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Irises

Mockingbird


GROWING
We were green shoots
sprouting in the ravaged garden
but in blighted thickets, sinister as Iago,
our master gardener spitefully lurks,
setting his hateful traps;

which ensnare bear, deer, eagles
and rainbow trout; until,
all that?s most fair
is set up to fall
into great bloody pools of gore.

Now we watch, as fallen angels
slash shoddy fabrics,
marred garments
from his disgraceful store,
where everything?s rent and misshapen.

No amount of stretching
can straighten out, barbed wire shirts;
cunning snares entomb each kind act,
buried beneath vile black veils
in the open stinking sewers.

Warped trunks of twisted trees
bent toward the way?s rank ending;
burned by then blind malevolent eye
we sow fields in salt
our veins lacerated by razor ties;

brave dream, love enduring
such sinister fanatical flames,
but patience,
take refuge in my wound
that keeps growing and growing?.



IT WAS NIGHT
It was night, when I took the raft out.
The sky and lake were only a soft glow,
along the shore the firs made a dark, impenetrable wall.

We rode together in silence,
it was as if a glass partition separated us
and the only thing visible was your face
floating pale in the night.
I realized then that you were all I had in the World.

How odd that moment was
and the realization that we were alone on a raft together,
with an invisible barrier between us.

It was a critical moment for us,
on where we had to either reach out
to each other, or drift apart.

The funny thing was that there was nothing
to be said or done. All I could do
was wait and be there for you.

The water was cold and black and mysterious,
as the sunrise began a faint glow in the East;
soon, the entire Heaven was an alter
consumed by fire, my dream disappearing
like a drop of water in the vastness of the lake;

where I find myself sitting alone
absorbed by the great WOW!
Who is to say your not with me,
our time mingling together,
lost in a labyrinth of symbols,
as I write this poem to you..



IT SEEMS AS THOUGH
It seems as though
some one else lived
at the spacious resort
beside the Sunset?s fiery sea.

In the evening?s dim light
solemn shadows cast webs across the walls,
like primitive fantastic phantoms
in prehistoric igneous caves.

The silent stars that reeled above
the dark mirrored sea
mysterious and serious, whose highlights
were reflecting from your eyes.

The ocean murmurs mingled
with the sad, monotonous voice
of the fog horn. And, there we stayed
steeped in the voluptuous relaxation of vacation;

among the opal sky opulence and wandering waves,
where the right wing slaves
slyly offered their eager bodies,
surreptitiously behind your back;

whose decadent, eyes probed
as they lewdly exposed their raw desires;
and, where I grew weary of the tempest of their vices,
and retired, in a sublime solitude, to the sweet solace of your soft embrace.



SOME TIME OF THEE
We walked, refugees from the city,
through garden and arboretum
where I saw slow herded humans stroll
dark hulks on their grand tour:
golden grass crackled for their happiness.

The day was bright for gazing:
flickering fall foliage silhouetted
by sapphire skies where burnished clouds
drifted effortlessly; and little chickadees
arrived for my love?s delight.

Noon and shy shadows hide
while the comfortless glint of the Autumn Sun
smote my heart as thought it were an emerald green tree-
tender ignited by my love
into a cheerful blaze.

And so, we paced off the day
together, talking, through the crisp cold air
our excursion, where we still walk
beneath the razor sharp Sun?s cruel lacerations.
Until, the evening mists rose and devoured everything.



BLESSINGS
Yes, I Have been blessed,
with a place that was my own - a home.
A place where I made my stand,
if not here; and, blessed
with that special one,
who was my everything
my all in all;
one who I shared tome with,
one who even bears my name.

Having found myself surrounded
by such circumstances
seems to indicate a commitment;
you are putting down roots,
bonding with some one to love,
and creating a family of your own.
You become concerned with civic responsibilities,
you worry about the school and neighborhood
for the benefit of your kids.
The woman you love is your best friend.

To have experienced all of this and more,
is not to be forced into
a marrow little role
that binds you like mandarin feet,
as if what you settled for
clipped your wings, stinted and deformed you;
and, your better off not thinking about
the silent crowd of faceless strangers
gathering about your grave.



LEAVING THE MUSEUM
Leaving the museum, I step into the fading light,
leaves that had made golden carpets
lie in black plastic sacks stacked against
a colonnade of tree trunks that form
a living portico, where I walk like Zeno.
Surrounding the blocks are the old empty churches,
which are now only used on rare occasions
like funerals. Jesus, in the company of saints and apostles,
peers out from stained glass windows
through decades of accumulated dirt.

