They walked with me across the bridge,
Holding onto the sides to keep it steady.
I took careful steps,
But they assured me that it was firm.
I walked across unhurt.
They accompanied me through the meadow,
Where I was afraid of the taunting shadows.
They promised to brighten their lamps,
And the light dispersed the shadows,
Leaving us no longer trailed by the night.
They journeyed with me through the mire,
Though I feared the depth beneath us.
They held my hands and lifted me,
And as I looked to my right and left,
They smiled at me,
So I navigated through the muck but didn’t sink.
They travelled with me across the sea,
They carried me on their shoulders.
When we reached the middle of the sea,
Suddenly, they disappeared.
I fell, plunging into the depths,
Struggling to rise to the surface.
As I sank, I saw an approaching hand,
And I remain within this vision.
September 1, 2025.
(“Halves of a Whole”, 2019, original encaustic)
The Real Left/Right Divide
I consider myself a “classical liberal”
Which means I’m a freedom loving
‘Live and let live’ kind of guy.
And that puts me firmly on the Right.
It also marks me as a “conservative”
In today’s political world
Because live and let live doesn’t mean
Change for the sake of change to better the world.
But then I compare myself to someone like Mike Pence,
A known conservative, yet unlike me,
One of the Left, like progressive illiberals,
Because he is clearly a Big Government kind of guy.
It’s a confusing paradox
That in the real world today
You can have liberals and conservatives
On both the Right and Left!
What this shows is simply
The political spectrum of big and little government
Is not the same as the moral compass
Of traditional and progressive values.
What divides the Left and Right
What is embodied by big and little government
Is the difference between
Compulsion and freedom, tyranny and liberty.
(8/6/25)
By furnace burnished, and by flames destroyed,
A sword is tested, and a mansion razed.
Endeavours, fight, and efforts – all are void,
To quell a menacing, relentless blaze.
But in the midst of all the plaintive cries
A glimmer in the desolation glows
Ignited passion which can never die
Arise! Among the embers my love grows.
Alas, confused, to right and left, I’m led!
Into inferno, burning me to grey
I’ve lost our love and by the knife I’ve bled
By him, my red seducer from the haze.
Carry me away, gentle into night,
From tortured lands and forests all alight.
On this paper you’ll read what killed our humanity
The simple answer: it died to corporate greed
Our race is alive, our morals are not
But we’re just simply doing what we were taught
We murder and steal, then fine and judge
Our hypocrisy is limitless, criminals don’t even run
We point the finger, right and left
And we’ll point it till we have nothing left
If you find this note on a rock
Look to the horizon to see our Earth
I don’t even know what’ll happen to me
Maybe we’ll figure it out and be actually free
But if you only see space, say goodbye to the human race
How far is the east from the west
Is it the line in the middle of your chest
Or the pointed fingers on your right and left
Would accross the ocean divide it best
Our sins are taken the and we are left
A scale awakened that measures a debt
Are lying lips and failing heart
The reason for charity, a form of art
Sins are taken as far as the eye can see
Or are they just making a burdenous plea
What on this scale weighs more than me
It’s when we add a Savior the east and west will be
The roaring ocean waves this evening
Hit hard that big smooth rock on the beach
And when the waves return, the seabirds land again on the rock
With the roar of the sea and the repeated flight of birds and their return to the rock
On the other side of the sea the light red sun hugs the silver sea surface
Only the poet in this very cold weather stands on the coast
He looks and looks at the sky and the water right and left,
And meditates
misses the summer,
and the moon
And …
Ribs
My right and left detestable ribs aren’t
recognised as
meeting required standards as
stated by
Miss Certify.
We stand at a crossroad,
look right, look left, look up
don't just stand there, speak up
do turn your eyes to God.
Of right, and left, and up,
Detour always beckons
Light is life we reckon
we don't believe in luck.
Detour always beckons,
Of choice we must beware
Lift up your voice in prayers,
Mercy equals pardon.
*
Over the hills of snow,
And the mountains on caves,
Above the stars, I know,
You are for my sake.
