tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85797739828033514652024-03-18T19:03:35.736-04:00Owl Who LaughsPoetry. Philosophy. Politics.Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.comBlogger1142125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-1316616066149821702024-03-16T10:49:00.002-04:002024-03-16T10:49:32.428-04:00Poem: Touched<p> </p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">Touched<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">fingerprints of god,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">spiderwebs <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">sun-gilded and shadow-pinched,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">tatterdemlions in some, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">others <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">an impeccable piety of lace.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">to walk alongside <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">these irregular trestleworks,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">each an orb-weaver’s pearl, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">invokes joy and abyss,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">the sinister and the seraphic;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">and as well a manic curiosity:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">why such a bright trap<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">placed just so?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">why endow a wing-catcher<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">right here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">and there.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">and here … <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">===================================</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-40405399654400476312024-03-13T10:43:00.006-04:002024-03-13T10:45:24.666-04:00Poem: Arthritic<p> </p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">Arthritic <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">a splitting, stabbing branch<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">through fissures and crooks.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">fireworks inflame muscle, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">pain’s puppet show,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">conducted by sparks of nervous system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">tophus on toe, joints hobbled,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">karma’s ridicule,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">shunned by angels,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">sins seep through winces. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">where is god?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">does hell even care?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">‘what did i do??’<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">a vise irremovable,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">invisible and callous,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">heartless of judgement,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">stranding the victim <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">solo.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">==================================</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">Off to get an MRI today.</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">"solo" instead of "alone," offers a little psychic hope, a potential for beauty and a 'making music' out of misery. Meaning in pain. Confrontation with 'god.'</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">==============</p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-23624862237070331362024-03-08T19:15:00.003-05:002024-03-10T10:49:39.542-04:00Poem: Unchiselled<p> </p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">Unchiselled<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">a sparrow curls to die,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">while the people know only fear.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">knees bow to sterile priests, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">quickly to heavenize death.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">fragile bones kiss<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">a dwindle of sinews<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">yet ants banquet <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">among the feathery slips.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">in the graveyard<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">vaults project defiance,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">slabbed stone isles,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">lone bulwarks of peace.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">the sparrow’s last breath <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">forsook its breast<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"> to soar whirling once more </p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">among the everything,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">this cauldron of life.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">===========================</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">3/10 ... "quickly" replaces "quick" ... removed "into" ln 11</p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-27956837669702815532024-03-05T19:24:00.005-05:002024-03-05T23:35:19.993-05:00Poem: Price<p> </p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">Price<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">fed up <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">with the unwillingness</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">of society,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">i fed the verbal robotics</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">to an owl</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">and found it was possible<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">to look without lying, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">but only <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">in a flash pan of sobs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">the charge was the slavery <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">of my heart,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">though it wasn’t as if justice<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">offered the sweet breasts <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">of a muse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">no.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">it stood on chilly street corners,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">wet and detested <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">by the sirens that came.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">=====================</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">Imagine making the decision to protest boldly against Putin in Russia. That would end up far worse than what happens to the person in this poem (?); but the person in this poem is also cast out, like a prophet who will never be heard, and who knows no god is going to enforce justice, and the world is ... just going to be this. A world run by the Putins and the Trumps and the Xis. Keep your head down. And shut up. Billions of humans have had to learn this lesson. Billions and billions for over ten thousand years of civilization. Shut up or die or worse. But the person in the poem refuses. The person in this poem is a fool or maybe something more, depending on your point of view. </p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-25543027694836417262024-03-04T08:46:00.003-05:002024-03-12T09:58:57.556-04:00Poem: Here<p> </p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Here<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">playfunless of light,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">a skitter and scatter,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">dapples atumble,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">alert beyond lesson,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">quick as a wow,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">beyond riches,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">too valuable to possess<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">and so it is gone<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">sifted into the next,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">each casual sense <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">a roll of sun and sparkle,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">moon and speckle;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">and here we are, you and i,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">for the tiniest of infinite whiles<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">afloat.