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When he came after the Canal,
We did nothing.
When he came after the Island,
We did nothing.
When he came after the minerals,
We did nothing.
When he came after women,
We did nothing.
When he came after the Alliance,
We did nothing.
When he came after the Greenery,
We did nothing.
When he came after the children,
We did nothing.
When he came after the North,
We did nothing.
When he came after Liberty,
We did nothing.
When he came after Freedom,
We did nothing.
When he came after Justice,
We did nothing.
When he came after the Sheep,
We did nothing.
When he came after the Truth,
We did nothing.
When he came after Decency,
We did nothing.
When he comes after YOU,
What will they do?
NOTHING!
NOTHING AT ALL.
I've noticed a lot of Right/Left dichotomy on this site. What's happening in the U.S.A. right now has nothing to do with Republicans and Democrats, liberals v. conservatives etc. What's happening right now is an attempted destruction of the system of government of the U.S.A. a/k/a our Constitution. Our system of government is based on the Separation of Powers, which you hopefully learned about in high school. The purpose of which was to prevent a dictatorship. Trump is trying to overrule Congress and appropriate the powers given to Congress by the Constitution, such as  the power to appropriate funds. The only barrier between our democracy and a dictatorship remains the Judicial branch. It remains to be seen if the Judicial branch will put a check on Trump's power; if not, it's all over for American democracy.

Who and what is Trump? I'm a licensed psychotherapist with more than 30 years of experience, and spent 30 years in New York City, as Trump's neighbor. Trump is a sociopath. This is clearly seen in his value system, in which power and "winning" is the only virtue, and losers deserve whatever horrors happen to them. Remember what he said about military service people who lost their lives defending the U.S.A--that they were "losers" because they were killed. He is in love with Musk because as the world's richest man, Musk is the ultimate "winner." There is no morality or community obligation in this mindset; winners take all, losers can be treated as food or as garbage. Trump does have an ideology, which is somewhat uncommon among sociopaths--he's a racist. He isn't "anti-immigrant;" he loves immigrants who are white, such as Musk, Melania. He cut USAID because he wants to **** black and brown people. Trust me, all New Yorkers have known for a long time about Trump's racism; he was famous for it in New York.

Trump is gutting the federal bureaucracies as part of the type of purge that all dictators engage in early in their dictatorships. He wants total control and to perhaps give jobs to his supporters. The long-running paranoid conspiracy theory about a "Deep State" has groomed the American public into thinking this purge is a good idea. The civil service is actually a bunch of professionals and workers who have been doing their jobs for a long time and have expertise. They only implement the laws and regulations that Congress passes or that the President orders. Without civil service workers, an large array of government services will cease to exist or will be done incompetently by Trump's political appointees. These include processing and mailing Social Security checks to the elderly and disabled, regulating the sale and marketing of medicines and consumer products, and collecting intelligence overseas about our enemies (yes, we have enemies). The enemies of the U.S. are chortling and licking their lips.

I don't know how it will end. If things get really bad, I'll take my inheritance and perhaps flee to Scandinavia. The rest of you will have to fight or resign yourselves to living in something that will resemble Putin's Russia.
Saman Badam Feb 6
Queen
"Are not lashes, lashes still, the blood spill,
One in single tyrant's name, other more?
Those ten thousand's tyrants still, men or not."

Madman
"No," said madman, "one's justice, other's whim,
Either all are free or none really is,
In People's name, We all are Free By Laws."

Queen
"That's just another name of all hope lost."

Madman
"Still as People decreed, by People's Will"

Queen
"If ten thousand rule, you are despots all."

Madman
"No, If each one have say, then We're Slaves Not."

Queen
"Will you raise gallows till all are headless"

Madman
"Only till all of their hearts are spotless"

Queen
"To me that rings like howls of a mad crowd"

Madman
"They're sounds of chains ripped, crowns melted, bones ground"

Queen
"If ruled that way, city will surely rot.
You'll leave only graveyards" queen marked.

Madman
"Then, Rot shall be Tried under People's Laws,
What wonderful graveyards those will be"

Queen
"You are a pack of wet cats" Queen sighed.

Madman
"Watered by you, drawstrings drawn" he agreed.

Queen
"Your truth's so exact, they're means of unjust.
Yours sure are not laws, they are merely dust."