The skies lower and the wind picks up.
A machine bellows out of an open apartment window
the news in a disembodied voice,
to the people who sit around listening
in a state of suspended disbelief.
They?re faces are concentrated and brutalized,
like the guards who accompanied our Savior
to the cross in the pictures at the exhibition;
as if hypnotized, they strangely believe the nonsense
being screamed at them by the flat little
images depicted on the screen.

The scene struck me as epitomizing our consumer culture
where it is sinisterly repeated in isolated units
all across the city, the demonic spirit of our time
of all the induced paranoid hysteria whose opinions
are based on 3 minute sound bites and slogans.
It doesn?t matter how absurd what is being said is,
so long as its repeated often and confirms
what is supposedly already known -
even if its systematic misinformation.
The important thing is to relieve the listener,
from the hard work of thinking
and taking responsibility for what is being done.



SON OF TENNESSEE
Son of Tennessee, once V.P. of the U.S.
leader of this countries Senate
who lived both honorably and honestly
and helped make the land more prosperous and free;
until, the sad fraud surrounding the election 2,000
defeated him, as that dishonest ruling
in Washington, disastrous to liberty,
drove with deception that servant of the nation,
out of office though not out of our hearts,
where he presides over our thoughts
still striving to serve his country,
so well does his noble words and actions
benefit those of his fellow citizens who are honorable and decent.



DEATH?S HAND
to T.
When death?s hand touches your shoulder,
what will you have to give?
Will it be fraud and extortion,
or even worse?

As for me, I will give
the ripeness of time -

the fresh sprays of Spring mornings,
the sweet wine of Autumn sunshine,
and the divine mystery of Summer nights..

My honest and modest memories
carefully gathered through the years:
hours rich with life.

These will be my gifts,
when death?s hand touches my shoulder.