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">==============================</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">3/12 ... changed first two lines to remove 'ing' verbs .....</p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-15765282295782422262024-03-02T12:09:00.006-05:002024-03-04T08:53:39.771-05:00Poem: Death Stroke<p> </p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">Death Stroke<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">a quake <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">rocked the depths of the how.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">wrinkles of canyons,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">victims of long-ago practice,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">across the tableau of the brain.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">an epitaph for duplicitous lips,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">etched years before their death;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">for the clay knew it was not innocent.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">the original sculptor <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">turned subtle fingers into pliers of fate.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">many years had been lost, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">gone down those rutted roads,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">specter-bound, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">spade after spade after spade.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">a multitude without vary, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">much lack of rainbows <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">in the stygian mist.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">==============================</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">3/4 ... took out a word</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">3/3/24... added a word, removed one</p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-35796348348231822922024-02-29T13:31:00.069-05:002024-03-15T13:09:29.741-04:00Ethics Review: The Game of Chess<p> </p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Ethics Review:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Game of Chess<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">A full assessment of the symbolisms inherent in the game
of chess, as relates to ethics and, more broadly, culture and worldview, is
beyond the purview of even the most powerful minds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I am certain of anything, it is that I am
not in that category, and the following discussion is at best only a starting
point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As with previous reviews on this
blog, I dive into contentious waters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The goal is to catalyze deep thought through controversy; and yet I also
intend merit in the substance of my arguments.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p>Before proceeding, however, with the hard-hitting
critique down below, I’d like to sing the praises of chess. I am a member of the local club and play
avidly. My father loved the game and
instilled a deep appreciation from an early age. He and I would push old wooden pieces on a
warped board while listening to classical music, often the fugues of Bach, which
he enjoyed the most. Chess has been
found congenial with music, and is embraced by many as art. It provides versatile cerebral rewards, and affords
the opportunity to develop sports-related virtues, including patience, focus
and fortitude. </p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p>One virtue arising from chess, much lacking in our culture of one-upping and braggadocio, is humility. All chess players lose many games, except maybe
the very best in the world, and even they can’t beat the strongest computers,
not even once. Chess teaches us that failing
and stumbling are a normal part of life, something we can learn from to advance
our own personal growth. In this context,
losing is valuable and essential to victory. The song, Try Everything, from the movie Zootopia,
comes to mind …</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Aside from the virtues it inspires, chess is simply
fascinating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a recent New York Times
article, David Segal and Dylan Loeb McClain write that chess games are “thrilling,
cerebral contests that have elegance, aggression, subterfuge, brilliance and
suspense.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/04/business/chess-cheating-scandal-magnus-carlsen-hans-niemann.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/04/business/chess-cheating-scandal-magnus-carlsen-hans-niemann.html</a></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><a href="Segal-McLain NYT"><o:p></o:p></a></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Needless to say, the following analysis does not detract
from the game’s beauty, depth or salutary significance; or its function to build and edify community and mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">However, chess should be promoted and played with respect
for its limitations, as well as its potential for misuse.
Yes, virtues can arise from playing chess, as they can from any sport or game that is practiced with devotion.
Below, however, I am concerned with the symbolisms inherent in the game itself.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Four ethical worries are presented.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These interrelate through the first, which
can serve as a conceptual nexus, namely, the affinity between chess and Machiavelli.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I. Chess is Machiavellian<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Leaving aside the tangential virtues mentioned above, the
rules and framing of chess depict a certain form of governance and, by
extension, the nature of society.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Let’s look at the New York Times quote again, a slightly longer version:</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNoSpacing">These games are thrilling, cerebral contests that have
elegance, aggression, subterfuge, brilliance and suspense — “Game of Thrones”
boiled down to its regicidal essence.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNoSpacing"></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i>"Game of Thrones” boiled down to its regicidal essence</i>--such
is the core of chess, a way of thinking in which the power of the king is
advanced at all costs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I use the
patriarchal term “king” to match the terminology of the game, in which the king
piece has infinite value.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why infinite?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because if the king is captured, the player
loses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All other pieces, including the
queen, can and should be sacrificed to protect and lead the king to
domination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The Machiavellian idea, <i>maximize the power of the king</i>,
is an example of a power theory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Power
theories stand in stark contrast to ethical theories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The latter concern themselves with right and
wrong, good versus evil, flourishing and freedom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Power theories, in contrast, valorize the attainment
of might, that is, the ability to control other people, groups, and the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Some examples of power theories are:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>strict cultural relativism (culture makes
right); social contract theory (the contract makes right); and legal positivism
(legal makes right).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In all these cases,
those who are powerful enough to control culture, contract or law are
considered ultimate.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">In regard to Plato’s classic question, <i>Do the gods love that which is holy because it is holy? Or is it holy because it is loved by the gods?
