Redux
The value of the past eludes us.
The same mistakes on repeat.
Reflection would serve us well.
Empathy would too.
Oh, realize the worth of our tragic and harsh history!
Please only go forward, not back.
I worry for my children and future generations.
Sobbing, losing hope with each act of terror.
As I watch this world becoming one of hate and destruction,
I feel defeated.
Filled with sadness,
I still love.
But is it enough?
Originally published October 30, 2018, on I Write Her.
unbridled campaign donations
keeping wedge issues alive
bribed officials in our political system
wanting to decide the future of all
we can’t let them
woe is us
if we don’t pay attention
woe is us
if we don’t demand what’s right
woe is us
if we don’t vote
woe is us
if we don’t challenge the status quo
where is justice for all
where has life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness gone
where will you be the day our democracy crumbles
Inspired by Reena’s Xploration Challenge #296 & Moonwashed Weekly Prompt – Ignited
today’s concerns have ignited my blood
and the SMDH syndrome and eye-rolling
are on overtime
where fiction in the time of fake news
adds yet another layer to conspiracy theories
the level of ignorance is appalling
will we ever course correct?
Inspired by Reena’s Xploration Challenge #283 – Fraud &
Moonwashed Weekly Prompt – Untouched
i wish we’d remained untouched
but the evil was pervasive
the fraud perpetrated left us in ruins
gutting our insides
and scarring our perspectives
but we fight
we overcome
and we rectify the misdeeds
restoring balance and harmony
the goodness will triumphantly rise again
Inspired by Sadje’s What do you see #180
book burning
book banning
there is no difference
fascism
oligarchy
there is no difference
oppression
depression
there is no difference
where is the utopia for all
not just the paradise for the few
an egregious display of the hunger games 2.0
the powerful watch
as the will of so many is ignored
or shushed into silence
ill-gotten dominance rules
over those seeking comfort
in a world already hard enough
why have we not learned anything from history
“Let not anyone pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing. He is not a good man who, without a protest, allows wrong to be committed in his name, and with the means which he helps to supply, because he will not trouble himself to use his mind on the subject.” John Stuart Mill
Inspired by Reena’s Exploration Challenge #268 & Moonwashed Weekly Prompt – Sweetheart
a kaleidoscope of questions
forces discussion of private matters
who can i sleep with
what makes a woman
who may i love
what makes a man
why are bathrooms controversial
can’t everyone just mind their own business
i just want to be able to call you my sweetheart
If you haven’t read it yet, the link above will take you there. I will tell you it’s close to 850 pages long, so you’ll have to hunker down. Maybe the best time to read about a shitty time in history is in the bathroom.
Also, 20 years to the day, our democracy faced a similar dispute about who won the election. Obviously, it went down a different path. Following a legal challenge, George W. Bush was certified as the winner of the 2000 election.
It seems our country has devolved as of late.
Inspired by Moonwashed Weekly Prompt #121 – Pompous & Reena’s Exploration Challenge #261
we wished for the best
and you gave us the worst
one pompous demonstration
after another
it’s time…
for the bubble
that contains your ego
to burst
Inspired by Moonwashed Weekly Prompt – Celestial &
Reena’s Exploration Challenge #254 – Politico
every year, the same spiels
the politico aiming for celestial status
trying to come off better than the opponents
while smearing the other for their lead
showing support for those they disdain
those they allegedly will stand for
knowing they can’t win without them
vilely begging for votes
and trading favors for money
the ill-gotten gains
mean more to them than actual representation
will it ever change?
I’VE SAVED ENOUGH FOR SHADY PALMS
I’ve saved enough to go in Shady Palms,
assuming I die at the end of the week.
If I reach old age, or get dementia,
then I’m surely up shit creek.
I find it hard to understand the system,
which pays if it’s your leg that’s broke.
You pay though if it’s your head that’s ill,
and to me that’s not a joke.
I have no desire to go in Shady Palms,
to find I’m fading and walking toward the light.
I want to stay home, then one day on waking,
find I’ve gone and died in the night.
GINGER ROGERS, BACKWARDS AND IN HEELS
Hard dancing Fred Astaire,
with Ginger Rogers made a pair.
Her fancy footwork always appeals,
amazing, as it’s backwards and in heels.
Hard dancing Fred Astaire,
did tap with Ginger with such flair.
Moving fast as light with flashing feet,
man oh man dig that rhythm, dig that beat.
Hard dancing Fred Astaire,
rehearsed for hours with no care,
No thought for Ginger her feet so sore,
taking off her shoes and the blood would pour.
Hard dancing Fred Astaire,
hit the top in the floodlights glare.
Asked the secret of his success to explain,
he thought for a while then said, no pain no gain.
Hard dancing Fred Astaire,
then Ginger’s thoughts did share.
My feet bleeding until dances he perfects,
I am proving women really are the stronger sex.
Hard dancing Fred Astaire,
with Ginger Rogers made a pair.
Her fancy footwork always appeals,
amazing, as it’s backwards and in heels.
JRR TOLKIEN AND THE NOBEL PRIZE
JRR Tolkien, author of great repute
was nominated for a Nobel Prize
by C S Lewis, a writer and his friend,
then suddenly came a surprise.
His Lord of the Rings books were rejected
the jury called them second rate,
poor storytelling was also cited
as the reason they met this fate.
I wonder if the author JRR Tolkien,
these comments cut him in half
but as a bestselling author,
he certainly had the last laugh.
WOKE IN THE UK
As an older fellow, I would like to reach out to the younger members of society in a vain attempt to retain my sanity going forward for there are certain expressions and phrases which are used by the youth of today which are causing me anxiety and are interfering with my mental health, some of which I have placed in bold type.
For example, starting a sentence with So punctuating it with Like talking with a Multicultural London accent emphasising any word ending with ility and now I find I’m having to contend with Woke.
I’m getting a little sick and tired of it all and would like to go back to English as a language and for modern Woke people to stop taking offence on behalf of others who are probably more capable of dealing with the situation themselves.
That’s the end of my minor rant for now but I am certain I have missed a multitude of things and will no doubt think of more going forward, sorry I mean in the future.
BACK BENCH MP’S
In Great Britain, we have numerous traditions and peculiar habits which I personally love, especially the ones that make no sense at all, an example being The House of Commons.
A person can stand for Parliament and when elected become a Minister of Parliament and assuming they continue their way up the greasy pole of Politics can become a Member of the Cabinet, an example of which is the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, or slightly stranger the post of Minister Without Portfolio, which is a post for a Cabinet Minister with no specific responsibilities.
I’m sure all this makes perfect sense to all those of you who may not live in our rather wonderful country but just to throw a spanner into the works, should one of these Ministers cause a bit of a hoo-ha by having an affair and groping his secretary and breaking the current Covid restrictions he or she will lose their Ministerial position and be banished to the back benches of Parliament, this is rather like becoming one of the naughty children on a school trip who sits at the back of the bus and causes a commotion, although smoking is not permitted in the Chamber.
There you are, the British Parliament in a nutshell, I hope it all makes sense to you!
~~~
Joe is a retired actor, author, and blogger. thediaryofacountrybumpkin.com is an amusing take on the more quirky aspects of modern life. His books are available on Amazon, the latest of which is a murder mystery set in 1947 and is called The Case of the Grease Monkey’s Uncle. Joe was first featured on The Short of It on March 6, 2020, and then published in our first anthology – The Sound of Brilliance.
Submissions are now closed but if you’d like to be featured on The Short of It in the future,
click here for the submissions guidelines.
I Write Her 