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Monday, January 31, 2011

the tv news



"In the old days"
the news was reported
the newsman(there were no newswomen)
was honored to bring forth the news
it was his duty
tv stations felt bound to inform and educate

today
tv news is bound to
bring you the hook
that gets you to watch the commercial
their advertisers pay to air

today
tv news only reports the news
they choose for you to know
they bring the events
with their slant
and the smear
along with the sneer

the tv news
today
is about
those reporting the news
the newscaster star
the logo
the catchy intro
the distraction
the segue
away
from what's going on

the tv news
tells of the storm
but pauses the hurricane, tsunami, and landslides
until these brief messages from every sponsor

the tv news
shows no photos, no first hand accounts
just the hearsay from their representative

"In the old days"
the tv news
went there to find out what was going on

the tv news in the old days
wanted to know about every country on the planet
and every planet in the galaxy
and share the information

now the tv news
belongs to a few
who tell us less
and charge us more

so maybe we won't care
so maybe we won't want to hear
so maybe we
we get informed elsewhere

you too


          Tell me you love me
Tell me why

now tell me you love me
it matters not why

roses are red
blueberries sometime too

a rhyme for you
from me that's true

laugh smile laugh another smile
a joke, a game
tell me you love me
tell me you mean it
tell me it's true
from a heart that is blue

roses are red
pumpkins are orange
give me a nickle
I'll see you a pickle

silly
silly
you willy nilly

serious you are
serious I are not
tell me you love
I believe it not
tell me you love me
and mean it a lot

roses are red violets
are blue
I love you too

with a twinkle in my eye



                   Smile
through your sadness
smile
as you cry
       the heart aches with loneliness

the skin wants to breathe
the bread we must knead
the rules we choose to heed

without agreement
chaos rules
without agreement
anarchy applies
without rules
savages survive
with rules
savages survive

quietly
I pass unnoticed through the night
quietly - I share the dim light
softly I pass the time
endlessly
I pine

forever I strive
forever I want to thrive
forever I subside

what have I left
what can I give
what have I taken
what is mine to give

beg borrow steal
what to you will this reveal

dig
dig deeper till
into the till
as it does overspill
the bounty that is mine
is the eyes that are thine

alone I am myself
not alone I am the mountain
to touch on high
with the twinkle of mischief
in my eye

to laugh to cry
to be happy before I die
with a twinkle in my eye

Rights

      Just because you were born, you think you have rights
Just because you are alive, you think you have rights

Perhaps because you are American
and you have a bill of rights
that says
YOU have the RIGHT to persue happiness
you think you have the right to achieve happiness

What the right is
is the right to run around in circles

you do not even have the right to breathe
unless someone gives you that right
by that I mean
that there is no one preventing you from breathing

take a deep breath
take another deep breath
still and again
take a deep breath

Some think they are entitled to affordable housing
(at whose expense)
Some think they are entilted to an education
Who will feed them
Who will pay to feed them
Who will grow the food to feed them

Entitled
to the right to persue happiness
entitled to earn the right to persue happiness

there is no free lunch
eveything has a price
what can you afford to pay
for your right to persue happiness

the communist asks the farmer,
"If you had two horses would you give me one"
"Yes," says the farmer

the communists asks the farmer,
"If you had fourr pigs would you give me two"
"Of course," the farmer replies

"If you had four cows, would you give me two"
asks the communist
the farmer replies,"Absolutely"

the communusts says,
"If you had a dozen chickens would you give me six"
"Heck, no, replies the farmer

"Why not," the communist wants to know
and the farmer replies
"Because, I have a dozen chickens"


before the snow

You loved me
before the snow
The echo of laughter
The trickle of glee
The pages of autumn
These eyes beheld thee

Azure sky
beckon me
Wind of the meadow
Hay seed fill the sky

 lizzard smile
 turtle wink
 bunting bathe

Warm Sun
leaf green
Nature sing
Branches
Bloom

The warm earth grows
worm
spider
ant and others

Hear them
they sing
as the wind blows
as the waves roll
as the flowers color
and the moon rises
far off  in the sky
together
all around
circle around
you loved me
before the snow



Sunday, January 30, 2011

Peanut

Once upon a time there was this very little girl.