</i>power theories side with the latter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They claim that those with power to control determine what is holy,
good, and right. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this sense, power
theories are an elaboration on a shared axiomatic assumption:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>might makes right.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Importantly, power theories can be <i>one element </i>of a healthy governance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of us are concerned with getting or
maintaining power in some way or other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, when not tempered by ethics, power theories lead to chaos and
cruelty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Vladimir Putin's </span>dictatorial control,
effectively a king, has allowed him to wantonly invade Ukraine, committing
numerous atrocities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In pursuit of his obsession to reestablish the old Russian Empire, he has taken all of us to the
brink of World War III.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Chess and Machiavelli go hand-in-hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The well-known idiom ‘to treat someone as nothing
but a pawn’ is an allusion to how chess is played.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly, treating others as mere pawns happens
a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> H</span>istory shows that such reductive calculations engender cruelty and ignorance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Can chess players dive into the beauty and challenge of
the game, without being seduced by its brutal worldview?</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The answer is an obvious and clear yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still, there are dangers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some individuals overreact to such an enthralling, aesthetic game, equating it with life itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is, as well, a sexist bias built into chess. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> B</span>elow, I also discuss how dictators can and have weaponized chess for propaganda purposes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">II. Chess normalizes bellicosity <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p>Chess symbolizes violence. As befits a campaign of ruthless regicide,
there is no mercy or compassion in the rules. Nor is there, in the framing, a representation
of human rights or equal-justice-under-law. </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Machiavelli’s <i>The Prince</i>, makes space for kindness
and mercy, as these often advance the leader’s power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chess, though, has none of this
gentility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The game is saturated with
literally black-and-white war imagery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There are two sides, each trying to topple the other’s king.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The names and shapes of the pieces suggest medieval
warfare:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>knights, bishops, kings,
queens, pawns and rooks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rook is
shaped like a castle turret. Its etymology hails to the Persian <i>rok</i>,
which refers to an armored war chariot. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Except for rarest of exceptions, play proceeds through
the “capture” or “elimination” of pieces on the board.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The white or black pieces, taken as a whole, seem to represent a nation state or an army.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Armies are typically composed of thousands of soldiers, and so it is
easy to visualize the loss of a piece as a representation of many deaths.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a typical endgame, only several pieces are
left on the board, portraying a full-scale massacre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Many competitive games and sports are unyielding, it is true. Tennis, for example.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The difference is that chess blatantly incorporates
war violence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When a point is lost in tennis, there is no implication that someone has been slain, or a whole battalion
lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Chess players not only freely eliminate their opponent’s
pieces, but their own as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> It is expected that you </span>intentionally
march your troops to their end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even
shooter video games, where death is constant, such as <i>Call of Duty</i>, often
weave a narrative of loyalty and mission, one that serves a good end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In chess there is none of that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every piece can and should be sacrificed in
service of an all-important king toward a victory that has no moral content.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the real world, this translates into a brutal
nihilism.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">III. Chess insinuates egoism and, to some degree, its
evil twin egotism </p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The all-importance of the king bares similarities to forms
of egoism, narcissism, and solipsism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> In general, these are all selfish 'isolated soul' worldviews.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Egoism is the philosophical theory that everyone should act
to maximize their own rational self-interest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This theory is consonant with the symbolisms of chess, especially if the
player identifies with the king.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Above, I said "march your troops." I could just as easily have said, 'march the king's troops.' </span>If the
king falls, the player loses, another blur of the bounds between player and king.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Egoism, or rational selfishness, in addition to a nod to Machiavelli, also conduces to an unhealthy psychological state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This state has a similar name, inviting the
comparison of a dark twin:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>egotism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Egotism is fundamentally narcissistic,
thinking that you are superior to others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why
are you superior?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just because.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Although being rationally selfish (egoism) and
psychologically selfish (egotism) are supposedly different, egoist philosophers,
following the path of Machiavelli, typically argue that humans are base, selfish animals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Egoists also tend to see
the world as one big pie, and that everyone is an isolated individual in
constant competition for the finite slices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On this view, there will be, of necessity, winners and losers.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Chess fits this model well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not hard to envision chess as a
competition between selfish actors coldly calculating for dominance of 64 slices of a finite pie (8x8 chessboard).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Egoism, I want to stress, is just one philosophical perspective
among many.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are numerous others, a spectrum of theories in political science, psychology, sociology,
philosophy and other disciplines. Unlike egoism, many theories point out that life is interconnected
and multi-dimensional.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not a
zero-sum game as chess depicts. </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Relational
psychologists underscore the fact that self-identity is molded by the
quality of one's relationships. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ‘self’ comprises
irreducible, holistic interactions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> On this model, society advances through </span>mutually beneficial relationships that normalize equality and respect. </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Chess, however, is a loom for linear win-lose logic. The complementary picture of the world is narrow: a quantifiable pie hostage to individualistic power grabs.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">IV.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Patriarchy<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Historically most chess players by far have been
male. The game simulates aggressive
combat that lauds the player who ‘knocks out’ the other’s king. At the same time, the rules of chess don’t even acknowledge
traditional feminine values, such as kindness, caring, and mutuality. This one-side-ism fits an ancient pattern: lionize male traits and ignore the work that
women have done throughout history. </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">That said, we live in a time where the traditional
two-gender system is starting to yield. Restrained by
oppressive gender roles for thousands of years, women and girls are beginning
