Life is survival through trauma

austerity is exactly the wrong 
tactic

at every level of economics
to do better, to grow into 
abundance, we ought to be raising 
ourselves, all of us, with every 
advantage to be and do what is 
best for all of us

'''

people equate communism with socialism 
with those ill-named National Socialist 
type dictatorships
real communism was practiced by the
Israeli kibbutzim, by some areas where 
local businesses are worker owned, by 
classic tribes, where the economy is 
created and for the benefit of labor

'''

Outside
 
 
Lake so dark
I can’t see into it
Stars sparkle through
the New Moon sky,
as clouds roll by like
shadow spirits.
Quiet, simple.
No life, nor conflict.
 
Meaning, that quality grasp as sensation
matures into sense.
Sudden wet wind requires response.
I turn
back, front, crouched down
into my self-made shelter.
Why am I not safe in a sumptuous
room, exploring pleasure?
Consciousness quotes:
“That was another stream,
a dream not taken.”
No road enters here —
circle closed, unyielding.
Stories, dwindling candles, flicker.
Deep wealth of conjured warmth.
My fingers draw ritual from
patient water.
Sensation condenses.
Sense evaporates.
Scent of  breath.
Taste of wandering wind.
Wet, dark, silent.
Outside of meaning.

'''

opening into a sunshine day
voices singing pure true feelings
what a wonderful way to pray, 
to share our outpoured song

'''

What happens happens
It's up to use to deal with
what it does to us
That is what life is
An oh so simple lesson
applied again and agaIn
When will it sink in,
become my shadow friend?

'''

All those nameless, faceless
people with real lives
out there, making my life
possible

'''

Love is the best feeling
And I'm not talking about
sexuality euphemistically
I'm talking about connection
-- deep attunement,
no matter the mundane
differences,
or samenesses;
fully embracing the reality,
the necessity
of our combined essence
'''
Only money matters.
And money is but
a rich man's fantasy,
a weapon for submission,
for ruined lives,
for destruction
of all that is real

'''
L

ife is survival
through trauma
We are none promised
peace,
or owed at all

'''

Nothing's been taken
Nor am I somehow to blame
No promise forsaken
Just the luck of the Game
No personal vendetta,
nor lack of stamina, any
excuse for flagellation
or shame
(Where do we learn that 
need to make ourselves
in charge, destroyer
without method or motivation)
So it's all run down
(except for the obvious "karma"
of wrongs made right)
Why should any of it require
continuity?
Who we are or were or
mean to be, more question
than path.
Try to bamboozle with math
Try to ensorcel with magic
Yes, the news is tragic
Yes, this news is here and now
It's not as if we have the tools,
had the truths or forethoughts
to prevent this.
Except, of course, for the obvious!
We are but fools,
and that is who we're meant
to be.  Whatever more we
yearn for,
that is our responsibility.

10/25-11/14/26

decades of changes

we need drop in centers 
with volunteers who are kind, 
caring people with extra time 
to give genuine attention to all who enter

if the disease people are dying of
 is loneliness, 
perhaps the help needed is not medical, 
but social



perhaps the people who need to make 
these calls are neighbors, caring people 
with extra time, old folks looking for 
new friendship adventures?

the way to get money out of politics 
is to make it irrelevant
Vote, and also Volunteer 
to be a strong voice for democracy

how about we stop dividing ourselves 
into categories for hating?
how about we look at another person 
and see humanity writ large, the place 
where we all belong, working together 
to better our lives instead of wasting 
our precious human lives 
in fantasy wars?



we, all of us who live within societies, 
deserve that there be no poverty
it is not only the potentially impoverished 
who suffer from that lack of basics, 
but all of us who get to live within that fear, 
who get to live within impoverished places 
and the associated ills, who get to feel those 
reverberations throughout society, the cruelties, 
hungers, desperation, spread  of untreated 
illnesses, fewer customers for what we sell, 
wasted lives that might have been 
spectacular




 people in good health, well-educated, in stable, 
health-promoting environments means better 
workers/leaders/citizens/families/neighborhoods/lives 
much less costly than allowing social problems to fester



seems to me, when we fail to call out 
and demonize, or even normalize, or even 
congratulate bad (hurting others for fun) 
behaviors, we ARE ruining those young men’s 
lives horribly — 
taking from them what could be good lives 
of true morality and compassion, positive 
relationships and such



I want to ask:
All of these innocent, good, precious 
human lives destroyed for the sadistic entertainment 
of wealthy megalomaniacs — is this who you choose 
to elect, promote, worship, strive to become, are?

