the perfect place
escapes
without a trace
a moment past
a moment fast
fleeting as it were
a gasp…and it’s gone
hiding just behind
the mind’s eye
allowing just
a sneaky peek
a peck on the cheek
a reminder to dwell
occasionally
in a perfect place
momentarily
Published in “The Best Poets and Poems of 2002”
THE DAY DEMOCRACY DIED
The day after Trump won the election, I posted on Facebook that he would be the last president of the United States. In that post I mentioned that one of two events would happen. One, that he would refuse to leave office if he were to lose the next election, or, he would start a serious war and use the War Powers act to cancel the election altogether.
No one can doubt that since he has been in office our national security has been in jeopardy. He has systematically obliterated the State Department, the NSA, and the FBI. These agencies are far more important to our national security than our military simply because the do all the hard work so are military doesn’t need to.
The scariest thing that has recently been uncovered to make my point is how one political party has sold their souls for thirty pieces of silver to protect a man bent on destroying our nation. During the impeachment inquiry we saw every single Republican representative in the hearings constantly referred to the 2016 election interference by Ukraine and the Biden’s. Then a day after the public hearings ended we found out that the Senate members were told in a closed door session with the NSA two weeks before the hearings began that Russia has been running a disinformation campaign to target Ukraine and the United States in order to cover their tracks over the 2016 election interference they perpetrated starting as early as 2014. Yes, before they knew who the candidates would even be. Just to sew discord and division in our country.
What does this mean? It means that the Republicans had knowledge of this prior to the hearings and STILL used the Russian talking points throughout the hearings.
To make matters worse, a group of Republican senators just met with the White House to plan the possible impeachment trial. Now for those of you who don’t know why this is absolutely horrific let me explain. The Senate is the jury in an impeachment process. Which means that jurors sat down with the accused (Trump) to plan a strategy to insure innocence for the accused. Or to put it another way, assume it was a murder trial and the jurors met with the accused murderer to insure his innocence. On top of this Trump’s White House is obstructing Congress by telling his cabinet members to ignore legal subpoenas, which has never happened in the history of this country.
What all Americans must understand is that every significant move Trump has made has benefited Putin. From attempting to create a back channel to the Russians before he even took office, abandoning the Iraq nuclear agreement, gutting the State Department, pulling troops out of Syria, spreading Russian disinformation campaigns, but the icing on the cake was when he stood in front of the entire world in Helsinki and took the side of Putin over his own intelligence services. It is no coincidence that six people (more to come) from his campaign are now indicted and serving time or awaiting sentencing.
All the above actions to any logical observer would indicate guilt. Anyone innocent of serious allegations like this would argue to defend himself in any way possible. Trump has done just the opposite and his co-conspirators (Pence, Pompeo, Perry, and more) have done likewise by refusing to testify. Again, anyone innocent would welcome the opportunity to do so.
And with all that said, I believe what I started this post with will come true. Trump will be the first dictator of the United States. Just like Hitler he attacked the press, stacked the courts, and really created his own party as the Republicans are no longer the party of Lincoln and Reagan. The Republicans have proven they no longer have a patriotic bone in their bodies. Every democracy has failed throughout the history of this planet. And nearly all of them failed from corruption within the ruling party. Ours will be no exception.
The first time set the stage
Before I had an age
When the doctor placed me in my mother’s arms
And she took my hands to count my fingers
The countless times my mom and dad
Held my hand to keep me safe
The countless times I reached out
For their hand to feel safe
Oh that first love, that set my heart aflutter
That nervous, anxious reach, praying she reaches in return
That galactic collision when hand touches hand
A great awakening by such a simple act
And through my life, I have been so fortunate
To have met true friends with whom a handshake is no simple gesture
It’s heartfelt, with deep intentions
Saying I’m always here for you
Oh that true love, the “I do” love
When her every breath breathes life into me
When every step, though they may be apart
Finds me holding her hand for dear life
And with each birth of my children, the cycle expands
Allowing me a greater comprehension and burning desire
To create, with just the touch of my hand
A world safe and bursting with love for them
I was so fortunate to be with my dad
When he chose to leave this earthly plane
When I sat beside him and held his hand to the end
Just to return the favor
And now I have come to understand
That my hands are not just tools
To play guitar, fix the faucet, write this poem
What I have come to realize, finally
With open eyes and open heart
That all my life I have lived in a world
Created by the simple act
Of holding hands
Humans, in our conceit
Concern ourselves over our lives’ legacies
In hopes of what we leave behind
Matters for prosperity’s sake
I think, like all things temporary
I will fade away in time
Become a picture on a hallway wall
That is viewed occasionally
Like a song that fades from memory
Or a poem that marks a moment in time
Like the autumn leaves that blow away
In the wind, thus I will become
Only love creeps through the halls
Of time and space
Reflecting my love that never fades
Just a shadow that haunts those I’ve touched
A legacy, I think not
Just a whisper in the dark
A cool breeze on a warm day
Perhaps a teary eye, and a smile
These I leave behind
Treasures with no measure
Their worth decided by
Those still open to my love
Engulfed by the sense of you
Gasping for each new breath
While my heart hastens
Towards the unknown
Engulfed by the scent of you
The essence of my euphoria
You are the culmination
Of my wildest imaginations
Engulfed by the vision of you
Spellbound by the spectacle of you
Astonished by my prosperity
You share your life with me
Engulfed by your love
That sweet, salubrious sentiment
Which you surround me with
In every moment of my day
Look around you. Take a hard look at the things you have surrounded yourself with. How much of it do you actually need? How many are simply tools for your own self-gratification? At what expense to others (not just humans) did it cost? Did you really need that leather coat, alligator shoes, ivory jewelry, or a million tech gadgets that humans are producing for slave labor incomes?