to gain more freedoms and now play more chess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To the extent that the male-dominated chess
world--its organizations, communities and players--welcome women into the game,
chess can soar as a vehicle for helping them to break out of traditional restrictions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">On the other hand, chess has more trouble helping male
players break out of traditional masculine roles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The game makes no space for ‘emotional work’ -- work that requires
perceptive, real-time, quick decisions that involve empathy, psychology and
diplomacy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Nor does it make space for 'emotional intelligence' or 'emotional competence,' skills that concern validation and healthy management of a range of emotions.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">In Summary<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">In a way, the game of chess is in the same boat as the
much-analyzed Barbie doll.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although it
is ‘just a game’ or ‘just a doll,’ they both convey cultural messages, and so
invite criticism (see the Barbie movie for more on that front). </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Chess is drawing bigger and bigger audiences, which is
wonderful. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the ‘stories’ told through
the moves of a chess games, which have been likened to music or poetry in their
logical, beautiful steps, can be over-idolized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When this happens, the game achieves a
talismanic status, as when Bobby Fischer declared, “Chess is life.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Chess, however, is not life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The game offers wonderful benefits, but it is
not a mandala.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not a decipherment
in a nutshell for how we should understand the world; or how we should live or
treat other people or the environment or, for that matter, how we should see
ourselves.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Unfortunately, some dictators have found that chess
makes for a useful tool in their propaganda kit [1].<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They do see life as chess:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a competition between powerful selfish males
who use violence and war to achieve their ends; who treat everyone else as an
expendable object to maximize their own power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Joseph Stalin promoted chess as a national game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also intentionally
starved 5 million Soviet citizens to death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This slow mass torture didn’t matter to Stalin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The millions of people whose bodies withered, eating their own organs bit by bit, were pawns in his political equation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">In light of the real-life horrors committed by egotistic dictators,
who see the world as one big chessboard, it is vital that responsible players
of the game help to prevent the misuse of chess as a tool for propaganda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A strategy of governance based on the Machiavellian symbols in chess is an
evil strategy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I already mentioned
Putin, a dictator who could bring about World War III.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is Einstein on what will happen if that
occurs:</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"></p><blockquote>I do not know with what weapons World War III will
be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.</blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">One way to keep chess in perspective is to branch out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An example is the cooperative game of Dungeons
& Dragons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>D&D players adventure
together in a fantasy world of their own mutual creation. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Opportunities for self-expression and ethical dilemma branch as wildly as Hydra necks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One can, for instance, roleplay
as a bard half-orc and write original poems and songs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As the adventure continues, the characters evolve together,
helping each other to flourish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">One way to put human rights into the game of chess would
be to rename the king and the queen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> N</span>on-gendered names for these two pieces would remove a blatant bias.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Also, get rid of the war imagery. Make the pieces
represent animals or insects or molecules or clouds or something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> There's no need to give fascist or communist dictators easier access to chess as a propaganda tool by showcasing Machiavelli. Chess is a canvas for beautiful logical combinations, which are completely separate from its crude, fallacious foray into political science.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">If you think the above suggestions are overly intrusive, keep in mind that
major chess organizations and players, including Magnus Carlsen, are pressing
for radical changes in how the game is played, such as randomizing the opening position (“960
chess”).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The future of chess is revolution. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The changes to come should include ethical
improvements in the symbolisms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like the appearance of the Barbie doll, appearances in chess can affect how we see the world, and need to be updated as humanity progresses, struggling toward a better, more democratic future.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">====================<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><br /></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> Footnote</o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">(1) https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0s71f0cw#article_main</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-29809159729591212262024-02-26T12:06:00.009-05:002024-02-29T15:09:44.082-05:00Air Force member sets themself on fire to protest the Biden/Netanyahu genocide<p> <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/26/air-force-member-fire-death-israeli-embassy-00143269">https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/26/air-force-member-fire-death-israeli-embassy-00143269</a></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/02/27/biden-human-rights-00143379">https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/02/27/biden-human-rights-00143379</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Excerpt from the second link:</p><p>==============</p><p class="story-text__paragraph" data-content-child-index="0-4" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem;">During the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, then-Vice President Biden opposed U.S. military intervention in Libya, despite dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s threats of mass slaughter. He also did not want President Barack Obama to side with protesters against Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak,<a aria-label="
whom Biden considered a valuable U.S. ally (opens in a new window)" class="js-tealium-tracking" data-tracking="mpos=&mid=&lindex=&lcol=" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/10/09/bidens-first-diplomatic-mission-427230" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #007bc7; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" target="_blank"> whom Biden considered a valuable U.S. ally</a>. These past Biden positions still reverberate among Arab American and Muslim American activists now watching Gaza.</p><p class="story-text__paragraph" data-content-child-index="0-5" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem;">When he withdrew U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021, Biden knew he’d crush the educational dreams of Afghan women. <a aria-label="
He nonetheless dismissed the idea that America owed them anything (opens in a new window)" class="js-tealium-tracking" data-tracking="mpos=&mid=&lindex=&lcol=" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-afghanistan-pullout-defensive/2021/08/15/fbcda2d8-fdd4-11eb-ba7e-2cf966e88e93_story.html" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #007bc7; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" target="_blank">He nonetheless dismissed the idea that America owed them anything</a>.</p><p>==============</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Biden did not only "crush the educational dreams of Afghan women." He allowed both women and girls to be turned into slaves under the Taliban. And, yes, we did owe the women and girls of Afghanistan further protection--after protecting them for 20 years, giving them a glimpse of what basic freedom can be like.</p><p><br /></p><p>Biden sickens me. I may not vote for him.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://owlwholaughs.blogspot.com/2023/12/op-ed-biden-is-wrong-to-support.html">https://owlwholaughs.blogspot.com/2023/12/op-ed-biden-is-wrong-to-support.html</a></p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-35719951289397361142024-02-20T19:00:00.006-05:002024-02-21T08:45:15.777-05:00Poem: Vortex<p> </p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">Vortex<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">eyes big as the Earth in a socket of Void,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">blue and green <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">and so much distant cold <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">for beams of justice to travel a lifetime and not
