we shall not leave this world alive
as we’ll discover at the end of our life

yet even though we know all that
we still cannot imagine being not

we live in times when words have lost their meaning
they only serve to fill some soundbite gaps between
faces of popstars, politicians, presidential candidates,
maybe some refugees, victims of crimes and natural catastrophes

and more sensational media creations flooding our lives
with unrelenting hype unless you push the button
that brings quiet to your life   and you find time to reconsider
what it might be  exactly you desire to achieve

in the short time we are allotted in this world
you will discover it is not the senseless media blather
but some coherent thoughts turned into words becoming deeds
enacting change leading to bold decisions

think for yourself and don’t let others think for you
then speak your thoughts in words like others cannot do

perhaps it is the weather
a prolonged absence of the sun
or presence of the winter cold
or just a temporary fashion

the media as well as many webbéd sites
simply abound with dreary blather
     of lovers lost and death so cold
     the lonesomeness of every single soul
     and how s/he suffers when s/he writes
spelled out at length with no discretion

we know that people suffer from depression
or unquenchable anger at the world
and how through proper treatments
you can considerably relieve the pain

fix them in words is one of them
    but may not be enough
sometimes a mix of pills and pen
may do the trick and help you
    write yourself through your misty prison walls
    discover unlocked doors hidden in plain sight
    step out into the sunshine
        from the darkest night

you are the sun
    whose radiance illuminates the world
    lends brilliance to your life
    sheds light on everything you’ve done

and soon you’ll notice
even the weather is getting bether …

some say
the world is out of kilter

others predict
that things are always getting worse
and humankind is doomed
to some terrible  
    though unspecified  
fate

yet others see the second coming
of their god within their lifetime

    somehow
    ‘no future’ seems to be
    the fashion of the day

what if
     rather than just complain
     about how wrong things are
     feel sorry for ourselves
     and conjure up the end of our days
we take some action
don’t leave decisions in the hands
     of corporations and ‘professionals’ and the 1%
    of politicians who are puppets
    of lobbyists and billionaires

what if
     the 99% wake up and cast their votes
     in their own interest
rather than that of candidates
     who eloquently advocate
     simple solutions for complex problems
     showing
          without knowing it
     that they really have no clue
     what they are talking about
    
what if
     we decide to elect leaders
     who actually drink the water they are preaching
     who after they’re elected also walk their talk      
     stick to their programs
     keep their promises
     to make
           with our help
    the world a better place

what if ……

love  
dove
bird
hurt pain rain
washing laundry dryer  shrunk
too hot   summer  beach  tanned skins
bikini girls   lifeguards  bodybuilders  
Schwarzenegger
robocop criminals politicians votes
lobbyists corporations   special interests
stock exchange oil price pipelines
pollution profits   leaded water   oily shores
banking wall street   99percent
wealth CEOs distribution education defloration
exploitation union struggle macjobs
Walmart amazon   tax evasion    offshore banking
islands caimans reptiles alligators walruses
snapping turtles  manatees  albatrosses
birds
dove
love

when our mind is full of great ideas
we want to write them down
yet there are times when we  discover
that there is no connection from our brain
to all the instruments we use
to transcribe our flighty thoughts
    to give them shape on paper, screen, or in the sand

sometimes it helps to pause a bit and reconsider
what we do really want to say  
    focus and concentrate
    articulate precisely yet suggestively
our indomitable urge to formulate
    the turmoil of emotions we may harbor
    our wild ideas of revolution
    the overbearing pain of loss and separation
    grey landscapes of depression
    attractions of dramatic suicide
also the joy and pleasures of deep love
    of unexpected friendships found
        where even angels fear to tread
    the happiness of our children
    the love we recognize
        often too late
    our parents have bestowed on us

et cetera  et cetera

the catalogue of our themes
expands through our lives
so do the challenges
of how to tell the tale

it helps to aim for clarity
we have to  let our instruments of writing know
which of our turbulently swirling thoughts
should earn the privilege
to become words
    and be communicated
to people who
    before they read our verse
have no idea at all
    that we exist

there are those days
so sunny and so  bright
that you begin to  think this is the time
for some achievement  that excels
of which the people tell for many years
admiring stories of heroic deeds

the morning passes   then the afternoon
the sun sets casually as usual
the moon is hiding behind clouds
   like dying ember
and when night falls in earnest
    shrouds the world in darkness
you recognize it is the day  
    not you
that people might remember