July 21: "Boy Shooting at a Statue," Full Moon, President Biden

Billy Collins meditates on history . . . 

Boy Shooting at a Statue

by: Billy Collins

It was late afternoon,

the beginning of winter, a light snow,

and I was the only one in the small park

to witness the lone boy running

in circles around the base of a bronze statue.

I could not read the carved name

of the statesman who loomed above,

one hand on his cold hip,

but as the boy ran, head down,

he would point a finger at the statue

and pull an imaginary trigger

imitating the sounds of rapid gunfire.

Evening thickened, the mercury sank,

but the boy kept running in the circle

of his footprints in the snow

shooting blindly into the air.

History will never find a way to end,

I thought, as I left the park by the north gate

and walked slowly home

returning to the station of my desk

where the sheets of paper I wrote on

were like pieces of glass

through which I could see

hundreds of dark birds circling in the sky above.

It's an interesting poem to land on tonight--all about history and dark birds and violence.

Last night, the moon was incredible, fat and full and orange in the heavens.  My niece, Abby, and I went outside and tried to capture it with the different cameras at our disposal.  Abby had a much nicer camera and got some great shots, including the one below.  It was a great way to end a great week with her.

My wife drove Abby to Lake Michigan to meet up with Abby's mom today while I attended an all-day author/artist fair with one of my best writer/poet friends.  It was incredibly hot, but lovely, as well.  I visited with some good friends, met some interesting people, and made a little bit of money by selling CDs and instant poems.  

About halfway through the day, Abby sent me a text telling me that President Biden was stepping down from running for reelection.  She and I had just talked about this possibility last night, and I predicted that it was going to happen soon.  (I wasn't happy about it, but I knew it was only a matter of time.)

I just have a few words for my Democrat friends and acquaintances who are celebrating tonight.  These last few weeks since the debate between Trump and Biden, I have witnessed the worst kind of ageism I've ever seen.  On the basis of 90 minutes of bad TV, these friends somehow forgot all the good President Biden has accomplished in the last three-and-a-half years.  I didn't hear my friends complain when President Biden canceled student debt relief.  They didn't complain as he navigated the country out of the pandemic and chipped away at unemployment, not to mention stimulating a failing economy.  

I'm not saying that I oppose the possibility of a Kamala Harris presidency.  In fact, I'm excited about the prospect.  However, if you are one of my friends who was calling for President Biden to step aside because of his age, I think you need to do a little soul searching.  You literally canceled a good, decent public servant because of his age.  Isn't that sort of akin to Trump mocking a reporter with a disability?

Yes, I believe Donald Trump needs to be defeated in November to preserve democracy in this country.  Yes, I am excited by the possibility of seeing the first female President of the United States.  Yet, I think the attacks on President Biden from both sides of the political spectrum these last few weeks have been disappointing at best,  intensely ugly at worst.

I told Abby last night that I didn't think I was going to live to see a woman as President of the United States.  I hope to be eating those words in the next few months.

In the meantime, Saint Marty may be doing some more moongazing tonight.

June 28: "Disappointing Freak Show," Debate, "Hope"

Billy Collins attends a . . . 

Disappointing Freak Show

by: Billy Collins

A bearded man,

a one-headed chicken,

a sailor with a tattoo,

and a three-legged piano.

WARNING:  POLITICAL POST AHEAD

Okay, I've been trying to avoid writing overtly political posts in my blog.  I simply don't want to add fuel to the ugliness of an already ugly election year.  But I want to talk about the disappointing freak show that I've been witnessing most of today.

Last night, President Joe Biden debated Donald Trump on CNN.  I watched the entire thing, from start to finish.  Listened to each candidate's answers and non-answers.  Watched and listened to Donald Trump repeat his paranoid, narcissistic lies for 90 minutes.  Watched and listened to Joe Biden sometimes struggle to articulate his thoughts clearly.

But that's not the disappointing freak show to which I'm referring.

I'm referring to all of the social media and news articles discussing how President Biden needs to make the "hard decision" to step aside because he's too old/frail/mentally unsound to be President of the United States.  I've read Facebook posts by friends whom I respect jumping on this bandwagon.  It has been incredibly sad and disappointing to me.

So, Donald Trump has been saying and posting unhinged, incoherent messages for over nine years now.  The man wouldn't recognize the truth if it gave him a lap dance.  He's fueled hatred, homophobia, xenophobia, and violence.  When he lost a fair election (yes, it was a fair election--sorry you red hatters), he refused to participate in the peaceful transfer of power.  Instead, he whipped up a mob of rioters into a frenzy, and then he sat back and watched them storm the Capitol Building, causing the deaths of police officers and smearing shit on the walls.  And let's not forget that Donald Trump is a convicted felon.

President Biden has given us over three years of peace and stability.  I haven't worried about turning on the news in the morning since he took office.  He's done his best to repair the devastation of the pandemic, increased jobs, fostered economic growth, and tried to pass a bipartisan border security bill (reminder--it failed because Donald Trump called Republicans and told them to vote against it).  These are FACTS.  (For you red hatters, a fact is "something that has actual existence.")  Has his presidency been perfect?  Not by any means.  However, Joe Biden has spent most of his life serving the people of the United States with honor and morality.

Joe Biden did not have a good night.  He was obviously nervous and under-the-weather, judging by his voice.  I've had bad teaching days, but that doesn't mean I'm unfit to be a teacher.  Everyone has bad days.  I wouldn't want my entire teaching career judged by one class when I failed to connect with my students.  One bad debate does NOT make Joe Biden unfit to be President of the United States.

The rhetoric I've witnessed today smacks of ageism.  (By the way, I've heard people saying Vice President Kamala Harris isn't popular enough to be President, so let's throw sexism and racism into that mix, as well.)  It's nasty and undignified and gives Donald Trump exactly what he wants and needs.  (Has anyone mentioned that Ronald Reagan was suffering from early symptoms of Alzheimer's during his second term?)  Personally, I can't discount over three years of good work in the Oval Office because of 90 minutes of bad TV.

Saint Marty still has hope that his Democrat friends will get their heads out of their asses

Hope

by: Martin Achatz

"Hope" isn't a thing

with feathers.  Beg pardon,

Emily.  "Hope" is a thing

that does his homework,

washes his dishes, folds

his laundry, makes

his bed every morning.

May 22: "Corridor," One of the Elders, "Ageism"

Billy Collins shows his age . . .

Corridor

by: Billy Collins

I've grown old--

now my own name

rings a bell.

Okay, I have reached the age where I get up off the couch in my living room, walk through the dining room into the kitchen, and can't remember why.  Was I hungry?  Thirsty?  Did I have something in the oven?

I still feel as if I should be sitting at the kids' table at family gettogethers, leaving the comfortable chairs and bigger table to the elders.  My reality check came this past Christmas when I realized that I am now one of the elders.  A younger elder, but still an elder.

Funny, I don't feel older, although I do make noises every time I rise from chairs or couches now.  I still get overexcited by new books or writing projects or movies.  And I still am pretty much night owlish, staying up well past 2 a.m. most of the time.  

There is that old saying that you're only as old as you feel.  I've also heard people say, "You have a young mind."  If both of those statements are true, then I'm a 12-year-old boy stuck in the body of an old fart.  

I'm not complaining.  I've been pretty lucky, health-wise and happiness-wise.  My life is good, filled with things that fuel my passions.  Age, for me, really is just a number.  That's it.

Saint Marty's number right now is . . . younger than dirt and older than my teeth.

Ageism

by: Martin Achatz

John Muir counted over 4000

rings on one sequoia stump,

and I have expired milk

in my fridge that still smells good.