Why shouldn't I
while away, wander
pretty pictures in my head
Instead of angry or sad,
luxuriate in pleasure
only imagination provides



I am not who I was
those stories fading into
competition with fantasy
I have no picture in my mind
of that me I might be
No reason, apparently for
notice by those busy with
stories of their own
No desire nor need for
responsibilities to people,
or even ideals, giving
nothing to me
Self-appreciation to be
real, meaningful
can not be reliant on 
the kindness of strangers
or the sad remembrance
of unkind friends

Stories are consolidated
knowledge -- a way of making
knowledge real

I like to solve problems,
answer questions
find the answer within
the question
at the problem's core

Of course you want your
women unconscious
so they won't know what
a terrible lay you are

They are the stars that guide me
through this vast unmarked expanse

I believe what I believe
based on insubstantial memories
After all these decades of
changes -- this is who I am
today

10/8-23/26

human perversity

Screaming in the wilderness
where none listen
No one hears over their own 
silent screams
each alone
unaware
of all these others screaming,
scurrying
every precious human moment
in service to the Man, the Masters
who dare not allow us the time,
the leisure from survival pressures
to get together,
offer ears and mind,
learn, then teach our,
all of our children, to be kind,
even wise.


Have Fun
Enjoy every day,
twilight, night
of your precious human life


Important to be part of
what we see every day,
extending out the directive of
our value -- to connect


Humanity is a very big tent
We ought to have everyone we
need to succeed
Those up top organize the rest
of us to do the work they require
for their profit and power
Why aren't we organizing for
ourselves, to provide what each
and all need, then create from
our imaginations for fun?
Do the labors of
organization
appeal or lead to
megalomaniac ideation?
Are we so much more compelled
by defensive hate, explosive
irritation, that cool rush of power
that cruelty can bring?
They say:  "Hurt people hurt people"
yet, clearly not all hurt will pay it
forward; not all bullies were bullied.
I say we all have the capacity 
to suck.  But we can pay aware
attention, and become more kind.



The primary person your hate hurts
is you -- then ripples into the souls
of those you love, who care.
That vicious dark red sword of
inflammation burns your
ruminations, deceives your 
blaming heart, allows it to
shrivel, become one stabbing beat
impelling violent ideation
that overwhelms what could have
been -- your precious human life.



 Open to the potential positive
possibilities of panhuman
mutual appreciation
of each and every one for
exactly who we are, our essential
part of our potential
positive possibilities for us all

Keep your feral fear until it
dissipates, reactivates as love.



Hate is a reaction, a barrier
against pain



Politics does not require lying,
disinformation.  Its proper
foundation is to acknowledge
differing ideas of what the people
need.  Effective political speech
ought be true and clear, that
differing choices be well considered
Obfuscation, deceit, are not politics,
but cutthroat competition


A lifelong connection
revealed on meeting



It's too ubiquitous
The Horror
every day tragedies of cruelty, of humanity
proving our illness, our deadly debauchery,
escalating the companionship of misery
of the bad we do each other
becomes too much to see




Our human world seems tugged between 
our urgent need for connection, and our 
desperate fears, for some of violence, 
or rejection




people are complicated
for some our art is the best of us 
and can be appreciated for its beauty 
and emotion despite the ugly callousness 
often found in the artist



the revolution will not be artificial


Tears in silence

The future has no substance
The past cloys, tumbling images charged
and sent forward to slaughter
over and over
None to take in, to comfort
Harsh, sharp streets; frozen skies
Fog-draped feathers arise, batter
blood-shot eyes, as if this foolish
fantasy carries the weight
to crush
Decades under suffocating rubble
From above, hints and rumors warn,
Stay:  it's worse up here
Flutters of fear smile, sting
keep anxious guard
This now gapes like a wild presence



It's a myth
a good one, Mama
Of magic that gives and protects
no matter the nattering miseries
we believe are the boss of us



I get it
It's just a lovely fantasy
to indulge in
nothing that might impinge
upon ugly reality



Good times are boring
We want drama!


