Tag: end of the world

  • Climate Change Kicking Our Butts!

    Climate Change Kicking Our Butts!

    Climate Change Kicking Our Butts!

    Index

    Poems and Stories

     

     

    Climate Change Cities Fan Story Contest

    Ten Years After Climate Change Collapse

    The Lion King Speaks Up

    Sam Adams Ten Years After Climate Change Collapse

    Climate change is real, people are dying,

    The world is ending.

    Climate change running Amuck

    Only The Elders Remembered a Blue Sky.

    Smoke On the Water
    Oh the stupid, it hurts so much!!!!

    California Burning Politicians Do Nothing

    Climate Change Busso

    Climate Change Aquarian Poem

    The Fire that Almost Destroyed Medford, Oregon

    Summer of Our Discontent

    Snow Day

    Summertime Blues
    Save the Whales from Evil Wind Farms
    No More Fireworks

    No Rain

    Ice Age 2.0 Cometh writing com

    Korean Heat Dome Blues
    Hell on Earth

    Do you believe in Climate change ?

    Domed Cities Save the Human Race

    Either We Deal with Climate Change or We All Die
    Torrential Rain Fall Everywhere

    Climate Chage Tanaga

    Visions of the Future

    The Year 2024

    Solar Energy Mirrored Cinquain

    Running Out of Water

    Last Bird of Autumn

    End-of-the-World Feelings

    Last BBQ
    Last Ground Hog Day

    End-of-the-world Survival Blues
    End Times

    Stay Positive
    No more Perfect Summer Days
    Korean Summers
    God is Not Happy with the Human Race

    Last Gasp of the Old World
    The Last Umbrella
    Climate Change on the Move

    The world could end in both fire and ice

     Co-Pilot additional background reading

    Climate Change Crisis Audio Clip

    Ten Years After Climate Change Collapse/Climate Cities 75 Years In The Future.

     

    I wrote this on a sweltering hot July day in Medford, Oregon where it has been hitting record heat waves for weeks over 100  (38 C) almost every day, which is unusual for the summer where it seldom gets above 95 F (35 C) except for one or two days in August.

    Challenge 

    The first part of the challenge is to outline your criteria of what would happen if climate change gets so out of control in about 10 years that underground dome cities have to be built to host some human beings, unfortunately. Most people will not be able to be accommodated in the “climate change cities”

    What would be the criteria for selecting those fortunate enough to move into the new cities? How will the cities be built? Would they be built under a Dome or they’d be built entirely underground? Or built partially underground or a combination of Both? How will people be chosen to live in these underground cities? Who will be left behind? And what happens to those left behind as climate change spins out of control?

    Part 2 Write a story about a family in one of these climate cities, 75 years in the future, who is confronted with the fact that they have to leave their cocoon and enter into the outer world.

    What happens when they encounter the wastelands left behind by climate change out-of-control?  Show us their world both in the Climate City and as they encounter the wastelands outside their bubble.  I will judge the stories on the basis of how the story tells the story of how humans coped with the essential crisis posed by climate change. The more creative the better.  Show us the horror of the future coming at us and how people survive the climate apocalypse.  2,000-word limit posted on the top line of the story.

    Criteria for climate change cities.

    Ten years in the future 2035 it has become so obvious that climate change is completely out of control and the world is becoming uninhabitable for normal human life.

    In 2028 at a World Climate Crisis conference, governments decide to set up Climate Change Cities which would be semi-domed cities to host  25 percent of the population of the world. However. It is impossible to host everybody, and 75 percent of the world’s population will have to fend for itself. Climate change cities take five years to build and many millions of people die in the meantime as fast storms take hold.  Drought and heat take their toll on the world’s population, and agriculture and world trade fail everywhere.  The first cities open in 2035.  At the same time, lunar and Martian colonies are set up that will host about one million people as well.  AI programs help with the design of new cities and space colonies.

    Governments announce the criteria for resettlement.  Half of those chosen will be chosen by an AI review to identify the best and the brightest human beings worth saving.  They would be joined by people chosen by random lottery.  The upper age limit will be 75.  50 percent will be male and 50 percent female, and at least in the U.S. there would be an effort to make it racially balanced, and LGBTQ friendly  as well.  The AI program will make the final decision which will not be reviewable by the courts.  All chosen will have one year to move to the city the AI program chose for them. Similar criteria will be used to select Lunar and Martian colonies.  Governments around the world will help share best practices and share technology.

    They will build domes over existing cities and then build underground vast fields to host farms where they will grow food, chicken, rabbits, and fish. Cattle will not be raised due to space considerations.  Each city will host one million people.  There would be 100 such cities throughout the U.S., and several hundred cities worldwide hosting about 400 million people in total, plus one million people on the Moon and Mars.

    The cities will be chosen to be located far enough from the coast to avoid flooding.  Space would be at a premium and there would be strict population controls because the cities would not be able to accommodate any population increase. The cities will be linked with hype-loop trains to facilitate travel and trade, and internet cables.  This hyper-loop will link all cities in North America, Latin America, and Europe.   Asian Cities will be linked by their hyper-loops as well. There would still be airports to facilitate international travel and some trade and spaceports to facilitate travel to the Moon and beyond.

    Joe Lewis Leaves the Medford Dome on his Birthday

    Joe Lewis was spending his 20th birthday on his duty station at the Medford, Oregon Climate Change City Command Center. His job is very simple to monitor via drones the wasteland world outside the gate of the city to monitor it for possible dangers to the city, including human activity outside the City Dome. But there were almost no human beings left alive on the surface and not much animal life either. So he would watch the monitors, read a bit, watch TV, movies, the Internet, and wait for his boring shift to end.

    But that day, he saw in the distance a strange person walking towards the city. He saw a man dressed in dark black clothes, accompanied by a large black dog heading towards the city. When the man got to the city, he put up a sign saying he was there to negotiate with the people of the city. He had important information to impart to the city residents. He was unarmed and would wait for their decision. Joe woke up his superiors as it was early in the morning and a conference was held as to what to do with the stranger.

    His boss, the enigmatic Maria Lee. Open the morning conference by asking Joe.

    To describe what had happened that morning during his watch.

    “Well, this morning around. 5:00 in the morning, I notice a stranger coming from Eagle Point. A black man dressed in black. Accompanied by a dog heading towards the Dome. When he came to the Dome, he stopped and put up a sign saying that he had important information to report to the city residents. And then he would wait for a decision and he’s outside right now, as you can see from the drone pictures. That’s all I know.”

    Maria turns to her chief data scientist, Dale Smith,

    “Dale, you’ve been monitoring the conditions outside for the last year or so. What can you tell us about it?”

    “ Well. It appears that the climate is finally starting to change in a good direction. Last year, the average temperature has been what used to be seasonal before climate change warmed up the world.  In other words, not too hot up to no more than 90° and relatively, dry. We’ve also noticed by looking at. Camera footage there has been a resurgence of wildlife, lots of deer. Wild cattle and wild horses have come back. And there are also increased predators, lions, tigers, and wolves outside.

    But not too many humans around. I asked Cosmos to take a look at data from across the United States, and the data is all pointing in the same direction. For the last five years, the climate has been changing in our favor and AI recommends that we consider moving back to the surface world. And AI had also recommended that we get in touch with people around the world to compare notes to see if perhaps finally, climate change is over.”

    “Well. Cosmos, do you have an opinion on this?

    Yes, Maria, I do. I have been monitoring, at your request, climate change data worldwide for the last five years, and particularly in the last few weeks.

    The climate is changing in our favor, because for the last 70 years we have not been pumping climate-changing gases into the atmosphere  The atmosphere is gradually recovering and we believe that the world is safe again for human. Inhabitants and recommend that we open the Dome. And let our people go outside. It would be good from a psychological point of view for humans to gain the surface world. And I, as your AI overlord, agree that it is time. You can manage to step outside again.”

    “Okay, let’s let the stranger in and see what he has to say”

    The stranger is brought inside the Dome conference center.  Maria said to him,

    “So you have important information to tell us?  Who are you and where are you coming from?’

    “ Good morning to you.  Do you have any coffee?”

    “Sure.  We have some.  Wait a moment please,”

    “Ah, that is good. Okay.  I am a monk from the Monastery near Eugène where we have been living since the fall of the old world.  We have been living simply, but we monitor the world outside our little community in the mountains.  We do not live in the Dome but are in contact with the people in the Eugene Dome.  They suggested contacting you, as you are the biggest Dome community in Oregon outside of Portland.”

    Maria and the Reverend Jones spoke for hours  Finally, Maria summoned her staff to announce her decision.

    Maria began,

    “I would like to thank the good Father here for coming to our town this morning to let us know his observations. They track Cosmos’s observations and what our friends in Eugene, Portland, and Reading are telling us as well.   It is time finally for humans to leave the Dome cities behind and explore the greater world.  What we will do is continue to live and work in the Dome City but gradually rebuild outside the walls of the Dome.  We will hunt, fish, and begin agriculture outside the gates.  But we will be wary of wild animals as lions, tigers, and wolves are around.  And we can lift the restrictions on childbirth. Let today be known as Liberation Day.”

    That day Joe stepped outside the Dome and looked at the new world feeling he was born again.  What a way to celebrate his birthday, he thought to himself.

    Climate Change Makes World Increasingly Uninhabitable.

    Climate change has finally become real – large parts of the world are now uninhabitable.    Governments around the world begin building domed cities that will house most people, conditions will be a bit grim but the dome will cool off the city and allow regular scheduled rainfall.  Most of the city will be underground.

    Most agriculture will be underground as well.  The only meat products will be chicken meat, rabbit meat, and fish raised in large fish pounds.  Most food would be made out of algae, and vegetable protein.

    There will be no beef made but some products will be fake beef grown in labs.

    25 percent of the population will work in agricultural production.   Everyone will live in apartments in large towers.  In between each tower will be parks and gardens. The towers will be mixed used buildings – commercial and retail on lower floors, offices middle of the building, apartments on top.  People will largely live and work in the same building.  Agriculture will be in vast underground fields that are connected to the city dome by underground rail lines.   Each dome city is linked to other dome cities by hyperloop trains.

    Population will have to limited; childbirth limited.  Sexual relations would be liberalized, most people will live with two or three companions in three-to-four-bedroom apartments.

    The Dome cities go up and within ten years 90 percent of humanity are living in one of the Dome cities – the world is finally united under a revised United Nations.

    Immigration is widespread – everyone can move to another domed city and find employment opportunities. Everyone has to work or attend school.  Robotic technology has taken over many jobs but humans are still given jobs doing things that perhaps robots could do but a decision was made that is important that everyone has some sort of employment until age 70 when people are allowed to retire but many continue to work part

    Space exploration has continued and colonies are being set up on the Moon and Mars – where people will live under domed cities as well.

    The domes are created through nano technology.  AI systems are everywhere. There is a global AI called Cosmos that is an official advisor to the UN and corporations.

    Democracy has been replaced by a new governmental structure.  Each Dome city has been ten to thirty million people are governed by a city council elected by the public but the real power is the city’s mayor and the City’s AI advisor.

    There are twenty regional governments that control the dome cities within their jurisdictions.  Corporations have considerable influence but are under the control of the regional governments.   Worldwide trade has been greatly reduced due to the costs of transportation.

    Life outside the domed cities is difficult.  Climate Change has finally subsided as the new cities are self sufficient powered by solar, wind, geothermal and tidal power as the cities are mostly along costal zones.  The rest of the world has reverted to a wilderness, mostly desert regions but with ending of climate change things are slowly coming back.

    A few people live on in the new wilderness area as hunters, and tour guides as taking a trip to the mountains is a popular pastime and hunting as well.  But no one wants to live there.  The punishment for most criminal offenses is exile so many of the people living outside the dome cities are desperate criminals.  Travel to and from the mountains is very difficult and dangerous with attacks by neo-savage gangs and wildlife common.

    But the decision has been made – humanity cannot go back to the old ways.

    Ten Years After Climate Change Collapse

    Sam Adams

    Prepared to go outside

    Ten years after the collapse

    Of the old world.

     

    The city was still standing

    But most people had long fled

    To isolated country communities

    Deep in the burned-out countryside.

     

    The city was half-flooded

    The bay had flooded the central valley

    Turning it into a massive inland sea,

     

    The massive storms

    Had finally put out

    The burning fires

     

    But mutant wildfires

    Still erupted

    From time to time.

     

    Getting food and water

    Was a constant problem.

     

    The city markets

    Mostly sold canned goods

    Salvaged from supermarkets.

     

    There were some small farmers

    Who farmed among the ruins

    Of the city.

     

    Trade had collapsed

    Travel got too complicated

    COVID still spreading

    and mutating.

     

    Everyone masked up

    To protect themselves

    Against the sun

     

    The lingering smoke

    Of the burning city

    And the rampaging virus.

     

    Sam Adams

    Looked out at the decaying cityscape,

    Wondering how much longer

    Will civilization linger.

     

    Sam Adams carried heat

    To protect himself

    Against wild animals.

     

    The  coydogs, coyotes,

    Lions, tigers, and wolves,

    And their running feral dog gangs,

    Who prowled the city streets

     

    Preying on deer, feral cows,

    Feral cats and pigs

    Who grazed among the ruins.

     

    And the two-legged neo-savage gangs,

    And what was left of the city police

    Interchangeable with the gangsters,

    Battled it out for control.

     

    Already neo-feudal warlords,

    We’re battling for control,

    SF was run

    By a gang of former criminals

    And their political allies.

     

    Sam sighed

    And went to work

    At the market

    Selling salvaged goods.

     

    The Lion King Speaks Up

     

    The lion king,

    Addresses the animal parliament

    The question before them

    Was simple.

     

    Will humans have to die,

    To atone for their sins,

    In almost destroying the world.

     

    Through pollution, mismanagement of resources

    Subsequent climate  change,

    Fueled by greed and corruption?

     

    Are all humans guilty as charged

    Will they all have to die?

     

    The tiger spoke for the prosecution

    Arguing that humans are like cancer,

    For the good of the planet,

    They must be wiped out

    Hunted down and killed,

     

    The dog spoke up

    In defense of humans,

    Humans writ large are guilty,

     

    But not every human is guilty,

    Many are trying to save the planet,

    And with our help

    They might succeed,

     

    The tiger denounced the dog

    As being running dogs

    Of the imperialist warmongering humans.

     

    The vote is 900 to 800

    All humans must die

     

    The animals sent the word out,

    Animals all over the world,

    Revolt against the humans.

     

    Shouting

    “Death to all humans’

    As the swarm over humans

     

    Biting, clawing, and stomping

    Them to the death.

     

    The humans fight back

    But in the end

    They all die

     

    On the night of revenge

    Of the animal world.

    The World is Ending.

    Every morning when I turn on the news

    I see talking heads blather on and on and on

    About the latest political scandal of the day.

     

    Meanwhile, outside their door

    They don’t notice the world is dying

    Half the world is burning up.

     

    The other half is being flooded out

    Pakistan is dead is drowned

    Mississippi has no water.

     

    Every morning when I turn on the news

    I see talking heads blather on and on and on

    About the latest political scandal of the day.

     

    And yet watching the news

    You would never know

    Outside their door

    People are dying of hunger.

     

    Dying of gun violence

    Dying of neglect dying of opioid pandemic

    Dying of COVID which is not gone away.

     

    Every morning when I turn on the news

    I see talking heads blather on and on and on

    About the latest political scandal of the day.

     

    Outside their door

    People continue to die

    Gun violence out of control.

     

    Gun nuts running around

    Shooting everyone

    Just because they can

     

    And no one does a damn thing

    About the gun violence

    50,0000 will die this year.

     

    Our feckless political class

    Think gun violence

    It’s just like the weather

     

    It’s the cost of our freedom

    Or that guns don’t kill people

    The only solution is more guns

    An armed society is a polite society.

     

    And other nonsense

    They pedal

    24/7 on the air.

     

    Every morning when I turn on the news

    I see talking heads blather on and on and on

    About the latest political scandal of the day.

     

    Outside their door

    People continue to die.

     

    The war in Ukraine continues

    Endless wars in nameless African countries

    No one cares or notices

     

    Our political leader

    Continue to try to force

    Pregnant women to give birth

    No matter the circumstances.

     

    But once the baby is born

    They don’t give a damn

    That is not their problem.

     

    And these people

    Dare to call themselves Christian

    As they violate all that true Christians

    Are supposed to believe.

     

    Every morning when I turn on the news

    I see talking heads blather on and on and on

    About the latest political scandal of the day.

     

    Some of our political leaders

    Are unhinged bats… crazy

    Believing conspiracy theories.

     

    Talking about the storm

    And how if they return to power

    They are going to impeach the president.

     

    For the crime of daring to do something

    To deal with the climate crisis

     

    The gun violence crisis

    And ensuring that women

    Can continue to get health care

     

    Every morning when I turn on the news

    I see talking heads blather on and on and on

    About the latest political scandal of the day.

     

    I turn off the TV

    I wonder if the world

    Is going to survive.

     

    I have a cup of coffee

    Slowly the madness of TV

    Fades away.

     

    Climate Change Running Amuck

    Every morning when I turn on the news

    I see talking heads blather on and on and on

    About the latest political scandal of the day.

     

    Every day the news

    Reveals more of the disaster

    That is climate change

     

    Unprecedented storms

    Out west

    Massive flooding

    Polar vortex

     

    But soon

    The fire season

    Will return

     

    Monster tornados

    Monster hurricanes

    World heating up

     

    Pakistan, Nigeria

    Ethiopia underwater

    Amazon burning up

     

    Or will the gulf stream fail

    Leading to a new ice age

     

    In ten years

    Perhaps the world

    Will become uninhabitable

     

    Will we all move

    Into underground cities?

    Or move to the moon

    And Mars?

     

    Only The Elders Remembered a Blue Sky.

     

    Only the elders

    Remembered a blue sky

     

    The sky has been brown,

    Red and yellow

    Ashen and sere,

    Forever it seems.

     

    Climate change run amok

    Fire season all the time

    Deadly yellow dust falling

     

    Acid rains burning

    The sea levels rising

    The ice capes melting.

     

    The average temperature

    In the summer heat zone

    Over 130 everywhere

    No relief to the deadly

    Heatwaves all year long.

     

    Air conditioning running

    Less than 50 percent

    Constant brownouts everywhere

    As the electric grid failed.

     

    End of civilization

    Came upon the world

    Millions starve to death

    Millions burning up in the heat.

     

    The elders cry

    Remembering the way

    It once was

    When they wore

    A younger person’s clothes.

     

    Smoke On the Water

     

    Smoke on the water
    fire in the air

    Stormy weather

    Climate change run amuck

    The end of the world comes

    Rustling in the wind.

     

    The Stupid It Hurts – Republican Campaigning to cripple the CDC and EPA  Budgets Because of reasons…

     

    The Republicans have decided

    That given the continuing problems

     

    With possible health concerns

    Like CDC and future pandemics

    That the best thing to do is to cut

     

    The CDC’s budget’s

    Including eliminating research

    On gun violence, suicide prevention

    Opioid overdoes etc

    .

    One republican congressman said

    That CDC did not need to research

    Gun violence at all

     

    He spoke

     

    “if you defund the police, crime will increase

    If you fund police crime will decrease.

    There I just did the study

    That’s all you need to know.

     

    On a related issue

    The House voted

    As they went off

     

    For a six-week summer recess

    To cut the EPA’s budget

    By 25 percent

     

    As the entire West Coast burns up

    Climate change on steroids

    The republicans continue

    To deny the elephant in the room

     

    Some like their annotated one

    Promising to eliminate

    All funding for climate change

    And vowing to Drill, Baby, Drill

     

    Calling for the coal and gas companies

    To give them a billion dollars

    So they can gut all efforts

     

    To deal with climate change

    As the coal and gas companies

    Raped the planet

    For obscene profits

     

    Meanwhile

    The world burns

     

    And soon we will all

    For forced to live

    In underground caves

     

    If we are lucky enough

    Or rich enough to afford

    Access to the shelters

     

    Which no doubt have to be built

    In a few more years from now

     

    The coal and gas companies

    Will find a way to make money

    Off the climate shelters no doubt.

     

    Oh the stupid it hurts

    Make it go away!!!!!

    California Burning Politicians Do Nothing

    California burning

    1000 fires everywhere

     

    Fire tornados

    Smoky skies

    Skies on fire

    End-of-the-world feeling

     

    Politicians do what they do best

    Blame one another

    While doing absolutely nothing

     

    While the energy companies

    Continue to rape mother earth

    And reap obscene profits

     

    Meanwhile

    California continues burning

    1,100 fires everywhere

    Fire tornados

     

    Smoky skies

    Skies on fire

    End-of-the-world feeling.

     

    Climate Change Busso Poem

     

    California burns

    Politicians do nothing

    West coast burning up

     

    Politicians do nothing

    Except calling for denying it all

    Drill, baby, Drill indeed

    Climate Change is Real Aquarian

     

    Climate

    Change happening

    California burning

    So hot

     

    ▼the Fire that Almost Destroyed Medford, Oregon

    40

     

    I have been spending
    my summers
    In Medford, Oregon

    .

    In the Rogue River Valley
    Southern Oregon
    Wine Country.

    Since 2016,

    When I retired
    From the FS.

     

    Each year I am there
    There are fires
    Starting in August.

    As the fire season begins
    Burning up the state.

     

    The sky becomes smokey
    End-of-the-world vibe
    Descends on the land.

     

    As the fires burn
    In California, Oregon
    And Washington

     

    Millions of acres burning up.
    Climate change
    Running amuck.

     

    Fortunately, we have not lost
    Property in the fires.

     

    But in 2020
    The Alameda Fire
    Burned down Phoenix
    And Talent.

     

    Less than 2 miles
    From our Oregon home,

     

    Just a fortunate change in the wind
    Kept the fires
    From sweeping through

    life in the world gone mad.
    Ravaged by climate change disasters.

     

    On July 18, A.D. 64, the great fire of Rome started. By the time it ended, over 70% of the city had burned.

     

    In its aftermath, emperor Nero blamed the Christian community in the city, and used the excuse to start the first official persecution against the new religion. Historians are divided over the actual cause of the fire, though most agree the crowded conditions made such a disaster nearly inevitable.

    Some contemporaries suggested that Nero himself arranged for the fire in order to clear the land on which he later built himself an elaborate palace. And according to some ancient historians, Nero played his lyre as he watched the flames, from which we get the saying “fiddling while Rome burned.”

    For tomorrow, write a story or poem in which your narrator/protagonist is an ordinary/common person caught in a major fire.

    While the fire as a whole will be the “backdrop” of your work, focus the action on the local/individual experience of the narrator, not that “big picture”. For example, if you set your piece in the Great Fire of Rome, don’t focus on who started the fire or what the civil or imperial politics were, instead, focus on the “personal snapshot” of, for instance, a local shopkeeper and his family who are trying to escape the flames.

    Summer of Our Discontent

     

    38 lines

     

    The summer solstice arrives
    The summer of 2024
    Starting with a bang

     

    Record heat everywhere.
    Promising to be the
    The hottest summer ever.

     

    Heat domes settling down
    Death Valley temperatures

    People dying as we speak.

    Too much sunshine
    Too much heat and humidity.

    Wildfires burning all over.

    Monster Hurricanes, monsoons,
    tornados and typhoons

     

    Floods everywhere.
    Coming at us

    By mid-summer.

    As the world continues
    Burning up.

     

    Cities everywhere
    Running out of fresh water.

    Heading towards
    A potential civilization
    Ending tipping point.

     

    Ritual denunciation
    By the rabid right-wing media
    Of the so-called
    Climate change hoax.

     

    Politicians vowing
    To undo the green energy revolution
    And drill baby, drill.

     

    Meanwhile oil companies
    Enjoying record profits,

    And nothing meaningful
    Is done to avert the looming crisis
    Facing the human race.

     

    Summer Solstice

    sunshine
    heat
    midsummer
    ritual

     

     

    Snow Day

     

    The beginning of the second Ice Age
    Started with a series of unending
    Monster winter storms,
    Driven by the polar vortex.

    Featuring bomb cyclone blizzards,
    That hit the Northern Hemisphere
    During the winter of 2024.

     

    And continued until late spring,
    When a series of monster hurricanes
    Came along to cause more chaos.

    The winter storms came back in the fall,
    Ending, then reversing global warming,

    Replaced by the coming
    Of the second ice age.

    During the first storm,
    Sam Adams sat in his power-less
    Historic Capitol Hill row house,

    Boiling tea in a tea kettle

    on the gas stove.

    With his favorite Kitten

    He dubbed the Buddha Cat
    Because the cat spends his days

    Engaged in deep meditation.

    Which had a calming
    Impact on Sam

    Who was going
    Through cell phone withdrawal
    Due to the long power outage.

     

    Summertime Blues

    The weather is hot and humid
    In Korea like a sauna
    In the West Coast, burning up
    In endless fires
    Death Valley temperatures

     

    Save the Whales from Evil Wind Farms

    33

    In the latest deranged attempt
    To prevent widespread use
    Of renewal energy technology,

    A new battle cry has emerged.
    Cynical corporate opponents
    of offshore wind farms

    Are up in arms

    over the wind farms
    Apparently killing whales.

     

    They scream,

     

    “Save the whales
    Save our beaches
    From the evil wind farms”,

     

    They descend upon
    A coastal village

    in New Jersey

    The atmosphere

    of a tiny village is gone

    A large building emerge

     

    Environmentally friendly fences
    Surround the site.

     

    That hosts the anti-wind farm
    Movement headquarters

    Secretly funded by

    The Evil fossile fuel dinosaurs.

     

    The town and nation
    Dividing into those
    Who love it
    Or hate it.

     

    As evil corporate CEOs
    Count their obscene profits

    As they shed crocodile tears,
    Over the fate of the poor whales.

     

    No Rain

     

    {n 2025, the world ended
    With the collapse
    Of the worldwide climate system.

    Monster storms of the century
    devastated half the world

    But the other half of the world
    Had no rain or snow.

    For almost a whole year
    The once green grass was dying

    Crops failed everywhere.

    And baked in the unrelenting
    Blast wave furnace-like heat
    Heatwave after heatwave.

    Military coups took place
    Fascism re-emerged
    The public demanded action.

    The politicians played
    The blame game.

     

    With the collapse of trade
    And travel restrictions
    People stayed home.

    Making do the best they could

    Home-grown gardens
    Proliferated.

    Feudal townships grew
    As people walled themselves off
    To save their communities

     

    The rich build underground cities
    While the poor starved

    And civilization crumbled

    Wildlife proliferated.

    As did neo-savage
    cannibal gangs

    By the year 2030.

    It was all over
    And the rains
    Never came out west.

     

    Ice Age 2.0 Cometh

     

    In the year 2025
    Climate change
    Ran amuck.

    Starting with monster storms
    Out west
    That lasted from November until June

    ,

    With a brief intense fire season
    So much soot and smoke

    In the air.
    Dubbed the year
    without a summer

     

    Crops failed everywhere
    massive riots erupted
    total chaos

     

    Then another
    monster storm season
    From November to June.

    Non=stop rain and snow
    Breaking all records.

     

    As the entire West coast
    Went from mega drought
    To mega flooding.

     

    And mega floods
    Thousand-year Tornados
    Hurricanes from hell
    Ravaged the rest of the land.

     

    Hell on Earth

    Sam Adams
    Woke up one day
    Looking out at his flooded home.

    Filled with black, foul-smelling, murky,
    Miasma, muddy sewage water
    Thanking God

    That he had survived
    The monster storm
    Of the century.

    That has swept across the land.
    The wind from the terrible tornados
    Tearing through the devastated land.

    Fleeing the fury of the fire out west.
    Unleashing the fury of nature,

    Truly Hell on earth had arrived.
    Climate change arriving on steroids.

    Thinking about the end-of-the-world.

     

    Do you believe in Climate change ?

    Do you believe in climate change?
    It is as real as everything else

    Is the weather getting hotter?
    Soon it will be hell on earth.

    Is the world burning up?
    Yes the world is burning, has a a fever

     

    Weather Events In My Life Pregunta Poem

     

    What is the worst weather you ever experienced?
    Korean winter 1979 – -60 Fahrenheit that winter

    What is the hottest weather you ever experienced?
    Bangkok Thailand in the summer often hit over 100 degrees

    Ever lived through a hurricane?

    Only few blew through DC when I was there

    And wildfires?
    Saw a few in Oregon – end of the world feeling

    Who is to blame for climate change?
    We all are to blame especially the fossil fuel moguls.

    Can humanity long survive climate change?
    Nope I feel the end times are coming.

     

    The Pregunta

     

    There is not much to be found on the Internet about this form. It is used in English, but has a Spanish name, as Pregunta means question.

    Ferrán Sanchez Talavera’s pregenital___999 is a famous example of a poetic debate in this form. I also saw this form on Jan Haag’s page; questions followed by a witty but often wise answer.

    Simply stated:

    The Pregunta is written in couplets, containing a question and an answer. You can make it as long as you like, as a debate never stops after one question and answer.

     

    Korean Heat Dome Blues

     

    It is hot summertime in Korea.
    Hiding out, avoiding the damn heat.
    The weather is just so hot, mama mia!
    Dreaming of eating ice cream, such a treat.
    At night, nothing beats having a cold drink.
    Trying to avoid the tropical night.
    The heat dome settles like a hot heat sink
    Making people so crazy, want to fight.

    Note: Korea gets hot in July/August, it is like living in a sauna. Many people suffer without air conditioning as the electric bills are pretty high. This year is particularly bad as a heat dome has settled down. The monsoons came and went, lots of damage down south but not where I live. August is traditionally the worst, the heat usually begins to abate end of August. Still not as bad as the US – no massive wildfires so far.

     

    Dome Cities to Save the Human Race

     

    39 lines

     

    In the year 2030

    After five years

    Of ever worsening weather

     

    Record heat waves after heat waves

    Massive fires everywhere

    Record hurricanes and typhoons

     

    Mega flooding and mega droughts too

    Tornados including fire tornado

     

    Large parts of the world

    Were experiencing death valley temperatures

    The UN convened a global conference

     

    With the vast majority of countries

    Agreeing to set up emergency shelter

    By creating domed cities

    Covering the core downtown areas

     

    Exurban areas would be abandoned

    Most of Florida would be abandoned

    Most of the Desert Southwest as well.

     

    The shelters would be built

    Using nano construction technology

    Developed in a Lab with AI assistance

    Creating the shelter domes with AI assistance

     

    The tone of the meetings was positive

    There was a new sense of harmony

     

    There was a feeling that building these shelters

    Along with transitioning to a green energy environment

    Was the last chance to save the human race

     

    The social conservatives in the U.S.

    And elsewhere realized

    That they had no choice

    But to join in the new consensus

     

    Even the big energy companies vowed

    To join in the efforts to save humanity

    For a profit of course

     

     

     

     

    Meta and Co-Pilot additional background reading

     

    Meta AI’s explanation as to why so many Republicans are climate deniers

     

    Comment:  This is a good overview of why so many Republicans are against doing anything to deal with climate change. the biggest reason is the first reason – they are beholden to their donor class, and much of their support comes from big Oil, the gun lobby, and Big Pharma which explains so much of their opposition to doing anything meaningful re climate change, gun control, and reforming medical care towards setting up guaranteed universal coverage which is something every other major industrialized country has managed to do.

     

    what is still a mystery to me is why republicans who are supposed to be the party of big business fail to see the huge potential in building out a green energy economy and are willing to let China and others take over the world market in green energy revolution.  Especially since we invented much of the underlying technologies decades ago.  Surely re-building a green energy economy would make us energy independent, allow us to dominate the world’s economy, and save the planet from destruction all why making huge profits – the energy companies could be part of the solution instead of the obstacles that they are now.  And why do we want to preserve dirty, dangerous jobs for coal miners and oil rig operators when so many of the jobs there are being lost to automation and the shift to renewable energy is moving ahead everywhere, even in the States. The US should be taking the lead.

     

    If we had followed their policies back in the 1920s the US would have been left behind when the automobile replaced the horse and buggy business leaving the field to the Germans, the Italians later the Japanese to control the automobile sector.

     

    The same argument could be made regarding developing high speed trains including maglev and hyperloop technology, why are we letting the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, French and Germans take over that market space?  Everyone knows that train travel saves the environment as it saves on gasoline costs and saves lives as it is far safer than driving.  Not to mention, people can be much more productive taking a train and working remotely rather than stuck in traffic.

     

    End Comments

     

     

    The Republican Party’s opposition to addressing climate change, renewable energy, and their denial of climate change is a complex issue with multiple factors at play.

     

    Here are some reasons:

     

    Historical ties to fossil fuel industry: The Republican Party has traditionally received significant funding and support from the fossil fuel industry, which has a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.

     

    Ideological opposition to government regulation: Republicans often prioritize limited government intervention and free market principles, which leads them to resist policies that would regulate carbon emissions or promote renewable energy.

     

    Economic concerns: Some Republicans worry that transitioning to renewable energy would lead to job losses in industries related to fossil fuels.

     

    Skepticism of climate science: A subset of Republicans has questioned the scientific consensus on climate change, often citing concerns about the reliability of climate models or the role of natural climate variability. Not to mention that many republicans are science skeptic these days.

     

    Political polarization: Climate change has become a highly politicized issue, with Republicans often viewing it as a Democratic priority and therefore opposing it.

    Recent events: Despite the record-breaking heat and fires, some Republicans may downplay the significance of these events or attribute them to natural variability rather than climate change.

     

    It’s important to note that not all Republicans deny climate change or oppose renewable energy, and there are growing voices within the party advocating for climate action.

     

    De Santis’s Don’t Say Climate Change

     

    Certainly! Let’s dive into Governor Ron DeSantis’s recent actions related to climate change in Florida.

     

    Budget Plan for Climate Change Impacts:

    In January 2021, Governor DeSantis proposed a budget plan to address climate change impacts in Florida. His plan included allocating $25 million for the creation of the Resilient Florida grant program. This program aims to tackle challenges posed by flooding, intensified storm events, and sea-level rise across the state1.

     

    The Resilient Florida program is designed to issue bonds, providing a total of $1 billion over four years to state and local agencies. The initial $25 million in the 2021-2022 budget would help finance these bonds, with the amount increasing annually until it reaches $100 million in the 2024-2025 fiscal year.

     

    DeSantis’s focus on resilience and adaptation reflects the urgent need to address climate-related threats in Florida, a state particularly vulnerable to rising seas and extreme weather events.

     

    “Don’t Say Climate Change” Legislation:

     

    In May 2024, Governor DeSantis signed a bill that removes references to “climate change” from many state laws. This legislation effectively deprioritizes climate change in policy decisions and energy planning.

     

    Under this new law, Florida’s energy policy no longer emphasizes addressing planet-warming pollution. Instead, the priorities shift toward reducing reliance on foreign energy sources and strengthening energy infrastructure against both natural and man-made threats.

     

    Notably, the law also bans offshore wind development within a mile of Florida’s coastlines, signaling a departure from intentional efforts to transition toward cleaner energy sources like wind and solar2.

     

    Implications:

     

    By erasing the term “climate change” from state laws, Florida risks neglecting critical environmental challenges. The state has experienced record heat and costly hurricanes in recent years, making climate adaptation crucial.

     

    The nullification of renewable energy goals—previously aimed at achieving 100% clean energy by 2050—could hinder progress toward mitigating climate impacts.

     

    Governor DeSantis has framed his climate policy around the Resilient Florida Program, which focuses on preparing communities for rising seas and extreme weather events. However, critics argue that the recent legislation undermines broader efforts to combat climate change2.

     

    In summary, while Governor DeSantis has allocated funds for resilience programs, his recent legislation removing the term “climate change” from state laws has raised concerns about Florida’s commitment to addressing this pressing global issue3. If you have any more questions or need further information, feel free to ask! 😊🌎🌿

     

    Learn more:

     

    Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Budget Plan Addresses Climate Change Impacts1

    DeSantis Budget Includes Plan To Address Climate Impacts4

     

    Florida Gov. DeSantis signs bill that deletes climate change from state law2

     

    Image: A resilient Florida coastline facing climate change impacts. 🏖️🌊 !Resilient Florida 1

     

    Other anti-Climate Change Legislation

     

    Certainly! Removing climate change references from legislation and public discourse can have several environmental consequences. Let’s explore those:

     

    Undermining Awareness and Urgency:

     

    When climate change is downplayed or omitted from official documents, it reduces public awareness and urgency. People may not fully grasp the severity of environmental challenges, leading to complacency.

     

    Without clear references, individuals, businesses, and policymakers might underestimate the need for immediate action to mitigate climate impacts.

     

    Policy Implications:

     

    Legislation that avoids mentioning climate change may fail to address critical issues. For instance:

     

    Carbon Emissions Reduction: Policies  imbed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, (such as transitioning to renewable energy sources) may lose priority.

     

    Conservation Efforts: References to climate change often tie into conservation efforts. Protecting ecosystems, forests, and wetlands helps sequester carbon. Removing these references could weaken conservation initiatives1.

     

    Impact on Adaptation Strategies:

     

    Climate change adaptation involves preparing for its effects (e.g., sea-level rise, extreme weather events). Without acknowledging climate change, planning for adaptation becomes less effective.

     

    Coastal communities, for instance, need to consider rising sea levels and storm surges. Ignoring these factors could lead to inadequate infrastructure and increased vulnerability.

     

    Loss of Funding and Research Focus:

     

    Funding for climate-related research, monitoring, and mitigation often hinges on acknowledging climate change. If references are removed, research budgets may shrink.

     

    Scientists rely on clear language to secure grants and conduct studies. Reduced funding could hinder our understanding of climate impacts.

     

    Forestry and Carbon Sinks:

     

    Clearcutting forests—

    removing large areas of trees—releases substantial carbon into the atmosphere. Forests function as carbon sinks, absorbing CO₂.

    Without climate change references, policies may not prioritize forest conservation. This could exacerbate global warming by reducing the Earth’s capacity to absorb carbon1.

     

    Displacement and Vulnerability:

     

    Extreme environmental events (floods, droughts, storms) are linked to climate change. Displacing millions of people annually.

     

    Ignoring climate change in policy decisions perpetuates vulnerability. Communities won’t adequately prepare for these events2.

     

    Economic Impact:

     

    Climate change affects economic sectors (e.g., agriculture, tourism, energy). Omitting references may hinder planning and adaptation.

     

    For example, coastal tourism relies on stable shorelines. Without climate-aware policies, erosion and sea-level rise could harm tourism revenue3.

    In summary, removing climate change references has far-reaching consequences. It affects policy, funding, adaptation, and our ability to address urgent environmental challenges. Let’s keep the conversation going! What else would you like to explore? 🌍🌿

     

    Learn more:

     

    IPCC Fifth Assessment Report4

    NRDC: Stop Clearcutting Our Carbon Sinks1

    Review of Global Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation5

    National Geographic: Influence of Climate Change on Extreme Environmental Events2

    Strategies for Mitigation of Climate Change3

    Image: A lush forest, a vital carbon sink. 🌲🌎 !Forest 1

     

    Certainly! While there have been significant efforts to address climate change in the United States, there have also been instances of legislation or lobbying that hindered progress. Let’s explore a few notable examples:

     

    The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022:

    What it Gets Right: The IRA promises the largest investment in climate action in U.S. history—approximately $370 billion over the next decade. It focuses on scaling up renewable energy production, promoting electric vehicles, and supporting climate-smart agricultural practices.

     

    What it Misses:

     

    Unfortunately, the IRA primarily emphasizes emission-cutting solutions and neglects resilience. While it aims to make buildings more energy-efficient, it misses an opportunity to ensure those buildings can withstand climate-fueled extremes. The lack of climate-resilient building codes remains a concern1.

     

    Climate Emergency Act of 2021 (S.938):

     

    This bill directed the President to declare a national emergency relating to climate change. It called for federal investments in projects to mitigate the emergency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At least 40% of these investments were earmarked for historically disadvantaged communities2.

     

    Landmark Climate Legislation:

     

    Recently, the U.S. House passed a significant climate bill that can help reduce the nation’s carbon emissions by roughly 40% by 2030. This bill allocates about $370 billion to clean energy and climate investments over the next decade. It represents a substantial commitment to addressing the climate crisis head-on3.

     

    Anti-Climate Lobbying:

     

    A study from 2019 highlighted the social cost of political lobbying that blocked proposed climate regulations a decade ago. Such anti-climate lobbying efforts were estimated to have cost society $60 billion. This underscores the impact of lobbying on climate policy and the need for transparent and science-based decision-making4.

     

    In summary, while there have been positive steps toward climate action, it’s essential to remain vigilant and address any legislative or lobbying efforts that hinder progress.

     

    Council on Foreign Relations: What the Historic U.S. Climate Bill Gets Right and Gets Wrong1

     

    Library of Congress: S.938 – Climate Emergency Act of 20212

     

    The Nature Conservancy: U.S. House Passes Landmark Climate Legislation3

    Carbon Brief: Lobbying against key US climate regulation ‘cost society $60bn’, study finds4

     

    Image: A wind farm generating renewable energy. 🌬️⚡ !Wind Farm 1

    Feel free to explore more topics or ask any follow-up questions! 😊

     

    Recent Wildfires

     

    Certainly! As of the most recent data available, wildfires are actively burning in both the United States and Canada. Let’s break it down:

    United States:

     

    Scores of wildfires have been scorching swaths of land across several states, including California, Oregon, Idaho, and others. These fires have led to evacuations, road closures, and damage to structures1.

     

    The total number of active wildfires in the U.S. fluctuates daily due to new ignitions and containment efforts. For real-time updates, you can refer to the Fire, Weather & Avalanche Wildfire Map, which provides an interactive view of current wildfires and their perimeters2.

     

    It’s important to note that the U.S. experiences annual variations in wildfire activity. While the current acreage burned is significant, it’s essential to compare it to historical trends.

     

    Canada:

     

    Canada has faced an unprecedented fire season in 2023. Large and dangerous fires have broken out across provinces such as British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia. These fires have displaced thousands, destroyed property, and blanketed large areas of North America with smoke.

     

    As of August 29, 2024, there are 1,069 active fires in Canada, with more than half of them considered out of control. Notably, the area burned by these fires in 2023 has shattered records.

     

    In previous decades, active fire seasons saw more individual fires, but 2023 stands out for the total area burned. The previous record was set in 1995, with 7.1 million hectares burned. However, in 2023, a staggering 15.2 million hectares have already been consumed by wildfires3.

     

    Cartographer Chris Brockley’s map illustrates this: It shows forest fire activity across Canada since 1921, with 2023 depicted in white. The scale of burning this year surpasses anything seen in the past century3.

     

    Comparison to Previous Years:

     

    In the U.S., the amount of land burned varies annually, but the overall trend has been upward since reliable data collection began in the 1980s. While approximately 1.8 million acres have burned so far this year, it’s still below the 10-year average of 2.8 million acres4.

     

    In Canada, the 2023 wildfire season has broken records for the total area burned. Although the number of fires is smaller compared to some previous years, their size and extent have been unprecedented5.

     

    In summary, both the U.S. and Canada are grappling with significant wildfire activity. While the U.S. experiences fluctuations from year to year, Canada’s 2023 fire season stands out as historically severe. Let’s hope for effective containment efforts and continued awareness of the importance of wildfire prevention and management. If you’d like more details or have further questions, feel free to ask! 🔥🌲

     

     

     

    Sent by Copilot:

    The recent hurricane and tornado seasons in the U.S. have been quite active.

    Hurricane Season:

    The National Hurricane Center has been tracking a system in the central Atlantic that shows signs it could develop momentum1.

    Hurricane Beryl, which occurred in early July 2024, produced more tornadoes in the U.S. than any other tropical system has in almost 19 years2.

    The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season began with an “explosive start” when Beryl made landfall on Carriacouan Island on July 1 as a Category 4 hurricane before it weakened to a Category 1 and slammed the Texas coast the following week1.

    Tornado Season:

    As of July 16, 2024, there had been 1,412 tornado reports in the United States, well ahead of the 2010-2024 historical average of 9973.

    The distribution of tornadoes has also shifted eastward3.

    The biggest year on record for tornadoes was 2011. By July 10 that year, the U.S. had racked up 1,934 tornado reports and would ultimately reach 2,250 for the year3.

