Tag Archives: RUSSIA

MY FELLOW AMERICANS

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?

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FIREHOSE OF LIES

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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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Think

“Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.” – Voltaire

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Filed under POLITICS

HOSTAGES

Photo by Vladimir Uporov on Pexels.com

We are all hostages.

bound by screens 24/7

of hateful acts and sorrowing loss

entertained by relief

it is not we

who suffer it all.

Yet, we do.

We only know if we stop

long enough to sense our loss

of innocence and trust

and thus

we hurry along from screen to screen

and from scene to scene

until there is not time

to reason and rhyme

the truth we cannot allow

ourselves to realize

we are the prize

captured by those who control

what we see

and what we know.

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PUBLISH OR PERISH

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

Each morning, I awaken and write before my mind loses its irrationality and becomes reasonable, blocking out all creativity with the fear of not being perfect. I also face each new morning dreading what I will hear about Ukraine and its people. Recently, my niece has been pushing me to organize the stacks of poetry on the kitchen table and publish a book. She nags so well that I eventually agreed. Having no interest in, nor understanding of, how to format and upload a book I began exploring but was not self-motivated enough to accomplish much until I realized I could maybe help Ukrainians by publishing a book of poetry about the ongoing war with Russia. The photo above is of the book I recently published titled SLAVA UKRAINI, Poems forPeace. It is available for purchase on Amazon at $14.99. All profits from the sale of the book will go to World Food Kitchen Ukrainian effort.

My father and his 3 brothers operated a restaurant called The Center Cafe for 38 years. Returning home to small town Ohio after WWII, they realized no one would hire Italian immigrant men. So, like all immigrants and their children before them and after, they started their own business. Like any Italian worthy of the title they started a food business. The first and last thing visitors to our home had to do was “sit and eat.” So, I chose World Food Kitchen as the donee because I understand the healing power of food served with love and compassion.

I am now determined to improve my publishing skills and make more books. My niece is happy. And I hope I am able to help Ukrainians in my own small way. I hope it means fewer Ukrainians will perish under Russian onslaught. I encourage you to help Ukraine in whichever way you choose to do so. Slava Ukraini !

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CLOUDS

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Clouds drape like a shroud

across my visage, arms and legs.

Walking on this windy day is hard

and drags me to the ground

as step by step I pray

for those who hunker down

in homes where danger lays

like hot honey burning the skin,

unable to get away 

from  the flow of screaming

bullets, bombs, and storms

with names like

warlord, Putin and Ian.

Each step I safely take

is heavy, carrying the pain

of others whom I cannot save.

Simply continuing onward

is all I can handle today,

under the shroud,

too slow and weighted down

to make a difference

or even a smile.

How does one lift up others

when lifting a foot 

to go one more step

seems impossible?

Even words are weighted

with unspoken thoughts

too heavy to lift

above the shroud

of a world encased in cloud.

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UKRAINE

Photo by Katie Godowski on Pexels.com

Each day I awake seeking news

of Ukraine’s fight to survive.

Happy I survived another night

to greet a new day

in a place that is safe

from falling bombs

and chemical weapon threats

that blow into my mind

from Syria.

Nuclear threats reach farther,

threatening us all.

Each morning I hope to hear

that Putin has fallen to such disrepute

that he and his type,

his cronies all,

have been put in their place

by their own disgrace.

I awaken seeking peace

among the ruins of Ukraine

whose people could never

be ruined or displaced;

but strengthened and graced

by their courage

and love of country

and one another.

A lesson for us all.

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SEARCHING MAR-a-LAGO

Photo by Jacob Morch on Pexels.com

What will seized papers show

of secrets only a few could know?

Would Russia have invadedUkraine

for what President Trump thought to gain

if he served President Zelensky on a golden plate?

That is his way, as we all know,

never enough gold his greed to satiate.

What cabal operated amidst the Oval Office din

across Foggy Bottom from Russia then back again?

What criminal enterprises are hidden in the folds

of papers boxed away in Mar-a-Lago?

The “Right to Know” answers to such questions

Is the National Archives most sacred treasure,

and the people must know every measure

of every step taken at government’s direction.

Archives exist for our most basic protection

as a free people in a free nation.

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Restless Night and Day

Good morning yellow-beaked robin redbreast.

I see you quenching your thirst in the bird bath of cobalt blue,

Your brown feathers closed and at rest.

You look toward me wondering why

I am not digging earth to reveal

The worms and insects for your next meal.

Like you, I must first

Have breakfast and quench my thirst.

Some mornings start late after hard nights

Catching the painful dreams in my fists

Anchoring my body to the bed as I twist

The anger and fear as shells fall

On Ukrainian apartment buildings,

Killing the old and the very small.

As a young Black man with a traffic violation

is cut down in volleys of bullets on an Akron street,

Joining other Black men and women throughout the nation.

As nine year old rape victims must flee

to another state to be made well,

and women no longer are free where they dwell,.

As thought police with hateful derision of history

block teachers with facts from teaching truth.

In truth, I cannot rest,

dear robin redbreast.

And you, little bird, may already sense the threat

against you and all creatures of earth

from man’s annihilation.

How can anyone rest with such frustration?

Soon, soon, I will join in the garden,

Weeding and dead-heading, disturbing the earth

and drawing the earthworms nearer to you.

Be kind, dear robin, only take what you need

and never, never, be guided by greed.

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PROTECT MARIUPOL’S HEROES

I cannot forget Mariuopl’s  brave defenders.

Now, thrown into play by their surrender

to Putin and Russian offenders

of all that is sacred in Mary’s city.

Now, left to evildoers without pity.

Media seems to ignore this ignominy

replacing the glory of the sexier story 

of fighting to the death, which has more cachet

as breaking news than a prisoner switch, any day.

Misplaced attention and failure to attend details

endangers Ukrainian defenders on the rails.

Instead of an exchange, they face trials,

and more victimization mile after mile

by the butchers who claim those who fought back

are war criminals, to cover their own tracks.

Mariupol’s men, women and children were blown off the map.

Ukraine’s borders scattered by Russia’s attempt to overlap

its peaceful neighbors, no longer members of the USSR.

Now seeking a new democratic order, looking afar

to The West whose history mirrors their own more fully.

Putin’s Russia determined to remain a USSR bully.

Now, Ukrainian heroes are more in need of our protection

and our media looking for its own glory screens off in defection.

Shine the light on heroes’ lives Russia bends to their destruction.

Use your news power to defend each hour of their lives and protect them.

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