One Day at a Time, 1,443 days until next inauguration

 Countdown 1,443

One day at a time.

One hour at a time.

One second at a time.

One thousand, four hundred and forty-three more days of continuing chaos.

Watch what he does, not what he says.

But his saying is a doing.

How can his words be ignored?

He says the U.S. will take Gaza,

Rebuild it, turn it into a Middle East Riviera.

How? How? Howl! Howl!

Palestinians howl, never, never, never.

Some Israelis rejoice.

The U.S. will do the ethnic cleansing for them.

That would required 3,333 of the largest passenger planes.

With planes taking off every five minutes,

it would take two years to ethnically cleanse Gaza.

Has the great wheeler-dealer, the deal maker, the real estate mogul

Considered the logistics?

Of course not.

He’s only doing a shtick.

He’s playing at being president

while the billionaire and Project 2025 gang

continue to demolish our democratic government.

I wait for him to say Gaza will be the 52nd state

(after Canada becomes the 51st).

Watch what the billionaire and Project 2025 gang do

While he entertains the MAGA,

And the world cries.

30/30: Golden Shovel poem #22

source: Video Shows Chaotic Scene Before Deadly Police Shooting in Columbus

 

We didn’t want to watch the video.

We would have preferred musical shows.

We were unnerved by chaotic

incidents that meant every scene

shifted perspective depending on who stood before

and who shot after. There were too many deadly

blooms to review, no clear evidence that police

understood what we celebrated, while no shooting

or shouting could save us from whispers in

our search for safety before the arrival of Columbus. 

 

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Here is how I am using Terrance Hayes’s Golden Shovel poem format, as proposed by the Sunday New York Times "At Home" section, for 30 Poems in 30 Days during National Poetry Month.

 

Take a newspaper headline that attracts you.

Use each word in the line as the end word for each line in your poem.

Keep the end words in order.

Describe the story that the headline is for.

The poem does not have to be about the same subject as the headline that creates the end words.

 

#AtoZChallenge: C Is for Chaos, Confusion, Climate Change...

            I had a hard time coming up with what I wanted my “C” to be. I had written “coffee,” “Cuba” (my daughter, Christie [another C], and I had gone to Cuba last December), but as I lay in bed last night, what floated into my mind was chaos and confusion.

            Perhaps that is my state of mind these days. It’s partly because of the current political state of this country, with a president who seems to think his job is to sign executive orders and show his signature to the camera, whose nominations show an inclination to destroy all parts of government except the police and military, who is at heart a con man and entertainer. I fear only chaos will be the result, chaos not only in this country but around the world. And climate change, which that president ignores, may make all of our futures obsolete.

            But my psyche also feels chaotic and confused. My husband of 51 years died a year ago. I was going to save this fact for tomorrow, when D will be about Death, but this fact is at the root of my personal chaos and confusion.

            We had a good marriage; in many ways, we meshed very well. But we were also quite different. All the ways we were different that caused conflict are now gone, and while I often feel relieved (oh, I can cook whatever I want; I can pile up books and magazines on chair arms), I also feel, yes, confused. What do I do now? I’m 74, soon to be 75, and my life is not as open-ended as it would be if I were 35 or 40, or even 50.

            I’m not looking for another partner. Relationships are hard work, and I’ve already seen one partner through ill health, hospitalizations, rehab, and I don’t want to do that again. When I think of that, I think, it’ll be my turn next. And yes, it would be helpful to have a partner to take care of me, someone I’ve known only a short time wouldn’t be any more comfortable than someone I would hire.

            Do you think I’m being too utilitarian here? What about love? Even sex? I’m confused about those, too. What is love when you’re not young and full of lust? I’m not a romantic (my husband was). I feel more like the uncertain young person I was when my husband and I first met.

            I’m having to learn to be a grownup all on my own, and that is confusing and chaotic. Wish me luck.