She was so little her family called her peanut.

One day peanut had a stomache and wanted her mom to hold her.

She said, " Mommy my stomach hurts."

Peanuts mother turned to her and said,
"Are your bowels open."

Then one day Peanuts head hurt so she said,

"Mommy my head hurts."

Peanuts mom said,
"Are your bowels open."

Still there was another time when Peanuts throat hurt.
Peanut said, "Mommy, my throat hurts."
And again Peanuts mom replied,
"Are your bowels open."

Moral of the story is:
The pain you are experiencing is because....

Time

Time
A place in the present
the focus of attention
the cloud in the sky

When
A place in time
only then
when
attention is the time of focus

Then
is when was the focus
of the present time
also the cloud in the sky

Time then not the present
focus of attention
when then
the cloud in the sky

Focus then the attention
to the present when
the cloud in the sky

Attention when then
the present time
is the focus
and then when time is
then the present

And then when only
the present focus of the
time is the attention of the
present when the time is the
focus
and then when the
colud in the sky

Time again
focus
when
then
the present

For then when the focus
of attention is the cloud in the sky
time is no longer the attention

Time
the only commodity we have
the only present when we focus
then
the time we have is the present

Time is Life
Life is Time
the only life we have is the time
in the present when we have
the attention to focus

The LifeTime of focus is the
attention to the time
when the present is the focus
of the time of attention

And if that makes any sense
it is a time of attention!

Friday, January 28, 2011

Egypt



                   Change is in the wind
                  and everything stays the same

        The Full Stomach Does Not believe The Empty One

             Change is in the wind
       and everything stays the same

Charles Dickens wrote many years ago, "Beware this child, this child is ignorance; Beware this child, this child is want."

              Here we stand, at the brink
the world is forever changed
          We are at a threshold
the US government is watching Egypt
the belt buckle of the middle east
the unifying force, leading all the middle east
giving them the thought to think
         without Egypt as an ally of the United States
the stability is gone
   without the people of Egypt thinking
we lose the war against those who chose to control

without the people of Egypt
standing, thinking, working. living
we will become thrust into the chaos
which will evolve into escalated hostility
throughout the world

it will become dog eat dog
we will, as we did during WWII,
cease to be civilized thinking beings

we are on the brink, of again becoming
savages
we will be ruled by our emotions

perhaps it is already to late
to turn the tide
to change the course
to give to those that want
to educate the ignorant
perhaps already, they are too hungry
because the full stomachs did not believe the empty ones until they became violent

governments can not control the people
the Egyptian government cannot control the Egyptian people
the people control themselves
the people choose to be at peace
if they are hungry
for a little while they will wait to see if there will be food to feed them
then they will go and take what they need to survive

The choice then, that the government in control has is:
to find a way to "feed" the people who are hungry
or
to eliminate the people who are hungry

The tv news media say the next 24/48 hous will tell us the answer
as to what shall happen in Egypt
Can the government in power find the correct answers

We all know that we all find answers to problems, and lots of times
we find the wrong answers - and we have to live with our choices

Collectively, we have the power to will the correct answer which will avert the turn down the path to war

There has to be a correct answer
We have  to find the correct answer
We have to not choose war
We have to have evolved
into something more civilized that savages

A redistribution of wealth is not the answer
opportunity for self respect
opportunity for self sufficency

That the Egyptian government shut down telephones and the internet
is....
shuting down communication
fostering fear, ignorance, and want
a perfect formula for chaos

When Egypt falls and oil shortages cripple commerce there will be more hunger and more want
and more ignorance and more fear

like the festering sore of the dark ages we will be thrust back into a  time of hardship worldwide

we will feel "the tremor in the force" until the rage trickles down to the lowest of us, and then out into the wind

once the ball begins to roll, there is nothing that will stop it until it reaches the bottom of the hill
and it will hit many obstacles along its path
and there will be much pain and suffering
unless we collectively, will the positive solution to the problem.
Unless we realize we are all in this together, and we are all at risk, and we must work together, there will then be the culling
and the sadness of the darkest of ages
for we will have to live with the shame that we have not learned from our mistakes.

