Wokeness is what happens when the destruction of the labor movement proceeds so far, and social atomization becomes so all-consuming, that even the “left” adopts an individualistic, moralistic, psychologistic, censorious, self-righteous, performative approach to making social change.
He tells me in his diminishing days, death not yet active,
but clearly begun, about his siblings, family shufflings,
foster homes, the orphanage. Who said they would
but then could not, who promised this & forgot that
That the universe began seems astonishing. What brought it about? What forces were involved? How did the laws of nature generate the vast expanse of billions of galaxies of billions of stars and planets in the structures that we see today?
We are trapped waiting
Moving behind the windows
The night weeps and heaves
the air full
of transparent wings,
the fox crossing
the innocent road
full of weeds
Amidst the depths of despair, a grieving mother finds her voice to challenge the forces of injustice and inspire hope.
Bob Dylan is both a modern voice entirely unique and, at the same time, the product of ancient, time-honored ways of practicing and thinking about creativity.
The Color of the Grave is Green
The Outer Grave—I mean—
You would not know it from the Field—
Except it own a Stone—
Although Switzerland was not actively involved in WWII, it suffered a total of seventy bombings by Allied airplanes between 1940 and 1945.
I have met them in dark alleys, limping and one-armed;
I have seen them playing cards under a single light-bulb
and tried to join in, but they refused me rudely
How we treat the most marginal and vulnerable among us determines the quality of life for the rest of us…. A good society takes care of the most vulnerable by assuring their safety…
Niobe had just lost her son.
To help herself, she read a poem
to those assembled in the funeral home
The insights and objectivity of a historian who lived nearly 2,500 years ago can bolster our understanding of the country’s current plight.
Our refrigerator
Opened to liverwurst,
Headcheese, a list of loaves:
Luncheon and Luxury