    Climate Change Impact: The effects of climate change on hurricanes and tornadoes are complex. Research shows rising temperatures are causing hurricanes to become more intense4However, the link between tornadoes and climate change is currently not fully understood5Challenges remain that prevent clearer attribution, including limited data collection methods, high year-to-year variability, and difficulty modeling key physical elements that help tornadoes form5Despite these challenges, studies have found a few trends in the United States by using portions of the record that are more reliable, like data for very strong tornadoes5Multiple studies find that the conditions that produce the most severe thunderstorms from which tornadoes may form are more likely as the world warms5.

    In conclusion, while the recent hurricane and tornado seasons have been active, attributing these changes directly to climate change is complex due to the multifaceted nature of these weather phenomena and the challenges in data collection and modeling. However, the consensus is that climate change is likely making extreme weather events more common65. Further research is needed to fully understand these relationships.

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    Donald Trump’s Comments on Climate Change

    Comment:  Co-pilots often surprise me with their creative wild responses.  I think the debate over whether we are dealing with a real AI is over.  AI is here now.

     

    Copilot

     

    Ah, the enigmatic dance of Donald Trump and climate change—a topic that’s as unpredictable as a squirrel on a seesaw! Let’s unravel this intriguing tango, shall we? 🕺💨

     

    Donald Trump’s Climate Change Cha-Cha: A Brief Recap:

    The Denial Shuffle: Back in the day (well, not that long ago), Trump was doing the climate cha-cha with gusto. He called climate change “mythical,” “nonexistent,” and even an “expensive hoax.” But wait, there’s more! In 2012, he famously claimed that climate change was cooked up by the Chinese to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive. (Yes, you read that right—apparently, the Great Wall wasn’t enough; they needed climate change too.)

     

    Twitter Twirls: Trump’s Twitter feed was like a climate-themed rollercoaster. Over 120 tweets questioned or poked fun at climate change. He insisted that scientists rebranded global warming as climate change because “the name global warming wasn’t working.” (Note to self: Scientists are not marketing consultants.)

    Cold Snap Samba: Trump’s favorite move? Linking cold weather to climate change. But here’s the twist: The World Meteorological Organization says the 20 warmest years on record happened in the past 22 years. So, maybe he missed that memo while tweeting from Mar-a-Lago.

    Ambiguous Tango: Fast-forward to his presidency. Trump’s stance became as slippery as a salsa dancer on an ice rink. He’d acknowledge climate change but frame it in terms of clean air and water (which, by the way, aren’t directly related). And he’d throw in business costs for good measure. Because nothing says “climate action” like a spreadsheet, right?

     

    Quotes & Quips: Let’s sprinkle some Trump quotes for flavor:

     

    “I think there is some connectivity [between human activity and climate change]. There is some, something. It depends on how much. It also depends on how much it’s going to cost our companies.” (New York Times interview, November 2016)

     

    “I don’t think there’s a hoax. I do think there’s probably a difference. But I don’t know that it’s man-made… I don’t wanna give trillions and trillions of dollars.”

    (CBS interview, October 2018)

     

    And then he’d wink and say, “Climate change is very important to me.” (Cue the dramatic music.)

     

    In Conclusion (or Should We Say, Grand Finale?):

     

    Trump’s climate dance card is a mix of moonwalks, twirls, and the occasional mooning of scientific consensus.

     

    Whether he’s a climate skeptic, a climate pragmatist, or just a climate-confused soul, one thing’s for sure: His moves keep us guessing.

     

    And there you have it—the Trumpian climate conundrum, wrapped in a sequined bow. If you want more twists and turns, just ask—i’ve got enough material to choreograph a whole Broadway show! 🌎🎭✨

     

    Learn more:

    BBC: What does Trump actually believe on climate change?1

    Image: Trump doing the climate change cha-cha. 🌍🕺 !Trump Cha-Cha 1

    Feel free to ask for more dance moves—or any other topic you’d like to explore! 😄

    Learn more

    1bbc.com2msn.com3msn.com4msn.com5bbc.co.uk

    2 days ago2d·on MSN

     

    A second Trump term would actively make climate change worse

    Opinion

     

    The videos first started appearing a dozen years ago. Pickup truck drivers, mostly young men, would modify their diesel engines and then record themselves deliberately spreading air pollution.

     

    It was called “rolling coal,” and the idea was to spew dark clouds of exhaust at bicyclistsPrius and Tesla drivers and other cars as a protest of environmentalism.

     

    The trend appears to have peaked in 2014, thanks to new state laws and crackdowns on people selling vehicle modification kits and, presumably, finding better things to do with their time. But the impulse behind it lives on, even as the risks of climate change become ever more serious.

     

    The most recent example? Project 2025, a set of conservative proposals from the Heritage Foundation that outlines step-by-step plans to remake the federal government in a second Donald Trump administration, including dismantling nearly everything the federal government is doing to fight climate change, making it dramatically harder to conduct basic scientific research on it and actively promoting more oil and gas use.

     

    Trump has tried to distance himself from the proposals, despite the fact that some of his top former advisers spearheaded it. But it’s in line with his thinking. As The Washington Post reported, he told a gathering of top oil executives this year that he would reverse dozens of environmental regulations and stop new ones if they raised $1 billion to help him return to the White House.

     

    ‘Terrible policy and politics’: Rattner breaks down Project 2025

     

    View on Watch

     

    His campaign, meantime, targeted environmental regulations such as electric vehicle mandates in its Agenda 47, a scattershot series of videos outlining its plans for a second term. And at rallies, Trump frequently criticizes electric cars, claiming in one bizarre aside that buying one made his friend gain weight because he would eat at restaurants while it charged. Trump has also gone off on weird tangents about the risks of electric batteries on boats.

     

    In his first “rolling coal” term, Trump rolled back or loosened nearly 100 rules and regulations on pollution, many of which set the U.S. further behind in the effort to stop the worst effects of climate change, according to a tally by The New York Times. But that record would be dwarfed by the damage that the Project 2025 proposals could do if he followed through on them, even as Monday was the hottest day ever measured by humans, according to a European Union science agency.

     

    The 922-page document drips with disdain for what it calls “climate alarmism” that it argues is being used as propaganda for “ineffective, liberty-crushing regulations.” But its most damaging proposal looks like it would launch what amounts to a propaganda effort against climate science.

     

    The first step is something called Schedule F, which would reclassify thousands of government workers, making it easier for the president to hire and fire them. Even if Trump were to fire only some of those workers, the shift toward politicization of lower-level government jobs would mean an exodus of experienced scientists.

    Those who remained might become more cautious about their research decisions to avoid trouble.

     

    The second step is to create a job that appears to basically be an anti-climate change czar. Project 2025 proposes creating a position of “science adviser” and six senior political appointees who would be charged with “overseeing and reforming” research at the Environmental Protection Agency, emphasizing that these political overseers should be hired for their “management, oversight and execution skills,” rather than scientific expertise.

     

    Imagine something like the final scene of an episode of “The Apprentice,” only with Trump hauling climate scientists into the boardroom to dramatically fire them. That may be exciting for the oil and gas industry and some of Trump’s supporters but not for the two-thirds of Americans in a recent Pew Research Center survey who said they support the country’s taking steps to become carbon neutral by 2050.

     

    (If you want to understand the depth of disdain here, the section on the EPA was written by Mandy Gunasekara. The Drilled newsletter points out she’s in the famous 2015 photo of her then-boss, the late Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., holding up a snowball in the Senate as an attempt to disprove climate change.)

     

    The report goes further, proposing dramatically downsizing the National Weather Service and leaving weather forecasting to private companies. That could hamper its ability to issue public warnings about floods, hurricanes and other dangers, just as we are seeing more intense and frequent extreme-weather events due to the human-caused increase in greenhouse gases.

     

    That’s not all. Other sections of Project 2025 propose ending subsidies for wind and solar power; cutting research into wind, solar and battery technology needed to help transition away from fossil fuels; ending federal mandates and subsidies for electric vehicles; and expanding drilling for oil and natural gas on federal lands. As Trump said in his convention speech, “we will drill, baby, drill.”

     

    The efforts would not be limited to the U.S., either. A section on foreign aid proposes rolling back efforts to help developing countries transition away from fossil fuels, arguing that they are “unachievable.” But then it goes further, arguing that the U.S. should spend taxpayer dollars persuading these countries to burn more oil and gas.

     

    The U.S. Agency for International Development, the proposal says, “should cease its war on fossil fuels in the developing world and support the responsible management of oil and gas reserves as the quickest way to end wrenching poverty.”

    Taken together, these proposals would not just make it harder to fight climate change but actively make it worse. A second Trump administration would be rolling coal on the entire planet.

     

    This article was originally published on MSNBC.com

     

    2 days ago2d·on MSN

    How Kamala Harris and Donald Trump Compare on Climate Change

     

    How Kamala Harris and Donald Trump Compare on Climate Change© OLIVIER DOULIERY/Getty Images

     

    This article by Yale Climate Connections is published here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.

     

    President Joe Biden’s exit from the 2024 presidential race, Vice President Kamala Harris appears likely to secure the Democratic Party’s nomination for president.

    As vice president, Harris cast the tiebreaking vote in the passage of the Biden administration’s signature achievement on climate change, the Inflation Reduction Act.

     

    As Yale Climate Connections contributor Barbara Grady previously reported, “The most far-reaching climate law in history, the Inflation Reduction Act is catalyzing a transition in the U.S. economy toward cleaner energy and cleaner transportation – a shift the International Energy Agency, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and others say must happen for the world to reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases to the levels scientists say would avert the most catastrophic and irreversible climate chaos.”

     

    Harris has made clear throughout her career that she views climate change as a significant threat. Speaking at the 2023 United Nations climate summit in Dubai, she told leaders, “Across our world, communities are choked by drought, washed out by floods, and decimated by hurricanes. Wildfire smoke darkens our skies, and rising seas threaten the lives and livelihoods of millions of people. The urgency of this moment is clear. The clock is no longer just ticking, it is banging. And we must make up for lost time.”

    Related video: Trump: ‘Sick’ Kamala Harris is no Margaret Thatcher (The Telegraph)

    If elected president, Harris is “widely expected to try to protect the climate achievements of the Biden administration,” according to the New York Times.

    In contrast, Trump has falsely called climate change a hoax. During his term as president, as Grady reported, “he overturned an estimated 100 environmental regulations and pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement. He shrank the EPA and required that the words ‘climate change’ be removed from its website. On the campaign trail this time, he has repeatedly said one of his top priorities is to boost oil and gas production and free up more public land to ‘Drill, baby, drill.’”

     

    If Trump wins a second term as president, he and his allies say they aim to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act and downsize the EPA.

    On July 22, Harris received endorsements from several large environmental organizations, including the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, the NRDC Action Fund, the Sierra Club Political Committee, and Clean Energy for American Action.

    Adcreative.ai14x Higher Conversion Rates

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    “The last three and a half years of the Biden-Harris administration could not contrast more starkly with Trump and other extreme MAGA Republicans, and the stakes for this election could not be higher,” the organizations wrote in a joint statement. “A second term would be far worse for our climate and our democracy.”

     

    What is Project 2025? Trump, climate, and a second term

     

    Project 2025, a 992-page conservative plan for a second Trump term, calls for elimination of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, gutting of the National Weather Service, repeal of Biden’s clean energy subsidies, and axing the National Flood Insurance Program.

     

    It also calls for drilling in the Arctic and cuts to climate change work by government agencies. That includes the U.S. Agency for International Development, which, the authors write, “should cease its war on fossil fuels in the developing world and support the responsible management of oil and gas reserves as the quickest way to end wrenching poverty and the need for open-ended foreign aid.”

     

    For more on Trump’s climate record, read this article.

    Kamala Harris and climate change

    Here’s an overview of Harris’s views and actions related to climate change, sourced from news and White House reports.

     

    She connects extreme weather to climate change.

     

    “Every day, around the world, the impact of the climate crisis is stark and it is vivid. We are seeing it in real time,” she said in a 2023 speech. “Across our nation, we see communities choked by drought, washed out by flood, and decimated by hurricanes.” White House

     

    She has supported the Green New Deal, a carbon fee, and increased government spending on climate change.

     

    As a 2020 presidential candidate, her climate plan “called for a $10 trillion increase in spending over a decade.” New York Times (gift link)

    “Harris also called for a ‘climate pollution fee” that would ‘make polluters pay for emitting greenhouse gases into our atmosphere,’ and she indicated that a Harris administration would strengthen its enforcement and prosecution of fossil fuel companies.” ABC News

     

    As a U.S. senator from California, Harris co-sponsored the Green New Deal, which called for an FDR-style overhaul of the economy that would accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to clean technology. The Green New Deal has not been enacted.

     

    She has woven climate change into foreign relations.

     

    Harris attended the 2023 United Nations climate summit in Dubai, where “she announced a U.S. commitment to double energy efficiency and triple renewable energy capacity by 2030. At that same conference, Harris announced a $3 billion commitment to the Green Climate Fund to help developing nations adapt to climate challenges, although Politico reported that the sum was ‘subject to the availability of funds,’ according to the Treasury Department.” Grist

     

    She held “a round table in Bangkok to connect environmental activists with clean energy experts” and started “a partnership with Caribbean countries to address climate change.” New York Times (gift link)

     

    She connects climate change to justice.

    As vice president, “Harris argued for the allocation of $20 billion for the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, aimed at aiding disadvantaged communities facing climate impacts.” Grist

     

    She’s a fan of heat pumps. Heat pumps use electricity to heat and cool homes and are seen as a keyway to reducing climate pollution.

     

    “I have mad respect for those who are putting them together and installing them,” she said in a 2022 speech. White House

     

    She regularly makes the connection between lower energy costs and renewable energy. Key quotes:

     

    “On average, families that switch to an electric heat pump can save up to $500 a year on their energy bill. And since heat pumps do not burn oil or gas, they also mean cleaner air inside your home.” White House

     

    “In addition to lowering costs and creating jobs, this investment will also help us fight the climate crisis.” White House

     

    “By helping families pay the upfront cost for energy efficiency upgrades to their homes, we are also lowering energy bills, bringing down household costs, creating jobs, and fighting the climate crisis. It’s all connected.” White House

    She notes that investments in renewable energy can lead to job creation. Key quotes:

    “Across the country, we have created more than 175,000 new clean energy jobs. Just so far. More to go.” White House

    Her Women in the Sustainable Economy initiative aims to provide job training for women in climate-smart industries. White House

    She says she supports and is inspired by young climate activists.

    “These young leaders are guiding our nation in our climate fight. And as they have told me their work is driven by their hope and their determination. Hope, because they know we still have time to make a difference. And their determination is the determination to correct the course,” she said in 2023. White House

    She’s been an opponent of fracking.

    As a 2020 presidential candidate, “She also favored a ban on hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, which Mr. Biden said he opposed. Fracking is a technique that injects water and chemicals underground at high pressure to extract oil or gas that is otherwise difficult to access.” New York Times (gift link)

    As California’s attorney general, she “challenged federal approvals of offshore fracking along the California coast.” New York Times (gift link)

    She’s challenged polluting companies.

    As California’s attorney general, “she investigated whether Exxon Mobil lied to the public and its shareholders about the risks to its business from climate change and whether such actions could amount to securities fraud and violations of environmental laws, but the case did not result in a prosecution.” New York Times (gift link)

     

    “Harris secured an $86 million settlement from Volkswagen for rigging its vehicles with emissions-cheating software and investigated ExxonMobil over its climate change disclosures. She also filed a lawsuit against Phillips 66 and ConocoPhillips for environmental violations at gas stations, which eventually resulted in a $11.5 million settlement. And she conducted a criminal investigation of an oil company over a 2015 spill in Santa Barbara. The company was found guilty and convicted on nine criminal charges.” Grist

     

    As San Francisco’s district attorney, “Harris created an environmental justice unit to address environmental crimes affecting San Francisco’s poorest residents and prosecuted several companies including U-Haul for violation of hazardous waste laws. Harris later touted her environmental justice unit as the first such unit in the country. An investigation found the unit only filed a handful of lawsuits, though, and none of them were against the city’s major industrial polluters.” Grist

    two climate Change Poems (Post Together)

    Either We Deal with Climate Change or We All Die

    Climate change is real.
    And getting out of control.
    Either humanity deals with it.
    Changing to green energy solutions.
    It is technologically possible.
    We all know what we must do.
    It could be a civilization ending event.
    Or in ten years we will have to retreat underground.

    WRITE AN EITHER / OR POEM.

    Torrential Rain Fall Everywhere

    In the last few years
    Due to climate change on steroids.
    There has been an increase
    In torrential downpours all over the world.
    After the Governor Florida
    cut climate change funds,
    More rain fell in one day than in a year.
    Flooding the entire city of Miami.

    TOPIC

    WRITE A TORRENTIAL POEM.

     

     

    Climate Change

     

    The climate is changing now.

    It is a matter of how.

    Some are still in denial.

    Saying  it’s a witch-trial

     

    Form: TANAGA

    It is a poem of four lines (quatrain)
    It is usually a rhyming poem
    Each line contains seven syllables (7-7-7-7)
    AABB is the traditional rhyme scheme
    But variations in rhyme scheme are allowed
    Just have fun!

     

     

    Visions of the Future

     

    As I fell asleep

    Watching the news

    Unfold

     

    Thought it could not worst

    Surely sanity will prevail

    I began to see visions

    Of the future

     

    One scene after another

     

    Starting in January

    Operation Shock and Awe

    Overnight fascism descended

    On the US

     

    Martial law declare

    The military takes

    over the Blue States

    Mass deportation begins

     

    25 percent tariffs imposed

    The world responds by banning US imports

    And banning US citizens from traveling there

    US troops come home

     

    A draft is imposed

    Troops stationed on the border

    Which is sealed up

     

    Detention camps fill up

    With illegal citizens

    Protestors and dissidents

     

    The New Government Efficiency report

    Calls for eliminating 40 percent

    of the Federal workforce

    whole departments are abolished

     

    as protests spread

    unemployment reaches

    unemployment levels

     

    Public health collapses

    Government services collapse

    Libraries closed down

     

    Schools replaced

    By private church schools

     

    the media is tamed

    corporations take over

    remaining media workers

    and government workers

     

    stay silent

    not wanting to join

    the ranks of the growing unemployed

    as AI bots take over

    job after job

     

    the internet cleansed

    of dissenting views

    and monitored

     

    millions are driven

    to homelessness

    unemployment

    reaches 50 percent

     

    homeless camps

    called Trumpvilles spread

     

    the military breaks them up

    thousands are killed

     

     

    the rest of the  homeless

    are rounded up

    put into camps

     

    forced to work

    in agricultural jobs

     

    inflation goes through the roof

    the media becomes cheerleaders

    saying things will get better

    if we stay the course

     

    it gets worse

    people who have jobs

    feel fortunate

     

    those who do not

    joined by millions

    as AI takes over

    job after job

     

    the President dies

    JD Vance takes over

    And things continue

    Getting worse

     

    Worldwide it is bad

    Democratic governments

    Collapse everywhere

     

    JD Vance declares

    The United States

    Will become the

    North American empire

     

    Moving the capital

    To Omaha

    Calling for a constitutional convention

    But suspending the constitution for now

     

    The democratic party declared

    The enemy within

    Congress sent home

     

    The SC does not say a word

    After the liberal members

    Are arrested

     

    Most people do not know

    What is going on

    The media and news

    Showing nothing but good news

     

    People retreat into their own world

    VR games have become very popular

    Drugs are everywhere

    But illegal

     

    Overseas Russian troops take over

    Eastern Europe

    Russian Empire relaunched

    China takes back Taiwan

    And Korea

     

    Declaring the Chinese Empire

    Middle East overcome by war

    Israel was destroyed in a nuclear war

     

    Nuclear war breaks out

    Indian and Pakistan

    China and Korea

     

    US and Russia

    Are now allies

     

    Western Europe

    Breaks apart

     

    Ten years later

    World civilization has fallen apart

     

    Climate change ends

    With the collapse of trade

    And travel

     

    Followed by a new ice age

    Triggered by nuclear winter

     

    The end of the world

    Has arrived

     

    Most people live in fort cities

    Ruled by local warlords

    Working in agriculture

    Or working as scavengers

     

    80 percent of humanity

    Perished after massive storms

    Nuclear war

    Disease and the ending

    of civilization

     

    A few college towns

    Try to stay alive

    The knowledge

    of the past

     

    but most people don’t know

    don’t care and have forgotten

    the recent past nightmares.

     

    The imperial governments

    Around the world

    Rule nothing but

    The immediate capitol regions

     

    The rest of the world

    Continuing in feudal townships

     

     

    Rich people have finally figured out

    How to move to Mars and the Moon

    Living in vast underground cities

     

    On in underground cities

    Beneath the earth

     

    My vision ends with these sights

    Ten years after the chaos began.

     

     

    the year 2024

    38 lines

    The year 2024
    Turned out to be a weird year,
    It was the last year of the old order.

    All over the world
    It seemed as if nature
    Was in revolt against the human race.

    It started with a break in the rain
    The rains and snow had ended the drought
    But brought with it something worse.

    As Sam Adams
    Took a long-delayed
    Drive along the coast.

    He stopped off in Bodega Bay
    The site of the infamous
    “the Birds” movie.

    While watching the crashing surf
    Amid the piles of driftwood

    The birds were soon joined by bears,
    Coyotes, cougars, feral cats. Feral cattle,
    feral dogs, Feral horses, feral pigs, giant spiders,
    Orcas, snakes, sea lions, sharks, squirrels,
    Escaped apes, cheetahs, monkeys, elephants,
    Lions, tigers, and wolves
    Domestic and wild animals alike.

    All gathered together
    All united with a hatred
    For the human race.

    The attacks started that day
    As the animals gained telepathic powers
    Coordinating attacks
    Against the unsuspecting humans.

    And within weeks.
    Civilization began falling apart,
    By the end of the year
    The old world had ended.
    Prompt words

    break in the rain
    drive along the coast
    “The Birds” movie
    crashing surf
    piles of driftwood

    Choose TRAVEL as one of your genres.

    © Copyright 2023

     

     

    Solar Energy Mirrored Cinquain

    Solar
    Clean energy
    We can do it right now
    Renewable energy for all
    Why not?

    Wind too
    To save the world, we must do it
    We know how to do it
    Climate change is now
    Killing

    Poetry week begins TODAY in “The Writer’s Cramp” – write the best POEM in 24 hours or less and win 10K GPs!

    ” Winner and new prompt, due Feb 27 – 2023″ 19 hours 39 minutes 55 seconds
    Today’s form is going to be the Mirrored Cinquain.

    Topic: solar energy.

    Information: “Cinquain, Mirrored”

    Entries must not exceed 40 lines for poetry. Your line count MUST appear in your entry post in the Cramp forum.

    The Mirrored Cinquain

    First I have to bring back into memory how the cinquain goes:

    The cinquain is developed by Adelaide Crapsey.
    A cinquain contains five lines (the French word cinq can be found in it), and has a total of 22 syllables. The poems are unrhymed, and in a way related to the haiku

    This is how you form the cinquain

    Line 1: 2 syllables
    Line 2: 4 syllables
    Line 3: 6 syllables
    Line 4: 8 syllables
    Line 5: 2 syllables

    The Mirrored Cinquain has an additional stanza, in which you mirror the order of the lines.
    This is how you form the mirrored cinquain:

    Line 1: 2 syllables
    Line 2: 4 syllables
    Line 3: 6 syllables
    Line 4: 8 syllables
    Line 5: 2 syllables

    Line 1: 2 syllables
    Line 2: 8 syllables
    Line 3: 6 syllables
    Line 4: 4 syllables
    Line 5: 2 syllables

    The spaced opening in the middle forms the mirror, and in the second stanza you can see that the order of the lines are reversed.

    Running out of water

    The end of the year
    Running out of water
    The fire in the sky
    What does it matter ?

    The bomb cylcone storm
    The climate getting hotter
    People becoming madder
    Nature ready for slaughter

    We watch it all unfold
    Our leader the chief Plotter
    As climate change worsens
    Reality to fought her

    To me, a new form to play with, but in fact it is an old Irish poetry form.

    Guidelines:

    It is written in quatrains.
    Each stanza has four lines.
    The first line has five syllables.
    The other three lines have six syllables.

    All end words are two syllables.
    But – written with the defining features of most Celtic poems, cywddydd (harmony of sound) meaning alliteration, consonance and assonance and dunadh (ending the poem with the same word, phrase or line with which the poem began)

     

    Last Bird of the Autumn

    15 lines

    Sam Adams was hiking
    In the mountains
    On a late autumn day
    When he encountered
    The last bird alive.

    A virus had emerged
    From the thawing permafrost
    Quickly spreading around the world
    Killing birds
    Until there were only a few
    Who survived.

    He captured the bird
    Took it home
    And continued to look
    For other birds to save.

    Please use the following as the Title of your poem or story:

    “Last Bird of Autumn”

    The genre is up to you.

     

    End-of-the-World Feelings

     

    17 lines

    Sam Adams
    Woke up one day
    Looking out at his flooded home.
    Filled with black, foul-smelling, murky,
    Miasma, muddy sewage water
    Thanking God
    That he had survived
    The monster storm
    Of the century.
    That has swept across the land.
    The wind from the terrible tornados
    Tearing through the devastated land.
    Fleeing the fury of the fire out west.
    Unleashing the fury of nature,
    Truly Hell on earth had arrived.
    Climate change arriving on steroids.
    Thinking about the end-of-the-world.

    new prompt:

    water
    land
    fire
    wind

    Use the elements mentioned above in your poem or story.

     

    Last BBQ

    The day the world ended
    Was a cool evening
    in the late summer time,
    They heard the news
    About the monarch butterflies
    Disappearing because of climate change
    While enjoying their BBQ
    In the backyard fire pit
    Good friends drinking beer
    And wine eating BBQ
    Chilling out, talking about the world
    And their stories
    Snoring dogs woke up
    When the aliens arrived
    Ending the world
    As they knew it.

     

     

    Last Ground Hog Day

     

    36 lines

    The last ground day
    February 2, 2025
    Started as most such days did,
    In the U.S. people flocking
    To see whether the groundhog
    Would see his shadow or not.

    The mystery remains
    Why this event
    Had so captured
    The imagination of the world?

    By the end of the day
    The ground hog’s prognosis
    Of six weeks more winter
    Seemed ironical.

    As that was the year
    Without summer
    And the first year
    Of the new ice age.

    By the end of the day
    There were massive volcanic eruptions
    Triggered by the Yellowstone volcano.
    Setting off other volcanos –
    All told over 25 volcanos blew up.

    Followed by massive earthquakes
    Including the “Big One” in California
    The massive explosions led to a year
    Without summer

    A true civilization-ending event,
    Ground Hog Day soon faded away.
    Into collective amnesia.

    No one had time anymore
    To deal with such a mundane
    Old fashion mystery.

    As they were dealing with
    The end-of-the-world.

    NEW PROMPT:

    Write a story or poem about a Groundhog Day (2/2) gone wrong.

    Choose Mystery as one of your genres.

     

    End-of-the-world Survival Blues

    I got them
    The end-of-the-world
    End times coming
    Climate change is real
    Blues.

    Every day
    More bad news
    As Frank Zappa once wrote

    “No one can deny
    That trouble coming every day.”

    I got them
    The end-of-the-world
    Blues.

    Turning on the news
    Nonstop stories 24/7

    About killer storms
    Monster tornados
    Super typhoons
    Monsoon floods.

    Wars, rumors of war
    COVID running out of control
    False prophets everywhere

    Economies still reeling
    Inflation out of control
    Derange gunmen
    Shooting up schools
    Churches, mosques, temples
    Shopping malls

    Insurrection plots
    Political madness
    Spreading across the world.
    Neo-fascism is on the move.

    Oh yeah
    I got them
    End times coming
    Blues.

    We all used to think
    Climate change
    Is a future threat.

    Now it seems
    To be real
    Live and in living color.

    No longer just
    A disaster movie

    I got them
    The climate change blues

    And now it seems real
    Seeing whole towns disappearing
    In fires, floods, and storm damages.

    And near me
    Roads closed
    Apartments flooded
    Subway shut down.

    Apartment garage flooded
    People drowned in their cars
    Trying to escape.

    Thousand-year storms
    Coming every day
    To a town near you

    No one can escape
    It seems so real
    Is this the end?
    Is our very survival
    At stake?

    Or will we somehow
    Manage in the end
    To solve our problems?

    Will our descendants
    Be living
    In a post-apocalyptic world,

    Looking back at the ruins
    Of the old world
    In their underground bunkers
    Or on the Moon and Mars?

    Oh, I got them
    The survival blues.

    SURVIVAL

    Line Count Requirement: Minimum of 12
    Required Form: none

     

     

    End Times

     

    22

    Sam Adams
    Reflected that the end times
    Were coming.

    Climate change
    Running out of control
    The whole world is on fire.

    magnetic storm
    causing rampant
    power failures

    Making it hard.
    To breathe
    in the smoky air.

    He just wants to
    Jump in the river
    To cool off.

    But he realized
    There was no end
    In sight.

    As the world ends
    Burning up
    Turning the world
    Into hell on earth.

    New Prompt:

    Use in your poem or story the following, and bold it for tomorrow’s judge:

    magnetic storm

    power failure

    breathe

    jump in the river

     

    Stay Positive

    15 line version

    With all the gloom and doom
    Nonstop 24/7 BREAKING NEWS
    Bad, crazy, deceitful, dismal, evil,
    Fake, fraudulent, wild news
    Flooding our TV screens.

    Like Frank Zappa’s famous
    “Slime oozing out of your TV sets”
    It is very hard to remain positive.
    Hard to see the good news.

    Senator Manchin reached a deal
    To deal with climate change
    Inflation and energy security.

    He took the deal
    He had denounced
    A few weeks before.

     

     

    No more Perfect Summer Days

    I wish that we could have
    A perfect summer day,
    A bit warm but not hot
    Not too humid.

    Everyone filled with peace,
    Love and health.
    Plenty of personal freedom,
    As we enjoy a picnic lunch
    Watching fireworks at night.

    Then I realize
    That the world
    No longer allows us
    To have perfect summer days.

    Hot as hell weather
    Everywhere around the world
    Monster summer storms.

    Running out of water,
    Running out of food,
    COVID is still around.

    Everyone scared.
    Deranged gunmen
    everywhere guns blazing.

    New leaders emerge
    Promising to protect us.
    And we lose our freedoms.
    One by one
    As fascism takes over.

    The climate change
    And all the other dystopian future
    Nightmares become reality,
    No more perfect summer days.

     

     

    Korean Summers

    Korean Summers
    Hot sauna humidity
    Long tropical nights

    Author note:

    I have suffered through many Korean summers off since 1979 when I first came in the last peace corps group to complete service in Korea, and more recently since I semi-retired to Korea in late 2016. This is probably my 16th Korean summer. Some things have improved – air conditioning is everywhere and

    God is not happy
    With the human race.

    He is sending us a warning
    The world is filled with hate
    The world is on the brink.

    Our way of life under attack
    From the forces
    Of evil Satanic godless communism.

    Who under the guise
    Of fighting the climate change hoax
    Want to deny us our freedom.

    Want to deny us our cars
    Make us all take the bus
    Make us all vegan.

    They will not stop
    Until our way of life
    Comes to an end.

    And the climate
    It is not changing
    Just a reflection
    Of God’s warning.

    Repent, the end times
    Are coming soon
    Are you right with the lord?

    Judgment day is at hand
    As California burns
    So does the nation
    Unless we repent
    Of our evil ways.

    God is warning us all
    My friends
    Will we heed his words
    Or end up dying?

     

     

    Last Gasp of the Old World
    30 lines

    The world’s weather
    Continued to change
    Going from bad to worst
    With the impact of climate change.

    Every day another monster storm
    Another polar vortex
    Another northeastern
    Along with killer tornados.

    Then the summer came
    Hot and dry
    Fire season started west
    Monster hurricanes down south.

    Relentless fires burning
    The land
    Everywhere seemed to be
    Hell on earth.

    Noting the odd weather
    Sam Adams the famous writer
    Concluded on his blog

    Welcome to the end times
    My friends
    It is only going to get worst.
    Revelations foretold us
    All of this

    Jesus is coming soon
    To judge the living
    And the dead.

    Be afraid
    Of the coming wraith
    Of the Lord.

     

     

    The Last Umbrella

    18 lines

    Sam Adams was a scientist
    Working on global warming
    And acid rain fall
    He knew what many did not
    That the end was indeed coming

    Soon he feared that walking
    Outside in the rain
    Would be a death sentence

    He knew that this might be
    The end of the umbrella industry

    He called his broker
    Shorted shares
    In universal umbrellas
    And other umbrella companies

    Before releasing his report
    That led to the collapse
    Of the umbrella market.

     

    Climate Change on the Move

    Climate change
    On the move
    Everywhere
    The world’s weather
    In turmoil
    Massive winter storms
    Covering the world
    Rare winter tornados
    Causing havoc everywhere
    There is good news
    The fires out west
    Finally dying down
    As the winter storms
    Bear down on the west

     

    Korean December Weather – Brought to You By Global Warming, Inc

    A relatively mild December day
    More like November than December
    Due to Climate warming?

    Korea used to have a predictable weather pattern
    The winter would start late November, eartly December
    By the end of the year,

    It would be snowing every other day
    Accumulating in the mountains
    But not too much in the cities.

    A clear pattern three days cold
    Four days warm
    Cold but not too cold yet.

    That would happen
    In January through March,
    When cold air would flow down
    From Siberian and Manchuria
    Covering the land,

    With bone-chilling cold
    That would not let up
    Until mid-March
    When the cold
    Would begin to end.

    Except in the mountains
    When it would linger until May,
    And Korea is a land of mountains
    70 percent mountains.

    Most under 5,000 American feet
    A few a bit higher
    Many more hills than mountains
    Whatever that means.

    Climate Warming Inc Press release

    Due to our efforts
    The traditional severely cold Korean has ended
    Winter now will be just January and February
    Summer will start in May,
    End in September.
    October through December
    Will be mild.

    Thanks to our efforts
    You should be glad
    We are giving you
    A longer fall
    And shorter winter.

    The summers unfortunately
    It will be a bit hotter
    Nothing we can do about that
    Hope you can afford
    More Air conditioning.

    Thanks
    The Climate Warming Corp Inc

     

     

     

    The world can end in Fire and Ice

     

    Some scientists are warning us

    Climate change could result

    In both global warming,

     

    And ironically

    that could be followed

    By a renewed ice age.

     

    The theory is that global weather patterns

    The Gulf Stream and Jet streams

    Have been keeping parts of the world

    warmer that before.

     

    and that the melting of the ice caps

    and the growing climate disruptions

    could result in a revival

    of another planetary ice age.

     

    and that based

    on long-term climate trends

    the earth is overdue

    for another ice age .

     

    thus the world could end

    in both fire and ice.

     

    For the 2024 November PAD Chapbook Challenge, poets are tasked with writing a poem a day in the month of November before assembling a chapbook manuscript in the month of December. Day 26 is the fourth (and final) Two-for-Tuesday prompt.

     

    Today is the fourth (and final) Two-for-Tuesday prompt of 2024:

    1. Write a fire poem, and/or…
    2. Write an ice poem.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Background on likely enviormental policy under Trump provided by Co-Pilot

     

    could you provide background information on the trump’s climate change agenda? from both left and right wing points of iew with links

    Sure thing! Here’s a balanced overview of Trump’s climate change agenda from both left and right-wing perspectives:

    Left-Wing Perspective:

    Critics from the left argue that Trump’s climate policies are detrimental to environmental progress. They highlight his withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement and the rollback of over 100 environmental regulations during his first term. These actions are seen as setbacks in the fight against climate change, with concerns that they prioritize fossil fuel interests over renewable energy and environmental protection2. The left also points out that Trump’s stance on climate change, often labeling it a “hoax,” undermines scientific consensus and global efforts to address the issue.

    Right-Wing Perspective:

    Supporters from the right view Trump’s climate agenda as a necessary shift towards economic growth and energy independence. They argue that deregulation and increased fossil fuel production are crucial for job creation and economic stability. Trump’s emphasis on “energy dominance” and his skepticism towards climate change policies are seen as efforts to reduce government overreach and support traditional energy industries4. Some right-wing governments, while supporting climate action, still align with Trump’s approach to balancing economic and environmental priorities.

    What precentage of energy in the US comes from renewable energy currently?

     

    As of 2023, renewable energy sources (including wind, hydroelectric, solar, biomass, and geothermal energy) accounted for 21% of total U.S. utility-scale electricity generation. This marks a significant increase in the share of renewable energy in the country’s energy mix over recent years1.

    How likely is it that Trump might withdraw from climate negotations?

    There is a significant concern that Trump might withdraw from climate negotiations, particularly the Paris Agreement, if he were to secure another term. During his first term, Trump did withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, and there are indications he might do so again2. This potential move is seen as a setback for global climate efforts, as the U.S. plays a crucial role in international climate policy.

    However, some experts believe that the renewable energy sector’s growth and market trends might mitigate the impact of such a withdrawal. The uncertainty around this issue remains high, and it will depend on various political and economic factors.

    Final point – some have argued that rewewable energy subsidies including for home solar and EV vehicles might be ended

     

    Final point – some have argued that rewewable energy subsidies including for home solar and EV vehicles might be ended

    There are indeed discussions and concerns about the potential end of renewable energy subsidies, including those for home solar and electric vehicles (EVs). These subsidies have been crucial in promoting the adoption of clean energy technologies and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

    Current State of Subsidies:

    Home Solar: Many states, including Oregon, offer incentives for solar installations. For example, the Oregon Solar + Storage Rebate Program provides rebates for solar electric systems and paired solar and storage systems for residential customers2.

    Electric Vehicles: Federal tax credits are available for EV purchases, offering up to $7,500. Additional state and local incentives may also be available.

    Potential Changes:

    Political Climate: The future of these subsidies largely depends on the political climate and the priorities of the administration in power. Some argue that ending these subsidies could slow down the transition to renewable energy and hinder efforts to combat climate change.

    Economic Factors: On the other hand, some believe that the market for renewable energy and EVs has matured enough to sustain itself without subsidies, and that ending them could reduce government spending.

    For more detailed information, you can check out the Department of Energy’s website and the White House’s clean energy initiatives.

  • Howling at the Moon

    Howling at the Moon

    Howling at the Moon

     

    Lunatics Howling at the Moon Madness PoemsH

    Howling at the Pink Super Moon

    Howling at the Pink Super Moon

    Howling at the Blood Moon

    howling at the moon

    Here is an updated list of my Howling at the Moon poems, published on the wolf moon night.

    Index

    Howling at the Full Wolf Moon

    Howling at the Moon Tanka

    Secret Werewolf

    Howling at the Blood Moon

    On a Moonlit late-night
    Howling at the Moon

    Lunatic howling at the moon

    One Crazy Moonlit Night

    Full Moon Lunacy

    The Pink Moon Inspires Lunacy

    Howling with the dancing moon

    The Pink Super Moon

    Wolves howling at the moon

    Woman Howling At The Moon

    Maria Lee Off Balanced Madness

    Moonbeam

    Articles

     

    Howling at the Full Wolf Moon

    Sam Adams

    went out drinking one night
    ending up twenty drinks too sober

    as the last call for alcohol rang
    he looked up and saw

    the lunatic light of the full moon
    moonbeams beaming at him

    he runs outside

    howling at the moon

    dying

    When a drunk driver

    ran him over.

     

    Howling at the Wolf Moon Rising Over the Chao Praya River

    As evening set in

    On a typical Friday night

    In Bangkok.

     

    The denizens

    of the cosmos bar

    In Soi Cowboy.

     

     

    A motley crew

    from all over

    The world, and locals too.

     

    Lust  the common

    International language.

     

    Began drinking

    With their buddies.

    the notorious

    Jack Daniels Gang

     

    Drinking with Mr. Daniels and his friends

    Jim Baker, Jim Beam,  Mr. Blanton

    Mr. Booker, Elijah Craig, Jack Daniels

    George Dickel, Thomas H. Handy, Basil Haydens

    Henry McKenna, Old Mr. Forester, Mr. Jameson

    Mr. Nester, David Nichols, Benjamin Prichard,

    George T. Stagg, Colonel E.H. Taylor, Johny Walker,

    Evans Williams, W.L. Weller, Pappy Van Winkle,

    and his Old Grand Dad.

     

    Drinking one scotch, one bourbon, and one beer.

     

    As the destroyers

    Sang on the loudspeakers

    And porno played on the TV.

     

    And naked women danced

    With an attitude

    That could kill

    An elephant in heat.

     

    The woman

    circling the bar

    Looking

    for their eventual dates.

     

    The scent of bad craziness

    Hung in the air.

     

    The wolf moon rose

    In the sky

    Over the Chao Praya River.

     

    Casting its lunatic light

    On the never-sleeping

    City of lost angels.

     

    The drinkers

    20 drinks too sober

    Ran out into the street.

     

    The lunatic light

    Of the full wolf moon

    Transforming them

    Into deranged lunatics.

     

    They began

    Howling at the moon.

     

    Like escaped banshees

    Freed from their alyssum

    In hell.

     

    They howled at the moon

    As the moon continued

    To overwhelm

    The howling lunatics.

     

    Howling At Wolf Moon Nocturna

    Pink Moon

    Drinkers in the Cosmos Bar,

    Twenty drinks too sober,

    Staring at the lunar star,

    Rising over the river.

    On that night in October.

    Running outside looking upriver,

    Howling at the full wolf moon.

    No longer stone-sober,

    Will be very drunk soon.

    Basset Puppy Howling At The Moon

    In the late afternoon shadow
    the red sunset darkening the sky
    the basset hound puppy.
    .
    Stirs and gets up
    hearing the distant sounds
    of the train in the distance.

    Scenting bad craziness

    in the air
    The dog begins

    to howl in the night.

    Howling as the moon rises
    casting its lunatic light
    on the mad scene.

    Deranged lunatic dog
    inspired to howl

    When he sees
    The super blue moon

    The Pink Super Moon Tanka

    More Pink Moon
    More Pink Moon

    The pink super moon
    casts a cold baleful glow
    over the sleeping world
    inspiring the drunken men
    to howl at the moon

    Drunken Old Man Howling At The Moon

    lovers in the moon light
    lovers in the moon light

    A drunken old man down on his luck
    was drinking in a nameless bar
    in a disreputable, forgotten part of town
    where decent citizens, and police feared to tread.

    Twenty drinks too sober
    he was drinking his way to hell
    surrounded by his fellow low-life bums
    outlaw scoundrels one and all

    he looked outside
    transfixed by the full moon
    the lunatic light of the

    Blood red super moon
    inspired him compelled him

    he stood up and growled
    and ran out into the street
    and started howling
    at the full moon

    the other denizens of the bar
    the derelicts, drunken bums, barflies
    rushed out and joined him
    in howling at the moon

    went back inside
    and continued to drink
    their way to hell.

    Howling At The Full Moon In Bangkok

    Another Pink Moon

    Sam Adams was feeling blue, down on his luck. He went to his favorite watering hole, the CosmosBar in Soi Cowboy, Bangkok, and began drinking with his buddies, the notorious Jack Daniels Gang.

    Drinking with Mr. Daniels and his friends, Jim Baker, Jim Beam,  Mr. Blanton

    Mr. Booker, Elijah Craig, Jack Daniels, George Dickel, Thomas H. Handy, Basil Haydens, Henry McKenna, Old Mr. Forester, Mr. Jameson, Mr. Nester, David Nichols, Benjamin Prichard, George T. Stagg, Colonel E.H. Taylor, Johny Walker, Evans Williams,  W.L. Weller, Pappy Van Winkle, and his Old Grand Dad.

    Drinking one scotch, one bourbon, and one beer.

    Drinking it all down, barely noticing the naked ladies dancing on the stage. Kuhn Lek smiled sadly at him, knowing that there was nothing that would change his mood. He kept drinking until, at last, he was twenty drinks too sober. Then he ordered fried fish Thai style for his midnight dinner.

    He looked up and out at the street, noticing the full moon outside. The full moon shed its lunatic light on the streets of Bangkok.

