Fear of the Outsider, the interloper, the alien
Is as old as humanity itself.
Xenophobia doesn’t just apply to someone foreign
And “not like us”,
It applies to anyone who may threaten
Our way of life, the status quo, the norm
And way “it’s always been.”
From local bar to climbing crag, surfing beach,
Ghetto corner, and Union shop floor,
The locals, sometimes multigenerational deep,
Tend to claim their turf
With the worst of human qualities;
Fear and loathing
Sublimated into snide ostracism,
Backstabbing gossip and withering looks
If not fully expressed with seething hate
Slander, bullying and assault.
Meanwhile life goes on for the Xeno
Head down, eyes averted, pathways diverted,
While in their heart
They recognize the love their haters have
For their cherished way of life and ground
Is not exclusive
And no different from their own.
(9/6/25)
Oh Dear Alien, I hear you've been,
buzzing me in recent days.
With flying saucers and drones,
scooping down here in droves.
Well I for one would love
you to come, and land for me,
To swoop me off my feet,
up into your cool dude craft.
Oh Dear Alien,
far away out there.
I sent you a message
to show that I care.
You gotta get me outta here.
I don't care what you look like,
green of skin, or pop-eyed as well.
I've seen you in the movies
and E.T. looks just swell.
So common Mr Alien or anyone!
I'm looking to hitch a ride.
To somewhere else, anywhere else?
Out of this, my stale ale abide.
Oh Dear Alien,
far away out there.
I sent you a message
to show that I care.
You gotta get me outta here.
The suffering alien
He just lives in the world. Integrated life, but alien
He feels, experiences, and interprets existence
He discovers human life. In a human body
The alien
To live in this age is a fantastic privilege. Says alien
Rapid development, complex social environment
Look around. Continuous change, genesis
Said the alien
There are so many connections, causes, and effects
Nuanced meanings and invisible connections
There is no end to the existence of life here
Recognised the alien
Alien, alien,
Stranger, stranger
A suffering soul
Comes from far away in the sky
He is enjoying human life
But some parts he doesn’t like
He is a social creature now
But he feels alone. Restless solitude
He needs a better existence
He wants to stay alone
For contemplation
Holy Solitude
Solitude
Alien
He is
A stranger
An alien
Solitude
below the world I sit in silence
an animal among machines
William Shatner
to the Enterprise did matter
he played the title role of Kirk
and with the alien women did flirt
he said his name was Bled
an Anzarian from a like-ours
bit-field world
it could have been Vled or Vlod
and he knew worlds that weren’t
he was as like us than not
startling
we could’ve shared a mother
his once knew of hate and war
of take of lust of greed
on his world his was different
as we are different here
curiously here
nothing came close
except Bled and his among
with Anzaria closer than we know
but still for Earth out of reach
Bled and his had more star turns
that mother was more distant
yet closely once cradled us both
Another World Sees
It is good to live together two lives
Two lives are one, and one is two
The gate is open in the cemetery
Mirror life, patinated monochrome
The other side, without putrefaction
Calling now the gate, step is time
Runs the past life, comes silver kind
This life is cold but cool clear life
Feel and live in the dead cleared
past. Yes, the alien world chose us
Change time, change the past lives
Into the new cool atmosphere’s life
Here is the time
To go to a new life
Gate is open
Enter
This is the new life
I am magnetized
alien world
for technophobes
~ next generation
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Just how many babies
Are swapped at birth
With a look alike other
That other being
Some demon or some
Illegal Alien exchange program
Being covertly done
Right under our very noses
In broad daylight
In maternity wards worldwide
I should know
Being born with bi-fid thumbs
And six toes on each foot
Yet, it has to be my sister
She's wicked smart
Perhaps, too smart for her own good
And she has a big head
She’s got to be one
Of course, what’s a little culture shock too
Beings' stranger in a Strangeland
After walking the long long walk
Can’t even talk the strange talk
Seeking asylum from oppression
Seeking the land of Liberty
Feel free to wear their worn-out sandals
They’ll gladly trade for your Michael Jorden Nikes
Then again, maybe the exchange comes later
Some babysitter’s smuggling ring
Except she promises to turn your little rascal
Into an angel, for real
Still criminal but God ordained
They had never seen or heard of a wedding before
But they wanted one that would last forever more
Just a few humans, they cautioned me, not so many.
