PLOG: Poetry Blog

Undocumented Worker

8/16/2022

Imperial Grand Wizard Trump is an undocumented worker now. That's because the FBI served a warrant to search his home to retrieve all of the classified documents he stole -- documents dealing with everything from French President Macron to U.S. nuclear defense protocols.

Of course, during his presidential campaign, Trump was the troll who always barked about Hillary Clinton's mishandling of classified information, and he would get attendees at his Klan rallies to gleefully chant "Lock her up."

Now they're chanting anything but "Lock him up," even though Trump's crime is, in fact, a felony.

Watching the GOP traitors and MAGA morons spin tales as to why this should not be addressed is as hilarious as it is pathetic. Arguments have included, "He didn't do it, the documents were planted." "He didn't do anything wrong because he declassified the documents." "The people accusing him are guilty; Obama took 33 million documents." "The Espionage Act is illegal (even though Trump himself signed it)." "Not all classified information is necessarily classified" (I'm not making this up -- GOP Representative Mike Turner floated this one). "What happened didn't happen -- and what about Hillary's emails." "He did it and he'll do it again because 'truth' is on his side."

There have been other and equally absurd defenses offered to defend Trump's crime. It is truly unbelievable. The man should be arrested, convicted and imprisoned.

In response to Trump's latest crime, I have posted Emmett Lee Dickinson's "What he had we know somewhat" below on the left. Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "What we see we know somewhat," below on the right.

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

What he had we know somewhat
Be it quite a lot-
What we don't surmise to know
Is what's his fiendish plot?

I shall vote to Lock him Up
For these memorandum
Not merely for their Gist -- but
Simply 'cause he Had 'em

By Emily Dickinson:

What we see we know somewhat
Be it but a little-
What we don't surmise we do
Though it shows so fickle

I shall vote for Lands with Locks
Granted I can pick 'em-
Transport's doubtful Dividend
Patented by Adam.

Tax Loophole in One

7/31/2022

Remember that old nursery rhyme "There was a crooked man"? Well, the man in that verse is as straight as a prairie horizon when compared to Donald Trump because ol' Shifty Don is about as crooked as they come!

Now I'm not one to repeat gossip -- as they say -- so you'll have to listen (or in this case, read) closely the first time: Word on the street is that Ivana Trump was about to come forward with some, shall we say, very fascinating information on The Donald, so he had her offed.

And then what'd he do?

He planted her by the first hole in one of his dumpy golf clubs (well, I assume the gold club is dumpy. I've never been there, but I did visit his dumpy casino in Atlantic City years ago before it went six-feet under) -- and the kids are afraid to say anything thinking that someone just might push them down the stairs too.

So Trump provides poor old Ivana with a one-way ticket to his golf club, re-cans the beans she was about to spill, and scores a tax loophole in one. Take a look at this:

The whole sordid affair reminds me of Emmett Lee Dickinson's poem "The Stimulus, beyond the Grave," below on the left. Dickinson's poem inspired his third cousin to pen her poem with the same opening line, below on the right.

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

The Stimulus, beyond the Grave
He's Counting on to see
With tax breaks like imperial Drams
Afforded Royalty.

By Emily Dickinson:

The Stimulus, beyond the Grave
His Countenance to see
Supports me like imperial Drams
Afforded Royally.

For another poem related to Ivana Trump's mysterious death and bizarre grave site, click HERE.

Golf Widower

7/30/2022

Just when you think that the Trump family can't get any more grotesque, they lower the bar and prove that yes, yes they can outdo their ghoulish ways.

In this case, Trump planted the remains of his first wife, Ivana, near the first hole at one of his golf courses in New Jersey.

I'll admit, I'm not usually a conspiracy theorist, but I'm hearing an awful lot of talk that Trump had her murdered (was she about to come out with some dirt on "The Donald"?), and then he and his family of ghouls disposed of the body as quickly as possible -- and since they planted her at the golf course, the property -- now classified as a cemetery -- qualifies for tax break. Sweet!

