The Jaws of AI

Doo-doot

doo-doot

doo-doot

doo-doot….

the two note

tune

of impending

doom…

a beast

beneath,

hungry

to devour

maybe 

us.

The music

cues 

the menacing

danger

awaiting,

alerting us

to change

course. 

We fear

an attack

and fear

we may 

be helpless.

Artificial Intelligence

is everywhere

invisible

and manifest.

Now everyone

is chatting

with 

and about

ChatGPT,

or at least 

hears

the doo-doot

doo-doot

doo-doot

theme

with each

article,

post,

and soundbite.

Meanwhile

the new

Know Nothings

turn it up

to 11

knowing

that the more

the lies

are said,

the more difficult

it gets

to put them

to bed. 

Insisting on 

nonsense

makes sense

when people

abide

and vote.

The real

intelligence

is in exploiting

the fact

of people

needing

to feel

right

more 

than anything

else. 

People 

will do 

anything

to relieve

anxiety.

Fear of prison?

Run for POTUS.

Craving more

power?

Consolidate

support.

Tell them

what 

they want

to hear.

Drill

Baby

Drill.

As 

a matter

of fact,

facts don’t

matter.

(Except that they do.)

Artificial

Intelligence

may amass

information,

but still

we need

the truth.

Bobby Jr

may be 

ill.

I don’t know.

Like Ye,

he has aligned

himself

with fear,

hate,

myth,

and danger,

pretending

to have

“researched”.

Once regarded

as gifted

and brilliant,

now elevating

the worst

of human

thinking,

while

the Very

Stable

Genius

is consolidating

the power

of the

POTUS

to stay

free and rich.

It’s really

simple—

and maybe 

smart,

but it’s

going 

to bite

us 

and 

we will

bleed. 

Choice Cuts

Fear always

feels 

like avoiding 

suffering.

Putting up 

a wall

shutting out 

that visitor

who stays 

too long.

Maybe suffering

is a ghost;

a memory

that haunts

with threats

of incapacitating

or decapitating

abilities.

Suffering

is the evil

twin

of resilience.

Sapping

strength,

balance,

and agility,

suffering

conquers

us 

and 

is

an identity

thief.

It’s got

our 

number:

Persistently 

calling

us

to answer

their scam,

distracting 

us

incessantly 

from 

the rest

of life.

Resilience 

acknowledges

pain

and 

has space

for choice.

Suffering

devours

choice 

and 

hope,

limiting

possibility

to be

otherwise.

Resilience

remembers

accomplishment

with pain

and the possibility

of overcoming

overwhelming

experiences.

Suffering  is

a condition.

Pain is

an experience,

perhaps prolonged,

and even

from

a condition,

that is a part

of life—

not the experience

of life

itself. 

Pain 

is

a fact.

Suffering 

is 

a choice.

White is the New Black

Affirming 

colorblindness

ignores reality 

and history 

that has shaped

today.

Performing

diversity

with factual

mystery 

has draped

the way

institutions

accept,

nurture,

and promote

opportunities.

Identifying race

no longer 

in place

affirms 

what does not

exist

under

or beyond

the law:

Equal opportunity.

Equal justice.

Well integrated communities.

Post 

or Anti

Racism.

Now 

6 justices

feign justice

affirming actions

confirming factions

historical,

structural,

largely intractable,

without rules

guiding

the game.

All lives

matter?

The content

of one’s

character

is the cream

that will

rise 

to the top.

Ha!

The top

has a legacy

of skin 

in the game—

I mean

the actual

color 

of their skin

in the game,

which was

built in

to the game,

now overturned.

Whiteness

is somehow

eliteness

and politeness,

and also

aggrievedness,

seeking

legitimacy

in the ranks

of the oppressed,

that has historically

been structurally

suppressed 

based upon 

non-whiteness.

Culture

and color

have grown up

together,

becoming entangled

despite

newfangled

efforts to claim

the old game

is no longer

played.

Future History

The history

of the future

was always

fantastical.

We’re

looking forward

to future

history

imagined 

like a fable,

when the able

are included

and each human’s

ability

is a form of mobility

with support

as we comport

ourselves

with decency.

Well,

that’s one 

version,

or perversion,

depending on

how you read

or don’t.

