Do You Hear the People Sing?

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Do You Hear the People Sing?

Do you hear the people sing
Their voices rising from the streets
Where anger transforms into action
And despair becomes determination

The drumbeat echoes in our chests
Matching the rhythm of our hearts
Each pulse a promise to our children
Each beat a vow we will not break

We gather words like weapons
Poetry sharp as any blade
Our phones become our battle cries
Our marches shake the ground we walk

In coffee shops and city streets
In letters to Congress late at night
In every vote cast with conviction
Democracy draws another breath

The drum keeps beating in the distance
Our hearts keep beating in reply
We will not let hope suffocate
Under the weight of what we've already lost

So raise your voices and let's join hands
March with whatever strength you own
Whether whispered or shouted loud
Let every song we sing become a stone

Do you hear the people sing

Written for my prompt "Do You Hear the People Sing?" at What's Going On?

No Time To Make Things Pretty

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No Time to Make Things Pretty

This is no time to make things pretty.
Accept things just as they are.
Forgive yourself for the paper airplane that doesn't fly,
the frozen blueberries you opened wrong,
the dirty dishes you made and left in the kitchen.

No, this is no time to make things pretty.
Sometimes dogs make a mess eating their food,
or you leave magazines strewn on the floor
Often the sandwich that tastes good isn't well formed
or laundry isn't immediately put away, 

No, this is no time to make things pretty.
Accept the anger you feel about the world
and the tears you cry that do no good.
You say what you later regret, cannot take back,
and you still haven't returned the call.

Just accept these things as they are.
Aim instead for a different kind of greatness.
Forgive yourself your failures, messes, humanity
Feel free to live with your imperfections
Admit them. Accept things as they are.

This is for Sherry's prompt at "What's Going On?"  -- This is No Time to Make Things Pretty

Lost in Thought

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Lost in Thought

I drift in and out of consciousness
like a flock of birds across the sky.
My daydream dressed in absinthe costumes
swirls like rainwater down a drain

The tornado of my thoughts carries me
past a lily pond where a horse drinks deeply.
Jazz notes float from a distant henhouse,
reality blurs at its gentle edges

How sweet to escape without moving,
to travel worlds within four walls,
my mind's eye seeing what isn't there,
creating universes in afternoon light.

Written for Shay's Word Garden

Reflections on Grief

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Reflections on Grief

These days I find myself forever grieving,
not for a death but for the way things were
a year ago, a month ago, even yesterday.

I used to look forward with hope 
to events in the next day, month, year,
to plan ahead with no dread in my heart.

Now I fear each tomorrow--
more hateful directives, more chaos
that will make living more worrisome for all.

Grief is my constant sleep partner,
inconsiderately waking me in the night,
its shackles weighing down my days.

I devise my own therapy--
exercise. music surrounding me, 
long walks with my dog,  a book, TV.

It saddens me to lose valuable time
searching for relief rather than savoring joy,
allowing grief to steal the light that remains.

Written for What's Going On? -- Susan's prompt is Grief.

The Coming Ruin

 

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The Coming Ruin

Crowds gather in protests almost weekly,
their faces show their worry and fear.
The foundations of democracy we trusted
now shake and tremble beneath our feet.

At night immigrant parents hug children,
so many demonized for seeking sanctuary.
We were once a nation with arms open,
now we're building walls of fear and hate.

Military decisions made by Fox News hands
that never understood consequence or truth.
The guardians of the safety of the nation
guided by dangerous incompetence.

The President sneers in his rooms of gold,
as the ordinary people helplessly suffer.
Oligarchs whisper in power's ear,
work out self-serving deals behind closed doors.

Our education, was the envy of the world
dismantled piece by methodical piece.
The ladder that lifted generations
now has its scientists fleeing abroad.

Words once free now carry cost,
each syllable weighted with risk.
The privilege of speaking truth
becomes a dangerous act of courage.

In homes across the nation,
sleepless nights multiply, smiles forced.
Anxiety creeps into everyday moments,
a wrecking ball to people's mental health.

At grocery stores, prices climb,
eggs more expensive than before.
Tariffs make necessary items more expensive
to provide tax cuts for the most wealthy.

Public health is guided by a science denier.
Vaccines—miracles of modern medicine—
rejected by incompetents tasked with protection,
leaving us all vulnerable, feeling unsafe.

The Constitution, once honored and treasured,
words fading with each passing day.
Its wisdom and warnings ignored, stamped on,
purposely misinterpreted by those with power.

We taught our children to look forward,
to believe tomorrow brings better days.
Now we avert our eyes from the horizon,
as we helplessly watch darkness approach.

Is this the final chapter of our story,
the closing of a grand experiment?
I hate to think, but fear, that it is.
I'd like to find a shread of hope.

Written for Sumana's prompt "Ruin" at What's Going On?