United States

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. 

Scream Too

Why didn’t you scream?

(Subtext: 

If you were really

Raped,

You would have

Screamed.)

For help…

From Pain…

It’s 2023

I want 

To scream,

At the persistence

Of the insistence

Of blaming

Actual

Victims

While Claiming

To be the one

Attacked.

Of all the ways

To cross

Examine,

Why didn’t you scream?

Exposes the truth:

Not everyone is

A screamer.

I want 

To scream too

When the dignity

Of human

Life

Is ascribed to

A fetus

And not to

The woman

Or girl

Who is pregnant.

Ignoring

Medical realities,

Much less care

For women and girls

Or really anyone

After being born,

Is inhumane.

The guy 

Who just 

Walks up to

Women 

After a tic tac

And kisses

Them,

And says

He justs

Grabs them

By the pussy,

Probably did

Not have

A traumatic 

Experience 

That defined

The rest of

Life

From that

Time in

The dressing 

Room.

Women’s experiences

Have too long

Been silenced

Or taught

To be silent.

The courageous

Women

Who 

This week

Stepped forward

Not to scream

But to tell

Of the inhumanity

Of being denied

Speaks volumes

About those who

Minimize what women

And girls continue

To endure,

And ensure

That women

And girls

Have little to no

Say.

Why don’t

We scream!

The Late, Late Show

Savor the moment

That feels like

The right decision

After much 

Too much

Right Derision,

Fission,

And downright

Foolery.

When cable

TV guides,

As radio

Has shown,

Stars align

With 

Whatever

Indignation

Attracts 

Monetization.

Podcasters

Reach their

Niche

On demand,

While broadcasters

Still instill

By the

Old time

Schedule.

When the so

Called talent

Is repeatedly

Offensive,

They remain

On air

Until too

Expensive.

Late in the game

Feels better

Than nothing,

But no-one

Is irreplaceable.

How different

Is the landscape

Today ?

Two guys 

Were fired,

While  another

Two guys

Want to be

Rehired

For another

Four years,

Seemingly

Irreplaceable

No matter

How late

In life.

What does

It show?

Off Spring

This Spring feels way, way off.


Weather aside, 

this season of renewal 

has been one 

of oppression,

even for what has been

a years-long pattern.

The blooming of authoritarianism

and the reemergence

of overt and repressive

racism and misogyny

seems to have started

with the former

guy.

But of course, 

we know,

that like Fox,

the crazy

needs the audience.

And the audience

has been around

for a long time.

The former guy

became known for

Birtherism,

spreading lies 

for the sake

of stirring up

not merely

opposition,

but

racism

and all manners of hate,

against 

President Barak Obama. 

Trump didn’t invent

Birtherism. 

He saturated the media

with false claims

and false questions.

He wanted to be

the guy 

who wrestled

in the ring 

of public discourse,

coarsening 

the conversations

for everyone.

And this birthed

a candidate

which birthed 

a movement 

front and center

of grievance,

lies, oppression,

even violence,

while raising money

and hoarding

and never-ending

shamelessness

(and crimes)

upending 

and threatening

until….

This climate change

has already devastated,

and the pandemic virus

of authoritarianism

is spreading

around the globe. 

Forget 

RINOs,

now there are 

dinos—

democracies

in name

only.

Well, we see

crocuses of justice

beginning to blossom,

but fear

an off-season

frost

may impede 

healthy blooms

of justice

(despite Thomas, et al).

We thought

a Garland

would braid so much

evidence together

after Trump was

leaving such

an obvious mess,

but the pathetic

and yet 

successful

power grabs 

and conspicuous

cruelty 

and despotism

from every level

of government

flagrantly unleashed

upon the 

innocent,

makes me want

to stay

in the fetal position.

But birth

takes labor.

A LOT of labor.

And pushing.

This Spring

feels off, 

and I want

more than 

a break.

The push

toward justice

and accountability

will require

our insistence,

not merely 

watching or

scrolling

news with nausea.

Do something

to let your reps

know that

American democracy,

racism,

misogyny,

violence,

gun safety,

healthcare

(especially for women),

ethics,

justice,

and more,

matter.

This is Spring

training. 

It’s past

time

to get in the game.

First of All

The first

former POTUS

to be indicted

after being

the first

POTUS 

to be impeached

twice,

will begin

to face

consequences

for the 

first time.

Who knows 

how this

will go?

The precedent

for the President

is being set

and it feels

like the first

reckoning

with American

ideals,

especially regarding

“and justice

for all”.

At first,

the fear 

of violence

seemed to 

make too

many people

reticent about

any indictment.

Will it be bad

for the country?

No justice

has been

bad 

for the country.

(And the world.)

And this 

is likely

to be 

the first

of more

cases

against

the guy

who first

tried

to subvert 

the 2016 

election

with a 

$130k

check,

then tried 

to subvert

the 2020

election

with the call

to Georgia 

that everyone

heard,

and then

he tried

to subvert

the Electoral

College

with fake

electors,

and then

he invited

armed protestors

to march

to  The Capitol,

offering to 

accompany

them,

and watched 

while

they stormed

and desecrated

the building,

threatening our

lawmakers

and the VEEP

and massacring

police.

Meanwhile,

he hoarded

classified

documents

and stored

them at 

his property

in Mar a Lago.

