The rising tide of animosity...or another look at the dividing lines....

So I've been thinking a lot this week about one of the subjects I generally try to avoid...Politics. If you happen to look at my facebook profile under politics it says that I "prefer to stay neutral"...and most of the time I try to stay out of conversations that involve politics altogether because in most cases it goes from being an otherwise pleasant talk to an after school on the playground knock down drag out fight in a matter of minutes once the slightest inkling of difference is discovered. Why is that? What drives us to fall back on preconceived notions and prejudices once we learn how someone feels from a political standpoint? I don't necessarily have the answers to those two questions but I do feel that they're important to ask, especially in the world we live in today where things change so rapidly and attention spans get shorter by the second. They also serve as a jumping off point for what I'm going to focus on: my recent observations and what I think about the political climate in our world today.

As previously stated, I really don't like to talk about politics. When I look at the people around me everyday and watch the news...and read snippets and blurbs online....it becomes increasingly clear that politics is one of the topics out there that has an almost immediate dividing, polarizing effect on people the instant it enters into a conversation. While it can be humorous to think of two otherwise ordinary office coworkers stripping down and dueling it out over political views ala Fight Club, the sad reality is that it often does lead to strained relations in one form or another when politics get involved. In American society in particular it seems that we're only allowed to have two sides, Republican or Democrat, and once someone learns which side of the fence you're on then automatic assumptions are made. If you're a Republican then you must be a right wing religious fundamentalist hold over that has sold everything out to the corporate special interest groups. If you're a Democrat then you're obviously a left leaning liberal who's main interests involve humanist new age philosophy, homosexuality, and the expansion of government into all sectors of the populace. And if you just so happen to fall into one of the smaller political groups then it's just assumed you're a special brand of nut that doesn't really get any real representation or acknowledgment. I may be exaggerating the details just a bit, and it certainly sounds funny....but the sad fact is that people do judge each other with their own set of preconceived notions about a particular political view.

We had a Presidential election in 2008...and we all know the outcome. We have all been watching and talking and debating and in some cases shouting and cursing. The reactions have been both surprising and ridiculous. I have watched different people from all segments of the population and how they've reacted to our current leader in Washington DC...and I think those who have saddened me the most are my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
How can I say that? Well I guess I just don't see how pissing and moaning about our President is doing anything for the cause of Jesus. I have a hard time believing that Jesus would be spending any more time worrying about our current President than he did worrying about the political rulers of his day...which is to say, he didn't. He went about doing the work of his Father. He spent time with his disciples teaching them about the Kingdom and reaching out to the sick and the poor and the hungry. We, as followers of Jesus, should be doing the same. we should be reaching out to our friends and neighbors. we should be praying for them. we should be praying for our President, not hoping that he fails. If we believe that God has everything under control and has a plan for this world, then wouldn't Barack Obama as President be a part of the plan?

There is quite a bit more I could say...but I think it would just be me rambling. The main point I really want to make is that we need to get rid of politics altogether. it shouldn't matter if it's conservative or liberal, republican or democrat. what should matter is what's best for people. for all people. what can we do to make our country and our world a better place? It starts with people throwing out their prejudices and assumptions and talking to each other about what can be done and finding the common ground. it means that those of us who have claimed the name of Jesus as his followers start acting like it and start living the way he taught us to.

that's all for now....comments are always welcome....

Love God...Love Others...Love Yourself...

see you where the sidewalk ends....

Small slivers flickering in the distance...

This is the second set of poems I've taken the time to type up out of a few boxes I sorted through last week. It was kinda fun to read through these...trying to remember exactly what I was thinking at the time....was I thinking...what kind of emotions I was dealing with and pouring out...some of the material here is nearly ten years old...I don't always do a lot of self editing or censoring....so some may seem rough...but I like it that way most of the time...for me this is a vehicle for expression that isn't always about being polished or pristine...the best ones...the ones I connect with after the years and relate to...are often the ones that don't always have a straight forward meaning...take from them what you will...what do they mean to you?
the ones titled "Magnetic" are pieces I wrote on my friend Brian's fridge using his magnetic poetry kit....that was always a good time...enjoy these...let me know what you think...

Behind the Curtain

Last in a long line
of repeat offenses
Struggle to contain the flames
that engulf my heart
Eyes go blind
in the inky darkness
alive in the palpitations
of this cruel rhythm
Every reaction
is the same as before
dance for the marionette
and wonder where the strings begin
ignorant of my own fingers
jerking me along


Inopportune Realization

Eyelids snap open to darkness
and claustrophobic tightness
limbs undone
breath ragged and in vain
skin brushing smooth alloy
so close on all sides
the horror of Amontillado

...Buried Alive...


A Specter Looks at a Century

Restless at the dying of the light
pulse quickening at the sound
of approaching night
but am I really alive?
or just a flashing apparition
illumined by the first slivers
of this full moon rising
stretching these ancient limbs
testing long held scars for meaning
Look into these eyes
Can you really see me?
or am I just imaginary...