A picture of the grave site is below, and I hear that the landscaping was done by none other than Trump's third wife, has-been porn star Melania Trump.

You just can't make this stuff up, folks.

This whole affair called to mind Emmett Lee Dickinson's poem, "My grave upon the golf course is," below on the left. Dickinson's poem inspired his third cousin Emily to pen her poem, "Thy grave my little cottage is," below on the right.

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

My grave upon the golf course is,
Where “Keeping house” is key
I make my sand trap orderly
So they can lay their tee.

Now we’re divided, briefly,
A cycle, it may be,
Till everlasting fire unites
My grotesque family.

By Emily Dickinson:

The grave my little cottage is,
Where "Keeping house" for thee
I make my parlor orderly
And lay the marble tea.

For two divided, briefly,
A cycle, it may be,
Till everlasting life unite
In strong society.

For another poem related to Ivana Trump's mysterious death and bizarre grave site, click HERE.

Courting with Disaster

7/17/2022

I PUBLISHED THIS POST A FEW WEEKS AGO AS PART OF OUR "FEATURED POEMS OF THE WEEK." I WANTED TO ADD IT HERE IN OUR PLOG (POETRY BLOG) TOO TO SAVE IT IN OUR ARCHIVE.

I am so very angry about recent "Supreme" Court decisions -- especially the one to overturn Roe v. Wade.

I can't stop thinking about the sexual molester/criminal who grabs women by the pussy who was allowed to appoint three inJustices to the court -- one of whom is a sexual molester/predator himself -- and they, with other right-wing conservative wackos (one of whom watches porn regularly, is a sexual predator, and is married to an insurrectionist), have denied the right to women to control their own bodies. PLUS -- in another recent decision -- they provided more rights to guns and gun owners than to women.

Of course, this is really the fault of frightened white folks who voted for "Shifty Don" Trump in the first place -- a man who employed a "fixer" to pay off prostitutes and to fund the secret abortions for the women and teenagers he had molested.

In response to all of those who cast a vote and helped Russia install Trump as our so-called "president," I offer Emmett Lee Dickinson's poem "How happy are the little Rocks" below on the left -- because anyone and everyone who voted for Trump IS AS DUMB AS A ROCK! In casting a vote for Imperial Grand Wizard Trump, they helped to support an agenda devoted to white supremacy and misogyny (I am not exaggerating -- take a look at the recent Tweet from RepubliQan Senator John Cornyn -- he wants the inJustices to "now do Plessy vs Ferguson/Brown vs Board of Education").

I have but two words for those who cast a vote for and/or continue to support Imperial Grand Wizard Trump: FUCK YOU (and I mean that very sincerely).

Dickinson's poem inspired his third cousin Emily to pen her poem "How happy is the little Stone," below on the right.

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

How happy are the little Rocks
Who cast their votes and set back Clocks,
And just don’t care of Women’s Rights
And Freedoms they would sacrifice –
Whose Coat of elemental White
They think is Universally right
And one amendment is the One
The others can be overrun,
Fulfilling absolute Decree
Intolerant simplicity –

By Emily Dickinson:

How happy is the little Stone
That rambles in the Road alone,
And doesn't care about Careers
And Exigencies never fears –
Whose Coat of elemental Brown
A passing Universe put on,
And independent as the Sun
Associates or glows alone,
Fulfilling absolute Decree
In casual simplicity –

No News Is Good News

7/5/2022

Yesterday's news of more GOP-empowered mass shootings on the Fourth of July was just awful -- with the worst happening in Highland Park, IL, where a fanatical Trump supporter killed and wounded spectators for the town's annual holiday parade. I've watched updates and press conferences on the news today -- the most televised news I've watched in quite some time.

And why?

I can barely watch the news anymore. It makes me too angry -- even when I watch networks I generally agree with (MSNBC and CNN -- and never "Faux" News). I just can't stand to watch and hear the steady stream of stories about the GOP's continued efforts to seize power in any way they can so that they can destroy our individual freedoms and societal values.

