THE PEOPLE

it's the people you know...
love 'em and hate 'em
i do
'cause i still can't understand them
with their bombs
and their billboards
scarifyin' the earth
with nonsense
and texting
and the kardashian worlds
collide
with jersey shores
a veritable hurricane
of bullshit
and flotsam and jetsam
floating on a tsunami
of disaster
apocalypse
of ideas
or lack therof...
for it ain't right
to write
or text
when someone asks tenderly for
your attention
and the people
return your kindness
with bombs
and billboards
and nonsense
the insanity
of this world
makes me long
for fresh turned topsoil
and montana skies
midst cowboys
with haggard faces
tobacco on chins
red eyed bullozer men
whiskey on breath
and smiles
full of honesty
for these are my people

I'M A 47%'R AND PROUD OF IT

I was born poor on the southside of Chicago.  My mother worked a full time job as a secretary.  She walked four blocks to the bus stop every day.  My dad worked nights as a bartender.  My parents always stressed the value of work and a good education.  I saw my dad work on ulcerated feet due to advanced diabetes.  He died after double amputations.  He never took welfare or unemployment compensation.  We lived check to check, and we were happy when he got a few tips from customers.  My mother worked until she was 68 years old.

     In grammar school, I delivered newspapers, worked in a flower shop, and sold items door-to-door to finance my education at St. Rita H.S. in Chicago.  My mother begged the principal, Father Crawford to lower my tuition, because we were so poor.  He was a good man and accomodated her.  I graduated in an academic program with honors and was accepted at the University of Notre Dame.  I was proud, but couldn't afford the tuition, so I went to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale Illinois.

     I graduated a Dean's List scholar, and was accepted into the Master's Program in Psychology at Central Michigan University.  Back in 1971 if a young person didn't have the money to go to grad school, he would have to work to earn it, and delay his academic career.  I worked as a warehouseman, clothing salesman, and finally landed a job as an apprentice in Local #150 as a Heavy Equipment Operator.

     I never did make it back to college, because I fell in love with my new trade.  I studied nights to become a certified crane operator, and did whatever it took to learn my trade.  We worked long hours in the heat of the summer, and the snows and freezing rains in the winter.  My lungs were decimated by asbestos, dust, benzene and all types of other noxious chemicals. 

   I worked 33 years at my trade, and was proud to make a good living for my wife and daughter.  We doubled up on our mortgage payments and saved our money.

   Now, I am 63 years old.  I am disabled because of all the hard years of work.  I've had cancer, bypass surgery, I suffer from arthritis and a variety of other ailments.  I do well with my pension and social security disability.  I know that both are endangered by this new Republican regime who calls me a victim and a whiner.  Yeah, I'm a guy who built America, and never gave up because my folks didn't have the money to send me through.  I managed to become a professional artist and to write four books.  Yes, I am a part of the 47% who is the best part of America.

     I have faith in my compatriots.  I am glad that Governor Romney has been honest in regard to how he feels about me and my ilk.  These patriots who hide behind God and the flag seem to show their true colors these days.  A president is in charge of governing for ALL the people of the commonwealth.  I never asked my dad for money to start a business, because he would have given me enough to sell popcorn on the street corner.  I had a greater vision than that for me and my family.

    All I ask is that when you vote this November, remember guys like me.  We worked hard for you.  When you needed a water heater replaced or a road put in, we were there for you.  I think President Obama has us in mind, and all the people in the United States.  He ain't perfect, but by God, he isn't going to denigrate my life's efforts, and take away what I worked for all my life.  These are not entitlements.  I paid into my pension, and paid social security taxes all my life.

   True leaders understand humility and compassion.  Never forget that.

I'M A MAN

i dug in my heels
in hard, clay dirt
like a man
i stood upright
ready to make my stand
ready to fight

i stumbled and fought
i said, "i can, i can"
so i fought to stand up
erect once again
'til the water came up
turned all to quicksand

as i sank to new lows
i gritted my teeth
i visualized
i quaked at
what might lay beneath

i shook off my fear
i waited for slaughter
i opened my eyes
my heels dug in water

i walked azure waves
i saw a new land
i learned not to fear
i became a new man.

