We’ve reached a point
Where simple words now trigger reactions
Completely devoid of meaning.
I won’t share some of those words now
Because they might trigger you
Or for sure the censor bots
Who patrol the web.
But we can all imagine a few,
Words and symbols which once had use
Rich in context and meaning
But then were perverted
In the name of some now canceled cause.
Of course there are many more causes
Waiting to be cancelled
So soon all descriptive terms and symbols
Will no longer exist to trigger the easily disturbed.
When that day comes
We will be reduced to composing in code
Numbers in combinations of aughts and ones
But then again,
That primary binary basis of reality
Will no doubt trigger us too.
And then we will be left
In silent pantomime of our truths
Reality reduced at last
To the charade it has become.
(9/2/26)
The reason for a dry season is to mature in your faith
Calling something out of nothing propels
The essence of a dry season
There is a reason for a season so
Let God through Jesus Christ
Call something out of nothing
Dry seasons do not cancel destiny
Believing the Word of God helps you
Overcome the misery
Be anxious for nothing because there is always
A way to achieve the impossible
Grace, Courage, and Strength remain by your side
As we collide with the circumstances of life
We Know that darkness will
Spark a level of resistance!
We must use it to our advantage
Let the storms not make us monsters
We take the pressure and
See what treasure it offers us
We keep our eyes on the prize and
Know that in difficulty we can still rise
Therefore, Grace, Courage, and Strength flow through us
In the finished work of Jesus, we trust
Dry seasons do not cancel destiny
Believing the Word of God helps you
Overcome the misery
Mark Frank
Copyright 2026
two hundred and eight
I am in shock
This could never be!
I thought I weighed around 163
I step on it again
It goes to two hundred and nine
This makes me never want to eat again
I cancel my reservation at nine
Don’t count me out because
I’m not in lockstep with you,
and before I nonchalantly dropkick myself
back to the starting point,
let me point out that because of my whiteness,
I am not
a knuckle dragging racist, hysteric, insurrectionist,
white supremacist, terrorist, cultist,
deplorable, irredeemable,
nor a hypocrite or illiterate.
And the recent gender-neutral policy?
I am
a woman, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and first cousin.
I have a mortgage, enjoy Jamaican stew, and
I am married to a black man.
I’m originally from Idaho. It’s okay to ask me
“Where are you from?” or “Where were you born?”
I promise I won’t accuse you
of micro-aggression.
I do not have guilt.
I stand my ground,.
It’s okay if you do not like what I have to say:
but I remain a
free White woman who
believes in constitutional principles.
Yes—words do matter
("Rainbow Body" detail, 2018, original encaustic)
Today I noticed on a website I use for book reviews
All eight of my poetry books
Suddenly have a fresh new one star review.
Sadly though there is no content to these reviews
Nothing to sink my teeth into and learn from
Just a single star
Which simply means, “I hate it.”
But these are the first reviews or ratings
I have ever received in ten years now
Of publishing poems
So I will take it
Mostly because I have no choice.
It is a free world after all
And so if we engage with it
We shouldn’t be surprised
When it engages back.
The beauty of getting only one star reviews
Of course is it doesn’t get my hopes up
Hopes of becoming rich and famous
Influential and significant
Because I know, especially now,
None of that would be true.
(9/15/25)
Bouncing off a trampoline
Anton Dvorak fell on his head ~
A ‘cancelled Czech’
Poor Anton was dead
Long ago, in the 1600’s
Native Americans were not so financial...
Sold Manhattan for 24 bucks
A transaction they wish they could cancel
Indeed there are many good poems, here in rhyme and in
Prose.' In Haiku and Senryu ' Acrostic; who knows.? Also
There are some who, write comments while 'holding their own
Nose' we can think what we want.' We can write as we will!
Should there be a directive.? If so let it be of truth drawn
And out of (good-will) is there censorship.? Among the body.?
Not the hosts of this site.' Egregious evil should be negated
That is only right.' Yet to bring air to a subject be it soiled
Laundry.? Or foul capers.? Is the first step to health that
Must be addressed.' On screen or paper.' Who works here
Art? In the bright blaze of light.' Who would illuminate minds?