Dear

Dear
We've been picking up our mail along the side of the road
so I don't know if you've been getting my letters
I am writing because I want you to know
that I am thinking of you
and want to know how you are
The weather here has been winter
hope you are experiencing spring

We all here are fine
weathering the storm
thinking of you
hoping you are warm

glad you are not here
and wishing we are there

please take care
for to us you are dear

see you maybe
in a nother year

write soon
so we can hear
that you are taking care
sincerely
dear

Regret




     Life happens in an instant
decisions made
  forging the path of the stream
of that becomes the river that flows into the sea

the willow falls
and the path of the stream is altered

the stream grows and alters the path of the willow
the rock drops from the mountain
and the stream has lost its path

the herd of elephant trample the land
the stream returns to the road to the river

the river waits
the stream meets with another stream
and again a willow falls

the quiet drops
the stream nowhere to run
rests awhile and visits with the sun

the clouds grow
they blossom with seed
to meet the stream

ever strong now the stream
surges a canal
sweeping the rivers
to the sea
swimming together
the dolphins and the sea
swimming to the instant
the dolphins and the sea

the willow, the rock
 the stream
and the sea

Thursday, January 27, 2011

survey



          Corporations now offer opportunities to participate in surveys and offer as incentive, opportunities to possibly win shopping dollars for filing out their surveys.

           If you have taken filled out a few of these  questionaires you know that these corporations are wanting you to rate the local franchise and its personnel. It then becomes up to you whether or not these franchises stay in business. You tell them everything they want to know, is the store clean, can you find what you want easily enough, is the staff personable and knowledgable, are you getting value for the money and can you buy it cheaper; all with the click of the mouse.

           The corporations are so removed from the consumer they never see hear or greet them. All decisions are made at corporate headquarters and there is no link with the product or service being delivered. There may not even be corporate leaders, there may simply be surveys generating all the necessary changes or raises for local employees.

            In the old days, before corporate land pervailed, there was the small business, with the small business owner who oversaw the business, who personally checked to see if the floor was clean and whether customers were getting what they wanted. Theirs was a vested interest in customer satisfaction.

            The computer has made many things more accessable and simpler as well as more complicated. But the age of the corporation has produced an economy of waste that as yet has not been measured. The cost of the human sacrifice is mounting, without anyone responding to solving the problem. There is no longer a community, there is only serving the computer.

              For instance, consider the corporate eateries. All the personnel wear the same uniforms, every item prepared tastes the same, all the ingredients have preseratives and stabilizers that have made it 'safer' to be kept and transported. There are only their words for the proof of ingredients and there are less and less of natural ingredients in every product, because it is produced on a large scale and shipped great distances  from warehouses. Think about the thought that your food now comes from a warehouse.

            In the old days the local baker got up before dawn to make fresh all the baked goods you consumed. You would wake in the morning to the aroma of the bakeries ovens at work. Now you simply smell the diesel fuel of the truck delivering the food packaged in plastic bags and cardboard boxes.

            There are fewer and fewer 'mom and pop' businesses lending color and flavor to neighborhoods, there are no longer neighborhoods. There are simply stops along the delivery route for the diesel trucks.

             If there was more local production of goods and services, there would be less fuel consumed. There would be interesting things to see in different locales instead of the same stores everywhere. We have homogemized beyond the point of efficency.

             There is one organization that mass produces poultry, with large warehouses growing foul besides fouling the air. They raise enormous amounts of chickens in various of the poultry warehouses at single locations. The waste produced is so concentrated that when, if your eyes are closed when you pass them your nose curls to wretch and you know where you are. These animals are so stressed during their lifetime that the meat they produce is tough and tasteless. And the waste has to be trucked hundreds of miles to another location to be burned to further foul the air.