Some recent examples: I heard that the "former guy" -- the career criminal who employed a "Fixer" to pay hush money to prostitutes and fund secret abortions -- might soon make an announcement on his plan for the next Presidential election. REALLY? A treasonous Fascist who attempted to kidnap a former vice-president and then overthrow our government is (a) not in prison and (b) might run for office again? And this very same racist troglodyte appointed three of the current inJustices on the Supreme Court who stripped women of their right to control their own bodies? And then I read about a 10-year-old girl who was raped and impregnated, and now her state's Governor is proclaiming that she must carry the baby to term -- and religious wackos are saying this is God's will? If so, then I want NO PART of their perverse and disgusting "God." And back to the Supreme Court -- two of the men on the bench are sexual molesters themselves, and the three most recent appointees all lied under oath to gain confirmation -- and now the conservative majority is making decisions based solely on Religion to force their narrow and bigoted beliefs down our throats.

LOL -- I'm ranting -- and there's soooo much more to be angry about. For example: RepubliQan efforts to block every effort to help the average American with rising costs of gas and inflation because they are owned by Dark Money "donors" who pull their strings -- all while Oil Companies and other mega-corporations achieve record profits this year.

AAARGH!!!!

Now, instead of watching a steady stream of gloom and doom on a network news, I keep up with headlines with my apps for the Washington Post and the New York Times, and I occasionally scroll through Twitter (but even with that I have to do so sparingly).

As a result, by eliminating my unhealthy diet of too much cable network news, I have significantly reduced my level of stress. In the words of Emmett Lee Dickinson's poem "A Word dropped often on the news" (below on the left), I have "distanced" myself from the constant barrage of talking heads.

Dickinson's poem also inspired his third cousin Emily to pen her poem "A Word dropped careless on a page" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

A Word dropped often on the News
Does stimulate the ire
When folded in perpetual stream
Of Cable News shows’ fire

Inflection in their sentences breed
A feeling of Despair
We need to distance Ourselves
Or take the shows Off Air –

By Emily Dickinson:

A Word dropped careless on a Page
May consecrate an eye
When folded in perpetual seam
The Wrinkled Author lie

Infection in the sentence breeds
We may inhale Despair
At distances of Centuries
From the Malaria –

Below: A message I posted on Twitter on the Fourth of July:

Amidst the Meadow

6/29/2022

We traveled to Big Meadows in Shenandoah National Park today. The weather was BEAUTIFUL, and it was nice to escape the news of that former so-called "president" who attempted to overthrow our government with a violent coup (I do pray that he will be arrested, convicted and imprisoned for his crimes).

Below are miscellaneous pics -- mostly close-ups of some of the "bashful flowers" (to borrow an image from Emily Dickinson's poem "Have you got a Brook in your little heart"). I hope you enjoy them.

BY EMILY DICKINSON:

Beauty — be not caused — It Is --
Chase it, and it ceases --
Chase it not, and it abides --

Overtake the Creases

In the Meadow — when the Wind
Runs his fingers thro' it --
Deity will see to it
That You never do it --

Lie of the Land

6/19/2022

There is no greater threat to our democratic republic than Donald Trump and the Republican Party. They literally attempted a coup to overthrow our government on live TV on January 6, 2021 – based on “The Big Lie” – and all too slowly, the truth is coming out.

Read this chilling account from the Los Angeles Times, HERE: "Inside the MAGA world scramble to produce finding suggesting the 2020 election was stolen."

The Jan 6th committee hearings produced this: Judge David Carter wrote in a scathing 44-page order, “The illegality of the (Trump) plan was obvious. Our nation was founded on the peaceful transition of power, epitomized by George Washington laying down his sword to make way for democratic elections. Ignoring this history, President Trump vigorously campaigned for the Vice President to single-handedly determine the results of the 2020 election. As Vice President Pence stated, ‘no Vice President in American history has ever asserted such authority.’ Every American—and certainly the President of the United States—knows that in a democracy, leaders are elected, not installed. With a plan this ‘BOLD,’ President Trump knowingly tried to subvert this fundamental principle.”

