Sunday, June 28, 2020

Wishful . . .


The black coffee’s aroma hangs thick like a cloud every morning.
He sorts through paisleys and patterns and stripes on the door,
As he lifts up a vain little finger to stifle the blood
From a close shave in the battle of life.
The late night crowd’s returning from an all night bout of drinking
While he’s all-consumed by grand delusions also known as wishful thinking.

His star quality seems to escape everyone
Who would be in position to help him.
Still he goes off each day in anticipation of all
Of the thrill and the joy that one feels
When he’s making interment arrangements.
He’s misunderstood.
A book a song a TV sitcom part you’d miss for blinking
Or a winning lotto ticket in his hand are only wishful thinking.

Oh its nobody’s fault but his own.
So few offers come over the phone.
But he still perseveres faces up to his fears
That can cloud the intentions and bring on the tears.

Still his spirits get lower each day that this program’s protracted.
Moment by moment it takes all he has to go on.
But he just grits his teeth, charges in, slings the arrows back into
The face of outrageous misguided conclusions.
And even though he’ll never die a pauper or a rich king,
He’s just not content to spend his time on anything but wishful thinking.

Oh the groceries and the bills aren’t paid by talking or by drinking.
So he just resumes the grind lacklusterly and does his wishful thinking.



Wishful Thinking
©1992 Raymond M. Jozwiak
(an 'oldie' pulled from the archives for a rough performance)



Saturday, June 27, 2020

Matters . . .


(from https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/politics/a27075028/black-lives-matter-explained/)
". . . If a patient being rushed to the ER after an accident were to point to their mangled leg and say, “This is what matters right now,” and the doctor saw the scrapes and bruises of other areas and countered, “but all of you matters,” wouldn’t there be a question as to why he doesn't show urgency in aiding that what is most at risk? At a community fundraiser for a decaying local library, you would never see a mob of people from the next city over show up angry and offended yelling, “All libraries matter!”—especially when theirs is already well-funded. . . black lives matter “is simply aspirational;” it's a rallying cry for a shift in statistical numbers that show that people who are black are twice as likely to be killed by a police officer while unarmed, compared to a white individual. According to a 2015 study, African-Americans died at the hands of police at a rate of 7.2 per million, while whites were killed at a rate of 2.9 per million. . . Instead of exploring the reasons why a movement like this would even be necessary, many have a knee jerk reaction. “What about me?” “All lives matter,” they cry. “Why be divisive and unfair, what about our safety?” The point these people miss is that the majority of experiences here in America already tend to center and highlight whiteness and cater to its safety. . . "





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Thursday, June 25, 2020

Star . . .


You're a star.
Where you wanted to be,
You now are.
From afar
You appear not too different
Than me.
But the scars
You've acquired
Did not come free.

Had I tried.
Had I done all I could
With all my might.
Would the ride
Give return on the price
Which was required?
Cast aside
Any thoughts of security
in my life.





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OHO Music Website
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Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Take . . .


Hey you down there on the ground
Don’t you think that it’s time 
You should fly
And do you consider the cost
Of the pride that you wear 
Like a smile

Take this moment
You’ve got here
You may not 
Get another try
Sometimes only
One chance comes around
At a time

It’s two that’s the number required
For the dance that we do
To get by
A few drag you into the mire
But they’re strong
Many wiles they devise

Doomed if you don’t learn
Farce is what you earn from the tragedy
What have we to gain
By being stubborn?



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Tuesday, June 23, 2020

No Matter . . .


. . . how you slice it  ['TikTok Teens', Corona Virus, "how our rallies work" or Heat and Humidity], it WAS as well-deserved EMBARRASSMENT. . .

from (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/after-trump-rally-falls-flat-tiktok-teens-take-victory-lap-n1231675)
". . . On Sunday, following a lower-than-expected turnout at Trump’s Tulsa rally, TikTok teens, young adults and K-pop stans (fans of Korean hip-hop and pop music) celebrated their efforts to troll the president. . . young people told NBC News they felt satisfied after seeing the modest crowd size. . . Trump and some of his high-profile supporters had bragged in the days before the rally that more than 1 million people had signed up to attend. Trump Campaign Manager Brad Parscale tweeted on June 14 that . . . more than 800,000 people had signed up for tickets at the 19,000-seat Bank of Oklahoma Center. . . Approximately 6,200 people attended the rally on Saturday, according to the Tulsa Fire Department. . . Parscale downplayed the impact of the online campaign in a statement Sunday. . . “Leftists and online trolls doing a victory lap, thinking they somehow impacted rally attendance, don’t know what they’re talking about or how our rallies work. Reporters who wrote gleefully about TikTok and K-Pop fans — without contacting the campaign for comment — behaved unprofessionally and were willing dupes to the charade,” Parscale said.. . . ". . . "


P.S. Why bother to 'contact the campaign for comment' when it (and current White House 'occupant') has previously offered so many untruths?



Monday, June 22, 2020

Integrity . . .


Fifteen minutes of glory, maybe less.
What I wouldn't give for a chance to confess
All the intimate little secrets;
All my hopes and my desires.
I don't care just how valid you think that they are.
They've been mine for a long, long time
And I'm not ashamed of them.

Shut-up Joe.
How do you really know
What's goin' down?
How can you tell if there's a problem somewhere
That you've found?
We all need to gather round.
Help everybody else to see.
That running your mouth aloud
Makes it that much more difficult
For you and me
And our integrity.

Went to work at the factory at fourteen.
Thought I'd finish my schooling sometime in between
Drunken weekends and feudal street-fights
And the visits to my best girl. 
But the time slipped away. I've got bills here to pay.
I've got small mouths dependent on me.
My vision is limited.

All my life I know I've wanted to say
Something to my fellow man today.
Couldn't let the facts get in the way. 

We weren't that well acquainted. That's the word.
An occasional run-in, we preferred. 
Cause one thing that we both believed in,
Heard it over and over again, 
It was something about all the fondness we felt;
How the heart can't miss what's not around.
The mind doesn't value it.