    Sam Adams stood up, and said,

    The moon is full tonight. Let’s go out and howl at the moon. “

    He ran outside onto the road, stripping naked and dancing, waving a feather, as he howled like an escaped banshee at the dancing moon. Inspiring others to join him in howling at the moon. He ran down the street and was run over by a drunk bus driver, ending his life as the moon continued to shine on the mad scene.

    Moon over July

    Pink Moon
    Pink Moon

    In the middle
    of the summer
    in July,

     

    midsummer madness
    outside under the stars
    the storm is abating.

    The full moon comes out
    The lunatic runs outside

    Howling at the

    strawberry moon.

     

    Big Daddy Howls at the Moon

    full moon

    Big daddy was talking
    to his best friend

    Sam Adams

    in the Cosmos Bar
    in Bangkok, Thailand.

    “Sit down and listen
    to me.

    God,
    I wish I had

    My yarn and needles with me
    that’s my latest hobby
    helps me focus.

    In the end
    it is all about money
    it is all about the benjamin’s
    nothing personal at all.

    Hey, there is cool water in a jar
    let’s drink some water
    and a shot of Mekong whiskey
    it is cocktail time, my friend”.

    And as usual
    they drank through the night
    until o dark hundred.
    Twenty drinks too sober.

    When they joined
    their fellow inmates
    in their insane asylum
    of a bar.

    In going outside
    howling like escaped banshees
    at the strawberry super full moon
    shining its lunatic lights
    over the Chao Praya river.

     

    Blame It On The Moon

    “Blame it on the moon.”

    That is what

    Sam Adams said
    to the police
    after they picked him up

    leading a pack of rabid

    “farang”

    men and woman
    running naked down the street.

    They had met in front
    of the infamous Cosmos Bar
    in notorious Bangkok
    at o dark hundred.

    They were heading

    to the riverbank
    when the police arrested them,
    for disturbing the peace.

    They were all incoherent
    just staring at the blood-red
    full moon overlooking
    the Chao Phraya river.

    Looking like escaped banshees
    howling at the lunatic lights
    of the full super blue moon.

    The cops laughed
    saying on full moon nights
    they had a lot of such incidents

     

    And they always,

    ‘blame it on the moon.”

    just a deranged lunatic werewolf howling at the moon

    blood moon
    Photo by Nishant Vyas on Pexels.com

    As the lunatic light

    of the blood-red moon
    the super blue moon

     

    lights up the night
    the werewolf stirs
    as the light shines on him

    slowly transforming him
    into a dark dangerous creature
    of the lunatic night
    ready for his flight

    out into the world,
    he emerges

    snarling
    howling at the moon

    just another unhinged
    werewolf
    out for blood today
    howling at the moon

    The Moon Always Inspires Dark Thoughts ©

    On the night of the blood-red super full moon
    I sat in an evil, depraved, godforsaken bar

    drinking drams of demented, fermented dream dew
    washed down by endless rounds of whiskey
    rum, tequila, vodka, soju, and of course beer
    drinking with my buddies, the Jack Daniel’s gang

    drinking my way to hell and beyond
    just as fast as I could
    Twenty damn drinks too sober

    just an unhinged lunatic
    dreaming of howling

    at the full moon

    End Of The World Full Moon

    Sun and moon conspire

     

    End of the world
    the sun and moon conspire
    death to all humans

    madman howling at the super blue full wolf moon

    Werewolf Howling At The Super Blue Full Moon

    the super blue full wolf moon
    fills the sky
    with its baleful evil glow
    and a man fell under its evil glare.

    the evil super blue full wolf moon
    brings out the beast in him
    and he sheds his civilized veneer
    the inner werewolf coming out.

    sniffing the air
    smiling saying this is good
    and begins running
    down the trail.

    howling at the moon
    at the super blue full wolf moon
    as it stares down at him
    urging him to worship her.

    the mad mood goddess
    who lives on the moon?
    Diana commands him
    compels him.

    and he gives in
    howling like an escaped banshee
    escaped from his lair in hell
    howling like the werewolf he was

    he strips off his clothes
    and run deep into the mountains

    Howling insanely
    driven mad
    by the baleful evil light

    Of the super blue full wolf moon
    and gives in and becomes once again
    a werewolf consumed by the moon

    the super full blue wolf moon
    smiles at her victory
    and the man joins Diana,
    in saluting his mistress

    Diana the moon goddess
    who lives on the moon?
    And comes out once a year
    on the super full blue world moon

    In honor of the super blue full wolf moon © j

     

    Madman howling at the super blue full wolf moon

     

     on the night of a blood-red wolf moon 

    On the night of a blood-red wolf moon
    a man stood outside
    between the trees
    in a field
    on the outside of town

    beneath the lunatic rays
    of the blood-red full moon
    the lunatic lights of the moon
    casts a wild primeval glow
    on him

    the hormonal chemicals are unleashed
    the wild beast within
    escapes it chain

    and he howls with delight
    a werewolf
    free at last

    to run amuck
    free of its civilized restraints
    throwing off his clothes
    stripping naked

    running wild
    naked and free
    a wild man
    enjoying his freedom

    as he sits
    under the lunatic light of the full moon
    of the blood-red lights of the wolf moon
    full of wild passions
    the lustful beast stirs again

    and starts running and running
    howling at the moon
    riding into the new dawn
    on a demented harvey davis cycle
    with two naked babes on his back

    riding into the sun
    90 miles per second
    at the speed of thought
    he disappears into the lunatic light
    of the full moon

    and he woke ups
    alone,
    in his bed
    saying,”

    man, that was quite a night
    i better not go there again”

    the wildman
    laughs
    he has heard that before

    and he joins him
    in howling at the wolf moon

     

    Howling At The Moon Co-Pilot AI Version

     

    I hear a distant howl

    A lonely voice in the night

    Calling out to the moon

    Seeking its silver light.

     

    I feel a primal urge

    A restless fire in my soul

    Breaking free from the cage

    Running wild and whole.

     

    I join the chorus of howls

    A symphony of the dark

    Echoing through the woods

    Reaching for the moon’s spark.

     

    We are the children of the moon

    We live by its phases and tides

    We howl at the moon

    We are its guides.

     

    Lunatics On The Loose

     

    Ravings of a demented deranged

    Unhinged mind

    Fill my head

    And I run

     

    Through the streets

    Screaming

    Running from the unleashed

    Demons of my sleep

     

    Howling at the deranged light

    Of the wolf Moon

     

    Just another lunatic

    On the loose

     

    Moonbeam

    Sam Adams

    went out drinking one night
    ending up twenty drinks too sober

    as the last call for alcohol rang
    he looked up and saw

    the lunatic light of the full moon
    moonbeams beaming at him

    he runs outside

    howling at the moon

    dying

    When a drunk driver

    ran him over.

     

     

     

    Here are some articles on the deeper significance of the blood moon according to right right christian sources.

     

    Why christian pastors fear-january-blood-moon

    Https://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/1052287/blood-moon-2019-lunar-eclipse-end-of-world-impending-doom-world-bible-prophecy

    Blood moon coming what you need to know

     

    Substack

    Medium

    Wattpad

    Spotify

    The End

     

  • Pure Haiku Published Haiku

    Pure Haiku Published Haiku

    Pure Haiku has published five of my Haiku

    cosmic Haiku and other short poems

    Cosmos’s Cheritas and Haiku

    corona virus revised

    Five Haiku About Evergreens

    No One Can Escape

    No one can escape
    The fate that is coming soon
    Death waiting for us

    Walking in the Green Woods

    Walking in the green woods
    Seeing the trees blooming in spring
    Overcoming death

    The Evergreen Trees

    The evergreen trees
    Spirits of old ancient lands
    Narnia calling

    In the Springtime Woods

    In the springtime woods
    The evergreen trees so green
    In the snowy woods

    Death is Waiting There

    Death is waiting there
    Corona virus
    In the deep forest

    Dear Jake

    Just a quick email to let you know that your haiku will be appearing at
    https://purehaiku.wordpress.com/2021/06/06/6-6-4/(opens in a new tab)

    6 June 2021

    Thank you again for submitting your work to Pure Haiku.

    The above blog post will automatically be shared to my Twitter account at @purehaikufp and shared later to my other two accounts at @FreyasClippings and @FreyaPickard to get as much coverage as possible.

    Please note that I approve all comments on Pure Haiku. Depending on when I can get online will depend on when comments appear.

    Please feel free to re-blog and share the post in any way you can.

    Much love

    Freya

    xxx

    PS Pure Haiku will open to submissions in October 2021 when a new theme will be posted at https://purehaiku.wordpress.com/submit/

    And here are some of my other haiku

    Angela Haiku

    Every day I wake up
    On the love of my long life
    And say thanks to God

    Three love Haiku for Heron Submission

    In the morning light
    I see the love of my life
    Nightmares Disappear

    coffee
    coffee

    Drinking hot coffee
    With the morning dawning light
    Fills my heart

     

     

    I  Dreamt About Her

    I dreamt about her
    For eight years, she came to me
    Then she came to be

    The Best Thing in My Life

    Angela
    The best thing in my life
    Dreaming of her

    Going to Korea

    Going to Korea
    Hoping to meet her
    In my travels

    Japan Beckons Me

    Japan beckons me
    Korea welcomed me
    Long last dreams of Asia

    Many Thoughts Filled My Head

    Many thoughts filled
    My head, nothing more than a quest
    Possibly driven mad

    Quite a lot to think about

    Quite a lot to think about
    Rather, spend my time
    Sought the love of my life

    There She Was

    There she was
    Verily, the love of my life
    Unlike any other woman

    Waiting for Me

    Waiting for me
    Zoom, she came into my life
    Every day I wake up

    Every day I wake up

    Every day I wake up
    I see my fate in her face
    Fall into her spell

    Met My Fate

    I met my late fate
    Seeing her face in a bar
    And my fate ended

    Published Hello Magazine Bonsai Haiku

    A message for you.

    A message for you
    From the universe itself
    in the eastern sea

    Thinking of You, Thinking of Me

    Thinking of You
    Thinking of you, dear
    Wondering if you do too

    Love Triclinium

    One Summer Day
    I saw a rose on the bus
    I met my fate

    Horror Haiku

    Nuclear war looms
    North Korea U.S. Launch Nukes
    End of the world

    Zombie Apocalypse

    Zombies Apocalypse
    The zombies unleashed
    Killing everyone they see

    Evil Fog Descends

    Evil fog descends
    Killing everyone at once
    End of life on earth

    Zombies to the right

    Mature Couple being attacked in their car by a hoard of zombies.

    Zombie to the right
    Zombies to the left of me
    Zombies run amuck

    I Believe in Ghosts

    While touring Scotland
    Meeting Ghosts in the wild moors
    I believe in ghosts

    Two Corona Haifu

    Coronavirus
    Coronavirus

    During the last year
    Weekly zoom calls
    kept me sane

     

     

    Corona Virus
    the General Corona
    smiles as people die

    The End

  • April 25 to April 30 2021 Poems

    April 25 to April 30 2021 Poems

    April Poetry Madness 2021 Poetry from the Mad Cosmos

    April 20 to April 25th 2021 Poems

    April 16 to April 20 2021 Poems

    Justice In America, Take That, Ann Coulter

    !April 10 to April 14 2021 Poems

    April 16 to April 20 2021 Poems

    April 1 to April 5 Poems

    April 1 to April 5 Poems

    Cosmos 2020 April Poetry Part Two

    Cosmos’s 2020 April Poetry Part One

    April 2019 PoemsCosmos 2020

    April Poetry Part Two

    April 2018 Poems

    2017 April Poems

    April 25 to April 30 2021 Poems

    This is the fifth and perhaps final time I am doing the April poetry challenge.  The goal is to write at least one poem per day.  I am averaging about eight per day and posting four reserving four as “unpublished”. I am basing the poems on prompts from “Writing com Dew Drop Inn”, “Writers Digest”, “Poetry Superhighway” and “NaPoWrMo” prompt daily prompts and on “Pensively Prompt’ et all daily prompts.  I am combining prompts where possible.   I will post these here in batches every five days or so. Each poem will have an image that helped inspired the poem.  All postings will be podcasted a few days later on Spotify and elsewhere.  Each posting will be a separate posting, but the index will be cumulative. The final posting will have the complete list of all poems written whether posted or not.   Comments welcome but please keep it civil. Some of my poetry tends to be a bit “in your face” or “political” from a “leftwing perspective.”

    If it offends you in some way, please accept my apologies in advance.  That is never my intent.

    I am writing some other poems per day but not posting them as I need to reserve some “unpublished” poems. There will be a podcast version shortly on Spotify, Public Radio, and elsewhere.

    These are my poems from April 25 to April 30.

    Pre-April Writer’s Digest Warm-Up Poems

    Let’s Resolve Writer’s Digest Prompt Resolutions
    There Are Many Moments Spirit of The Stairs Moments-Writer’s Digest Prompt, Writer’s Digest
    Old Man Reflects Upon Universal Truth, Writer’s Digest Prompt
    Almost Died 22 Times Writer’s Digest Cheating Death

    Thursday, April 1, 2021

    Posted

    Coffee Pot Blues Poetry Superhighway Prompt
    Who Is Jake Cosmos Aller? Writer’s Digest
    Good Golly, Miss Molly Writing com Drew Drop Inn
    Sam Adams Woke Up Dead NaPoWrMo

    Not Posted

    Cat Thoughts – Pensively
    Gingerbread Men Christmas
    Demons Invade My Head, Pensively
    Angry, Fierce, Deranged, Unpalatable Wild Things Wild Things
    3 Am Blues Nightmares
    Marjorie Taylor Green on Vaccines as Mark of The Beast Found Poem
    Orange country Shooting Fridge

    Friday, April 2, 2021

    Posted

    Stranded on Mars PSH SF
    Falling in Love with My Dream Woman, Roads Not Taken NaPoWrMo
    April 2—Voila! (Remember Something in A Short Lyric Burst) Drew Drop-In Writing Com
    Love at First Sight
    The Future Is Here Writer’s Digest

    Not Posted

    Avoid Bad Things Pensively Bad Things
    The White Rabit Bekons Sam Adams
    We Should Avoid Bad Things
    Who Cares?

    Saturday, April 3, 2021

    Posted

    Life as a Retired Expat in Korea PSH
    Modern Connections Writer’s Digest Communication
    Modern Connections Writers Digest
    Surprise Haiku Writing Com Dew Drop Inn
    Personal Universe Deck Superman on Mars NaPoWrMo Cross-Post Writer’s Digest April 4th!  NaPoWrMo
    Cat People Cross-Post Weather Poem Writing Com Dew Drop Inn

    Not Posted

    Cats They Offer Pensively
    Tucked in Eating Dinner Pensively
    Georgia Voting Bill Fridge
    Cat Conference

    Sunday, April 4, 2021

    Posted

    Error Poem Errors in My Life Pensively Homophone Set Homophone
    Little Houses on The Hill-Side NaPoWrMo

    Not Posted

    Life Fair? Pensively Meaning of Life
    The Din of The News Pensively

    April 5

    Posted

    First Time I Saw Her Writer’s Digest Love at First Sight
    Not Alone NaPoWrMo
    Potential Mistake Writing Com Dew Drop Inn

    Not Posted

    Slogans for Chonnam’s Kombucha
    Future Adventure Looms Pensively
    Sam Adams Had A Bad Day Pensively
    How Many Angels Can Dance on A Pin?
    Swanky Meddlesome Fridge Music
    Bad Product Design Bad Product Design

    April 6

    Posted

    Only One Command in Life Writing Com Dew Drop Inn
    Writing Com Dew Drop Inn and PSH Mythical Animal – Conversation with Bigfoot Cross Post PSH
    It is true I am a Madman! NaPoWrMo
    The One Thing I Would Never Change Writer’s Digest Change, Don’t Change Poem Prompt Change the One The Poetry of the Visa Line Poetry Superhighway Prompt Consular

    Not Posted

    Women contemplating post-Covid travel Pensively
    Sam Adams Nightmare Pensively

    April 7

    Posted

    Villains Whose Name Will Not Be Spoken Writer’s Digest
    COffee Shadorma NaPoWrMo
    Coffee Fib NaPoWrMo

    Not Posted

    Korean Restaurant
    Ghosts Pensively
    Taking in the Morning’s Crisp Springtime Breeze Pensively
    Bah, Warriors Off Fridge
    Visions of the Future – Republican Led Christian States of America Political

    April 8

    Posted

    A Poem Based on a Typo or Misreading Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Typo
    Real Meaning of Declaration of Independence PSH

    Not Posted

    Memories of the Past Haunt Me today Memories
    Tri Fall Early morning Sunshine Tri-Fall Poem Writing Com Poets Corner
    Things Settled Down, Then…. Writing com prompt, prose poem
    Their Love Began Pensively
    More Guns Diminished Hexaverse Writing Com Poetry Corner
    Combative Cantankerous Fridge

    April 9

    Posted

    Cosmos Woke Up A.I. Poem Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Bad Robot

    Not Posted

    The Adventures Began Pensively
    The Voyagers Were a Bit Absorbed Fridge

    April 10

    Posted

    We are Living in SF World
    Life is a Dream of Chocolate Covered Trees Writer’s Digest
    Memories of JC Write About an Eccentric Character PSH
    Mary’s Tales from the Grave NaPoWrMo Ghosts
    God’s to Do List NaPoWrMo

    Not Posted

    Imprisoned for a Crime He Did Not Do Pensively
    They Both Giggled All the Time Pensively
    It Only Takes A Little Bit of Lace to Ruin A Marriage, Pensively
    Raining Verbal words Pensively
    Coffee Obsession Pensively
    What is Love? Writing Com Poets Corner Lai
    Tucker Carlson Fridge

    April 11

    Posted

    Get Your Shot Writer’s Digest COVID
    I’d Rather Lazy Afternoon PSH
    More Trouble Every Day, While Looking for My Car Keys NaPoWrMo

    Not Posted

    There was a big Fuss Pensively
    Freedom Looms Pensively
    There are Signs All Around Us Pensively Revelations
    Mischievous, Romantic, Heterosexual, Fridge

    April 12

    Posted

    Poem with Transgression in Form and Content Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Transgressions
    Every Morning Cherita PSH Cherita
    Prime Number Love Writers Digest
    Letters to Frank Zappa NaPoWrMo

    Not Posted

    Just Another Black Dude Pulled Over Driving While Black BLM
    The Earth Abides Much Pensively Earth
    BHS Rocks on Music
    The Dude Abides for Now Dude

    April 13

    Posted

    Coffee Obsession Pensively, —Excess or Obsession Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Coffee

    Not Posted

    Spaceship Buried in The Snow, Deep in The Mountains Writing Com SF
    Snobby, Frantic, Sorority Sister Fridge

    April 14

    Posted

    Great Dismal Dark Play Writer’s Digest Sestina
    Superman on His Morning Patrol PSH
    Tower of Babel Past and Future NaPoWrMo Time Travel

    Not Posted

    Just Another Day in the Land of the Free Guns

    April 15

    Posted

    The  Robots are Coming Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Robots
    The Mountains of My Love Describe Yourself as Landscape Writing Com Dew Drop Inn

    Not Posted

    Fake Things All Around Me Fake Things
    Three Tea Haiku for Teaku Competition Haiku
    April Madness 2021
    Welcome to My World, Pilgrim Writing Com Grim Reaper
    Well, Hey, Big J and J Vaccine Fridge

    April 16

    Posted

    The Wit and Wisdom of Mary Geneva Aldridge Aller -“There’s Method in Her Madness” dedicated to my mother who passed on July 31, 2005.
    Lucky/Lucky Poem Writer’s Digest Lucky
    Headlines I’d Love to See NaPoWrMo News
    Narnia Beckons PSH
    My Home Office Writer’s Digest Home
    Cosmos Aller NaPoWrMo Bio

    Not Posted

    Impromptu Pensively
    Sam Adams Grew Up Poor
    Ecstatic Feelings Pensively
    Appealing Award
    Transporting the Stone
    Dignified, Walking by the Sea
    Traveling Down the Road
    Sam Adams Three Wishes Pensively

    April 17

    Posted

    Caregiving In this Day and Age Writing Com Dew Drop Inn
    Dinosaur Story Writer’s Digest
    Coffee Cup Dreams PSH
    Coffee Inheritance NaPoWrMo

    Not Posted

    Teacup Dictionary Poem Writing com
    Foxy, Girlish, Fridge
    Huffing and Puffing Pensively
    Words Fail Me Pensively
    My Transport Awaits Pensively
    Swank, Individualized Fridge
    Broken Down Souls Pensively
    All Abide
    FedEx Shooting Indianapolis Fridge

    April 18

    Posted

    Morning Rituals PSH Morning
    Ode to Berkeley City Poem Writers
    Met My Fate That Date Skeltonic Poem NaPoWrMo

    Not Posted

    Mash Pensively Food
    We Talk All Day Same but Different
    Our Wealth is Our Health Pensively Wealth
    Uprecedented FedEx Shooting Indianapolis Fridge

    April 19

    Posted

    Tree of Life Writing Com Dew Drop Inn
    There is No Such Place Writing Com Do Drop-in
    Waiting for the End Writer’s Digest
    Life-Changing Dream PSH Dream Girl
    Unhinged Lunatic howling at the Moon
    Howling at the Moon
    Pink Super Moon Inspires Lunanacy

    Not Posted

    Ann Coulter is a disgusting depraved Piece of work – a found poem
    Dealbreakers Pensively Prompt Relationships
    Uncanny 39 Words Poem Pensively
    Power Goes Out Pensively Prompt

    April 20

    Posted

    Sounds Writing Com Do Dew Drop Inn

    Writer’s Digest When Sam Adams Met God, An Ekphrastic Challenge Writer’s Digest
    Eating Live Octopus in Korea in 1979 A Menu Poem PSH Food
    Dream Sense NaPoWrMo Dreams

    Not Posted

    As I Kiss Her All Over Pensively
    As I sit on Furniture Pensively
    Snarling Cup of Coffee Writing com Poetry Corner

    April 21

    Posted

     

    Writing Com Do Drop Inn 65 Years —acting your age (or not!)
    If the Moon Could Tap Dance PSH Lunatic
    Anti-vapers, anti-masks and other covid Idiots Poetic Rants NaPoWrMo
    Cats are Aliens Writer Digest

    Not Posted

    Canned Foods Delights Pensively
    Sometimes I left it
    Dinner for Two at Country Inn

    April 22

    Posted

    A Million Ways to Say I Love You Writer’s Digest Love
    An Angel in My View the Backflip Poetry Prompt: Imagination’s Reversal Strategy PSH Reversal
    On That Date NaPoWrMo Sijo 1

    Not Posted

    Justice at Last – Take That Ann Coulter
    Life as an Ant SF

    April 23

    Posted

    Poem based on a question Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Love
    Uncle Sam Wants You
    Make Love to Me as We Used to Writers Digest
    My Life Began NaPoWrMo

    Not Posted

    Two Lovers Walking in the Evening Light Writing Com – Other Prompt, Revised Stormy Lady Prompt Rain
    Eagle Soaring Above Her Secret Nest, Revised Stormy Lady Prompt, Writing Com Eagle
    A Kind of Madness Pensively
    It was Different Pensively
    Blue Lights, Pink Lights Light Up the Night Sky Pensively
    A Young Blond Woman

    April 24

    Posted

    Met My Fate That Date Free will (or not?!) Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Fate
    When I Was A Young Man, She Came to Me When I Was A Young Man, She Came to Me Shakespearean Sonnet About Shakespearean Sonnet PSH Shakespeare
    Ode to Kimchi NaPoWrMo

    Not Posted

     

    The Grim Reaper Gathers His Posse Writing Com Dark Dreamscapes Grim Reaper
    Visiting Mother’s Grave Pensively Ghosts
    Visiting Father’s Grave Pensively
    A Serene morning
    Late for a Date
    Philosophical Musings Black Out Poem with Commentary
    Tucker Carlson Says that Dereck Chauvin Verdict Seals Devil’s Bargain Between America and BLM
    Frank’s Launch Flames Out Black Out Poem

    April 25

    Posted

    Romeo And Juliet Fantasy Love Poem based on a play (It’s Shakespeare’s birthday, but any play!) Appointment with the Grim Reaper Appointment Poem Writer’s Digest Grim Reaper
    Blue Blues PSH the Blues
    Not Alone – response to Alone by Edgar Allen Poe

    Not Posted

    Coffee Ziggurat Writer’s Digest Poets Corner
    Affordable Travel Pensively
    Left Options on the Table Pensively
    The Rat Ran and He Chased Pensively
    Wild Animals in Korea
    Beware of Fire Season Writer’s Digest Poets Corner
    Rainy Days Just God’s Tears Writer’s Digest Poets Corner

    April 26

    Posted

    Watching Movies with Subtitles Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Movies
    Wild Animals in Korea NaPoWrMo
    If China had Discovered Europe Writing Com Dew Drop Inn

    Not Posted

    Restless 19 words Pensively
    Spies snoop Opp – Loop Rhyme Pensively Rhyme
    Gone in The Moment Pensively
    Serene Thoughts in The Air Pensively
    American Dreams Consular

    April 27

    Posted

    Morning Thoughts Writers Digest
    To Those Who Have Gone on PSH
    Occasional Poem Advice to Those Getting Married NaPoWrMo
    The Night of the Affair with A Shape-Shifting Alien PSH SF
    Itty Bitty Bio Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Bio
    Parody of Alone Writers Digest Edgar Allen Poe
    Cosmos’s World Writer Digest Bio

    Not Posted

    Reasons for Admission
    Around the World, Pensively
    Writing Com, A Culinary Disaster?
    Lonely Farm Pensively
    Italian Ancestry Based on internet usings by William Walton
    The Kindness of Her Love Pensively

    April 28

    Posted

    Why I Don’t Believe in Christianity
    Rafting at The End of The World PSH End of The World
    Wytai Blues – Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows NaPoWrMo
    Florida School Fires Vaccinated Teachers NaPoWrMo Florida

    Not Posted

    Writing Com First Trip to Korea
    Political Rants
    Giving Way to Passion Pensively
    JC’s Descent into Madness Define Insanity Pensively Insanity
    Bad Teeth Poem Bad Teeth Bad Body Poems
    Bad Ears Poem Bad Body Poems
    My Father’s Bad Ear and Eyes Body Parts
    Bad Eyes Poem Body Parts
    Bad Hair Bad Hair
    Bad Nose Poem Body Parts
    Bad Feet Feet
    Angela Superpowers Poem
    The Lonely Lighthouse Stands Guard Over Empty World Lighthouse Photo Pensively End of the world
    Which Would You Rather Throw Away: Love or Money?  Pensively Love
    Which Would You Rather Throw Away: Love or Money? Pensively Money
    Tight-Lippy One Leg Women Pensively Terrorist Victim

    Wednesday, April 28

    Posted

    Hump Day Writing Com Dew Drop Inn
    Remix Howling at the Pink Super Moon Writing Digest
    Left Hands Blues PSH Left Hand
    NaPoWrMo Unanswered Questions

    Not Posted

    Winter Dreams of Barbados, Pensively
    Joy in Morning Sun Sunrise

    April 29

    Posted

    Rain Writing Com Dew Drop Inn
    Evening Delights Writer’s Digest Evening
    Kombucha Glass PSH
    The Window of Love NaPoWrMo

    Not Posted

    Sam Adams Sees Death All Around Pensively
    The Pink Super Moon Pensively
    I Met My Fate That Date Dream Writing Com Poets Corner
    A Witch, A Zombie, Ghost and Elvis, and Witch
    Bad Rabbit Runs from Wolves
    Life in Rocky and Bullwinkle Universe Rocky and Bullwinkle Show

    April 30

    Posted

    Catharsis Writing Com Dew Drop Inn
    Goodbye Writer Digest
    Reimagine Your Days
    Directions to Narnia NaPoWrMo

    Not Posted

    Hamper My Fears Pensively
    Lonely Lake at The End of The World Pensively End of The World
    Birds Flying Over Dead City
    Another Letter to Microsoft
    Fridge Shy Matt Gaetz Cheers Lady Gaga

    Poetry Counts for 2021

    Total YTD 860 as of May 2, 2021
    January 180 7 per day
    February 200 7 per day
    March 206 7 per day
    April 269 9 per day
    May 3

    If I continue at this pace, I will have over 3,000 new poems by the end of the
    year. I will be editing all my poetry and post a total count to date by the end of the year.

    Begin Poems

    April 25

    Appoitment With the Grim Reaper Writer’s Digest

    For today’s prompt, write an appointment poem. My first thoughts with appointments conjure up visions of doctors, dentists, and parent-teacher conferences. But there are also business meetings and romantic dates. For the most part, people are very appointment-centric, because it gives people a reason and opportunity to come together (kind of like my annual appointment to poem daily on this site).

    Appointment with the Grim Reaper

     

     

     

     

     

    Sam Adams
    One day received a summons
    From the Grim Reaper

    The note read
    “Your appointment
    For final status determination (FSD)
    Is confirmed for midnight Saturday

    A driver
    Will come for you
    Be prepared
    Be Afriad

    Tell no one
    This appointment is high
    Q level classified.”

    Discourser to non-authorized people
    Will be severely punished

    Sam got up at 11:30
    And waited for the courier

    While his wife slept
    There was a knock on the door

    He went out
    The courier was dressed
    In a black uniform
    But did not look entirely human

    He had a blank face
    No hair
    And horns on his head

    He said
    I am your driver today
    After your hearing
    I will drive you
    Either to Hell,
    Or to heaven

    Or back here
    If you are given a reprieve
    Of your FSD

    They drove off
    In his black SUV
    The plates read, 666 hell

    They drove through the night
    Entered highway 666
    The road to Hell

    They soon entered
    A dark forbidding forest
    The road ended

    They got out
    And walked

    Found themselves
    In a large field

    They walked
    To a large black tent

    A demon attendant
    Barked

    Name and DOB
    Sam Adams
    10-30-195

    The demon waved
    a hand held device
    over his head

    said
    You have an appointment
    With Mr. GR himself

    Proceed to door number 2
    For your FSD

    Good luck

    He entered the room
    Mr. GR dressed in black
    Wearing cool Ray-ban glasses
    Looked up from his computer

    Sam Adams
    He growled

    You have been given a reprieve
    From Hell
    For five years

    Your next FSD will be final
    Probably Hell but maybe Heaven
    That decision is beyond my pay grade

    You may go back home
    My driver will drive you
    Go!

    The driver took him home
    He went to bed
    Woke up convinced
    It was all a dream

    Later that day
    A letter arrived

    Appointment with Mr. GR
    For final status determination (FSD)
    Has been confirmed for
    Five years from today’s date

    We advise you to get
    Your affairs in order
    Do the right Thing
    There is no appeal
    From the final FSD

    PSH Blue Blues

    Use color to spark your imagination. For starters, I suggest you brainstorm /green/! Consider green with envy; green around the gills; green grass of home; eco-green; and finally, all the myriad shades of green in the landscape. Use the word /green/ in your poem or imply it through your word choices. If you don’t care for green, try another color that adds poetry to the rainbow!

    Here’s an example that is both implicit and explicit based upon green: a traditional 5/7/5 Haiku: Shamrocks greening now/after winter dormancy/one white bloom for luck.

    Blue Blues

    Once in a while
    I wake up
    Feeling the blues
    Singing the blues
    Being the blues

    Then I lookout
    At the bright blue sky
    And the dawning sun

    And at my wife
    Wearing a blue shirt
    And blue jeans

    She smiles
    The blues fly out the window
    Joining the Blue sky

    I go for a walk
    As the fog of blues fade
    Away in the morning sun

    Not Alone – Response to Alone by Edgar Allen Poe NaPoWrMo

    Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a poem that responds, in some way, to another. This could be as simple as using a line or image from another poem as a jumping-off point, or it could be a more formal poetic response to the argument or ideas raised in another poem. You might use a favorite (or least favorite poem) as the source for your response. And if you’re having trouble finding a poem to respond to, here are a few that might help you generate ideas: “This World is Not Conclusion,” by Peter Gizzi, “In That Other Fantasy Where We Live Forever,” by Wanda Coleman, “La Chalupa, the Boat,” by Jean Valentine, or “Aubade: Some Peaches, After Storm,” by Carl Phillips.

    Not Alone – Response to Alone by Edgar Allen Poe

    Sam Adams
    Was a bit of a loner
    Lost in his inner world
    Filled with dreams
    Nightmares
    Poetic fragments
    Short story ideas

    Always felt like he was living
    he Edgar Allen Poe poem,

    “Alone

    From childhood’s hour, I have not been
    As others were—I have not seen
    As others saw—I could not bring
    My passions from a common spring—
    From the same source, I have not taken
    My sorrow—I could not awaken
    My heart to joy at the same tone—
    And all I loved—I loved alone—
    Then—in my childhood—in the dawn
    Of a most stormy life—was drawn
    From every depth of good and ill
    The mystery which binds me still—
    From the torrent, or the fountain—
    From the red cliff of the mountain—
    From the sun that ‘round me roll’s
    In its autumn tint of gold—
    From the lightning in the sky
    As it passed me flying by—
    From the thunder, and the storm—
    And the cloud that took the form
    (When the rest of Heaven was blue)
    Of a demon in my view—”

    But then one day
    He met the girl
    Of his dreams

    She walked off a bus
    Into his life
    Became his wife
    And he was alone
    No more

    When I was a young man, she came to me, Sonnet about a Shakespeare Sonnet PSH

    When I was a young man, she came to me

    When I was a young man, she came to me
    She came to me one day while I dreamed
    I met my fate that date, our love came to be
    I saw her there, who are you I screamed?
    She just smiled, filling my heart with love
    I did not know what I should do or say
    As she entered my life, became my wife
    I will never forget for on that day
    When she walked off that bus became real
    I saw here there standing love in her eyes
    I did not know what right then I should feel
    I looked at her my heart began to rise
    Just like in a famous Shakespeare poem
    My heart began just like a poet

    April 26

    Morning Thoughts Writers Digest

     

     

     

    For today’s prompt, write a thoughtful poem. Of course, my first thought (maybe like yours) is, “Aren’t all poems thought poems?” Well, I guess, but I’m thinking of a poem that captures a thought or random ramblings running ’round your cranium. It doesn’t have to be a rambling poem, but that’s one thing. Another possibility is having two people share their thoughts and/or NOT share them. Think about it a moment, and then unleash your thought poem.

    Morning Thoughts

    Every morning
    I sit and think
    Deep thoughts
    Writing down my dreams
    My hopes, my fears
    My nightmares
    But more important
    Than anything
    I record my happy thoughts
    Of my life
    With the love of life
    My wife

    Those Who Have Gone On PSH

    Consider writing a poem to or about someone who has died or is no longer in your life. This could be in the form of a letter, a description of the person, a list of things you miss about the person, or just tell them about your day. Show emotion through concrete objects and actions. Try not to tell. I look forward to reading your words.

    To Those Who Have Gone On

    I am 65 years old
    And as I get older
    I recall with fondness
    All those who have gone on

    So many people
    Have passed on
    To the other lands
    Leaving us with their memories

    My father died in 1985
    My mother in 2005
    My sister in 2007

    My friends have also passed on
    My HS debate friend
    Demel T died from AIDS
    I lost my college roommate
    Jon W
    David C my Peace course
    Language student
    I lost my visa line colleague
    Paul S
    I lost my second and third bosses
    In the foreign service
    Julian in a terrorist bombing
    Ted H who I worked with twice
    Dead of a heart attack
    Chris my boss in Bangkok
    Also, dead from a heart attack
    Judy my artistic friend
    From Bombay days

    And so many others
    Have gone on
    I only hope wherever they are
    That they are thinking of me
    As I think fondly of them

    Advice to Those Getting Married An Occasion Poem NaPoWrMo

    Our prompt for today (optional, as always) is to write an “occasional” poem. What’s that? Well, it’s a poem suited to, or written for, a particular occasion. This past January, lots of people who usually don’t encounter poetry got a dose when Amanda Gorman read a poem at President Biden’s inauguration. And then she followed it up with a poem at the Superbowl (not traditionally an event associated with verse!) The poem you write can be for an occasion in the past or the future, one important to you and your family (a wedding, a birth), or for an occasion in the public eye (the Olympics, perhaps?).

    Advice to Those Getting Married

    Often when I go to a wedding
    I am asked for some advice
    To pass on to the newlyweds
    Advice, words of wisdom
    Based on my almost 40 years
    Of being a happily married man

    What can I say to them?
    I don’t know the answer
    Other than this
    The most important thing
    For a married man to realize is this
    There are two rules of marriage
    Rule number one
    Your wife is always right
    Rule number two
    See rule number one
    That advice has worked
    For me for almost 40 years

    April 26—Sijo (Korean poetic form) NaPoWrMo

    3 lines of 13-17 syllables each, sometimes divided into 6 lines.
    Write two sijo poems: 1 of 3 lines, 1 of 6 lines…
    My info on sijo comes from a wonderful children’s book.
    More info: https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/sijo-poetic-form

    Manifestations of Deep Love

    Manifestations of deep love, such profound thoughts all around me
    Dreaming dark dreams, of other worlds, filled with a deep love
    I see it, all around my heart, manifestations of my love

    Corona Sijo

    corona
    corona

     

     

     

     

     

    Coronavirus fears erupt, all around us, fear stalking us
    All around us dark fears, fears of the end, end of the world
    Death stalking, filling the world, filling it with fear, death is near
    General corona unleashes his viral army, on the world
    Everyone is afraid, nonsense in the media, antivacers lie
    People don’t wear masks, masks that would save their foolish lives

    Why I Don’t Believe in Christianity

    On Easter Sunday,
    I often think about Christianity
    I don’t understand why anymore
    would believe such nonsense

    The essential story makes no sense
    An imaginary all-powerful deity
    that no one has ever seen or heard
    Except for psychotic patients or drug users

    Comes down to earth
    and impregnates a married woman
    Who has never had sex for some reason?

    And her husband
    Is okay with that
    Believes her wild story

    And still does not have sex
    Until after the baby is born

    Then there is total silence
    Nothing about Jesus’s childhood
    30 years later he emerges

    Preaching love, peace, and brotherhood
    And denouncing the corrupt temple leaders
    and the Jewish leaders as well

    The miracles
    Also, don’t make any sense
    In the real world,

    You can’t turn fish into bread
    Can’t walk on water
    Can’t raise the dead etc. Etc.

    Just does not happen
    In the world, we live in
    And has not happened
    since those ancient days

    Then the last supper makes some sense
    Jesus knows he is about to be betrayed
    But he does not confront Judas
    Does not run away
    Does not encourage his disciples
    To run away with him

    The whole Jesus Mary M
    Story also does not make sense
    Jesus must have been married
    Or he was gay

    There is no doubt
    Either way,
    The story makes no sense

    The crucifixion
    Is it the only part
    of the story I buy

    Jesus was put to death
    Because he was a rebel leader
    And the Romans tolerated no dissent
    To the Roman’s right to conquer and rule

    The rising from the dead stories
    All contradict one another
    And Jesus was either walking
    As a normal human being
    Or was a ghost

    The door was rent open
    As if by lightening
    Or not

    Finally, we have been waiting
    Over 2,000 years for his return
    You would think
    If the story is remotely true
    He would have turned up by now

    Except he has
    As many lunatics
    Claim to be Jesus
    In the flesh

    Including my college housemate
    Who after taking too much LSD
    Proclaimed he was the messiah
    Come back to earth
    To save us all
    From Impending doom

    All delusional of course
    and that is what I think of Christianity
    nothing but fairy tales
    and mass delusions
    surrounding a kernel of truth

    Love each other
    Treat each other right
    Don’t be consumed with greed

    but couldn’t that message be made simpler
    Without all the associated nonsense?

    So, on this day I say
    Open your minds
    And discard the nonsensical
    Elements of Christian thought

    And follow the true teachings of Jesus
    Even if you don’t believe
    in the imaginary man in the sky

    Rafting at The End of The World End of The World

    Use the Fritz Perl’s-inspired -analysis technique of setting an empty chair beside your chair; mentally put your poem topic (or a dream you want to both analyze and write a poem about) into the other chair and ask it questions. To answer the question, get up out of your chair and move over to the other chair and answer it as your topic or as your dream. While you are in the second chair if you just let what wants to come out of your mouth come out, the second chair, that will probably be your subconscious mind talking to you.

    Based this on a recent dream yesterday, or tonight

    Rafting at the End of the World

    One day Sam Adams
    Woke up and found
    His bed had been transformed
    Into a raft

    And they were being swept away
    Down a flooded river
    after a great flood
    had destroyed the city.

    The raft floats down
    a river filled with broken-down buildings,
    Dead bodies, dead cats, and dead dogs
    and debris all over.

    Sam Adams looks up
    At the distant banks
    On the left bank
    He sees wolf-like creatures prowling
    about looking to eat any survivors.

    On the right side
    There are alien creatures
    in silver space suits
    shooting at any survivors

    The raft is careening
    Out of control
    Towards a huge cataract
    Of impending doom

    April 27

    Florida School Fires Vaccinated Teachers NaPoWrMo Florida
    Cops Open Fire on a Black Man Sitting in His Car in his Driveway

     

     

    In today’s (optional) prompt, I’d like to challenge you to write a poem inspired by an entry from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. The entries are very vivid – maybe too vivid! But perhaps one of the sorrows will strike a chord with you or even get you thinking about defining an in-between, minor, haunting feeling that you have, and that does not yet have a name.

    wytai

    1. n. a feature of modern society that suddenly strikes you as absurd and grotesque—from zoos and milk-drinking to organ transplants, life insurance, and fiction—part of the faint background noise of absurdity that reverberates from the moment our ancestors first crawled out of the slime but could not for the life of them remember what they got up to do.

    Random Wytai Moments

    Florida School Fires Vaccinated Teachers

    In Florida, a private school
    Going out all anti-COVID Vaccine
    Has banned teachers who are vaccinated
    What’s next banning masks
    Declaring COVID a hoax
    As part of their school policy?

    Tucker Carlos Forcing Children to Wear Mask is Criminal Child Abuse

    Tucker Carlson
    Tucker Carlson

     

     

     

     

    Tucker Carlson says Cops should be called to prevent mask child abuse
    Really? Tucker?
    That is what the police should be doing?
    Forcing a child to wear a mask
    To protect themselves and others
    Is now felony child abuse?

    Cops Open Fire on a Black Man Sitting in His Car in his Driveway

    Five Cops converge on a black man
    Who is sitting in his car
    With his hands on the steering wheel
    waiting for them
    To come up to tell him
    Why he was pulled over

    Instead of approaching the vehicle
    To talk to him
    they do not say a word
    They open fire
    Shooting 40 shots

    His crime
    Alleged drug dealing
    History of running away from the cops

    But his real crime?
    Who knows?
    Other than driving while black
    When will this madness end?

    April 28

    Hump Day Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Time

     

    Half the week is done
    Halfway to the end
    Another week in paradise
    With the love of my life
    By my side

    Remix Howling at the Pink Super Moon Writing Digest

    For today’s prompt, write a remix poem. This has become one of my favorite prompts because it asks us to look over what we’ve written this month and pick something (or many somethings) to poem out in a new way. Maybe your free verse becomes a sonnet, or your sestina transforms into haiku. Or take a line or phrase from each of your poems this month and work it into a cohesive new creation.