What is precious about a human
life?  Is it free will -- though
actions so often far from free?
Yet, we still get that exquisite
torture, knowing who we believe
we could be gets thwarted from
any chance by rubbish circumstance,
faithless fate.
Turning each page, again and again
Maybe this time the chapter will end
with my mission complete, when
amazing people I meet welcome me
in.  Is it like that for you?
Dreams destined to fade
The bargains you've made to
find an eventual peace that refuses
to eventuate, again and again ...



What is love?
What do we speak of
when we invoke that magic name?
Hearts in syncopated rhythm,
in sympathy
in symphony
Impressions taken in, synthesized,
given expression, art or depression.
How reconcile a born in need to
be seen, with directives against
being noticed?
No worries.  No one truly sees
beyond each our own
consciousness.
How cruel to yearn for
recognition of audience
that can never exist.
Do you see the fools who
follow cults of celebrity?
Such abyss of need subsumed
within desperate belief --
so sad to end up so accepting of
"the norm"
"What harm?" you (if you there is)
could say.
Nothing but harm 
this soulless waste of what
ought be precious human life.
How explain?
And back to Love, we claim 
will heal us?  To see, to
apprehend as panoramic vision,
overwhelmed for that moment in
ecstasy -- how feed, nurture,
through day to day drama
-- pure existential truth we
aspire to, this Love.

 
8/23-10/7/26

when intensely felt

Going through the motions
that carry me along
as if this is my life


Clearly, it is the Israelis
who are the antisemites
Are they being punished for hate crimes?


Luxuriate in simple pleasures
Feed on what feeds your blossoming


I don't want my mind
corrupted by AI slop


AOC and Pete Buttigieg --
a ticket I could go all out for
because of their obvious intelligence
and call to public service


I prefer to be free of outside
responsibilities, that I may focus
on my projects.
That is what I prefer.
I do what I can between my
preferences and my needs


All these absurdly stupid wastes of
time, resources, lives, while we ignore
the vital work to keep our people
alive, or even learn to thrive


Wisdom's voice
Those who seek to listen
Talk of connection
Talk of empathy
Talk of all those we's
that make our world


Nothing can be done
So, it's fine to do nothing
Ignore those morons doing
everything we can.
See!  Nothing has become as we
imagined as what should be.
To believe, and so act, is futility.
Let's just go on as we always do,
occasionally complaining.
I remember Biden (not THAT
long ago) being bitterly criticized
for not lifting the Covid restrictions
border rules.  Now I keep hearing:
"Biden's open border" as if that were
a real thing.


All people suck, but not all the time
(and some much more than others).
Some people do truly heinous,
horrific actions; and they need to be
condemned, even removed from those
they would harm.  But people are
complicated.  Even the worst may
create something beautiful.  Why 
condemn the good they may bring,
despite evil.  Acknowledging, even
enjoying the good in no way approves
of the bad.


Life is very hard
on what could have been
the best of us, kicks the
kindness out of us by
overwhelming
though we may rise, and rise again


These are the fires that burn
though our screams, through our
nightmares
More likely today to burn whole
lives away.
Fires of Hell, unleashed by
wealth seeking War lords
How is life different from nightmares
we may hope to awake from?

the hate, disparagement, games of 
gotcha, underlying war of all against 
all -- this is not the human world I 
(or most of us) signed up for



We could be having the benefits of 
self-rule, of by for The People, if the 
people would take the reigns, 
demand our power acknowledged, 
stop abdicating to 
Parties, Media, Disinformation, Them



8/9-21/26

within our abilities

 
Expressing to your reps that 
they NEED to impeach/convict/remove 
is far from a waste of the very little time 
it takes!  In fact, this is something we all 
can easily do while also doing whatever 
else seems useful and within our abilities.  
The point is that we have a common, Loud, 
unrelenting demand that will bring us more 
together as a people while insisting to our 
reps that we in fact are a People
 insisting on our power.

when we actually take our actions from 
a win/win/win perspective, everybody wins



did you know that the theory/myth of 
human races was created and promoted 
as scientific by  European men who needed 
a “rational” excuse for kidnapping and 
enslaving other people?

