Tag Archives: Suffering

POEM: The Ark of History

Martin Luther King, Jr. said that “the arc of history bends toward justice.” I share this hope, and plan to add my share of acts and just living. May we all join in blessed solidarity and work to tell history … Continue reading

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POEM: Skip to the Loo, My Darling

Our prisons are filled with people with poorly treated substance use disorders, mental health issues, and the homeless. Prisons and jails are terrible places to deal with these issues. Incarceration is expensive, ineffective, and dehumanizing for those suffering these conditions. … Continue reading

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Benefits of Immunizations – Just for the Health of It radio show

Below is the script for my public health radio show on immunizations.  You can listen to the half-hour immunization show here.  You can listen to the most current and all previous shows at the archive for Just for the Health of … Continue reading

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Testimony for National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service — END DRAFT REGISTRATION

I prepared the below testimony to present at a public meeting in Chicago before the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service, a commission created by Congress to deal with questions of draft registration, most specifically, whether to end … Continue reading

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Bee Sting Allergic Reaction Health Care Experience Number Three

On Monday, July 17, 2017, I was stung by a yellow jacket. I am allergic to bee stings and the like. This is the third time I had been stung by a bee since I found out that I was … Continue reading

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POLITICAL POEM: Fighting Exclusively

It was his thing Fighting exclusively Battles he could win His crowning I deal Never finding himself On-the-cide of losers Whirled why’d Naught ails But win Filling his sales Whatever He could bye A captain of destiny In habiting the … Continue reading

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POEM: Lost And Found

Sum wear Long the weigh Countless souls Lost Their sense of humor Only too end up Way to Sirius Occupying that eternal box Under the counter Only willing To pass it long To whom sow ever Claims it for their … Continue reading

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Chris Hedges’ Interviews Noam Chomsky on Precarious State of America

Once again, Chris Hedges nails it in his article, Noam Chomsky Has ‘Never Seen Anything Like This,’ discussing the precarious state of the current American political landscape and bringing to bear Chomsky’s rigorous and insightful analysis over the last several generations: … Continue reading

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ANTI-VIOLENCE POEM: Sisyphean Tax

He was steeped in the slippery slope of violence An idol escalator Heedlessly powered by gravity and gravitas A climb it denier Of the worst breed Not giving won ascent A bout others In spite of the accost Whatever It … Continue reading

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HAPPINESS: Hedonic Happiness Versus Meaningful Happiness

I have long been interested in happiness and happiness research.  I recently stumbled across one of the most fascinating scientific articles of any kind that I have read in recent years: Some Key Differences Between a Happy Life and a Meaningful Life. … Continue reading

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POEM: Zombie Apocalypse — Carry On

In habiting That thin lyin’ Between living and undead Pray and prey Plodding for survival so chaste Eerie reverence For awe virtually unmoving They’ve got You’re numb-er Too many to re-pulse To take account of De-sending from cubicles and proto-calls … Continue reading

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POEM: The Yeast Of These

Wile there is much bred Daily preyed for Ample for awe concerned That seemingly still Fomenting swell times A mist repleting agin and agin In dubitable motifs Giving ascent to That for most ingredient A telling signature of homme The … Continue reading

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POEM: Nothing New Under The Sun

There is nothing new under the sun Though in the shadows The same old same old Is more mournfully familiar Settling for reality-lite Too at home with night Groping with eyes open Instead of lightly touched Even with eyes closed … Continue reading

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POEM: A Full Life

Charlie’s life was full Every available space laden to wrest His productivity well suited To his interests Taxidermy and robotics This short poem offers a challenge to what it means to have a full life in modern Western civilization, where … Continue reading

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POEM: Suffering Artists

I heard that Artists are supposed to suffer For their work No matter how hard Beaten Their head against a wall So trying I have failed Miserably Only finding my work Adore I am through And not Well Done I … Continue reading

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POEM: An Oasis Scarcely Better, Then a Mirage

From oasis to oasis Straw men Hiring suckers Living under Dissembled bridges Until it’s over Troubled waters What’s the hold-up Living for weak ends And long vocations Until Down Under One foot in front of the other One foot in … Continue reading

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POEM: Duckiness

Long the weigh I miss Took some clash Charging another Once an abject of my affection Now a worthy suspect In a lineup Of numbered whoa’s Among many Seedy subjects On the lam Yet beyond a shadow Of doubt To … Continue reading

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POEM: I Could Have Swore

I Could Have Swore Backs against the wall And faceless No name to call Wandering If anyone Ever Will get their drift Homie-less At the center A cross person Surrounded by thieves And gawkers In a sea of blindness In … Continue reading

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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

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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

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