Through the Jan 6th Hearings we also learned that Trump attorney, John Eastman, attempted to get a Presidential Pardon following his role in the treasonous plan. @CvilleHlthCare tweeted, “If John Eastman doesn't end up doing prison time after all that we learned today, it will normalize coup attempts and we will no longer live in a functioning democracy. And it will likely mean that nobody else is held to account.”

Joy-Ann Reid of MSNBC pointed out that we were “one Mike Pence away from a coup” – and of course, Trump had planned to kidnap the Vice President on January 6th so that Chuck GrASSely could handle the electoral college vote certification.

Did you see the tweet from @rollcall on January 5th?

THAT’S BECAUSE PENCE WAS TO HAVE BEEN KIDNAPPED – BUT HE KNEW SOMETHING WAS UP AND HE REFUSED TO GET INTO THE LIMOUSINE!

All of this is so very chilling -- and what is more alarming is that insurrectionists who supported Trump's attempted coup are still serving in Congress and some are sitting on the Supreme Court!!!

To paraphrase that line from the movie Ghost, "Liberty, you in trouble, girl!"

In response to the recent televised hearings based on the January 6th investigation, I have posted Emmett Lee Dickinson's poem "To live the lie -- was Power" below on the left. Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "To be alive -- is Power," below on the right.

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

To live the lie – was Power –
Existence – for himself –
Without the legal sanction –
Ambitiousness – Enough –

To live the lie – he Did!
Enabled by his Fraud –
The Liar – he Himself – in smut –
It was his Habitude!

By Emily Dickinson:

To be alive – is Power –
Existence – in itself –
Without a further function –
Omnipotence – Enough –

To be alive – and Will!
'Tis able as a God –
The Maker – of Ourselves – be what –
Such being Finitude!

Remember when Trump said he'd "drain the swamp"? In reality, he is the swamp.

King Louis XIV of France once said, “L’État, c’est moi.” For Trump it would be, "Le marais, c’est moi" -- for he is the living embodiment of the swamp -- or the "smut" as described in Dickinson's poem. Trump is the King of the Swamp, and he is surrounded by nothing but despicable swamp critters -- and they nearly brought about the demise of our government, our free society, and our way of life.

Donald Trump needs to be arrested, tried, convicted, and brought before a firing squad. Isn't that how our Founding Fathers would have handled such a treasonous act?

And speaking of our Founding Fathers, happy Father's Day!

Blood On Their Hands

5/29/2022

The information coming out of Uvalde, TX, about the NRA- and GOP-empowered school shooting is sickening and horrific. The very people on the town's police force who I am sure shriek about having armed guards in schools wouldn't even enter the building to protect the children and the staff. As a result, the gunman was allowed to roam freely as he terrorized the school for over an hour.

Now the NRA ghouls and the GOP gun lobby whores have gathered in Houston where they trotted out the Ku Klux Klan's Imperial Grand Wizard, Donald Trump, to howl about the "existence of evil" brought on by broken families -- nothing but blather from a twice-divorced stooge who is currently married to a has-been porn star.

And then there is the state's laughable Governor backed by his posse of white supremacists barking at Beto O'Rourke for making their ineptitude even more visible to the public -- all while Ted "Cancun" Cruz goes on yipping and yapping all over Twitter (while the blood on his hands stains the NRA dollars he stuffs into his pockets hand over fist).

In sad tribute to those killed by this NRA- and GOP-empowered attack, we offer the following poem based on Emilly Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for Death."

Because they could not stop for Death –
A gunman mowed them down –
The NRA empowered him –
The GOP their Clown.

