winter solstice wish:
may lessons learned in years past
guide the year to come
continuation
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Category Archives: humanity
A Toast to Childhood
“Cheers, everyone!”
Glasses raise in salute.
“Clink glasses!” a child calls.
Same granddaughter who clapped and “yay”ed
following a somber hymn at my dad’s funeral.
That’s how her performances are received.
I smile and bend down
toward her happy face.
“Cheers, little one.”
Always.
love sinks — magnetic poetry
Brilliant stars kiss the sky.
Fevered ocean steams.
I picture amore’s caramel eyes,
and listen for secret embrace.
Cheating dog, so long.
Velvet smoke almost gone.
Somber, I will heal, then fly.
world afire
Had we only raked the forest floors
we could have stopped the fires.
If we built a higher wall,
tear gas wouldn’t cross the border.
There is no global warming;
can’t you feel the cold rain
falling on the fallen?
Anger rakes across my senses,
fire ravages my gut.
Walls can’t contain the pain
or hold back the tears.
The earth burns with desperation
as hearts grow ever colder.
And all the while, it is snowing in Russia.
unplayed – magnetic poetry
I decided to experiment with magnetic poetry. Don’t know if there are any rules other than use the words/letters you draw. If so, someone can tell me.
I sing with drunk tongue,
with breast crushed by need
to share music we had
not yet played.
You sleep as time drips.
Insider
Your conspiratorial wink
seeks my complicit nod.
A pact, an inside joke
among us privileged.
What’s the punch line today?
Racism? Xenophobia? Homophobia?
Today the tacit agreement ends.
I will look you in the eye – unflinchingly –
and say, “No more!”
Straight. Into. The. Mirror.
Your Vote Matters! Know Your Rights!
Glass Ballot Box circa 1884, Smithsonian Institute, public domain photo
As we near the midterm elections in the US, it is becoming clearer and clearer that voter suppression is alive and well in 2018. When voting at the polls, make sure you know your rights.
Acme voting machine circa 1880, Smithsonian Institute, public domain photo
Here are some important takeaways from a CNN online article found here:
If you are told you cannot vote
-
ask poll workers to check surrounding systems for your name.
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ask to sign an affidavit swearing your eligibility.
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ask for a provisional ballot and follow up later to make sure it’s counted.
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if you are denied or feel intimidated, report the incident to any poll workers present, AND
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report the incident to local officials or the Department of Justice Voting Rights hotline*
Metal ballot box circa 1936, Smithsonian Institute, public domain photo
Phone Numbers that may be useful:
Election Protection Hotline: 1-866-OUR-VOTE
Election Hotline (en español): 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA
*US Department of Justice Voting Rights Hotline: 1-800-253-3931
The information above is taken from the CNN article “Here’s what to do if you’re turned away at the polls.“
National Voter Registration Day
Midterm elections are coming up on November 6th in the US. Are you registered to vote? You can register HERE. It’s super easy and super important. Be heard, make a difference.
Vote like your life depended on it. Someone’s life truly does.
“Too many people struggled, suffered, and died to make it possible for every American to exercise their right to vote.” ~ John Lewis
“We must vote for hope, vote for life, vote for a brighter future for all of our loved ones.” ~ Ed Markey
“Individual rights are not subject to a public vote; a majority has no right to vote away the rights of a minority; the political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities from oppression by majorities (and the smallest minority on earth is the individual).” ~ Ayn Rand
Hiroshima, reluctantly
August 6th is the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. For the dVerse Monday haibun challenge, poet Frank J. Tassone suggested we write a haibun “that states or alludes to either the Hiroshima attack, or one of the themes of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony, such as peace, the abolition of nuclear weapons, or the horror of nuclear war.”
From my place of privilege, I would rather post about my pets, show photos of flowers… you know, the nice feel good stuff. I almost passed on this week’s poetry challenge, but given the current state of the world, I felt it important that I not do so. So, not my usual fare, but in my thoughts:
It never really registered, when I viewed the black and white newsreels. The children, in the street, crying. Some naked, their clothes having been burned off their bodies. Some… I wouldn’t even want to describe it. I wouldn’t want to put it into words, because then maybe it would cease to be a black and white movie, and it would be real. Real flesh and… flesh and…
… the flesh, it was melting off their arms.
Mushroom cloud rising
I can only imagine –
no, not even that
Picking Up the Pieces
Reluctantly I select one.
Meaningless; set it down.
Bored, I ponder others.
These to the left; those up top.
Angry, I’m seeing red.
To the right with those.
Puzzled, I look up.
“It’s forming a picture.”
“Yes,” smiles the therapist.
“That’s how this works.”
What Rhymes with Stanza? 