            Small poultry opperations are less invasive to the environment, but less financially rewarding.

            Quality of life is becoming less of an issue because corporations are not living things. They do not have a vested interest in the environment nor its residents.

             The corporate machine has taken over the world and we have at this time the opportunity to change that. We have what they call 'dollar votes' and how we spend our dollars dictate what happens.

              It is our fault, if we allow the corporate mentality to continue to dehumanize our environment.
              Consider not eating at places that have salt as the main ingredient, or cellulose stabilizers.
               Take back our world and make it a better place for the next generation of human insead of corporate america. Find a reason to support local business. Give America the opportunity to return to local character and charm.

            

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Nothing


      Nothing to say
 nothing to do
nothing happening

nothing to wear
nothing  to write
nothing going on

nothing, the absence of something
the same as empty
the home of nil
zero
zilch
nada
nobody

void
a space between the ears
where nothing goes in
and nothing comes out

space
room for more
the place for the open door

vacuum
where nothing resides
erase and clean the space

no more
nothing
no place
to put yes

just a hollow place
without a face

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

what did you say

Listening
ARE YOU LISTENING
can you hear me
is there anybody there
hello

no there is no one there
you are all alone

who is that
no one
what did you say

who are you
no one

you can hear me
no I can't
what did you say
there is nobody out there
it's your imagination

where are you hiding
where are you
I am not here
I am no one
you are all alone

then why are you speaking to me
I didn't say anything
you made it all up

what did you say
who are you
no one
there is no one out there

feel better
you are all alone
who you kidding
no one
I am all alone

Monday, January 24, 2011

not today

Not today
when the time is right
and the sun doth shine
and my heart is glad
not today

things to do
lives to sort, hearts to warm
much to do
not today

there
over there
look yonder
see the sun
watch the birds
walk the walk
not today

full
the emotions
the dream
the thought
the time
the day
though not today

hear the music
sing a song
dance a waltz
see the gown flow as she waltzes
around the ballroom floor
the silk sway to the ryhtmn of the orchestra
the candle lights, the aroma of the fire
fell the warmth of the room and the crowd
men dressed to the nines
women gliding, floating, their feet barely touching the floor
the Blue Danube outside their door
another waltz
yet not today

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Yesterday

     Memories are grand. They let you get back what you lost. They give you what you can't have, yet long for. There is the time of sunshine and carefree days, the time of warmth and comfort. The time when everything was perfect. The pretty smiles the happy faces the carefree days.
Yesterday, oh how we long for yesterday, to touch it, to hold it, to fold it into the place we call home. And when we were living it we did so with reckless abandon as if it would last forever. We knew it would never end. We took for granted, we assumed, we let it slip away, yesterday.

We look again, at the days that are so dear, the treasures of our time, the minted years, the sweet, the gentle, the kind, the happy, the sublime, the days of yester nestled in our mind.

Lest we forget, to make them sweeter yet make sure there is, no regret.

Regret makes the sweet bitter to taste, regret leaves everything out of place, to think twice is nice when there are no lice. Bugs make you itch and nestle in a niche. Scratch the itch, give them a hug, love them a little, love them a lot, give them a lot for tomorrow they may be here not.

Voices

              Have you noticed American women on tv talk shows and news shows have the scratchiest voices. The shrill high pitch screatches etch through the brain and irritated the internal equilibrium. They in fact may be intelligent people but they have no idea how to woo an audience. You can picture them as children, the only way they got what they wanted was to scream like a witch and they brought that with them into adulthood.

            It must have something to do with the male chauvanist society we fostered. Women we not recognized nor regarded but the sheer numbers of females in America and the second world war gave women and opportunity to advance in society.

