Tag: politics

Brute

The man is rhino
mere stench of him
inspires fear
clears the room

We cower, quietly
captivated little mice
terrified he’ll call us out
bullied into submission

But this status quo
bears no permanence
time and circumstance
will topple the power

And once writhing
on his backside, who
will venture to help, and
who will leave him be?

(Original was written in 2020. Seems it still applies. Image my own)

Inside Out

We decry loss of innocence
whilst downplaying our sins

Not news.
Blame is a tricky game…

Better to practice accountability
than to capture the podium…

Changing the world
inside out.

(I’ve been thinking about all the noise going on in political forums and wondering if we the people hadn’t best organize in order to protect ourselves from any unforeseen fallout. Not sure what that would look like, but losing my trust in ‘leadership’.)

My image.

These Times

Who is at the table
negotiating peace?

A trans man
bares his brave chest
Is his flesh not
our flesh?

Indigineous mothers
cry for lost daughters
Is their plight
not our plight?

Shopkeepers moan
how long can we endure
the inequities
of an indifferent eye?

Child of mine
what future awaits
as I watch our progress
slide, painfully in reverse?

I want to be a beacon
of encouragement
believe that harmony
even exists

But the noise
in the streets
is deafening
truths trampled

The false prophets
the politicians
the blinding pull
of greed

There are none at the table
but anarchy’s decoys.


Is There An Exit Strategy?

Following political tides –
mesmerized by neglect
of actual issues – playing
to an audience of moaners
(standard consumerist
plights) – glossing over
exploitation of women,
verbal slaughter of race,
religion and social values

Wondering about media –
who commandeer bias,
swallowing atrocities and
spewing contrived truths,
absent sound voice, or will,
jeopardizing the security
of so many trampled in
the race for what? Surely
not responsibility – what

lapse of conscience has
allowed hateful rhetoric
to bloody progress, no
consequences?  Who will
bear the burden when in
the absence of morality
or respect for humanity,
the margins will increase?

The world quakes at the
failure to acknowledge
this broken path, see only
a devaluation of assets,
perceive a race that did
no more than increase
the monarchy of a king,
grant power to absolve
sins – a sleight-of-hand
trick – nothing to do with
the common habitants –
have so many questions
about how they’ll proceed.

(I wrote this poem in 2016. Same issue, different date. Surreal. Image my own)

I Wish I Could Believe

That Covid is no more than the flu
that Climate change is a not real
that political speak is baffle

But my body, wracked with pain
knows too much about the nuances
of viral infections…this is no cold

And I’m too old to deny
that pollution has long threatened
our ecosystems and that reckless
disregard for our Earth home
has consequences

And that discernment
seems to have gone astray
in this Social Media whirl
We need to dig deeper
if we want sustainable change

I wish I could believe
that democracy is a given-
forget the wars and sacrifices
it took to get us here-
look away while it slips….

I wish I could have faith
that God had a hand in all this
but I can’t shake the feeling
that ignorance is bliss
and I know too much

(Image my own)

Societal Ask

Can we acknowledge the richness of our resources:
that which sustains and endures? Always looking for the next shiny thing,
craving the exotic, the surprising… pushing purpose, movement… toward what? Telling ourselves we want lifelong commitment, and then moving on… emotions depleted. How do we define standards, intuit and reassemble a frame, counsel a collective, when expectations, creeping and woven into consciousness, resemble oppression? Hope -as sold by patriarchal mindsets, striving to mutilate common sense – is useless to revive when society teaches us to blindly follow the unintelligible…

Full moon a warning –
reverence for mystery
not conspiracy

Society’s light
waning on the back of lies-
hopelessness surreal

Hate is born from fear
disinformation a tool –
We are being played.

Step back! Cautions moon
observe under a new light –
reconnect with love.

(This poem, derived from a dream, started as a haibun – prose followed by a haiku – but the haiku multiplied. Guess we will call it a variation on a haibun. Image my own.)

Repression is Not an Option

This divide is but an illusion
glass partitions fallible

We drink from the same source
our assigned task reverential

Denial has limits…
the beast swells…
writhes in churning waters

We are fearful
because power feeds off fear –
Eden’s serpent reincarnated

Round up your loyalties
your petty contrivances
and prepare

Patriarchy engorged
 on misogynistic agendas
force feeds archaic notions

Subdues
constricts
silences
disembodies the feminine –

We have been here before, women
and we are Eve –
not born of man’s weakness
but in response to it!

She-power
intuits
channels
transforms

We are the beast
wombs pulsing
curves thrashing
our collective hearts
life affirming

Let us shatter glass illusions
hold our sisters, mothers, children
in heart-centered conviction

align our voices
stand firm
and channel this righteous rage
into empowered revelation.

(Art mine with an AI boost)

Disillusionment

What is the fallout of oppression –
misinformation ignoring collective needs?

Focus on we, as if we is me, and
they are the reason our attempts fail

Assertiveness has no hold
when obligations are cheapened

And time/ history is ignored
for a feel-good moment now. 

How does one decipher the nonsense
weed through the flimsy constructs

And realign with a vision –
powered by love for all?

(Image my own)