Be it by day or by the night.? Has reality no bearing? Or currency
To some minds? ( I read of good intentions ) yet some of the writers may as well be blind.' No one admits to censoring
Yet to cancel.? Its seems is sublime.' Those indeed get to pardon
Their own short-sighted-ness' moving along one un-democratic block at
A time.'
So quick to judge any breach of etiquette
Such breaches at the whim of the fickled herd
What is there to do but watch your back
Or compulsively stay in line
Or just say f*ck it!
And be on your way
Because no matter how hard you try
The cancerous cancelling crowd will lie in wait
To pounce on what was once their own
Just look at what’s happened to Trump and Musk
Each darlings of their leftist peers
Until they weren’t
Not for changing in any fundamental way
But just in their need to keep being themselves
Without allegiance to the fickled pickled herd
If anything the life of a human
Arcs from bound and dependent
To independent and free
Free to chose and free to lose
And so we grow
And can come to know
What it is to be mature
If it’s the last thing we do
(11/13/24)
I was obviously hiding under a rock
Out in the hills
Amid my animals and gardens
Happily and merrily going harmlessly on my way
When the great cancellation began
And suddenly every slight innuendo and reference
To some historical moment
A moment which could possibly have offended
And caused great hurtful harm
To those so inclined
Was deemed hateful
Instead of just ignorant or silly, funny or crude
At first in my oblivion I didn’t take it seriously
It didn’t seem like my battle to fight
But you know, hate is just the child
Of fear
And fear can get a society to agree to anything
(10/28/24)
This summer I lost all respect
for our modern youth.
Apparently they have been raised
that the end justifies the means
and that individual responsibility
is a virtue of dubious value.
So when they wanted to get me fired
because I was the new boss
the old retired fart
who was going to make them accountable
trained lifeguards
they lied.
Maybe thinking it didn’t matter
to their own sense of karma
they fabricated a narrative
of sexual harassment, maybe even assault
they obviously didn’t realize
matters to others.
But hey, what is youth
if not a time of youthful folly
and the chance to learn
your major life-lessons.
Maybe they did
maybe they didn’t but will,
but for me at least
it’s never too late
to learn to watch your back
in a world gone mad and rudderless.
(10/18/23)
When Cancel Culture comes to town
What more is there to do?
Do you fight, or just give in?
It’s always up to you.
But if we bow before the woke
Our heads will surely roll
As they demand their pound of flesh
And so collect the toll.
And if we rise and take the bait
We’ll lose again as well
It’s just the way the game is rigged
As history does tell.
So fare thee well I say to you
Who cancel all in fear,
While I retreat into the hills
And keep my powder near.
For one day soon as dawn does come
You’ll wake up with a start
To realize all you did and said
Was nothing but a fart.
(8/31/22, originally published in my 6th book, OUT OF TIME OUT OF MIND, 2022)
Go ahead,
Tell the world what to do
So it’s more like
The world you want.
Forget for a moment
You have only been here
For a moment
While the world
Both the literal earthy one
And the figurative human one
Have been here
Turning, surviving, evolving
For a very long time indeed.
Tell us
What we need to do
To make this all a safe
And better place
To preserve the fragile peace
Of your well founded confidence.
(7/14/23)
Does anyone know
Or can they tell me
Where the debate shows
are on television now
Is it the Cancel Channel
Because I don't get it
Always remember the past
That made your life joyful
Forget bitter memories fast
That will be truly useful
In case you cannot assist
At least please stop spoiling
Never show your strong fist
Very bad if blood is boiling
Fighting injects poison only
Into minds that are involved
Avoiding fights help all truly
As problems are then solved
When we keep mind broad
Great mirth we nicely spread
We appease the mighty Lord
Peace enters into our head
If we send a positive message
The whole World gets bliss
Kindness has an advantage
As true Heaven, we never miss.
My Thoughts On Cancel Culture
Written: by Miracle Man
November 1, 2021
Cancel culture is stealing our freedom of speech,
when we disagree, practitioners will impeach.
We can express an opinion only if it agrees,
but canceled out by our refusal to appease.
Someone’s always offended by something we say,
is it really the speech or socialist way?
Perhaps its a logo that has caused our affright,
disagreements, then become, social media fights.
Daily I'm offended by something in my sight,
but I quickly remember that they too have a right.
We appear set in our ways refusing to bend,
I think the main reason, is we're just too thin skinned.
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