Posts for June 10, 2025 (page 8)

Don’t look away

Don’t show fear
The Pres is here
And he came to
Grift Suckers! and Chew on T.V.!
 and he’s all out of things to watch

he was taking a presidential nap
while a rerun of 
“Escape From L.A.” played

in his dreams
he’ll force Gavin Newsom to “basketball to death.”
he’ll ride a surfboard across the L.A. freeway
on a tidal wave of bullets and blood
repave the boardwalk hall of fame
with nothing but his name
he’ll shut down the earth
starting with L.A. 
“for God so loved his country, he gave his only seditious child”

while a city burns 
and the President watches too much Television
and the lackeys keep on lacking

these voices 
won’t be muted
so easily

(an After poem…)

You are passion and Sahara skin
dripping honeyed planetary orbits around me

I seem to be all shadow and need
contenting myself with loneliness in the vast reach of space

You speak
bold heady whirlpools I can only whisper of
hoping no gods hear the conversations I have with myself

Would you touch me
with the muscled warm flat of your palm,
hold my face with intention
tell my icy cheek it’s alright to melt

I soften into your heat,
bones exposed like broken branches after a thaw
open for newness and green

Would you touch me
until I remember the shape of gravity,
breathing you like smoke
from the very first
fire

i am no candle:
not a woman of wax and wick,
not a taper or even squat votive.
i will not feign confidence enough
to burn brightly or flicker exquisitely.
i am no candle.  

many times, i have visited
the holy places and watched
flames of hope bring quiet calm,
guiding, brightening, enlightening,
giving safety in shadowed corners.
i ache to be orange and yellow
but remain gray.  

i am no candle  
but Maybe, on the best days,
i can be –  
i am –
a Match:
strike the flint, take the snap, be the starter,
catch fire…
then fade fast.  

and when i am,
look at the candles all around.
see their Light.
they are set, set, set
to burn brilliantly and long
to help our World find
its Way.

is a glass of spoiled milk
the lure of sweet dew
dripping the glass
but up close
the nose’s vile pucker
the curdling tongue                 

When the second line rings, Dad
and all his brothers and sisters know
to leave the room, go outside to play,
go visit a friend’s house, just get out
because the conversation soon to be had
is for only two parties to hear.

It’s the seventies after Roe v. Wade
and my grandmother has chosen her side–
to stand for the unborn. She embraces
a calling to help young women in trouble,
guiding toward resources for both mother and child.
Thus the birth of the Right to Life of Owensboro, Kentucky.

For decades, she would devote her life to the cause.
Those who knew her always spoke of the civility
and open-mindedness she approached the topic with,
even against those who staunchly stood opposed.
Her home stayed full of children from babysitting
for a multitude of families needing a hand.

And while the contents of those telephonal conversations–
the names and numbers–would all stay private,
the outcomes occasionally echoed in public spaces.
You’re Virgina Corley? a woman excitedly realizes.
Please let me introduce you to my daughter
who you saved.

Half a century later, the world rolls almost unrecognizable
and I’m just a man standing within a magnanimous between;
a rich and beautiful legacy upheld by all my family behind me
and before me, deeply cherished friends and a literary community
all fiercely loyal to the rights of women, among others.
What role do I serve in the progression of the nation?

To love, is my simple answer, and to share these stories
showing how, I believe, a truly pro-life voice should sound,
reminding us that the right to choose doesn’t always mean
any given choice is right in any given moment.
In this, I hope to show support for those I love
while carrying on my grandmother’s legacy of honoring life.

for Darcie’s younger sister

always a sense you were not of this world
see Willow embrace Snow Moon fervently
step over the threshold as stardust swirls

as immersed as the freely-floating fishes
dwell in waters of imagination
always a sense you were not of this world

oil painting, ink, collage talent unfurled
age six acclaimed artistic prodigy
step over the threshold as stardust swirls

insightful intuitive Willow wishes
her green eyes emanate deep compassion
always a sense you were not of this world

toward emotional overload she hurled
highly sensitive empath feels deeply
step over the threshold as stardust swirls

moon water on tip of tongue feelings whirl
to make manifest lunar energy
always a sense you were not of this world
step over the threshold as stardust swirls

Dog daisy still
romps at my knees,
red clover at my shins, and now
grass pinks grow in little
Barbie bouquets.

Chicory stretches high
silky petals made of sky.
Soon Queen Anne
will arrive in lace, and milkweed
open its fists
to greet her with palms
of butterfly wings.

I want to set my clock
to this living wave,
count my life
in colors,
my minutes
in flowers,
blooming,
receding,
reseeding.

Even as they lie dying

on the sidewalk, in the grass
cicadas sing

cadence of whirs and clicks

growing slower
tiny, intricate, castoff

clockwork toys

Jesus, I’m sorry. There was a time when I was
Only a girl with a missing part in her
Ribs. Now, I stand before you, having found a part
Distant but never closer. He makes sense in
All contexts while contradicting my very existence. I
Never thought I’d feel so alone after gaining so much.

(posted 5 days ago)
Happening near you:

Animal Control made a local sweep today
of hundreds of cats and dogs-
those without licenses on their collars
or an emergency contact present
who could speak human to vouch
for their legal status
were subject to detainment 
and possible rehoming.

Witnesses say beloved family members
were snatched from parking lots
and sidewalks outside vet offices,
obedience training schools,
cat cafes and dog parks.
Some were at the shelter to submit final
adoption papers when they were intercepted.

Authorities are not revealing
where the abducted souls are being held,
whether they will be given a hearing 
before being shipped back
to their birthplace (if known)
which of course they are unlikely
to remember, with people they do not know

One resident was quoted as saying,
“I’m just in shock.
This is not what I voted for.
My dog has all his shots,
he is an American breed,
he has never been aggressive 
until they tried to throw him
in the back of the van
with masks covering their face. 
Who knows if they are even legit, 
they could have just stolen him
to abuse or sell him!
Can you imagine?” 

If your best friend or fur baby
is missing, join the peaceful protest
happening outside the civil offices, 
and if things go sideways 
your best course of action
is to sit down silently 
in the crowd. Gas masks
and passports are recommended.