Truth Hurts
Mascara streaks
on expressionless faces
punk-metal fills the air
a swarm of pierced humanity
hits the mosh without a care
Rabbit holes of red-hot coals
their world spinning on a string
empty souls dance to Dave Grohl
life to them, a fling
Rubber necks on double decks
Russian missiles fill the skies
distant fires from funeral pyres
the flames flicker in their eyes
Tattered seams on crocheted dreams
slip knot future up ahead
poisoned streams and noiseless memes
They’ll dance until their dead
Mar-a-Lago’s a henhouse
guarded by foxes
with top secret files
in taped cardboard boxes
Classified docs
spread all over the floor
fodder for felons
trying to even the score
Millions of lost souls
and Q-cultist bigots
they lap up the lies
from electronic spigots
Looking for purpose
while grasping at straws
praising their savior
despite all his flaws
Empty of knowledge
full of deep longing
Q fits the bill
and their need for belonging
Fingers raised up
they sing and they sway
“The storm is-a-coming”
and so’s judgement day
Engaged in a story
which casts them as heroes
too dumbstruck to know
that they’re dancing to Nero
drinking the Kool-Aid
they’re dope-sick on Q
freebasing lies
and shouting fuck you
There’s fear in not knowing
how this will end
how far Q is going
to strongly defend
the lies of a con man
unwilling to bend
Don’t you ever get so tired
of all the bullshit in the air
Politicians always wired
pretending that they care
Don’t you long to get inspired
get this train back on the track
Aren’t you sick of being mired
in never forward always back
We’re in need of revolution
a youth-led promise towards a day
when our leaders represent us
without their interests in the way
Aren’t you tired of being berated
your world twisting on a string
all the truths interrogated
while the lies go on to sing
Band together to form your power
march into the voting booth
Turn the day into your hour
cut down the lies and raise the truth
When did it become Ok
In America
for snickering governors
to play politics
with the lives of tired
and desperate human beings?
When did the light
from that shining city
on the hill
become a trick candle?
When did America
erect its Darwinian dome
of indifference towards
the tired and the suffering?
When did we drift from the
Give me your tired and poor
to a cold and callous
Let me show you the door?
When did we
start to fear and hate
the huddled masses
detesting them
while casting a cold
and stony shoulder?
When the humane
treatment of others
takes a backseat to
cheap political stunts
it’s time to look at
the soul of our nation
In the alleys of your heart
In the backstreets of your brain
from the constant buzzing beltway
under rusted lock and chain
In the pain inside your sternum
the boiled marrow in your bones
lurks an ever-growing darkness
over jagged rocks and stones
In black valleys of depression
and the not so grand delusions
In a vice grip of obsession
In your manic-plagued illusions
With a never-ending stipend
of more than you can bear
an abundant over-ripened
softened fruit
of deep despair
An undefined sad solitude
that something is amiss
always on that taunting edge
of that welcoming abyss
an open-ended sadness
a journey never-ending
exhausted by the battle plan
of constantly pretending
You’re looking for an exit
a respite from the black
An offramp from the sadness
a train that jumps the track
“I can’t believe he did it
I can’t believe he’s gone
no one truly knew
the darkness of his dawn”
Silhouettes and shadows
blurred pictures on the wall
we stumble towards the gallows
our walks fall into crawls
People start to gather
they’re screaming at the sun
hollow eyes and sunken cheeks
blinded, crippled, stunned
Cracked and hardened landscapes
fires all around
sunbaked souls
are full of holes
no water in the ground
Empty silos bellow
a sorrow fills the air
we turn to face our fellow man
to discover he’s not there
Trees that thirst for water
burnt poppies in a field
a loss of social order
a weakened faith revealed
The warning signs were present
we looked the other way
the climate climbed
and mankind fell
now we scramble for the shade
Souls too weak to whisper
our words fold into prayer
the dead feed off the living
and dust becomes the air
His alarm goes off a 6:45 AM.
He looks wearily from his pillow across the room at his desk, where two monitors and a Mac sit framed by a window that overlooks the side yard of his 3 bedroom, one-and-a-half bath cape.
