The Death Of Love...at the border (poetry and art)

"The Death Of Love" and "Faces" are two poems I wrote about what I saw happening. I was distraught over the program of exporting endless war and endless misery.  The horror of this policy goes beyond reason.  Years ago I wrote a poem titled "The Warlords" This video on the topic of the attempted coup against FDR appears to answer the question asked in the The Warlords. It may also explain the Trump Administrations fear of immigrants. I find myself thinking: "Can Trump's malicious, divisive nationalism cause the kind of behavior seen in the video"?

The Warlords

After reading Du Fu, “Advent of Spring”

The warriors have ruled

from time immemorial.

They have come and gone and come again

time after time:

nations, princes, and kings one after another

building on the pile of corpses

stacked beneath their feet.

None have served the people honestly.

Who has given them control?

Where have they come from?

Will they ever leave us alone

to raise our families

and die in our own beds

with our children by our side?

Their grip is on our neck

and they force us

to our grave

in their search for

others to plunder.

They cannot live without war;

it is their meat and drink

as ours is the hearth

and the embrace of our lovers.

They declare those who cry for

peace and complain of war

‘enemies of the state’

and seek to silence them

while we the people are victims

of their lust

and made to pay for their

desires to be satisfied.

Will they ever leave us alone

to raise our families

and die in our own beds

with our children by our side?

Enjoy the poems in the videos below

It only takes a generation

for politicians with eyes for war

to bring forgetfulness upon the people

who wanted war no more.

I made the poster, below, yesterday about what I see happening presently. Denying immigration, especially, at this time a year is a slap in the face to American history by this Administration. Instead of sending troops, what should have been done was to have sent personnel to process the refugees and give then a Thanksgiving welcome. With that in mind it only makes sense that Thanksgiving be cancelled this year.

  

Rights are meant to be used the way you use muscles.  

You need to use your rights everyday or run the risk of losing them.  

If you don't use your muscles they atrophy.

Rights are your Civil Rights muscles.

Use-em!!!!

(C) David H. Roche 

Arrival Of Autumn: poetry

Arrival Of Autumn

It's too dark to venture out to feed the birds…

7:30 and still no sign of the sun,

dawn is as dark as a moonlit midnight,

the front yard is barely visible.

Autumn arrived in a gust two nights ago at 3:30.

In the morning there was wind,

darkness and rain all day,

Autumn has decided to stay.

poetry and photography 

by David H. Roche 

(C) 2018

At The Beginning: mystical art ... a meditation

At The Beginning

a meditation on Creation

&

Redemption

Blue Dreams: escape from the dark night of the Soul (video and art from October)

"Blue Dreams: escape from the dark night of the soul" is a short video made of some of the art I made in October.  

Enjoy

I did

Why Change When It's Being Done Right? Political poster

Americans are 17 on the quality of life charts due to the way their politicians have structured American society. This will come as a surprise to most Americans who have been spoon fed the idea that America is the best of all possible places to live.

So I made the poster while thinking of all that the American lawmakers have done to impact the daily lives of the voters. (highlighted link to commentary by Farron Cousins at The Ring of Fire.)

If there are fair elections in the U.S. this year we may be able to vote the ones who have made life so hard on us out of office.  

It's up to you people, if you want more of what you have now vote Republican.  More war, more poverty, more violence against minorities, more racial discontent, more of all of what we have now.  If you want more of the same old same old vote for Republican and Democratic lawmakers who speak poorly about socialism. They will be more than willing to give you more of the same. Boy won't those who vote Republican be happy with more war, more homelessness, more racial animosity, more unemployment more low paying jobs, more expensive education, more expensive and more dangerous healthcare?

No they won't.  They'll blame someone else for what they have done to themselves.

(note the artist holds both Republican and Democratic lawmakers completely responsible for the condition Americans find themselves in.  While working on this I came across this address by Robert Reich.) It's worth listening to.

The Black Cat: poetry

The Black Cat

This afternoon

the black cat warmed himself

in a sunny part of the garden

where sunflowers had been planted

and harvested.

He rolled on his back

in a patch of catnip

planted for him between the sunflowers

and when he finished …

waited for the birds

who would come for the seed I put out.

He does it only when the sun shines;

he's never caught anything

and if I didn't feed him he'd starve

and he's not ashamed...

he thinks that's how it should be

and I agree.  

Spider At Work: a Serendipity Studios production

Today I spied a spider
repairing a web I saw him repairing 
yesterday.

Today I took some pictures. 
Some came out pretty good.,,
take a look.

Tomorrow's another day.

She's A Lot Like God (poetry sure to offend someone)

A poem I composed while waiting.

