Society
Got Your Goat
The 4-H program, Shasta County Fair
has reaped a world of trouble we just read.
A little girl asked them her goat to spare
but no, authorities wanted it dead.… Read more
The Presidency
José Mujica ascended to the presidency
and kept his three-bedroom bungalow
a stone’s throw from Rio De La Plata
in Montevideo gave nearly his entire
presidential salary to charity spent … Read more
American Gothic
after Grant Wood
She sits in her Adirondack chair
on the front porch of a summer afternoon,
overlooking the cutting garden
in her Confederate flag t-shirt
knitting shotgun shells with … Read more
Unpermitted Encroachments
(SF city notice to remove a Little Free Library from a sidewalk)
It’s what they call a feature story,
not mainstream news,
about the little free library,
not a building … Read more
Homelessness in Denver
Amidst the bustling streets, where life moves fast,
There walks a man who’s been living in the past.
With an intimate knowledge of Denver’s roads,
He’s spent eleven years … Read more
Welcome to Hustlers University
They insist he’s a hero, a champion of all men.
They insist his word is sacred, an oath to follow.
They insist
They insist
They insist.
They insist her word … Read more
Our Ukraine
The war in Ukraine, a tale of pain,
Mobilization, preparations for war again,
Initial engagements, battles fierce,
Crimea taken, hearts filled with tears.
Escalation, the fighting intensifies,
Separatists supported by … Read more
On Take-Offs and Layoffs
The news fuels take-offs – crypto rising, Southwest rebooking,
weapons trading, and lay-offs – alphabets, bladders, and cinemas
trending. The United States Supreme Court claims it’s unable to
identify the … Read more
Color of the Year ~ Viva Magenta
There are those washed-out days, ones my mom would
call the days of looking drained, colorless, as washed out
as bleached linen, the aftermath of sleeplessness and sadness,
the palette … Read more
Crypto: a new word for Ponzi (or Pyramid)
It’s right there in the name
if you’re capable of … Read more
Carrier of Souls
There is an owl who sits
on the shoulder of every man who takes his guns
into a nightclub, superstore, or anywhere
that life is for the taking.
When the … Read more
A Tale of Black Friday
In the early 1950s
on the day after Thanksgiving
kicking off the holiday season
there had been so many shoppers
in downtown Philadelphia
celebrating sale prices,
overflowing the streets
bunched … Read more