A politician makes a calculated decision.

A leader makes a moral one.

Copyright 2020 Tod Howard Hawks

A repeating line of patterns of something deeper then memory
It's the motion of waves of wonder of maybe something like pain
A wanting to lessen to soften to gently lay my head down
It's not what's happening now

The clean church Christ
hangs on rusty nails,
dozen-fold years
denied a resurrection,
tied to everlasting
pain and death,
heaven denied,
mortal redemption denied
because the flesh,
existing between hope and despair,
refuses the soul’s release.

The congregation
is dead to peace,
only knowing the scrapping
of their knuckles on the smooth stone-
dead to the light,
seeing only the night,
dead to divine comprehension,
dead to the angels hiding
in their coarse crosses
of common wood.

Outside the lamb
bleats in the snow
wandering unheard
in the wilderness,
fearing slaughter
more than charity,
wandering far from
their muffled mouths,
wandering far from
their questioning,
wandering far from
their sense of things.

Inspection leads some men
to brief resurrection,
But that course can also
lead to a defection.

There’s often some needing,
for a frenzy of feeding,
When we seek to feast,
on an ego that’s bleeding.

Is it real or some mirage,
lost in forest or garage?
So many casualties of truth,
how can we triage?

And this is that place
too well we all know,
that if you disagree
well that’s just your ego.

And right or wrong
you must submit,
Or be tossed from the circle
a dishonorable ****.

How is it we can be so blind,
to not see we are of a kind.
Who run about with desperate shouts,
without a mindful mind.

In the dark I see a wraith
Perhaps a remnant of our faith,
Ephemeral and tinged with rust
Forgotten father of our trust.

I’m not speaking here to thee,
what’s this paradox I see
But you said that, no I did not,
Oh, what a travesty!

Walk a mile in my shoes,
see for yourself what you may lose,
Perhaps you’ll find the fit so right
that it awakes you in the night.

And there you’ll lie and toss and turn,
amidst the loss amidst the burn
Oh, sad child who would not learn
Please say a prayer for me.

Forgiveness is letting go of the past,
And it doesn't mean we can forget the memory of the past,
Forgiveness is divine,
And it helps us to align.

But when we fall as a result of our iniquity,
It draws us back into captivity,
It inflicted us to severe pain and suffering,
And we'll experience agony for our shortcomings.

Pride has dominated our land,
Forgiveness should be part of our plan,
We should cut down every root of bitterness,
And let's work in love and togetherness.

Early Spring begins with the Vernal Equinox
and lasts until April 8th, the day I was born.
April 8th is the first day of Mid-Spring, which we love
until May 14th, when the leaves are almost full
on the trees.  May 14th is the first day of Late Spring,
which totally delights us until the final minute of
June 9th has passed.  Then comes June 10th and
Early Summer.  The water in the brooks gets lower
and warmer.  The sun reaches its highest point
in the sky.  Early Summer ends on the 4th of July;
then come the seemingly endless days of Mid-
Summer.  They hold memories of childhood and
a kind of timelessness.  Mid-Summer is over on
August 7, the day my friend had his annual birthday
party after Little League was over.  In Late Summer, the
Winter we couldn't imagine in July seems to be edging
nearer.  The first day of Early Fall is the day after
Labor Day.  We went back to school then, and the
leaves had already started to turn.  On the second
Monday of October, Mid-Fall begins.  The tamaracks
are yellow, the crickets are silent, things are very still,
everything seems to be waiting for the snow.  On the
day after Halloween, Late Fall Begins.  We hope our
fire-wood is dry enough; we get the snow removal
tools ready, and maybe even have to use them.  This
short season ends the Friday after Thanksgiving.  Then
we are into Early Winter.  The sun sets very early, we
can see our breath in the morning.  The dark time has
begun, but the days pass quickly, as the holidays brighten
our spirits.  Mid-Winter begins on December 26.  Now,
the darkness presses against our windows at dinner time.
Glasses of wine and candle light are the best defenses.  We
press on through January, talking about our garden and
keeping the house neat.  Then comes Valentine's Day, the
first day of Late Winter.  Each day is noticeably longer.
We start to wonder what Spring and Summer will be like.
On some days the snow melts, and we see little streams
running along the sidewalks.  The sun climbs higher in the
sky, and we REJOICE!