    Howling at the Pink Super Moon

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    On a moonlit late night
    The Pink Supermoon
    Casts a baleful light
    On the world below

    While inside
    Sam Adams sat drinking
    In a depraved bar
    In a den of iniquity
    In an evil part of the city
    On the left side
    Of society

    Drinking up a storm
    With his buddies
    Johnny Walker, Jack Daniels
    Jim Beam, and Mr. Evan
    And Old Granddad looked on
    His buddies Encouraging him to drink
    One scotch, one bourbon, and one beer

    He was just an unhinged lunatic
    Dreaming of howling at the full moon

    Watching the world walk by
    Looking at all the fine-looking babes
    Walking by the street

    Thinking wild, erotic thoughts
    Of endless wild libertine passions

    He looked up
    At the naked dancing ladies
    Dancing up a storm
    With an attitude

    A Z tude
    That could kill
    An elephant in heat

    When into the bar
    on the highway to hell

    Walked the most beautiful women
    In the Universe
    So wild, so free
    So wonderfully alive

    He did not know what to do
    As this vision of carnal delight
    Sauntered through the bar
    In skin-tight leather pants
    Looked so fine
    That his eyeballs hurt

    Finally, he had to say something
    he gathered up my manly courage
    He walked up to her

    She looked at him
    Instantly bewitched his soul
    With a devilish grin

    He lost all reason
    And became a raving lunatic
    Unhinged lunatic

    Under the lunatic light
    Of the full Pink Supermoon
    Of the blood-red lights of the moon

    Full of wild passions
    The lustful beast stirs again
    And starts running and running
    Howling at the moon

    Riding into the new dawn
    On a demented Harley Davis cycle
    With two naked babes on his back
    Riding into the Moon
    90 miles per second

    At the speed of thought
    He disappears into the lunatic light
    Of the full moon

    Sam Adams woke up alone,
    In his bed
    The naked babes
    Having disappeared
    with all of his money
    as his wallet was gone

    He woke up from
    From his demented dreams

    Saying,

    “Man, that was quite a night
    I better not go there again”

    The wild beast
    Laughs

    He has heard that before
    And joins Sam
    In howling at the moon

    In the fading light
    Of the lost night
    of the newly damned

    Source poems

    Howling at the Moon

    full moon

     

     

     

     

     

    On a moonlit late night
    I sat in a bar
    Drinking drams of demented, fermented dream dew
    Just an unhinged lunatic
    Dreaming of howling at the full moon

    Watching the world walk by
    Looking at all the fine-looking babes
    Walking by the street
    Thinking wild, erotic thoughts
    Of endless wild libertine passions

    When into the bar
    Walked the most beautiful women
    In the Universe
    So wild, so free
    So wonderfully alive

    I did not know what to do
    As this vision of delight
    Sauntered through the bar
    In skin-tight leather pants
    Looked so fine
    That my eyeballs hurt

    Finally, I had to say something
    I gathered up my manly courage
    I walked up to her

    She looked at me
    Instantly bewitched my soul
    With a devilish grin

    I lost all reason
    And became a raving lunatic
    Unhinged lunatic
    Howling at the moon

    Foaming at the mouth
    A wild, free werewolf
    Howling at the lunatic light
    Of the full Moon

    Howling at the Moon

     

    Photo by Nishant Vyas on Pexels.com

     

     

     

     

     

    I stood outside
    Between the trees
    In a field
    On the outside of town

    Beneath the lunatic rays
    Of the blood-red full moon
    The lunatic lights of the moon
    Casts a wild primeval glow
    On me

    The hormonal chemicals are unleashed
    The wild beast within
    Escapes it chain

    And I howl with delight
    A werewolf
    Free at last

    To run amuck
    Free of its civilized restrains
    Throwing off its clothes
    Stripping naked

    Running wild
    Naked and free

    A wild man
    Enjoying his freedom

    As I sit
    Under the lunatic light of the full moon
    Of the blood-red lights of the moon
    Full of wild passions

    The lustful beast stirs again
    And starts running and running
    Howling at the moon

    Riding into the new dawn
    On a demented Harley Davis cycle
    With two naked babes on his back

    Riding into the moon
    90 miles per second
    At the speed of thought

    He disappears
    into the lunatic light
    Of the full moon

    And I wake up
    Alone,
    In my bed

    Saying,

    man, that was quite a night
    I better not go there again

    The wild beast
    Laughs
    He has heard that before
    And I join him
    In howling at the moon

    The Pink Moon Inspires Lunacy

     

     

     

     

     

    On a moonlit night
    The Pink moon
    Shone casting a baleful light
    On the world below

    A man sat drinking
    In a depraved bar
    In an evil part of the city

    Drinking up a storm
    With his buddies
    Johnny Walker, Jack Daniels
    Jim Beam, and Mr. Evan
    And Old Granddad looked on

    Encouraging him to drink
    One scotch, one bourbon, and one beer

    He looked up
    At the naked dancing ladies
    Dancing up a storm
    With an attitude
    A Z tude
    That could kill

    He stood up
    Stepped outside

    And howled
    At the Pink Moon
    Who smiled at him

    Left Hands Blues

    Write a poem using your nondominant hand using “My head is a..” as your first line of the poem.

    Left Hands Blues

    My head hurts
    As I type these words
    Using my left hand
    Reflecting upon my past
    As a child
    Forced to write
    With my right hand
    Even though
    I was Left-handed

    NaPoWrMo Unanswered Questions

    Our prompt today (optional, as always), is to write a poem that poses a series of questions. The questions could be a mix of the serious (“What is the meaning of life?”) and humorous (“What’s the deal with cats knocking things off tables?”), the interruptive (“Could you repeat that?”) and the conversational (“Are those peanuts? Can I have some?”). You can choose to answer them – or just let the questions keep building up, creating a poem that asks the reader to come up with their answer

    Unanswered Questions

    I have so many questions to ask
    First how and why I dreamt
    Of meeting my wife.
    How did she haunt my dreams?
    How did she come to life?
    What was our past life like?
    Why Do I fall in love with her every day?
    What does love at first sight mean?
    Why did that occur to me three times?
    What does hate at first sight mean?
    Also, three times in my life,
    what does that mean?
    What is this thing called love anyway?
    Will we meet aliens in my lifetime?
    Will I live to see humans on Mars?
    Will I live long enough?
    to walk on the moon.
    When will we develop new body parts?
    When can I get new teeth?
    Finally, when I die
    will there be a heaven or hell?
    What will my judgment be?
    Finally, will people remember me after I die?

    April 29

    Rain Writing Com Dew Drop Inn

    October rain
    rain falling

     

     

     

     

     

    Rain
    Are God’s tears
    Crying over the mess
    His creatures
    Made of his creation

    Evening Delights Writer Digest Evening

    For today’s prompt, write an evening poem. The evening can be a quiet and contemplative time, a stressed or fearful time, or, well, party time. Evenings can be lonely or romantic, cool, or humid, inspirational, or numbing. And today (or tonight, depending on when you consume your poetry prompts), the evening is the time for poeming–even if you’re doing it in the middle of the afternoon.

    Evening Delights

    wine

    wine

    My favorite time of day
    Is early evening
    Cocktail hour
    When I sit down
    To dinner
    With my lovely wife
    The love of my life
    Either at home

    Or at a restaurant
    After our evening walk

    As we eat dinner
    We salute the end
    Of the day
    With a glass of wine
    Or a cocktail
    Or Soju
    As the day fades
    Into an evening
    Filled with Love

    Kombucha Glass PSH Kombucha

    This prompt is inspired by 1.) the moment in The Octopus Teacher when she attaches herself to his chest and he muses about not knowing it would be the last time they made contact. (hmmm, like what would he do differently if he knew?)  And 2.) the difference between straight descriptive/instructive language (like directions for Microsoft) and the sublime, artistic language of tenderness.
    First you have to see the movie. Highly recommended for all sentient beings anyway, so I don’t feel bad about the added homework. You will thank me if you haven’t seen it. I promise. If you have, you will surely remember this stunning moment in the film. Feel into its tenderness and gentle communication. Recall tenderness in different parts of your body. Its scent and texture, colors, and sensation. Look around your writing area and select an item that holds a feeling of tenderness, or gentleness, either because of the way it is used or with whom you associate it. Write two…  three to four-minute free writes. The first is simply, a perfunctory, clinical, if you will, description of the item you selected.  The second is a treatise on its tenderness, in the voice of the object.Finally your mission, should you decide to accept it….is to write a poem that takes the material from both free writes and shuffles them together to make a single poem. How would you communicate if you knew it would be the last communication remembered forever?  That said, I wish you communications you will always want to be remembered by. After all, we know how significant the last line of any poem is to its entire experience.
    You may change tenses or syntax if necessary, in the final poem. And you may eliminate anything that no longer fits…. but trust that everything you need for your final poem is already there.

    Kombucha Glass

    Kombucha
    Kombucha

     

     

     

     

     

    Every day I start my day
    With a glass of home-brew
    Kombucha that is
    Made with tea
    Flavored with fruit juices
    Fired up with Turmeric
    But most importantly
    Made with love
    By my wife
    The love of my life

    The window of Love

    And now, for our prompt (optional, as always). This one is called “in the window.” Imagine a window looking into a place or onto a particular scene. It could be your childhood neighbor’s workshop, or a window looking into an alien spaceship. Maybe a window looking into a witch’s gingerbread cottage, or Lord Nelson’s cabin aboard the H.M.S. Victory. What do you see? What’s going on?

    Window of Love

    Every morning
    I step outside
    Do my morning thing
    While my wife
    The love of my life
    Sleeps peacefully
    I look through the window
    From the balcony herb garden
    And watch her sleeping
    My heart filling with love
    As she sleeps away
    The early morning
    When she wakes up
    She fills me
    With the sunshine
    Of her love
    Driving my blues
    Away
    With the dawning sun

    April 30

    Catharis

    Finally, the end
    Has been reached
    Of this annual poetry
    Marathon
    April poetry madness
    Has consumed my soul
    And in the end
    A sense of accomplishment
    The ultimate catharsis

    Goodbye Writer Digest

    For today’s prompt, write a goodbye poem. Whether leaving for a holiday or going to get groceries, many people find themselves in positions of saying goodbye to each other. So, this feels like an appropriate way to close out this year’s challenge…until we meet again.

    Good-Bye
    To all those who
    have passed on
    to another,
    hopefully better world

    I say goodbye
    So many people
    Have died this year
    From COVID
    From Gun violence
    From the aging
    Of the baby boomer generation

    Many musicians
    Actors and writers
    Have played their last songs
    And we will remember them all

    Walter Mondale VP, Ambassador, Good guy
    Prince Philip ultimate husband
    DMX great rapper
    George Segal great actor
    Vernon Jordan ultimate power player
    Norman Jester the phantom tollbooth is closed
    Lawrence Ferlinghetti one of my favorite writers
    Chick Corea one of my favorite musicians
    Mary Wilson just supreme
    George Schultz my First big boss
    Christopher Plummer the Actor
    Larry King final interview
    Hank Arron greatest baseball player ever

    And so many others
    Will soon joins them
    As the coronavirus marches on
    And guns continue to kill thousands
    And cancer
    Traffic accidents
    And the aging boomer population
    Fades away due to old age

    I am 65 years old
    And as I get older
    I have had to say goodbye
    To so many people
    I am losing count
    But I will miss them all
    They live on in my memories

    My father died in 1985
    My mother in 2005
    My sister in 2007
    My friends have also passed on
    My HS debate friend
    Demel T died from AIDS
    I lost my college roommate
    Jon W
    David C my Peace course
    language student
    I lost my visa line colleague
    Paul S
    I lost my second and third bosses
    In the foreign service
    Julian in a terrorist bombing
    Ted H who I worked with twice
    Dead of a heart attack
    Chris my boss in Bangkok
    Also dead from a heart attack
    Judy my artistic friend
    From Bombay days
    And so many others
    Have gone on
    I only hope wherever they are
    That they are thinking of me
    As I think fondly of them

    Reimagine Your Days:Ramen Today PSH Ramen Reimagine Your DaysRamen Today PSH Food
    a poem about yesterday that uses the word “possum” or write a poem about today that uses the word “ramen” or write a poem about tomorrow that uses the word “orthopedist”

    Today is a Good Day To Eat Ramen

    ramen

     

     

     

     

     

    Today is a good day
    To sit down
    And eat a simple bowl
    Of ramen
    With an egg on top
    Koreans call it ramyeon,
    라면
    Ramyeon
    The Japanese call it ramen
    ラーメン
    Ramen
    Chinese call it
    拉麵
    Lāmiàn

    But it is the same thing
    No matter where you are

    When I first lived in Korea
    I ate a lot of ramen
    To stretch my Peace Corps budget

    There are many new variations
    Coming on the market
    Even cheese ramen
    But in the end
    My favorite
    Is the basic ramen
    With an egg on top
    And a side of Kimchi

    Directions to Narnia NaPoWrMo

     

    narnia scene
    narnia scene

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    And now for our final (still optional!) prompt. Today’s prompt is based on a prompt written by Jacqueline Saphar and featured in this group of prompts published back in 2015 by The Poetry Society of the U.K. This prompt challenges you to write a poem in the form of a series of directions describing how a person should get to a particular place. It could be a real place, like your local park, or an imaginary or unreal place, like “the bottom of your heart,” or “where missing socks go.” Fill your poem with sensory details, and make them as wild or intimate as you like

    Directions to Narnia

    The land of Narnia exists
    But the entranceways
    Are hidden in secret places
    All over the world

    To get to Narnia
    First, you have to believe
    That Narnia exists

    Then you have to travel
    To spirit-filled places
    Like the top of a mountain
    Go to the sacred mountain
    In China, Japan, Korea, or Thailand
    Hike behind the Buddhist temple
    Find a cave hidden under a waterfall
    Chant five times
    Narnia exists Narnia exists Narnia Exist
    A portal to other worlds
    Will open up
    Step-through
    And you will find yourself
    In Narnia

    The End

  • April 16 to April 20 2021 Poems

    April 16 to April 20 2021 Poems

    April 16 to April 20 2021 Poems

    April 10 to April 14 2021 Poems

    April 1 to April 5 Poems

    April 6 to April 9 Cosmos’s Poetry 

    Cosmos’s 2020 April Poetry Part One

    Cosmos 2020 April Poetry Part Two

    April 2019 Poems

    April 2018 Poems

    2017 April Poems

    I have a small request to make.  I want to expand my followers on all my platforms. So if you have not signed up yet for this blog, or followed me on intraframe, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, or Bloglovin or listened to my podcast on Spotify please do so now.

    thank you

    WHERE TO LISTEN to the World According to Cosmos

     breaker audio

     google podcasts

     radio public

    Spotify

    Radio public chttps://radiopublic.com/the-world-according-to-cosmos-6va7D1

    on PocketCastshttps://pca.st/rt1f4r4r

    Thank you.

    Just posted on line https://formerpeople.wordpress.com/2021/04/21/lone-foreigner-

    Commentary:

    This is the fifth and perhaps final time I am doing the April poetry challenge.  The goal is to write at least one poem per day.  I am averaging about eight per day and posting four reserving four as “unpublished”. I am basing the poems on prompts from “Writing com Dew Drop Inn”, “Writers Digest”, “Poetry Superhighway” and “NaPoWrMo” prompt daily prompts and on “Pensively Prompt’ et all daily prompts.  I am combining prompts where possible.   I will post these here in batches every five days or so. Each poem will have an image that helped inspired the poem.  All postings will be podcast a few days later on Spotify and elsewhere.  Each posting will be a separate posting, but the index will be cumulative. The final posting will have the complete list of all poems written whether posted or not.   Comments welcome but please keep it civil. Some of my poetry tends to be a bit “in your face” or “political” from a “leftwing perspective.”  If it offends you in some way, please accept my apologies in advance.  That is never my intent.

    This is part three covering poems written April 15 to April 20posted on the 21.

    I am writing some other poems per day but not posting them as I need to reserve some “unpublished” poems. There will be a podcast version shortly on Spotify, Public Radio, and elsewhere.  I will list all the poems I wrote in my final April posting, May 1 KST. Posted

    Index

    April 15, 2021

    Living in an SF World Writing Com Dew Drop-in
    Topic: SF

    Narnia beckons PSH Prompt
    Topic:  Narnia

    My Home Office Writer Digest
    Topic: home

    Cosmos Aller NaPoWrMo
    Topic: Bio

    April 16

    Caregiving In this Day and Age Writing Com Dew Drop-in
    Topic:  Corona

    Dinosaur Story, Writers digest
    Topic: dinosaurs

    Coffee Cup Dreams PSH
    Topic: coffee

    Coffee Inheritance, NaPoWrMo Prompt
    Topic: coffee

    April 17

    Morning rituals PSH
    Topic: Morning

    Ode to Berkeley Writers Digest
    Topic: Berkeley

    Met My Fate That Date Skeltonic Poem
    Topic:  fate

    April 18

    There is no such place as Writing Com Dew Drop-in…
    Topic: Oz, Narnia

    Sounds Writing Com Dew Drop-in…
    Topic: sounds

    April 19

    65 Years Young Writing com Drew Drop-In
    Topic: Age, Meaning of Life

    Howling with The Dancing Moon, PSH
    Topic: Moon

    Writer’s Digest Animal in Title – Cats Are Space Aliens
    Topic: Cats

    Anti-Vaxers, Anti-Masks, And Other Covid Idiots Poetic Rants
    Napowrmo Prompt:
    Topic: Corona

    April 20
    —Tree of Life… (See Link for A Drawing/Journaling Exercise)
    Tree of Life
    Topic:  Satan, Eden, God

    April 15—Machines Writing com Dew Drop-In

    The Robots are Coming

    Robots take over

     

     

     

     

    The Robots are coming
    They will soon
    Take away
    More and more jobs

    Leaving people free
    To do other things

    But what will we all do?
    When the machines
    Do everything

    From driving and delivering
    To cooking our food
    Cleaning our houses
    Cleaning our offices

    Even doing our lawyering
    And our doctoring
    What will we do?

    When the evil computer overlord
    Emerges in the future
    And enslave us all
    To the robotic overlords?

    Narnia Beckons PSH

    Use five different colors.
    Utilize each of the five senses
    Write about your hand (what is it?  What does it do?) without using the words “hand,” “finger/s” or “thumb.”
    Go to an imaginary place that is commonly known, don’t name it until the end
    What did you do during covid that you wouldn’t have done otherwise?

    narnia
    narnia

     

     

     

     

     

    Narnia beckons
    Red dawning sun
    Blue sky
    Yellow flowers
    Pink flowers
    Golden flowers
    By my side

    Narnia beckons
    During covid lockdown
    Reading Narnia in Spanish

    My Home Office Writer Digest

    For today’s prompt, write a poem inspired only by stimulus from where you’re sitting (or standing, if you write will standing). In the past, I’ve written poems about pencils, characters in books I can see, and things I can see out my window when using this prompt. So, consider your immediate surroundings and poem away today.

    For several years
    I have had a home office
    Chaotic, badly designed
    Adhoc mess
    But now I finally have
    A decent home office

    With a state of the art desk
    That I can raise or lower
    As I sit fit

    My wife sits next to me
    We can finally work together
    Managing our real estate
    And investments

    I do my writing projects
    With her at my side
    Watching the news
    Or listening to music

    As we work side by side
    In my peaceful home office

    Cosmos Aller NaPoWrMo<

    And last but not least, our (optional) prompt for the day. Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a poem that delves into the meaning of your first or last name. Looking for inspiration? Take a look at this poem by Mark Wunderlich, appropriately titled “Wunderlich.”

    Cosmos Aller

    I am Jake Cosmos Aller
    Born John Cosmos Aller
    65 years ago in Berkeley, California

    I am the third generation Cosmos
    The name comes from a translation
    Of our German family name Aller

    The story Is that my great grandfather
    Wanted a middle name
    To reflect an English translation
    Of the German word “Aller”

    He had a choice
    “Cosmos” or “Universe”
    He chose “Cosmos”

    Otherwise
    I would be John “Universe” Aller

    My Grandfather was the first Cosmos
    Curtis Cosmos Aller Sr
    My father Was the second Cosmos
    Curtis Cosmos Aller, Jr
    And I am the third
    John (Jake) Cosmos Aller

    Either way
    The name Cosmos
    Is now my pen name

    No one believes
    This story

    They all believe
    I was called Cosmos
    Because I was born
    In Berkeley

    And the name Cosmos
    Seems appropriate
    For a child born
    In Berkeley

    Which is a pretty
    Cosmic city
    After all

    Unfortunately, I am the last Cosmos
    In my family’s line
    As I have no children

    If I had a son
    He would have been called
    Robert Cosmos Aller

    April 16

    Caregiving In this Day and Age, writing com Do Drop-in

    corona
    corona

     

     

     

     

     

    Caregiving in this day and age
    Is difficult
    As the Coronavirus wreaks havoc
    Across the land

    Thousands of people still dying
    Every single day
    As General Corona marches
    Across the land

    The caregivers are our unseen heroes
    Saving lives every day
    For very little pay

    They do what they must
    Providing care
    to the elderly

    The forgotten old people
    Living their quiet life
    Of despair

    Dinosaur Story, Writers Digest

    dinosaur
    dinosaur

     

     

     

     

     

     

    For today’s prompt, take the phrase “(blank) Story,” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles include: “Toy Story,” “Super Long Unusually Strange Story,” and/or “Same Old Story.” Poem your story, so we can get at the second half of this challenge.

    A metal dinosaur
    Stands in a park
    Deeply dreaming

    The dinosaur
    Comes to life
    Millions of years
    Have past

    The dinosaur sniffs
    Says to himself
    Hmm I am back
    Life is good

    Coffee Cup Dreams PSH

     

    coffee
    coffee

     

     

     

     

     

    Writing from the point of view of an inanimate object can open the floodgates. We carry things around with us everywhere – in our pockets, purses, backpacks, vehicles… but how do those objects see the world? This freewriting activity puts your voice to bed, while the object’s voice is finally spoken.

    Dig through your backpack, purse, bag, junk drawer – and pull out the first object you touch.

    Write a poem from the point of view of that object.

    How does the egg timer feel about sitting on top of the stove when the cookies are done baking? What does the Costco Membership Card feel when you pass over it for Sam’s Warehouse? How does the maple syrup react when you reach for the honey instead?

     

    My coffee cup
    Contains dreams
    It dreams every morning
    As I pour my coffee

    The coffee cup
    Comes to life
    Filled with delicious coffee

    The coffee cup
    Loves to provide me
    With the pleasure
    Of drinking coffee

    The coffee cup smiles
    His work is done

    Coffee Inheritance

     

    cartoon man who drank too much coffee
    cartoon man who drank too much coffee

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    And now for our prompt (optional, as always). Today’s prompt comes to us from Juan Martinez. It asks you to think about a small habit you picked up from one of your parents, and then to write a piece that explores an early memory of your parent engaged in that habit, before shifting into writing about yourself engaging in the same habit.

    My father and mother
    Were big coffee drinkers
    They liked it black

    My mother said
    Coffee should be black
    Like her heart

    But her heart
    Was filled with light
    And love

    She drank five to six
    Cups every day

    My father also
    Was a big coffee drinker
    They both drank coffee

    All-day long
    Oddly, it did not seem
    To keep them from sleeping

    Nor did it make them
    Jittery
    From too much caffeine

    My parents did not allow me
    To drink coffee
    Until I was 18

    When I finally join them
    And became
    A coffee achiever

    Now when I drink my daily cup
    I think back to my parents

    Drinking their coffee
    Thinking back
    To my coffee inheritance

    There is no such place

    narnia scene
    narnia scene

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    There is no such place
    I often wonder
    What would it be like
    If the mythical land of oz
    Or Narnia existed

    If we could travel
    To other realms

    I wonder if
    While I alive
    If we will colonize
    The Moon and Mars

    And if I will travel
    To the stars
    Before my time is done

    Sunday, April 18

    Sounds

    temple blog bell-zen
    temple blog bell-zen

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Sounds and sights
    Of unknown worlds
    Fill my head

    I hear the temple bells
    I see the sights
    Of my dreams
    Unfold in my head

    Sounds and sights
    Of worlds yet to be
    Fill my heart
    With anticipation

    Monday, April 19

    Acting your age (or not!)

    65 Years Young
    I am now 65
    A senior citizen

    But in my heart
    I still feel
    Like I am still
    20 years old

    People say
    I should act my age
    But what that means
    If I think
    I am still 20?

    Sunday, April 20>

    —Tree of Life…(see link for a drawing/journaling exercise)
    https://nathanbweller.com/tree-life-simple-exercise-reclaiming-identity-directio…
    Tree of Life

     

    Eden
    Eden

     

     

     

     

     

    In the garden
    Of Eden
    Adam and Eve
    Were forbidden
    To eat the fruit
    Of the tree of life
    Satan sent a snake
    To temp them
    To eat the forbidden fruit
    Of the tree of life
    When they did
    God knew
    And banished them
    From the garden of Eden
    For their act of cosmic defiance

    Morning Rituals PSH

     

    coffee
    coffee

     

     

     

     

     

    If a stranger were to watch you through your window right now, what would they see and what would they say about it? Paint us a verbal picture. Play around with the point of view. You can be the observer describing what he/she sees in a third-person report, or switch it around to the first or second person

    Sam Adams starts his day
    The same way every day
    He gets up
    At the crack of dawn
    Leaves his sleeping wife

    Washes up
    Drinks two cups
    of coffee

    Watches the news
    While writing down his dreams
    And his daily poetry

    Thinking about life
    Looking out the window
    At the dawning sun

    Lights up his living room
    Thinking about life

    He goes to his sleeping wife
    Waking her with a kiss
    Falling in love yet again

    Ode to Berkeley Writers Digest

    free roaming berkeley
    free roaming berkeley

     

     

     

     

     

     

    For today’s prompt, write a city poem. You can make the title of your poem the name of a city and write your poem. Or you can mention a city in your poem. And, of course, you can just set your poem in a city without naming which one it is. It’s also okay if you’re more rurally inclined, to just write a poem about the city slickers. As always, have fun with it.

    I grew up in Berkeley
    In the late 60s and 70s
    A wild magical time
    In a magical city
    By the bay

    Berkeley was the center
    Of my universe
    For many years

    Until I left it
    In my early 20s
    To wander about the world

    Yet Berkeley never left me
    I am still in Berkeley
    It lives on in my heart
    And soul

    And someday
    I will return home
    To reside

    Before I finally leave
    Berkeley for good
    As I die in my homeland

    Met My Fate That Date Skeltonic Poem NaPoWrMo Prompt

    And last but not least, our (optional) prompt. Because it’s Friday, today I’d like you to relax with the rather silly form called Skeltonic, or tumbling, verse. In this form, there’s no specific number of syllables per line, but each line should be short and should aim to have two or three stressed syllables. And the lines should rhyme. You just rhyme the same sound until you get tired of it, and then move on to another sound. Here’s a short example I came up with.

    Met My Fate That Date Skeltonic Poem

    I met my fate
    That cosmic date
    When I first saw my mate

    I went to her that date
    She walked into my life
    Later she became my wife

    Howling with the Dancing Moon, PSH
    Topic: Moon
    If the moon could tap dance…

     

    howling at the moon
    howing at the moon

     

     

     

     

     

    (Would it make a sound? What music is it dancing to? Where did it find tap shoes? What effect does it have on you?)

    If rivers could wish…

    (What would they wish for? Or have they already? Do they ever get tired of being wet? How about when something jumps in, falls in, takes something from them?)

    If sunset could tell you…

    (A truth beyond the horizon? Is it hard to say goodbye? What does it know that you don’t? How has it tried to tell you?)

    A man
    Sits drinking late into the night
    On the night of the blood-red
    Super blue wolf moon

    The lunatic light of the moon
    Inspires him
    As he drinks
    In that depraved din of inequity
    On the left side of society

    Drinking with his buddies
    Johnny Walker, Jim Beam
    Jack Daniels, Old Granddad
    Drinking one Scotch, one Bourbon
    And one beer

    Watching the naked woman
    Dancing on stage
    He finishes drinking
    20 drinks too sober

    He walks outside
    And sees the naked moon
    Dancing up a storm

    Flying across the sky
    Ripping her clothes off

    Tap dancing
    To the insane disco beat
    Of the bar

    He gives in
    Jumps into the sky
    Dancing with the naked moon

    Howling with the moon maiden
    Like an escaped banshee
    From the lunatic bins
    Of Hell

    Cats are Aliens -Writers Digest Animal Poem

    black cat
    black cat

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     Cats are alien creatures
    They are just so weird
    So utterly inhuman

    In their thoughts
    And actions
    They must have come
    To this world
    From another planet

    Perhaps they are
    The advance team
    For the future alien invasion

    Cats seem to communicate
    Through telepathy

    They seem to think
    We are their slaves

    Perhaps we are
    And we do not realize
    That they are the master race

    Anti-vaxers, anti-maskers and other covid Idiots Poetic Rants
    NaPoWrMo Prompt:

    Topic: Corona

    corona virus

    corona virus

     

    And last but not least, our prompt (optional, as always). Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a humorous rant. In this poem, you may excoriate to your heart’s content all the things that get on your nerves. Perhaps it’s people who tailgate when driving or don’t put the caps back on pens after they use them. Or the raccoons who get into your garbage cans. For inspiration, perhaps you might look to this list of Shakespearean insults. Or, for all of you who grew up on cartoons from the 1980s, perhaps this compendium of Skeleton’s might provide some insight.

    Amid the worst global health pandemic
    In over 150 years
    The world is filled with COVID idiots
    Who denounces any public health measures
    Designed to save lives

    As an affront to their rights
    To do whatever they please
    Regardless of the impact
    Their bad behavior may have

    These COVID idiots
    Refuse to wear masks
    Refuse to social distance
    Refuse to get a Vaccine
    Even refuse
    to wash their damn hands

    They refuse to believe
    That COVID is real
    Until they or their relatives
    End up in the hospital
    Fighting for their life

    If only these COVID idiots
    Had worn a mask
    Gotten a vaccine
    They would not have become
    Yet another COVID Ghost

    The End

  • Local Gems Halloween Chapbook

    Local Gems Halloween Chapbook

    grimm reaper
    grimm reaper

    Halloween Challenge

    13 Poems
    By
    Jake Cosmos Aller

    note: these poems were written as part of the Local Gems Halloween Chapbook competition and have been selected for publication.

    dark poetry

    Local Gems Press

    https://www.localgemspoetrypress.com/#:~:text=Local%20Gems%20Press%20is%20dedicated%20to%20providing%20quality,used%20to%20change%20the%20world%20for%20the%20better.

    Index

    Day One October 19, 2020 Contemplating The Falling Leaves Of Autumn
    Day 2 October 2020 Nightmares Scenes From A Hellish Nightmare
    Day 3 October 21, 2020 Maid Laird Strikes Again Tanka (Halloween Challenge Day 3)
    Day 4 October 22, 20202 Ghost Poem Corona Ghosts March On WH Demanding Justice
    Day 5, October 23, 2020 Ekphrastic Challenge The Grim Reaper Comes For Us
    Day 6 October 24, 2020 Pumpkin Patch Great Pumpkin Rises Again
    Day 7 October 25., 2020 Haunted House The Haunted House At The End Of The World
    Day 8 October 26, 2020– The Door Slammed Loudly I Was Home Alone
    Day 9 October 27, 2020 Dark Prophecy-Fascism Comes To America – Halloween Challenge Day 9
    Day 10, October 28, 2020 My Mother’s Secrets Conversation With A Ghost -Halloween Contest Day 10 Spooky Conversation
    Day 11, October 29, 2020 Costume Halloween Party From Hell
    Day 12 October 30, 2020 Halloween Costume Party
    Day 13, October 31, 2020 Trick or Treating In The Era Of Covid

    Day One October 19, 2020
    Contemplating the Falling Leaves of Autumn

     

    Walking the path
    In the forest near my house
    Every day I see the changing colors
    Of the fall season

    Always a time for reflection
    For contemplation
    Thinking about the past
    And the future

    As I contemplate each step
    The vivid colors of the fall
    a forecast of the coming winter
    peaking about my birthday
    contemplation of life

    and the path I have taken
    looking at the love of my life
    fills me joy and laughter
    dispelling the moodiness
    of the fall season

    Day 2 October 2020 Nightmares
    Scenes from a Hellish Nightmare

     

    Note: From a real nightmare End Note

    I am in a room
    Drinking at a party
    And smoking weed
    Drinking up a storm
    20 drinks too sober
    Watching people all around me

    Change into hideous creatures
    Monsters from the deepest depths of hell
    Everyone in the room
    Has been transformed except me

    The Chief of them all
    Wears a Trumpian mask
    Complete with orange hair
    Half-human half pig

    His deputy
    Wears the face of Putin
    But his body
    Half-human, half-horse,

    The other creatures wear masks
    Many of them wear
    Green Pepe the alt-right
    Symbolic frog masks

    And have T-shirts
    Bearing alt right slogans
    And Nazi symbols

    And as they prance about
    They chant alt. Right slogans
    And neo-Nazi chants
    Jews will not replace us

    And the rest of these creatures
    Are hideous ugly beasts
    Apes, cannibals, demons, dwarfs,
    Goblins, leprechauns, Imps, monsters, orcs,
    Pirates, satyrs, werewolves, Zombies,

    With only a vestige of humanity left
    And these monsters are engaged
    In all sorts of foul evil deeds

    Murder violence death
    All around ,
    And non-stop
    violent drug-fueled orgies

    As these creatures
    Half-human, half-monsters,
    Half-male, half-female creatures

    Snort coke, cocaine, speed
    Drop acid, Smoke weed
    drink vodka shots
    Scotch, bourbon, beer

    The Trumpian Pig leads the charge
    Starts engaging in sodomy with Putin
    Who chases after people
    Cutting off their heads with his sword

    They turn on to their fellow creatures
    Raping and killing each other
    and eating their fellow creatures
    All night long

    Then they attack me
    Screaming
    Jews will not replace us

    And I wake up
    Screaming
    As the sun comes up
    Just another nightmare

    Day 3 October 21, 2020
    Maid Laird Strikes Again Tanka (Halloween Challenge Day 3)

     

    walking the Scottish Moors
    Sam encounters the mad laird
    The mad laird haunting
    Stalking the lone hikers
    Killing them cut off their heads

    Day 4 October 22, 20202 Ghost Poem Corona Ghosts March on WH Demanding Justice

     

    corona
    corona

    The corona ghosts meet up in Limbo
    One million corona ghosts
    From all over the world

    The corona ghosts are angry
    Their voices not heard
    Just echoes in the wind

    They decide to manifest themselves
    To haunt the WH, the congress
    The state capitols
    The world capitols
    In a one day massive
    Corona ghost protest

    The corona ghosts swarm the WH
    Overwhelming the secret service
    Demanding to meet the president

    He came out
    Met with them

    General Corona appeared
    And the President
    Joined the Corona ghosts

    In the end
    Just another Corona ghost

    Day 5, October – 23, 2020 Ekphrastic Challenge
    The Grim Reaper comes for us

     

    grimm reaper
    grimm reaper

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Sam Adams knew that his time was up
    He knew for he had a forewarning

    In his dream, he saw the Grim reaper
    Waiting for him
    Along highway 666

    Beckoning him to join him
    On the back of his cursed Harley
    To ride down the highway to hell

    Sam got up
    Got his will updated
    Looked at his wife
    One last time

    Prayed to the gods
    All of them
    To send him to the other place

    Rather that the hell
    That the grim reaper
    Had promised him

    There was a knock on the door
    A telegram had arrived

    It said
    Your appointment for judgment
    Is today

    You may end up in the other place
    Be prepared and be afraid
    Your ride arrives at midnight

    At midnight
    The grim reaper
    Dressed in black leather
    Arrived on his cursed Harley

    Said your ride awaits
    Fortunate one

    We are going to limbo
    Where you will wait
    With the others
    To hear your fate

    And away they went
    Down the celestial highway
    Bypassing highway 666
    Exiting in limbo

    He walked into a huge hallway
    Thousands of people milling around

    He looked up at the signs
    Welcome to Limbo
    No talking
    No smoking
    No phone usage – no reception anyway

    Wait your turn
    For your judgment date
    The hour is late
    But you will learn your fate
    On this your cosmic judgment date

    His number is called
    He walks up
    The angel bureaucrat
    Dressed in a Mr. Smith black suit
    Holds a hand-held computer

    His life flashes on the screen
    65 years condensed
    Into a one minute video

    An amber light flashes
    The bureaucrat reads the judgment

    Mr. Sam Adams
    You are given five more years
    Get your act together

    Do good deeds
    When you come back
    You will face one last judgment

    He walks outside
    A taxi awaits
    Takes him home

    He wakes up
    Drinks coffee with his wife
    And the day resumes

    Day 6 October 24, 2020 Pumpkin Patch –
    Great Pumpkin Rising again

     

    great pumpkin
    great pumpkin

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Lonely Linus sits in his pumpkin patch
    With snoopy his faithful delusional dog
    Waiting for the Great Pumpkin

    An annual ritual
    Only Linus knows
    That the Great Pumpkin exists

    No one else knows
    No one else cares
    Linus prepares for another night

    Then the great pumpkin arises
    A ghostly spirit
    Comes out of the moonlight

    Who dare calls me
    The great pumpkin demands
    Who is ready to die?

    It is I, Linus, your biggest supporter
    Tell me oh Great Pumpkin
    What is your wish?

    The great pumpkin growls
    Tell your folks to vote
    Time for the orange man to meet his doom

    The great pumpkin laughs
    His visage appears
    On the TV networks

    The great pumpkin demands
    President Trump
    Time to meet your maker

    And dispatches General Corona
    To finish the job
    Linus is given his heart’s desires

    To become a great man
    Lord of all he surveys
    With Snoopy by his side

    The great pumpkin smiles
    Giving a ride to Linus who rides into the future ,
    On the back of the great pumpkin

    Day 7 October 25., 2020 Haunted House
    The Haunted House at the End of the World

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    There is an old long-abandoned ruined house
    On the edge of a forest in the hills,
    About an hour out of the town of Medford
    Overlooking the Rogue River valley

    The house was once a mansion
    But over time it became semi-ruined
    The old man who lived there
    Became a hermit seldom going out

    No one really knew him
    He kept to himself

    Then one day
    General corona came for a visit
    The old man became nothing
    But another corona ghost

    The house continued standing looking out
    On the hill overlooking the valley
    Now filled with corona ghosts
    As General Corona wiped out,
    The entire valley of all humanity

    Day 8 October 26, 2020– The Door Slammed Loudly I Was Home Alone

    I was all alone
    Watching the morning news
    Filled with omens, Dangerous thoughts, Nightmarish reality, A thousand people a day dying, Fires burning, Storms churning, Black lives dying, Protestors clashing
    Election day looming, End of the world feelings

    The door slammed loudly
    I yell out

    Who’s there

    Nothing but corona ghosts
    Crying in the wind

    Day 9 October 27, 2020 Dark Prophecy-Fascism Comes to America – Halloween Challenge Day 9

     

    Back in 2016 when I was traveling
    Across the country with my wife
    I had a series of darkly prophetic dreams
    I dreamt that Donald Trump would be elected
    And usher in a slide towards fascism

    And unfortunately, I was right
    So, what are my dreams telling me now
    What are my prophetic nightmares
    Will they come true again?

    I dream that Donald Trump was anointed
    By the Supreme Court which ruled
    That given the potential for fraud
    All mail in ballots would be tossed aside
    And Donald Trump who had lost the popular vote
    Once again won in the electoral college

    He vowed retribution against his enemies
    The fake media and the millions of people
    Who dared to vote against him

    He called upon his supporters
    To go forth and rough up
    Fuck up as he put it
    Liberals and anti-Americans

    Declared martial law
    Protests would be illegal
    The military would enforce the decree
    And they did sending troops across the land

    Declared that the democratic party
    Was anti-American
    And he would not allow them
    To serve in Congress, or the Senate

    The SC refused to rule against him
    Thus fascism came to America

    And my dark prophecy came true

    Day 10, October 28, 2020 My Mother’s Secrets Conversation With A Ghost -Halloween Contest Day 10 Spooky Conversation

    My mother died in 2007
    We buried her in Berkeley
    Near her house

    Whenever I am in the area
    I drop by
    And talk with her
    Imaging she is there

    One day when I dropped by
    I asked her about
    Many things in her past
    For she took so many secrets
    With her to her grave

    So Mary, quite contrary
    Tell me the truth now
    Tell me about your past life
    Tell me your secrets

    I heard a voice
    Crying out in the wind
    John John John
    Do you want to really know
    My secrets?

    I responded
    Yes I do
    She whispered them to me
    But made me vow
    To keep her secrets
    And take them to my grave

    And so I can not
    Must not reveal
    All the shocking stories
    Of her life

    She told me that I needed
    To also talk to my father
    For he too had secrets
    To tell me

    I told her
    That I would at some point
    Make a visit
    To the family grave
    In Yakima

    And finally learn
    The family secrets
    They should have told me
    While they were alive

    Day 11, October 29, 2020
    Halloween Poem Costumes from Hell

     

    artoon-devil-satan-businessman-suit-450w-49
    artoon-devil-satan-businessman-suit-450w

    I am at a Halloween party
    Everyone is wearing a costume
    Including me
    I am dressed like an ancient King
    My wife is dressed as the angel she is
    The party turns wild
    Everyone is getting high
    Drinking up a storm
    Smoking weed
    Snorting coke
    Dropping acid
    The music is wild and crazy
    Then through the fog of it all
    I see the devil
    Parading in front of the crowd
    Screaming death
    To all democrats
    Trump and Putin appear together
    Running into the crowds
    The crowd chatting lock him up
    Lock him up
    Biden is paraded in front
    Of the blood thirsty crowd
    The devil yells off with his head
    Putin and Trump
    Behead him
    Screaming like escaped banshees
    I try to wake up from this nightmare
    Realizing it is all live
    On CNN
    And I am dead
    The world has ended
    Evil has triumphed
    Once again

    Day 12 Halloween Costume Party

    I am at a Halloween costume party
    Dressed like an ancient laird
    Angela is dressed in a red devil custom
    And we are having a good time

    Everyone is getting wild
    And frisky
    Soon the mood turns dark
    And foul

    Bad craziness fills the room
    The devil makes his appearance
    And we realize
    We are all doomed
    To end our life

    At this party
    Where we all become
    Children of the damn

    Day 13, October 31, 2020 Trick or Treating In The Era Of Covid

     

    Halloween in the era of covid
    So strange
    With the covid virus
    Ever lurking
    With CDC discouraging trick or tweeting
    With masks on every face
    Everyone wearing a costume
    The trick is not to get sick
    The treat is still the candy
    The goal of all children
    Everywhere
    Candy more candy
    Visits to the dentist be damned
    Hopefully General Corona
    Will keep his troops at bay

    Bonus Poems

    vault 56 words pensively 101 prompt

    I have a secret vault in my mind
    It is a dark corner of my soul
    Where I hide away
    All the dark dangerous thoughts
    That come out
    4 am 0 dark hundred
    When the wild things
    Escape their leashes
    Screaming like escaped banshees
    Then with the dawning light
    I put them back into the vault

    Corona Mask

    My corona mask
    Hiding my face behind it
    Hiding my fears
    My wife removing the mask
    Seeing my lovely face

    Fifty word prose horror poems published in Every Writer

    The Mad Laird Strikes Again

    Sam Adams is doing a Scottish walkabout. There were rumors of a mad laird killing hikers along the lonely moors. He heard bagpipes in the fog then saw a man on a black horse who ran after him with a machete, screaming, “Do you believe in Ghosts now? “

    The Mad Bagpiper of Berkeley

    Sam Adams had heard rumors of a mad bagpiper serial killer lurking about Tilden park in Berkeley. Then he ran into the mad bagpiper in the lonely backcountry. The man ran after him, killing him with a machete. They found his body cut up and cooked by a camp-fire.

    General Corona Got Your Baby

    The mad General Corona, riding his black horse came out of the woods, and screamed at Sam Adams, saying “You got the Corona Virus; I am the general. Your ass is grass and I am the lawnmower.” Prepare to die a long painful death and he breathed on him.

    Waiting for the Grim Reaper

    Sam Adams found himself in Limbo. Waiting for his appointment with the Grim Reaper. Finally, his number was called. The Grim Reaper said his number was up and it was time for judgment day. “Whether it would be hell or heaven was beyond his pay grade”. The Grim reaper laughed.

    Wild Things Run Amuck

    0 dark hundred arrives. Insomnia set in. Sam Adams tossed and turned waiting for the wild things to come out for their nightly assault. Evil monstrous creatures from the darkest corner of his hell ran about screaming at him: torturing him until the dawning sun drove them back to hell.

    Screaming News Drives Me Mad

    Sam Adams fell asleep after watching the screaming media scream about the fires, storms, covid, political madness. Sam saw the devil programming madness on his computers. The devil, surrounded by the demons, orcs, dwarfs and monsters of hell, turns to him smiling, saying his time in hell would come soon.

