop.
Rock-a-bye, baby,
On the treetops.
When the wind blows
The cradle will rock.
When the bough breaks
The cradle will fall.
And down will come baby
Cradle and all.
Fraud plot in which some Somali immigrants participated? All Somalis are garbage so get rid of them all.
Criminal activity in which some African-Americans engage? All African-Americans are garbage. Get rid of them all.
Investigations and questions by journalists you find troublesome? All journalists are garbage. Get rid of them all.
Some women refuse your advances and sexism? All women are garbage. Get rid of them all.
Venezuelan boaters survive an illegal attack at sea? All Venezuelans are garbage. Get rid of them all.
Democrats pass legislation restricting corporate greed? All Democrats are garbage. Get rid of them all.
Military heroes remind military personnel to refuse unlawful orders? All military and veterans are garbage. Get rid of them all.
CEOs defraud, overcharge for goods and services, underpay workers? All CEOs are garbage. Get rid of them all.
Some White people commit crimes? All white people are garbage. Get rid of them all.
Some men abuse and rape women? All men are garbage. Get rid of them all.
Some bankers hide criminal gains, make money off the deposits? All bankers are garbage. Get rid of them all.
Hate has no logic except its power to destroy.
Hate has no reason except its delight in abuse.
Hate has no goodness in thought or in deed.
Hate is a damning influence and creed.
Hate is the one thing no one needs.
Some people hate? All people are garbage. Get rid of them all.
Hate until no one is left alive, no one at all.
It is good to be thankful.
It is good to be free.
It is good to hope
and dance so merrily.
It is good to be thankful.
It is good if we can see
it is good to keep trying
to save our beloved country.
It is good to be thankful.
It is good for more than me.
It is good for every “other”
who turns I into we.
It is good to be thankful.
But I want so much more.
I want each of us to lift
the light beside an open door.
I want each of us to hold and defend
our sacred declared text and constitution.
I want each of us to pledge
we will begin again
and set aside fearful pride
alongside those who deny
the Rule of Law and all it means,
as it loss threatens the safety
of ourselves, and every sister and brother.
I want each of us to vote the bums out.
I want each of us to cry freedom and shout
“We ain’t buying it !”
to all those who sold us out
so they alone can dance merrily in a ballroom
built on East Wing destruction,
giving in to autocrats’ seduction.
It is good to be thankful.
It is good to be free.
But, only if we all can be
and only if we all
can dance so merrily.
Too many did not think this is how it would be.
They ignored the liberal thinkers they deplore,
and wholeheartedly ignored
the warnings and pleas to face reality.
Instead, they refused to see,
they refused to look into the mirror
of their own racist, sexist depravity.
It was easier to look away.
They knew they would not like
what they would see.
They felt affirmed and at their ease.
But only for a moment.
Now, this is where we are, but need not be.
It is good to be thankful.
It is good to stay free.
Sleep catches me unaware
Reading in my chair.
A loud noise as a commercial airs
Awakens me from nightmares.
No, it is the news that intrudes
On waking dreams sharp and crude.
I have been awake more than I knew
Unable to tell what is untrue or true.
And so, I read some more
Of an entire reality to explore.
I try hard to understand and accept
A new reality in a democracy kept
Captive without due process of law
Which exposes all of our flaws.
Racism breathes deep and still
With a long-ignored strong will.
We too easily pretend
it has nothing to do with us, my friend.
Lie once and it becomes then
easier to lie again and again.
And we have lied for centuries now.
Shame beads sweat on every brow.
Cognitive dissonance
Makes us create distance
From truth, facts and connection.
Shamelessness offers protection.
Too many are willing to deny
What is clear to the clear-eyed.
I see no end in sight
And remain sleepless night after night.
Filed under POETRY
MY FELLOW AMERICANS
I hold my tongue.
It takes strength I do not have.
Whimpers escape
On shattered breaths,
In silent screams.
The fight worries my soul,
Battle weary and choking,
On words held tight inside.
Once the scream begins
I doubt I could stop.
I wait for your speech.
I yearn for your promise
To stop the authoritarian
Who has taken over our house,
Emptied its vaults,
Stolen its wealth,
Sold its power
To the highest bidders.
So, I write. That I can do
While I wait for you.
To me, this nothing new.
Do you believe me now?
Wake up.
Sit at the table.
Open the MacBook.
Click on the key.
Open Pages.
Take a deep breath.
What new horror?
Unlock the jaw.
Try to forget.
Relax the fingers.
Swallow the sigh.
Move the cursor.
Try not to cry.
Who was stolen overnight?
Who was charged?
What new non-crime planted?
What court noted what lies?
With what order do they not comply?
What illegal moves have they made?
When will law once again rule the day?
Discover anger and fear drops away.
There is beauty outside.
There is love everywhere.
Take a deep breath.
Breathe slow and deep.
Beg the silent watchers to wake.
Do not despair.
This has become my mourning prayer.
As a lawyer, I am in deep mourning over the DOJ and SCOTUS breech with Constitutional law, precedent and ethics. The law is king in the United States. No man is above it. Apparently, leaders of this current republican-controlled administration believe they are our now our “supreme leaders”. Speaker Johnson keeps the House of Representatives on vacation for another week, and refuses to swear in an elected official to protect the release of files naming powerful pedophiles and rapists. A private army in masks, with no names, kidnap citizens and non-citizens and disappear them. This is evil done in our name. Seven million speak out. But, most do not. They go about their day, perhaps complaining about high prices. As if that is what the true issue is. When hate and destruction attempt to rule over all of us. The White House is being deconstructed both physically and morally. Pray with me, even if you lack the will to fight with me.
annarino writes 