Not Poetry. Quatrain Verse in English & Swedish. Dagsverser. On the Mundane & the Arcane.
Why flailing in futility
when beckons the other way:
Of living in tranquility
not succumb to racking fray
Why persevere in mimicry
when beckons the other way:
To live in authenticity
not just in escapist play
Why upbraid in ubiquity
when beckons the other way:
Living in equanimity
gathers up Life’s full bouquet
Back then had seemed remote, unknown
would seem like fatuity
when up on to these shores tossed, blown
but since turned fortuity
By winds, were they happenstance
brought me in disaffect
On waves, were they circumstance
in life I was shipwrecked
Back then I was downed, almost drowned
Since then blessed on dry steady ground
+)
these shores = here: the US Pacific Northwest
Tell, has our Species ever met
someone that so hogs our time?
Anything like the Internet
that so dominates our prime?
Anything as facile as the Smart Phone
enticing indulgent seclusion?
where we are never & always alone
in such tantalizing collusion?
The hapless Post-Millennial Centaur
gallops wildly in oblivion
arrayed in alienation’s splendour
til crashed in future obsidian!
Having found Gothenburg pedantic
I had since childhood quested West
hence peered over the edge of my nest
on to horizons romantic
Clearly I inclined to manic
so sailed off to The New World
but turned no trip Magellanic
merely cruised in restless whirl
Stranger in Reality
so when I did arrive somewhere
never in finality
rarely found a tangible ‘here’
‘Far away’ may not endow
this I can sadly avow
+)
Gothenburg = the major port & industrial city on the Swedish West coast
Late summer rain
in moonlit night
Flawless quatrain
kindly polite
Lightly splatters
agony smoothed
Softly patters
restive hearts soothed
Flows off eaves
warm gently mild
Drips off leaves
in shades beguiled
Just dismiss those with an accent
every one a malcontent!
Let’s pathologize their dissent
never justly they lament
As accountable to no one
no need to be acquitted
Does not matter what we have done
accomplished or omitted
Americans don’t apologize
nor are we ever to be blamed
We always prevail, don’t compromise
Patriots are never ashamed!
Let’s always take this stand
against all critique:
Dismiss it out of hand
or bespeaks we’re weak
+)
-apologize = “I will never apologize for the United States. I don’t care what the facts are. I’m not an apologize-for-America kind of guy” – President George H W Bush
-we = here: patriotic, jingoistic Americans
Hey, Nose on Screen, waiting to chew
check this nifty ‘winglet’ thing!
They are rarely more than just two
one at the tip of each wing.
Whether of much use those winglets
or the plane a sleek cygnet
whether most pilots wear singlets
or air travel mere figment:
Still heart & soul of air travel
seems the ‘wheeled larder’? Take heart!
No risk in sky to unravel
for here rolls the service cart:
Heavenward passengers scoot!
Of winglets, who gives a hoot?
+)
-winglets = small angled wing tip extensions which provide extra lift, reduce drag & fuel consumption (somewhat)
Flawless Summer streaming
muffles all human shrillness
we’re awake whilst dreaming
float in shimmering stillness
Movements oneness
Heavens soundless
Warm Earth boundless
Nature wordless
By nature’s glistening surfeit
our mere mortal senses brimmed
Resting now from clawing circuit
Can’t be kind or sentimental
dressed up in our power suit
we must display ‘metal mettle’
empowered to act the brute
Focus on what’s at stake:
To make profits shine
grabbing all we can take
boosts the bottom line!
Swimming with opportunity
while prodded by peer pressure
who can pretend immunity
from turning rabid thresher?
But beware! The greed on Wall Street
is the greed in our own heart
So as we darkly scheme & cheat
ain’t no excuse blame we’re smart
Face when poorly we pay heed
(restraint of course, we dread)
that a heart consumed by greed
won’t stand us in good stead!
While we have of course already effectively abandoned our children and theirs by not doing anything that would significantly mitigate the climate collapse we are also now limiting erstwhile parent-child interaction. The following scenes have become routine in our very own neighborhood, viz.:
Toddler:
Being pushed along in my stroller
with Mom & her Chum the Smart Phone
a Connectedness Highest Roller
as well Dexterous Texting Clone
Child:
Got to join on a walk
with my Dad & his Smart Phone
as long as I don’t talk
may listen to his Ring Tone
Dog:
Got to ride in my People’s car
watched them turn Cyber Unknowns
drove erratically bizarre
while on GPS and phones
All Three, in unison:
While we weren’t by spilled coffee burnt
got covered by crumbs of scones
Most relieved that these ‘adults’ weren’t
piloting surveillance drones …