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG...

of the divided states of america
and to the corporations and banks
'cause they are people too!
a divided nation
(not only because we are bi-lingual)
for which it stands
two nations
under a "God"
sorry athiests!
who favors the wealthiest
and denigrates
women, immigrants, gays and unions
for we are WASPS
who believe in the "right to work"
which in real terms means
the right to enslave workers
because they can't form a more perfect union
much less any kind of union
because corporate america is gonna' squeeze you some more
and i thought the republic was
of the people, by the people, and for the people"
and liberty and justice for all?
it's just a myth
because there are those
who would re-write the constitution
both dems and repubs, or libertarian
and because we have a congress
that doesn't work anymore
and it's a damn shame
because the country
used to work just fine.

RUNNING

you saved my life
the eternal run
a mantra unfolded
on verdant trails
i heard my hearbeat
a wind in sails
and breathed fresh air
like native men
from way back when

and i left the world behind
the world of machines
and broken dreams
for the run
so clean and true
a pristine view
of what man lost
at such a cost
my feet pound on
and on and on

to future dreams
not banker's schemes
i love the run
the rush
the sweat
without regret
an hour a day
maybe more
it feeds my soul
i need no more.

JUST SEARCH AROUND

need a college?
just search around
not like my kids did
they went to ivy league joints
you'll have to go to community college
not princeton
not yale
not harvard
just search around
for managable college debt

need retirement funds?
forget about it
the states have squandered your dough
unions are being busted
social security ain't guaranteed
just search around
for a job in your 70's
maybe you can be a greeter at wally-mart
since we outsourced all your jobs
why not?
it's good for your health to work
since you won't have affordable health care
just search around

we are men and women of God
we want to lead your country
steal from the poor
give to the rich
we are the new robber barons
coming to your hood
the fabulous one-percenters
who have a new vision
for the wealthy in this country
hail to the banks!
all hail to wall street
search around and make good investments

oh! you don't have any money
you must be poor and lazy
infirmed
the wrong color
the wrong sexual leanings
or maybe you're just a woman
search around
there's hope for you
say your prayers
be God fearing
and trust us
work hard
prosperity is right around the corner
just search around.

MAN COULD HAVE BEEN GREAT

Man could have been great. He came out of the trees and learned to stand on two feet. He learned to walk then to hunt and with the skins of animals protected himself from the winds, the snow and the rain. He learned to seek the shelter of caves and later to build more elaborate huts. He learned to delegate authority, to farm, to gather to create art, and finally to war on other tribes for more stuff.

Greed and perniciousness now defined man. Rome and Greece rose above it all with great ideas of Democracy and beauty only to fall from decay within, because of greed, murder and animalistic behavior. Holy Wars mutilated the innocents throughout time. Most of it was done in the name of GOD. As technologies developed, man became more sophisticated in weaponry and lies. The innocents were still murdered or the lucky ones were put in sweat shops to earn money for the aristocracy.

I fast-forward to today, and see how man has developed slavery and double-speak to a fine art. Unions are bashed, state pension funds are in arrears, Congress in on a permanent vacation, human values are smashed by dictatorships. Our own politicians are suggesting that children pick up a broom to clean their schools, in order to save the states some money. We have presidential candidates either hiding their past, or not willing to show how much money they've made for the last ten years. People are hurting all over the world. Take away jobs, help for the needy, fire the teachers, the policemen, the firemen, the carpenters, the electricians, the plumbers, and up the salaries of bureaucrats, politicians, CEO's of corporations, and what do you end up with?

The IMPLOSION of a once great Democracy. Obama and Romney are more concerned about ammassing great wealth, and the backers who hold great wealth, than the commonwealth. Believe it. Neither one of them could swing a sledge hammer all day long. They never had to work for a living. In all due respect, I think Obama might make more than half-a-day, while Romney would whine, and probably sit on his ass, or try to pay someone to do the work for him. This is just my opinion after watching both FOX news and MSNBC. I have two evils to vote for, and I guess I'll vote for the lesser of the two. So far, Barrack Obama is my man. Taxing the wealthiest of Americans the same amount of tax that a working man has to pay, seems like a fair deal to me.

Maybe after all is said and done in world affairs, and the nuclear nightmare comes, what is left of us will all climb back up into the trees. Maybe this new "generation of men" will remember the past mistakes. They will climb out of the trees, learn to walk, make tools, then weapons, then go to hunt, grow food, and discover their neighbors. God help us all.