             Some of these females found the subtle way to be recognized. Bravo for them. Some females just didn't like the sound of nails on a chalk board. Bravo for them.  And others watched and heard actresses ply their trade. Bravo for them too.

             Other women probably don't even listen to themselves so they have no idea how irritating and uncultured their demeanor is.

             Turn on the tv, listen to European women,  or Indian , notice how soft their voices are, notice that the tone of their communication does not shut down the ears or grate on the nerves.
             
             What has cause this phenomenon for American women not to recognize that the canary in them has been gassed. That the sound of their voices block attention and shut down any willingness to listen.

              What has caused American women to reject a soft spoken approach to communication. Why has voice died. Why do American women prefer the cacophony of high pitch, ear piercing yelling stance to soft gentle communication.

               Has music soured their ears or has America soured their hearts.
Nothing to say
the mind is empty
quiet sounds of nobody
the space is blank
the wheels are turning
looking for something to say
it has been a busy day

nobody visits
nobody wants to hear what I have to say
I am talking with my self
it is Sunday

I must keep writing
I have things to say
it just won't happen today

The discipline is continued
the habit being reinforced
to write to write

to stutter to stutter
to say it again
to say it once more
whatever it is
i will say it
not today

Afghanistan

    Afghanistan, we know it is about the oil

we know it is about preserving our way of life
yet, when you think about it on a one to one
one person at a time
one life at a time
one death at a time
the quest for oil becomes very dear

Our system runs on oil
with oil
everything stops
chaos rules
people starve
riots

companies shut down
workers have no income

we have no choice
science as yet has found no solution
to the quest for alternative fuel

and now china
has become a new consumer
with an appetite
to grow
and use

and we are using
and not growing
we are just getting by
by borrowing

sooner rather than later
we will be forced to make a choice
we must find a solution
to getting cheap oil
to getting alternative fuel
to eliminate our debt
to become more competitive in the world
to protect what we have

one alternative is war
with war
the population is reduced
the competition is reduced
the spoils of war would if we won
eliminate some of our debt

there seems to be no other choice
it is a matter of time
how long
can we hold out
with less people employed
with the same mouths to feed
with the same reduced demand for fuel
by less people employed
less people travelling
more people idle

the real answer is for the government at this time to fund educating all the unemployed
feeding them and and their families
the more educated the population is the better opportunity there is for someone to find the answers we need
the less educated the nation is the more fear
the ignorance and want will fester
the panic and anxiety will numb the populace into a mode of non thinking machines
swallowed up by fear

If the government gives families an opportunity to be safe in this environment  of uncertainty
Americans would be in a position to rally to the needs of the nation
Right now people are preoccupied with their own needs and have little left over for the country

This plan is better that the WPA because it is an investment in the only resource we have that we can expand upon
All other resources are fixed and limited
Investing in the people would guarantee
a finer greater resource than we now have

we would have a smarter more educated thinking population
thinking people save lives save money save resources save time
without an educated population
we lose

and our work is finished



     sadness is a lonely place
the home of the broken heart
the tree of loss
the place so apart from the world
there is nothing to overcome its domain

we find sadness around every corner
broken hearts and the dear departed
sadness overwhelms the senses 
it numbs, it paralyzes 

it is an indescribable event
it cannot be touched
although it is felt with the force
of the swinging rod of the hammer
of discontent

it offen is accompained with defeat
and is a companion of loss
it is always the way the mind celebrates
every unhappy place it visits

try, to replace the loss, try to replace the defeat
with anything
something
keep filling the space with things anythings somethings
everythings allthings
and when you take time to breathe

think about more things to fill the empty space
in the mind
it is all in the mind
keep digging, keep looking
for more to add to the space of sadness

busy busy busy
does little to erase the ness in sad
time dulls the ache
time passes
the sadness lingers
the loss the same

this too shall pass
and the empty space lingers
always empty
always longing
always wishing
always wanting
always the same
the loss
the sadness

only we change
and with time
we see
we carry those lost 
and have them within us
and their laughter and their tears
are the tears and laughter we share

