You have my
vote
But not my
mindset
Where once
engaged
I’ve moved
along
No longer
hooked
On every
soundbite
Big picture
focus
The right
— from wrong
(Dreamsleep: August, 2026)
My oh my—doesn’t it look appealing,
Imagine the flavor, the plan, the prize,
promising promises, ready for savoring,
A cup held high before our eyes.
But pause before you choose to drink,
For it is not quite, what it seems.
What glistens as good, what sounds so right,
May mask a far more dangerous means.
Coup d’état—an act of treason,
No matter who commits the deed,
No matter the banner, cause, or reason,
Truth bent to fit the need.
One of the highest crimes conceived,
Where justice must not be delayed,
When power is seized and laws are breached,
The cost paid by all who stayed.
A nation built on sacred ground,
On principles rooted in God’s Word,
When leaders break the laws they’re sworn,
The wound is deep—the blow is heard.
So let us refuse the coup-laid rhetoric,
The narratives poured to make us numb,
Resist the urge to drink persuasion,
From voices void of truth and love.
For games played on opposing sides
tearing at our common thread;
And if we’re not discerning still,
We’ll drink what’s served—and said.
Copyright © Lovie Divine | Year Posted 2024
Band-Aid
To cover up a scab.
The lies won’t disappear.
Only a temporary cover up.
You can still see the scar.
Always an excuse with a band-aid.
Just a figure of speech.
Dust under the rug to compromise.
To avoid confrontation or a fight.
The guilt is rising.
I can see the under lining.
Just another delay.
Injustice is transparent on the wave.
A scar shows your true colors.
A secret to be revealed.
Hinder the truth.
The reckoning is on the move.
Telepathic lies.
Never honest, no surprise.
a golden daylight that you are
pierced through my grayest of the dark
calmed the waves carrying the storm-
that were wrecking my heart
in the darkest of my hours,
when night bleed memories
the thought of you feels like
an emergency aid in the war
a calmest of the people i know
with little to no smile on face
yet you feast upon my demons
and set me free from my chains
How do politicians manage to sleep at night
the lies they tell neither little nor white
In the morning they seem refreshed and well-rested
though a night in hell no doctor’s suggested
What place can I choose
To give hundred slippers
And school supplies.
There is a movement amongst Republican ranks
in The United States Congress, regarding the
the absence of religion in schools, and its
herald revival, like some Bible Belt Tent
-- minus the tambourines, being it is
The Halls of Congress -- after all.
In the wings awaits assorted
groups whose numbers had
enlarged, recently, due to
liberal channels, and that
is not of recent long ere
the days of backwoods
racism, --not all guilty
be the righteous few.
It's as if my, 'White
Lies' short story
-- resurrected.
Satanist sides with
the right wing in
hopes, it seem
they've filed a
proper docs.
to be a type
viable sort,
of faith be
admitted.
FYIs
Remember America’s humanitarian aid
to Germany’s Nazis
and Japan’s Kamikazes
during daring WW2 raids
Funny, I don’t remember it either…
But I know the reason
giving aid and comfort to a terrorist enemy
is properly classified as treason
Cyber poets seeking buried treasure
filled with rushed rapture A.I’s hurried;
Robotic words never ringing no soul,
outraged console steady lagging;
Pop goes the weasel suddenly alive;
Bourgeois contrive it’s meant to be;
Left a jack in the box out of control
technology stole all the word docs;
Infinite is always within arm’s reach,
victims of a breach much too often;
Criminals that dip into a writer’s mind,
the destructive kind with quite a quip;
Murderous impersonation DM’s,
virtuous victim’s dark liaison;
Laying waste to the pen’s process it falls,
there’s nothing that calls or will impress;
Desperately seeking any sparkle,
you are not mortal and you’re stealing;
Cyber poets they cannot look within,
weak source of jargon without a hook.
Global warming it's a scam,
and bigwigs just don't give a damn,
they fly to this year's global forum
in private jets without decorum.
Control the world is their plan
it only hurts the common man;
they eat steak and we eat bugs
they look as us and simply shrug.
In multi-million beachfront homes
their hypocrisy it makes me groan;
carbon footprints they don't mind
as long as gold in banks they find.
Climate change it comes and goes
the sun's in charge don't you know
and nature's world will adapt,
it always has and that's a fact!
It’s no surprise, I turned out this way
When asking for help never worked
When my depression was brushed aside
It was called other names
I promise it’s not just sadness
It’s deep depression
And they would never accept
It wouldn’t even cross their minds
That someone like me, could suffer from something severe
It’s no surprise, I turned out this way
Wanna-be helpful talks and comparison of my life
Is the closest thing to aid I’ll get
It’s no surprise, I turned out this way
I no longer want to ask for help
So I keep my Illness to myself
It’s no surprise, I turned out this way
When even with obvious signs
No one cares enough
And finally, one day
When I get the courage to end my life
There’s a chance
They’ll understand
Why I turned out that way
huh, wudidjasay...
a-tension... apprehension
~ no comprehension
("In Memory of Gary Vaughn", 2018, original encaustic)
The Flavor of Kool-Aid
We all get to choose the flavor of Kool-Aid we drink.
And maybe that’s the extent of free will.
We each have our world views formed and cemented
By these biases, personal and cultural,
But even people as close as siblings
Who share the same DNA and conditioning
Can end up as different as oil and vinegar
But I’ve had my share of Kool-Aid,
And I don’t remember it having any flavor
Other than sweet.
What it offers as a way to entice
Is a difference in color,
Or put another way
A difference in appearance
And so it is with beliefs and biases.
It’s mostly a difference of surface over substance.
What is the substance of Kool-Aid?
A little dye, some sweetener,
And a whole lot of the universal solvent.
And what is the effect of our preferred Kool-Aid?
Reassurance that we have chosen
The best world view
To match our tastes.
Which are in fact chosen
On the basis of
What we want to see,
And the promise of something sweet.
(9/23/23)
Wordy puncture
Sentence banding around the wound
Get Well approach
Maybe a joke or two here and there
Blood pouring from the soul
Painful felt
Surrounded dealt
Allegorizing thought
Let the thought just soothe
Healing is the key
Emotions of anguish
The Band-aid a healer’s helpful friend
Sentence the band-aid over the cut
Stay put
Band-aid bandage
Approach Poet control
Let heal
For real
We should help the needy The greedy will help themselves
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