Looking in mind’s mirror of cracked broken glass
I see myself as cracked and broken as well
Peering through hammered glass, I see
images and shapes through cataracts clouded
Looking out through tinted windows, I see
The world around me clearly // unglaring
“Carrying on” as usual, as it cycles on and on
As though looking in a mirror of clear glass
reflecting my image in true perspective…
Whole // an eternal soul in an aging body
Created in the image of God!
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
I am in the winter of my mind, where shadows creep
and darkness comes early // seeming never to sleep…
closing in and overshadowing my thoughts.
Creativity remains with each bright new day
bringing a spot of sunshine from friends far away
of like minded bloggers and a few online friends.
I must close off the darkness // of “hurricane News”
and “tornadoes of fear” // with darkness infused
leaving my mind destroyed by what I hear.
I’ll go back to my writing and pretend not to see
the streets in upheaval and the mothers who plea
for children caught in the crossfire // each day, it seems.
For truth these days seem more one’s perception
with marching politicians and Covid physicians
and dissent is met with racial accusations.
Photo; Dwight L. Roth
I am sharing this on open link night at d”Verse poets night. With all that has been going on the past five months, I feel a little stir-crazy at times. Seems a lot of others feel the same way from all chaos I see happening across the country, on the evening news. It pains me to see children shot, and no one seems to raise a voice or carry a sign for them. Very sad indeed! These are some of my thoughts as I stay in my cocoon!
Join us at: https://dversepoets.com
I got my inspiration for this poem today, after reading Lynn’s Poem this morning:
When distasteful statues of heritage are gone
and the founding fathers permanently buried
and our country’s history erased // then what?
When the constitution is rewritten
and modified and amendments deleted
in the name of progress // then what?
When the drive of capitalism is sedated
and wealth redistributed to those who have never worked
and banks replaced by government 666 chips // then what?
When everyone is forced into political correctness
and all the “I’m sorry people” are reconditioned
to all think alike // then what?
When “swords are beaten into plowshares”
and all the guns are recycled to a few
who keep the disgruntled in line // then what?
When religions are squelched for deviant thinking
and non compliance revives the “burning at the stake”
and “God is Dead” // then what?
When anarchy and revolution turns into an Orwellian nightmare
and Big Brother/Sister monitors and controls everything we do
and creativity and culture become acts of treason // then what?
2024 is not that far away!
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As I watch the conflict and clashes between protesters/rioter and Police and National Guardsmen in Portland and across the country, it makes me wonder whether they have thought beyond their present anger, the destruction of Government Buildings, De-funding the Police, Black Lives Matter, and anarchy.
I have compiled some outrageous questions, all containing some truth, for them and us to think about!
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My Friend Ivor Stevens said it best in his Haiku:
Cold steel’s not power
Love can’t be an iron fist
Hand in hand we breathe
https://ivors20.wordpress.com/2020/07/27/a-collection-of-ponds-turns-into-a-lake/
Painting: Dwight L. Roth
The communist leader, Khrushchev once said
“We will destroy America, not with guns and missiles,
we will destroy America (with a revolution) from within!”
Little did he know the effects of future social media.
His prophesy seems to be coming true as we grow apart.
Divide and conquer // a long held strategy, seems to work;
Who needs guns and missiles when we do it to ourselves?
Perhaps it is time to lay down our tongues of war
Our hateful politics, our social judgments, our racial biases
and our Holier than thou Religion.
Time to quit feeding on only what is being fed to us by
our enemies on social media and the News talking heads.
We are in a war for our lives, both physically and politically.
We have spent the last twenty plus years refusing to co-operate;
Being fed misinformation and devouring twisted truth.
Maybe it really is time to sing Kum Ba Ya together…
To listen to one another // to learn to compromise
and in my own naïve way, believe it can happen…
Before it is too late!
Photo taken at the Mutart Conservatory in Edmonton, AB – Dwight L. Roth
Merril at d’Verse, has has asked us to write about revolution, This poem goes to back to a time when the Cold War with Russia was at it’s peak. Long before many of our younger blogers were born, the Russians were in the business of revolution. They suceeded in Cuba and were ready to plant missles there until JFK gave them an ultimatum. The desire to cause revolution in this country is very real and is being fed by our social media every day. It is time to use common sense and quite being manipulated by what we feed on.
Join us at: https://dversepoets.com
The death of Congressman John Lewis, bring a reflection of the intense turmoil he lived through during the Civil Rights era. The struggle for respect and equality still goes on sixty years later. As I look at the division that still remains, I realize it will not be resolved without God’s love changing our hearts allowing us to live together in peace.
Some views are shotguns blasting away
Others sling shots pelting against the gate.
Let’s have a conversation they say…
Come together // find common ground
Solve our differences together.
*
How does that happen with shotgun politics
and sling shot twitter, that couldn’t hit a brick wall.
When our view is the only right view,
Each conversation become one of persuasion or condemnation…
A ticket to ride our train non stop to our destination.
*
Legislated change without heart change, brings little hope.
History keeps repeating with every rotation.
Change comes with give and take // listening and hearing
Appreciating uniqueness // instead of condemning it.
*
Only a revolution of the heart will bring peace from division.
Perhaps, “love your neighbor as yourself”
are words that could make our world a better place…
Opening the door to finding common ground…
Bringing the “Hope and Change” we really need.
Photos: Dwight L. Roth
Here is a favorite song from the Folk era by the Youngbloods called Let’s Get Together
Perhaps what is missing in this generation is the truth in Folk Music… Music that brought people together!
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Today at d’Verse, we were asked to write a poem written with the first person “I am” included in it. This is a poem about ourselves. This poem looks a life from my aging perspective, realizing that even though I may pass on, my life goes on. We are created in the image of our creator and that is in our DNA. It gets passed on from me to my children and grandchildren. So in that perspective life goes on.
Join us at: https://dversepoets.com
This week the news has been full of incidents where shootings have taken the lives of adults and children in the Black community. It was so sad to watch a mother in Chicago crying for her young child, who was shot killed in their car. Or the young boy who was organizing and effort for Black Lives Matter, only to be shot and killed by crossfire from persons shooting at each other. Why do we turn a blind eye when black people kill each other, but march in the streets if a black person dies in police custody. Seems there is a major disconnect here.
10-Year-Old Girl Dies After Being Hit By Stray Bullet In Logan Square
Who raises a voice in protest
for the young girl who was hit in the head
by a stray bullet in her front yard // caught crossfire?
Who stands in protest for the mother
whose car was ambushed and shot up
killing her one year old child
Who carries a sign for the young
boy who hoped to make a difference,
but instead was shot by a stray bullet
Who calls for change when gunshots
ring out in a crowd in *Charlotte
killing two and wounding eleven victims last week
Or again today, as more shots were fired
and more lives lost …
Only to receive passing mention on
the evening news.
Do Black Lives Matter
When they are taken by their own?
Who is willing to take a stand
To say enough is enough?
As mothers cry for their children!
I say enough is enough!
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Six children were killed over the 4th of July weekend!
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/07/06/us/children-killed-holiday-weekend/index.html
No arrests… No one will come forward with information. Very Sad!!
*We have had over 60 homicides here in Charlotte this year!
7/13 three more killed over the weekend. The youngest 16! No Suspects!
https://www.eonline.com/us/news/1165333/pop-lock-drop-it-rapper-huey-dead-at-32-after-fatal-shooting
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
https://lifeinportofino.wordpress.com/2017/08/02/just-beneath-the-surface/
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
If they had co-operated, I believe, most of them would be alive today.
Painting: Dwight L. Roth