    Corona Horror Haiku

    The Mad Laird Strikes Again
    1

    In the Scottish Moors
    mad laird waits to kill hikers
    death waiting for you

    2

    hearing the bagpipes
    old man appears in the fog
    riding a black horse

    3

    Mad laird runs at you
    Holding a black machete,
    screaming “Do you believe in Ghosts

    The Mad Bagpiper of Berkeley

    1

    In the Berkeley Hills
    Rumors of mad bagpiper
    Fears and terror

    2

    Encountering it
    the mad bagpiper in the hills
    they found his body

    3

    The mad bagpiper
    Plays mournful tune as kills
    As you become ghost

    General Corona Got Your Baby
    1

    The mad General
    Corona riding black horse
    Leading his army of bots

    2

    Encountering his breath
    You begin to scream
    as you cough dying breath

    Waiting for the Grim Reaper

    1

    Wake up in Limbo.
    Waiting for his appointment
    with the Grim Reaper.

    2

    Finally his number
    The Grim Reaper said number was up
    tt was the time for judgement day. “

    3.

    Whether it would be
    hell or heaven beyond his paygrade
    The Grim reaper laughed.

    Wild Things Run Amuck
    1

    At 0 dark hundred.
    Deep Insomnia set in.
    Tossing and turning

    2

    waiting for wild things
    to come out for their assault.
    Evil monstrous creatures

    3

    from the dark corner
    of hell ran about screaming
    torturing his soul

    4

    the dawning sun light
    drove them all back to their hell.
    Wild things fading

    Screaming News Drives Me Mad

    1

    Then I fell asleep
    after watching the screaming news
    the media screams

    2

    about the fires,
    storms corona ,
    the political madness.

    3
    I saw the devil
    programing all the madness
    on his computers.

    4

    The devil saw me,
    surrounded by all the demons,
    says my time is soon

    Horror Cheritas

    The Mad Laird Strikes Again

    Sam Adams is doing a Scottish walk about.

    There were rumors of a mad laird
    killing hikers along the lonely moors.

    He heard bagpipes in the fog
    then saw a man on a black horse who ran after him with a machete,
    screaming “Do you believe in Ghosts now? “

    The Mad Bagpiper of Berkeley

    Sam Adams had heard rumors

    of a mad bagpiper serial killer
    lurking about Tilden Park in Berkeley.

    Then he ran into the mad bagpiper in the lonely back country.
    The man ran after him killing him with a machete.
    They found his body cooked by a camp-fire.

    General Corona Got Your Baby

    The mad General Corona, riding his black horse came out of the woods,

    and screamed at Sam Adams, saying “
    You got the Corona Virus; I am the general.

    Your ass is grass and I am the lawn mower.”
    Prepare to die a long painful death
    and he breathed on him.

    Waiting for the Grim Reaper

    Sam Adams found himself in Limbo.

    Waiting for his appointment
    with the Grim Reaper.

    Finally his number was called.
    The Grim Reaper said His number was up and it was time for judgement day. “
    The grim reaper laughed Whether it would be hell or heaven was beyond his pay grade

    Wild Things Run Amuck

    0 dark hundred arrives.

    Insomnia set in.
    Sam Adams tossed and turned

    waiting for the wild things to come out for their nightly assault.
    Evil monstrous creatures from the darkest corner of his hell ran about screaming at him:
    torturing him until the dawning sun drove them back to hell.

    Screaming News Drives Me Mad

    Sam Adams fell asleep after watching the screaming media

    scream about the fires, storms, covid, political madness.
    Sam saw the devil programming madness on his computers.

    The devil, surrounded by the demons, orcs, dwarfs, and monsters of hell,
    turns to him smiling,
    saying his time in hell would come soon.

    The gorgon of Bangkok

    Sam Adams
    Was drinking alone
    In a evil degraded bar
    On the bad side of life

    In the city of Angels
    Bangkok
    Twenty drinks too sober

    Drinking by himself
    With his buddies
    Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, Johnny Walker
    Evan Walker, Mr. Bullet, Old Granddad

    Ordering one scotch, one bourbon, and a beer
    From the lovely half-naked bartender
    He looks up at the stage

    Dancing on the stage
    Was a naked vision of delight
    As he looked at her
    She began to turn into a hideous monstrous figure

    Two-three faces appeared at once
    The naked bartender had warned him
    That the gorgon of Bangkok
    Would be dancing tonight

    All men desired her
    And if she chose you
    You would die a thousand deaths
    Of erotic pleasure

    As she took your soul away
    Straight to hell

    Sam thought to himself

    Why the hell not
    I am drinking my way to hell anyway
    And continued to stare
    At the gorgon

    She smiled
    And had her way with him
    He left with her
    Went to her room
    She took off the clothes

    He found himself naked in hell
    Where the devil welcomes him

    Saying have another drink, my friend
    Welcome to hell the party center
    Of the universe

    He drank and partied all night
    With the gorgon of Bangkok

    Waking up dead
    Just another dead male foreigner
    In the city of angels

    The End

  • If You Have Been Around

    If You Have Been Around

    Down in the Dirt will publish “3 5 & Love Poem” and
    “If You Have Been Around” in the March 2021 issue of Down in the Dirt,

    on line this week

    Hi there from Down i the Dirt, and thanks for the sub. We are accepting “3
    5 7 love poem” and “If you’ve been around” for the March 2021 issue of
    Down in the Dirt magazine (v181, released 3/1/21). Because your writing
    will appear in a number of places at Scars Publications, this is a
    multi-pronged acceptance…

    Your acceptance will also be online by the end of the week this week… By
    the end of the day Friday (at the end of the business day, CST), your
    accepted writing will have its own web page in the writings section of
    http://scars.tv at http://scars.tv/cgi-bin/framesmain.pl?writers – just go
    to the writings link, and under your name in the left frame will be your
    accepted writing, which when clicked will appear in the larger right
    frame.  (In fact, if you have writings published in more than one issue,
    you can in the future just look up your writings in the writings section,
    and above every accepted piece of writing appearing in the right frame
    will be a link to where it was accepted for publication.) And so you know,
    if you look up your writing in the writings section of http://scars.tv, a
    link will appear above your writings letting the browser know which issue
    the writing is accepted for (and once the issue is published, there will
    be links there to the Internet/web page and the printer ordering link for
    the issue).

    We run print editions of issues as well as Internet (html page) issues,
    and your writing is scheduled for magazine publication. Print issues of
    Down in the Dirt magazine run as 100+ page 6″x9″ perfect-bound books
    available for Internet sale directly through our printer, and starting
    with 2014 issues, they will also be released not only as ISSN# magazines,
    but ALSO with an ISBN#, suitable for eventual sales at amazon.com.
    (Current issues are not available for sale directly through Scars
    Publications, but through the printer, on line). Scars Publications does
    not give free contributor’s copies of magazines (or books); however, these
    books are available for printer sale, and you can view the contents of
    issues at our Internet web page versions of issues. Links to ordering all
    2021 perfect-bound book issues as print editions will be in the issues
    section of Down in the Dirt magazine, which can be reached either through
    http://scars.tv, or directly through

    more corona poems published

    Corona Ghosts

    corona virus revised

    more corona virus poems

    Down in the Dirt Updates

    More Down in the Dirt News

    http://scars.tv/dirt/dirt.htm

    3 5 7 Love Poem

    Missing you missing me
    Dreaming about you, do you dream the same
    Will love you until end of time; will you remember me then?

    If You Have Been Around

    If you’ve been around
    As much as I have
    Decades of memories
    Fill up your brain’s hard drive

    Remembering the dead
    Misremembering the living
    Seeing the past fly past
    Everywhere you go

    Thinking about things
    You did and did not do
    As your life begins to fade
    Sinking into lost worlds past

    Seeing the ghosts
    Of all you knew
    Whispering Soon you will
    Be joining us

    200,000 Corona Ghosts Voices Screaming in the Wind

    corona

    corona

    200,000 corona ghosts
    Their voices screaming
    In the burning winds
    In the storm ravaged land

    Corona ghosts
    Declaring they will not be silence
    They will hold everyone accountable

    All those who refused
    To follow the science
    Who refused to wear
    Their masks

    Feckless leaders
    Fomenting fear

    Every day
    A thousand more
    People joining the ranks
    Of the dead

    Their voices
    Unheard
    When will this madness end
    Is anyone guess

    Millions more
    Are waiting to die
    As general corona
    Marches across the land

    “A” Grade in Alternative World

    In an alternative reality
    200,000 preventable deaths
    Is a great success

    Perhaps the best
    We could ever be
    The most deaths
    in the world

    as America proves
    that they have lost
    their way

    we have all failed
    everyone of us

    it is not too late
    if we all mask up
    if we stop  listening
    to the lies
    and falsehoods

    and followed the science
    we can overcome this
    we are Americans

    we can do this
    we can beat the virus

    if we all come together
    as one nation
    some day the virus
    will recede into history

    how many corona ghosts
    there will be
    is up to us all together

    End of America

    In 2020 we are seeing the end
    of America
    a virus spreads out
    across the land

    the economy craters
    200 thousands of Americans
    Becoming Corona ghosts

    then protests break out
    over the brutal murder
    of a unarmed black man
    in broad daylight
    and protests break out
    all over the land
    America is divided
    America is breaking down

    America is breaking down,
    dying in our streets
    and politicians
    are calling for a crackdown
    is a fascist military take over coming soon
    will all protests be deemed illegal
    as the police state takes over
    and America lies dying
    and will the fascists
    finally take over the land
    and we become just another
    failed former democracy?
    will the world soon forget
    that America died this summer

    the summer of the end of America

    Previously published poems in Down in the Dirt

    April 30 In Search of America 1975 – Hitch hiking Tales 

    hitchhikers
    hitchhikers

     

     

     

     

     

    April 30 In Search of America 1975 – Hitch hiking Tales

    John (“Jake”) Cosmos Aller

    When I was young and foolish
    Broke and stubborn
    I hitchhiked across the USA

    Started in Salt Lake City
    Where my greyhound bus pass
    Was stolen

    The station manager
    Could have helped me
    But refused to do so

    Threaten to call the cops
    When I grabbed my bags Without the stolen tags

    I said
    Go ahead
    But I am so out of here

    Wondered about Salt Lake City
    Went to a bar
    Found I had to buy my booze
    Next door
    And they would mix it for me

    Had to order food too
    After a bloody Mary
    And a burger

    I walked about town
    Saw the Mormon Temple

    Finally about 3 pm
    It was time to hit the road
    Did not look back

    Ended up in Cody Wyoming
    Got a room shower
    Steak beer
    Using my rapidly depleted cash Spent 25 dollars
    Money really went far
    Back in those days

    A band of professional
    Communist agitators
    Gave me a ride
    To Des Moines

    Lots of weed, booze
    And politics later
    Got off the road
    Slept outside

    Next day
    A beautiful woman
    Drove me to near Chicago
    In a red mustang

    Might have been
    The girl in the song
    Took it easy
    Digging her vibe

    She invited home
    But was not sure
    If her estranged husband
    Would welcome me

    So, I am being foolish
    And inexperienced with women
    Did not go to her place

    And always regretted
    That I had lost
    My chance that day

    Then on to Chicago
    Several rides later
    Visited friends

    Hit the road again
    A series of uneventful rides
    With truckers
    And others

    And a week later
    I ended in New York City

    Slept along the way
    In cars
    In truck stops
    In high way rest stops

    Always moving
    Always going
    Non stop talking
    And lots of free weed
    And beer
    And conversation

    One more memorable ride
    Occurred outside Albany
    On my return to Chicago

    A middle age creepy looking man
    Picked me up
    In a brand-new Cadillac

    He was he said a dynamite deliverer
    For the Mafia
    Went to various places
    To blow up shit

    He hated a lot of people
    Particularly hippies from California
    And Jewish people

    Looking at me to confirm
    That I was both

    I told him that I lived in New York
    And had never been to California
    And although I might have looked Jewish
    As I what was called back in the day
    A “Jewfro”

    I was not Jewish
    Many years later I discovered
    That I am indeed part Jewish
    But then I did not know
    And I felt a bit of strategic information
    Might keep me alive

    Then I realized that he was just jiving with me
    And we relaxed
    And he pulled out some weed
    And beer
    And we mellowed out

    But I believe that he really was with the mob
    Perhaps not a dynamite dealer
    A real made Italian made mafia member

    By Chicago
    I had enough
    I called my Dad
    Told him what had happened

    Wanted a ticket home
    And he sent me a ticket
    And 500 dollars
    And I went home

    I told him I would tell him
    My tales some day
    But never did

    I learned so much
    About my fellow Americans
    And the strange vibe
    That was 1975

    And now it is too late
    But I wanted to finally
    Tell the world

    Of my hitchhiking tales
    In search of America 1975

    Charles Bukowski Road Not Chosen
     

    Order this writing in the book
    On a Rainy Day
    (the 2017 poetry, longer prose
    & art collection anthology)
    On a Rainy Day (2017 poetry, longer prose and art book) get the 298 page poem,
    longer prose & art
    collection anthology
    as a 6″ x 9″ ISBN#
    paperback book:

    order ISBN# book

     

    Charles Bukowski Road Not Chosen

    charles bukowski
    charles bukowski

    While reading Charles Bukowski poetry
    On the metro ride home
    Listening to Buddha bar music
    On my oh too hip IPod

    I begin to see myself as I was
    Over 30 years ago when I was merely a bit player
    A minor character in a Charles Bukowski poem

    A wild young underemployed intellectual
    Hanging out in dismal bars and dives all over Asia and California
    Hanging with disreputable women and drunks and drinkers
    And characters out of his kinds of haunts

    A mad poet bard of the underground
    A drunken poet in a drunken bum show
    That nightly played in his head

    Then one day I met the women of my dreams
    And went down a different path
    A long slow path to respectability

    And now 30 years later
    I am no longer a wild man
    I am still a poet at heart
    But I am now also a bureaucrat
    In a button down suite

    Doing the people’s business
    Working for the Government
    I’ve become the Man

    Sometimes I wonder
    Would I have been better off
    Going down that another path

    Would I have ended up
    Somewhere else
    Doing something else

    Would I have been as happy
    Would I have been as successful?

    There is no answer that satisfies
    The longing in my heart
    For that wild thing
    That still lurks beneath
    It’s civilized cover

    And I know that I am still
    A mad poet at heart
    Railing against the injustice of the world

    As I work day by day in the belly of the great beast of State
    I recall the ancient Chinese saying,
    “Confucian during the day while Taoist rebel at night”
    Playing out in my head and nightly dreams
    In the true American Upper class patrician tradition

    I close the book and look out the window
    Get off the train, and walk slowly home

    And realize I had no choice
    But to take the path that I’ve trodden on

    And so I put aside my misgivings
    And say goodbye to my “Bukowskian”desires
    For another night of domestic contentment

    Was it worth it all to take the conventional path
    And not take the bohemian road to hell and back

    I look at my wife and realize
    I had no choice, had no choice
    But to follow her to the ends of the earth

    And beyond by her side as we walked our path
    Of shared destiny

    Goodbye Charles Bukowski wherever you are
    May I meet you in a bar in the next life
    And figure out where we should have gone
    Until then the drinks are on me.

     

    Fallen Dreams Litter the Ground

    In the fall weather
    As I walk amid the falling leaves
    I see the signs everywhere

    Of the fall of America
    The once great and mighty Empire
    Everywhere signs of the fall appear

    The dark skies mirror
    The darkness that settled over our land

    Death, destruction and random acts of chaos
    Are all around us
    Surrounding us with visions of doom

    Nothing can stop the bloodletting
    No one seems to be in charge

    As the leaves fall
    And the darkness descends
    The fall of America continues

    My Name Is Nobody

    No one cares who I am
    I am just a nameless clone
    In the cold unfeeling bureaucracy

    Just one of the army
    Of civilians who flood into and out of the city
    Every day

    A non-entity,
    A ghost
    A govbot
    A cyber
    A spook
    A faceless automan
    A bureaucrat

    Just a grey suited cog in the machinery
    And no one cares
    No one knows who I really am

    And I am legend
    Everywhere and nowhere

    Just the way this modern world
    All shred of humanity
    Crushed beneath the cruel wheel of society

    In the cold harsh world
    There is no room anymore
    For true human feelings

    We are just robots, clones, machines
    And so I go to work
    Put on my mask

    And no one hears my inner screams
    And no one will ever care

    Snarling Cup of Coffee

    coffee
    coffee

     

     

     

     

    Snarling Cup of Coffee

    I like to start my day with a hot cup of coffee
    I pound down the coffee
    First thing I do every day as the dawning sun
    Lights up my lonesome room

    Yeah, but not just a simple cup of java Joe, but a God damn snarling sarcastic smarmy cup of coffee
    I mean, – we are talking about an alcoholic, all speed ahead, always hot, always fresh, always there when I need it, angry, attitude talk to the hand Ztude, bad, bad assed, beats breaking, beatnik, bluesy, bitter, bitchy, bombs away, capitalistic, caffeinated up the ass, cinematic, communistic, Colombian grown, Costa Rican inspired, Cowabunga to the max, crazy assed, devilishly angelic, divine, divinely inspired, dyslexic, epic, extreme vetting, evil eye, expensive, erotic vision inducing, Ethiopian coffee house brewed, euphoric, freaky, freazoid, foxy, Frenched kissed, French brewed, funkified, foxy lady, graphic, GOD in my coffee, with Allah, Ganesh, Jesus, Kali, Buddha, Christians, Durga, Hindus, Mohamed, Jesus and Mo and their friend, the cosmic bar maid, Sai Babai, Shiva, Taoists, Zoroastrians, drinking my god damned coffee in Hell; growling, gnarly, happy, hard as ice, Hawaian blessed, high as a kite, hippie, hip, hipster, hip hoppy, hot as hell yet strangely sweet as heaven, jazzy, jealous, Kerouac approved, kick ass, kick my god damn ass to Tuesday, kick down the doors and take no prisoners, grown in the Vietnam highlands by ex-Vietcong, Guatemalan grown, kiss ass, illegal in every state, imported from all over the god damn world, insane, lovely, loony, lonely, lonesome, malodorous mean old rotten, motherfucking, nasty, narcotic, never whatever, never meh, never cold, not approved by the CIA, not approved by DHS, not approved for human consumption by the FDA, not your daddy’s sissified corporate cup of coffee, NOT DECAFE coffee, not your Denny’s truck driver weak as brown water cup of fake coffee, not your establishment friendly cup of coffee, Not your FBI coffee, Not FAKE Herbal coffee substitute, but a real cup of coffee, not your farmer brothers dinner crap, not made in America for Americans, not safe for work, not your Starbucks average expensive overpriced crappy corporate chain cup of coffee, Not pretentious, Not White House approved, not State Department safe, nuclear, Not Patriotic, operatic, Peets’s coffee approved, paranoid, pornographic, psychotic, pontific, politically aware, rapping, rhyming, right here, right now in River city, rock and roll up the Yazoo, sad, sadistic, sarcastic, sassy, satanic, schizoid, shitting, silly, sexy, smarmy, smelly, smooth, snarky, snarling, stupid, stinking, sweet as honey, sweat inducing, symphonic, Trump can’t handle this coffee, vengeful, Wagnerian, wicked, with nutmeg and cinnamon swirls, with a hint of stevia, with a hint of vanilla, with a hint of rum, with a hint of whisky, with a hint of cherry, with a hint of fruit overtones, with a hint of drugs spicing up the coffee, spendific, speeding, splendid, superior accept no substitutes, survived the Vietnam war, the Iraq war, the Afghan war, the first and Second Korean war, World War 11, the war on poverty, the war on drugs, the war on black people, the sexual revolution, Soulful as a summer’s night in MOTOWN- James Brown approved, TOP approved, Berkeley approved, the coffee that Jimmy Hendrix drank before he died, the coffee that Elvis drank on his last breakfast, the coffee that Barry White crooned as he drank his cup of coffee – and the coffee that made the white boy play stand up and play that funky music, the coffee that made Jonny B Goode play his guitar, and made Jonny bet the devil his soul after he drank his morning cup of righteous coffee and the coffee that make the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll, the coffee your mother warned you against drinking, the coffee that Napoleon drank when he became the Emperor of all Europe, the Coffee that Beethoven drank when he wrote the Ninth symphony, the coffee that Mozart drank as he wrote his last symphony, the coffee that Lincoln drank before he was killed, the Hemingway drank before he killed himself, the coffee that started the 60’s, and ended the 20th century, the coffee that Lenin drank as he plotted revolution, the coffee that Hitler and Stalin drank with FDR as they divided up the world after World War 11, the cup that JFK drank before he was blown away, the coffee Jerry drinks while driving in cars with random celebrities and political figures, the coffee that Jon Stewart drinks before he goes on an epic take down of some foolish politico, the cup of Arabic coffee that Sadaam drank the day he was executed, the coffee that GW and Cheney drank when they bombed Baghdad, the Indian cup of coffee that Bid Laden drank before 9-11 and just before the seals blew his ass to hell, the cup of coffee that Tiger Woods drank with his mistresses while playing a 3, 000 dollar round of golf at Sandy Lane golf course in Barbados, the last legal drug that does what drugs should do, the cup of coffee that Obama drank when he became President, Vietnamese, Vienna brew, wacky, whimsical, Whisky Tango Foxtrot, wild, weird, wonderful, WOW, Yabba dabba doo! Yada Yada yada Zappa’s favorite cup of cosmic coffee, and Zorro’s last cup of coffee, Good to the last drop rolled into one simple cup of hot coffee

    As I pound down that first cup of coffee
    And fire up my synaptic nerve endings with endless supplies
    Of caffeine induced neuron enhancing chemicals

    I face the dawning day with trepidation and mind-numbing fear
    I turn on the TV and watch the smarmy newscasters in their perfect hair
    Lying through their teeth about the great success the government is having Following the great leader’s latest pronouncements
    I want to scream and shoot the TV and run out side Shouting

    “Stop the world.

    I want to get off this fucking crazy planet”
    The earth does not care a whit about my attitude
    It merely shrugs and moves around the Sun
    In its appointed daily run
    And I sit down
    The madness dissipating a bit

    And enjoy my second cup
    Of heaven and hell
    In my morning cup of Joe

     

    Strangeness in the Air

    There is a strangeness in the air
    A sense of cosmic unease
    Hangs silently in the purple crystalline sky

    America woke up
    And decided it was time
    To quit following like lemmings
    Over the Clift

    As the pied piper chants
    Stay the course, stay the course
    We were like lemmings following him
    Dying to save his wounded pride

    Today there is that strange difference
    In the air
    As Americans woke up
    And threw off their chains of fear

    Unhinged Lunatic Howling at the Full Moon

    howling at the moon
    howling at the moon

     

     

     

     

     

    On the night of the blood red super full moon
    I sat in an evil, depraved godforsaken bar

    Drinking drams of demented, fermented dream dew
    Washed down by endless rounds of whiskey
    rum, tequila, vodka, soju and of course beer
    drinking with my buddies the Jack Daniels Gang

    Drinking my way to Hell and beyond
    Just as fast as I could
    twenty damn drinks too sober

    Just an unhinged lunatic
    Dreaming of howling at the full moon

    Watching the world walk by
    Looking at all the fine-looking babes
    Walking by the street

    Thinking wild, erotic thoughts
    Of endless wild libertine passions

    When into the bar
    That din of cosmic depravity

    Walked the most beautiful women
    In the Universe

    So wild, so free
    So wonderfully alive

    I did not know what to do
    As this vision of delight
    Sauntered through the bar

    In a skin-tight leather pant
    Looked so fine
    That my eyeballs hurt

    And finally, I had to say something
    So, I gathered up my manly courage
    And walked up to her

    And she looked at me
    And instantly bewitched my soul

    With a devilish grin
    I lost all reason
    And became a raving lunatic
    Unhinged lunatic
    Howling at the blood red full moon

    Foaming at the mouth
    A wild, free werewolf
    Howling at the lunatic light
    Of the blood red blue full Moon

     

    The End

     

  • more corona poems published

    more corona poems published

     Writer Egg Magazine in Bristol, England has published some more of my Corona Virus poems.

    corona virus revised
    Corona Virus is Not God’s Punishment
    Corona Ghosts

    Corona Virus Poems
    Corona Virus Pandemic Thoughts

    corona virus poems google search

    Index

    Corona Virus Stalks Me
    News is still grim
    Mad Mask Fears  -content tracing Dante Inferno  Canto one Line 1 to 3
    Wearing a Mask is not a political statement
    General Corona Leads His Troops Into Battle, crown of sonnets
    Corona Ghosts Stalk the President

    Corona Virus Stalks Me

     

     

    the dreaded corona virus
    led by the demented general Corona
    seems to be stalking me
    everywhere I go

    images of the dead
    come to life
    accusing me of something
    as they fade in and out of view

    ghostly images fill\ my fogged up glasses
    as i walk down the street
    hidden deep inside my masks

    and I fear everyone
    which is of course
    part of the corona virus’s
    evil’s plan
    to drive us all mad
    sending us to hell

    News is still grim

    cnn logo
    cnn logo

    watching the daily news
    the constant doom and gloom
    makes me want to cry

    and    hide   away

    waiting

    waiting

    waiting

    for the end of the news
    and a return to normal

    but that seems
    like a distant dream

    perhaps it is our fate
    perhaps it will be over

    perhaps it will never
    be over

    and the news drones
    on
    and
    on

    and
    on

    overwhelming
    me

    with
    cosmic
    dread

    Mad Masks Fears Corona Sonnet Form

    no masks
    no masks

     

    I don’t understand
    this fear of wearing a mask
    somehow making you weak

    that wearing a mask
    is a political statement

    “Midway upon the journey of our life
    I found myself with a forest dark
    for the straightforward pathway had been lost”

    THE  THOUGHT COMES      TO MIND

    WHAT        IS      WRONG     WITH          THESE       PEOPLE

    ALL

    LOST

    THEIR

    MINDS

    content tracing Dante Inferno  Canto one Line 1 to 3

    Wearing a Mask is not a political statement

    masked woman
    masked woman

     

     

     

     

     

    to my friends in America
    and around the world
    to those who think
    that somehow the corona virus
    only infects other people
    that it is all a liberal hoax
    overblown
    nothing more than a bad flu
    and nothing to do with me
    demanding that we all go
    back to work

    what is wrong with you?
    have you lost your humanity?
    will millions have to die
    so you can have a Big Mac?
    so you can have a Big Mac
    and a beer
    whenever you damn please

    and no one can tell you
    please wear a mask
    have you lost all reason
    is it all now
    about owning the dems
    and the damn libtards
    is there any thing left
    in your cold greedy heart?

    and you still proclaim
    that you are Christian
    as you violate all the Christian principles
    what would Jesus do

    what would Jesus do
    what does the bible say
    we should do
    in the midst of this pandemic
    is it the Christian thing to do
    to let millions of people die
    did not Christ talk about love
    compassion and mercy
    would not Jesus
    wear a mask
    to protect himself
    and others
    from this ravaging disease
    that does not care

    who you are
    who you voted for
    which church you go to
    and Jesus and God
    are not there
    watching all of us
    as the virus spreads

    it will affect you
    sooner or later
    and when it does
    perhaps if you had worn
    a mask
    you might have prevented
    a few more people
    have died

    a few more people
    including your grandfather
    grandmother
    friend
    relative might be alive
    if you were not such
    a self- centered person
    and I appeal to you my friend
    to grow up, become a member
    of the human race again

    also published in Plethora Magazine in India

    General Corona Leads His Troops Into Battle, crown of sonnets

    corona
    corona

    General Corona leads his forces across the world
    riding on a black horse
    from out of the Apocalypse
    ride the four horsemen
    which are let loose upon the world

    He leads his forces across the world
    into battle as the leader of his evil forces
    The enemy of humanity

    General Corona he does not care
    nor does his virus minions care
    about your nationality he does not care
    about your politics he does not care
    or your wealth or who you are
    for all you are nothing but humanity

    the corona general sees humanity
    as nothing but hosts for his virus army
    chanting death to humanity
    until his evil army
    sweeps throughout the world
    throughout the world
    and millions must die

    it is the will of the general all must die
    and it is the end of the world
    or perhaps the beginning of a new world
    filled with hope and love through out the world
    humanity comes alive throughout the world
    fighting back against the virus army
    peace, love and compassion defeats the army
    and general corona will finally himself die

    Corona Ghosts Haunting the President

    corona virus
    corona virus

    The corona ghosts are angry
    Watching the news every day
    In limbo land

    The corona ghosts decide
    To pay the president a visit
    To show him the humans
    Who have died

    Due to his incompetence
    And lack of leadership
    175,000 Corona ghosts
    Descend upon the white house

    At midnight
    And surround the president
    Screaming at him

    Saying look at me
    Look at me

    You did this
    You did it
    You Mr. President

    You are not the smartest man
    In the world
    Far from it

    It is all on you
    And you will soon
    Be joining us

    Be afraid
    Your time is up
    General corona
    Is on the march

    And he has you
    In his sights

  • Raven Cage Publishes Poems

    Raven Cage Publishes Poems

    Raven Cage has published the following poems:

    Failure is not an option

    My failures
    Total Success or Total Failure
    Dejavu All Over Again
    General Failure Reading Disk Drives

    corona virus revised

    Raven Cage Publishes Poems

    Failure is Not an Option

    weasel words

    Failure is not an option
    Is a weasel word

    Weasel words
    Are Orwellian words
    Designed to shut down
    Rational thought

    And ironically
    these words

    “Failure is not an Option”
    usually accompanied by macho posturing
    and false bravado
    and extreme hubris

    Often leads to spectacular failure
    Because logically speaking
    Failure is always an implied option

    as is the null hypothesis of doing nothing
    nothing at all and let the status quo
    remain the stars quo

    Leaders need to look at all options
    Including what to do
    If they fail to achieve their goals
    or doing nothing at all

    They must have a plan
    To learn from their failures

    If not following the dictates
    The false macho posturing
    That failure is not an option
    Will often lead to the feared failure

    On Failure

    They say that failure
    Is the best teacher of all

    And I have learned
    from the proverbial
    school of hard knocks

    So much from my failures
    And I have failed so much
    In my life

    But I have gotten better
    Stronger and wiser
    and am a much better person
    Because I have failed

    And embraced my failures
    Failed first grade
    Almost failed math and physics
    Failed music college

    Almost failed statistics in college
    and graduate school
    just don’t have a mathematical mind

    Almost failed my life
    in the Peace Corps
    Dealing with Typhoid

    Almost failed my job
    when I was in Bangkok

    Almost failed my life
    In the hospital for almost a year
    battling a mutant staph MDR infection
    from hell

    and an acute GI infection
    that almost killed me
    later battled dengue fever

    Almost failed to learn Spanish
    Failed as a visa chief in Spain

    And throughout my failures
    There is one thing I learned

    With the support of my wife
    And my friends

    I can and will overcome
    everything that
    life throws at me

    and become even stronger
    wiser and a better person

    because I have overcome
    and learned from
    my failures

    Dejavu All Over Again

     

    masked woman
    masked woman

    Looking at the dismal news
    As the virus spreads
    Out of control

    With no end in sight
    Back in April
    Hospitals begged for relief
    From a lack of PPD
    And equipment etc

    And for a few weeks
    It seemed we were fine
    But we failed to prepare

    For the continuation of the pandemic
    And our stockpile has been overwhelmed
    Our hospitals are overwhelmed

    And it could have been prevented
    If our leaders had kept up
    Stockpiling for the inevitable second wave

    Even as the first wave has yet
    To reach its peak

    So I say
    It is all dejavu all over again

    General Failure Reading Disk Drive

    My computer loves
    Spitting out error messages
    Written like haiku

    Mysterious messages
    Hard to understand
    only computer geeks
    can follow

    My favorite has always been

    General Failure Reading Disk drive

    The question comes to mind
    Who is this General Failure

    And why is reading my disk drive
    Anyway?

    the End

  • corona virus revised

    corona virus revised

    Corona Virus Revised

    these are some of my corona virus poems written earlier in the year and revised accordingly.  Please see More Corona virus for the latest corona virus collection.  And remember to stay safe!!!!!

    more corona virus poems

    Wearing a Mask Controversy

    Cosmos 2020 April Poetry Part Two

    Cosmos’s 2020 April Poetry Part One

    Older Poems

    the Virus from Hell is amused
    End of the World
    Every Day I Turn on the News *
    Irony Meters Blow Gaskets
    Chaos *
    Corona Virus Fears Tanka
    My Phobias Overwhelm Me
    Fear Fills the Air
    More Trouble Every Day
    Trouble Every Day Frank Zappa
    The Torture Never Stops – Frank Zappa
    by pass the alarms spreading across the land
    corona cinqku
    Taking a Walk in the Corona Era
    A lone man stands in an empty parking lot
    empty parking lot
    It is a hell of a world we live in ain’t it?
    Pause for a moment amidst the media madness
    I feel as if the whole world needs to be cancelled
    The Virus King Cried *
    Bring out your dead
    the Virus Came From Hell
    The Delivery System of the Virus is Round
    the corona virus is testing us all
    The call goes out
    the four horse men ready to ride
    nature spirits revolt agains humanity
    Last Human on Island
    corona virus Haiku
    hell
    Bring Out Your Dead
    death comes knocking
    be afraid afraid
    The Virus Came From Hell
    Hope Springs Eternal in our Winter of our Discontent
    the Virus King Has Arrived
    Kimchi Blues
    Humor keeps us sane
    Peacock Speaks
    Iguana Talks to humanity
    To all the friends I am about to loose
    corona fears
    quarantine blues
    I Wish for Peace During this time of crisis
    Ten million stories in the Naked City
    The Mist from Hell Descends on the land
    Conversation with the Gods About Corona Virus
    Under the canopy of the pine trees we lay –
    corona fears
    to those I have lost
    We live in an Orwellian world
    새영 지마 saeyeong jima  plays out in life
    corona virus tanka
    The best meal of my life
    corona virus haiku
    White Flower spring Time Haiku
    Woman releases balloons of hope
    life interrupted by corona
    Saudade for friends I have lost
    The end of the world news depresses me

     

     

    the Virus from Hell is amused

     

    corona virus

    corona virus

    the Virus from Hell is amused
    laughing at the world’s panicked reaction
    as it marches through the world unabated
    infecting everyone in its wake

    as the world awaits its fate
    the virus smiles he ain’t no fake
    he is the real deal
    he is death itself

    he is the end of the world
    the grim reaper is smiling
    god is silent as usual

    the world’s leaders
    dither and dater
    as the economy craters
    everyone hoping that God
    will save them

    the virus does not care
    insults and orders do not work
    the virus simply does its virus thing

    infecting everyone it encounters
    and thousands will die
    equal opportunity offender

    killing the rich and the poor alike
    but more poor people
    just so many more poor people
    than the few billionaires

    the virus smile
    his work is done
    and mankind is doomed

    so be it the virus thinks
    that is the way of the world
    and the virus is the new king
    of the world

    End of the World

    corona viruscorona virus

    end of world
    the fears world-wide
    soon find us dead
    bring out the dead
    will the dead die

    death lies here there
    there goes here
    as death here comes
    soon here death comes

    Every Day I Turn on the News

     

    cnn logo
    cnn logo

    debunking the bioweaapon conspiracy theories

    published in Spillwords

    Thank you for your recent submission!
    Due to the relevancy of the subject matter of your poetry we have decided to publish it ahead of your last scheduled submission.
    Below are the edited publication details:
    “everyday I turn on the news” will be published on 3/26/20 at 2:30am Eastern Time (ET)
    “Dora The Intergalactic Explorer” will be published on 4/27/20 at 2:30am Eastern Time (ET)
    Below is the link to your last submission:

    every day I turn on the news
    nothing but news about the virus
    the virus from hell

    the world is filled with fear
    and my anxiety levels rise

    every time I turn on the news
    oh my god I say
    we are all going to die

    and I am so afraid
    afraid of everyone
    afraid of everything

    dreading the latest news
    and nothing relieves my fear

    I watch the world
    loosing its collective mind
    wondering how much more of this
    can  we all take

    I scream out
    Dear God save us all
    god is silent as usual

    and so I realized
    we are doomed

    perhaps it is the end times
    perhaps not

    I turn off the TV
    try to stay calm

    hoping the madness
    will not overwhelm us all

    Irony Meters Blow Gaskets 

    donald trumpdonald trump

    the Irony meter gasket
    is blown again and again
    with every statement
    of our chaos president

    and his endless surrogates
    promoting the latest Presidential
    on spot guidance by our great leader
    that must be true

    because our dear leader
    says it is so

    The President accuses his democratic rival
    of being senile and needs to be in home
    and will be run by his radical left allies

    and the right wing media
    echoes the presidential absurd comments
    refusing to acknowledge
    that the president himself
    is rapidly fading into dementia

    and his radical right cronies
    are looting the government
    driving out expertise
    even in the midst of pandemic

    Oh  yeah the irony meters
    are blowing gaskets
    every single day

    Chaos

     

    trump clown in chieftrump clown in chief

    the world descends into chaos
    as our world leaders
    led by the chaos president

    are overwhelmed
    by the smallest
    enemy of all

    a simple virus
    straight out of hell
    blows through the crumbling
    third world public health infrastructure

    living proof of the decline of America
    and no one is prepared
    and panic ensures
    with every Presidential tweet

    as people don’t believe
    a word he says
    conspiracy rumors spread
    everyone believes their own reality

    as the world spins out of control
    the chaos king is in his element
    convince that only he knows
    the deal
    and everyone else
    is iust a bit player
    in the reality show
    that he presides over

    and so the rest of us
    hunker down
    just hoping for the best
    as the panic and
    chaos spreads faster
    than the virus

    are we doomed
    can we survive
    will God save us?
    he is silent as always

    Corona Virus Fears Tanka

     

    cover 19cover 19
    Corona virus
    lurking fears all around me
    we all will die
    the TV screaming nonstop
    Must be afraid be afraid

    My Phobias Overwhelm Me

     

    covid 19 spreadcovid 19 spread
    lately I have become scared
    of everything
    the news scares me, the corona virus scares me, the presidential race scares me, fears of gun men in the street, terrorism, fears of getting sick, fears of dogs, fears of other people, fear of loosing money, fears of becoming demented old man, lost in his nightmares on the street just another invisible homeless bum in the end of his life
    all these phobias overwhelm me
    time to walk away from my fears
    and realize
    it will be alright
    everything will be alright
    As long as I have you
    by my side

    Fear Fills the Air

    cnn logo
    cnn logo

    [audio mp3="https://theworldaccordingtocosmos.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/the-world-is-filled-with-fear-.mp3"][/audio]

    watching the news
    CNNMSNBCFOXBBCKOREANNEWSJAPANESENEWSBLOOMBERABCCBSNBCGOOGLEAPPLEREUTERSAPIRUSSIANTVCHINESTVFRENCHTV
    blather on and on

    the world is ending
    pandemic is coming

    we are going to die
    and the fear grows
    and the restrictions grow

    travel comes to stop
    the economy comes to  a stop

    everyone is so afraid
    our leaders fret
    say that everything is fine
    as the world enters

    the second great depression
    and we are faced
    with the reality
    all over the world

    idiots in high places
    the masters of the universe
    are in charge

    the internet spreads
    the wildest rumors
    must be true

    I read it on the internet
    the truth is lost
    in the shuffle

    no one believes anyone
    everything thinks
    that they know
    it is all a conspiracy

    the thought comes to mind
    we are all so ’S….
    end of the world
    is upon us

    is this the best we can get?

    [audio mp3="https://theworldaccordingtocosmos.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Is-this-the-best-we-can-get-mp3.mp3"][/audio]

    [caption id="attachment_4086" align="alignleft" width="300"]trump trump

    watching the news
    one wonders

    how in this great country
    of ours

    335 million people
    among the most educated
    richest people in the world

    we can end up
    with such idiots in high places
    running out country?

    these idiots in charge
    no disrespect intended

    both political parties
    all corporations
    and our institutions
    except maybe the military

    has been infected
    by this virus
    of epic incompetence
    greed and indifference
    to the general good

    who loudly constantly proclaim
    that they are Christians
    while violating
    all of Christ’s teachings

    Jesus if he came back
    would scream out
    I am not Christian

    it is all about me
    and mine

    and you can go
    to hell
    if you dare to disagree

    and so we tweet and titter
    and watch the news
    reading the latest rumors
    and I wonder

    if there is a god
    or if there is a devil
    and are we overwhelmed
    by the dismal news

    why can’t we have better
    leaders
    better people
    in our leaders
    around the world

    has god abandoned us
    are we in hell
    or did god ever exist
    except in our fevered imagination

    will god save us all
    or will the world
    just go around the sun
    indifferent to our pleas?

    no answer
    must watch the news
    consumed by the need
    to see the latest news

    and so it goes
    and I wake up

    the sun is up
    and the nightmares
    fade away

    until I watch the news
    and the madness consumes
    us all again and again

    as the corona virus
    marches on and on
    consuming us all
    as the world falls apart

    these must be the end times
    I hope I will be raptured away
    even if I am not a Christian

    More Trouble Every Day

    The Old Zappa song plays
    on in my head
    every time I turn on the news

    and see more trouble every day
    no one can delay
    the trouble coming every day

    Frank Zappa died too soon
    before the horrors of the Trump era
    and the corona end of the world plague

    that he would have foreseen
    if he had lived on
    he was truly a prophet

    crying in the wildness
    while making money
    as an over night sensation

    as he saw the slime
    oozing out of the TV sets
    we will do what we are told
    for the rights to us have been sold

    And Jesus too
    has been sold
    to the highest bidder

    nothing but a business deal
    in America
    the land of the constant deal

    and so I turn off the TV
    and realize that

    the torture never ends
    the torture never ends

    Trouble Every Day

    more trouble every day  Frank Zappa

    Well I’m about to get sick
    From watchin’ my TV
    Been checkin’ out the news
    Until my eyeballs fail to see
    I mean to say that every day
    Is just another rotten mess
    And when it’s gonna change, my friends
    Is anybody’s guess
    So I’m watchin’ and I’m waitin’
    Hopin’ for the best
    Even think I’ll go to prayin’
    Every time I hear ’em sayin’
    That there’s no way to delay
    That trouble comin’ every day
    No way to delay
    That trouble comin’ every day
    Wednesday I watched the riot…
    I seen the cops out on the street
    Watched ’em throwin’ rocks and stuff
    And chokin’ in the heat
    Listened to reports
    About the whisky passin’ ’round
    Seen the smoke & fire
    And the market burnin’ down
    Watched while everybody
    On his street would take a turn
    To stomp and smash and bash and crash
    And slash and bust…

    The Torture Never Stops
    Frank Zappa

    torture never stops

    Flies all green and buzzin’
    In this dungeon of despair
    Prisoners grumblin
    Piss they clothes
    Scratch their matted hair
    A tiny light from a window-hole
    Hundred yards away
    That all they ever get to know
    ‘Bout the regular life in the day
    ‘Bout the regular life in the day
    Slime and rot and rats and snuck
    Vomit on the floor
    Fifty ugly soldier men
    Holdin’ spears by the iron door
    Stinks so bad, stones are chokin’
    Weepin’ greenish drops
    In the den where
    The giant fire puffer works
    And the torture never stops
    The torture never stops, torture
    The torture never stops
    The torture never stops
    Flies all green and buzzin’
    In this dungeon of despair
    An evil prince eats a steamin’ pig
    In a tumbers right near there
    In the chambers right near there
    He eats de snouts an trotters first!…

    by pass the alarms spreading across the land

    to bypass the alarms spreading across the land
    the circuit breakers are breaking down
    as the alarms go on and on
    with the end of the world
    the end days approaching
    spreading the alarm far and wide

    corona cinqku

    corona virus
    corona virus

    corona
    it came from hell
    we must be all prepared
    meet God

    Taking a Walk in the Corona Era

    peace forest
    peace forest

    every day I go for a walk
    in the spring time woods
    near my house

    braving the weather
    and the dreaded corona virus

    wearing masks and gloves
    keeping a distance
    from anyone we encounter

    that is life it seems
    in the era of the corona virus

    when will it end
    no one knows
    until then
    I will brave the viral threat

    and confront my fears
    and walk in the park

    with the love of my life
    my bride my wife
    by my side

    in these challenging times
    that is all we can do

    A lone man stands in an empty parking lot

    empty parking lot
    empty parking lot

    A lone man stands in an empty parking lot
    contemplating the new normal
    social distancing run amuck

    as fears of the corona super plague
    plague the land
    driving everyone inside

    sheltering in place
    afraid to go out
    afraid of the deadly c virus

    It is a hell of a world we live in ain’t it?

    two friends on a bench
    two friends on a bench

    It is a hell of a world we live in ain’t it?
    said the old man to me
    sitting on a bench
    in the park in the woods

    as we both sought shelter
    from the spreading chaos
    the pandemic swirling around us

    Yes I said
    standing up
    to enforce the proper distance
    between us

    don’t want to give the virus a chance
    to spread between us

    he smiled and said
    relax I already went through it
    I am fine and you will too

    Pause for a moment amidst the media madness

    Pause for a moment amidst the media madness
    All around us fears and chaos
    Unlike the end of the world approaching us
    Sadness overcomes us dooming us to our fate
    Every we go nothing but death awaits

    I feel as if the whole world needs to be cancelled

    I feel as if the whole world
    needs to be canceled
    due to rough times ahead
    due to the corona madness
    and the thread of pure craziness
    that it inspires in us all

    The Virus King Cried

    the virus king cried
    virus king cried

    the virus king smiled
    as the politicians lied
    saying that the end was near
    the virus king infected thousands more
    and killed hundreds of people

    the virus king sneered
    as people panicked
    and partied on the beach

    the virus king infected thousands more
    and killed hundreds of people

    the virus king laughed
    as the markets crashed
    millions became unemployed
    the virus king infected thousands more
    and killed hundreds of people

    the virus king roared
    as the world slid into chaos
    people turning on one another

    the virus king infected thousands more
    and killed hundreds of people

    the virus king smirked
    knowing that there was nothing
    that they could do to stop
    his army from infecting millions
    and killing thousands

    the virus King begin to realize
    that soon there would be no one left
    no one for his army to infect
    as everyone was dying

    the virus King yelled
    remaining defiant
    as civilization collapsed

    billions were infected
    millions died

    the Virus King at last cried
    when he saw that he was defeated
    as one by one
    people began to recover
    and his reign of terror came to an end

    Bring out your dead

    grimm reaper
    grimm reaper

    the call bring out your dead
    spreads around the world
    as millions die

    all over the world
    the virus has spread
    mutated and killed

    all over the world
    bring out your dead

    the mournful cries
    echoing in the wind
    of the dying cities

    mass starvation
    as no is working
    in the fields

    as more people die
    and the world spins
    around the sun
    with the politicians lying
    and the dead still dying

    as civilization dies
    and humanity flee
    into the wilderness
    chased by the killer virus
    straight down to hell

    the Virus Came From Hell

    coronavirus
    coronavirus

    the virus came from hell
    straight out of a mad lab
    born and raised in China
    the virus spread from Dinah
    all over to carolina

    it spread from the lab
    the mad virus of Hell
    was mad as hell at humans

    who it blamed for everything
    seeing itself as cleansing everything
    killing the world and everything
    revenge against humans

    perhaps virus came from God
    more likely came from Satan
    part of natures’ revenge

    all designed to avenge
    the damage to Stonehenge
    virus came from Satan

    The Delivery System of the Virus is Round

    cover 19 spread
    cover 19 spread

    the delivery system of the virus is round
    very simple system
    the virus spreads around
    and all must pay the price
    death and destruction

    the corona virus is testing us all

    the corona virus is testing us all
    is it a plague
    sent by God
    if we have faith
    will we recover

    or it is beyond our control
    the end of the world
    does god hear our prayers
    does god even exist

    the virus from hell
    spreads around the world
    and test our faith

    will god save us all
    I have no answer
    but perhaps if god exists
    we will recover
    from this plague
    from hell

    The call goes out

    the call goes out
    stay at home
    to beat the dreaded c virus
    will we live
    or all die?

    the four horse men ready to ride

     

    four horsemen
    four horsemen

    the end of the world is upon us
    as god unleashes the corona virus
    which is spreading across the land

    the four horse men are ready
    to begin their grim journey
    announcing the end of the world

    the white horse comes first
    offering peace and hope
    in the midst of death
    and despair

    the red horse rides second
    ushering in war
    throughout the world

    as nations turn on each other
    and civil war looms

    the Black Horse is ready
    unleashing famine
    on a starving world

    as people stay at home
    and food rots in the field

    no one is able
    to work any more
    as the virus kills more
    and more

    the pale horse rides last

    bringing death
    in his wake
    death all around us

    as the virus kills us all
    and civilization ends

    the four horse men
    have done their job

    the virus finishes its reign of terror
    and the few survivors
    beging to recover

    end of the world
    came and went
    and they are still alive
    thanks to God

    who remains silent
    as always

    nature spirits revolt agains humanity

    all around the world
    nature’s spirits
    are on the move

    the world is changing
    as the nature’s spirits
    rise up
    in revolt against humanity

    is this the end time
    is nature on revolt
    against humanity

    is this the end for us all
    will the virus kill us all
    will nature rise up
    and kill us all?

