Poetry
We are healthy only to the extent that our ideas are humane. Kilgore Trout -Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions, Ch 1.
No matter how righteous a war, it's a terrible, sad and awful thing. Sometimes the reasons are defensible. But most of the time, they're not. -Tim O'BrienOur Way Forward
Amanda Gorman read her poem The Hill We Climb at the inauguration of President Biden, providing an aspirational glimpse of our way forward, together."Even as we grieved, we grew, even as we hurt, we hoped, that even as we tired, we tried, that we’ll forever be tied together victorious, not because we will never again know defeat but because we will never again sow division."
Family.
I shall to sleep
I shall to sleep while you are yet dancing
over the endless tile,
sliding, eliding in hectic half-measures,
amid the fractious bile.I shall to sleep while you are rejoicing,
savoring sweet ecstacy,
enchantment, affection, brief understanding,
moments of found harmony.Breathing
I lie flat upon my back,
having just flung myself to the ground following the full effort of a bicycle ride up a long hill,
breathing deep and hard,
swallowing gulps of restoring air.I feel my rib-cage lift against the fabric of my shirt as each breath enters my lungs, ...
Oregon Scribbler.
Unrequited feast
Over the neighbor's fence,
glancing without seeing,
the smallest flick of an ear revealing:
deer, ranging in sturdy grace,
staring back with placid gaze.
Joy!Evensong
Even as the evening comes,
All begin to home,
Some roundabout, wanting first
To wander in the gloam,
Some direct to open arms
Of lovers yet alone,
Each seeking friends and comfort
To ease their hearts to home.I hear America singing
Should we be optimistic about the future of the American dream? There is no reason we should not be. Walt Whitman was optimistic about America, and his optimism was rooted in the potential for each American to realize their personal vision in a nation constructed to minimize tyranny; America is the land of the free.Today we are facing the consequences of a long-term corruption of the American dream; we have deeply indebted ourselves and our nation in the pursuit of individual material betterment and the maintenance of a global military presence. The corruption is both individual and collective, and the failures cut across ideologies, social classes, and leadership hierarchies. With all of our self-inflicted troubles, this is no time to despair, but to reflect, re-prioritize, and act.
Oregon Scribbler.
Unrequited feast
Glancing over neighboring fence,
at once in full view a family of deer ranging,
in sturdy grace, staring back with placid gazes:
Immediate joy!Evensong
In campanili carillons ring out,
perpetually pealing on the hour;
a life is lived from lauds into matins.haiku
Hummingbird sips from
fount made as for pleasure’s eye;
beauty brings beauty!haiku
Hummingbird hovers,
supping in fluted flower. . .
oh, pollen bearer!haiku
Old leaves drifting down,
vermilion and ochre,
resplendent in death.haiku
Star glows in the void,
pin point in the firmament:
quintessential!
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