DESERT FLOWERS~photographer unknown. The picture came to me by email but my congratulations go to whomever took it. How can you not be calmed by looking at it? We can use all the calm we can get from our worries. Worries that buzz around us like swarming bees. The war, the economy, the election, the environment, etc. For starters
h there is concern that we are heading to a recession–maybe, god forbid–a depression. I was thirteen when the great 1929 October stock market plunged the world into the hard times we still hear about. Of course, I went through all the subsequent recessions as well. One thing to remember about depressions/recessions is that they end and this buoys hope for better things to come in the months ahead.
The Iraq/Afghanistan wars weigh heavily on us, especially the Iraq–the unnecessary war. If the Bush/Cheney team had been a little less arrogant and worked through the United Nations we wouldn’t be in the fix we are today and the name United States would not be anathema around the world. This is not a hindsight opinion –I emailed my protest to Bush and Colin Powell when it was first proposed. Somewhere in the Archives my tiny protest lies for anyone to dig up if they choose.
Whoever becomes our next president may well wish the other party had won when finally confronted with how to get out of Iraq. The problem is simpler for McCain who supports staying the course. For the Democratic winner (if we ever do get one) he/she is going to be constrained in ways neither could have imagined as they traded slings and arrows on the campaign trail. Neither may have to face the problem if they split the party and hand the White House to McCain. McCain is already adjusting his rhetoric to one more palatable to voters and will not be a pushover. He rates a lot of respect even with many Democrats. If Clinton should falter in Pennsylvania, she could be heroine of the party by withdrawing in the interests of unity. If she wins there, one can hardly blame her for continuing though it prolongs the decision. One thing is certain Democrats need to unite. A few good debates on issues besides race and gender would be healthy for party and country. The latest Clinton/Obama speeches give hope they are listening and talking issues or at least going after McCain. Time will fidget on, or least we ourselves will till it flies to a decision. Let us hope for is a fair and honest one.
From politics to poetry is but a short hop. There is much to argue about in both. Poetry of today is a business more than an art. Universities by the hundreds are featuring MFA’s In Poetry and with easy publication for their poet professors under the college aegis. There appears to be a lot of "I’ll brag on your book, if you’ll brag on mine." There’s very likely some good poetry out there but all too often the books are long on quantity and short on quality. The students swell the ranks of poets who shell out dollars for contests that only benefits the one who wins the nod of a supposed expert judge. Okay, so I’m ranting a little. Let me redeem myself by urging everyone to read all the poetry they can get their hands on. A lot of it will be bad but now and then some poem will grab you in the heart and you will be wiser and better for it. After all that bit of pompousness, permit me to poke a little fun at poetry with this four liner:
He wrote a poem.
I said, " what does it mean?"
He shrugged and said,
"Whatever you want it to mean."
And here’s today’s HAUKU
The fire that flames brightest
May not be the hottest.
Auf wiederzehn
Dean.