He quickly drove – in frantic haste
For he had put away
His labor and his leisure too,
For his Insanity –

He killed the Children, at the School
At Recess – in their Room –
He killed the Teachers guarding them –
He killed as Terror loomed –

Or rather – They killed Them –
The ones who sanctioned this Pain –
For only Specious Words they Speak –
Their Interest -- only Feigned –

And then the NRA convened
A Meeting near the Town –
Their Gall was widely visible –
Their Platform – out of Touch –

Since then – feels Centuries – and yet
It’s been a few short Days,
I then surmised a Horse’s Ass
Was dancing on their Stage –

Information on those killed by the 18-year-old murderer -- empowered by the NRA and GOP -- can be found HERE.

NOTE: This information will bring tears to your eyes.

Below: The handprints of Ted "Cancun" Cruz:

Below: The handprints of Texas Governor Greg Abbot:

Below: The handprints of Imperial Grand Wizard Donald Trump:

Below: The handprints of GOP Chair Ronna McDaniel:

Below: The handprints of NRA President Charles Cotton:

Because They Could Not Stop For Death

5/29/2022

Due to lax gun laws sanctioned by the NRA and GOP gun-lobby whores, an 18-year-old this past week was able to purchase assault weapons and secure an alarming amount of ammunition. He then shot his grandmother in the face and proceeded to terrorize an elementary school where he murdered 19 children and 2 adults.

Throughout this weekend, ghouls in the NRA joined with the GOP gun-lobby whores at meeting in Houston, Texas where the Ku Klux Klan's Grand Wizard Donald Trump was seen dancing on the stage like a stooge after just reading the names of those killed in the attack.

Of course, the outrage displayed throughout our country will soon diminish -- until the next school shooting. At that point we'll all dust off our go-to "thoughts and prayers' and the GOP gun-lobby whores will say it's "too soon" to talk about the gun problem -- plus, as an added bonus, they'll trot out their new propaganda about mental health issues facing our nation and the existence of evil brought on by broken families (which, oddly enough, was the argument made at the NRA convention by a so-called former "president" who is twice-divorced and now married to a former porn star).

Sadly, in honor of those killed in last week's GOP/NRA-empowered mass murder, we offer Emmett Lee Dickinson's poem "New feet within our graveyard go" below on the left. Dickinson's poem inspired his third cousin Emily to pen her poem "New feet within my garden go," below on the right.

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

New feet within our graveyard go –
New fingers in the sod –
A Class of children ’neath the Stone
Surveys the solitude.

New children lay beneath the green –
New Weary sleep below –
And now the “Thoughts & Prayers” return –
And now the gun sales grow!

By Emily Dickinson:

New feet within my garden go –
New fingers stir the sod –
A Troubadour upon the Elm
Betrays the solitude.

New children play upon the green –
New Weary sleep below –
And still the pensive Spring returns –
And still the punctual snow!

White Supreme Pizza

5/15/2022

When Right-wing conservative radicals talk about their disgust with "cancel culture," they talk out of their asses. In reality, they LOVE to cancel things -- including scientific facts, American history, and truth. In Florida alone, the Governor and the GOP banned over forty math textbooks because the texts supposedly promoted "critical race theory" -- the Radical Right's latest boogeyman meant to scare white folks so that the GOP can whitewash our nation's history.

Now, the GOP in Florida wants to ban certain pizza toppings -- like black olives -- because they too promote "critical race theory" -- and Governor DeSantis is poised to name "white pizza" as the official pizza of the state (especially a White Supreme Pizza)!

In response to the idiocy running rampant in Florida, I have posted Emmett Lee Dickinson's poem "The Right Wing took a Slice of Pie" below on the left. Dickinson's poem inspired his third cousin Emily to pen her poem "A Sparrow took a Slice of Twig," below on the right.

For a look at another topical poem about some other Right Wing madness, click HERE.

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

The Right Wing took a Slice of Pie
And thought it tasted foul
I think, because their twisted Face
Contorted in a scowl –

Infuriated, they yapped
In all the Whitest Way
Until most Pizza Take Outs
Were forfeited away –

By Emily Dickinson:

A Sparrow took a Slice of Twig
And thought it very nice
I think, because his empty Plate
Was handed Nature twice –

Invigorated, waded
In all the deepest Sky
Until his little Figure
Was forfeited away –