Monday Morning Musings:
“Fear makes for good servants
and bravery is fraudulent”
–Jim Harrison from “Vows”
The timeless lies
of dictators grappling for power
smiling for the crowds
insisting they are making things better
demagogues feeding the fears
firing them into fury
so that they erupt
like a volcano
spewing lava into the air
to flow over
those people–
criminals
rapists
bad hombres–
them,
those people who take your jobs,
and ravish your women,
animals
not fully human.
We’ve seen this before
but that doesn’t happen here
that’s all in the past
in countries far away.
We thought we were safe,
more enlightened now
(to separate parents and children)
we’re not
paralyzed by fear and indecision
numbed by the normalization
of Twitter rants
but evil has only been buried
in a shallow grave
waiting to crawl out
like zombies
eating brains
and souls.
But when to fight
and when to escape in flight?
Do we leave at the first sparks
from the volcano,
or wait till it erupts?
My daughter’s friend goes out for bread
finds herself wind-whipped with ash–
falling from the sky.
Sudden changes–
like the storm clouds that break
for sunshine
and for a night
when we can sit outside with friends
to enjoy a concert
watching children dance in the green grass
in innocence and joy
but
the storm clouds return
and we sit inside
procrastibake
and watch TV
Mixed-berry Crumble
we go to a wine festival
sampling wine
until the wind kicks up
and it is too cold and blustery to sit outside
so, we come home
to sip
inside again
watch an old movie about war
and bravery and morality
where the coward becomes the war hero,
but when is fighting necessary
how do we stop evil
without glorifying war?
I have no answers–
but know that questioning must continue–
the press, the poets, the artists
truth and artistic vision
The Post and Guernica–
the light in the darkness,
that is bravery, too
and when
the rain falls,
hard rain
forming puddles
where little girls see rainbows
not guns
stop
look up
sigh
breathe a cloud
blush a breeze with joy
over our universe
and use soft rhythm
to time the thing—
eternity
it sails
a vast cool ocean
I’ve linked this to Jilly’s Day 4 of her 28 Days of Unreason using the poetry of Jim Harrison. And the Oracle added the message at the end.
Don’t forget to vote! One person and one vote can make a difference.