But first

things

first.

All the rest 

will be 

firsts

for a former

POTUS,

and for 

all of us

who dare

to care

about 

the rule

of law

for everyone.

Speak Easy

Watching a period piece,

a drama, set in 1932,

I was oriented in time 

through 

the clothes

the interiors

the accessories

the flasks

the verbiage

the hair

the cars

the phones

the shoes—

every detail that signified

when.

In an era of prohibition,

desires were still satisfied

for the still affluent

and able

class.

Those with means

could frequent

hidden spaces

of freedom;

quarters where spirits

flowed into crystal goblets

and flasks

to hide 

in the outside

world;

jazz inviting

dancing,

in smoke-filled

congested rooms,

where people

could speak

easy

and revel freely

for some hours,

not having to face

profound inequality

or differences

or problems.

Prohibition, 

from 1920-1933,

didn’t curb

behavior

or health.

It invited

crime

and 

stealth.

In 2023,

it should not be

so difficult

to speak

easily 

without prohibition

and

with nuance;

But first we

have to speak

and hear

the truth.

Un Tuck It

Letting it all

hang out

doesn’t suit

an outfit

that dresses

up

the truth.

While displaying

contempt

for Dems,

they actually

deride

their own

antidemocratic

followers.

Beneath

the smug

mug

of the elite

of Faux

News,

a frayed

Tucker,

insisted upon

giving

the people

what

they want:

b.

s.

Taking stock

in losing

stock 

in case

the base

flees

from Fox,

the show

must go

on while

the truth

remains

tucked 

away

on the air.

But the Dominion

suit

has exposed

the intentions

to deceive

the Fox

audience,

sustaining

The Big Lie

with no

accountability

unless….

until….

there is more

demand

to Un Tuck It.

Urgent Care

Today this

hurts.

And yesterday’s

ache

is still 

tender.

My tracker

indicates

sufficient

sleep 

and oxygen,

yet I

gasp

each day

and 

am terribly

aware

of threatening

conditions.

According

to my 

data,

everything

ranges from

good to

optimal.

Apparently,

this is accurate

information

when sleeping.

The data

does not

describe

my being

awake.

Sure,

I can 

see my

heart

rate

at any 

time

of day.

It races,

which 

could become

a hurdle

in itself. 

I am 

unaware

of my 

nocturnal

gasps

for air, 

but I cringe

and tense

myself

with news

with open

eyes

feeling

compelled 

to be 

awake.

I don’t 

really matter

to the news,

but think 

it matters

to me.

Doesn’t it?

I want 

to be

awake

to act

as necessary.

Every day

feels 

urgent

and filled

with issues

about which

to care.

The aches

and pains

and gasps

from each

news

cycle

are symptoms

of a deep

love

and loss

of functionality

of humans.

And nature.

What could be

more urgent

than us

and our

environment

that nourishes

our insides?

No Surprise Party

I claim

to hate

surprises, 

but

I delight

in being

surprised

every day.

Not by

secrets

kept from

me 

suddenly revealed,

but seeing

and hearing

the familiar

people and places

with fresh

eyes and ears. 

I think 

that’s 

the secret

to sustaining

love

and growth,

which 

I easily forget

daily. 

I also

assume,

expect,

and mindlessly

repeat

myself 

daily.

But I do

get moments

each day 

that are revelatory

and worth

savoring.

Beyond

the personal,

our politics

challenges

what we

thought

we knew

about 

ourselves

on some

path 

called

progress.

I am

surprised

by how

unexceptional

we have

revealed

ourselves

to be. 

American 

ideals

are subverted

daily 

as our cold

civil war

rages

with outrageousness

and contempt

and we 

still remain

surprised.

To many,

this prolonged

moment

of doubt,

deception,

hate,

and chaos,

is unexpected;

a shock

or series 

of shocks

to our system.

To others,

the system

has always

allowed

for this.

The culture

wars

are political

and (un)civil;

fought

through

weaponizing

language

and consolidation

of support

further 

othering

and degrading,

ensuring

constant

indignation.

By now

this should be

no surprise.

We should

expect

this fight,

at least

for some

time.

President Biden’s 

surprise

visit to 

Ukraine

was a well

executed

secret

and a

reprieve

from

the dreck

here at home.

I am admittedly

surprised

by relentless

preservation

of anger

and hate.

It’s too 

exhausting

for me, 

But I get

that it is

addicting,

and provides

some

weird

reassurance–

collective (party) ego

reinforcement—

that has 

no room

for surprises. 

Drill Baby, Drill

Thank you,

Sarah

Barracuda,

for your 

intro

course

in being

coarse

as a 

political

strategy.

We thought

you failed

but we

still flail

at the

crude,

rude,

vulgar

ideas,

much less

speech,

intending

to rally

the base.

Baseslessness

and

shamelessness

are weapons

of mass

destruction.

Drilling down

on deception,

extracting

sludge

for the sake

of election,

and when

that doesn’t

work,

then insurrection.

You know

the drill:

Here comes

the next

conspiracy

with remarkable

adherency,

not to 

mention,

attention.

Free speech

is the claim

to seeking

fame

and power.

I don’t know

how to beat

the hate

that comes

with guns

and seeks

to create

a Red

balloon

across

America.

This is

not

a drill.