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Posts Tagged ‘truth’

Bag of Wind

Posted in poetry, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 30, 2024| 1 Comment » 

“You can't make something true just because you really want it to be.” 
― Carlos Wallace, Life is not Complicated, You Are

Bag of Wind

Wind lifts a white plastic bag
and carries it with 
bat-swift gusts from the street 
to the branches of a tree.

The bag appears to be
moving on its own, breathing, 
mimicking a 
living creature.

An illusion. I think
about people fed
hot, even dangerous air,
led to follow the whims

of a narcissist who claims,
“I will be there,” words made of
vague promises. A breeze arrives
and lifts the bag to a sharp branch.

Misled followers leak air.
They blame enemy design.
I pray the truth saves all. 
Before the tree dies.



 poem originally published in For a Better World 2021

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Bag of Wind, a Poem

Posted in inspiration, tagged , , , , , , , on July 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »

The narcissist mentioned in the following poem is obvious.  However, it could refer to many dangerous historical figures. The following quote presents a massive challenge.

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

 Bag of Wind

 

Wind lifts a white plastic bag

and carries it with

bat-swift gusts from the street

to the base of a tree.

 

The bag appears to be

moving on its own, breathing,

mimicking a

living creature.

 

An illusion. I think

about people fed

hot, even dangerous air,

led to follow the whims

 

of a narcissist who claims,

“I will be there,” words made of

vague promises. A breeze arrives

and lifts the bag to a sharp branch.

 

Misled followers leak air.

They blame enemy design.

I pray the truth saves all.

Before the tree dies.

 

 

previously published in For A Better World

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Peace Recipe, a Poem

Posted in inspiration, tagged , , , , , , , on June 18, 2022| Leave a Comment » 











Peace comes from being able to contribute the best that we have, and all that we are, toward creating a world that supports everyone. But it is also securing the space for others to contribute the best that they have and all that they are. (Hafsat Abiola)

Peace Recipe
Set spirit temperature at warm.

Forgive. Inside and outside
the home receptacle. Sprinkle awareness.
Listen for minor changes and slow cook.

Watch the product, not the clock.
Peace can be both served and recreated
as ingredients intermix. 

Add truth and blend it with patience,
an uneven, unpredictable process.

The mixture is as necessary 
for an effective final product
as oxygen for breathing.
Water for life.

Allow contents to simmer, open-lidded. 
Take care. Hate enters and boils 
when placed in a closed pot on high flames. 

When the recipe is
denied by someone or something, 
begin again. Vent excess heat
in a safe environment.

Practice the recipe and serve daily 
without expecting instant satisfaction.

Peace development can take many forms.
It can be the yeast in bread dough
in another family’s house. 

Let it rise where it can.
And know you are part of the core
of world change. 
 

published in For A Better World 2022

					
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The Ugly Mood Storm, Fantasy with a Dose of Real-Life

					

					Posted in book review, inspiration, tagged , , , , , , , ,  on July 30, 2021|
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The Ugly Mood Storm


Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)


The problems Chase and his friends face in The Ugly Mood Storm, mimic difficulties the pandemic has highlighted. Distrust. Closed minds. Misinformation. The fantasy was ready for publication just before the disease exploded across the planet. Unfortunately, a distanced world where author and reader could not meet, was not the time to introduce a new book. The paperback and eBook are now available. The lexicon is manageable for fourth to sixth grade students. 


In the Ugly Mood Storm, no ordinary storm has hit Bench Springs. It’s evil. Its job is to make town citizens destroy one another. The Malefics have created a constant, magical, thunderstorm. It forces residents to stay inside the town’s limits where they fight among themselves. Logic is lost someplace inside an unopened dictionary. 


Fights arise about nothing, flip-top phones, or the only downtown traffic light. A busy League spirit hides bullets from all the guns in town. The sun never rises. Chase and his Star League friends need to tackle the untouchable, the impossible, and the foul. Ugly moods affect every man, woman, and child who needs air to breathe. It is poisoned by the unnatural rain.




The Malefics sit back, relax, and watch. Let the people destroy themselves. Yet, the Star League kids know there must be a flaw in the plan. Somewhere. They must find a win for the Star League because the series ends on the last page. With truth. In a solid-story form.


The complete tale begins with book one, The Curse Under the Freckles, where Chase learns that only he can remove the curse that holds his magical powers hostage. But the fight does not involve weapons. It asks for much more. 


The adventure continues with Stinky Rotten Threats as Pitch Hardside, kid Malefics member, makes his move to become a stronger and more grownup vicious leader. Pitch isn’t at big-time-curse level yet, but he creates a well-placed stink that could keep Chase and friends from entering their own safe quarters. Not bad for a preteen. Also, not the end of his story.


Now, during the last pages of the journey, a strong dose of truth appears. A tangible kind of honesty. May it leak into the real world.   


(Cover art by Philip Rogers)




 


 

					
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Woundedness and Light

					

					Posted in inspiration, tagged , , , , , ,  on January 14, 2021|
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The wound is the place where the Light enters you. (Rumi)




The mission. To fill aching cracks. In people with warring views. In the world. With glue that connects more than bones or moments. With one glue known as truth, another known as love.


Should be, words as vacant as a cup with no bottom. Who owns the should-be privilege? A limited few or a diverse population? A political circle or a world team? Violence at the Capitol Building in Washington DC. Because an angry mob wanted a different leader. How did it help? 


Destruction, obvious. Wounds, untouched, made deeper. 


Light. May it find a way to reach universal suffering.


 





					
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