reach.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">what matters<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">takes place in the sparkle of daily treasure,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">which surely props up the sky.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">and yet, somehow, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">so much outside and around--and especially inside--<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">never gets heard or seen or known.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">there is only this fix, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">this label of beauty as value,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">and the fight to own it, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">carried out by eyes with dilated pits,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">better to suck down the blue and green and gold
and red and<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">amber and mahogany of dawn--<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">to gorge, to devour, to own, to swill--<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">while days turn to narrower tomorrows,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">again to witness whatever crave can be contrived<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">again.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p><br /></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">================================<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">2/21/24 ... sound mod ... </p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">This poem is inspired by the concept of an "ignorance vortex": dysfunctional culture transmits ignorance from generation to generation, thereby preventing the collective consciousness of humanity from advancing ethically. It is not 'human nature' that holds us back and traps us in warfare. We are, instead, trapped in an ignorance vortex. Peace is possible, but first we must deal with the vortex (which heavily resists, of course). More here:</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><a href="https://owlwholaughs.blogspot.com/2023/11/op-ed-trillions-of-happy-humans-its.html">https://owlwholaughs.blogspot.com/2023/11/op-ed-trillions-of-happy-humans-its.html</a></p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-3326056528110523082024-02-17T09:38:00.014-05:002024-03-17T11:29:11.805-04:00Poem: What is Done<p> </p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">What is Done<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">in the smarm-festered upper floors, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">servants with big smiles<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">coil around a tonsilitis of money,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">which insures their lack of voice<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">and bloodless replica of care.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">elsewhere, across the world,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a child is punished
for the joy of their giggle,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">and put to work in a field:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">a furrow where hope, good, wonder and dream<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">can’t endure, pretend, believe or escape.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">in the latest movie, all the rave, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">a druid enspells with rowan <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">to tame the cruel of an evil prince,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">who gleams serpent-tooth of skin;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">and yet <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">there is no tender conscience of sidekick</p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">to abate the world's de facto kings, who proclaim <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">off-with-their-heads.</p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">what is this endless thirst for lies,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">gulped down through the intestines of skyscrapers<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">and compartmentalized cubicles?</p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">what if this mandate to hide from what is done<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">is itself an anchor that pulls neckties to drown?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">===========================</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">3/17 ... fixed misspelled words </p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">2/18/24 ... mods for clarity and flow</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">It's men (kings) not women (queens) who have led humanity to the brink of doom</p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-35336350233322124692024-02-15T18:59:00.007-05:002024-02-19T09:05:38.036-05:00Poem: Candenza For a Witch<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Cadenza For a Witch<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">raven whose feathers are hummingbirds.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">whose stride<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">reconciles butterflies with vultures.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">her spread wings <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">a landscape from honeysuckle to bloodroot.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">her heart moon-kilned, agile of inner fire, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">where dawn and evening kiss.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">her <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>crown <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">around the world births new days,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">as she dances wildward,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">leaps to gather anise from stars,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">or pluck mangos from noon.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">she chides landslides.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">threads brambles to sew petals.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">soothes beaches<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">as sandy fortunes skip away,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">whisked into sparks of receding crystal.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">only humans <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">cannot be salved by her spells,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">as they shuffle with old fears<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">which muss the weave of her mandalic tresses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">they have no conjure, not anymore, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">no cauldron to summon ancestors,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">no asphodels to tease<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">from their soil of laws.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">========================</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">2/17 -18 ... changed some words for clarity</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-19819125814013207102024-02-12T10:30:00.005-05:002024-02-26T12:09:38.205-05:00SE Cupp sums up the raw power of xenophobia <p> </p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">On CNN News, political commentator and pundit SE
Cupp stepped it up with an unnervingly trenchant statement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> It</span> shows two things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first is the sheer power of fear when bottled to fuel an engine of xenophobia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second thing Cupp brings out so well,
with sharp, layered phrases, is Trump’s skill as a con man.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Here is a paraphrase of what she said:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"></p><blockquote>First he [Trump] managed to get conservatives to stop
caring about conservatism … then he got Christians to stop caring about
scripture, the Bible, ‘what would Jesus do?’, now Jesus is woke … He got
Republicans … to stop caring about America and what democracy should mean and …
he got the patriotic military-loving far right to stop caring about national
security and to stop caring about our servicemen and -women, our troops … I
mean, it’s a feat, what Donald Trump has done to the right in a very short
