United States – Stumbling along the sidewalk

Spiraling Outlook

Creases in your face

Make them think

You are sincere,

But the truth is,

You are lying

Through your teeth.

The more you flash

Those pearly whites,

The more you stray

From an honest take

On whatever you’ve been

Caught doing, that takes

From those who barely have,

And gives to those, like you,

Who don’t need.

For as long as I can remember,

Republicans have been complaining

About welfare for the poor,

And social security for the elderly

And disabled,

Those evil handouts.

All the while, the rich get richer,

And the poor get poorer.

But that’s not enough, apparently.

Now the poor will suffer illness

And lack for education,

While the super wealthy get more

Tax breaks and kickbacks

For their connections and power.

It really is sad

How the working middle class

Has been fooled

By your antics and smokescreens,

Giving their last dollar

To support you and all you stand for,

Then voting you and your cronies

Into power, only for you to take away

Their lifelines in the economy.

Memorial Day

A place to be

Is pleasing when

There is a person

To be with—

Someone strong,

Someone fun,

Someone loving—

Come get some!

In the park,

I toss a ball

With my father;

Spring and summer

Sunny weather

Covers our faces

With warmth and never

Makes us uncomfortable.

So, we go swimming

In the lake.

We ride a boat

Across the water.

We dive in and feel

Refreshed.

Oh, what a day

To be with family.

What a time

To dream dreams,

To enjoy each other’s

Company.

To live in the freedom

Paid in blood

By our forefathers,

And our military

Today.

Please remember

When you drink your beer

And eat your hot dog.

A price was paid.

Why I’m a Democrat

I believe that the wealthy have a responsibility to share their wealth with the less fortunate.

I believe that the government is in a unique position to manage the collection and redistribution of wealth to the less fortunate.

I believe the government has a responsibility to protect the vulnerable from the powerful.

I believe the government is in a unique position to regulate big businesses and keep them from becoming too powerful.

I believe the decision about birth control and abortion should be made between a woman and her doctor, because it is first of all a medical issue and until a baby is born it is part of a woman’s body.

I believe the government is in a unique position to protect nature and creatures, regulate big businesses use of natural resources and protect endangered species from the abuse of the greedy, powerful and wealthy.

I believe in diversity, equality and inclusion with regard to race, religion, sex, gender, nationality, ethnicity and age. I believe that these differences should be protected by the government and helped to thrive and multiply.

I believe the government has a right to tax its citizens to provide the services it provides, and that everyone should pay their fair share to make sure the government has the funds it needs to work the way it should.

I believe the government should provide medical care free of charge to everyone.

I believe the government should care for the elderly when they reach fifty years of age. The government should provide a pension and unlimited medical care to the elderly.

I believe education by schools, colleges and universities should be provided by the government for free. I believe health care and education are human rights that should be supported and protected by the government.

A Reflection on Juneteenth

Crimes unimaginable

Sins unfathomable

Wrongs not righted

With an apology,

A soft word,

Or the stroke of a pen.

Pain to the deepest parts

Of the heart and soul,

The very fiber of one’s being,

A wound that doesn’t heal,

But rather cuts deeper

With every smile,

Every handshake,

On every pay day,

Every trip to the grocery store,

Every night at mealtime,

When they look at their children,

When they look at ours.

Privilege continues

Despite the lip service,

Despite the promises,

Amidst the meager gifts,

The dregs of easy charity

From the tatters of a bursting purse,

The guilt trip laid on thick

To the middle class and even

The working poor.

Those that lack for food,

Clothing or shelter,

Living barely day to day,

Not knowing where one’s next

Meal will come from.

And at the church the preacher

Says try harder, pray more,

Save your dollars

So you can send your little ones

To a good college,

Make them study,

Keep them out of trouble,

Tell them you love them,

That you’re proud of them

For that report card.

What do you say

When the white kid

Calls them the n-word?

What do you say

When you don’t have a job

Because you refused

To kiss your supervisor’s butt

When he would talk to you

Like you were nothin’,

Just a cog in his machine,

A disposable, replaceable,

Optional, neglectable,

Insultable, disrespected,

Used, abused, tossed out

To the street

Like so much garbage,

Black man?

Power

Wrong meets right.

The fight is strong.

Laugh, they will.

Cry out, they must.

Shout, at the top of their lungs—

Justice must prevail.