RUMOR MILL
Several of our gentle readers are wondering what in the World is the Rumor Mill?s purpose presenting these papers, when they feel secure and complacent in their daily routines. Why rock the boat? Now, if one follows their thinking, such as it is, they disdain any dissension; and, they, being arrogant minions of power, are confident that they will successfully herd everyone under their control. But, as for the Rumor Mill, it is because of this that it is nervous. The Rumor Mill suggests that we are experiencing the fate that falls to those who are subject to the yolk of tyranny, and, that some of our fellow citizens are also experiencing the dangers inherent in being a self proclaimed master, too.
Rumor Mill doesn?t doubt that many people are apathetic about our Liberties and Civil Rights, which form the foundation for our public welfare; and, that those who are concerned are so isolated and confused and feel so overwhelmed with futility that they fail to see what can be done about the dismal state that our nation has fallen to. For we are watching what was once the richest country in the World be exploited, and plunged, by the politics of terror, into utter confusion. And, as if being forced into a needless depression while our rights are stripped from us isn?t enough, we have been thrust into another phony war, to cover up the Radical Right?s public malfeasance, greed and incompetence, which we are supposed to stand united for. The Rumor Mill submits that this is the oldest political confidence game in the World.
And, it is only reasonable to expect that with the bogus script that is unfolding, in an exotic location and at tremendous public expense (this is better than the Roman Circus) we shall fare as we do; for nothing will turn out well for those who conduct public policy by plunder. It is interesting to note that even with the war effort these individuals have not been able to revive the economy. Think about how bad they have screwed things up for that to be the case, and how incompetent their performance has been for a war not to be able to improve the economy! This has got to be some kind of record. Even when the economy slowly starts to revive, for no business cycle?s negative phase lasts forever (in spite of the Republicans) we shall soon find our selves in a similar plight again, as anyone aware of economics and/or history can clearly perceive. Remember another Bush?s bogus war with Iraq, and now with Bush Jr. we are embroiled in another phony war in the Middle East. For when the Afghan government falls and our marines have saved those Taliban who were in the know and corruptible, and made sure those who were in the know and were honest are murdered, so as not to embarrass you know who; they will have failed to resurrect the American economy with another phony war. For we are not pursuing the appropriate broad based policies, which will properly deal with our economic affairs. However, the American public will have been given its scapegoat. History has repeatedly shown that vast armies and secret police have never brought about sustained prosperity and security; but, rather, honest policies that wisely govern do. For the heart and soul of a nation is nothing more than its freedom loving people. A people who have a respect for the divine rights of others, just as they would have their own rights respected. For it is this central axiom of conduct, which deliberates on all questions that seek to preserve equality and goodness while warding off oppression, corruption and disaster, which is being summarily ignored. Hopefully, we will remember that all members of society must fare well and not just a few at the expense of many; or, even at the expense of a certain few targeted victims. For, we will all fare ill, because of the inherent nature of the society, when subjected to tyranny.
And yet we are strangely apathetic to the fact that our once great nation has become oppressed and corrupt, nor do we consider how we can best redeem it. The cures for the ills to a Democracy are not more oppression; but, rather , more Democracy. Its true currently we sit around our T.V.s and denounce the present order and gripe and complain that never under a Democracy have we been worse governed; but, in our complacency we demonstrate that we don?t deserve the government and rights that our fore fathers gave to us as our legacy.
It is in favor of this Democracy and the Civil Rights of our fore fathers that the Rumor Mill is addressing. For the only way to avert future problems and deliver us from our present dismal state: is for us to re-establish the Democracy of Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Adams, and reaffirmed by Lincoln. A government that drove out the tyrants and established for the people a government that placed power in their hands, in such a way as to protect us from the abuses of power. The proof of this is the many great deeds accomplished by those who benefited from this constitution. A constitution that became the Mecca for all the freedom loving people of the World; and, by common consent the leader of the free World; instead of today, when those addicted to power have brought us to the state where we are the target of terrorists and hated by many groups of people, due to the radical right sponsored oppression. And yet, we?re expected to praise and support a government which is now causing so many evils and which is now free falling from crises to crises. How are we to escape, after this continuous barrage of disasters, the fear that by continuing in this way we will eventually wreck more disastrously than today!
But, before proceeding further, in order for you to make a better decision about our government, not based on the Rumor Mill?s allegations, but, one derived from careful, unemotional reasoning based on exact facts objectively placed in a meaningful context. It is advantageous, though extremely difficult, to be attentive to the misinformation of the radical right dominated propaganda machine, which the Rumor Mill will try to sort out.
For according to the Rumor Mill?s opinion, the radical right currently are the puppet masters who direct our government, and who have tried to establish an image that pretends toward impartiality and moderation, while in practice proving itself to be quite the opposite to those who live under its foul abuses. It has trained its field agents to arrogantly look on their insolent fanaticism as Democracy, their lawlessness as egalitarian, their propaganda as equality, and their license to do whatever it takes as happiness: when in fact what is needed is a government that truly is "one nation under God with liberty and justice for all". Not one that deserves to be detested and peopled by indolent individuals who deserve to be punished. A return to our fore fathers form of government, one which respects the rights of all its citizens while protecting them from the excesses and abuses of power will make all of its citizens better and wiser.
But, what contributed most to their good government was that they recognized the importance of the twin pillars of their polity Equality and Liberty. They did not fail to grasp the practical necessity that having a government where all received equal consideration was necessary to prevent corruption and protect their rights. And, that includes even those who you think are foolish, or those you disagree with. For even tyrants like Hitler and Stalin supported the rights of those that agreed with them. Our fore fathers also realized that their prosperity and happiness could best be realized by establishing and protecting their liberty. For without freedom, when one considers the great diversity of the human condition, how can one guarantee their prosperity and happiness; unless, one has the right to live their life according to the dictates of reason, rather than men, and in harmony with the nature of their beings to the extent that it doesn?t deny the same right to any one else.