Madman
"If so They are For Us, By Us, To Us."

Queen
"Gods, you will devour us, till the last one."

Madman
"Like the oncoming storm, we'll quarter them.
Give me the right, you say, the laws and swords.
I will keep you safe till the storm has passed.
Then service becomes rule, rule tyranny,
Till lovingly yoke's fastened to our necks"

Queen
"What is this I hear, what's this horrid song?"

Madman
"A song of revolt, of rebellion!
Harsh, unforgiving, oh so glorious.
Just like the warm wine running through my veins.
You think us outnumbered? How many there,
of us and how many yours? Oh tyrants!  
And for the lashes struck at our back,
Every last one will be called to account
if gallows must be raised for cobblers
and kings and devils and angels alike,"
With voice like flint, madman said "so be it."
As always, open for critic. This is tribute written for a great web serial 'A Practical Guide to Evil.' Do try it out, it is available for free and is wonderful.
Heidi Franke Feb 3
I'm a shell
My soul has left
Empty as can be
Space that's left
Is not me

I'm useless
As a highway
Without cars
I might as well
Be on Mars

I'm gone
But still alive
Like stars persist
Until the light is gone
My body insists

I'm a circumference
The boundary surrounds
Dry carcass bone
I care not
Just lost-and-found

I won't return
To my body of ruin
Burial plans made
Threaded into a patchwork quilt
Upstaged and waylaid

I'm now safe outside
Myself
I see you looking in
She is gone from her
Forever now thick and thin

I'm tired of sycophants  
Complicit in democracy's destuction
By their hands, skinned alive
I left my body today
In order to survive
I'm so tired of my brain, my overthinking, the world's judges, the loss of democracy with an evil idiot wanna be dictator. I'm tired of those sync pants who voted for the destruction of democracy. I'm skinned alive. It hurts. Today I left my body to survive.
Pray tell, Janus,
how, does, it, feel?
Does, your steel's,
duplicitous, reflection, reappear?
When, the, officed, place,
your, only-thought, used to, lay,
it's, bulbous head,
blossoms, into,
a, tangible idea?
Does, the bedrock's, stele,
make, flowering mettle,
of, the insecure hay?
And, from, the ore,
did, a, garden-variety,
blacksmith, bow, kneel, and, forge,
a sword, for, you, to, falsely, slay,
the poltergeist's, of, those, evil,
sons, and, daughters, seeded by,
that, shiny, yet, mistrusted,
Monarchy of Fear?

So, pray tell, Janus,
how, does, it, feel?
Does, your steel's,
duplicitous, reflection, disappear?
When, your mettle, is, made molten?
Does, it, maim, to see,
your, valued core, first, loosen,
then, wobble, as, you, backtrack, sore,
and, falter, on hearing, the, magma mists,
of, you, hiss, and, squeal?
Is, cerulean, gold, scarlet, and, purple,
all, that, you, listen to, here?
Does, the, imperious, court,
within, your mind, reveal, only,
Knaves-Jesters-Jacks-and-Jokers?
And, does, the, gilded line,
(you speak of naught),
that, you, and, your; Kings, and, Queens, crossed, of yester,
split; all, of, your faces, in, two,
with; royal-blue, hot, i-ron, pokers?

The answers, as always, were; curved, and,
swerved. In, a, spineless, motion, with, gall, but, without, feeling, or, nerve. Pride,
watched on, unaware, of, the fall, that, lay, beyond, the cliff, where, evil, is, served.

© poormansdreams
A poem about the two faced nature of power.
If you stand strongly with and for Liberty
I will fearlessly join you
If you stand firmly for Freedom
I will cheer the noble gestures of your kingdom
If you stand enthusiastically for Equality
I will ecstatically stand with you too
If you stand for good democracy
I will help you spread the seeds of Love
I will happily clap when the doves are hovering above
If you stand solidly for fair and equal justice
I will help you ring the bells of peace
I will fervently pray for you all the time
I will sporadically listen to the tintinnabulation of the chime
Brothers and sisters, I have tears of hope in my eyes today
Otherwise
My pen is able and ready amidst the fray
And it won’t be so wise
Because I love my fellow human beings, our people
Who are black, red, white, yellow and purple.