So many innocent lives

Have been crushed by the fist

Of the oppressor!

So many suffer

Because of the greed

And the arrogance

Of the powerful.

The powerful?

Who is powerful?

What is power?

Don’t you know that

The wind has changed course

On this hot, dry day.

The wind! The water!

The earth! The animals!

The birds! The insects!

The trees! Yes, even the trees!

Look at an old oak tree,

And tell me about power!

Look at a rushing stream,

And tell me about power!

Watch a lion kill its prey,

And tell me about power!

Is a gun, power?

In the hands of a six year old, a gun is just as powerful as in the hands of a grown man!

A gun is just a tool.

It’s what you do with a tool

That makes it useful.

It’s what you do with a tool

That makes it powerful.

And when a thousand voices scream,

That’s power!

When the people speak as one,

That’s power!

Don’t be afraid.

Be excited!

Be joyful!

Be glad!

For power has come to the people,

And they will not be denied this moment.

They have prayed,

And they have worked,

And they have suffered

For this moment.

Listen to the wind blow

Through the trees!

Justice has come like a mighty rush of wind,

And anything that’s old, anything that’s weak,

Anything that’s not tied down tight,

Is gonna blow away!

Those old tricks, old ways,

Cowardly words, weak attitudes,

Straw men beware!

The wind of justice has come to blow you…

Away!

Scenarios

Uncomfortably rich is such a drag when you’re

a bitch and fine and sexed. Cowboy haystack

humor runs for miles in the golden prairie.

Uncomfortable comes in paying those bills and

feeding those youngins. Uncomfortable comes to

the suburban youth, laying in bed in the dark,

wondering if and when a desperate ghost will

find his way inside to pilfer gadgets and gold,

the trappings of success. So many ways to find

uncomfortableness. Just pick a life.

Prompt #179 Uncomfortable

One Single Impression

cackle

closed camping kicked door

ambulate cackle reach steep

pee lead loud lewd catch

cringe cute coat quote

angel maple real quiver

curmudgeon cap caught

seize slack sick sock creek

aha mow meow wean tuck

lick love lap leap label

drip drop drive disc doubt

devout double deep bobble

ditch chocolate cheap champ

ant leech koala crease lamp

rant tweezer two caste cool.

ABC Wednesday – Letter “C”

Family Friction

Two of a kind,

One that used to be,

And one that is now.

Time in a flip,

The old are young,

And the young are mature.

Then, darkness falls.

A deep depression and

A bit of dementia.

I tried to barricade

Myself in a room

In your house,

But it was your room,

Your house.

I had become an outsider.

We had grown apart.

The jolly trickster that

Was my grandfather

Had become an unhappy

Old man.

And I had hit a wall,

Fallen into a deep pit.

We butted heads

Until we made it home.

To the end, you were true.

And I would not appreciate

Your love and loyalty

For many years, long

Past your time to die.

As I sat in the car,

Listening to the 21-gun

Salute, I remembered

The stories you used to

Tell me about the war.

And I realized that time

Had taken its toll on a

Wonderful man, a man

That provided for a wife

And family and then

For another generation of

Five grandsons, all of whom

Adored you.

I know that despite

Our differences, you look

Down on me from

Heaven…and smile.

Lincoln

A student of law.

A seeker of justice.

A fighter for unity.

A man of dignity.

Lonely, in darkness,

Harrowed by demons,

Drained from the fight,

On the edge of sanity.

A Christian believer.

A martyr for the cause.

An honest gentleman.

A warrior for the truth.

*United States President Abraham Lincoln

Pro-Choice Battles

One day I joined up with some ultra religious

types like myself to join a demonstration in

hopes of “glorifying God” and “witnessing to some

sinners”. The pastors signs said “God is Love.”

” Most of our signs said “Abortion Kills”. It was

these signs, along with our very self-righteous

presence that brought upon the angry looks,

shouts and screams, and vicious insults from the

members of the pro-choice parade to which we

were protesting. I held up my sign because i

believed that abortion was wrong, but I was

watching and listening to the message beimg

given by the other side. They were more

passionate, more painful, more desperate. I

walked away from that protest a changed man.

I still felt strongly about the right-to-life, but my

lot lay with those suffering women. I would go on

to refer to myself as “pro-choice”, and those are

fightin’ words in the Bible Belt.

Tuesday Tryouts: Epiphany Poems