Further more, they realized that the best way to elect officials wasn?t by buying elections. Rather, they reflected carefully on what the respective candidates records were and what positions they took on substantive issues. Instead, of buying offices with a flood of money, and purchasing power with slick commercial campaigns filled with lies and vague promises. The reason why their way was better is self evident; they had learned that virtue was better than vice, truth was better than deceit, and the beneficence of industry and thrift. They didn?t neglect their own business and property, and conspired against the goods of others, and to not benefit privately by fraudulently conspiring to raid public funds like Medicare and Social Security; but, rather, to benefit the public with sound economic policies.
Our fore fathers had determined that the people should be the supreme power in the land, not special interests and faction. Further, they resolved to have a fair judiciary not an echo or ideological clone, and those that failed to do their duty were quickly called to account. Look at the caliber of the of the citizens who with sufficient means had adequate time to devote themselves to the care of the country as servants of the people, and not masters of the herd whose primary concern is how to exploit it. The choice is very clear. How can we find a Democracy more stable and more just than that of our fore fathers. One which lasted the better part of 200 years. One which elected the most capable citizens, who were responsible for the management of their affairs while the citizens maintained their authority over the government officials.
Such has been the Constitution of our great country, and this is why we?ve witnessed in the day in and day out conduct of public business proprietary conduct and justice; for when the citizens establish a solid foundation for public business, then the entire nation reflects in their in their personal lives the character of their government. First, their conduct towards God was one of much tolerance and great respect. They didn?t engage in the blasphemous usurpation of divine rights. Their only concern was to not harm any institution of their fore fathers and to not introduce anything new and dangerous and not proved by custom, believing that reverence consists, not in extreme fanaticism but in careful observation and mutual respect of the gifts of God.
In like fashion they governed their relations with each other. For not only did they agree about respecting the rights of each other, but they united in good will toward the management of public business. Also, in their private life they demonstrated the same degree of consideration for each other, which naturally comes from people who are good and decent citizens. They pursued public policies that benefited everyone from the poorest to the most wealthy, realizing that factional policies exploit the many for the benefit of a few; while, sound policies that promote and develop wealth?s interests guarantees that the interests of the poor will improve, too. They comprehended that if the judiciary were not fair then the wealthy would stop investing and prosperity would be impaired for everyone, with the poor being hurt worst of all. They experienced the double benefit, which should appeal to all honest people, of helping their fellow citizens, while promoting their own prosperity. The consequence of honest dealing was that they were honorable, property was secure to those who rightfully owned it, while property rights were enjoyed by all most everyone.
The citizens were not spied on from early childhood up, in an effort to stamp out dissent. Rather, they were taught to be free and to respect the personal and property rights of others, and to be responsible for their own conduct and to understand the importance of a good name! Judas and Jezebel were not considered good role models. It was not necessary to institute prohibitions and open the floodgates of problems those policies always produce, for our fore fathers strongly emphasized virtue and moderation. They understood goodness never can come from compulsion, for those things which should universally be embraced need not be mandated, and those things which should not be embraced ought not to be compelled: this is specially true today, with the virtual reality subliminal technologies. They believed that virtue is not furthered by written laws but by every day behavior; for most people incorporate the manners and morals that they grow up with. Further, they believed that government was best which governed least, for laws should be designed to protect the individual in their persons and property. A multitude of specific laws is symptomatic of bad government, because it erodes the rights of its citizens; and while it may attempt to prevent crime that can best be accomplished by instilling in the souls of a nation?s citizens the cherished belief in justice, liberty and equality. It is not by legislation that these things are accomplished but by morals, and, so our fore fathers directed their efforts at not devising penalties for violators of laws, but they strove to develop citizens who wouldn?t commit infractions. They tried to provide opportunities and training to develop devotion and honest employment; for that is the best way to direct individuals to become good and productive citizens, and to make the nation prosperous and free.
However, its obvious that what?s needed is a wide base of prosperity. For then, when we?ve educated our youths to become high - minded and employable it will become apparent to them through their own observations that industrious people prosper, while their idle counter parts become reduced to poverty. And, poverty is the nursery of crime. Unfortunately, the sound economic policies that promote prosperity and benefit everyone and are prerequisite for a safe country are not compatible with the radical right?s exploitive economic policies that are directed towards constricting wealth and their own private factional gains. Liberty is important because it provides people with an efficient means to translate economic prosperity into personal happiness. For without happiness mere prosperity makes no sense, and life becomes like the bird that lives in the proverbial gold cage.
Its because of these time proven truths that our fore fathers lived in such security and enjoyed their homes and possessions; and, benefited to the extent that they did from God?s greatest gift: LIBERTY! Until, they became the richest nation and were blessed with the highest standard of living in the World, in sorry contrast to today, with the Republicans demonstrating a dwindling commitment to education and job training, and providing us with the most unfair health care system in the World and the worst heath care system for children in the industrial World. In fact we are only one of two nations that does not have a universal public health system in the industrial World. Environmentally, a city in the home state of our Pres. is the most polluted place in all North America. And, once again under Republican leadership, we find our standard of living plummeting.
Rumor Mill hopes that in spite of everything you and yours will have a healthy and happy holiday and that the new year realizes all of your dreams.




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