...Raging Inside Me

I am living an
occupational hazard
this constant mixture
of darkness and light
An angel with the shadow
of a devil inside
stuck in a world of
cyclical behavior
Poster child for
a fucked up generation
First one to admit
I still don't know myself
at all


Magnetic #1

Above his need
was will over vision
language apparatus
am I mad?
Picture running water
languid delirious
together they scream
recall how I dream
summer symphony
would we stop
did we love
under enormous some
may manipulate
not to cry
crush their moment
sweat blood and ask me why


Magnetic #2

Chant at bitter death
black life drunk
love like summer
felt all these drive her
worship a moment
picture the diamonds
water light skin smell
lazy boy still here
after a thousand lies
blood from my sadness
together and delicate
ships stop vision
suited to power
bare arm sweat
void yet essential
I loved you
iron sky fall
friend recall
honey I sing
but I'm gone


Magnetic #3

Language like beauty
languid in sunshine
elaborate and produce
madmen stare at the moon
manipulate and incubate
whisper to the flood
road music trips me out
shadow symphony in winter wind
about a girl beneath sweet petals
dreams mean eternity
ask me sometime



Magnetic #4

Felt like I could
dream you and me together
languid beneath
this forest moon
chant away the blood lust
drunk on honey
essentially crushed
manipulated
asleep in the sun
pink rose petals
did bare love
let your light shine
delirious eternity sings
of delicate beauty
a moment gone
still I recall
spring and tiny water music
picture a thousand
I only need one
whisper it to me
love above all
worship through language
live today


Magnetic #5

Leave after asking
still I whisper
like a man without
eternity
summer never parts
showing only those
near the void
alive
elaborate from there
tell me how I was
dream and recall
this black flood like death
screaming within bitter moments
shadow language produces
a weak symphony
sordid and repulsive
I run to the rain
cool and delicate
enormous sun soars blue sky
time always sees
true vision

next post will be something different...I've been thinking about a particular subject...just haven't had the time this week to sit down and flesh out my thoughts into a coherent piece...maybe this weekend...until then...see you where the sidewalk ends...

Spinning in circles with golden sparklers....

I've been doing some cleaning lately(yes I know you're all shocked) condensing some boxes of stuff...throwing out junk...and in the midst of this I found some scattered pages of all sorts...even a few napkins, a placemat, and a check stub...that I had written poems on that I had never taken the time to add to one of my computer documents. I've gone through them and started typing the ones that make the most sense or seem to be more than just an unfinished fragment and thought I would share a few of them here. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Light Years

If there was ever a reason
for self discovery
I had not discarded
I can't remember it now
There are no excuses
I haven't used
to try and bury this ideal
Suffocate & asphyxiate
this truth
yet I don't recall being happier
blind & bored
just unaware & unconcerned
The faintest glimmer changed everything
beginning this awkward secret journey
plumbing the depths
of my stained consciousness
and awakening the revelation
that I never knew
the meaning of the darkness
until I truly saw the light


Secondhand Oasis

I watched it all crumble
and wondered why I never noticed
the sand that shifts around my feet
Strange how this temporary blindness
can hide this desert from me
I could've sworn this was a mountain
and yet this blistering breeze
has carried away every leg I thought to stand on
awhisper floats past
tickling my ear
and as I tilt to listen
eyes greet light
and the pain of true vision

So my world is falling down
soon to be a fading memory
But somehow it feels good to be a failure
otherwise there would be no second chances
no time to really see



Stained Glass

So often I ask myself
where the breaking point lies
How far I must endure
this overbearing charade
of a life I gave up living
Exhausted of trying to please
these dressed to kill hypocrites
and entombed spiritual midgets

Is the search still worth it?

White noise and hard rain
taunt my aching soul
beckoning toward a numbing oblivion
and yet something
buried deep within my still beating heart
screams for relief

Jesus where are you?
I was sure you'd be here
but all my pious exploration ever uncovered
was the ghost of your memory
I'm tired
but somehow still trusting
wanting to live
and You whisper
...Peace..Be Still....


Questioning the Stars

I sometimes speak to the midnight sky
wondering what weight words hold
in the expanse between
the stars & the sea
Do I speak in vain?
Are my heavenly inquiries
merely an exercise
in an unperceived futility?
These constant questions
crowd this fragile faith
I desperately cling to
in my burdened state of mind
Yet I am alive in the mystery
of it all
vitality streaming from the hidden things
Enlightenment is,
after all,
only possible if you're wondering at the darkness
wanting something more


Little White Lies

Is it really for the best
that I think everything is fine
when nothing works right
and I understand less
about the way things should be
the more I learn
how things are
I guess it's the lie I tell myself
to keep away from responsibilities
I don't want to accept
for actions I only wish
were someone elses'
Regressing further into a logic
I pray will stave off
these barbarians at the gate
screaming insurrection
that makes a quickened pulse
course through me from this darkened heart
that knows what cruel logic won't admit
fall asleep and tell myself
It's all for the best


Fevered

Breathe
Take a chance and
inhale another moment of life
Please
I'm not ready to give in
and watch another slow procession
Breathe
Remember that there's more
than all that pulls you down
Please
I don't think this life
can be the same if you go
Breathe
You still have so much to do
so much worth experiencing
Please
I love you
just
Breathe


Lengthening Shadows

I wondered at
the substance of this life
moving forward
in a volatile environment
Am I just another blip
on the radar screen?
Or maybe a shadow
in this march of the walking dead
Is this it?
Am I content
to hide here from the light?
So I sit and ponder
until the last glimmer fades
and then doubt
that the light
was ever there at all

That's all for now...see you where the sidewalk ends....