Lately, I have been reflecting on this and how my life has changed as I grow older and hopefully wiser. “Things” seem unimportant these days. They are empty vessels humans gather trying to fill a void in a life otherwise unfilled by what truly matters. They are not evil any more than they are necessary. But they often create an illusion of happiness.
Fortunately for me, I have been surrounded by love my entire life. From the minute of my birth to this very moment I am writing this post. This led to another self-awakening moment. Why me? Why doesn’t everyone know love like this?
Does it matter if you are born into wealth or poverty? I think not. Those born into wealth have definitive benefits, but none of them guarantee a life filled with love. Those born into poverty often have daily struggles that make life more difficult, but this does not preclude a life filled with love. Just what are the existential factors that allow a person to experience love as I have?
Well, I am just guessing here, but you can probably fill Albert Hall with the books written on this very thing. And I suspect most of them expound on their educated knowledge of such matters, but ultimately leave the reader feeling empty.
Here is the thing. Most humans spend a lifetime chasing love. As if it were just another “thing” one can purchase and put in a sock drawer. Too many think they found love as soon they have “purchased” it. They feel they have met certain conditions so now it’s okay to be in love.
Love is boundless, it can’t be constrained by any conditions Love surrounds us. It is in every thought we have, every emotion we feel, every molecule we breathe. You can’t touch it, see it, hear it with the measly human tools we have at hand. Love is easy. Yes, when we finally get around to making “the choice”, we become an open vessel that love pours through. When all conditions, prejudices, assumptions, and beliefs are dropped love can do its magic. There is no effort necessary to love or be loved other than simply allowing love to use you as an empty vessel. Like liquid through a sieve love must flow or it simply can’t be experienced. So, I guess my advice is simple for those desperate to have love in their lives. Stop searching for it, it already surrounds you. Open yourself to it. I simply got out of the way and let love use me. Ethereal, a shadow I become Every step seems an eternity Am I a boy of six What will I have left behind Images on photographs Perhaps a smile on my children’s faces But most importantly I leave behind So now it’s our time to fade away When did it all start to fade away The smile in your eyes And I know wherever I go No time for regrets The smile in your eyes So now it’s our time to fade away Placed upon a dusty shelf, there to lie As we grow older day-to-day A child’s love, so simple and pure So be silly and laugh, forget what you know. By desiring love you are placing a condition on it. Love is not a thing to be possessed. It is not an emotion to be felt. Emotions place conditions on love as well. If this is what you believe is love you have not experienced love.
The Shadow Of A Memory
Floating through sun and shade
A choir of pines serenades my senses
The breeze echoing each ghostly note
Now is the perfect place to be
Time reveals…the illusion it is
A solitary moment engulfs this lifetime
Or a man of sixty
Who can say – certainly not I
I am timeless, just a memory
Left Behind
When I leave this mortal plane
That means a thing or two
To anyone – old or new
That captured moments of my life
Now found in picture frames
That earns an occasional glance
A word or two on yellowed pages
Friendships that are not forgotten
That can bring a laugh over a beer or two
My heart-with the one I have loved forever
So one day she may find
Her way back home to meSo Now It’s Our Time
We’ve had some good times, we had our days
Lately, it seems it’s just been a dream
Smoke and mirrors, just some fantasy
Was it when our blonde turned to gray
Hey it’s all right, you’re by my side
It’s just another carnival ride
Has been my paradise
And the tears can’t disguise
The love that’s in your eyes
You’ll be there
Walking alongside me
With your blonde hair
Just lay beside me now
Engulf me in a sea love
As I leave this shore
Has been my paradise
And the tears can’t disguise
The love that’s in your eyesOr Seventy
Hidden behind the mask of age
Forgotten in their steel bar cage
Schemes of children fade away
Pursuing lofty heights of money and fame
While losing the point
Of playing the game
God’s greatest gift, a miracle cure
A simple point of view you see
Matters not if you’re one or seventy
Make room for all your love to grow
Dust off your shelves, awaken those dreams
Start living all those childhood schemes