These people are DEAD --
gone forever.
Their work will not be brought
to full conclusion. Their families
will not be complete.  Not due
to some disease or accident,
nor climate change disaster, but
rather our national tragedy
of escalating vicious murders
under Trump's authority.



These worldclass mad men,
obsessed with power -- so caught 
 up in their deranged game
We who trying to live out simple lives
destroyed as collateral damage

Lack  of awareness of 
my existence
frustrates, slowly enrages

November '26 - VOTE, yes!
But people need to be voting TODAY
in primaries, special elections, with 
our daily actions, demands
We need to make our will heard
NOW, in every way we can

We are made to feel the need
to be normal -- whatever that
may mean, without honoring
who we may deeply know or
want ourselves to be.
We, consciously or more likely not,
feel cheated, bereaved, unfairly
treated.
Then, those show up in our
world (OUR world), blatantly
different.  How dare they!
They must be made to see how
WRONG they are.  We must
punish, castigate these errors in
being other than what we have
been made to believe is right.

You speak of the Dems as big tent
positive in terms of diversity, and
in contrast to GOP restrictiveness.
You don't, though, seem to
understand the implications.
While the people you tend to
talk with agree we believe A,
and you think, of course the Dems
should be making A happen,
most of the constituents these reps
talk with may instead believe B
-- not just funders, but regular
voters who make their voices heard.
Not as simple a situation as you
may think.

MAGAns are Leviathans (Supernatural
big bad led by a nasty Dick)

We think of Citizens United big
money in politics corrupting our
elections.  But look at the big
money involved in the business
of politics. The overarching emphasis
on profits tends to undermine the
purpose of democracy.




Love the people in your life
for exactly who they are
It's love, for you to feel.

My great hoarded wealth 
of experiences, and
all they do is burn

7/13-8/9/26

get out the #VOTE!

what do we know about getting out the vote?

I know personal contact matters
peer pressure works
invite people to ask for whatever help will make their voting easier – 
child care, transportation, information about where/when to go and 
what they might need to bring

information about where/how to register, and help to do that
https://vote.gov/register
Voter registration deadlines vary by state and territory. 
Once you register, you can vote in national, state, and local elections.
CHECK YOU ARE REGISTERED REGULARLY, 
THEN EXERCISE YOUR CIVIC DUTY AND ACTUALLY VOTE!

make it fun with get out the #vote parties, after vote parties, strategy parties, 
community parties (“political parties” but the fun kind)
what else?

t seems to generally be the nonvoters that are the bulk of the electorate – 
abdication of democracy
perhaps because we don’t emphasize: voting is not a privilege, or merely a right;
voting is our basic duty as citizens in a democratic republic
Find out what keeps people from voting; do all we can to make it easier for them

 

the music that is you

 

the whole gestalt often becomes overwhelming
take a break
get some sleep
dance!
Find Fun
you are a human being and deserve to have enjoyment

the problem with problematic men is "masculinity":  
an obsession with somehow proving what you 
obviously are, by doing shit no one wants

I take back my consciousness from
the human world
return me to me




Meaning is not something to be sought.
It is something to create.
Is this the crux of human tragedy?
We believe we are without agency,
dependent on some authority,
when it is our life to create --
however dangerous or safe.




They could never take away
the music that is you

The music we make together 
carries us through the hard dance
of life.

Masculine, Feminine
What does that mean?
We are each who we are,
without need for such social
categorization.

Luxuriate in today's pleasures/
blessings
before the changes overtake them

We need someone to blame for
all of life's bad times,
while staying ok with our friends,
neighbors
Let that job be God's
We can rail and rage without
possibility of damage to that
source
But, of course, if we can clearly see
evil Men in charge, we can blame
and stand against they who can
be touched.

Let all the hurt inside of you
die
Come up, out of the other side
Be your life
free from the weight of pain




It does less good to fight against
without something better to be
moving toward




It certainly seems like the MAGA
administration is working to lower
the US population significantly --
deportations, terror leading to
self-deportations, antiabortion laws
not so much to save children as to
kill mothers, ending their potential
reproduction




When we admit the complexity of
truth, we can better mitigate unwanted
behaviors.  Insisting on a simplistic 
view is better for avoiding
responsibilities.

6/28-7/12/26