Tag Archives: Reality

POEM: By No Means Necessary

By No Means Necessary When the strident are Up in arms Staking their claims By any means necessary May such a battlefield Arouse patience strewn A bout Of faith Inciting our most gratuitous hopes By any kinds possible The prison … Continue reading

Posted in Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

POEM: Rumi-nation

I live in a perpetual Rumi-nation This simple one-line poem reflects a basic experience in my life, in general, and as a poet.  As a poet, my mind, at times, drifts into aha moments of epiphanies, and at times, races … Continue reading

Posted in Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

POEM: Smoking Guns

Smoking Guns Gun control is their aim Bringing a bout Sad states And a stag nation Wear points are sported Big bucks are the game Triggering depression Beyond one’s cope Looking down The business end Of a gun shaking As … Continue reading

Posted in Health, Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

POEM: Hope Inflamed

Hope Inflamed Hope inflamed That which cannot be Put out Will consume every individual Testing their mettle Forging in feeleds Just discovered From a crucible witch lies unknown Alloys forever Stronger than any metal Purely a loan No matter How … Continue reading

Posted in Anti-War, Peace, Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

POEM: Hard on the Poor

Hard on the Poor Our moral compass Goes south Skewering Those below Under lyin’ Poverty abashed Without abjections Needle US Too say Pricks Hand shakers And grand standers Razing just for fund He’ll freeze over Before changing any position Undertaking … Continue reading

Posted in Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

POEM: Tracing Humanity

Tracing Humanity They say that You can tell A lot About a person By what they do This, of course, is on track Still, there is a better weigh The difference between animals and humans That which earthly scales can’t … Continue reading

Posted in Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

POEM: Revolutions Violent

Revolutions Violent Any revolution That must dispose of enemies Remains Mirrorly A turning Of the tables Going round Not with standing How grate thou Art And wore A game that can only Play you Fraught with duel intentions That two-sided … Continue reading

Posted in Anti-War, Peace, Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

POEM: Navy Yard Killings

Navy Yard Killings In these crazy times Of senseless killings Nations seek a return To sensible killings There are many levels of crazy.  There are perhaps even more levels of crazy when it comes to killing.  I am not surprised … Continue reading

Posted in Anti-War, News, Peace, Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

POEM: Unemployable

I am unemployable Partly because no one can afford what I’m worth Partly because I prefer to give it away This short poem harkens to a more organic way of relating to one another than contractual relationships.  What if people … Continue reading

Posted in Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

POEM: Traveling North Still

I was traveling on a journey And it was definitely not south I watched the mile markers grow in number Until I found myself in a different state Noticing that The mile markers restarted And lo, it was different Though … Continue reading

Posted in Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

POEM: Paying Attention

Are you too broke to pay attention? This one-line poem most directly seeks to de-link material wealth from perhaps the greatest tool available to humans: consciousness, or mindfulness.  Being able to access mindfulness, regardless of wealth, status, or “worldly” power, … Continue reading

Posted in Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

POEM: Escaping Hubris

Indigency is the quickest road Out of hubris Few of us can afford Its high price Hubris, or arrogance, is powerfully seductive in the human mind.  This excessive self-confidence seems to be an inescapable part of egocentricity.  Nonetheless, as humans … Continue reading

Posted in Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

POEM: Infectious Hope

Hope is a blood-borne pathogen The seed of martyrs Inflaming that allergy to injustice Present in us all Infected by a singular epiphany Of friend and foe Alike I see hope as an irreducible reality in human nature.  Just like … Continue reading

Posted in Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

POEM: Work Week

One day I didn’t feel like going to work Some people call them weekdays This one goes out to all of you who feel, chronically and/or acutely, that going to work is, well…work.  I wouldn’t mind being the guy who … Continue reading

Posted in Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

POEM: Incompetent Evil

I don’t care much for evil I don’t care much for incompetence Though when present together Incompetence becomes a blessing As in math, sometimes in morality, multiplying two negatives can produce some positive results.  There is at times some hope … Continue reading

Posted in Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

POEM: Barbarian Hordes

Only after building the wall To keep the barbarian hordes out Did I realize That we are the barbarian hordes Exclusion is the most barbarian practice.  Inclusion is the most enlightened practice.  To evolve in our humanity we need to … Continue reading

Posted in Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

POEM: Government Listening

I’d like a government that listens More than listens in And NO, I don’t want fries with that! We need to truly listen to one another, in order to create together a democracy that represents us.  Democracy is an open … Continue reading

Posted in Poems | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

POEM: Lifting Fog

Lifting Fog You can’t fight city hall They are too big to fail We are too small to make a difference A mere drop in a vast sea These lies can travel through vast deserts of grief and despair Like … Continue reading

Posted in Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

POEM: God is Love

God is love And everything else If there were anything else The classic formulation of “God is love” is attractive to many people of good will; perhaps, because of its implicit assertion of nurturing life as a primary characteristic of … Continue reading

Posted in Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER: A Christian Perspective on Justice

Here is a portion of a document that I drafted a couple of years ago while I was a board member of Toledo Area Ministries (TAM).  It was never adopted in any form, but I put a lot of work … Continue reading

Posted in About Top Pun, Peace, Political Action, Political and Philosophical Musings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment