Political Skepticism

Gate to Seoul

Here we are in cold of midwinter
An election has passed
With misery and fanfare
A new government is sworn in
And we will joyously revel
That the State has come back from the brink
Yet the same crew
That have been running the fetid swamp
Continue to muck their way through
And the people of the “United” States
Wallowing in their misery
Hoping to see change
While keeping the same corrupted people in charge
Who have perpetuated the problems
The nation experienced for decades
There were lessons learned and missed
From the last four-year experiment in collective rule
A Republic cannot stand
If its leadership is dysfunctional
You cannot unify a nation
Through bully and insult
You do not build liberty
By silencing voices
Even those that make you uncomfortable
There is no wise demagogue
That can pull us all through
The real strength of governance is
When We the People make ourselves heard
The allegiance should not be to party or person
But to ideals- the ones from our founding
Even when we have struggled to execute them as intended
It is a pity that we continue to accept
A system with only two options
Making it so much easier to keep us divided
The people suffer for lack of options
And the same old networks
Ensure the game never changes
The United States is so much more varied
So much more diverse
Than the continual representation
By a handful who consider themselves elite
We deserve governance that reflects us-
The variated many
With all the chaos and conglomeration required
For multi-party rule
Without change we will continue
To toss back and forth in a bi-polar bipartisanship
As the pendulum swings
And we the fickled masses dance

Immolation

Immolation

This is a poem I never wanted to write.
Idiocy on display forces my hand.

This is how great nations die
Self-absorbed citizenry believing the hype
That their own person desires are more important than
The good of the nation as a whole
A failure of education
And of civility
The stupidity of wanting
Life without consequence
Talking heads spewing
And the gullible rolled up as fodder
by those taking and faking sides
The people act without knowing
Thermador, the Bonfire of the Vanities

Pray for a Phoenix rebirth

Seasonal

Gate to Seoul

Evergreen and twinkling lights
Crispness in the evening air
The smell of baking from the kitchen —
The holidays are finally here

In a year of desperate struggle
Political theater and viral threat
At last, we’ve reached the season
Reminding us to not forget

That despite our current station
And the burdens on our mind
God’s intention from creation —
Peace on Earth, Goodwill for mankind!

Yesterday was Veterans Day

Gate to Seoul

Yesterday was Veterans Day
There were parades
And people thanked me for my service
There were deals and meals all over town
If I wanted to pursue them
But I stayed home

To me yesterday will always be Armistice Day
The wars of my lifetime simply do not compare
And while every person who served is valuable
Some sacrificed more than others
When I dwell on this I feel guilty

Perhaps it is best to know that yesterday was Remembrance Day
Now that is an idea that I can get behind
Spending time in votive contemplation
On those who sacrificed all
But Americans do that in May as we memorialize the loss

So, what can we do with Veterans Day?
We must make each day a day to be grateful
For all that we have
And a memorial to all that we lost along the way
Yesterday was Veterans Day
But today I look at my bundle of silk, paper, and plastic poppies
Collected over the years
And I realize the power of remembrance.

Moral Combat

Gate to Seoul

Watching it all play out
On national television,
All that I could think
Was that we really could do better
In the choosing of our champions
And the resolution of the combat.

In the back of my mind
I thought of Alice, Texas
In the fall of 1948
And the mysterious miracle of Ballot Box 13.
Yet there is quite a difference
Between knowing a bit of history
And actually making accusations
From the Whitehouse bully pulpit.

On this one thing I am certain,
That no matter who wins this battle
The process has weakened their position
And the standing of this nation.
There will be no mandate for action —
Only more cries from the sidelines
That a duly elected person
Cannot possibly be “my president”.

The process tears at our fabric
Reopens the old wounds
In our national psyche
Refusing to allow them to heal.
We should be saddened that the runup
To the 2024 election
Starts in earnest today.