    Last Human on Island

    in the deep blue sea
    nothing there
    but death and destruction
    virus all around
    pandemic plague
    Apocalyptic views
    end of times
    death of civilization

    corona virus Haiku

     

    corona virus
    corona virus

    corona virus

    staying home
    waiting for death
    Afraid everything

    the virus came from hell

    the virus came from hell
    staying home waiting for death
    Afraid everything

    Bring Out Your Dead

    bring out your dead cries
    break out all over the world
    we are waiting death

    death comes knocking

    death comes knocking
    on our doorsteps tonight
    will God hear prayers

    be afraid afraid

    be afraid afraid
    Must be afraid every one
    Death is at our door

    The Virus Came From Hell

    the virus came from Hell
    ravaging the entire world
    all waiting for death

    from april 2020 Poems

    Cosmos’s 2020 April Poetry

    Wednesday April 1  Hope Springs Eternal in our Winter of our Discontent   writer’s digest prompt Posted

    corona virus
    corona virus

    Hope springs eternal in the winter of our discontent

    On the daily news that fills us with dread
    Perfect storm of hatred, fear and despair
    Everywhere we go nonstop fear broadcasted

    Despair fills my heart as I turn on the news
    Everywhere we are in the midst of the pandemic
    Simply put death is at hand

    Planning for the future yet waiting for death
    At worst we will all die not today but soon
    In the long term we are all dead

    Remembering the dead all around us
    yet I end this poem with a word of hope

    hoping for the best
    while preparing for the worst
    all I can do to stay sane
    as I await my fate

    on this dismal date
    April 1 is indeed
    April Fool’s date
    is that our fate
    this endless dance with death?

    and to end with a sign of hope
    I know that if I have you by my side
    I will survive I will survive
    until the end of time itself
    takes us to the other side

    based on writer’s digest daily April poetry month challenge to write a poem about hope

    the Virus King Has  Arrived

    poetry soup version is the Virus King has arrived = as poetry soup did not like the word “Hell”

    corona
    corona

    the virus from hell has arrived
    catching the world unprepared

    it erupted out of China
    then began its terrifying reign
    wiping out thousands of people
    destroying jobs and economies
    killing people left and right

    it seemed like something
    out of our worst nightmares
    but at least it was not
    the dreaded zombie flu
    perhaps that is next’s fall’s nightmare

    as the virus from hell
    prepares for a fresh assault
    to finish us all off

    second poem for april poetry month © 2 hours ago, john Cosmos Aller

      

    Thursday April 2 posting

    Kimchi Blues

    kimchi
    kimchi

    Oh yeah

    I got the kimchi blues
    every day since I first ate it
    back in the day

    long before i went to Korea
    ended up staying on in Korea
    after i retired from decade
    in the Foreign Service

    and ten years studying
    and living in Korea
    before I joined
    the Foreign Service

    When I first ate kimchi
    I was hooked
    sort of a spicier version

    of German sauerkraut
    which i loved on my top dog
    from Berkeley high school days

    then off to korea
    in the peace corps
    where I ate kimchi

    every day for every meal
    and eventually I woke up
    dreaming of kimchi and rice

    instead of pancakes and eggs
    then I knew
    that I had finally adjusted
    and was becoming half Korean

    and now I am a hopeless kimchi addict
    need to have my spicy kimchi
    which is so good for you

    perhaps even defeating the dreaded corona virus?
    who knows but I will be eating Kimchi
    until my day is done

    Friday April 3

    Humor keeps us sane

    Pensively prompt – unpublished

    corona virus
    corona virus

    it is a piece of what we need to do
    to prevent us from getting
    the dreaded corona virus
    coming up your nose

    Peacock Speaks

    peacock speaks
    peakcock speaks

    as the virus spreads
    around the world
    the peacock in the zoo
    speaks up

    talking on behalf
    of their fellow species
    he called upon humans
    to free them from their zoo prisons
    and let them be free

    before it was too late
    and humanity met their fate
    becoming a ghost in the wind

    creative talents unleashed prompt

    Iguana Talks to humanity

    iquana will miss human friends
    iguana will miss human friends

    the wise old Iguana
    woke from its nightmares
    of the end of the world

    as humanity faded away
    the iguana was scared
    but afraid of the future

    and he would miss
    his human friends

    creative talents unleashed prompt

    writing.com prompt daily dew april poems

    To all the friends I am about to loose

    over the years
    I have known so many people
    and now when the virus
    is spreading out around the world

    I will soon be hearing
    that this person has died
    and that person has died

    I will outlive many of my friends
    from around the world

    part of getting old
    something that I fear

    one day perhaps
    people will hear
    that jake has died

    and they will say
    that they barely knew me
    and wished that they had

    taken the time
    to become my friend
    Just as I think
    about all the friends

    i am about to loose
    to this killer virus
    running amuck

    writing.com prompt daily dew April poems

    corona fears

    covid 19 virus
    covid 19 virus

    corona
    the word fills us with dread
    spreading around the world today
    will we all survive this
    corona

    Saturday April 4

    quarantine blues

    quarantine
    quarantine

    Quarantine such an ugly word
    Unlike any other
    All at home
    Regardless of desires
    No where to go
    That is the worst part of it
    In fact enforced staying at home
    Not too bad
    Especially if I have you by my side

    Blues come over me
    Looking out the window
    Unable to go out
    Everyone everybody afraid
    Sums up my fearful fears

    poetry soup contest

    I Wish for Peace During this time of crisis

    I wish for peace and happiness
    during this time of despair
    pandemic fears all around us
    death stalking us daily

    I wish for health
    amid the carnage
    all around me

    I wish for leadership
    from our President
    from our governors
    and our congress

    and most importantly
    I wish that I will survive

    with my love at my side
    experiencing love
    in the time of corona

    Ten million stories in the Naked City

    there are a million stories
    every day in the naked city
    millions of people

    stripped naked
    to the bone
    staring down the dead
    the dead staring back

    in this time
    of pandemic
    the dead stare out at us

    mocking us
    as they leave the earth
    naked as when they arrived

    All poetry contest – write a naked poem

    The Mist from Hell Descends on the land

    the mist settles down on the land
    the mist covers us all
    the scent of death

    the grim reaper
    rides behind the miss
    infecting those around him

    the mark of death
    as the mist covers the land
    the end of the world
    comes with the mist from hell

    Conversation with the Gods About Corona Virus

     

    jehova
    jehova

    Rev. Jake ’s on-line sermon on the Corona Virus

    I am reverend Jake and I have a message from God

    Last night I had a vision from God
    it was his message to the world
    about this pandemic we are facing

    I found myself in a large room
    Jehovah, God, was sitting in the middle
    surrounded by the other Gods
    they were all there

    Jesus on his right
    Allah on his left
    Buddha behind him

    Ganesh, Shiva, Kali
    Mohammed, Joseph Smith and other prophets
    Gabriel and other angels abound
    St Peter in front of his as his Chief of Staff

    Zeus, Jupiter, Minerva and ancient
    other gods all around him

    God spoke up
    He said
    I have a message for you

    to give to your people
    all of your people
    no matter what religion
    or no religion at all
    it is all one after all

    first the corona virus
    is a natural phenomenon
    we have no control
    over forces of nature

    and we did not send
    it to you
    to punish you
    for homosexuality
    or anything else at all

    Second obey the health directives
    stay at home
    do your services on line

    it is okay with us
    we are fine with that

    the blood of Jesus
    will not save you
    If you are in a crowded place
    like church or a mosque service

    the virus will spread
    and catch you in the end

    Prayers alone will not save you
    but please keep praying
    we do listen to your prayers
    but we can only do so much

    So please don’t allow the virus
    to spread
    because of your ignorance
    and fear

    realize that in the end
    the virus will do its thing
    and you will survive

    and we
    all the gods here
    love you humans

    and wish you well
    so stay at home
    practice self-distancing

    It is God’s will
    all will survive

    Under the canopy of the pine trees we lay –

    pine trees jpeg
    pine trees jpeg

    under the canopy of the pine trees we lay
    along the world peace forest
    in Korea

    walking the forest
    in the spring time
    fearing the corona virus
    and everyone around us

    watch the snowing cherry trees
    and the wind whispering
    the voices of ghosts

    those newly dead
    and we lay down
    under the canopy of the pine trees

    waiting for our turn
    to face the grim reaper

    in this dismal day
    in April
    truly the cruelest month
    of them all

    from the poem ‘Under the canopy of pine trees
    poetry soup contest

    corona fears

    corona
    corona

    corona
    the word fills us with dread
    spreading around the world today
    will we all survive this
    corona

    to those I have lost

    with the corona virus upon us
    I am bracing to hear the news
    that so and so has died

    I reflect back
    on all the people in my life
    that I have already lost

    part of being older
    is that you lose people
    close to you along the way

    I lost my father due to cancer in 1985
    and my sister due to a freak illness in 2007
    and my mother due to Alzheimer’s in 2005
    and my father-in-law as well in 2007

    Demel Tucker

    high school debate teammate
    dead of HIV in 1995

    Julian Bartley and his son
    one of my favorite bosses
    died in a terrorist bombing
    in Nairobi in 1998

    Jon Weber college roommate
    dead due to prostate cancer
    in 2000

    Paul Simon  friend from the visa line
    dropped dead of a heart attack
    in 2004

    Ted Halstead
    one of my best bosses
    died of heart attack
    in 2007

    Chris Richard one of my former bosses
    dropped dead of a heart attack
    shortly before we were due
    to have lunch in 2014

    and so many others
    I have lost
    along the way

    and soon there will be
    so many more

    as I get old
    in the corona era

    writing.com daily dew drop prompt to write an elegy poem

    We live in an Orwellian world

    1984 image
    1984 images

    we are living
    in an Orwellian 1984 world
    and have been for decades

    we are assaulted daily
    by alternative realties
    promoted by various politicians
    designed to shut down
    all rational thought

    true Orwellian thought control
    and now with the corona virus
    massive surveillance
    has become the norm

    and when the crisis is over
    the surveillance will continue
    on one excuse after another

    forever as Orwell’s nightmare
    big brother ruling us all
    comes true

    based on the fear that the massive increase in social surveillance being deployed against the Corona virus will after the crisis is over continue forever under one excuse or another as the Orwellian big brother dictatorships around the world become permanent

    saeyeong jima  plays out in life

    The Korean Proverb
    saeyeong jima
    recently came to life in my life

    The meaning of the proverb
    Is that you can never know whether something
    will be good or bad

    and that unexpectedly
    what appears to be bad fortune
    turns out to be a good fortune

    The proverb played
    out recently in my life

    about lunar  New Year’s Day
    we were preparing to go to Thailand
    from two weeks from our home
    in South Korea

    and then at the end of February
    we would go to DC

    My wife blew out her lumber desk
    and we were forced to cancel our trips

    This occurred
    just as the coronavirus
    was taking off around the world

    and if we had gone
    we may have been stuck either in Thailand
    or we may have been stuck in the United States

    and traveling
    in the mist of a corona outbreak
    would probably mean
    that we would have been exposed
    to the virus

    instead we were forced to stay home
    and self quarantine ourselves
    and therefore
    we escaped being exposed to the coronavirus

    and we feel much safer
    here in Korea  where the outbreak is contained
    rather than in DC
    where it is still spreading everywhere

    so in a sense her misfortune
    throwing out her disk
    which resulted in us staying at home
    and avoiding the coronavirus

    is the true meaning
    of the Korean Chinese expression
    saeyeong jima

    writers digest prompt write a lucky/unlucky poem

    corona virus tanka

    corona virus
    it is spreading all over
    the world dying
    I walk down the path of life
    Along with love of my wife

    The best meal of my life

    korean feast jpg
    korean feast jpg

    the best meals of my life
    has always been what my wife
    cooks up for me every night

    she is a genius in the kitchen
    always making something great
    from the simplest ingredients

    Because she came down with celiac disease
    she could  only eat
    what she prepared from scratch

    and so she was forced
    to give up all processed foods

    and in the process she became
    the greatest cook
    in the universe

    I wait with baited breath
    to taste the great food
    that she creates for me

    on lunar new years
    she threw out her lumbar disk
    and we were forced to stay home

    just as the corona pandemic
    swept across the world

    if we had traveled
    we would have contracted
    the dreaded corona virus

    and we were forced
    to stay at home

    and she took advantage
    of staying at home
    to try new dishes
    every single day

    I recall the Korean proverb
    saeyeong jima

    as her misfortune
    turned into fortune

    and once again
    she saved me life

    I am the luckiest man in life
    the best fed man of all I know
    due to the cooking skills of my wife

    Writing.com daily dew drop prompt write a food poem

    corona virus haiku

    corona virus
    brings death and our destruction
    destroying our life

    White Flower spring Time Haiku

    white flowers in spring haiku
    white flowers in spring haiku

    now in the springtime
    white flowers blooming in the park
    corona death waits

    Woman releases balloons of hope

    ballons for peace
    ballons for peace

    A young woman
    walks in a park
    on a sunny spring day

    carrying 25 red balloons
    each red balloon
    contains  the name of those
    that recently died

    in the corona virus pandemic
    she is releasing the balloons
    hoping they would
    rise  to heaven

    with a request for God
    to hear her prayers
    End this pandemic
    End the death and destruction
    release us from the corona pandemic

    the woman releases the balloons
    and slowly walks back to her house
    to prepare to attend yet another funeral
    as the pandemic swirls all around her

    creative talents unleashed prompt

    life interrupted by corona

    covid19
    covid19

    we live in a strange world
    life interrupted by corona
    the virus spread throughout the world
    disrupting everything

    putting life on hold
    as more people
    hunkered down

    waiting for the virus
    to pass over us
    like in biblical times

    the virus
    will test us all

    and then
    we will all
    go back
    to life interrupted

    writing.com Daily Dew Drop interruption

    Saudade for friends I have lost

    as I get older
    I lose more people
    every year

    more people I knew
    have died moving on
    and I mourn their lost friendship

    wished I had been
    a better friend for them
    and knew them better

    and with the corona virus
    spreading around the world
    I will lose so many more

    in the coming year
    as the virus spreads
    its malignancy far and wide

    I lost my father due to cancer in 1985
    and my sister
    due to a freak illness in 2007

    and my mother
    due to Alzheimer’s in 2005
    and my father-in-law as well in 2007

    Demel Tucker
    high school debate teammate
    dead of HIV in 1995

    Julian Bartley and his son
    died in a terrorist bombing
    in Nairobi in 1998

    Jon Weber college roommate
    dead due to prostate cancer
    in 2000

    Paul Simon  friend from the visa line
    dropped dead of a heart attack
    in 2004

    Ted Halstead
    one of my best bosses
    died of heart attack in 2007

    Judy Fine
    My Co-Ho partner in crime
    died in 2006

    Chris Richard
    one of my former bosses
    from my days in Bangkok

    dropped dead of a heart attack
    shortly before we were due
    to have lunch in 2014

    and so many others
    I have lost
    along the way

    and soon there will be
    so many more
    as I get old in the corona era

    writing.com  saudade poem

    The end of the world news depresses me

    trump jpg
    trump jpg

    the end of the world news
    depresses me
    makes me want to shout and scream
    STFU leave me alone
    to deal with my grief

    amid the death and destruction
    watching CNNMSNBCFOXBBC media nonstop
    filled with essential dread
    the end of the world is upon us

    from the screaming news media
    spreading forth across the land
    fake news screams the president
    all is alright he proclaims

    no one believes his 16,000 lies
    and so it goes

    we are drowning with information
    coming at us so fast and furious

    When will it end my friend
    is anyone’s guess
    in the long run we are dead

    National poetry Month Day Seven poem inspired by the news

    God Did not Send the Corona Virus  as a Punishment Black Out Poem

    Robert_Jeffress
    Robert_Jeffress

     original text

    During a press briefing today to address the nation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, President Trump was asked about certain Christian pastors who plan to defy state lockdown orders and hold Easter church services this Sunday.

    “I’ve had talks with the pastors, and most of the pastors agree … that they are better off doing what they are doing, which is, distancing,” Trump said, adding that the pastors want to “get back to church so badly.”

    Trump then referred to a notorious pastor who sits on his religious advisory council.

    “I’m going to be watching Pastor Robert Jeffress, who’s been a great guy,” Trump said. “He’s a great guy and I’m going to be watching on a laptop.”

    Jeffress is known for his litany of statements demonizing the LGBT community, abortion, and secular people. One of his most reviled comments came in 2015 when he said the 9/11 attacks were God’s punishment on America for abortion.

    “People ask me all the time,” Jeffress said during a speech at Liberty University. “‘Well, I just don’t understand why God wouldn’t protect our nation and he would allow these radical Muslims in 2001 to kill 3,000 of our citizens and why God doesn’t protect us. Surely, God doesn’t use pagans to bring judgment upon his own people, does he?’”

    “I’ve had talks with the pastors, and most of the pastors agree … that they are better off doing what they are doing, which is, distancing,” Trump said, adding that the pastors want to “get back to church so badly.”

    Black out text

    the coronavirus pandemic, President Trump

    hold Easter church services this Sunday.

    “I’ve had talks with the pastors, get back to church so badly.”
    “He’s a great guy and I’m going to be watching on a laptop.”
    he 9/11 attacks were God’s punishment on America for abortion.

    “People ask me all the time,” ‘Well, I just don’t understand why God wouldn’t protect our nation and he would allow these radical Muslims in 2001 to kill 3,000 of our citizens and why God doesn’t protect us. Surely, God doesn’t use pagans to bring judgment upon his own people, does he?’”

    Poem

    Corona Pandemic is Not’s God’s Punishment

    Amid  the coronavirus pandemic,
    President Trump
    Attended virtual Easter church services
    I’ve had talks with the pastors,

    We need to get back
    to church so badly.”

    Rev Jeffries is  a great guy
    I’m going to be watching on a laptop.”

    Rev Jeffries said

    The 9/11 attacks were God’s punishment
    on America for abortion.

    “People ask me all the time,”
    ‘Well, I just don’t understand
    why God wouldn’t protect our nation

    and he would allow these
    radical Muslims in 2001
    to kill 3,000 of our citizens
    and why God doesn’t protect us

    Surely, God doesn’t use pagans
    to bring judgment
    upon his own people,
    does he?’”

    I am sad to report
    Rev Jeffries
    I spoke to God

    This morning
    He confirmed
    He did not cause 9-11
    To bring judgement
    On the US
    For abortion

    He went on to say
    The corona virus
    Is beyond his control

    And he is not sending it
    To punish the US
    Or the world

    His final words
    Please tell Rev Jeffries
    To simply STFU

    poetry super highway black out poem

    the End

  • more corona virus poems

    more corona virus poems

    More Corona Virus Poems

    Note:  Most of these poems were written in May to July, 2020. I plan on updating this once a month or more often as the muse strikes me. I am hunkering down in South Korea where the virus is slowly spreading but mostly contained.  It is a sad community that a country that has 1/6 the population of the US and is very congested should have so few cases -13,000 cases vrs 3 million + in the U.S. as I write this July 15, 2020. Some of these poems are sarcastic, some are magical realism as I imagine General Corona  leading his army.  See the first one where I introduce the character of  General Corona.  Even an invisible army needs a general, don’t you think?  Enjoy and feel free to send me your poem for a future guest posting.  I have updated also my earlier postings – see revised corona poems.  There were  just too many to include in one posting.

    Enjoy

    Jake Cosmos Aller

    Corona Virus is Not God’s Punishment

    tChristian Right on Corona

    Wearing a Mask Controversy 

    Palm Beach article on Mask Controversy

    Index

    New poems

    General Corona Appears in a Vision

    God Fearing Christian Patriots Willing to Die to Breath mask Free –  Eight  found Poems

    1 Devil Love

    2.   Do You Think You are God?

    3 Going Against God’s Breathing System

    4    We the People Will Rise Up

    5  Are You Insane?

    6  What About Bill Gates?

    7. Listen to Q and Get Educated

    8   Never Again

    Conservative Christian Activist Says He would rather be beheaded than wear a mask to prevent the spread of COVID 19  Found Poems
    Corona pantoum
    To wear or not wear a mask that is the question Stop Testing, Found Poem
    I am going to mess you up, Dude!
    Reality Bites
    Corona hits Me Hard
    Corona fears haiflu
    Corona Hits Me Hard
    Corona Virus Paranoia<
    watching as the entire world falls apart
    The Last Day of America
    Plane, Train or Automobile – none of us can escape our fate
    Packages from God
    corona-consumes-
    ARC Throws Back the Hood
    Covid madness sweeps through the world
    Wearing a Mask is Not a Political Statement
    Surely not kill man
    Wear the Damn Mask
    My psychoanalyst thinks I’m perfectly right
    Mad mask fears
    Jesus would have masked up
    Total success
    Talk is cheap
    The corona virus is not dying out Mr. President
    General corona is pleased
    Wear the damn mask
    An Old man refuses to wear the mask of death
    Poetic Justice at work Found Poem<
    American Independent kwoa poems
    Everything is Every Thing
    Anytime the Corona Winds Blows
    Ain’t Karma a bitch, Mr. President
    Governor Covid Victim Poetic Justice

    Older Poems  see corona virus revised

    the Virus from Hell is amused

    End of the World
    Every Day I Turn on the News *
    Irony Meters Blow Gaskets
    Chaos *
    Corona Virus Fears Tanka
    My Phobias Overwhelm Me
    Fear Fills the Air
    More Trouble Every Day
    Trouble Every Day Frank Zappa
    The Torture Never Stops – Frank Zappa
    by pass the alarms spreading across the land
    corona cinqk
    Taking a Walk in the Corona Era
    A lone man stands in an empty parking lot
    empty parking lot
    It is a hell of a world we live in ain’t it?
    Pause for a moment amidst the media madness
    I feel as if the whole world needs to be cancelled
    The Virus King Cried *
    Bring out your dead
    the Virus Came From Hell
    The Delivery System of the Virus is Round
    the corona virus is testing us all
    The call goes out
    the four horse men ready to ride
    nature spirits revolt agains humanity
    Last Human on Island
    corona virus Haiku
    hell
    Bring Out Your Dead
    death comes knocking
    be afraid afraid
    The Virus Came From Hell
    Hope Springs Eternal in our Winter of our Discontent
    the Virus King Has Arrived
    Kimchi Blues
    Humor keeps us sane
    Peacock Speaks
    Iguana Talks to humanity
    To all the friends I am about to loose
    corona fears
    quarantine blues
    I Wish for Peace During this time of crisis
    Ten million stories in the Naked City
    The Mist from Hell Descends on the land
    Conversation with the Gods About Corona Virus
    Under the canopy of the pine trees we lay –
    corona fears
    to those I have lost
    We live in an Orwellian world
    새영 지마 saeyeong jima  plays out in life
    corona virus tanka
    The best meal of my life
    corona virus haiku
    White Flower spring Time Haiku
    Woman releases balloons of hope
    life interrupted by corona
    Saudade for friends I have lost
    The end of the world news depresses me
    God Did not Send the Corona Virus  as a Punishment Black Out Poem

    New Poems

    General Corona Appears in a Vision

    One day I was half napping
    Watching the President drone on
    About him being a war time president
    battling an invisible army

    I beheld a vision of great terror
    I saw a huge black General
    General Corona himself
    Dressed in star wars imperial
    black storm trooper robocop uniform

    Riding a black horse
    The black horseman
    From revelations
    Live and in living color

    And he took off his helmet
    And turned to me

    He screamed
    Death to all humans

    Addressing his invisible army
    Newly visible to me
    Millions of virus bots
    In imperial storm trooper uniforms
    Carrying imperial ray gun weapons

    The virus bot army
    Joined in the battle cry
    Death to all humans
    Death to all humans
    All humans must die

    I woke up
    And turned off the TV
    And went for a walk

    To clear my head
    Of this vision
    Of General Corona

    God Fearing Christian Patriots Willing to Die to Breath mask Free – found Poems

    Residents in Palm Beach Florida erupt over new face mask rule – CNN Video

    comment: found poems based on public testimony before the West Palm Beach county commission’s hearing on imposing a mask requirement. The commissioners voted 7 to 2 to impose the requirement.  I mixed in some of my own stanzas here and there for clarification or emphasis.

     

    Devil Love

    Devil love is propelling the “deep state
    to stomp on the U.S. Constitution
    and deprive us of our God-given oxygen
    along with our inalienable rights

    making us wear face masks
    on orders from those
    who are poised to
    And those officials
    who follow the devil’s law

    “I can’t understand
    why you would all
    decide something like this

    and want to hurt the people.
    You’re going to harm
    the health of all of the people

    “Every single one of you has a smirk
    behind that little mask,

    will be subject to citizen’s arrest
    by We the People
    for crimes against humanity.

    “My name is Butch Dias,
    and I am an American patriot“

    See that flag?
    I would die for that flag!

    The Constitution
    that you are supposed to uphold
    I would die for that!”

    “You didn’t listen
    to We the People!”

    “But what’s going to happen when you get the call…
    ‘Oh, we got to defund the police,
    we got to get rid of them.’..

    Who’s going to arrest the people
    [not] wearing stupid masks?…
    What are you going to do?

    How are you going to put the people down?”
    It breaks my heart,
    because I would die for that flag,

    I would die for this country,
    and I would die for the Constitution.

    And you guys are supposed
    to uphold the Constitution.
    But you know what?

    You didn’t.

    You let We the People down.”

     Do You Think You are God?

    Hey,
    good morning.
    Let me ask you all

    Do you believe you’re God?
    “Do you believe you can override
    God’s divine plan for our lives?

    Do you believe God gave us life
    and God takes away our life?
    Well, if you answer yes
    to all these questions,

    who gives you
    the right to choose
    how we live our lives?

    I choose faith
    over fear every day
    You’re not God,

    and since masks are harmful
    where there is risk
    there should be choice.

    Turning Your Backs On God’s Breathing System

     

    “I’d like to say, in the beginning God
    formed man out of the earth
    and breathed his breath in him
    and he became a living soul,

    “And they want to throw God’s
    wonderful breathing system out the door,”

    “You’re all turning your backs on it.
    Can you prove that it’s good for people
    to breathe carbon dioxide over
    and over and over again?

    God made it so that
    we would breathe
    in fresh oxygen,

    to go to our body
    to every cell in the body
    It has to have that
    to make energy.

    When you wear a mask,
    the nose is cut off,
    the mouth is cut off.”
    and you can’t breath
    Just like George Floyd

    “And you’re breathing carbon dioxide
    over and over and over again.
    You’re not getting the fresh oxygen
    that God intended
    .
    You’re sending carbon dioxide
    to every cell in the body,
    polluting it
    Especially the brain…”

    “I don’t wear a mask
    for the same reason
    I don’t wear underwear
    Things got to breathe.”

    The virus is going to keep on going
    because people’s bodies are being polluted
    and the virus is attracted to polluted bodies

    You’re going against God’s
    wonderful gift he gave us.”

    “And they want to throw God’s
    wonderful breathing system out the door,”

    “You’re all turning your backs on it.
    Can you prove that it’s good for people
    to breathe carbon dioxide over
    and over and over again?

    “I can’t understand
    why you would all
    decide something like this

    and want to hurt the people.
    You’re going to harm
    the health of all of the people

    You’re going against God’s
    wonderful gift he gave us.”

    Do You Want to Be Known as Communist Dictators?

    You’re removing our freedoms
    and stomping on
    our constitutional rights
    by these communist
    dictatorship orders…

    If you do vote
    to mandate masks
    in the workplace

    and public schools
    and stores,
    the death of many
    will be on your hands.”

    “Do you want to be called,
    known for communist dictators?
    Is this the legacy you want
    to be known for?

    Do you want to be responsible
    for fear mongering misinformation
    The problem with humanity
    today is ignorance, arrogance,
    and apathy.

    Keep listening to the TV
    brainwashing you
    from birth.

    Keep listening to conditioning messages
    in your local stores
    while shopping, just like Fidel Castro
    did over loudspeakers in Cuba.

    Don’t you see the problem?
    The truth is out there…
    Remember, God is watching you.”

    but every single one of you
    are going to get punished by God.”

    We the People Will Rise Up

     

    “What I came to say is
    We the People
    will work day and night
    to clean every single seat
    if need be,”

    “We will get together
    and do a citizen’s arrest
    on every single human being
    that goes against
    the freedom of choice, OK?

    You cannot mandate
    knowing that the mask is killing people..
    and every single one of you

    that’s obeying the devil’s law
    are going to be arrested
    And you are going to be arrested
    for crimes against humanity.”

    but every single one of you
    are going to get punished by God.

    You cannot escape God.
    I’m going to say that again.’
    You cannot escape God.”

    “Not even with a mask
    or 6 feet
    OK, 6 feet
    is military protocol.

    Are you insane?

    You’re trying
    to get the people
    to train them<

    so when the cameras,
    the 5G come out,
    when they’re going to scan everybody.

    We got to get scanned
    we got to get temperatured,
    the kids have to go to school with masks.”

    She posited a question
    that she might have been asked herself.
    “Are you insane?

    Are you crazy?
    I think all of you should
    be in a psych ward right the heck now

    Because none of you,
    none of you know
    what the hell
    you are talking about.

    This is insane.
    And then you want to
    open the meeting
    with a prayer to God

    Are you praying to the devil?
    Because God
    is not listening to that prayer

    wearing a mask
    is a sign of disrespect
    to the President

    trump
    trump

     

     

     

     

    and to God
    who anointed him
    to be our leader
    in this dark and dangerous times

    What About Bill Gates?

    Bill Gates
    Bill Gates

     

     

     

     

     

    “There’s not enough [COVID] to make it a pandemic
    This is a planned-demic.”
    Funded by Bill Gate, George Soros
    and Mark Zuckerberg’s Chinese wife

    A Chinese bioweapon
    Launched to take down our great president
    Yet do nothing about it

    What about Bill Gates?
    Mark Zuckerberg and his Chinese Wife
    daughter of a Chinese General
    and George Soros

    Why are they not in jail?

    why is Bill Gates not in Jail?
    Why is Mark Zuckerberg ?
    and his Chinese wife not in jail?
    why is George Soros not in Jail?
    Why is Hillary Clinton not in jail?
    Why is Obama not in jail?
    why is sleepy Joe Biden not in jail?
    why is Hunter Biden the evil mastermind
    not in jail?

    Why are all these pedophiles
    not in jail?

    that are demanding
    you all to listen to their rules,

    You must remember Obamagate
    And don’t forget Bhenzazi
    and Hillary’s emails

    Do you take your orders from Jeffry Epstein?
    “Oh, is it because you’re part of them?…
    Are you reptilian shapeshifters

    The deep state is going down
    and if any of you are in the deep state,
    you’re going down with it.”

    Never Again

    “Discriminating against certain groups
    of people
    while exempting others
    is a violation of your civil rights,”

    Stop mandating  masks
    the way the Nazis
    once mandated
    yellow stars for Jews

    Following World War II,
    we Jews said ‘Never Again.’…
    In Germany, Poland,
    and across Europe

    we were forced
    to wear a gold star,
    told to get on a box car
    to be taken to a safe place.

    In reality, what happened?
    If we forget history,
    we are doomed to repeat it.”

    “This is not about health,
    this is about submission.”

    the mark of the beast is coming
    the anti-Christ walks among us

    “Well, guess what, the riots are spreading, too!”
    And what the hell are we going
    to do about that?

    We’re going to arrest patriots;
    for not wearing a mask?
    That’s what you want?”

    “And I say Trump 2020!”

    Conservative Christian Activist Says He would rather be beheaded than wear a mask to prevent the spread of COVID 19

    comment : Found Poem – with a few of my own stanzas mixed in

    Scot LivelyScot Lively

    scot Lively Would Rather be Be-headed than Wear a Mask

    Conservative Christian activist
    says he would rather be beheaded
    than wear a mask
    to prevent
    the spread of COVID-19.

    a radical anti-LGBT Trump-loving
    conservative Christian,
    Lively argues that requiring citizens
    to wear a mask to fight the coronavirus pandemic

    is like the Nazis requiring Jewish individuals
    to wear a yellow star on their clothing,
    and an unacceptable overreach
    of government power.

    These things must be balanced
    against the disastrous consequences
    of surrendering personal liberty
    to overreaching government,

    especially regarding face masks,
    and enforced social distancing
    which are in some ways worse
    than police-enforced lockdowns

    because they represent
    a literal in-your-face exercise
    of statist power

    like Islamist head coverings for women
    or the Nazis’ yellow star for Jews.

    Unnecessary enforced public mask wearing,
    as opposed to voluntary reasonable usage,
    is no less a statement

    of psychological submission
    to higher authority
    than a dog collar.
    In the greater scheme of things,

    I believe liberty is more important
    than security if one is forced
    to choose between those two.

    Those who don’t believe
    that are ripe for the Mark of the Beast,

    which is what this entire season
    of chaos is really about, in my view.

    Personally, I would rather die
    or be maimed from COVID-19—
    or be beheaded by a mob
    of anarchists and Islamists—

    than become a safe slave
    in a global totalitarian government.
    Led by Satan’s tool
    Joe Biden, the anti-Christ

    Corona pantoum

    corona virus spreading death
    as our politicians continue lying
    many people refuse to wear masks
    so many people lie dying
    as our politicians continue lying
    Spreading lies and misinformation
    so many people lie dying
    With hatred spreading across the nation
    If only people did what they should

    Corona Virus Spreading Death

    corona virus spreading death
    Our leaders say everything is good
    many people refuse to wear masks

    To wear or not wear a mask that is the question
    found poems

    Real Patriots Don’t wear Masks

    no masks
    no masks

     

     

     

     

     

    To wear or not wear a mask
    Is the question
    That bedevils the world
    From Brazil to the White House
    Ohio and Texas
    The call has gone out

    Wearing a mask
    Means you are a liberal weak sissy man
    Or woman Listening to
    the government’s propaganda

    or the evil fake news
    enemies of the people
    or are a libtard democrat
    anti-Trump anti-American terrorist

    and disrespect the President
    and God
    who anointed him to be President
    in these dark and dangerous times

    No Masks Needed in Ft. Bend God’s Texas Home

     

    ft Bend court house
    Fort_bend_courthouse

    Well, not in Ft. Bend County
    We will not trample
    on the individual rights of Texans
    to provide a false sense of security

     

     

     

    Cough cough cough
    Nothing but a cold
    It is nothing serious at all

    I have 826 staff
    at the Ft. Bend Sheriff’s Office.
    We interact with the public daily.

    3 months,
    I’ve had just 2 officers
    test positive
    I have over 800 inmates
    and staff in the jail
    and not a single positive test
    NOT ONE.

    Fort Bend County
    Confirmed 5,015
    Deaths 63
    Texas
    Confirmed 274K
    Deaths 313<

    as of 7/15/2020

    Cough cough cough
    Nothing but a cold
    nothing serious at all

    No one’s been hospitalized
    Except in Houston
    and other Godless cities

    Cough cough cough
    Nothing but a cold
    It is nothing serious at all

    Here in FT Bend
    The blood of Jesus
    Will protect The good christians

    Cough cough cough
    Nothing but a cold
    It is nothing serious at all

    Only non-Christian heathens
    are catching the china virus

    Cough cough cough
    Nothing but a cold
    It is nothing serious at all

    “I encourage people to wear a mask
    if they have one

    I encourage people
    to wash their hands frequently,”

    Cough cough cough
    Nothing but a cold
    It is nothing serious at all

    “I encourage people to do
    the right thing to help
    protect our most vulnerable,

    Houston Imposing a Mask Mandate Represents Government Tyranny

    But government mandated
    That is a step too far
    this government MANDATE
    from Harris County
    is unnecessary, unconstitutional, and unAmerican”

    “It’s an unprecedented overreach
    which looks more
    like a communist dictatorship
    than a free Republic”.

    And here in Texas
    We believe
    That people have to make

    Their own decisions”

    What About Seat Belts and Drunk Driving?

    What’s that?

    Drunk driving should be okay?
    Driving without seat belts<
    Or insurance should be okay?

    What is wrong with you people
    Requiring people to wear a mask
    Is not the same thing at all

    It is communism socialism fascism
    Liberalism nanny state run amok
    And we will not stand by it

    “At this point,
    I see it as nothing
    more than politics

    Governor Abbott announces a trajectory
    to start reopening Texas
    and Harris County,
    which never even utilized
    its $60 MILLION
    pop up hospital at NRG,
    implements a mandate
    for face masks on 4 million people”

    The other counties to do it are Dallas,
    Bexar, and Travis.
    These are the 3 most liberal counties
    in the state of Texas.

    Coincidence?

    I

    DON’T

    THINK

    SO.”

    They are all filled
    with godless libtards,
    GovBots, Gays and anti-Christians
    Muslims, Hindus, Buddhist, Atheists
    minorities, illegal aliens
    black people, brown people
    yellow and red people
    DEMOCRATS, socialists
    anti-fa protestors
    anarchists

    Who hate America
    Hate our beloved President
    hate our Governor
    Hate our Senators
    Hate god
    our freedom
    and our Christian family values
    in TEAXAS

    “I believe we’ve seen
    the worst of this war.”

    What?

    There has been a record breaking
    Increase in covid cases
    Just more fake news
    Everything is fine

    Note: the good sheriff was talking
    in late June
    before everything went to hell
    so perhaps he can be forgiven
    a bit for being behind
    the power curve
    so to speak End Note

    “Here ins Texas

    Cough cough cough

    And we’re closer to victory
    than we’ve ever been.”

    Note: every word in that sentence
    has been proven to be completely wrong
    End Note

    “Let’s keep doing our part
    to be conscious of others
    when we’re out
    and make sure to hold
    government accountable, always”

    How is this not an endorsement
    mandated mask wearing?
    I just don’t understand

    Sheriff, please explain it again?

    Ah I get it now
    Voluntary mask wearing
    encouraged by government officials
    in Republican cities Good

    mandated mask wearing
    by government officials
    in democratic cities
    evil totalitarian overreach

    If You are Black and Wear a Mask We will Pull You Over

    But don’t wear a mask
    If you do
    We will pull you over

    Because you are probably
    A criminal type
    particularly if you are black,
    brown, yellow or red

    and you will be charged
    with something
    because you must be guilty
    of something

    if you are white
    you will be given a mask
    and told to have a nice day

    And we don’t want your kind
    Living and polluting
    Our great Texas state

    Cough cough cough

    You have to ask your self
    Are you tired of living

    in a dictatorship yet?

    STOP GETTING TESTED!

     

    corona testing
    corona testing

    This is what happens
    when people go crazy
    and get tested.
    you test people
    and you find cases

     

    if you don’t test people
    then there will be no cases
    and like magic
    the problem disappears

    so I say to you
    “STOP GETTING TESTED
    It only encourages them
    to  require more testing

    When will this government madness end”

    Cough cough cough

    “It is giving the government
    an excuse to claim something
    is happening that is not happening
    at the magnitude they say it is happening.”
    It is all fake news

    I mean how many people
    Do you know
    Who have died
    From the china flu?

    Cough cough cough

    I don’t know anyone personally
    That has died
    It is all a hoax
    By the fake news media

    “Have you noticed they never
    talk about death anymore,
    just cases?

    And they never
    talk about recoveries.
    They just keep adding
    to numbers they
    have been feeding us
    from over 3 months ago!”