and they are always with us
and they are not here
and we expect everything to stay the same
and we are sad with the change we do not want
and we are happy with the change we do want
and we want always what we cannot have
and we are sad
when we do not get what we want
and our sadness is selfish
and we know it is selfish
and it is like breaking threw of a new tooth
we must go through the pain
before we grow anew
and we must grow anew
till the growing is done
and our work is finished

and someone else carries the sadness
we leave behind             

Saturday, January 22, 2011

World Wailing Tennis



              We can talk about the skill of a tennis star, the power position and ability to persuade the ball to go exactly where they want it to. At times it is poetry in motion, as the song goes. The equipment has change over the years, cat gut has been replaced by synthetics and their tension adjusted to the players specifications. Sneakers have gotten stronger too. Socks don't hang anymore they stay up to all the abuse. Costumes, well, the white shorts and skirts have morphed with sales tags as the star ingredient. Even the heads of the most famous players are billboard advertisements.

             Tennis courts are filmed for instant replays in case of contrary opinions and the winner usually signs the glass on the camera. Wonder who gets to keep the camera.

             Tennis is big business, for individuals, teams and countries. National spirit soars for every player. It is very exciting, with a full house of enthusiastic fans roaring with every stroke. The spirit of the games!


             Yet, there is a rub, and it is getting to be a rash that is spreading into an uncontrollable disease of unprofessionalism which is not being addressed and not being deterred.

             These player have become coddled spoiled brats that have no idea how unprofessional and objectionable their behavior has become.

              If any other worker grunted during their work they would probably be fired.Never mind the wailing these players sing out with every motion of their arm. It sounds as though it is their last breath that they are fighting to get out.

                      They don't realize the wasted energy they exert and how offensive it sounds. They do not deserve to be called professionals, the should be called cows.
        
                        Because the sound is so offensive it is turned off and the other player is rooted for. Who wants someone who is suffering so to be the winner to play again. Who wants to hear Maria Sharapova sing her roar.
                       They, she, may be sexy to some and therefore tolerated for the hook that they exert on the aroused community.
                       
                        Professional tennis is beginning to look and sound like the WWF.

                        What a shame a talented few have ruined the viewing.

                         What a shame a talented few are making so much money wailing while they work.

                          Goodbye to the professional tennis association
                          Hello WWT World Wailing Tennis



you AND me




              Empty your head
              Remove everything from your mind
              the art of yoga and meditation
              the goal, remove all from the mind

              empty the trash
              throw away the garbage
              let there be light

              remove
              erase
              delete
               empty the brain
             then there is peace

              one
              two twenty two
              pick up sticks
             snippets of a day
          snapshots of a life
             sweet memories
             bitter herbs

              a day in the life
              away it must go
           bend flex stretch move
         tai the chi into a knot
          push away, gather in
        expand and contract
         give it all back

           empty the mind
         let it all go
          enlighter you become
        if you let it all go

           a day in the life
           and you want to remember
         but alas
          you forget

          is the mind empty when you forget
          is the mind free when there is nothing for it to see
          is the heart at rest
          when you clean up the mess

          yoga  to chance
          yoga to see
          what the benefit will be

          empty the mind
          empty the mind
          less easy than it seems
          when we don't want to forget

          maybe today it is easy for me
          we shall see

          what would there be
          if it wasn't for you and me

Friday, January 21, 2011

the end

No
may I
No
can I
No
please
No
will you
No
have you
No
can you
No
shall you
No

there is nothing no one can do when someone says no
no one can overcome a no
some can change their mind
but the no is still the brick wall out there

perhaps
maybe
even possibly

can improve communication on a grand scale
but once  the brick wall of no appears
there isn't

defeated
downtrodden
despair
deep into the bottom
no way to climb out
not a chance of redemption
no