He lays in bed with his dog for another 15 minutes, scratching her behind the ear. Finally, he lets out a heavy sigh before rolling over, sitting up, and lowering his feet to the floor.
His 11-year-old Pitbull watches sleepily, yawning and stretching across the center of the bed. He turns to give her one more pat on the head, and her tail thumps the mattress in warm appreciation. Then she lowers her head and closes her eyes. She’ll sleep another hour before heading downstairs to begin her day.
He heads down the staircase from the upstairs bedroom, emptying into the sun-splashed kitchen. It’s one of the things he likes most about the house, but he’s not sure why. He gives this some thought and concludes it’s the practicality of going from a room where sleep still clings to you to a room where the coffee pot awaits. That design makes perfect sense.
“That must be it,” he mutters to himself.
He gets the coffee pot going immediately. He opens the French doors from the kitchen to the cement patio overlooking the yard. The grass is still wet from the morning dew; he walks out, sits on a patio chair, and waits for the coffee to finish brewing.
He starts to rethink why he loves the idea of a staircase connecting the kitchen to the upstairs bedrooms, which has nothing to do with coffee and sleep. He thinks the design decision harkens back to simpler days when the kitchen was the hub of family activity. And even though that was long before his time, the idea of it sits well with him.
In another hour or so, he’ll be back upstairs at his computer, looking at emails and preparing for meetings.
He can’t wait for the day when sitting on the patio is not a prelude to work but rather an interlude to a day without plans or schedules.
Facebook and Snapchat
YouTube and Tik Tok
Lost boys on Reddit
Black sheep
from the same flock
Millions of followers
with no one to lead
a whole generation’s
collective brain bleed
Communally living
in woke echo chambers
dimwitted dice-throwing
zombie-like gamers
Vid links and jpegs
the shallow and vain
everyone jumps on
the “look at me!” train
Looking for meaning
in meaningless places
we screen-scroll bikinis
and beautiful faces
With eyes gazing downward
we all barely see
the world of the living
our humanity
More connected than ever
yet still isolated
we’re captive less active
we’re chained and we’re gated
Networked in sorrow
we borrow from pain
we search for tomorrow
with nothing to gain
We touch screens and tap links
but don’t touch each other
we sniff around porn sites
for sexy stepmothers
Adrift in the wireless
we’re glued to the cam
tireless voyeurs
we wolve for the lamb
Fame is potent nectar, and in America particularly, we crave fame more than any other country.
In America, millions believe that celebrity or notoriety can help one overcome a life that feels empty or seems meaningless. There are television shows that celebrate and glorify instant fame. Some social media platforms provide the false promise that all anyone needs to achieve fame is a webcam and an account.
And when attempts to capture fame crumble and the realization that fame by talent or artistry is unreachable, some Americans reach for the gun.
Because in America, a gun is always within reach, and with it, fame and notoriety.
Many people are angry today because a constitutional right that’s been in place for more than 50 years and widely supported by the vast majority of Americans was overturned by five conservative justices, three of which were appointed by the most corrupt president in U.S history.
The court’s decision does not align with what most Americans believe and want regarding bodily autonomy and healthcare for women.
So, what to do?
Well, for the 2022 midterms, we need to become single-issue voters and do whatever we can to get like-minded individuals to become single-issue voters, and then VOTE!
Vote against any candidate who supports the Supreme court’s decision to do away with a woman’s right to choose.
It’s important to remember the court’s decision does not make abortion illegal. Instead, the decision says the constitution no longer protects a woman’s right to an abortion. It’s now up to individual states to decide whether abortion is legal or illegal. A woman raped in Missouri might be criminally liable if she tries to terminate her pregnancy in that state. But if that same woman crosses the border into Illinois, her right to terminate her pregnancy is fully protected and legal.
The ruling to overturn Roe will disproportionally affect poor women. Keep your eyes peeled for organizations that will connect women who live in states where abortion is illegal to services in states where abortion is legal — and then support these organizations by donating money and volunteering. Help these organizations provide transportation and a safe place to stay for those who don’t have the means to secure resources on their own.
bendingtheneedle