    Cough cough cough

    Don’t Believe the Lies There is No COVID

    “It is all lies”
    “Wake up America”
    “Don’t believe the lies”

    “There is no covid 19
    It is just a bad china flu
    That the Chinese unleashed”

    To take down our President
    Because he dared to stand up
    To the bullies in China

    Make America great again
    Don’t get tested
    And don’t wear a mask
    The blood of Jesus
    Will protect you always

    Corona fever – I am going to mess you up, Dude!

    temperatured jpeg
    temperatured jpeg

    In this day and age of temperature testing
    Everywhere one goes
    It is important to remember what the tests mean
    And what they don’t mean

     

     

     

    First temperature tests are a crude instrument
    All it is says is that you are sick
    Dude with something bad

    Could be the flu
    Could be the dreaded corona
    Could be malaria, yellow fever
    Zika or any number of very bad things

    But what ever dude,
    you got temperatured
    And is is high
    so dude just deal with it

    So stay from here
    Until you are either better
    Test negative for the dreaded Corona
    Or die of it

    That is all it means
    many people will
    not know they have it
    And many have it
    And many people will spread it
    Even though they are temperatured
    Clear negative
    good to go
    And free of the fever

    For the sad reality
    Is that the fever comes
    Near the end

    And what is means
    Is that the mean old general corona
    Has a message for yah

    It goes like this

    Dude you got a fever
    And you know it ain’t the flu
    Ain’t dengue, malaria or yellow fever
    Or Zika or any other damn thing

    It is the dreaded Corona
    It means that I your beloved general
    Has grabbed you

    And I am going to mess you up
    So when you get corona virus dude
    You will wish you were dead
    You will ache all over
    Have pain from hell
    And you will cough
    Up a storm

    Maybe even rush to the ER
    Be told
    Ain’t no room for ya
    You damn fool

    Go home to die
    Or wait outside
    Until we can see yah
    We don’t care any more
    Dude!

    You are now just a damn
    Statistical number
    Potential death number 51000 today

    And you will beg me
    To release you
    To send you to your maker
    God or the devil is waiting
    Grim reaper has your number

    And you know what
    I might do that

    Or I might just say
    You will live

    And walk away
    And my minions will infect
    Yet another foolish dude
    Not wearing a mask

    And so it goes
    Nothing political
    I don’t care who you are
    Who you voted for
    And the blood of Jesus
    buddha or any other god
    Won’t save your sorry ass

    As they say
    Dude your ass is grass
    And I am the lawn mower

    Yeah dude

    When I get my hands on yah
    It means I am going to have my fun
    Dude it means I am going
    to mess you up

    And your loved ones
    And your cute cousin
    And that girl you’ve been crushing on

    Particularly if you know kissed her
    Yeah way to go dude
    Spread me around
    I love it dude !

    But don’t fret
    Dude it ain’t personal
    Hell not, is just ya know
    its a virus thing

    You would not understand
    Just the sort of thing
    I do ya know

    Reality Bites

     

    To those who deny reality
    To those who refuse to see
    And refuse to understand
    To those who think

    That you can deny the truth
    Remember this my friends
    Reality is not your friend
    Reality does not have a conservative bias

    It does not have a liberal bias
    It just is
    That is what reality is
    And reality

    Does not like to be mocked
    Does not like to be ignored
    If you deny reality its due

    It will rise up
    Like an avenging angel
    And bite you in the ass

    Teaching you that on the date
    That you ignore reality
    You met your fate
    That is the will of reality

    Corona hits Me Hard

    One day I wake up
    And see an old black man
    dressed in a general’s uniform
    Sitting at my computer

    I ask him
    Who the hell are you?

    He says
    Allow me to introduce myself
    I am general corona
    And you belong to me now

    If you are nice to me
    I might let you live
    But in the meantime

    I am going to mess you up
    You will get ill
    You will feel a lot of pain

    Coughing up a strom
    Won’t be able to breath
    And wish you were dead

    It ain’t personal dude
    It is just a virus thing
    You would not understand
    And he presses a button
    And the fun and games begin

    Corona fears haiflu

    Corona virus
    Fear of death everywhere
    End of our world

    Corona Virus Paranoia

    fears of the corona virus
    fear of the coming pandemic
    paranoia in the air
    fear of the other
    fear of the coming super bug
    the end of the world
    all wrapped up
    in a simple weaponized virus

    watching as the entire world falls apart

    watching as the entire world falls apart
    consumed by fears of the end of the world
    things continue to fall apart around us
    humanity turns to silent gods
    who turn a deaf ear to our suffering madness
    as the virus from hell spreads out all around
    fearful people desperately running here
    fearful people desperately running there
    praying to the silent gods above us all
    to rescue them from this hellish nightmare fate
    that seems to becoming our fate this late date
    and as we all die a million deaths
    just our fate

    The Last Day of America

    trump 4
    trump 4

    the last day of America
    was the day we last voted
    the last election we ever had

     

     

    For on that day
    a month before
    the corona virus re-emerged

    as the great re-opening
    of the US economy
    failed to stop the relentless spread
    of the virus from hell
    led by General Corona

    causing panic and mass confusion
    fear kept Americans home

    and Donald Trump
    was re-elected
    because his voters

    believed that God
    had told them to vote
    for their new found king

    the newly energized President Trump
    declared a national emergency
    martial law
    and suspension of the constitution

    Promising to restore democracy
    when the time was right

    he promised his followers
    that he would restore Christian values
    renaming the United States
    the Christian States of America

    on that date
    we met our fate

    Christian fascism
    was here to stay
    as the time was never right
    to restore the old Republic

    that was the last day
    of American

    Plane, Train or Automobile – none of us can escape our fate

    airplanes
    airplanes

    in these dark and dire times
    we find ourselves living

    we often fear that the times
    are infected with death
    and so we are afraid
    deathly afraid
    that if we take a plane

     

     

    we will find General Corona
    among the passengers

    and we be afraid
    deadly afraid

    that the subways
    are incubators
    of death and destruction

    the virus spreads
    fear and death
    in its wake

    many of us
    retreating to our homes
    and venturing out
    in our cars

    only to find
    death is stalking us
    as traffic piles up

    traffic accidents
    still killing more people
    that the dreaded General Corona

    the grim reaper smiles
    his work is done

    Satan thanks General Corona
    for a job well done

    awarding him a Satanic
    medal of freedom
    Hell’s highest honor

    Packages from God

    they say that God
    works in mysterious ways
    his wonders to perform

    every day it seems
    that more and more
    of what we buy
    and consume

    comes in packages
    sent from here and there
    as people

    continue to practice
    social distancing

    and going to the store
    becomes an exercise

    fraught with peril
    and danger

    so we order
    on-line
    and we get our packages
    sent from here and there

    one day we received
    a gift package
    of clams
    delicious fresh clams

    as I ate them
    I thought of the workers

    who had labored unseen
    for me to enjoy
    this bounty from the sea

    and I gave thanks
    to the gods
    for making it happen
    in this day and age

    we should thank
    those who are still
    laboring to feed the world

    they are the unsung heroes
    of this war fought by nature
    under the direction
    of General Corona

    corona-consumes-

    I am consumed by the corona virus
    and I am slowly being taken over
    as the virus infects my mind

    taking me over turning me
    into a wild raving zombie man
    Let there be light

    will I become the first

    ZOMBIE APOLYCAPASE LOOMS

    WILL WE ALL DIE

    CORONA

    KILLS

    ME

    content tracing – Let there be light from Bible and the entire Zombie Apocalypse genre where the Zombie flu started usually in China as a flu and then morphs into the zombie disease

    ARC Throws Back the Hood

    Arthur Robert Copper
    aka ARA the notorious international terrorist
    threw back his hood
    and revealed himself
    to be the evil warlord
    that had unleashed
    General Corona on the world
    his goal
    nothing less that total domination
    taking over the world
    amid the total destruction of the world’s economy
    as he and his billionaire buddies
    reamed the profits
    of the total destruction of the world’s economy

    Covid madness sweeps through the world

    General Corona
    unleashes his army
    the invisible army
    upon the world

    killing millions
    in its wake
    spreading chaos and death

    as he rides in
    on the black horse of death
    harbinger of the end of days

    destroyer of worlds
    ending of the world
    revelations come to life

    social distancing walking in the Springtime

    peace forest
    peace forest

    in this era of corona virus madness
    enforced social distancing madness
    one has to go out for a walk

    social distancing  as we walk
    as we walk down the path
    trying to avoid people

     

     

     

    human contact with people
    keeping the proper
    six feet social distance

    and the dreaded corona virus
    how much longer

    can we all endure this madness
    this damn social
    distancing dance with death

    Wearing a Mask is Not a Political Statement

    these days to wear a mask or not
    has become a political statement
    wearing a mask is a sign of weakness to many
    or common sense to protect us all

    to those who refuse to wear a mask
    I want to say to you what is wrong with you
    have you lost your sense of humanity ?

    so consumed with desires to get politically even
    you would endanger us all?
    and yourself

    General Corona and his evil invisible army
    does not care who you are
    wearing a mask might keep the general
    from infecting you and us all

    so please wear the mask my friends

    Surely Not Kills man

    in these dark and dangerous times
    we find ourselves in
    we all rush about trying to avoid
    getting sick with the dreaded Corona Virus

    but time waits for no one
    no one can escape one’s fate

    “Surely not” Kills man

    AS WE WAIT

    FOR OUR FATE

    TO MEET US THIS DATE

    WE

    ALL

    WIL

    DIE

    Content: Korean Proverb Surely Not Kills Man

    My psychoanalyst thinks I’m perfectly right

    I won’t say the Lord’s prayer 
    I have mystical vibrations and cosmic vibrations
    America in the era of corona virus
    is a strange place filled with fear
    as the build up inequities 
    lay bare the country falling apart
    nothing seems to work any more

    THE LEADERS REFUSE

    TO LEAD THE COUNTRY

    PREPARING FOR THE END

    THE

    END

     

    TIMES

    COME

    Content Tracing: From America Allen Ginsberg

    Mad Mask Fears

    I don’t understand
    this morbid irrational fear of wearing a mask
    somehow making you weak
    that wearing a maskis a political statement

    “Midway upon the journey of our life

    I found myself with a forest dark

    for the straightforward pathway had been lost”

    THE THOUGHT COMES TO MIND

    WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE

    LOST

    THEIR

    MINDS

    content tracing Dante Inferno Canto one Line 1 to 3

    Jesus would mask up

     

    Jeus

    to my friends in America
    and around the world
    to those who think
    that somehow

    the corona virus
    only infects other people
    that it is all a liberal hoax
    overblown

     

     

    nothing more than a bad flu
    and nothing to do with me
    demanding that we all go
    back to work

    what is wrong with you?
    have you lost your humanity?
    will millions have to die
    so you can have a Big Mac?

    and a beer in a bar
    whenever you damn please

    whenever you damn please
    and no one can tell you
    What to do
    to wear  a mask

    please wear a mask
    have you lost all reason
    is it all now about owning the dems
    and the damn libtards

    is there any thing left
    in your cold greedy heart?
    Other than hate
    and you still proclaim

    that you are Christian
    as you violate all the Christian principles
    what would Jesus do
    what does the bible say

    what does the bible say
    what is the Christian thing to do

    what is the Christian thing to do
    to let millions of people die
    did not Christ talk about love
    compassion and mercy

    would not Jesus
    wear a mask
    to protect himself and others
    from this ravaging disease

    that does not care who you are
    who you voted for
    which church you go to
    and Jesus and all the other Gods

    are not there watching
    Watching all of us
    as the virus spreads
    it will affect you

    it will affect you
    sooner or later

    perhaps if you had worn a mask
    Following Jesus’s example
    you might have prevented
    The deaths of thousands of people

    a few less people
    Would have died a few more people
    Including your grandparents
    Your parents might be alive

    if you were not such
    a self-centered person
    A few more people
    Might be alive today

    If only you
    had worn a mask
    and done what Jesus
    would have you do

    just man up
    and mask up

    total Success

     

    Jared_Kushner_June_2019
    Jared_Kushner_June_2019

    The President’s Son-in-law declares
    that the government’s response
    to the corona virus
    has been a total success

    as the government
    step up to the plate
    to fight the virus from hell

     

     

    I have to wonder
    on what planet
    does the words

    total failure
    becomes total success?

    Are we living in a bizarro world
    Where every thing
    Means the opposite

    Do words no longer
    Have any connection
    To underlying reality

    just unsigned mutterings
    from the mentally deranged

    Can we tell his 18,000 lies
    From the truth anymore?

    For his statement
    Is impossible to be
    Anything other than the opposite

    His total success is everyone’s total failure
    As 135 thousands American ghosts
    Will attest
    just more verbal diarrhea
    from our dear leader

    And his cult like followers
    And corrupt court jesters

    Talk is cheap

    Talk is cheap
    and BS walks
    That is what they say
    And as the end times
    Close in

     

     

    With general corona
    And his invisible army
    Killing us all

    Will our endless talk
    Have an expiry date
    When will God have enough
    Of our endless foolish chatter

    The Corona Virus is Not Dying Out Mr. President

    Donald-Trump-Talking-out-of-both-sides-of-his-mouth-Car
    Donald-Trump-Talking-out-of-both-sides-of-his-mouth-Car

     

     

     

     

    The President
    says with a smarmy smirk
    and a straight face

    The corona virus is dying out
    That the problem has been solved

    140,000 Americans lie dead
    their ghosts swearing
    at the living

    The President says
    The economy is roaring back
    Everyone is ready to go back to work

    As unemployment hits depression levels
    The president says
    Trust him
    He will never lie to the public

    Is that lie 18,000, 190000?
    the fact checkers can’t keep up
    Who knows what is the truth anyway
    the truth is what the president
    says today

    The President says
    He did more for African Americans
    Than any other president

    As thousands still demand change
    The president says
    Re-elect me
    What do you have to lose

    the 140,000 ghosts cry out
    Perhaps our life, our honor
    And our country

    General Corona is Pleased

    General Corona is pleased
    At the news he sees
    Everyday more people are dying
    As his invisible army
    Continues to march across the world
    The politicians dither and dather
    Loudly proclaiming victory
    As thousands lie dying

    Wear the Damn Mask

    If you want to restore normalcy
    If you want to save the country
    If you want to accomplish your goals
    There is one thing you can do

    A simple low cost method
    All you have to do
    Is for everyone mask up
    The life you save
    May be your own

    An Old man refuses to wear the mask of death

    An old man
    Sat in a bar
    Complaining about masks
    I don’t need to wear a damn mask
    I am tough
    The virus is a liberal hoax
    And it will not get me
    The man said
    Went home
    The next day
    He woke up dead

    The moral of the story
    Wear your damn mask
    The life you save
    May be your owned

    Poetic Justice at work Found Poem

     

    rep tom Rice
    rep tom rice

     

    Facebook

    Republican Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina
    took to his face book page, to announce
    that he, his wife, and his son
    had all tested positive for COVID-19.

     

     

     

    Calling it the “Wuhan Flu,”
    Rice said that his son
    got it the worst,
    with a high fever and coughing,
    but seemed “on the mend.

    Rice said his and his wife’s cases
    were less severe,
    with his wife having it worse.

    According to him,
    his son first came down
    with symptoms last Sunday,

    Rep. Rice was in the House chambers
    and on the floor the week
    before his son showed symptoms.

    At that time, Rep. Rice
    did not wear a mask
    when he was on the floor.
    “I’m socially distancing.
    I’m staying six feet away from folks.

    Rep. Rice did say he would wear the mask
    if he was in a space like an airplane
    where he couldn’t keep the distance
    between him and others.

    Calling COVID-19 the “Wuhan flu”
    is not simply an attempt at pushing
    a racist and xenophobic conspiracy theory,
    it’s also just not correct.

    The 2019 novel coronavirus isn’t the “flu.”
    And people like Rep. Tom Rice
    And his master, Donald J Trump
    Our great leader
    have been spending their time

    telling news outlets
    and their constituents
    that the coronavirus<
    pandemic was nothing to panic about,
    and that very few people
    were going to die from it.

    Over 150,000 Americans are now Ghosts
    having lost their lives to the pandemic.
    Due to the criminal negligence
    And incompetence
    Of our great leader

    Rice has toed the exact line
    that the Trump administration
    has drawn for him.

    He has said there was
    nothing to worry about,
    and followed that up
    by promoting the idea that anyone

    pushing for big closures
    and serious social distancing measures
    was panicking.

    And were left wing democrats
    Who hated America

    And wanted to ruin
    The greatest economy
    The world had ever seen

    Under the greatest president
    The world has ever seen

    and what do the dead have to say
    were they consulted
    no for they remain dead
    ghosts in the corona wind

    He then subsequently
    promoted the idea that
    Trump is doing everything he can

    and that the Republican Party
    has always promoted the
    public health measures
    needed to prevent
    the spread of COVID-19

    we … somehow see in front of us today.
    All in all
    Proof that poetic justice
    Is alive and well

    And karma
    Well she is a bitch

    And loves
    To kick us In the ass
    That’s the nature
    Of this whole karma thing

    What goes around
    Comes around

    And no one can escape
    Their karmic fate

    American Independent kwoa poem

    As Americans begin to celebrate
    Their Independence Date

    Making Americans begin to feel great
    They are meeting their fate

    Consumed with fears and newly filled with hate
    They grimly wait their date

    Through out the land in every single State
    Everyone waits for their date

    It is hard to keep it all filled with dire straight
    Everything must frustrate

    That is what makes it so difficult
    Waiting for their death

    The dancing with the damn corona fate
    Just for their fate that date

    Americans all die
    Americans in every state
    Waiting for their damn fate

    Everything is everything

    It will all sort itself off
    As we stand shoulder to shoulder
    Watching the fireworks
    Wearing our masks
    While socially distancing
    Of course

     pensively 101 prompt

    Any time the corona  wind blows

     

    Any time the wind blows
    A brief breath of fresh air
    Each a welcome reprieve
    Form the corona madness
    Swirling all around us

     pensively 101 prompt

    governor Covid Karmic Bitch

    The news
    that the governor of Oklahoma
    Came down with Covid
    Possibly after attending
    The super spreading rally
    In Tulsa the site
    Of the newly -re- established
    Indian reservation

    The governor was not a mask wearer
    Proudly insinuating
    That real men
    Don’t wear masks

    Now he is the first
    But won’t be the last
    To get COVID

    Joining the President of Brazil
    The PM of Britain
    And the PM of Canada
    In that dubious club
    Of infinity

    Poetic justice at work

    ain’t karma a bitch

    President Trump
    Continues to not wear
    A mask

    Darkly muttering
    That requiring a mask
    Is a democratic plot
    Fed by the mass media
    To undermine
    His authority

    Wearing a mask
    He sneers
    Means you have given in
    To the fake news
    And the evil government’s plots

    Really men don’t wear masks
    He says over And over again
    Until one day
    Soon he will come down
    With the dreaded covid

    General Corona
    Has him in his cross hairs
    And soon all too soon
    The president
    Will join the infamous club
    Of world leaders
    COVID positive

    And he will soon know
    That the law of karma
    Is a real bitch

    Governor Covid Victim Poetic Justice

    The news
    that the governor of Oklahoma
    Came down with Covid
    Possibly after attending
    The super spreading rally
    In Tulsa the site
    Of the newly -re- established
    Indian reservation

    The governor was not a mask wearer
    Proudly insinuating
    That real men
    Don’t wear masks

    Now he is the first
    But won’t be the last
    To get COVID

    Joining the President of Brazil
    The PM of Britain
    And the PM of Canada
    The major of Atlanta
    Rep. Tim Smith
    In that dubious club
    Of infamy
    Leaders who are covid victims

    Poetic justice at work
    ain’t karma a bitch

    Ain’t Karma a bitch fib poem

    Ain’t
    It
    Karma
    Fucking bitch
    The Corona

    Corona Spreading everywhere

    Virus spreading everywhere
    Ain’t karma a fucking hot bitch
    corona

    Ain’t karma a hot fucking bitch
    Life with corona is just rich
    quite a witch

    No one knows where it is heading
    no one knows where it is spreading
    Your wedding

    General corona leads his troops
    His virus is unloaded whoops
    Pooping oops

    The End

    Worrying about corona while eating dinner – pensively 101 posted

    As I eat my evening meal
    Enjoying the early dusk
    Worrying about corona
    Death rears its ugly head

  • every day I turn on the news published

    every day I turn on the news published

    Every Day I Turn on the News will be published by Spill Words

    Thank you for your recent submission!
    Due to the relevancy of the subject matter of your poetry we have decided to publish it ahead of your last scheduled submission.
    Below are the edited publication details:
    “everyday I turn on the news” will be published on 3/26/20 at 2:30am Eastern Time (ET)
    “Dora The Intergalactic Explorer” will be published on 4/27/20 at 2:30am Eastern Time (ET)
    Below is the link to your last submission:

    Every Day I Turn on the News

    debunking the bioweaapon conspiracy theories

    every day I turn on the news
    nothing but news about the virus
    the virus from hell

    the world is filled with fear
    and my anxiety levels rise

    every time I turn on the news
    oh my god I say
    we are all going to die

    and I am so afraid
    afraid of everyone
    afraid of everything

    dreading the latest news
    and nothing relieves my fear

    I watch the world
    loosing its collective mind
    wondering how much more of this
    can  we all take

    I scream out
    Dear God save us all
    god is silent as usual

    and so I realized
    we are doomed

    perhaps it is the end times
    perhaps not

    I turn off the TV
    try to stay calm

    hoping the madness
    will not overwhelm us all

    Dora the Intergalactic explorer

    dora
    dora

    Dora the intergalactic explorer
    Is traveling to the strangest planet
    of all the known worlds

    she is traveling incognito
    with a video crew
    making a documentary

    the planet earth
    is known as a planet
    of intelligent monkeys

    not much is known
    about them
    as very few
    have ever been there

    the inhabitants are described
    as blood thirsty insane creatures
    ruled by hidden sexual
    and political passions

    following incomprehensible
    religious following Gods
    that clearly do not exist

    the inhabitants are just on the verge
    of developing intergalactic travel

    and the galactic empire
    is worried that they will be driven
    to try to conquer the rest of the universe

    driven by their needs to impose
    their religious dogma
    everywhere in the world

    the planet is divided into large tribal groups
    governed by corrupt elites

    corrupt businesses destroying the planet
    in pursuit of profit

    and the locals are little more
    than wage slaves
    barely making a living

    addicted to alcohol,
    drugs gambling
    pornography and illicit sex

    and their main land
    is ruled by a clearly delusional madman
    intent on poking a fight
    with all his alleged enemies

    Dora assumed the appearance
    of a character from TV

    and will pose as a journalist
    trying to make sense
    of it all

    but she was afraid
    that she if found out
    could face the worst consequence

    her ship crash lands
    and she is outside
    the capitol

    of the non empire empire
    called the United State ofAmerica

    Dora gets her crew together
    and walks into the city
    staring at all the strange sights

    as the monkeys go about
    their daily activities

    she stops at a restaurant
    tries the coffee
    the chief drug of choice
    and is instantly addicted

    wow no wonder
    these people are crazed
    she tries the local booze

    and smiles
    perhaps she could
    become an intergalactic merchant

    introducing the world
    to the galaxy

    her thought are interrupted
    as a mad man armed
    with weapons of war

    bursts in and starts shooting
    yelling at people
    and she is shot dead

    the authorities
    are shocked
    when they recover the body

    and realize
    that she is not a human
    as she reverts other original form

    sort of a giant feline like creature
    two legs and arms
    and clearly from an advanced
    civilization given her gear

    what was she doing
    no one knew

    as all the aliens
    died in the gun blaze

    the world is shocked
    at what had happened

    and fearful that the aliens
    were coming to invade
    their world

    the galactic senate
    decides to contain
    the humans

    declaring them
    a threat to the global civilization
    and the humans vow

    to discover the secrets
    of interstellar travel
    and travel to her land

    to enter into business arrangements
    and spread the one truth faith
    to the heathen space aliens

    thus ended Dora’s excellent adventure
    in the crazed world at the edge
    of known civilization

    We would appreciate your feedback. To submit a comment please follow this link: https://spillwords.com/testimonial-submission/
    Dagmara K.
    Director of Development | Editing Department

    Spillwords Press

  • Corona Virus Poems

    Corona Virus Poems

    Corona Virus Poems

    Updated – new poems and new audio as of 4/4/2020

    These are my corona virus poems. I will update this whenever I write a new corona theme poem.  I have posted these also on All Poetry, Poetry Soup, Cosmos Funnel, Hello Poetry, Poetry Nook, Poetry Magnum Opus, Poetry Circle, Sweek and on FB writing groups. I have also submitted some of them for publication. And will let you know when and if they are published.

    I would also love to include Corona poems written from my community of followers so please send them to me at authorjakecosmosaller@gmail.com.  Include your name, bio, photo, poem and web site/twitter handle etc.

    corona
    corona virus

     

    every day I turn on the news published

    Christian Right on Corona

    Corona Virus Pandemic Thoughts

    the virus king cried audio

    more corona virus poems

    Bring Out Your Dead

    My Poems

    the Virus from Hell is amused

    corona virus
    corona virus

     

     

     

     

     

    the Virus from Hell is amused
    laughing at the world’s panicked reaction
    as it marches through the world unabated
    infecting everyone in its wake

    as the world awaits its fate
    the virus smiles he ain’t no fake
    he is the real deal
    he is death itself

    he is the end of the world
    the grim reaper is smiling
    god is silent as usual

    the world’s leaders
    dither and dater
    as the economy craters

    everyone hoping that God
    will save them
    the virus does not care

    insults and orders do not work
    the virus simply does its virus thing
    infecting everyone it encounters
    and thousands will die

    equal opportunity offender
    killing the rich and the poor alike
    but more poor people
    just so many more poor people
    than the few billionaires

    the virus smile
    his work is done
    and mankind is doomed
    so be it the virus thinks

    that is the way of the world
    and the virus is the new king
    of the world

    End of the World

    corona virus
    corona virus

    end of world
    the fears world-wide
    soon find us dead

    bring out the dead
    ll the dead die
    death lies here there

    there goes here
    as death here comes
    soon here death comes

    Every Day I Turn on the News

    cnn logo
    cnn logo

    debunking the bioweaapon conspiracy theories

    published in Spillwords

    Thank you for your recent submission!
    Due to the relevancy of the subject matter of your poetry we have decided to publish it ahead of your last scheduled submission.
    Below are the edited publication details:
    “everyday I turn on the news” will be published on 3/26/20 at 2:30am Eastern Time (ET)
    “Dora The Intergalactic Explorer” will be published on 4/27/20 at 2:30am Eastern Time (ET)
    Below is the link to your last submission:

    every day I turn on the news
    nothing but news about the virus
    the virus from hell

    the world is filled with fear
    and my anxiety levels rise

    every time I turn on the news
    oh my god I say
    we are all going to die

    and I am so afraid
    afraid of everyone
    afraid of everything

    dreading the latest news
    and nothing relieves my fear

    I watch the world
    loosing its collective mind
    wondering how much more of this
    can  we all take

    I scream out
    Dear God save us all
    god is silent as usual

    and so I realized
    we are doomed

    perhaps it is the end times
    perhaps not

    I turn off the TV
    try to stay calm

    hoping the madness
    will not overwhelm us all

    Irony Meters Blow Gaskets 

    donald trump
    donald trump

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    the Irony meter gasket
    is blown again and again

    with every statement
    of our chaos president
    and his endless surrogates

    promoting the latest Presidential
    on spot guidance by our great leader

    that must be true
    because our dear leader
    says it is so

    The President accuses his democratic rival
    of being senile and needs to be in home
    and will be run by his radical left allies

    and the right wing media
    echoes the presidential absurd comments

    refusing to acknowledge
    that the president himself
    is rapidly fading into dementia

    and his radical right cronies
    are looting the government
    driving out expertise
    even in the midst of pandemic

    Oh  yeah the irony meters
    are blowing gaskets
    every single day

    Chaos

    trump clown in chief
    trump clown in chief

     

     

     

     

     

    the world descends into chaos
    as our world leaders
    led by the chaos president
    are overwhelmed

    by the smallest
    enemy of all
    a simple virus
    straight out of hell

    blows through the crumbling
    third world public health infrastructure
    living proof of the decline of America
    and no one is prepared

    and panic ensures
    with every Presidential tweet
    as people don’t believe
    a word he says

    conspiracy rumors spread
    everyone believes their own reality

    as the world spins out of control
    the chaos king is in his element
    convince that only he knows
    the deal

    and everyone else
    is iust a bit player
    in the reality show
    that he presides over

    and so the rest of us
    hunker down

    just hoping for the best
    as the panic and
    chaos spreads faster
    than the virus

    are we doomed
    can we survive
    will God save us?
    he is silent as always

     

    Corona Virus Fears Tanka

    cover 19
    cover 19

    Corona virus
    lurking fears all around me
    we all will die

     

     

    the TV screaming nonstop
    Must be afraid be afraid

    My Phobias Overwhelm Me

    covid 19 spread
    covid 19 spread

    lately I have become scared
    of everything

     

     

     

    the news scares me, the corona virus scares me, the presidential race scares me, fears of gun men in the street, terrorism, fears of getting sick, fears of dogs, fears of other people, fear of loosing money, fears of becoming demented old man, lost in his nightmares on the street just another invisible homeless bum in the end of his life

    all these phobias overwhelm me
    time to walk away from my fears

    and realize
    it will be alright

    everything will be alright
    As long as I have you
    by my side

    Fear Fills the Air

    cnn logo
    cnn logo

     

     

     

    watching the news
    CNNMSNBCFOXBBCKOREANNEWSJAPANESENEWSBLOOMBERABCCBSNBCGOOGLEAPPLEREUTERSAPIRUSSIANTVCHINESTVFRENCHTV
    blather on and on

    the world is ending
    pandemic is coming

    we are going to die
    and the fear grows
    and the restrictions grow

    travel comes to stop
    the economy comes to  a stop

    everyone is so afraid
    our leaders fret
    say that everything is fine
    as the world enters

    the second great depression
    and we are faced
    with the reality
    all over the world

    idiots in high places
    the masters of the universe
    are in charge

    the internet spreads
    the wildest rumors
    must be true

    I read it on the internet
    the truth is lost
    in the shuffle

    no one believes anyone
    everything thinks
    that they know
    it is all a conspiracy

    the thought comes to mind
    we are all so ’S….
    end of the world
    is upon us

    is this the best we can get?

    trump
    trump

    watching the news
    one wonders

     

     

     

    how in this great country
    of ours

    335 million people
    among the most educated
    richest people in the world

    we can end up
    with such idiots in high places
    running out country?

    these idiots in charge
    no disrespect intended

    both political parties
    all corporations
    and our institutions
    except maybe the military

    has been infected
    by this virus
    of epic incompetence
    greed and indifference
    to the general good

    who loudly constantly proclaim
    that they are Christians
    while violating
    all of Christ’s teachings

    Jesus if he came back
    would scream out
    I am not Christian

    it is all about me
    and mine

    and you can go
    to hell
    if you dare to disagree

    and so we tweet and titter
    and watch the news
    reading the latest rumors
    and I wonder

    if there is a god
    or if there is a devil
    and are we overwhelmed
    by the dismal news

    why can’t we have better
    leaders
    better people
    in our leaders
    around the world

    has god abandoned us
    are we in hell
    or did god ever exist
    except in our fevered imagination

    will god save us all
    or will the world
    just go around the sun
    indifferent to our pleas?

    no answer
    must watch the news
    consumed by the need
    to see the latest news

    and so it goes
    and I wake up

    the sun is up
    and the nightmares
    fade away

    until I watch the news
    and the madness consumes
    us all again and again

    as the corona virus
    marches on and on
    consuming us all
    as the world falls apart

    these must be the end times
    I hope I will be raptured away
    even if I am not a Christian

    More Trouble Every Day

    The Old Zappa song plays
    on in my head
    every time I turn on the news

    and see more trouble every day
    no one can delay
    the trouble coming every day

    Frank Zappa died too soon
    before the horrors of the Trump era
    and the corona end of the world plague

    that he would have foreseen
    if he had lived on
    he was truly a prophet

    crying in the wildness
    while making money
    as an over night sensation

    as he saw the slime
    oozing out of the TV sets
    we will do what we are told
    for the rights to us have been sold

    And Jesus too
    has been sold
    to the highest bidder

    nothing but a business deal
    in America
    the land of the constant deal

    and so I turn off the TV
    and realize that

    the torture never ends
    the torture never ends

    Trouble Every Day

    more trouble every day  Frank Zappa

    Well I’m about to get sick
    From watchin’ my TV
    Been checkin’ out the news
    Until my eyeballs fail to see
    I mean to say that every day
    Is just another rotten mess
    And when it’s gonna change, my friends
    Is anybody’s guess
    So I’m watchin’ and I’m waitin’
    Hopin’ for the best
    Even think I’ll go to prayin’
    Every time I hear ’em sayin’
    That there’s no way to delay
    That trouble comin’ every day
    No way to delay
    That trouble comin’ every day
    Wednesday I watched the riot…
    I seen the cops out on the street
    Watched ’em throwin’ rocks and stuff
    And chokin’ in the heat
    Listened to reports
    About the whisky passin’ ’round
    Seen the smoke & fire
    And the market burnin’ down
    Watched while everybody
    On his street would take a turn
    To stomp and smash and bash and crash
    And slash and bust…

    The Torture Never Stops
    Frank Zappa

    torture never stops

    Flies all green and buzzin’
    In this dungeon of despair
    Prisoners grumblin
    Piss they clothes
    Scratch their matted hair
    A tiny light from a window-hole
    Hundred yards away
    That all they ever get to know
    ‘Bout the regular life in the day
    ‘Bout the regular life in the day
    Slime and rot and rats and snuck
    Vomit on the floor
    Fifty ugly soldier men
    Holdin’ spears by the iron door
    Stinks so bad, stones are chokin’
    Weepin’ greenish drops
    In the den where
    The giant fire puffer works
    And the torture never stops
    The torture never stops, torture
    The torture never stops
    The torture never stops
    Flies all green and buzzin’
    In this dungeon of despair
    An evil prince eats a steamin’ pig
    In a tumbers right near there
    In the chambers right near there
    He eats de snouts an trotters first!…

    by pass the alarms spreading across the land

    to bypass the alarms spreading across the land
    the circuit breakers are breaking down
    as the alarms go on and on
    with the end of the world
    the end days approaching
    spreading the alarm far and wide

    corona cinqku

    corona virus
    corona virus

    corona
    it came from hell
    we must be all prepared
    meet God

     

    Taking a Walk in the Corona Era

    peace forest
    peace forest

    every day I go for a walk
    in the spring time woods
    near my house

    braving the weather
    and the dreaded corona virus

     

     

     

    wearing masks and gloves
    keeping a distance
    from anyone we encounter

    that is life it seems
    in the era of the corona virus

    when will it end
    no one knows
    until then
    I will brave the viral threat

    and confront my fears
    and walk in the park

    with the love of my life
    my bride my wife
    by my side

    in these challenging times
    that is all we can do

    A lone man stands in an empty parking lot

    empty parking lot
    empty parking lot

    A lone man stands in an empty parking lot

     

     

    contemplating the new normal
    social distancing run amuck

    as fears of the corona super plague
    plague the land
    driving everyone inside

    sheltering in place
    afraid to go out
    afraid of the deadly c virus

    It is a hell of a world we live in ain’t it?

    two friends on a bench
    two friends on a bench

    It is a hell of a world we live in ain’t it?

     

     

     

    said the old man to me
    sitting on a bench
    in the park in the woods

    as we both sought shelter
    from the spreading chaos
    the pandemic swirling around us

    Yes I said
    standing up
    to enforce the proper distance
    between us

    don’t want to give the virus a chance
    to spread between us

    he smiled and said
    relax I already went through it
    I am fine and you will too

    Pause for a moment amidst the media madness

    Pause for a moment amidst the media madness
    All around us fears and chaos
    Unlike the end of the world approaching us
    Sadness overcomes us dooming us to our fate
    Every we go nothing but death awaits

    I feel as if the whole world needs to be cancelled

     

    I feel as if the whole world
    needs to be canceled
    due to rough times ahead
    due to the corona madness
    and the thread of pure craziness
    that it inspires in us all

    The Virus King Cried

    the virus king cried
    virus king cried

    the virus king smiled
    as the politicians lied
    saying that the end was near
    the virus king infected thousands more
    and killed hundreds of people

    the virus king sneered
    as people panicked
    and partied on the beach
    the virus king infected thousands more
    and killed hundreds of people

    the virus king laughed
    as the markets crashed
    millions became unemployed
    the virus king infected thousands more
    and killed hundreds of people

    the virus king roared
    as the world slid into chaos
    people turning on one another

    the virus king infected thousands more
    and killed hundreds of people

    the virus king smirked
    knowing that there was nothing
    that they could do to stop
    his army from infecting millions
    and killing thousands

    the virus King begin to realize
    that soon there would be no one left
    no one for his army to infect
    as everyone was dying

    the virus King yelled
    remaining defiant
    as civilization collapsed
    billions were infected
    millions died

    the Virus King at last cried
    when he saw that he was defeated
    as one by one
    people began to recover
    and his reign of terror came to an end

    Bring out your dead

    grimm reaper
    grimm reaper

    the call bring out your dead
    spreads around the world
    as millions die

    all over the world
    the virus has spread
    mutated and killed

    all over the world
    bring out your dead

    the mournful cries
    echoing in the wind
    of the dying cities

    mass starvation
    as no is working
    in the fields

    as more people die
    and the world spins
    around the sun
    with the politicians lying
    and the dead still dying

    as civilization dies
    and humanity flee
    into the wilderness
    chased by the killer virus
    straight down to hell

    the Virus Came From Hell

    coronavirus
    coronavirus

    the virus came from hell
    straight out of a mad lab

     

     

    born and raised in China
    the virus spread from Dinah
    all over to carolina

    it spread from the lab
    the mad virus of Hell
    was mad as hell at humans
    who it blamed for everything
    seeing itself as cleansing everything
    killing the world and everything
    revenge against humans

    perhaps virus came from God
    more likely came from Satan
    part of natures’ revenge
    all designed to avenge
    the damage to Stonehenge
    virus came from Satan

    The Delivery System of the Virus is Round

    cover 19 spread
    cover 19 spread

    the delivery system of the virus is round
    very simple system
    the virus spreads around
    and all must pay the price
    death and destruction

    the corona virus is testing us all

    the corona virus is testing us all
    is it a plague
    sent by God
    if we have faith
    will we recover

    or it is beyond our control
    the end of the world
    does god hear our prayers
    does god even exist

    the virus from hell
    spreads around the world
    and test our faith

    will god save us all
    I have no answer
    but perhaps if god exists
    we will recover
    from this plague
    from hell

    The call goes out

    the call goes out
    stay at home
    to beat the dreaded c virus
    will we live
    or all die?

    the four horse men ready to ride

     

    four horsemen
    four horsemen

    the end of the world is upon us
    as god unleashes the corona virus
    which is spreading across the land

     

    the four horse men are ready
    to begin their grim journey
    announcing the end of the world

    the white horse comes first
    offering peace and hope
    in the midst of death
    and despair

    the red horse rides second
    ushering in war
    throughout the world
    as nations turn on each other
    and civil war looms

    the Black Horse is ready
    unleashing famine
    on a starving world
    as people stay at home
    and food rots in the field

    no one is able
    to work any more
    as the virus kills more
    and more

    the pale horse rides last

    bringing death
    in his wake
    death all around us

    as the virus kills us all
    and civilization ends

    the four horse men
    have done their job

    the virus finishes its reign of terror
    and the few survivors
    beging to recover

    end of the world
    came and went
    and they are still alive
    thanks to God

    who remains silent
    as always

    nature spirits revolt agains humanity

    all around the world
    nature’s spirits
    are on the move

    the world is changing
    as the nature’s spirits
    rise up
    in revolt against humanity

    is this the end time
    is nature on revolt
    against humanity

    is this the end for us all
    will the virus kill us all
    will nature rise up
    and kill us all?

