Blot that once covered the East with blood
Inscribed scars and marks on walls and
grounds like dark cloud
Gongs of pains and sufferings that made history
Relics of cold bones and tragic memory
End of Second War that changed its course
Deeds of fettled people with great pride and honor
Destiny of united generations of undaunted force
Orbited with gold and leis of valor
The glorious symbol of big red dot on white and purified cloth
Obedience makes you a good citizen.
Clear conscience does better than a group of dozen.
(Prosebite)
they chew each other’s names
like gristle,
spit stories into the air
that stink before they land.
every word a small knife
looking for a back.
gossip crawls on the floor,
licking old blood,
hungry for new.
they feed it faces,
they feed it mistakes,
they feed it anything that once tried
to live clean.
the noise
is blunt-force trauma—
no filter from the brain to the mouth,
just rot rolling downhill
into sound.
ears packed with cotton,
hearing nothing,
feeling everything.
the skull rings
like a cheap bell in a slaughterhouse.
they don’t speak—
they discharge.
sentences like misfires,
wild bullets ricocheting off
whoever’s closest.
you stand there
taking shrapnel politely,
nodding like a good citizen of hell,
until the pressure behind your eyes
starts to beg for a violent silence.
later, alone,
the room finally stops shouting.
your hands shake.
your drink tastes like survival.
and you understand:
the quiet isn’t peace—
it’s just the sound
of the knives being put away
for the night.
I lost a bracelet
Returned to the place where I bought
There I found it
Someone has tied it hanging
There a caption I read:
"Lost and found bracelet,
Claim with a receipt."
I gave the receipt and claim it again
I'm happy to see that there are still
People who have a heart of a good citizen.
To thank,
To calculate,
To obey,
Unspoken rules,
Even if no one will see
Or appreciate it,
Is a duty of
A good citizen.
Ask your heart, what you can do in life
Ask your eyes, why can't see others for help
Is it because you don't have money
Is there all with material things
Do body language to inspire others
You have your charisma to energize others
Wear your smile to warm their days
Tap the shoulder for those in silence
Say hello to those you meet
Wave your hands to a friend
Send a greeting message thru text
Take a deep breath in the woods
Give alms to the poor at the street
Buy food at the corner to sustain business
Help the household chores and clean sorrounding
If you have excess money, help others to alleviate life
If you haven't anything, just stay good citizen
Always ready your hands, feet, talents and skills
To help others for emergency purposes and disasters alleviation.
I may not be happy
with the way things are,
I may express dissatisfaction
In my local bar,
But I refuse to burn down
my street in extreme reaction
to some civil distraction--
seems to me somewhat bizarre.
I must take care of business
in my own neighborhood,
Being no part of any fringe faction.
Give me a rocker and a cigar
And let me live in peace
Trying to do what is right
As every good citizen should!
Written August 14, 2022
[or, perhaps, a Rhyme!]
If you see
Something, or hear
Something
That could cause harm,
Or perhaps much worse,
Say something!
Please do...
The right thing.
Observe
And report
What you find
To be suspicious
It could be a matter
Of...
Life and death. Act fast!
(Yalto)
"Yalto" is a form invented by yours truly.
Lines 1-15: 3,4,2,4,5,3,2,3,2,3,3,5,6,1,5 syllables
Date written: 12/30/2021
The good citizen is a person of respect...
It doesn't have an easy life
and always lives in the grip...
But he doesn't get out of line,
he doesn't give in to temptations,
he is not impressed with easy gains...
He lives his life moving on,
he wears ordinary, not-expensive costumes,
but they are always clean...
That's why he follows firmly
and morals every day... !
I SAY I AM A GOOD CITIZEN
WHEN ASKED BY TEACHERS AND PEERS AT SCHOOL
YES, I PARTICIPATE IN CLEAN-UP DRIVES
I PICK UP LITTER ON THE SIDEWALK ON PUBLIC PLACES
I GET THE STARES AND SOME AWE AND I FEEL GOOD ABOUT MYSELF
BUT WHEN I THINK NO ONE IS LOOKING I THROW MY CANDY WRAPPERS ASIDE INSTEAD OF LOOKING FOR NEARBY TRASH CANS
“I HELP CLEAN IT UP ANYWAYS IT’S JUST A CANDY WRAPPER NO NEED TO FRET ABOUT IT.”