nothing to overcome
empty
void
a wasteland of darkness
the fog of finality

the end of a future
the no mans land of no chance
the end of the dance

the music with no echo
the song with no words
the lyrics that fall flat
the bubble that bursts
the dream that dies
the hope that is lost
no
off
shut
closed
fin
the end
the final frontier
no
the beginning of the end
the end of the beginning
no
the final word
no
the word that is final
no

the end

Thursday, January 20, 2011

THEN




               Let go
               Let go
               Let go

               Let yourself understand
               there are no ways to bring back
               that which is gone
               there is no way to hold on to
               that which is no longer here

               the day that was the past
               is no more
               the memories are yesterday
               now only dreams
               the past is gone
               yesterday is over

               cry for the yesterday
               the day that was
               that is now gone
          
               the happy memories of yesterday
               are gone
               the pleasures that were yesterday
               are gone

               we make our own dreams
               people make our dreams
               the beautiful
               we celebrate
               the dreams of yesterday
               that we hold dear
               are gone and we are sad
               we can't get them back
               the happy times
               the treasures that keep us
               warm and safe and sane
               the little kindness we received
               the smile at the right time
               the hug we felt though we were
               never touched
               the heart that was warmed
               by one heart, so big and so strong
               we thought would last forever
              
               then we
               are faced
               with the reality
               the hero, the friend,
               the heart we treasured
               no longer beats

               suddenly we are alone
               the treasure, the dream,
               the yesterday is gone
               
               and though the heart still beats
               it has lost a rhythm
               a little tap tap tap
               gone

               a part of us is gone
               a big gaping hole
               that had that little tap, tap, tap
               that kept it in rhythm
               the music we were singing
               the song of the heart

                suddenly we discover
               where the words were coming from
                and now they are gone
                 and we are alone

                 to find our, or another song
                 to find the reason to want
                 to find the reason to smile
                 to find the reason to be happy
                 to find the way to live
                 to find the way to carry on
                 to give the others the way to carry on
           
                 to want to carry on
                 to make the way to carry on
                

                 to celebrate the heart that is gone
                  to sing the song of the heart
                 to smile

                 to remember the yesterday
                 to mourn the loss of the yesterday
                 
                 then to again mourn the loss of yesterday
                 to remember yesterday

                  to be sure we love and live the yesterdays
                  every day
                   and then we never lose the yesterdays
                  as we live the todays

Care




                               I don't care about you
                               I don't care about your life
                               I don't care about your family or
                                   all the effort you have invested over the years

                               Your time means nothing to me
                                You have no rights in my world
                                You have no value to me
                                 you are nothing

                                therefore it is okay with me for you to not exist
                                therefore it is okay with me for you to die
                                therefore I have just erased your existence

                                then you are gone
                                and I am left with the thought of removing you
                                there you have forever a place in my life
                                until I FORGET

     
                               
                                SITTING ON THE  SEAT IN THE SUBWAY CAR
                                 his head buried beneath his turtle neck sweater
                                 like the turtle protecting himself from danger
                                 he withdraws his brain and protects himself
                
                                 the car is crowded, people standing breathing
                                 in each others faces

                                 next to him there are five empty seats
                                  around him no one is standing
                                  they are all, the people in the car
                                  are watching the headless sweater
                                  they, all. are ready, poised to run
                                  ready for danger

                                  she, exhausted, sits besides him, she
                                  must sit, her legs and feet hurt beyond
                                  the fear of danger

                                  he smells the tobacco on her clothes
                                   he senses someone close
                                   slowly his head surfaces above the
                                    the folds of the sweater
                                  
                                   she looks down towards the floor
                                    she notices on his wrist the bracelet
                                    the one that is always awarded when
                                    you become a resident at a medical facility
                                   
                                     he asks her for a cigarette
                                     she offers him one if he would not light it on the train
                                     he agrees
                                      she gives him the cigarette
                                     he has his own matches and lights the cigarette

                                     the train car soon fills with the aroma of warm tobacco
                                     on the tag on his wrist she notices his name
                                     Carl

                                     I don't care about you
                                     I don't care about your life
                                     I don't care about your family
                                     or  all the effort you have invested over the years

                                    

                                    

                                

                                

the Present



              yesterday in the fabric store there was a woman in the sale section hurriedly glancing

at all the fabrics

             later as I was at the counter getting the fabrics I chose, cut to size

this woman, with her hands arms filled with bolts of fabric walked past me

and my partner said

she had just walked out the door with the bolts of fabric.

