I am reminded of
the many things I take
for granted.
I have soap and water,
as much as I like,
I have books and outside
sources of information and entertainment.
I have communication,
I have windows
to look out any time I want.
I have room to move, to walk, to drive, to breathe.
I have community and
I have privacy.
I also have
a warning.
We need to take back
the old stories,
the fairy tales,
the nursery rhymes.
Crow, Bear, Wolf –
they are not the ones to fear.
Fear the man who wields the ax.
I wander up and down stairs
not sure where to go,
what to do.
The walls and ceiling close in.
I am insubstantial,
nearly a ghost,
though I still leave footprints
on the dirty floors.
I am hungry.
Would you give me a fish?
This is a quadrille (44 words exactly) written for https://dversepoets.com/2025/07/28/quadrille-228/
Musk-rat was cyberbullied
off the interweb (yesterday?).
This should not make me happy
yet, I find a smile
when I see my face reflected
in my phone screen
That’s the problem
well, one of the problems,
with bullies,
unless you’re very careful
they turn us
into the very thing
that’s so awful
they turn us into bullies too.
Of course another thing about this particular bully, and his orange sidekick, is that their bullying is killing people, killing a country, killing a planet.
Things are changing
quickly.
There is much I need to learn,
but even more
to remember.
I must remember
things
that have past,
lessons from early
in my life, and before my life.
I must remember
that Nazis are bad.
I must remember that
great civilizations take
care of their most vulnerable,
and keep predators away.
I must remember these things
from the past,
because
things are changing
quickly.
My country is being taken over
by fascist, racist, sexist idiots,
and just over half its citizens
are apparently fine with that.
DC Barbie comes on tv
and scolds reporters
for saying bad things about
the abomination administration
She says their words are illegal, lies, wrong.
Dear George,
Who knew 1984
would unfold in 2024?
It was meant to be a warning,
not a blueprint.
I weep for my country
and the other half of us
trying to live decent,
compassionate, sane lives.
How can so many humans be so utterly inhumane?
Do you label me?
Should I label you?
Do you label yourself too?
I must admit, sometimes I do
Are you
Perishable?
Fragile?
are your
Contents Under Pressure?
or perhaps you are
Highly Flammable
or even, perhaps
Toxic?
What I need you to know
about me,
about us all,
never forget to
Handle With Care
Resistance is
voltage divided by current,
but for us to make our resistance
effective
we must be united.
AI,
I don’t want a copilot
when I write,
ever.
You can
clean my house,
wash my clothes
maybe even do my taxes,
But do not “help” me
when I write.
While I will gladly
(though guardedly)
take suggestion after,
while I write
its just me,
my thoughts
and my feelings.
So go away
AI
Eclipse – day becomes night
nature goes silent
people stand in
wonder
this darkness
has the power to stop us,
make us consider forces beyond
We are reminded
we are part of something
greater
than our society,
our technology
In the dark we are one
This is linked to dVerse where Punam asked us to write a quadrille, or 44 word piece, including some form of the word, “darkness”.
In Other Words 