It is night
2 am
I am driving to the store for cigarettes
A short trip
Or it would be
Except the light turns red
The minute I reach it
I slow my car to a crawl
Hoping that I can inch my way forward
That if I just take my time
It will turn green and signal
My departure
It doesn’t turn green
And so I sit
At a red light
With not another car in sight
I sit tight
Just like I was trained to do
A good citizen
A willing slave
Even when it is clear I could move
Even when not a soul would be harmed
By pushing on the gas
And blowing the light
I sit in the dark
At the light
A quiet symbol of control
And wonder what it means to be free
And this is quite possibly
The greatest argument
For not buying cigarettes
At 2 am
If more people sat
In the dark
At lights at 2am
Then the makers of lights and rules
Might tremble
Wear a smile
Wears a mask
Mask for others
Mask for you
You want to be safe
You want to be good
Good citizen
Good neighbor
Neighbor of the world
Neighbor who shelters in place
Place your bets
Place your marker
Marker marks moment
Marker climbs high
High risk
High wire
Wire the masses
Wire service dispute
Dispute a mask
Dispute the pandemic
Pandemic paranoia
Pandemic persecution
Persecution of one
Persecution of some
Some conform
Some rebel
Rebel as a nation
Rebel as a protestor
Protestor finds a way
Protestor knows his rights
Rights enforced by constitution
Rights upheld by law
Law feels less concrete now
Law easily broken
Broken country
Broken trust
Trust your instincts
Trust your heart
Heart led ideas
Heart led ideals
Ideals upheld
Ideals followed
Followed by spirit
Followed by truth
Truth felt keenly
Truth lying in wait
Wait for a sign
Wait for good times
Times
Sign…
Stopped off for eggs
with ham(thought about keeping kosher for a while)
Have to say the ham was tasty!
Came up into the ESL Lab
My supervisor said he likes his
councilman
At 84 my mother
works 4 days for a Democratic Councilman
Whom I have spoken with
If I run for office
My platform would
be
More poetry open mikes!
Poetry can save your life
if you let it into your heart
Politics matters but:
EVERYTHING IS NOT POLITICAL
Voted the other day
I always do
I am a good citizen
So my fellow good citizens
reading this ode
Bet your behinds to the polls and vote
Eugene McCarthy and Abraham Lincoln
both wrote verse
Politics, poetry
Not mutually exclusive
So
The blind man
walks slowly to the voting polls,
reaches for a lever
and pulls it.
There! Now I’ve voted.
I’m a good citizen.
Leaving, he stumbles
and falls into my arms.
Did you vote today?
No, I’m not blind.
Category: Social
Written: June 2018
I pick up litter on the road.
What shines is often roadside trash.
I do it for the doing’s sake.
What glitters most is always gold,
To us who keep a highway clean.
Most cans and broken glass attract
Our eye like daytime fireflies.
I do it for the doing’s sake.
Not punishment for drunkenness.
(Though something I’ve been guilty of).
Nor for some passer by to take
Me for some do-good citizen.
I’ll not be known when dead and gone:
No apples trees as legacy.
I do it for the doing’s sake.
No stealing of what’s thrown away,
No trespass on what’s public land,
No evidence of DNA
Disturbed nor finger printed cans.
Just drive to give me wider birth.
Don’t honk or wave or two thumbs up.
Unless escaped from elder care,
Call no police to help me home.
I do it for the doing’s sake.
Papa’s Victory Garden
we begin
many folk began vegetable gardens
in answer to a call from Ottawa.
be a good citizen help support
the boys overseas, fighting for us.
Poppa took it very seriously.
He asked the land lord
for a bit of land hidden beneath
the prideful lawn and he began to dig.
I loved the mud all squishy
between my toes
making cakes decorated with pebbles
and dandelions for sun icing.
squatting like a little toad
by mounded earth I got to poke
holes for corn, peas, tomatoes,
salads, especially momma's potato.
I didn’t understand about war
I was two, life was growing
in me and the garden.
The sun made me warm,
the vegetables grew, the world was simple.
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