November PAD Chapbook Challenge 2019: Day 16: Break Free of Tyranny

Image by Annalise Batista from Pixabay

it seems to me

that for a nation of people

who love to talk about freedom

there were all too damn many of us

willing to trade our freedom

to be under the orange thumb

of a tangerine despot

now it's time

to put up or shut up

now it's time

to take our country back

now it's time

to realize that electing

a rude, loudmouthed reality tv star

with an ego the size of Jupiter

was a really stupid idea

and now it's time

to impeach the sonofabitch

who shouldn't have been in the White House

in the first damn place

now it's time

to fix our mistake

and really make America great

~Sly Has Spoken~

Image copyright juliahenze @123rf.com

Notes:

The November PAD Chapbook Challenge prompt for today was to write a "free" poem. So I decided to move over, Rover, and let Sly take over and write a free verse about breaking free from the tRump tyranny. No putting a fine point on this one. Impeach the illegitimate bastard. 

Yes, Pence is his own brand of awful. We'll deal with him next.

Even more worrisome to me than the fact that Lord Dampnut and the Gentleman Serial Killer ran for office is the fact that there were enough people willing to vote for them that they got elected. Anyone who thinks that we live in a country where racism, sexism, classism, and all the other shitty little isms are a thing of the past is, as Flavor Flav once said, blind from the facts.

Troiku Challenge 2019: Day 7: Unlocked Fence

Image Source

unlocked fence

walking towards the countryside

finally free

unlocked fence

will I find freedom outside

or more enslavement

walking towards the countryside

the world outside is alien

imprisoned so long

finally free

no more fences, no more guards

but such a high cost

~Chèvrefeuille & Cie~

Notes:

I could not help but think of the prison camps of World War II when I saw this image. We must never be allowed to sweep those horrors under the rug because they make us uncomfortable. 

I watched a program about the descendants of some of the leaders involved with the Holocaust. These are good people who want to prevent such a thing from ever happening again. They are not proud of being related to such terrible individuals as their ancestors. 

Rudolf Hess' grandson Rainer said, "if my grandfather were alive, I would kill him myself." 

Hermann Goring's grandniece Bettina and her brother both had themselves voluntarily sterilized.

Amon Goeth's daughter wasn't aware of her father's exact role in the Holocaust until she saw Schindler's List. The realization was so upsetting to her that it caused her to go into shock.

We must remember the Holocaust, and we must not allow other atrocities and mistreatments of our fellow humans to be swept under the rug.

Many people are not aware of the Armenian genocide.

The United States isn't too keen for people to remember that during World War II, people of Japanese ancestry, including those born in the United States, were locked in internment camps.

Think what is happening right now in the United States with migrant children being taken from their parents and locked in detention centers or placed with foster families, some of whom are abusive. Cheeto Hitler denies that any of the blame rests with him when it sits squarely on his lap. And no, I will not apologize for referring to him as Cheeto Hitler.

NaHaiWriMo 2018 #6: House of Cards

Notes:

Text by The Real Cie. House of Cards and its characters are the creation and property of Netflix.

I was inspired to create this Haiga while binge-watching House of Cards instead of sleeping. I noticed the parallel between the over-the-top drama involving House of Cards' main character, Frank Underwood, and Kevin Spacey, the actor who plays the part. Frank Underwood describes his father as having been a violent alcoholic. Spacey has stated that his father was both physically and sexually abusive as well as a racist.

While I feel that the inner turmoil from his childhood abuse combined with shame over his sexual orientation may have prompted Kevin Spacey to behave in inappropriate and ill-advised ways with young men, and while I feel compassion for his struggles, I do not think that his behavior is acceptable. It is a shame that it resulted in his being terminated from House of Cards because he is a superlative actor. Of course, it is also unfortunate that the young men subjected to his behavior suffered psychological repercussions.

This piece falls into the categories of fan art, art imitating life, human failings, tragedy, and irony.

NaPoWriMo 2015: Day 28: Bridge the Gap

Bridge the Gap

No matter their color

No matter their race

No matter their nationality

No matter their religion

No matter their sex

No matter their gender

No matter their sexual orientation

No matter their size

No matter if you don't think they're attractive

Nobody deserves to be bullied

We are all sisters and brothers

Let us close the chasm between one another

Let us build a bridge

The materials we need in abundance

Are love and tolerance

Kindness and understanding

Peace and harmony

Be a builder

Not a destroyer

Lift others up

Don't tear them down

Together we can build a bridge to a better tomorrow

A bridge to a world with acceptance for all

~Naila~

Notes:

This sort of thing always brings tears to my eyes. It's a very important message. Maybe someday we won't need such messages any more, but today we still do.

No matter a person's color, nationality, race, size, physical appearance, sexual orientation, or religion, nobody deserves to be picked on.

Nobody.

Don't be a bully.

The Prompt:

And now for today’s prompt (optional, as always). Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a poem about bridges. A bridge is a powerful metaphor, and when you start looking for bridges in poems, you find them everywhere. Your poem could be about a real bridge or an imaginary or ideal bridge. It could be one you cross every day, or one that simply seems to stand for something larger – for the idea of connection or distance, for the idea of movement and travel and new horizons.

Dangerous Folly

There are those who would like

To keep others locked away

Or worse

Because the color of their skin

Does not match that 

Of the fool who thinks they know better

Than the creator

The way another person should appear

There are fools who would dictate

That anyone who does not think the way they do

Who does not believe the way they do

Who does not love the way they do

Is not entitled to certain rights

Perhaps including the right to life

Some fools think that a woman

Who refuses to be demure and obedient

Is a threat

That she should be ostracized

Or worse

That she should be corrected

Threatened, beaten, or raped into silence

Sometimes I wonder

If there is any place in the world

Which the fools have not corrupted

With their poisonous prejudices

~Faycin A Croud~