Pushing

They’re gonna keep on pushing, pushing

Poke the sore spots.

Keep on poking, poking, poking

And they won’t stop.

You’ve got to let off steam now and then

They want to push you until you blow your top.

Let it out when it won’t hurt anyone.

Keep the lid in your control.

Anybody can poke

Anyone can blow

Some people like to stir the post

To see what kind of damage they can do.

They stir and poke and prod

Until the lid pops

Then they blame you for blowing

Even though they’re the ones who refused to stop.

For every kid who throws a tantrum or food

Every spouse who demanded to be fed

Everyone who ever complained because

Things didn’t go their way.

For every one who tweets and shouts

And acts like their word is superior

You’re not the only one here

Stop your poking, pushing, whining,

and just grow up.

Let Justice roll Down

Let justice roll down 

like water

From a dam

Held against its will.

Released when the threat gets too high

Like water 

From a waterfall

Breaking free,

Fed by rain and melting snow.

Streams, rivers, 

Flowing, rolling.

Drought

Is the natural barrier

Sun, too little rain,

And the rolling waters slow and stop.

Let justice roll down like water

Fed by human tears

And truths.

Let it be fed by mercy and compassion,

Rolling down, 

Quenching the thirst

Of those in need.

This isn’t the first poem about justice

or rolling waters

or justice rolling down like water.

Maybe if we write enough,

Sing enough,

Speak out enough,

Do enough,

Justice will roll

Down like water,

From the streams and rivers

To the sea,

And nourish the world.

Waiting

Waiting (at the convenience store)

Waiting for the rain to let up

so I can be on my way.

Lottery tickets in my bag

with some snacks and a bottle of Coke.

Just trying to get home.

Just trying to get by,

until the monthly deposit shows up

or a ticket wins me some cash.

Waiting for the downpour to slow to a drizzle

so I can walk home

without soaking my tennis shoes

or my walker rusting.

Waiting as puddles grow and the wind blows.

Watching as customers come and go.

I smile a hello,

They avoid my eyes.

Waiting for the storm to give me a break

Waiting for life to cut me some slack.

June 23, 2020

Hey Dad, Happy Father's Day

Hey dad, It’s Father’s Day so I just wanted to tell you,

I really do listen and take to heart the advice you give me,

Every time i ask, and even when I don’t.

I just need to see if my way will work,

Even though I know you’re almost always right.

I was thinking the other day about when you taught me to read.

I was a little behind.

You huffed and you puffed and the roof didn’t fall down,

And now I have a job where I am surrounded by books. 

When I needed a tennis partner, you helped me practice, a cigar in your hand.

I learned placement by not making you run.

Then there’s the trip to the hospital to X-ray my finger you thought for sure was broken.

It wasn’t.

You laughed on the way there, three sons, one daughter and who was the one with the basketball injury.

You liked Bing, Mom liked Frank,

Something I just found out.

All those years I didn’t know,

You like your music soft, slow, and sweet.

You’ve changed and adapted as the world changed around you.

“That’s the way way they do it these days, I guess.”

iPads, politics, health, mobility.

Calm and strong, upbeat in the midst of turmoil.

Now we can almost look eye to eye.

I worry that you don’t eat enough or get enough exercise.

You don’t let on that you worry about me, but I know you do.

You still do the research and give me advice.

Love is a word that isn’t easy for you to say.

We’re similar that way.

We feel deeply but nurturing words don’t come naturally..

You analyze, support, and are always there,

A rock.

That has weathered many storms.

And that’s just one of the things I love about you.

Photo Op

There’s our president with a Bible in his hand

His right arm lifted high

In front of a church he doesn’t go to for prayer.

Standing there looking somber

As the camera shutters click.

And memorialize the moment when

A president held a press conference 

Flanked by the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Officer,

A Press Secretary who should have known better than to schedule this,

And an Attorney General who ordered the police to clear protesters off the sidewalks and street

So the president could walk down the street  to stand with a Bible in his hand.

Insulting anyone who has ever worshipped in that church

Insulting the religious and pious, 

Who follow the words of Jesus,

Mocking us all.

There’s our president with his wife.

Today they motorcade across town

To pretend they are in solidarity with Catholics.

No need to have the police bully away a crowd,

Just a need to take a photograph,

To show his faithful a religious pose,

Rather than  his usual tweet storm.

Standing somber with his wife,

As the cameras memorialize another day without compassion,

Another day without empathy,

Another day in the march towards a soul-less America.

Where is our president when he is needed most?

Where is our president when the victim isn’t white?

Where is our president when the streets are filled with throngs who have no other way to be heard?

Where is our president when zealots use the moment to cause chaos?

Where is our president when the people of America need to heal?

Where is our president when the people of America need to look for ways to become a nation united instead of divided?