P.S. This poem is dedicated to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and to our brothers and sisters.
Copyright © January 2025, Hébert Logerie, All rights reserved.
Hébert Logerie is the author of several collections of poems.
Kara Shirlene Jan 19
Paralysis sets in,
A symptom of existential dread
How did we get here again?
How did people vote to
Make America 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 Again?

There’s nothing great about
Oppression or misogynistic expression
There’s nothing great about
The home of the brave
When so many don’t feel free.

No glory to God be;
Inauguration will be a day of mourning.
As I look for hope in honoring
The legacy of Dr. King.
May Civil Resistance fill the streets.

Let us tend to community;
For the next four years
Will require resilience and revolution.
Let us care for each other;
In numbers, there is strength.

May our sorrow and rage be a
Tool for Justice.
May we rest when we feel hopeless.
Democracy will not go down without a fight
The time to prevail is here.

© KSS 1/19/2025
Hebert Logerie Nov 2024
Vote for decency
Vote for honesty
Vote for liberty
Vote for equality
Vote for unity
Vote for fraternity
Vote for fairness
Vote for openness
Vote for Mother Nature
Vote for a better future
Vote for good health
Not for death
Vote for competence
Not for incompetence
Vote for justice
Not for injustice
Vote for respect
Not for disrespect
Vote for common sense
Not for nonsense
Vote for love
Not for a lying dove
Vote against egotism
Vote against racism
Vote against narcissism
Vote against cynicism
Vote against the racists
Vote for real peace
Do not vote for the lies
Do not vote for the spoiled pies
Vote for the honest politicians
Not for the dishonest magicians
Vote for a better tomorrow
And stop all sorrow.

P.S. Please share this poem and do NOT forget to vote for all the Democrats.
If you are not a US citizen, please encourage a US citizen to VOTE.

Copyright © October 2024, Hébert Logerie, All rights reserved.
Hébert Logerie is the author of several books of poetry.
MetaVerse Aug 2024
¿
to be or not to be,
that is the question un
doing democracy
burdened by(what has been

the magic)8 ball knows
the answer,so do i
the magic answer is
better not tell you now


Ken Pepiton Jun 2024
Yes, reading, using only text, unbreakably plain,
as benign as simple first seems, easy to keep thinking

we may be evolving as we think in ways none thought
possible to leave be so easing, lifting, lightening thinking

we need not toil,
at this instance,
the nature of the medium,
holding any sense we make,
massaging the messenger, to me
arranges time around second glances,
it may mean as many as seventy things,

but tome, said in Hebrew, is integrated innocense,
and it has a verbal form, completing certain trans
actions, in spacetime mindful practice fields,
as pre-spiring aspiring transpirits transpiring
into little willful art works, aspirational asps

sneaky snake, wise serpent, dragon prosperity,
dragon of lucifity, crawling like an army, on its belly,

Set, divine sylabbles from babbling brooks,
that loved the high mountains in that science
of Aristotle kind of love, rich kids learned as religion.

The initiation into the mysteries.

Those oaths, I swear, we hear them
to this day, as games are played, old spells
muttered, and the veterans of Satanic Panic,

at the edge
of the last millennium,
once more, gather socially,
to see shown, the Q- document
included the ritual,
to let this mind, be
in you, and you  be thinking,

-- wait one adjectively untainted minute,
is the-this art, is this thinkable, without
authority?

this peace I am taking, I did not make it, but
I can take it. I fought no dragon,
won no war.
I solved the house troubling egg
riddle, silk eggs store story lines
on the scale
of life, entire memories
of winds waters since the ice,
last reached farther last summer,
than this, these
memories
in gaseous we formed last gasps,
suddenly

it ended… and we survived,
we feel the need t
o let it be known, and lo'
we have a culture atuned
to the tongue I was programed
to use awarily as the message medium.

Imagined while Goldie Hawn was asking
Marshall McLuhan, what are you doin'?
Dig it. Digit. An instant in a we.
'68. There was video tape,
and searchible reel to reel, let's test it, in a mind

re-ify, ify if I knew when time mattered last,

what would now be worth, back then?
In attention?
The ways we sow subversive verse is potentially as permanent as the web;\
which we designed to survive 1961 foreseeable destructive entities. Post debate angst...  spent in sudden frustration to prevent cardiac events.
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