Someday Will Be Our Time

He’s never at a loss for words, for a smart remark or for an executive decision. But, as we talked about the election, Dan got sheepish.
He said, embarrassed, “I was on my way to the polls, and – I still didn’t have any idea who I wanted. So, I got there, and I looked at the ballot, and I had no idea.”
Jim said, “Well, you’re voting for whoever you think can beat McCain.”
“I know, but I still didn’t know. And when I left there, I was, like, did I make the right choice?”
I had never seen him like that, not even in high school. We’re 40 now, and he’s an executive with one recycling company, and an owner of another.
I just thought he was making a big deal about nothing. You vote for who you want and let it go.
But, deep down, I think he was feeling scared because, maybe for the first time, he had realized an inability to effect the world.

* * *

I was watching the outcomes of the Ohio primary that night. It generally stayed at 60% Clinton , 38% Obama. Dan had voted for Obama.

* * *

Who knows how elections are decided (for the last Presidential election, it seemed like some kind of teeter-totter of fate), how world events develop, or explode into war, fall apart, lead to poverty, etc.
Usually, we apply very rational systems of thought to try to understand how major events occur.
But when I child’s dog is hit by a car, he is looking for deeper answers. And the answer his mother gives him to “Why?” is “Maybe it was his time.”
Could this be how everything happens?
How could we allow George Bush to invade Iraq ? So many of us didn’t want it (and so many of us blame ourselves – somehow we didn’t try hard enough). The world, at large, didn’t want it. Yet it seemed inevitable.
Could we really have stopped it? Could Dan have won Ohio for Barack Obama? Could Obama have? His campaign workers?
Why have so many innocent Iraqis died?
“Maybe it was just their time.”

* * *

When will equity exist in the world for all of its inhabitants? When will violence end, when will hunger end, when will discrimination end?
Maybe, someday, it will be their time.
If enough people want it, if enough people have worked for it, maybe change will be some mysterious cumulative effect.
Maybe it is a matter of the will of the heart, pushing for these things, until critical mass is achieved.

wide open spaces

wide open spaces,
beautiful, placid(ifying),
a rain of warm drops
from a light gray sky on an arid, summer day;

like the endless Midwest fields
(which I have not truly witnessed),
or the fields of grasses, surrounded by stands of trees,
in the SOM Metropark,
or the endless ocean,
seen from the white sands of Sarasota , Florida .

even those places
that aren’t so wide,
yet which are open to the heart’s imagination,
can have this hidden spaciousness;

like the mouth of the Cuyahoga River
as the Red Line pulls out, east,
from the W. 25th rapid station,
into the valley, gulls soaring,
serious for fish, hilarious for play,
the hillside, a quilt of foliage and condominiums.

and, actually,
any little, open space you can find
in this world of crowded developments and hopscotch, commercial zones
can add a bit of breadth to the mind –
the view down the street from the Cedar Hill-bottom station
into the arboreal University Circle ,
or the space of the heart, itself,
expanding upon your seeing a loved one,
or even your seeing a stranger, welcomed with heart ajar.

approaching W. 25th

fallen leaves – neon green;
underbrush – fluorescent brown;
graffiti – acid rainbow;
rapid transit, rushing through town;

approaching W. 25th,
art town, somewhat bigger than myth,
creation of incandescent objects of art,
in industrial town with an underdog heart

city, eating gravy,
waiting for the next big win,
conspicuously not as concerned
with the state we’re in

but art knows no sides,
it’s not set up to win or lose,
just putting it out there, praised or panned,
you’re saved, you’re bruised, you’re healed, you’re true

As He Supports You From Within

I've given away as many copies of my first poetry chapbook as I have sold. And that's fine by me -- as long as people are reading it. "As He Supports You from Within" is wisdom in the form of poetry, from a man who has seen a lot of wisdom in his life, most of it in other people, and birds and squirrels. And cats. Influences include Hindu and mystical storytelling and the pop lyrics of Paul Simon. So, why not enjoy the sweet ache of the blues from a light-hearted, care-worn soul. $3 is the asking price, including shipping, $2 if you catch me in person, and maybe for free if you say something nice about me. You may contact me at jazzcoffeefreak@yahoo.com