Category Archives: Social Issues

A Bit of Kindness Please…Thank You! 

A Bit of Kindness

On her feet for meager wages
armed with high tech laser wand
she tallies groceries one by one.

Hurried shoppers, rude, impatient,
expect her to serve selflessly,
ignoring her humanity.

She returns their scowls with smiles,
the boss says customers are right,
“Come back again, have a good night…”

She needs this job to pay the bills
but every month she must decide
what’s most important to survive.

Remember this next time you shop,
acknowledge her, don’t look away,
smile, say thank you, make her day.

~kat – 17 February 2017
(A Constanza Poem)


Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 12 February 2017


Well, it’s Sunday again and I’m happy to say as I write this, and if you’re reading this, we’re all still here. I have to admit, it’s been touch and go for a few weeks. Still, the sun and moon have kept to their schedule. We even saw a comet pass by with little fanfare or disruption to our day to day. In fact you might be tempted to think that it was a normal week, or at least as normal as anyone can expect…except…

There were a few collateral casualties this week, depending on your point of view, on a whole host of battle fronts…education, speech, equality, ethics, justice, retail profit and loss, immigration, environment, freedom, separation of powers, diplomacy, and healthcare. And as a final exclamation point to wrap up the week, North Korea launched a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan (no it wasn’t the aforementioned comet…that happened too) while Japan’s Prime Minister golfed with the president at his Florida resort residence.

But many people probably missed all of this because…well because the sun and moon kept to their schedules this week. And that’s okay. Following current events is a daunting task after all and not for the faint of heart. Fortunately there are those of us who persist, nevertheless.

So, no worries. I hear the sun is scheduled to rise again tomorrow morning. Those of us who concern ourselves with the details, with the minutiae of the day, who are not afraid of the dark, who persist…and who resist will keep the light on for you. Have a great week!

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 12 February 2017

So, this is an “alt-clerihew”
but that was not his mortal sin
their family grows
separated, what a pity
but here’s the thing
your days were numbered
denying reality
Liberty’s a bearded fellow
return home to the freedom of the sea
Love is everything
just as I believed…
Drum roll paleeaaze
those who curse the rain
beguiling, mesmerizing, looming
unless they’re a duck
spinning alternative facts
ferocious and wild
easily flustered, weak and unruly
keep us in suspense too long
not that I notice such things.

kat

A shi sai or ReVerse poem is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the shi sai features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over specified period of time. I use it as a review of the previous week. 😊


Troubled – A Rondeau


Oh, let not your hearts be troubled my dears
when storm clouds loom, there is nothing to fear.
Remember that they are temporary,
brief forces of nature just rattling trees.
       The sky will soon become bright blue and clear.

For tempests are blowhards, or so I hear,
bag-o-wind braggarts who blast in our ears,
minor annoyances, blustering bullies,
easily flustered, weak and unruly
       Oh, let not your hearts be troubled

Here’s a suggestion when chaos comes near:
Fire up the hearth, or chill out, grab a beer,
slip on your galoshes, go on a spree.
Stomp every puddle with child-like glee.
Radiate love when a whirlwind appears.
       Oh, let not your hearts be troubled

~kat – 11 February 2017
(A Rondeau)


Magnetic Poetry Saturday – 11 February 2017

Only a fool would
laugh at her words.
She, who was born
ferocious and wild
will devour you with
her soft lips, her
haunting voice lingering
like strong perfume.

~kat – 11 February 2017
(Magnetic Poetry – Poet Kit)


Frank – A Quatern

digifrank

I promise an original photograph of the scene that inspired this poem when I have the misfortune, on my morning commute, to be stopped by a particular traffic light gone rouge. In the meantime, I have staged a digital re-enactment.

Each day I  wave at a happy, bearded, black man dressed in a statue of liberty suit
advertising 50% off the cost of services for a local tax prep establishment. And each day as I wave, I am struck by the absurdity of the image. Three days on, the words pinging in my brain cannot be contained a breath longer. Eye-witness photograph or not, I give you my thoughts in Quatern form

Frank

Liberty’s a bearded fellow
hawking curbside business options.
Dark-skinned, donned in green patina,
smiling, waving at passers-by.

The sight exudes absurdity.
Liberty’s a bearded fellow,
a tool for greedy plutocrats’,
alternative reality.

Wand’ring from that golden gateway
to take your two cents to the bank,
Liberty’s a bearded fellow,
a doddered cross-dresser named Frank.

It’s a wee bit disconcerting,
Colossus taking to the streets,
saving drudge from tax collectors,
Liberty’s a bearded fellow.

Kat – 8 February 2017
(a Quatern)