Future history

lacks mystery.

It is created

now and then

interpreted

or forgotten.

or disregarded,

or banned—

experience 

be damned!

Learning 

is a spiral.

So is progress,

and I confess

that I had 

no idea

we were so

susceptible

to what seems

incredible

and not

credible–

now

an unimaginable

future history.

The lessons

of stories

from the bible

and myths

of the ancients

and Shakespeare

and Aesop

and all cultures

everywhere

forever,

warn of evil

forces

embodied,

calling up

the hero’s

journey

that Joseph Campbell

taught 

is universal

always.

Supernatural

Beings

are part of

the story of

human history

as Superpower

thinking

includes playing 

God, 

while Superhero

fantasies

consume

the stories 

we tell

and sell

across 

the globe.

Meanwhile

we are dying

of consumption.

So is Earth.

And we learn

history

happened

without us. 

It’s not our fault.

We want more.

We want better.

But we know

better.

Future history

is this. 

And us.

Part Time

This is the part

when the deep

state of things

associated

with disruption,

corruption,

and threats 

of violence,

lies 

at the heart

of the party

gunning

for power 

at any cost.

Lies 

are spun 

with projecting

behaviors

and controls

on the other.

This time

feels scarier.

We always 

think that.

If the 20th

Century

was 

The American

Century,

punctuated

by wars

each decade,

the 21st 

Century

is the 

Anti-American

Century

punctuated 

by terrorism

and self

destruction

between 

global

crises

shutting us

down

each decade

until we

shudder

constantly.

The trauma

is here

at home

this time.

We watched

the parting

of the sees-

those who see

Anti-Dems

as the prize

and those

who see

Democracy–

once prized–

at stake.

Seeking 

to reawaken

through

Anti-Woke

speech,

the put-to bed

theories 

of Nazis,

Fascists,

“States Rights”,

and women’s health

no longer 

their’s,

are imposed

among numerous

other outrageous

bans and acts .

We thought

time

had played

its part

revealing

a singular

direction

toward

freedom

with liberty

and justice

for all.

But this part

of our story 

is new.

This time,

a POTUS

could be

convicted

and elected.

He would not

be able

to vote

while serving

time

imprisoned.

And then 

there’s

the part

about 

a pardon.

Time

to do

your part!

Whine and Cheese

We have come to expect

Elections 

As traditions

Despite each one

More existentially

Significant

Than ever.

We know 

The show

Must go

On

And on and on

So money

Can roll

The dicey

Game of politics

That is performance

Without art.

It’s a total 

Drag,

(And that’s

Not allowed

Anymore

In some places),

Watching candidates

Dress up 

And exaggerate,

Mugging

For cameras

At cheesy events,

Whining about

Who’s

Destroying us

And how

The stakes

Have never

Been higher.

Do voters want

The Cheese Wiz?

Not just the ersatz 

Savory goo topping,

But a master of faux

Sentiment?

Or the whining

About witch hunts

And hoaxes?

The Deep State

Pedophiles

And Alien

Invaders

Across 

The boarder?

As candidacies

Launched,

Horrible Haze

Enveloped

Much of the 

Country.

Toxic air

Emanated from

Canadian fires,

A result of dry 

Earth, 

A result of

Climate Change. 

Our political

Climate has

Changed 

Profoundly

While the same

Whine and Cheese

Is served

As though

They will persuade

Or reassure

Donors 

If not

Voters

That politics

Ages well

Like

Whine

And cheese. 

Joint Aches

(The joint “I” and “you” of any relationship–even societal.)

I ache

Knowing

You hurt.

Inflamed

Connective tissue

Limits

The ability

To move

Or be moved.

Feeling Inflexible,

Even rigid,

No longer

Able to 

Support

The unbearable

Load,

Desperate

For remedying,

Pain becomes

All encompassing—

Now constraining

And depleting

Capacity,

Fueling

Bitterness.

They say 

That pain

Is inevitable

But suffering

Is a choice.

Among

Your strengths

Is your

Capacity

For learning,

Allowing

New possibility

To take 

Hold.

What is this pain

Teaching?

What happens

To us when

We become

Oppressed

By agony;

Stuck under

The weight

That is 

Too much?

What kind 

Of school

Is this?