period of time.</blockquote><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p>You can also watch at this link, starting at 5:37:</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6AuqJ6aoDw">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6AuqJ6aoDw</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">========================</p><br /><p></p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-86820492917362877632024-02-11T18:31:00.008-05:002024-02-13T11:04:14.567-05:00Poem: Ghosts In the Leaves<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Ghosts In the Leaves<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">dangles and wriggles, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">shawls strewn over shoulders of invisible mouths<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">which once writhed in battle.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">venules who were sinews once, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">lunged flesh glistening young,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">fury surging to flutter crimson--<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">legions of them, these waving, flapping flags,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">acute for a slashing season or two,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">before they congeal into a garden of rust.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">silent then in rot<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">to feed memorials risen<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">in the branches of statuesque oaks.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">every autumn more lobes drip,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">laying their own versions of vanguard colors,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">feeding a graveyard of whispers<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">to testify in the breeze.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">====================</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">2/13 changed some words</p><p class="MsoNormal">2/12 ... changed some words </p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-14979710024612705452024-02-09T11:47:00.000-05:002024-02-09T11:47:44.693-05:00Poem: In the Kingdom of Invisible Threats<p> </p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">In the Kingdom of Invisible Threats<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">sly anxious heads<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">scramble in official indecency,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">trapped and rough<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">under a suffice of polite surfaces.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">such neat, preened miens,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">postured to abjure any garland of greed;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">as if the world turned on a daily smile,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">and gutting the future was rational.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">when not asked, they say, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><i>yes yes yes</i>,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">a freudian slip,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">obeisance automatic<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">if the taste is intense.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">lies mean nothing <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">if pretended not to be had <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">by those who inflict.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">better to toe-kiss the haves<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">than the cesspool of the horde,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">peckpeckpeckpeckpeckpeckpeck<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">on the keys,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">lock that rare honest thought <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">in a prison of bland cruel,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">far beneath you.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">============================</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-84326928440376508872024-01-30T12:45:00.013-05:002024-02-01T18:03:57.744-05:00Regarding the Poems<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Now that the University has reduced my classes to almost
zero, I have, for the first time in decades, found an opening that
has fostered a renaissance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I find
myself with many hours in which to go back through the poems on this blog and
edit them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> As a result, </span>they are taking more fluent
and evocative shapes. Then again, I could be like Sisyphus with his stone. Who knows. </p><p class="MsoNormal"> So far, I’ve
edited back to July ’23.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I intend to
keep going.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I intend to leave these poems as
my legacy, as well as the novel I have finished, and the one I am working on
now. Finally, I hope to write a nonfiction book, based on the concept of ‘the Good’ expressed in this blog.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Of course, I am in poverty and have mediocre health, still
mostly on crutches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But through poetry,
literary prose and philosophy, I strive to make a higher statement, one that
transcends my mortal miseries and speaks to the universe. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">As far as my longevity, I find life on this Earth to be cruel, unjust and demanding, the price of its miracles, not only suffering and death, but the sadism and narcissism that are so successful at taking power and immersing everyone and everything else in misery. I myself was born with privilege and was able to get highly educated, which allowed me to develop psychological strategies for survival and meaning. I can find ecstasy simply by meditating or staring at a leaf, or writing a poem. But the large majority of people never get the unfair advantages I had. Many, for instance, are born into poverty or even slavery. Many are born into dictatorships overlorded by de facto kings who demand to be worshipped, on pain of torturous incarceration. And let us remember, too, that there are animals on this planet that are not human, animals that feel pain and emotion, and they are all hostage to our selfishness, greed, fear, and ignorance. We harness other animals to our needs, or destroy their environments and extinct species for even a meager gain.</p><p class="MsoNormal">It's an incredibly barbaric world, and humanity is probably about to blow it all up with nuclear weapons. Making it worse, in my mind, this armageddon is not fated. It is possible for humans to evolve ethically and live in beauty, decency and love. But this is not going to happen, because we are trapped by fear. This goes back to our primal needs--to eat, to have stable shelter, to feel safe. And here I also blame nature, because if we don't eat, our own bodies torture us. If we don't have stable shelter, our bodies, again, torture us with inflictions of cold and heat that can lead to disease. Our bodies have elaborate nervous system, including pain mechanims, that can be exploited by our fellow humans to coerce us into slavery and other degradations. This is the 'fault' of nature itself, which has made us vulnerable to extremes both physical and mental, delightful extremes, yes, but also the opposite.</p><p class="MsoNormal">So, it's a very brutal planet, the price of its beauties. Evolution has been as vicious as it has been kind. I think the best we humans can do is to seek the Good with an open-mind and promote it through ethical acts. I say 'open mind' because too often people fanatically embrace religion, for it helps them to pretend that that the misery and injustice they suffer will someday be compensated for by an all-Good God in heaven. They do this because facing the truth is too painful. Reality induces such intense fear that they cannot handle it any other way. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Such fanaticism, of course, breeds ignorance--such as racism, sexism and anti-LGBTQ--and leads to war, which increases suffering. It also makes one susceptible to the command of theocratic tyrants, and in that aspect fanatic people do horrific things, such as participate in inquisitions and crusades. It's a grand irony that fanatics who claim to follow an All-Loving God inflict so much cruelty, suffering and oppression, making life far worse for everyone. </p><p class="MsoNormal">As far as my own longevity, half of me wants to quote Herodotus, "This life is so sorry a thing ... that death is a delightful refuge for the weary." The other half of me finds rapture and wonder in the beauty of the universe, nature, and many aspects of human expression. Whenever anyone does something good, it is a gift to all of us. It is a seed.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">=================</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-81955694178648628382024-01-22T19:35:00.009-05:002024-01-28T11:28:58.377-05:00Poem: Serenade<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Serenade<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">troubadour tucked <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">in fingerbones of sorrel,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">a single cricket,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">chirrs gnawing on the quiet,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">urgent of humid flame<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">to thaw the blindness<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and prick the moonless night,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">distant ephemera <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">of gulls and coyotes.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">a single cricket,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">substitute for my breath,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">heart liquid in its chant,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">as a key might be forged,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">charmed by the soft trebles,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">radiant of exhale, warmth unlocked,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">unfathomable and keen,<o:p></o:p></p>