She's A Lot Like God

When it comes to time

she's a lot like God

for whom a day 

is as a thousand years. 

And when she says:

"I'll be there in half an hour";

I know there's time

for a couple more beers.
(C) David H. Roche 2018

Inquiry: poetry and photography

Inquiry (a poem)

The last two summers I grew sunflowers for fun.  By accident I discovered that a dried sunflower stalk makes a nice walking stick.  I used the first walking stick for most of this year.  It's not nearly as strong as wood and should not be used by someone who needs a cane for support. It however is very light and the natural beauty of the stalk is enhanced in time, growing darker and the organic patterns of the plant have become more clearly defined.  I've become fond of it and it shows very little wear.

I enjoy using it, just because I grew it and nurtured it and it is useful to maintain my balance. I may decorate it and put a protective coating on it. It will be interesting to see how long it remains useful.

This year, because of my experience last year, I grew more sunflowers and harvested many seed heads and a number of possible walking sticks. 

For distinctiveness this year I planted morning glory seeds which grew and entwined themselves around the eight to nine feet tall sunflowers. I did this with the intention of making a natural decoration for another walking stick. That project is ongoing as the vines and stalks dry together.

Inquiry 

a poem by David H. Roche 

Seeds the size of a fingernail buried in May

and resurrected in June
with a glorious body

of tiny green leaves
and flimsy,

translucent stems

some of which have grown to giants nine feet tall

with golden crowns at the end of September…

now hanging their heads
one by one.

This afternoon they're like one legged dancers

swaying back and forth in the wind

at the last dance of the season

with Scrub Jays, Ravens, Chickadees

and whomever comes to sustain themselves from their flesh.

Almost as if there were a cooperative enterprise underway, 

next to the pond across the street

the remains of once plump juicy blackberries

cling to dried vines
among clusters of dry brittle leaves 

and bloodletting spines.

Their wrinkled, desiccated flesh reminds me of rabbit turds. 

Notwithstanding, they are a larder

for small birds and mice

who will return throughout the winter

to eat dinners provided by invisible hands.

All this cooperation fascinates me,

this living of life in support of the lives of others,

compels an inquiry into this "Fellowship"

of the "Mystery" of life.

poetry and photography by
(C) David H. Roche 2018

Arrival of September

I'm Frightened: Poetry spiritual and social issues

Note titled changed to "I'm Frightened Of Atheists". Poem in progress 

Inhumanity disturbs me at a spiritual level. By spiritual level I mean the areas of life that involve relationships and our 'natural' responsibility with regard to those relationships.

We are 'spiritually' and 'naturally' bound to each other and the environment. To sin is to behave irresponsibly with regard to the relationships we interact with.

I am appalled at the callous treatment of human beings at the border. I could not help but recall the words I had heard from the pulpit many times from Matthew 25, read the entire passage here.  

"I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

The spiritual responsibility we have regarding those we share the planet with is exposed in the words of Jesus. As a result of thinking of the events at the southern border I wrote the following poem.

I'm Frightened Of Atheists

I'm frightened…

not by people at the border

needing help and refuge.

I'm frightened by those who have hardened their hearts

and turn them away while

clutching laws to their breast,

repeating shibboleths, 

justifying the plugging of their ears,

the closing of their eyes

and ignoring of the tears.

I'm frightened

by those with hearts so dark

they cannot see God in rags with their 'spiritual eyes'...

fleeing, hungry, fearful
at the border gates in need of help.

Those people frighten me.

© 2018 David H. Roche

The Sunflowers Of August 2018

A few pictures of sunflowers produced by genetic information introduced to an environment of sunlight, soil, air, water and imagination. 

a production of 

Serendipity Studios

photography by David H. Roche

(C)'

s

Mysteries and Things: poetry

Mysteries and things,

"Being" and "Existence",

"I" "That" "It":

Who is "I"?

What is "It"?
"That!"

August 5, 2018:

Daylight is in the process of exchanging itself with dusk,

the afternoon breeze makes tall spindly sunflowers shimmy and shimmer 

in ever moving splotches of sunlight.

Old bones ache today

under blue skies and

"Being" identifies "Itself"

by the location of its pain

as afternoon and evening exchange colors

until there are no colors left

leaving behind only the Mystery of the "I"  

and the aching.

Poetry and photography by David H. Roche © 2018

Coffee and Crumbs: Poetry and photography

Coffee and Crumbs

After four days without coffee I made three mugs.

Four tablespoons of ground coffee,

six cups of water,

push the button.

Remembering the bag of bird seed bought yesterday

I fill a cup with seed and dried bread crumbs

to sprinkle in the yard.

