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Victor D López Jul 2019
Put away your phones,
Tablets, laptops, smart TVs,
Visit, hug a friend.
In my shortest dystopian short story, "Justice", I envision a future of a fully interconnected world with a single communal mind where disconnecting from the neural nets is a crime. We're not there yet, thank heaven, but I fear we are moving down that path to a communal, zombie-like existence where group think is strictly imposed, dissent becomes unthinkable and individuality becomes the only deviance acknowledged and universally strictly punished. I'm not a Luddite--quite the contrary, I fully embrace technology and have all my life. But it's a dual edge sword--as are all tools. Woe to all of us when it completely displaces our humanity and the ability to connect and communicate with others in the flesh in real time.
Victor D López Jul 2019
If you find true love,
Grab it with both of your hands,
Never let it go.

It comes only once,
And that if you are lucky,
Never to return.

Do not question it,
Or **** it to dissect it,
Take it as it comes.

Whether in fair form,
Or worn and riddled with scars,
It will bring you bliss.

Look not with your eyes,
They will always deceive you,
See it with your heart.

Its beauty won't fade,
It will be forever new,
As long as you live.

However it comes,
No matter how strange its form,
Give it half a chance.

It will change your world,
Fill all the empty places,
In your dormant soul.

And it will ripple,
Throughout the known universe,
To outlast the stars.
Inspired by my new short story by the same title that deals with humor with a very serious subject--the ability of true love to fulfill empty lives across any gap among sentient, intelligent species.
Victor D López Jul 2019
Hace de dos seres un alma completa,
Ignora por completo la lógica estéril,
Brinda calor en el mas frio invierno,
Y reemplaza la desesperación con la esperanza.

Alimenta el espíritu mas que el manjar mas exquisito,
Sacia la sed mejor que un manantial en el desierto,
Forma una isla celestial en el infierno terrestre.

Discierne la belleza pura no con los ojos sino con el corazón,
Hace que uno aspire a ser mejor de lo que es,
Une a todos los seres conscientes en el universo,
Nacidos del polvo estelar de estrellas fallecidas.

Los que tienen la dicha de encontrar este don celestial,
Despiertan de la eterna pesadilla que es la vida sin llegar a conocer,
El verdadero propósito de la existencia.


True Love

It makes from two beings a complete soul,
It completely ignores sterile logic,
It provides warmth in the coldest winter,
And replaces despair with hope.

It Feeds the spirit more than the most exquisite delicacy,
It sates thirst better than a spring in the desert,
And forms a celestial island in a terrestrial hell.

It discerns true beauty not with the eyes but with the heart,
It makes us aspire to be better than we are,
It unites all sentient beings in the universe,
Born from the stardust of dead stars.

Those who are fortunate enough to find this precious heavenly gift,
Wake up from the eternal nightmare of a life without knowing,
The true purpose of our existence.
After writing this poem I wrote a new speculative fiction short story about the power of love and our absolute need to find it in whatever form we can. I wrote the short story in English and then translated and released it in Spanish with the Latin title "Amor Vincit Omnia" (Love Conquers All). I will eventually release the original still in draft form in English. Spanish speakers can preview the Spanish language version at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/946600. No human being is truly complete until she/he finds true love. For some to whom it is denied, a beloved pet may fill the spiritual need temporarily. But what if it could be found in a spiritual connection in an apparently inanimate object? Can love truly transcend inter-species barriers, or is the need for love so critically important that a person bereft of it can manufacture it and find find solace in madness? Readers will have to make up their own minds.
Victor D López Jun 2019
Por que buscamos
Verdad donde no vive
Inútilmente

Debiendo saber
Que solo se encuentra
En el corazón

Vidas perdidas
En búsqueda de algo
Que ya se tiene

Nos damos cuenta
Cuando ya es muy tarde
De nuestro error

No busques verdad
Escrita en hojas muertas
Acariciala

Puedes leerla
En ojos de quien amas
Estúdiala bien
Comencé hoy un proyecto secundario para este verano de traducir los cuentos que publique en ingles en previos libros, incluyendo el ultimo, Mindscapes: Ten Science Fiction and Speculative Fiction Short Stories. El primer cuento ya esta disponible en Amazon y Smashwords desde hace unos minutos y este poema de haikus enlazados se relaciona al primer cuento, Búsqueda Eterna (Eternal Quest) que es uno de los primeros que escribí cuando estaba en la universidad en Queen College a los 18 o 19 anos. No se si es una tragedia o un dote, pero por bien o mal no a cambiado mucho mi opinión básica en relación a lo que verdaderamente importa en este mundo, y se hoy igual que aquel hombre muy joven para quien todo en la vida aun era posible que no hay peor tragedia que malgastar una vida persiguiendo ciegamente sabiduría o el tratar de descifrar el la razón de ser. Seres humanos mucho mas capaces que yo en la literatura y vida real han tropezado con esa piedra y malgastaron sus vidas en búsqueda de sabiduría o del sentido de la vida en todos los sitios que menos se encuentran, completamente ciegos que la respuesta estaba muy cerca de sus manos. Este corto poema que lleva el mismo nombre de ese cuento--aun mi preferido de todos los que escribí hasta el momento--toca el mismo tema en breve.
Victor D López Jun 2019
The river of life,
Flows for just a little while,
Before it runs dry.

Watch it from the shore,
From the safety of firm ground,
And you'll never drown.

But if you dive in,
Ride the rapids, risk the falls,
Float on placid bends.

You will know the joy,
Of ever-changing landscapes,
More than worth the risk.

You'll be scraped by rocks,
Find no shade against the sun,
Little time for rest.

When waters run dry,
And you reach your journey's end,
You'll have truly lived.
haiku, linked haikus
Victor D López Jun 2019
Turning off the IDIOT BOX.

Can’t stand the inane WISHY-WASHY CHIT CHAT,
Or the HANKY PANKY of extremists on the left and right,
Who ladle out FAKE NEWS-laced Kool-Aid,
To their ZONKED-OUT viewers who gleefully consume it,
While nodding through glazed eyes.

It’s OPEN SEASON on the truth by DIRT BAGS,
With journalism degrees inventing rather than reporting the news.

Bring back old-school broadcasters like Cronkite and Brinkley,
Who personally leaned left and right but reported the news.

When news and commentary are no longer indistinguishable,
In all the networks, I’ll tune back in.

Meantime, BUG OFF and GOOD RIDDANCE!
I posted this today at AllPoetry.com in response to a ten-double-word challenge where a poem had to be written using all ten double-words capitalized in the poem. Did not take much thought . . . :)
Victor D López Jun 2019
Fledgling,
Broken wing,
Carefully nursed,
Shielded,
Nourished,
Loved,
Healthy again,
Vantablack wings,
Powerfully beating,
Propelled skyward,
Fueled by,
Benefactor's eyes.
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