fluent with stars.<br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">============================<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">1/28/24 .... changed last line </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">1/23/24 removed "its" before " distant ephemera ..." </p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-25710691655778386442024-01-16T18:23:00.004-05:002024-01-22T12:38:03.113-05:00Poem: Lament <p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>Lament</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">flat on my back, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">a spread star fallen to its grave, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">unknown to a wish, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">i wonder <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">why watermarks on cotton fiber<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and roses and wine <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and charmed tears are a status most people<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">will never know,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">i wonder<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">why i am so special <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">as Ethiopian ribs replace skin<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">while i whine about the best word for a poem<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;">that ends up as hors d’oeuvres <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;">for a few ruthless eyes?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;">=======================</p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;">1/22/24 ... removed the second stanza of the poem, which appears below. I was always on the fence about it, at best, as it doesn't fit the flow and is 'obvious.'</p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;">..</p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;">i wonder though it is useless to wonder,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;">i wonder because it is useless to wonder,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;">i wonder for i am forced,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;">and i am forced because i will not hide<o:p></o:p></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;">from how much i hate god.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="Style1" style="line-height: normal;">Poems like this allow me to love god as much as I hate god. Honesty is double-edged.</p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-36498259616285220522024-01-13T10:17:00.006-05:002024-02-24T15:00:34.736-05:00Poem: Murmurous<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Murmurous <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">in this maze of schedules and worries,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">your murmurs soar with unsupervised wings.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">you defy the glut of wheels<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">trapped at right angles, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">to sing, <i>the wind is still free to swoop with merlins.</i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">call my heart.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">eclipse the cube-crawled streets, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">their honked, fake caterwauls.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">hurdle wires, grids and volts.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">skim over frozen facial waves,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">those stressed pedestrian seas.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">one murmur<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">exceeds the braggadocio of the city.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">the arrogance of the limousine.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">the vanity of a cathedral.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">===================================</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">1/14/24 ... removed some excess words for ease and cadence</span></p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-72533804455145707362024-01-12T10:28:00.007-05:002024-01-13T09:53:28.972-05:00Poem: Accusation<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Accusation<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">pinecones bob in windy anger, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">pointing every which way.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">we know! we know! </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">they accuse.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">so many fingers<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">flipping off humanity.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">isn’t it obvious? don’t
you see?<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">we the people, though,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">act as if the pines have no right to speak.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">we go about the task<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">of punching the forest,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">as if it were our duty <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">to abuse nature.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">===================================</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">1/13/24 ... shortened the 3rd to last line</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">1/12/24 ... modding this all day after posting it...</p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-46055964102012059022024-01-08T11:53:00.009-05:002024-01-28T11:19:37.670-05:00Poem: Laden<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Laden <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">a branching stampede of snowshoe hares<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">when gales whisk the hunched spruce,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">a gravity of flight, fearful of a single daffodil paw,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">the tiger in a young spring sun.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">so pure in their wonderland, these hares,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">poised to scamper and yet statuesque.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">are they afraid or just playful,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">lofty in their sway and airs,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">reluctant to exit the exquisite stage,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">its scepters of icicle and green quill?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">they are playwrights, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">thaumaturgists these white rabbits,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">pulled at dawn from moonshadow hats.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">if they flee the carousel of wind and blizzard <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">what next?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">what refuge <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">beyond sporadic dapples of bejeweled light?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">what aid from an audience<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">so quiet and stark?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">===================================</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">1/28/24 ... major many changes</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">1/10/24 ... "a daffodil paw" replaces "daffodil paws"</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">the snowshoe hares symbolize the heavy snow hanging in bent trees</p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-17782520693263733282024-01-04T10:15:00.002-05:002024-02-09T14:03:18.477-05:00Poem: Lone<p> </p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">Lone<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">day <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">of the organized screen-bred structure.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">all is known.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">every fidget of muscle and thought in place.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">night <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">of the chimerical panther, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">loping free to shatter consequence, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">hot on the tail of a moon-jeweled bird.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">day,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">the screen reflects the head of a ghost,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">who pretends to have empathy<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">as it speaks into a mic<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">over a grave-shaped chest.