            The sales person didn't even know there was another customer in the store.

So this lady just walked out with hundreds of dollars worth of fabric

and I am feeling guilty, like I am her accomplice, it is difficult to shake off the event,

even though it happens hundreds of times a day across the country.

It is easy to think she needed to clothe her family.
It is easy to think she needed to clothe herself.
It is easy to think the store had hundreds of bolts of fabric, they wouldn't miss it.
It is easy to think, maybe if I were in here circumstances I would do the same.

Take what is not yours
Take what belongs to someone else
Take what you want
Take it because you want it
Take it because you need it
Take it because they have plenty

It is easy to think
all sides of the story
making up the scenario you  choose

Best case scenario, she has ten children and her husband has been laid off from his job. He's doing little odd jobs to put a little food on the table. They live in a tiny trailer and chop wood to heat the place. All the children sleep huddled together on the floor. They can't afford beds. They sleep in their clothing, there are not enough blankets to go around.

Scenario two, she works for an alarm company which wants to prove to the fabric store the need for security.

Scenario three, she feels cheated for the last batch of fabric she bought at the store.

Scenario four, she was bet that she could not go to the store and walk out with bolts of fabric.

Scenario five, she feels entitled to everything the world has to offer and feels whatever money she has is hers to keep forever.

Scenario six, she has been taught by her parents to steal and doesn't know the value of honesty.

A woman I knew had two children to raise after her husband had died. He left her the little house they lived in that had a small rental apartment above their living quarters and a three car detached garage that she also rented out for income. When ever possible she bought stole property either to resale or for her and her families use, especially clothing. Years later when the children were older, married and moved out, she had a generous gentle friend who bestowed upon her lavish gifts. One day her home was robbed and she was enraged at the thought that someone had broken into her  home and stolen some of her things.

There is no moral to this story.
It is simply a matter of what you can live with.
Are you satisfied with what you earn or must you take what is not yours.

Being fair is not what life is about, and can you afford to be fair.

When is satisfaction,
what creates the circumstances of satisfaction,
and when is satisfaction enough.

Want, want want
why do we want
and what good is it when we get what we want
we then always want something else

and if we accept the state of, not wanting
what does that make us

everybody wants
if we for one day want nothing can we change the way things are

if a starving person doesn't want to eat then perhaps the starving person won't have to steal to eat
absurd
we must eat to survive
and to survive is our nature
thus we do everything
we THINK we need to survive
"I'll die if I don't get that"

thinking and how we think is crucial
if we think we must have something
then we must do whatever is necessary to achieve that goal

what do the terrorist want?
whatever we have
why are the creating all this terror?
because they want to

and we are buying into the fear
we are allowing ourselves not to think
we are fearing shadows
we are fearing ourselves out of living
we are afraid to cross the street
we are afraid to look someone in the eye
we are so afraid
we are afraid to live our lives
we have cameras at every corner
we have cameras at the airports
we have satellites invading, watching
there is always someone watching
and yet we are afraid

savages exist
I have known some
animals who have never been treated as humans
who never treat anyone as human
abused individuals who know no kindness
and therefore cannot be kind

"we reap what we sow"
sometimes, always , never
sometimes luck fits in with the game
sometime bad luck

choose how you wish to live
and live how you choose
opportunity lost and a lifetime of regret is the
real hell

a lifetime of regrets is a lifetime living in the past
looking at the choices not made, and making up
stories about how their life would have change if only
they had made the other choice.

the only one who can steal your life is yourself
don't cheat yourself out of a life worth living
it's the only one you got
"life is a gift every day, that is why they call it the
present"