Where is our president when we need him?

He stands in front of churches that didn’t invite him.

He stands for the cameras.

He stands and clergy cringe at the use of their building as backdrops for his campaign photo.

Why can’t he show up for the conversation?

Why can’t he show up for the condolences?

Why can’t he show up and do what we expect and need a leader to do?

Just Breathe

Just breathe, they say

And it will be okay.

But I know better.

Breathing won’t make things okay.

Just because I’m breathing doesn’t mean

The problem is gone.

It’s still there.

And what about all those times,

I’m not allowed to breathe slow and steady,

Because someone is pushing or pulling

Or holding me down.

I can’t “just breathe” when I’m gulping for air to survive.

How about you work on you

And I work on me

How about you stop telling me how you would do things

And maybe offer to help instead..

How about you I tell you to “just breathe:

And you see how not okay it is

When someone chokes your throat

Or chases you down

Or treats you worse than they treat an animal.

Just breathe

And remember

I am a person too.

Inhaling, exhaling

Air

Just like you.

Thugs

If protesters are thugs then I was a thug today.

Along with several hundred peaceful people,

I walked.

I chanted.

I shouted.

I raised my fist.

I smiled under my face mask when the women near me tried to start their own chant,

VOTE.

And they laughed when I helped them time it just right.

Together we shouted VOTE after each phrase the crowd chanted.

Together we walked under the hot sun,

And talked about having done this before,

And why we do it again and again.

I walked,

We walked.

Together.

Back to a church,

Where a church security guard thanked me for coming.

Where people were hot and tired,

And hopeful.

We didn’t disturb the peace,

We carried signs .

We kept our distance due to COVID.

We listened to speeches.

We thanked police on motorcycles for stopping traffic in intersections.

If protesters are thugs then I was a thug today.

If all thugs were this peaceful we truly wouldn’t need police.

Hi Mom

Hi mom,

It’s me, your daughter.

It’s almost Mother’s Day and I wanted

to check in with you,

see how you’re doing.

Are you okay?

What’s your new place like?

Is it your style?

Are you comfortable?

Do you have a view,

Do you get to smell the flowers,

Listen to rock and roll,

Dance to the beat?

Do you still follow the news?

Do you have anyone to talk to?

Are you finally allowing yourself to relax?

There are some wacky things going on in the world.

I can only imagine what you would think if you were here.

I hate to tell you this, but Little Richard recently died.

It’s like an era is ending.

You don’t need to worry about us though.

We’re all okay.

We’re healthy and doing well.

We call each other quite often now,

just to talk.

I try to call Dad every day but sometimes I don’t remember until too late.

I know, I need to try harder.

Anyway, Mom,

No need to worry,

That’s my job now.

Relax and know

you did well.

I wish I had told you that before,

but sometimes the right words come too late.

And you know I was never good at saying what you needed to hear.

I hope you know at least I was thinking it.

It’s May and the sun is shining.

Happy Mother’s Day

We miss you.

I miss you.

Love, Susan.

Novel means new

In this case novel means new.

New virus,

New way of living.

New means people at home and businesses closed, 

Unemployment rates soaring,

Telecommuting becoming routine.

New levels of stress,

New levels of fear,

New levels of hunger.

While internet usage soars and computers freeze,

Some families go without news, without school, without food,

New levels of poverty for those already poor.

New feelings of loss for those who thought they were doing okay.

New debts, for people and governments.

New leaders rise and provide a voice of reason.

New reasons arise to doubt the mighty.

New numbers every day,

Tested, infected, dead.

New hospital beds in hotels, shopping centers, abandoned warehouses.

Novel means new and feels like fiction.

Safer at home is the new catch phrase.

Six foot distance is the new normal.

Face masks, newly made from cloth or paper.

New realization that no one is immune, 

No one is guaranteed of being safe.

Novel can mean new hope,

New ideas, new relationships,

New strengths, new heroes.

New ways to live,

New ways to become close without touching.

Novel means new,

New means the chance for creativity and will to beat adversity.

The novelty may be growing old,

But we are living the story,

And all of us are helping write the ending.

Better Days

My first attempt at a COVID-19 related poem or song. It started as a song but I haven't found the melody yet. Also not sure I like the order of the last two verses/stanzas.

Had a long day yesterday,

Work struggles and personal pain

So many people afraid, sick, dying.

Let’s hope for better days.

Kids playing, the grill is going,

Made it through another day

But the cloud of death keeps moving near,

Let’s hope for better days.

Searching for cures, reasons, and answers

Searching for supplies to stay safe.

Searching for the will to keep on going

Let’s hope for better days.

Better news, A better plan,

Better answers to stop this train.

You can wish or pray it will go away.

We all hope for better days.