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">night,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">it cries the wettest of tears, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">which leave no dampness,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">waking to buck in the sudden rush hour.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">across the room<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">in the patience of a lone mirror,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">little to see.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">===============================================</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-42878749860097222682024-01-01T17:20:00.008-05:002024-02-09T14:04:02.512-05:00Poem: Break<p> </p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">Break <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">what god to praise,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">each locked in our own skin-cage,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">heart brewing its solitary cauldron?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">why these racked spheres,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">elongated on such frail necks?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">and fated to hide<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">from the most simple truths,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">which loathe the absurd rubber <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">of this slippery face?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">we destroy to eat, impose to breed, degrade to
exist,<o:p></o:p></p>
tangled in the ivy of desires,<br />
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">as we trip across a knotted landscape,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">this strangle of our collective fears.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">who rides the wings of courage to see?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">even when we break and suffer, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">all of us king and complicit,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">all of us coin and queen.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">========================================</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">1/28/24 ... more mods</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">1/4/24 ... transposed "king" and "queen"</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">2024. The year fascism could take over the USA and the world. ... trying to deal with how powerful hate becomes so quickly, once it is lit in the masses. How it then controls us all, forces us to bow down on pain of torture. Ultimate loss. </p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-17616031579293609902023-12-30T10:29:00.001-05:002023-12-30T17:58:43.065-05:00Published in Autumn Sky Poetry Journal<p> Although I haven't submitted poems to journals in at least eight years (it is hard work, time consuming, and I fight with depression), I was honored that Autumn Sky decided to resurrect one of my poems from their archives for their daily:</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://autumnskypoetrydaily.com/2023/12/17/from-the-archives-joan-of-arc-by-chris-crittenden/">https://autumnskypoetrydaily.com/2023/12/17/from-the-archives-joan-of-arc-by-chris-crittenden/</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Thank you to editor <span style="font-family: "EB Garamond";">Christine Klocek-Lim for her incredible passion, dedication and perceptive appreciation of poetry for many years now. This was a wonderful holiday gift for me!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond";"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond";">============</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond";"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond";"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond";"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond";"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond";"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond";"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond";"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond";"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond";"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">Correction was made: eight years since I stopped submitting poetry to journals, at the turn of 2015.</span></p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-81571886459139983972023-12-29T18:05:00.002-05:002024-01-28T11:25:10.925-05:00Poem: Before<p> </p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">Before<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">no bald pigs slopping at troughs, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">no gelded, branded, broken chattel,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
instead roams of aurochs.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">foams of errant bats,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">and weaves of neon fish <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">who escher-float in kelp tapestries<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">luminous with pregnant medusas.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">no satellites to slice through the waist of Venus,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">no contrail cruel as a rogue bullet,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">flatulent from an airplane’s ass.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">instead prosperous skies,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">opulent with minstrel flocks,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">and large vivid butterflies <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">flirty with luna moths,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">how they waltz, tango, pirouette,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">no streetlamps to confuse, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">no pavement<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to mar the esplanades, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">pollinating golden,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">no corporate pollutants, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">poisonous to all that has ever been breathed.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">====================</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">1/28/24 ... more mods</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">12/30/23 ... "has ever been birthed" replaces "had ever been made"</p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579773982803351465.post-34963893272346029032023-12-27T10:07:00.006-05:002024-02-09T14:05:43.962-05:00Poem: In the Field<p> </p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">In the Field<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">twitches under jackstraw husks,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">those fussy rodents,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">hot-hearted voles,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">it was hard <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">not to see them as fate-colored,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">creeping as they were <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">in a cracked paisley<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">havocked by the retreat of frost.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">yes, the green had begun to birth, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">rending foams of dry needles,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">pricking with its little feet.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">there would be butterflies,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">those standard-bearers<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">for hysterias of pollen.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">the vole-hearts </p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">would feed the oil-soft, yellow-striped bellies of snakes.</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">this was god’s parchment, the field:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">this official yet tattered scroll,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">flip-flopping with its decrees.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">there would be plump berries,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">then sturdy ladders of ice, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">both of them nurtured <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">then assassinated.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">and always the battling hungers,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">nature’s toilsome bane of judgments,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">the owl-neck twists.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">==================================================</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">Why do humans go to war? Because nature linked hunger, pain, and emotion to performance and, furthermore, made trust almost impossible, not without force. </p>Owl Who Laughshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256278535378385480noreply@blogger.com0