A raven lands before I sit down inside,

a band of half-wild ducks arrive like a scourge of vacuum cleaners.

The seed and crumbs are gone

before the first mug is poured.

Hurry out with another cup of seed,

pour it in the grass,

hurry in,

fill a mug with coffee,

sit down,

sip carefully,

enjoy the taste with toast and butter,

watch through the window with a smile

as the horde of ducks

make the seed vanish before my eyes.

poetry and photography by David H. Roche

(C) 2018

Go Catch A Mouse: note to the cats on the porch (Poetry)

  

Go Catch A Mouse:
 note to the cats on the porch

All I can say is

"Go catch a mouse"

to the cats peering through the glass door…

The three cats come morning and evening and sit

looking through the glass until

I open the door

and pour food into their bowl 

but tonight I have to say:

"There's more in the morning

but no more tonight…

go catch a mouse.

I managed your food along with mine as good as I could.

It lasted almost until I could buy some more

and if you catch a mouse tonight tomorrow Social Security comes

and I can go to the store

and buy butter and chicken and cat food and bird seed …

I'm out of everything too."

( C)David H. Roche 

Goodbye (poetry)

Goodbye

The driveway packed with cars,

brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews.

Some sit on the steps,

others walk back and forth

taking turns entering the house

and returning to sit on the steps

or pace to and fro

while Jesse lays inside on the last day of his life

saying "goodbye" to everything

but the cancer.

poetry and photography by David H. Roche 

A Big Thank You To U.S. Lawmakers

A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself.
Forests are the lungs of our land, 
purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.

                                                               F.D.R.

Democracy Now had a report on our nation's relationship with the natural world this morning. Noam Chomsky reveals the peril we have been placed in. 

I am responding to what I heard with the art above.  It should be evident by now that the Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. are responsible for enabling the disabling of the life supporting capabilities of all the eco-systems and the entire bio-system we depend on for our lives, our personal welfare and our health. The Real News provides the information about government decisions to devalue the viability of the living environment. The report is at the highlighted link..

We need to question if the reasons we are being required to relinquish a living breathing earth for the future are good reasons after all.
Do you even know what those reasons are? America’s Lawyer: Mike Papantonio and Farron Cousins discuss some of the reason's at the highlighted link. 

If you wonder what kind of environmental blow-back to expect from your lawmakers decisions regarding the environment Stanford University has put together a list of anticipated consequences related to the impending climate debacle. You can read it for yourself at the highlighted link.
Remember all environmental legislation is made by both Republicans and Democrats working together toward a single goal. Do you know what that goal is?

Now, ask yourselves why your lawmakers are preparing this kind of future for you and your family. What answer did you come up with?

News From A Parallel Universe: political satire.

Note to reader. This is not fake news,it is not news at all it is political satire.

News From A Parallel Universe

 In the aftermath of the Trimp - Penis contiguous impeachments a stunned nation began to become introspective. (Link to MSNBC report on similar topic of betrayal of the nation.) The Vice President was also impeached for violating his oath of office and failing to defend the nation by remaining silent in support of President Trimp. 

USA Today has made note of the oath of office that  both the men took while taking up the service of the nation. Following is a quotation from the article. "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."

When President Trimp was finally called to account for publicly embarrassing the American people and then telling the world that he trusted Russian Intelligence over American Intelligence Vice President Micky Penis said not a word. He was as silent and as expressionless as a moldy potato as if someone had removed his tongue. He was impeached after it was determined he still had a tongue. No one thought his silence was a good faith example of upholding his oath of office.

The amazing thing is the transition was almost unnoticeable. As was expected the populace was stunned in a way they had never imagined was possible.  

The transitional government took one draconian step which most likely saved society from falling into absolute chaos.  The public sale and consumption of alcohol was made illegal. Every liquor store and bar, every supermarket, every place that sold wine or spirits was forced to cease sales of those items.

Then the transitional government did the unexpected. This is the miracle that saved the day. 

Due to an over production of marijuana in marijuana legal states the transitional government bought up the crops and in every location across the land that had sold alcohol marijuana was substituted. The alcohol ban lasted only a month but was largely credited with keeping  the nation from falling into anarchy. 

Inversely the soothing effect of marijuana replaced the expected blow-back from supporters of the corrupted and disgraced pair. Another result was a temporary shortage of snack foods and soda. When the ban was lifted some of the most hardened Trimp supporters were suggesting that the national anthem be changed to Bob Marley's "Redemption Song".

Somehow the nation had run the gauntlet of the Trimp-Penis Administration and survived and we THE PEOPLE  became stronger and wiser.

And we all lived happily ever after.