Not In Theory

Art and entertainment have a relationship
ripe with strife

Art is entertainment. Entertainment is art.
this mess is a thing to bless

Entertainment may mandate popularity
believable or inconceivable

And art may prefer a depth
encouraging discussions with many repercussions

We see these generalities destroyed
by those who speak power, first softly softer then louder

It is plain and clear that art may entertain.
or not, an artist's choice to fire their best shot

And entertainment may most certainly be rooted in art.
not necessarily, but there's always a possibility

Now replace art and entertainment with female and male.
finally finally perform gender equality, not in theory but in honesty

.

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- mailed to Oregon this week - 
- artwork by Stik - 

I Can't Wait To Go To Bed

I lie
on my back
in bed
in semi-blackness.
Anticipation stirs inside.
A determined sleep-wave
overtakes the eyelids.
All goes dark.

Later
lights go on, off.
Drawers open, close.
Closet doors swing, skate.
I sense the balancing act
of removing clothes, quietly.
Through doorways, construction sounds radiate;
electric brushes and hoses efficiently cleaning, teeth.

I know
you will slip-in soon.
I will then half-wake
during your nighttime routine, or not.
While consciousness fades in, out,
a comfort permeates me
with the expectant arrival
of your warmth.

.

.

- mailed to Washington -
- artwork by Ibrahim El-Salahi -
 

A Cycle

A child takes a first shower
lathers the face with soap
opens eyes before rinsing
screams from the soap stinging
Mom runs in to help and soothe

A 50-year-old takes a shower
lathers the face with soap
rubs eyes letting soap seep in before rinsing
painful stinging of the eyes
no scream so no one comes, it passes

An old person takes a shower
lathers the face with soap
disoriented, opens an eye before rinsing
tries to scream from the stinging
slips falls and dies

Three instances
three ages
one learning moment
one goofy (goof bucket) moment
one death
 

 

- mailed to Maine this week -
- artwork by Katharina Grosse -

On You

13, 19, 22, 11
 13, 19, 22, 11
 numbers count;  well, are counted
 but people count and are counted too
 and if counted, that’s not the only way they count
 a ratchet does not count, but it can be counted on
 a Sumo wrestler can count as two, on an airplane
 it’s futile trying to count stars, but we count on a daily sun
 can you count people you count on; in work, play, love
 people count; people can count; people may not want to count
 can you count those that count, on you
 13, 19, 22, 11
13, 19, 22, 11

 

 

- sent to Hawaii this week - 
- artwork by Howard Hodgkin

Good to Great

As we entertain our world,
As people decide how to dress their home,
As we notice a wrinkle in a face or hand
To be Good at anything takes hard hard work

As we laugh with a photograph,
Dream along with that song,
Get lost in a story
To have Success takes hard hard work plus
being at peace with perseverance

As we nurture life,
Stretch to do a kind deed,
Hold the hand of a stranger
To be Great is rare. After toiling, doubting and redoing,
a last requirement, magic - let it influence

applaud Applaud APPLAUD
even bow when you experience
a Great
It is rare

.

.

- mailed to New Hampshire this week - 
- artwork by Tom Knechtel - 

Privileges


If I had all the privileges of this age
the gifted, the bought, the labored-for, the born-into ones
I would round them up and give them to you

But I do not have the many privileges of these days
I do have a heart that aches to give you all
     (fully aware a self-created chance exceeds a gifted one).
I offer you my heart, repeatedly, generously

And this,
is the privilege of parenting,
in part.

.


.

- mailed to Rhode Island this week - 
- artwork by Gary Hume - 

Donald Trump

If you give a mouse a cookie...
If you give the Donald a stage
He will profess and confess anything
to be selected, to be elected.
We know there will be deception
that big stage requires it, without exception.
When you win with half the votes,
hope you desire gaining the hopes of the losing half too. 

When you give a mouse a cookie...
When you make the Donald leader
Might the hate spewed from his mouth
be overwhelmed, even overturned
by the truth the beauty the emotional weight
most people on this earth possess and mandate. 
Might short term gain not be the desire
but long term perspective be required.

If you give a mouse a cookie...
let us all write this story.
Unflinching, Unblinking,
Fiercely standing-up for our neighbors.
The story we write with our hearts
turns-out is the story that keeps us together, not apart.
So if you might trust a mouse with a child
might you trust the Donald to care for your child...

.

.

- inspiration from children's book:
"If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"  by Laura Numeroff


- mailed to Massachusetts this week - 
- artwork by Cecily Brown - Untitled (Vanity) - 2005

Vigilant On Love

I.
Love buys toilet paper
for the one you love.

II.
Love loves love
love loves to love
love loves to love around love
love loves when love is close
love challenges love when far
Far-away love may intrude even while love is close
     (It is the taking-for-granted of love,
     the dismissal, the loss-of-manners from loves' comfort)
even close love can deteriorate under our nose
Be vigilant on love
look-at-it
examine love
the scrutiny may make love --
make love love more

.

.

- mailed to New Jersey this week -
- artwork by GCC - 
 

Raspberry Ring

A blurry line flails across
a bumpy page ignoring
the landscape of words
and sentences and
careless young thoughts. 

Those thoughts, largely
ideas seeking an audience, 
are incessant
in their chatter, 
stature and poise. 

Behind a blurry line, 
before it penetrates paper, 
a pause occurs when
line tightens focus and
paper prepares to push. 

Pushes that youthful line
into becoming a particular
word which precisely connects
idea with emotion (serving-up a
raspberry ring to help us see).
 

 

- mailed to New York this week -
artwork by Ernst Haas