Would you rather have ten, or could I invite twenty?
No photos, except maybe one, to take back on our ship.
I noted a bunch of rules coming out of my alien friend Hip.
Do we have to wear clothes? She asked me, concerned about it.
It would probably be the best, I said, hoping she would not have a fit.
They dressed up in colors, that matched their triple-toned skin.
He had never looked more handsome, her groom Old Finn.
We gave them a sendoff and a wedding to boot.
Then they had to blast off, the bride and her crotchety coot.
Americans have the right to life…
liberty … and the pursuit of happiness…
What about the right to be loved
In the cosmos where colors collide/
Under a canvas of vibrant pink and purple tide two abstract figures, hats tilted just so/
Stand tall in the galaxy, putting on a show/
Geometric shapes dance in a minimalist spree, Jazz notes shine like stars, wild and free/
Are they space lamp illuminators, or comedians in flight? Telling tales of the universe, in the stillness of night.
They float through the cosmos, shining so bright. UFOs in formation, or cosmic jesters on a space flight/
Bold colors clash, a celestial array, In this otherworldly realm where a new comedy's hybrid imagination is at play/
Saturn lamps flicker, casting shadows on cosmic dust, While alien beings laugh, bursting at the seams, man, what a rush/
So let the jazz flow, let the universe hum, In this vibrant expanse, all are welcome to come/ Join the cosmic comedy and let your worries fade into the Milky Way/
Under the glow of laugh-N- lamps, in this infinite space. Embrace the abstract and one day visit Mars/
For in the heart of the cosmos, we’re all comedians there. So laugh with the aliens, they brought us here, In the vastness of space, we are all going there/
as a child it seemed to me
here on earth I did not belong to be
different somehow I surely was
from other children all about me
surely somehow a spaceship had
brought me here and abandoned me
then flew away to somewhere else
to the place that I ought to be
and as I grew into teenage years
somehow the sea did call to me
to find a boat and sail away
and spend my life upon the sea
travel the trades to islands far
trading goods with the peoples there
going where I freely could
and find the place where I should be
now I am in elder years
and in the future alone I’ll be
and the open road does call to me
to travel to where I should be
yet somehow I still do not know
just where it is I long to be
and if the place I’ll ever find
the perfect place where I should be
for in this life I’ve always felt
surely somewhere else I ought to be
and longed somehow to travel where
what is the place where I should be
The earthlings when looked suspicious
To life elsewhere rather gracious,
On how men destroyed earth--
Men of so little worth,
And doubtless, the sure sign
Of their concern genuine
Be that none’s tried to contact us.
____________________________
Reflections |03.11.2024| Limerick, Earth, life
Undeniably these are weird times for US all
Maybe they have been for a very long time
Where the hard working and law abiding
Are used and abused, ridiculed and punished
But now it’s beyond weird
Where those who come illegally
Are given a red carpet
Flown around, deposited at five star hotels
Given thousands a month in handouts
And slaps on the wrist
When they steal and assault anyway
In thanks for our kindness.
And when we, bearing the costs, complain
Then we are the bigots, the racists
Fascists, and, well frankly, garbage.
While those who come seeking refuge
Are recognized as the princes and princesses
They really are
In this fairy tale fantasy of El Norte.
Viva la revolucion for it is here and now
Forget your protests
Dance and celebrate while you can
For in the morning there will be work to do
And streets to clean, of all these rats
And their rotting pumpkin carriage.
(11/9/24)
Related Poems