society – One Woman's Quest

We Are Not Islands

We are not islands
isolated
insulated
to be ignored

We are hearts engaged
in a relational dance:
intertwining stories
weaving new tales

Yearning for love’s reciprocity
Delighting in wonder of discovery

Slugging through painful demise
Striving to be better

We build walls
construct towers
follow paths leading nowhere –
the pitfalls of our quest

Artificial barriers
lofty ideals
dead ends…
and still we push on

Dreaming of hands that hold
and gentle waters
soothing and war
passionate kisses
Love’s rewards

We exist
not for accumulation
but for the gifts that arise
when open hearts dance.

(Image my own)

Uncertain Times

Like living in the shadow
of a volcano, each complacency
shaken by treacherous rumbles

While some see equality
others chew on bitter lack,
and who profits when

tempers succumb to
the hot lava of anarchy?

(Image my own. Poem first appeared here 04/21)

Imagine Bridges

Connections, like bridges,
run between us –
no matter how subtle –
nations and individuals;
there is no divide

Imagine if we acted
on this knowledge –
mindful and kind –
not subtle the outcome,
I should think.

(Image my own. Imagine Bridges first appeared here September 2019)

Sinking

Ignore the dead
the ocean of grief
capsizing humanity

Keep bailing on reality
conspiracy lacks an oar
we drown without compassion

(Tuesdays I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Image my own)

Political

Words have lost clarity
definitions slipping
societal fog

One cries freedom
while another gasps
for breath…

Is destiny a one-manned
sailboat navigating
ambiguous waters?

Or have we fallen,
poked the beast
of destruction?

(Image my own)

Cryptic

Is the writing on the wall so cryptic?
Graphic images depict rage
flames of dissonance
young men bleeding at their own hands
compassion incapacitated.

A sad awakening
for a society fixated
on rights and privileges,
dominating culture
excluding the nurture
of humanity,
or preservation of life.

How can we continue
to closet our children’s pain –
their vitality oozing –
hopelessly abandoned
by morality’s shelter?

It is the wall,
not the spatters
of blood upon it,
which needs amending –
adolescent minds too tender
to wade through
the cryptic priorities –
messages divided.

(Cryptic first appeared here May 2018. Edited here. Image my own.)

Disillusioned

How did this chasm,
this canyon of lies
become our normal?

Facts, once the sword
of intellect, redundant –
we fight with hyperbole

Voices raised, egos puffed –
I long for calm, doubt
we have the wherewithal
to bridge the divide.

(Image my own)

On The State Of Humanity

Inwardly we glow…
so it’s said

I shudder
ignorance grating
like branches
on my windowpane

Hope is a fox
mesmerizes,
draws me out,
then disappears

If inwardly we glow…
then why am I so cold?

(Image my own.)

Uncertain Times

Like living in the shadow
of a volcano, each complacency
shaken by treacherous rumbles

While some seek equality
others chew on bitter lack
and who profits when

tempers succumb to
the hot lava of anarchy?

(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Image my own.)

Time To Cruise Is Not Now

Is there an itinerary for this lockdown?
I watch as engagements line up

Adventure-seekers, eager to connect
willingly engage, purchase a ticket

How I would give my life to be a part
hop aboard a sailing ship, escape

Except disability has recalled my passport;
I am a vehicle without fuel, grounded

Disappointment and I watch as
familiar faces venture out –

a friend’s brother
an old crush
a high school acquaintance

While envy reminds me
I’m always an outsider
Sensibility wakes me up

This boat I’m missing out on
is no luxury cruise ship, but
a dalliance with death –

I surrender to isolation
count the casualties.

( Image my own.)