Our muscles

Memorize

Habits,

But let us know when

We have 

Overused

Or become

Out of alignment.

Maybe we can

Just observe

Right now

And acknowledge

The fact 

Of the strain.

Maybe we 

Just get

To learn

Our tendencies

And capacities;

Our habits

That may no longer

Serve to strengthen

Us.

Unfortunately or Fortunately

Unfortunately,

CNN hosted

A Trump Town Hall

Where the haul

Was his.

He steered the show

With audience

Applause

And laughter

With him,

Not at him.

It was 

Trump shtick

That sticks,

Unfortunately.

Fortunately,

Despite what he

Spews,

E. Jean won her

Suit

And proved the power

Of Truth

Can still exist

And enlighten.

The female inner

Life is fortunately

Becoming realized

As valid

And worth

A fortune.

Unfortunately,

It is terrifyingly clear

That the bullying

And lying

And obfuscating

And grifting

Are disregarded

And even

Cheered as

Smart tactics

Regardless of 

Consequences. 

Fortunately,

The DOJ has

Increasing evidence

That we can 

Only hope

Makes its

Way to a

Courtroom

SOON.

Unfortunately,

The shamelessness

And immorality

And assaults

Continue full force

And we are 

Captive.

Fortunately,

Santos was arrested

As the House

Is tested

Negotiating

The debt ceiling

Sealing

Their brand

As unfortunately

Cynical 

And unserious

About bipartisanship.

Fortunately,

The Summer

Of Indictments

Is not 

Far away,

And I believe 

There are 

More of us

Who grieve

For the USA

Than for our

Individual

Selves.

Spoiler Alert

You already know

What will happen.

It’s more 

Like a rerun 

Than a new

Show

Of thoughts

And prayers

After 

Each Episode.

Now every day

Is spoiled

By mass murders

En masse.

Families forever

Ruined.

Communities shattered.

And those 

Who relish

Spoiling

The possibility

Of success

Of an opponent

Will stand by

Horror,

And allow

Us

To be terrorized

By the tyranny

Of the crazed

With weapons

Of war

In anywhere,

USA

Any time

Because 

Freedom

To terrorize,

Maim,

And brutally

Murder

Innocent

Actual children

And their friends,

And teachers,

And preachers,

And relatives

Is freedom 

Of their

Sort.

Demand action

From every

Leader

And

Neighbor

And

Person

You know.

Spoiler alert:

For Mothers’ Day

I honored

My mother

With Contributions

To Moms Demand Action

For Gun Safety

And to the

Brigid Alliance.

Moms are being attacked,

And dare I say

Tortured 

Daily,

By fear

And actual assault

On bodily autonomy

Of themselves

And of their living

Kin.

My mother and father

Taught their children

To participate

And contribute

And improve 

Our communities.

I relish the gifts

My mother

Continues

To share with me

That inspire me

Each day.

You don’t need

Me to alert you

To those who

Would rather

Spoil our capacity

To live safely

Than limit

The possibility of 

One less

Shooting.

Demand better.

Do something.

Anything.

Don’t expect

Someone else

To contribute

Or sign

Or call

Or protest

So it’s done.

Sorry to spoil

It for you,

But your inaction

Is complicity.

Just like 

Thoughts

And

Prayers. 

At least 

For Mothers’ Day

Please do something

To contribute

To stopping

The current

Insanity

Killing us

Daily

While expressing

Condolences.

Don’t Mention It

There was no 

“High tech lynching”;

Just inching

Toward

The untoward

Without flinching.

Staying silent

For decades

While taking

And taking

And taking

And taking

Not talking

And making

A very

Magnanimous

Friend.

The lives

Of the wives

Are consequential

When their

Careers

Impact

What the Court

Hears. 

They ginned up

Schemes

To not mention

GInni

Or her intention

To lead

From behind

The bench.

And Jane Roberts’

Commissions

Were convenient

Omissions

While law firms

She serviced

Went before

The Supreme

Court.

Gorsuch’s

Real Estate

Is among the spate

Of  incidents

Undisclosed

By those gents

In robes

Appointed 

To serve

The country

For life.

Their thirst

For money 

And power

Can’t be

Quenched

And leaves

A fetid

Stench.

Just

Don’t mention

It.