gently i descend the heavens,
on a feathery whiff
silky mane fluttering.

approaching planet
deep blue
or, is it
some shade of grey?

landed on
umm... helipad?

i fill my lungs
with the air perfumed
  cough cough
-- maybe not.

so much for
mama' s tall tales!

kicking a hoof,
leap i go
into the nearest forest
or, whatever is left of it.

Tell me if Earth is flat or round,
She hears thin weeping willow's cry.
How planet was this built is too profound.

Tell me about the origins of life.
Where sky was dark, no sound,
Just glimpse of His first light.

Tell me about the waterfall of words
That tends to spill and drown
The valleys of my life.

Tell me about your sins and virtues.
The only truth I want to know
Is if they hurt you.

Tell me why quiet is your tongue,
And why the burden of this time
confusion and debation sprung.

we're dead
wrong--deadly
throngs, heading
for death--& long-
itude & latitude's
gone; hope to hope to
hope again; carried
on wind, waves; ferried
in mind; waves, long-
ing kind waves;
shall we find ways
to not be dead
wrong? are the days
too short or two longs
repeating too loudly?
too proudly? too cloudly?
but Earth sang songs long
ago; She sings again,
bellowing: you're deadly
wrong.

We see the clouds and the fiery pits
And we hope for our chance to fly.
But we are never fully certain
Of where we go when we die.

The sea
is shallow,
as is the Grand Canyon
when compared to how deep
my love is
for you.

If ever we wish for Peace on Earth, it will only be achieved through the praxis of love. It is strange to me that all the philosophers through the ages--from Socrates through Arendt--never realized this truth and therefore never espoused it;  rather, in varying ways, they talked in political terms of all different kinds, but never evinced the emotional, the quintessential core of which is, of course, love. Just to give two, but heinous, gargantuan examples, are the centuries of slavery and genocide throughout our world, examples that make me wonder what exactly is the true nature of us as human beings. Here we are in the year 2020 and we have over 50 totalitarian nations (out of over 200) on Earth. And we have in the United States a human being in the Oval Office who is patently a racist, a liar, a cheat, a misogynist, and, in short, a criminal who cares only about himself and not a scintilla about any other human being. Love? You will not find it at the head of our present government, nor in the despotic, tyrannical, totalitarian nations that dot our globe. But love is within each of us, and can be evoked in all of us, but only by our collective will. Read, if you will, my commentary, PEACE ON EARTH THROUGH LOVE, which you can find on MEDIUM by typing in "Tod Hawks -Medium," then scrolling down to my commentary. Thank you in advance for your interest.

Copyright 2020 Tod Howard Hawks