On the right and left,
By the galleys sole depth,
In the valley of debt,
You have me so blessed.
Kind indeed is your smile,
Going by the solo rhymes,
Playing high in the skies,
At the rage of nights.
To you the leaves bend,
And the showers will descend,
From now and until then,
And forever till the end.
Allemande left to your corner;
Go right and left grand.
When you see your pretty gal,
don't squeeze too hard her little hand.
Head ladies chain; side ladies too down the middle
Your partner ain't no second fiddle.
All partners promenade.
Don't stop off for lemonade.
Do si do your corner;
do si do your own.
Circle left. Make a ring;
no, don't ring like a telephone!
Promenade once again.
She’s your Barbie. He’s your Ken.
Ladies in; men sashay.
Step lively; this ain’t no ballet!
Circle left, hang on tight
Don't get caught in an alligator bite
Allemande left, what you want to do
Is turn that alligator into stew
Do-si-do, listen to the band
Alligator shoes look mighty grand
Roll away to a half sashay
If you're a gator, forget what I say
Right and left grand, give a kick,
Gator eyes fall on a dancing chick
Swing your partner, run, don't stop
Toss him in the water, with eyes on top
Ladies in, men sashay
Ditch that guy without delay
Pass through, separate and go home
Say bye to the bald gator with the crazy comb
Infront the street we stood.
Dad wanted to take food.
The traffic light got red.
I looked right and left.
,,stop"
,,I know dad, look the snow drop!"
,,I know you know"
,,Stop showing your tongue.", I felt my hands shiver in a row.
,,hm? I am tasting the snow dad, it's refreshing from head to toe.
People also play along."
,,these among? to provoke you yes"
But you let me even throw snowballs even though my teacher says it has stones in it."
,,teachers are just doing their Job kid.
Hold my hand it is warm.
I am your dad, not your teacher playing out being charm"
,,You will understand"
,,I don't"
,,then don't"
I am more right-brained than anyone I have met.
Being left-handed goes along with this and my dyslexia.
An old-maid old-school old-faced teacher decided to fix me.
I was forced to wear a thumb-less mitten on my left hand.
Thanks Mom, thanks Miss Kneeland, first grade teacher.
After a year I tried to be right handed, but I never felt right-handed.
In these days children are allowed to be right and left handed.
I envy them. I wish I could have been one of them.
On a happier note, I can type faster than anyone I have ever known.
Chet wore his plaid pants up to his pencil protector
People ran from the cafeteria when they saw him
He was an incessant talker
Never let anyone else speak
We have all been cornered by him
His prattle is boring; scientific crap
Stuff none of us care about
Quantum physics, montum shizzicks,
We don’t even believe in whatever it is
We are from the Midwest
in a town of two thousand
He may be my cousin, but I am the first to say
Clear out of the way, I have to get out of here
He is an educated idiot
Spewing facts right and left
Over our heads they go, bouncing round the walls
flicking into the furniture like bullets
No one is interested!
We back up as he edges into our personal space
He has no boundaries,
it is all about him
and it is annoying
to those of us who
have a life.
Feets moving along I tread along this foreign domain full of bitterness and legions of many things and many eldritch terrifying but as I walk I tell you of the many things I observed which forever stained in my mind. I begin entering uncharted canyons looking up at the edges of them I see three individuals nailed to a wooden cross with one made of black marble stone the left a starfish the right a human dog a beagle to be precise there was one more on the right and left that horizons curtain revealed as I walked further through the canyon A man with the head of a mountain goat an then the left one was a human cougar. the black cross in the middle was a nude woman whose hair floated as if underwater her very stomach had many faces molded onto her. these crucifixions were done by these humanoid ants. Further, I pursue my expedition I saw catepillars with the face of babies with with african tribesman riding them as they wear masks of cyclops made of muddy clay reaching the end I see an altar with a golden praying mantis wearing the face of the holy mary I knew that this was my end for I now must feed my golden dove mother.
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