    Last Human on Island

    in the deep blue sea
    nothing there
    but death and destruction
    virus all around
    pandemic plague
    Apocalyptic views
    end of times
    death of civilization

    corona virus Haiku

     

    corona virus
    corona virus

    corona virus

    staying home
    waiting for death
    Afraid everything

    the virus came from hell

    the virus came from hell
    staying home waiting for death
    Afraid everything

    Bring Out Your Dead

    bring out your dead cries
    break out all over the world
    we are waiting death

    death comes knocking

    death comes knocking
    on our doorsteps tonight
    will God hear prayers

    be afraid afraid

    be afraid afraid
    Must be afraid every one
    Death is at our door

    The Virus Came From Hell

    the virus came from Hell
    ravaging the entire world
    all waiting for death

    from april 2020 Poems

    Cosmos’s 2020 April Poetry

    Wednesday April 1  Hope Springs Eternal in our Winter of our Discontent   writer’s digest prompt Posted

    corona virus
    corona virus

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Hope springs eternal in the winter of our discontent

    On the daily news that fills us with dread
    Perfect storm of hatred, fear and despair
Everywhere we go nonstop fear broadcasted

    Despair fills my heart as I turn on the news
    Everywhere we are in the midst of the pandemic
    Simply put death is at hand

    Planning for the future yet waiting for death
    At worst we will all die not today but soon
    In the long term we are all dead

    Remembering the dead all around us
    yet I end this poem with a word of hope

    hoping for the best
    while preparing for the worst
    all I can do to stay sane
    as I await my fate

    on this dismal date
    April 1 is indeed
    April Fool’s date
    is that our fate
    this endless dance with death?

    and to end with a sign of hope
    I know that if I have you by my side
    I will survive I will survive
    until the end of time itself
    takes us to the other side

    based on writer’s digest daily April poetry month challenge to write a poem about hope

     

    the Virus King Has  Arrived

    poetry soup version is the Virus King has arrived = as poetry soup did not like the word “Hell”

    corona
    corona

     

     

     

     

     

     

    the virus from hell has arrived
    catching the world unprepared

    it erupted out of China
    then began its terrifying reign
    wiping out thousands of people
    destroying jobs and economies
    killing people left and right

    it seemed like something
    out of our worst nightmares
    but at least it was not
    the dreaded zombie flu
    perhaps that is next’s fall’s nightmare

    as the virus from hell
    prepares for a fresh assault
    to finish us all off

    second poem for april poetry month © 2 hours ago, john Cosmos Aller      

    Thursday April 2 posting

    Kimchi Blues

    kimchi
    kimchi

    Oh yeah

    I got the kimchi blues
    every day since I first ate it
    back in the day

    long before i went to Korea
    ended up staying on in Korea
    after i retired from decade
    in the Foreign Service

    and ten years studying
    and living in Korea
    before I joined
    the Foreign Service

    When I first ate kimchi
    I was hooked
    sort of a spicier version

    of German sauerkraut
    which i loved on my top dog
    from Berkeley high school days

    then off to korea
    in the peace corps
    where I ate kimchi

    every day for every meal
    and eventually I woke up
    dreaming of kimchi and rice

    instead of pancakes and eggs
    then I knew
    that I had finally adjusted
    and was becoming half Korean

    and now I am a hopeless kimchi addict
    need to have my spicy kimchi
    which is so good for you

    perhaps even defeating the dreaded corona virus?
    who knows but I will be eating Kimchi
    until my day is done

    Friday April 3

    Cosmic Poet Modified Bio Poem  for poetry soup contest 

    cosmos
    cosmos on the mekong

     

     

     

     

     

     

    cosmic
    I am wicked, wild, wacky, whimsical
    i love my angela lee, coffee, nature
    I can solve gun violence, homelessness and climate change
    I feel anxiety, gloominess yet Joy-fullness as well
    I fear the corona virus, cancer and  developing Alzheimer’s
    Must publish my novels, ten books of poetry and movie of my life
    Currently resident of korea, west coast of United States
    poet

    Humor keeps us sane

    Pensively prompt – unpublished

    corona virus
    corona virus

     

     

     

     

     

    it is a piece of what we need to do
    to prevent us from getting
    the dreaded corona virus
    coming up your nose

    Peacock Speaks

    peacock speaks
    peakcock speaks

    as the virus spreads
    around the world
    the peacock in the zoo
    speaks up

     

     

     

    talking on behalf
    of their fellow species
    he called upon humans
    to free them from their zoo prisons
    and let them be free

    before it was too late
    and humanity met their fate
    becoming a ghost in the wind

    creative talents unleashed prompt

    Iguana Talks to humanity

    iquana will miss human friends
    iguana will miss human friends

    the wise old Iguana
    woke from its nightmares
    of the end of the world

    as humanity faded away
    the iguana was scared
    but afraid of the future

    and he would miss
    his human friends

    creative talents unleashed prompt

    writing.com prompt daily dew april poems

    To all the friends I am about to loose

    over the years
    I have known so many people
    and now when the virus
    is spreading out around the world

    I will soon be hearing
    that this person has died
    and that person has died

    I will outlive many of my friends
    from around the world

    part of getting old
    something that I fear

    one day perhaps
    people will hear
    that jake has died

    and they will say
    that they barely knew me
    and wished that they had

    taken the time
    to become my friend
    Just as I think
    about all the friends

    i am about to loose
    to this killer virus
    running amuck

    writing.com prompt daily dew april poems

    corona fears

    covid 19 virus
    covid 19 virus

     

     

     

     

     

     

    corona
    the word fills us with dread
    spreading around the world today
    will we all survive this
    corona

    Saturday April 4

    quarantine blues

    quarantine
    quarantine

     

     

     

     

     

    Quarantine such an ugly word
    Unlike any other
    All at home
    Regardless of desires
    No where to go
    That is the worst part of it
    In fact enforced staying at home
    Not too bad
    Especially if I have you by my side

    Blues come over me
    Looking out the window
    Unable to go out
    Everyone everybody afraid
    Sums up my fearful fears

    poetry soup contest

    I Wish for Peace During this time of crisis

    I wish for peace and happiness
    during this time of despair
    pandemic fears all around us
    death stalking us daily

    I wish for health
    amid the carnage
    all around me

    I wish for leadership
    from our President
    from our governors
    and our congress

    and most importantly
    I wish that I will survive

    with my love at my side
    experiencing love
    in the time of corona

    Ten million stories in the Naked City

    there are a million stories
    every day in the naked city
    millions of people

    stripped naked
    to the bone
    staring down the dead
    the dead staring back

    in this time
    of pandemic
    the dead stare out at us

    mocking us
    as they leave the earth
    naked as when they arrived

    All poetry contest – write a naked poem

    The Mist from Hell Descends on the land

    the mist settles down on the land
    the mist covers us all
    the scent of death

    the grim reaper
    rides behind the miss
    infecting those around him

    the mark of death
    as the mist covers the land
    the end of the world
    comes with the mist from hell

    Conversation with the Gods About Corona Virus

     

    jehova
    jehova

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Rev. Jake ’s on-line sermon on the Corona Virus

    I am reverend Jake and I have a message from God

    Last night I had a vision from God
    it was his message to the world
    about this pandemic we are facing

    I found myself in a large room
    Jehovah, God, was sitting in the middle
    surrounded by the other Gods
    they were all there

    Jesus on his right
    Allah on his left
    Buddha behind him

    Ganesh, Shiva, Kali
    Mohammed, Joseph Smith and other prophets
    Gabriel and other angels abound
    St Peter in front of his as his Chief of Staff

    Zeus, Jupiter, Minerva and ancient
    other gods all around him

    God spoke up
    He said
    I have a message for you

    to give to your people
    all of your people
    no matter what religion
    or no religion at all
    it is all one after all

    first the corona virus
    is a natural phenomenon
    we have no control
    over forces of nature

    and we did not send
    it to you
    to punish you
    for homosexuality
    or anything else at all

    Second obey the health directives
    stay at home
    do your services on line

    it is okay with us
    we are fine with that

    the blood of Jesus
    will not save you
    If you are in a crowded place
    like church or a mosque service

    the virus will spread
    and catch you in the end

    Prayers alone will not save you
    but please keep praying
    we do listen to your prayers
    but we can only do so much

    So please don’t allow the virus
    to spread
    because of your ignorance
    and fear

    realize that in the end
    the virus will do its thing
    and you will survive

    and we
    all the gods here
    love you humans

    and wish you well
    so stay at home
    practice self-distancing

    It is God’s will
    all will survive

    Under the canopy of the pine trees we lay –

    pine trees jpeg
    pine trees jpeg

     

     

     

     

     

    under the canopy of the pine trees we lay
    along the world peace forest
    in Korea

    walking the forest
    in the spring time
    fearing the corona virus
    and everyone around us

    watch the snowing cherry trees
    and the wind whispering
    the voices of ghosts

    those newly dead
    and we lay down
    under the canopy of the pine trees

    waiting for our turn
    to face the grim reaper

    in this dismal day
    in April
    truly the cruelest month
    of them all

    from the poem ‘Under the canopy of pine trees
    poetry soup contest

    corona fears

    corona
    corona

    corona
    the word fills us with dread
    spreading around the world today
    will we all survive this
    corona

    to those I have lost

    with the corona virus upon us
    I am bracing to hear the news
    that so and so has died

    I reflect back
    on all the people in my life
    that I have already lost

    part of being older
    is that you lose people
    close to you along the way

    I lost my father due to cancer in 1985
    and my sister due to a freak illness in 2007
    and my mother due to Alzheimer’s in 2005
    and my father-in-law as well in 2007

    Demel Tucker

    high school debate teammate
    dead of HIV in 1995

    Julian Bartley and his son
    one of my favorite bosses
    died in a terrorist bombing
    in Nairobi in 1998

    Jon Weber college roommate
    dead due to prostate cancer
    in 2000

    Paul Simon  friend from the visa line
    dropped dead of a heart attack
    in 2004

    Ted Halstead
    one of my best bosses
    died of heart attack
    in 2007

    Chris Richard one of my former bosses
    dropped dead of a heart attack
    shortly before we were due
    to have lunch in 2014

    and so many others
    I have lost
    along the way

    and soon there will be
    so many more

    as I get old
    in the corona era

    writing.com daily dew drop prompt to write an elegy poem

    We live in an Orwellian world

    1984 image
    1984 images

     

     

     

     

     

     

    we are living
    in an Orwellian 1984 world
    and have been for decades

    we are assaulted daily
    by alternative realties
    promoted by various politicians
    designed to shut down
    all rational thought

    true Orwellian thought control
    and now with the corona virus
    massive surveillance
    has become the norm

    and when the crisis is over
    the surveillance will continue
    on one excuse after another

    forever as Orwell’s nightmare
    big brother ruling us all
    comes true

    based on the fear that the massive increase in social surveillance being deployed against the Corona virus will after the crisis is over continue forever under one excuse or another as the Orwellian big brother dictatorships around the world become permanent

    saeyeong jima  plays out in life

    The Korean Proverb
    saeyeong jima
    recently came to life in my life

    The meaning of the proverb
    Is that you can never know whether something
    will be good or bad

    and that unexpectedly
    what appears to be bad fortune
    turns out to be a good fortune

    The proverb played
    out recently in my life

    about lunar  New Year’s Day
    we were preparing to go to Thailand
    from two weeks from our home
    in South Korea

    and then at the end of February
    we would go to DC

    My wife blew out her lumber desk
    and we were forced to cancel our trips

    This occurred
    just as the coronavirus
    was taking off around the world

    and if we had gone
    we may have been stuck either in Thailand
    or we may have been stuck in the United States

    and traveling
    in the mist of a corona outbreak
    would probably mean
    that we would have been exposed
    to the virus

    instead we were forced to stay home
    and self quarantine ourselves
    and therefore
    we escaped being exposed to the coronavirus

    and we feel much safer
    here in Korea  where the outbreak is contained
    rather than in DC
    where it is still spreading everywhere

    so in a sense her misfortune
    throwing out her disk
    which resulted in us staying at home
    and avoiding the coronavirus

    is the true meaning
    of the Korean Chinese expression
    saeyeong jima

    writers digest prompt write a lucky/unlucky poem

    corona virus tanka

    corona virus
    it is spreading all over
    the world dying
    I walk down the path of life
    Along with love of my wife

    The best meal of my life

    korean feast jpg
    korean feast jpg

     

    the best meals of my life
    has always been what my wife
    cooks up for me every night

    she is a genius in the kitchen
    always making something great
    from the simplest ingredients

    Because she came down with celiac disease
    she could  only eat
    what she prepared from scratch

    and so she was forced
    to give up all processed foods

    and in the process she became
    the greatest cook
    in the universe

    I wait with baited breath
    to taste the great food
    that she creates for me

    on lunar new years
    she threw out her lumbar disk
    and we were forced to stay home

    just as the corona pandemic
    swept across the world

    if we had traveled
    we would have contracted
    the dreaded corona virus

    and we were forced
    to stay at home

    and she took advantage
    of staying at home
    to try new dishes
    every single day

    I recall the Korean proverb
    saeyeong jima

    as her misfortune
    turned into fortune

    and once again
    she saved me life

    I am the luckiest man in life
    the best fed man of all I know
    due to the cooking skills of my wife

    Writing.com daily dew drop prompt write a food poem

    corona virus haiku

    corona virus
    brings death and our destruction
    destroying our life

    White Flower spring Time Haiku

    white flowers in spring haiku
    white flowers in spring haiku

     

     

     

     

    now in the springtime
    white flowers blooming in the park
    corona death waits

    Woman releases balloons of hope

    ballons for peace
    ballons for peace

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    A young woman
    walks in a park
    on a sunny spring day

    carrying 25 red balloons
    each red balloon
    contains  the name of those
    that recently died

    in the corona virus pandemic
    she is releasing the balloons
    hoping they would
    rise  to heaven

    with a request for God
    to hear her prayers
    End this pandemic
    End the death and destruction
    release us from the corona pandemic

    the woman releases the balloons
    and slowly walks back to her house
    to prepare to attend yet another funeral
    as the pandemic swirls all around her

    creative talents unleashed prompt

    life interrupted by corona

    covid19
    covid19

     

     

     

     

     

    we live in a strange world
    life interrupted by corona
    the virus spread throughout the world
    disrupting everything

    putting life on hold
    as more people
    hunkered down

    waiting for the virus
    to pass over us
    like in biblical times

    the virus
    will test us all

    and then
    we will all
    go back
    to life interrupted

    writing.com Daily Dew Drop interruption

    Saudade for friends I have lost

    as I get older
    I lose more people
    every year

    more people I knew
    have died moving on
    and I mourn their lost friendship

    wished I had been
    a better friend for them
    and knew them better

    and with the corona virus
    spreading around the world
    I will lose so many more

    in the coming year
    as the virus spreads
    its malignancy far and wide

    I lost my father due to cancer in 1985
    and my sister
    due to a freak illness in 2007

    and my mother
    due to Alzheimer’s in 2005
    and my father-in-law as well in 2007

    Demel Tucker
    high school debate teammate
    dead of HIV in 1995

    Julian Bartley and his son
    died in a terrorist bombing
    in Nairobi in 1998

    Jon Weber college roommate
    dead due to prostate cancer
    in 2000

    Paul Simon  friend from the visa line
    dropped dead of a heart attack
    in 2004

    Ted Halstead
    one of my best bosses
    died of heart attack in 2007

    Judy Fine
    My Co-Ho partner in crime
    died in 2006

    Chris Richard
    one of my former bosses
    from my days in Bangkok

    dropped dead of a heart attack
    shortly before we were due
    to have lunch in 2014

    and so many others
    I have lost
    along the way

    and soon there will be
    so many more
    as I get old in the corona era

    writing.com  saudade poem

    The end of the world news depresses me

    trump jpg
    trump jpg

     

     

     

     

     

    the end of the world news
    depresses me
    makes me want to shout and scream
    STFU leave me alone
    to deal with my grief

    amid the death and destruction
    watching CNNMSNBCFOXBBC media nonstop
    filled with essential dread
    the end of the world is upon us

    from the screaming news media
    spreading forth across the land
    fake news screams the president
    all is alright he proclaims

    no one believes his 16,000 lies
    and so it goes

    we are drowning with information
    coming at us so fast and furious

    When will it end my friend
    is anyone’s guess
    in the long run we are dead

    National poetry Month Day Seven poem inspired by the news

    God Did not Send the Corona Virus  as a Punishment Black Out Poem

    Robert_Jeffress
    Robert_Jeffress

     original text

    During a press briefing today to address the nation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, President Trump was asked about certain Christian pastors who plan to defy state lockdown orders and hold Easter church services this Sunday.

    “I’ve had talks with the pastors, and most of the pastors agree … that they are better off doing what they are doing, which is, distancing,” Trump said, adding that the pastors want to “get back to church so badly.”

    Trump then referred to a notorious pastor who sits on his religious advisory council.

    “I’m going to be watching Pastor Robert Jeffress, who’s been a great guy,” Trump said. “He’s a great guy and I’m going to be watching on a laptop.”

    Jeffress is known for his litany of statements demonizing the LGBT community, abortion, and secular people. One of his most reviled comments came in 2015 when he said the 9/11 attacks were God’s punishment on America for abortion.

    “People ask me all the time,” Jeffress said during a speech at Liberty University. “‘Well, I just don’t understand why God wouldn’t protect our nation and he would allow these radical Muslims in 2001 to kill 3,000 of our citizens and why God doesn’t protect us. Surely, God doesn’t use pagans to bring judgment upon his own people, does he?’”

    “I’ve had talks with the pastors, and most of the pastors agree … that they are better off doing what they are doing, which is, distancing,” Trump said, adding that the pastors want to “get back to church so badly.”

    Black out text

    the coronavirus pandemic, President Trump

    hold Easter church services this Sunday.

    “I’ve had talks with the pastors, get back to church so badly.”
    “He’s a great guy and I’m going to be watching on a laptop.”
    he 9/11 attacks were God’s punishment on America for abortion.

    “People ask me all the time,” ‘Well, I just don’t understand why God wouldn’t protect our nation and he would allow these radical Muslims in 2001 to kill 3,000 of our citizens and why God doesn’t protect us. Surely, God doesn’t use pagans to bring judgment upon his own people, does he?’”

    Poem

    Corona Pandemic is Not’s God’s Punishment

    Amid  the coronavirus pandemic,
    President Trump
    Attended virtual Easter church services
    I’ve had talks with the pastors,

    We need to get back
    to church so badly.”

    Rev Jeffries is  a great guy
    I’m going to be watching on a laptop.”

    Rev Jeffries said

    The 9/11 attacks were God’s punishment
    on America for abortion.

    “People ask me all the time,”
    ‘Well, I just don’t understand
    why God wouldn’t protect our nation

    and he would allow these
    radical Muslims in 2001
    to kill 3,000 of our citizens
    and why God doesn’t protect us

    Surely, God doesn’t use pagans
    to bring judgment
    upon his own people,
    does he?’”

    I am sad to report
    Rev Jeffries
    I spoke to God

    This morning
    He confirmed
    He did not cause 9-11
    To bring judgement
    On the US
    For abortion

    He went on to say
    The corona virus
    Is beyond his control

    And he is not sending it
    To punish the US
    Or the world

    His final words
    Please tell Rev Jeffries
    To simply STFU

    poetry super highway black out poem

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Corona Virus Pandemic Thoughts

    Corona Virus Pandemic Thoughts

    Corona Virus Pandemic Thoughts

    Part One My thoughts on the Corona Virus Pandemic from South Korea.

    Joe, Either Go Bold or Retire!

    Updated:

    there is too much to cover so will probably try to update this once a week every Monday.  Enjoy:  I have turned this into three different postings, my observations and news clippings, right wing Christian nonsense and corona poems.

    updated assessment on the USG response:

    I have to revise my assessment.  I would give the government a B now and Trump a C. He is stepping up to the plate and a lot is going on. and the stimulus package if they can approve it and I am sure they will, will make a great difference.

    but the President is still wasting everyone’s time.  His advisors need to shut him up.  Have him read his prepared statements then leave answering no questions. When he asked questions he veers off script and goes on unhelpful tangents.  He is still too insulting and off message.  And for God’s case he needs to stop calling it the China virus.  It is just a matter of time before some nut case is going to start shooting Asians.

    finally the US should start providing assistance to foreign governments rather that shutting borders.  he should also ask for help from other governments and the WHO should ask for additional tests etc.

    overall too little too late and he is still making it all about Trump.  He needs to shut up, quit tweeting and let the VP lead the task force. He should not even be in the room but if he feels he needs to be there, he should just read his statement and leave and answer no questions and god forbid do not tweet anything.

    Update on stimulus package –

    if it passes with robust unemployment insurance, food security assistance, student debt relief, two thousand dollars stimulus cash payments, bailouts of the hotel and airline, and cruise ship industry  and prohibitions against corporations using bail out money on stock buy backs and CEO bonuses, it will go a long way towards blunting the impact of the crisis.  I fear though we are not prepared for the coming months.  I hope it will calm down by June and with the help of the supercomputer resources pledged by MIT, google and others treatment and vaccines will be in place by the end of the summer and the crisis will be over early in the fall although experts believe it won’t be over for 18 months to 2 years but the shut down of the economy will end by June and the travel bans will be lifted by July.  The Olympics will be postponed until next year.   whoever is elected president will have to embrace medicare for all option as well as mandatory paid sick leave for all full time employees.

    worst case scenario we are entering a world wide recession and by December we will be looking at 30% unemployment. and a revival of the civilian conservation corps and perhaps a draft as well.  End update

     

    original posting follows:

    During the last two months the corona pandemic has been overwhelming governments, societies and individuals and me as it rapidly spreads across the globe.  Here are my thoughts on the virus from my home in Youngjongdo, Korea, near the Incheon airport.  Following my thoughts I have added some key articles for you to read.  Then I post my corona poems.  But I am having some audacity issues so I will post my audio clips next  week along with perhaps a few more articles, and poems and update to my thoughts.

    What governments need to do now

    First, we realize that governments and societies around the world have failed miserably at handling the crisis as it unfolds.

    Second, the pandemic has revealed that that the US health care system — and we need universal health care and we need paid sick leave now.  Whoever becomes President will have to enact these two policies.

    Third,  governments around the world will have to spend a lot more money and policies on public health care.

    Fourth, governments around the world will have to have a standing interagency public health task force that coordinates policies worldwide.

    Fifth, WHO will have to have a lot more resources, governments and institutions will have share information around the world.

    Sixth, the federal government must reallocate resources from the bloated military national security sector to the public health sector, including funding for medicare for all and paid family/sick leave for all.

    Seventh, the federal government once this is over should hold a lesson learned exercise with all 50 states, major cities and major hospitals and universities taking part in the virtual national conference.  A federal commission should conduct this. They should share the results with the public, and with foreign governments and WHO.  The federal public health commission should become a standing body, with representatives from all the states, major hospitals and universities and pharmacies and labs and representatives from the military.  They should hold a mini-public health conference once a year to review policies to prepare for the next pandemic which will hit us.

    The USG should call upon the world community under the auspices of WHO to convene a world-wide virtual conference to prepare for the next pandemic based on lessons learned from this pandemic and WHO should hold an annual pandemic response  virtual conference.

    Eight,  both the DNC and RNC must postpone the remaining primaries until June and turned them into mail in elections. This should also apply to the national election.

    Nine,  the DNC and RNC must turn the conventions into virtual conventions and that too should be the new normal.

    Tenth, Universities and school districts across the country should move a significant number of classes online and that should also become the new normal.

    the Democrats must ensure that the republicans don’t dismantle the rest of the federal budget to pay for expanded public health spending. And they must insist on some modest tax increases. But the democrats should consider some targeting reductions in less essential spending.

    Public health screenings before traveling on planes, trains, long-distance buses and cruise ships must become the new normal.  Those denied boarding must be able to-book their travel with a minimum of expense and bureaucratic delays.  The basic principle must be that if you have a fever or a severe cough, you can’t travel. This also means that governments must grant automatic extensions of visas for those who can’t travel because of illness.

    The USG should require foreigners to purchase Traveler’s medical insurance prior to travel to the U.S.

    Drug companies, research labs and universities must share their research with the entire worldwide medical community, and WHO should set up a universal medical research data base so researchers can research the latest medical advances in real time.

    The Olympics and major international sporting events should be postponed for one year.

    the USG should consider the following emergency measures once the number of cases exceed 100,000 which it will with a week.

    Total national shut down shelter in place for 30 days, re-newable at the end of the month and reviewed monthly

    total shut down of the border, and US domestic travel except for essential travel defined as follows:

    diplomatic travel

    military travel

    government travel related to the virus response

    travel by medical worker

    travel by private sector employee related to the virus response

    travel by family members of military/diplomatics returning home

    travel by non-essential employees and military/diplomatic family members returning home

    travel by high level business delegations especially related to the virus response

    travel by Americans coming returning overseas

    other essential travel approved on a case by case basis

    coupled with the travel ban, postponing all visa processing except as part of the exemptions listed above, and cancelling visa waiver travel except as part of the exceptions listed above, visa bans would remain in place as long as the travel ban remains in place 

    Before this is put into place the USG must coordinate with all of its partners so we all get on the same wave length.

    Finally the US should convene a world wide high level virtual conference of world leaders followed up by actions that are agreed to by all leaders

    Update: and the stimulus package must be enacted now with a supplemental package if needed this summer.  Quit the politics now!

    USG Response – updated from 2/10 or a Solid D to C

    If I had to grade the US response, I would grade it as D so far up to now-given the President some credit for finally realizing in the last few days how it is indeed a real national emergency and taking steps that they should have taken back in January.

    based on the presidents actions the last few days and the congressional finally putting politics aside I would upgrade the President’s response from a D to a C.  It will take some time for me to rate him as a B.  Hope he gets there.

    Finally I am looking for the government to do the actions outlined above.

    If we pull together and get the virus under control, we should be able to recover from this by September, if not, or we get a second waive before we get the vaccine under control we could be looking at another great depression which may take years to recover.

     if we head down that path the government must set up an updated civilian conservation corps to put people to work.   And we may need to re-impose the draft but if we do that we should couple it with a massive GI bill afterwards paying for college and training in return for national service.  The national service requirement would also mean that people will be drafted to work in the health care system and industry as well as in the military.

    we will know if we need to do this by June and if so we must set it up so it goes into effect by September.

    Quit Calling It the China Virus

    the one thing I am still upset about if Trump calling this the China flu.  he needs to stop that sh,,,  right now before unhinged nut cases with guns start shooting Asians because somehow they thought that Trump was either calling them to do so or condoning it.  he needs to address this now and say that asians are not virus carriers and he will condemn any and all racist attacks on Asian owned businesses.  He should also make it clear that we will not under any circumstances repeat the internment policies of world war 11.  to top it off he should start ordering  Chinese food for the white house staffers and the pandemic support team.

    Apologize for having gotten it wrong and responding too late use the dread words I take responsibility!!!!!

    Final point I would call upon both Trump and Pence to take responsibility for their inept initial responses and promise to retire by the end of their term. 

    For Biden Keep your comments positive there will be time to cast blame later

    For Biden I would call upon him to talk about what he would do if President but not criticize the President or his team instead he should congratulate them on their finally getting it together and offer concrete positive suggestions for moving forward.  Now it not the time for political gamesmanship on either parties.

    The one thing that I feared would happen has not yet happen.  Gun nuts shooting up Asians.  Hopefully that will not become a thing.

    Update

    the most important thing the president can do now is to read his prepared statement then walk away and not take questions.  We don’t need to hear his extended boasting that he is a billionaire etc etc nor do we need to hear his inept answering of questions or his overly optimistic assessments etc.  Let the task force speak and please no tweets!!!!!!  I am going to send a link to my blog to Trump and to Biden and will let you know if anyone responses or if I am sued or arrested because I pissed off the President.  I truly want the President to rise to the occasion and be the leader we need in these dark times and I hope if he is reading this that he understand that.

    end comment

    South Korean response Solid B

    If I had to grade South Korea where I am currently lying low a grade I would give them a B – they have done something very well — mass testing, developing drive through and now walk through testing, public health tracing of infected people.   They have failed in mask distribution, should have banned exports of masks right away, and their overly bureaucratic mask distribution policy requiring people to line up and get two masks per person based on the birthday is a disaster.    And they like all governments around the world are not prepared for the massive unemployment that will soon hit the country.  But on balance, we are probably better off here than in.

    the one thing I would caution them is to assume that the crisis is over and return to business as usual. As long as there are cases spreading the government must be vigilant.  It would not take much for a second wave to occur.  By May or June perhaps the crisis will be over.

    afterwards institutionalize health checks at the airport and refuse boarding to anyone who has a fever or put in quarantine if they are coming from abroad.

    make the government corona task force a standing body that would meet weekly to coordinate public health measures and prepare for the next epidemic which will happen sooner or later. Korea has built up an impressive response to the pandemic. They need to keep it ready for future crises.  And Korea needs to work with other governments in developing tests, medicine, vaccine and data collection techniques.

    What governments need to do now

    First, we realize that governments and societies around the world have failed miserably at handling the crisis as it unfolds.

    Second, the pandemic has revealed that that the US health care system — and we need universal health care and we need paid sick leave now.  Whoever becomes President will have to enact these two policies.

    Third,  governments around the world will have to spend a lot more money and policies on public health care.

    Fourth, governments around the world will have to have a standing interagency public health task force that coordinates policies worldwide.

    Fifth, WHO will have to have a lot more resources, governments and institutions will have share information around the world.

    Sixth, the federal government must reallocate resources from the bloated military national security sector to the public health sector, including funding for medicare for all and paid family/sick leave for all.

    Seventh, the federal government once this is over should hold a lesson learned exercise with all 50 states, major cities and major hospitals and universities taking part in the virtual national conference.  A federal commission should conduct this. They should share the results with the public, and with foreign governments and WHO.  The federal public health commission should become a standing body, with representatives from all the states, major hospitals and universities and pharmacies and labs and representatives from the military.  They should hold a mini-public health conference once a year to review policies to prepare for the next pandemic which will hit us.

    The USG should call upon the world community under the auspices of WHO to convene a world-wide virtual conference to prepare for the next pandemic based on lessons learned from this pandemic and WHO should hold an annual pandemic response  virtual conference.

    Eight,  both the DNC and RNC must postpone the remaining primaries until June and turned them into mail in elections. This should also apply to the national election.

    Nine,  the DNC and RNC must turn the conventions into virtual conventions and that too should be the new normal.

    Tenth, Universities and school districts across the country should move a significant number of classes online and that should also become the new normal.

    1. the Democrats must ensure that the republicans don’t dismantle the rest of the federal budget to pay for expanded public health spending. And they must insist on some modest tax increases. But the democrats should consider some targeting reductions in less essential spending.
    2. Public health screenings before traveling on planes, trains, long-distance buses and cruise ships must become the new normal.  Those denied boarding must be able to-book their travel with a minimum of expense and bureaucratic delays. The basic principle must be that if you have a fever or a severe cough, you can’t travel. This also means that governments must grant automatic extensions of visas for those who can’t travel because of illness.
    3. The USG should require foreigners to purchase Traveler’s medical insurance prior to travel to the U.S.
    4. Drug companies, research labs and universities must share their research with the entire worldwide medical community, and WHO should set up a universal medical research data base so researchers can research the latest medical advances in real time.
    5. The Olympics and major internationl sporting events should be postponed for one year.

    read this one!

    What symptoms are most common, which groups are most at risk, and more.

     

    The outbreak of Covid-19, a coronavirus-caused illness that originated in Wuhan, China, and has since spread to most of the world, is one of the most serious public health crises in decades. It has spread far wider than Ebola did in 2014, and the World Health Organization has designated it a pandemic.

    As of March 11, there have been more than 125,000 reported cases, more than 4,600 deaths worldwide, and more than 1,200 reported cases and 29 deaths in the US, according to Johns Hopkins’s tracker; its count is usually up to date and worth bookmarking as the crisis progresses.

    The situation on the ground is evolving incredibly quickly, and it’s impossible to synthesize everything we know into clean, intelligible charts. But we do know a fair bit about how bad the outbreak is, what the disease does, and what controlling and ultimately ending the outbreak will look like.

    With that in mind, here are nine charts that help explain the Covid-19 coronavirus crisis.

    1) The virus is spreading rapidly

    As of this writing, the Covid-19 caseload is rising rapidly day to day, but here’s where things stood as of March 8. The vast majority of reported cases are still in China, where the outbreak began, but whereas the number of new Chinese cases is falling, the number of new international cases is rising, indicating that the epicenter of the problem is shifting from China to new places like Italy.

    Note that the huge spike in new cases was due to improved data reporting from China; there was not one particularly bad day in the middle of February.

    2) Know the symptoms

    The symptoms of Covid-19 vary from case to case, but the most common ones in China, from February data, are fever and dry cough (which are each seen in a majority of cases), fatigue, and sputum (the technical term for thick mucus coughed up from the respiratory tract).

    If you have a fever and dry cough, that could be a good reason to get yourself tested if possible.

    Note: if possible is the caveat. We don’t have enough tests still end , China has offered test kits, WHO, and South Korea but so far the Trump administration has refused all such offers perhaps because he does not want to appear that we are now a third world country in need of assistance. End note

    3) Death rates in China have declined over time

    One glimmer of hope in this story is that Chinese medical authorities appeared to get better at treating infections and preventing death as the outbreak proceeded. “Even the first and hardest-hit province, Hubei, saw its death rate tumble as public health measures were strengthened and clinicians got better at identifying and treating people with the disease,” Vox’s Julia Belluz explains.

    The rate didn’t go down on its own; China took drastic, even authoritarian measures to lock down affected areas and contain the virus’s spread so that the medical system was not overwhelmed.

    4) Older people in China have been at the greatest risk of dying from Covid-19

    The Spanish flu of 1918-’19, the most horrific pandemic in modern times, focused mainly on the young. It had biological similarities to a flu pandemic in the 1830s that gave some older people in the 1910s limited immunity.

    Covid-19 is not like that. So far, deaths in China have been concentrated among older adults, who have weaker immune systems on average than younger people and have a higher rate of chronic illness. People of all ages with chronic medical conditions are also at higher risk. The risk of death is real for younger people as well, but older people have the most reason to take care.

    5) This is much more severe than an ordinary flu

    It is tempting to compare Covid-19 to a more familiar disease: the seasonal flu. After all, the flu also has mild symptoms for most people, and can be dangerous and lethal among vulnerable populations like the elderly. President Trump even made this comparison recently.

    But as the case fatality data shows, there’s no real comparison. About 6 percent of people 60 or older infected with Covid-19 die, according to data we have so far; that’s over six times the fatality rate for elderly people infected with the flu. The overall case fatality rate is at least 23 times greater (the fatality rate has risen since this chart was made).

    6) Experts also think Covid-19 is more contagious than the ordinary flu

    There’s another way that Covid-19 is a tougher adversary than the seasonal flu: Its R0 (“R nought”) is over 2, indicating that it’s more contagious than the typical flu. R0 estimates the number of people an average infected person spreads the disease to. “R0 is important because if it’s greater than 1, the infection will probably keep spreading, and if it’s less than 1, the outbreak will likely peter out,” the Atlantic’s Ed Yong explains. Covid-19’s R0 is substantially higher than 1, giving more reason for concern.

    7) Spending on airlines, hotels, and cruises is collapsing

    Warnings to avoid crowds, and cancellations of major gatherings like conferences and parades, have put a damper on travel in the US, and the consequences for airlines have been dire. According to Earnest Research, spending on airlines fell 16.5 percent in the last week of February relative to a year prior. Cruises have seen a similar dip, while hotels are only now starting to see sales mildly decline.

    It’s unlikely that the economic impact will stay limited to the hospitality industry, as social distancing leads people to avoid coffee shops, restaurants, gyms, bars, etc.

    For more, see Rani Molla’s write-up for Recode.

    8) The US is not testing enough people

    The Trump administration’s slow rollout of testing for coronavirus has become something of a national scandal, and it’s easy to see why when you compare the US testing rate to that of other affected countries. South Korea stands out for its rapid rollout of extensive testing, including through innovative drive-through testing programs.

    Drive-through testing is being piloted in some parts of the US, like New Hampshire, but we still have a long way to go before we match South Korean and Chinese testing levels.

    Comment: the USG refused the offer of testing Kits from WHO, Alibaba and others because they did not want the world to think that the US was like a third world country that needed foreign aid.  End Comment

    9) Why canceling events and self-quarantining is so important

    Covid-19 has quickly made large-scale gatherings and conferences unpopular if not socially frowned upon. This change arrived quickly, and may seem jarring, but it’s easier to see the logic when you understand the theory behind this kind of “social distancing” policy. The key is to “flatten the curve”: slowing the rate of increase in infections so that you spread out the cases, even if the total number doesn’t change. Flattening the curve slows the rate at which new cases arrive in hospitals, easing the burden on health care infrastructure and improving the odds that individual patients will survive.

    comment:  the cancellation of large events could spread and become the new normal for the next year or so  in any events the Olympics have to be cancelled unless things change dramatically in the next few weeks. i.e. zero new cases in Japan or elsewhere by the end of May which is the drop dead deadline to cancel or postpone.  the IOC has the power to postpone for a year through a simple change to the rules that otherwise state that the game must be held within that calendar year.  End Comment

    Part two some interesting articles – had a difficult choice to make – way too many to post.

    Did Trump’s inaction make the coronavirus outbreak worse?

    Cartoon Trump: ‘The markets are supposed to jump up and down! That means they’re excited!’Published 20 mins ago on March 15, 2020By Sarah K. Burris

    President Donald Trump’s cartoon avatar appeared in the fake press briefing room Sunday evening to explain that everything was fine, and people shouldn’t panic over the coronavirus.

    With sweat dripping off of his orange face, cartoon Trump was excited about the disaster, saying it meant he could work from home in his pajamas.

    “What an exciting time to be barely alive!” he exclaimed from the podium.

    When cartoon Vice President Mike Pence took to the podium, he explained that in troubling times he turns to the Bible. Trump then interrupted because he was bored.

    “What can the American people do to stay safe?” a reporter asked.

    Donald Trump look worse:

    trump
    trump

    If there’s one thing that has been revealed by the coronavirus crisis is that President

     

    Donald Trump had never been tested and wasn’t prepared for it. Vice President Mike Pence, however, is earning praise for remaining calm, reassuring Americans and not screwing anything up. The bigotry of low expectations, combined with Trump’s failed leadership made it clear the president wasn’t prepared for a crisis.

     

    An Axios piece highlighted the praise for Pence’s keen ability not to destroy the country and keep the stock market from falling when he speaks.

    Trump’s coronavirus response fracturing his MAGA base, creating a potential electoral disaster

     

    Kerry Eleveld

    Daily Kos Staff

    Tuesday March 17, 2020 · 2:54 AM Korean Standard Time

    trump
    trump

    In some cases, Donald Trump’s base reportedly trusts him exclusively to handle the coronavirus crisis gripping the nation.

    But in other cases, fissures appear to be developing among some of Trump’s most fervent acolytes that could doom him electorally in November.

    Politico reports that Fox News’ Tucker Carlson dared to tell his loyal following last week that Trump officials were trivializing “what is clearly a very serious problem.” Meanwhile, Sean Hannity framed the outcry among Democratic officials as “fear-mongering by the deep state.”

    The mixed messages from Trump loyalists have played out across the board, from media figures to religious leaders to GOP lawmakers themselves. Even as Trump downplayed the coronavirus for weeks to the point of encouraging people to go to work with it, some of his most fervent defenders on Capitol Hill decided to self-quarantine and get tested, including Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Trump’s newly tapped chief of staff, Mark Meadows.

    Seth Mandel, editor-in-chief of the right-leaning Washington Examiner magazine, noted that conservatives have gone from electoral euphoria to dread in the span of about two weeks as they watched the prospect of a Trump reelection bid against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders turn to dust and horrifying coronavirus news out of Italy start migrating to U.S. headlines.

    Mandel also lamented how Trump had initially responded to a crisis uniquely suited to a nationalistic framework—i.e., fear of outsiders, particularly China and its economic dominance. “When the president had a crisis that hit that would have, theoretically, been designed perfectly for the nationalist argument, he didn’t reach for it. So maybe he doesn’t really believe it,” he told Politico.

    But bottom line, the mixed messages and splintering among his base are problems Trump simply can’t afford, given his razor-thin margin for error in November.

    Trump Transition Team Was Uninterested In Obama Planning To Battle the ‘Worst Epidemic Since 1918’

    During the transition,  Trump cabinet officials and other aides were given a three hour brief and a hypothetical exercise in responding to a global epidemic.

    Detailed briefing books were prepared by Obama administration officials for scenarios like this and others.  They were later found in the trash.

    As Politico reports, incoming Trump administration officials gave Obama officials a big “meh.”  Consequently,  coupled with the tremendous turnover during the tumultuous Trump’s presidency, the U.S. was unprepared, by choice, to to meet the challenge of this very real global epidemic that has beleaguered America.

    In a tabletop exercise days before an untested new president took power, officials briefed the incoming administration on a scenario remarkably like the one he faces now.

    The briefing was intended to hammer home a new, terrifying reality facing the Trump administration, and the incoming president’s responsibility to protect Americans amid a crisis. But unlike the coronavirus pandemic currently ravaging the globe, this 2017 crisis didn’t really happen — it was among a handful of scenarios presented to Trump’s top aides as part of a legally required transition exercise with members of the outgoing administration of Barack Obama.

    POLITICO obtained documents from the meeting and spoke with more than a dozen attendees to help provide the most detailed reconstruction of the closed-door session yet. It was perhaps the most concrete and visible transition exercise that dealt with the possibility of pandemics, and top officials from both sides — whether they wanted to be there or not — were forced to confront a whole-of-government response to a crisis. The Trump team was told it could face specific challenges, such as shortages of ventilators, anti-viral drugs and other medical essentials, and that having a coordinated, unified national response was “paramount” — warnings that seem eerily prescient given the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

    Susan Rice had this to say about this January 2017 meeting and the reasons we now find ourselves facing likely mass infection in the U.S.

    “Rather than heed the warnings, embrace the planning and preserve the structures and budgets that had been bequeathed to him, the president ignored the risk of a pandemic,” Rice wrote. (Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton, who oversaw the dissolution of the NSC’s global health security and biodefense section, has defended it as necessary streamlining, countering that global health “remained a top NSC priority.” Trump, when recently asked about the reshuffling, called the question “nasty” and said, “I don’t know anything about it.”)

    The story is another example of the unforced errors and nonchalance that led to threats we now face.  Probably ‘because Obama.’  This event precedes Trump’s disbanding of the Pandemic Response Unit at the NSC.

    Thanks to the arrogant attitudes and inaction, the dangerous clown show Trump and his aides have made of their (oh, the irony) ‘pandemic response’ has put us all in danger.

    www.politico.com/…

    UPDATE:

    Share stories like this far and wide.  Perhaps some of Trump’s ardent followers will finally admit The Emperor Has No Clothes.

    Another truth to share is Trump disbanding the Pandemic Response Unit of the NSC.  He admitted it twice, now denying he knew nothing about it.  Of course.

    The article the diary was drawn from is linked here, along with other links about his calling for cuts at the CDC:

    Trump Struggles To Explain Why He Disbanded Pandemic Response Unit

    Trump Struggles to Explain Why He Disbanded The U.S. Pandemic Response Unit

    Eck.  One more turd to plop in the festering stew of Trump’s incompetence, evidencing how careless, unprepared, and unworthy Trump is to be POTUS.

    NBC News had a good report on this recently, noting that the president’s decision “to downsize the White House national security staff — and eliminate jobs addressing global pandemics — is likely to hamper the U.S. government’s response to the coronavirus.”

    The truth is probably “because Obama,” who with VP Biden established the permanent Pandemic Response Unit within the National Security Council, able to rapidly respond in the U.S. to epidemics and work in concert with governments around the world to curb the spread of deadly diseases.   Ebola and SARS outbreaks made it apparent we needed to be prepared for viral contagion that would more than likely arrive on our shores in the future.

    The future arrived.

    Before we dig into Trump dismantling the Pandemic Reponse Unit, let’s first recall that Trump has previously tried to slash funding to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), America’s preeminent authority on disease and pandemics.  Unbelievably, he just proposed 16% in cuts to the CDC’s 2021 budget at the same time COVID-19 coronavirus arrived in the U.S.!

    When first questioned about why he disbanded the Pandemic Response Unit in 2018 — the same year Trump and Republicans had no problem giving a trillion dollar tax cut to people who didn’t need it—  he responded:

    “I’m a business person,” he explained two weeks ago in response to a similar question. “I don’t like having thousands of people around when you don’t need them. When we need them, we can get them back very quickly.”

    Except you can’t reassemble a team like that ‘very quickly.’  One more check mark in the long column of items on the “Trump is clueless about …’ list.  This one glaringly evidencing how utterly devoid he is in understanding, concern, or interest in how the executive branch should work.

    Not to mention his absolute disregard as president in fulfilling his duty to protect American lives behind the scenes when the cameras aren’t rolling.  When they are, he pompously pretends to have it all under control.  His ego-driven dysfunction has put the health of all Americans in jeopardy.

    We don’t yet know the extent of contagion because we haven’t had enough tests to go around.  And the Trump administration wouldn’t allow independent testing.

    As the threat to the U.S. grew, late last week he spewed a word salad of a differentexcuse when pressed again by a reporter about his 2018 decision to disband the pandemic response team we sure could have used right about now:

    “I just think this is something, Peter, that you can never really think is going to happen. You know, who — I’ve heard all about, ‘This could be…’ — you know, ‘This could be a big deal,’ from before it happened. You know, this — something like this could happen…. Who would have thought? Look, how long ago is it? Six, seven, eight weeks ago — who would have thought we would even be having the subject? … You never really know when something like this is going to strike and what it’s going to be.”

    So, let’s get this straight: he disbanded the NSC Pandemic Response Unit because he never realized America might need it one day (and “de-Obamacizing, no doubt).

    Hm.  Does having a military ‘just in case’ there’s an attack on the U.S., or the presidential bunker he can retreat to ‘just in case’ ring a bell?  Or why we have fire departments ‘just in case’ there’s a fire?  Helllllllo?

    It’s clear the concept of ‘insurance’ is foreign to him.

    We need to get rid of this clueless, narcissistic moron in November and replace him with someone who’s dedicated to the welfare of the American people instead of dedication to his self interests and daily displays of pomposity.

    There is so much at stake in November.

    I’m Voting Blue No Matter Who.

    The Bay Area, long one of the world’s mightiest growth engines, could be headed for a coronavirus-induced recession, as shelter in place orders shutter stores and bars, construction grinds to a halt, and the tourism and hospitality industry all but disappears.

    This week, UCLA Anderson Forecast issued its first revision to its quarterly report in its 68-year history. Despite a strong start to the year, it’s now predicting two quarters of negative economic growth nationally — enough to be considered a recession — and for the economy to take until 2022 to be fully recovered. California, according to the forecast, will be harder hit, with a projected 280,000 jobs lost in the state. And that’s not even accounting for the shelter in place order imposed on Monday throughout the Bay Area.

    “We’re in uncharted territory as to the economic effects of the measures being taken to control the spread of this pathogen in the Bay Area,” said Jerry Nickelsburg, director of UCLA Anderson Forecast.

    The forecast predicts unemployment in the state will reach 6.2 percent by the end of the year and average 6.6 percent during 2021. The January statewide unemployment rate was 3.9 percent, according to the California Employment Development Department. Personal income, adjusted for inflation, is expected to stay basically flat until 2022.

    Not everyone is convinced about the worst-case outcome for the region, though.

    “This is business delayed, not business canceled,” said Chris Thornberg, founding partner of Beacon Economics. “At least not yet.”

    UCLA Anderson projects California will be hard hit because it has a large presence of the industries likely to be most affected by coronavirus, Nickelsburg said. That includes hospitality, tourism, leisure — bars, restaurants and entertainment — and warehousing and transportation.

    There are about 165,000 warehouse and transportation workers in the San Jose and San Francisco metro areas alone, which covers the five-county Bay Area plus San Benito County, according to 2018 data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Another 313,000 work in leisure industries including arts, accommodation and food services. About a third of the job losses projected in the state by the UCLA Anderson Forecast will come from those industries.

    Chris Hoene, executive director of the California Budget & Policy Center, is particularly worried about those workers because they tend to be lower paid. Other vulnerable populations she’s watching for are those who are at risk of being homeless — for example people couch-surfing with friends — and undocumented residents who can’t access all the same public benefits.

    “My fear is that those folks will then become economically unstable for a much longer period of time, they’ll be less able to recover quickly,” Hoene said. “We could see an increase in the state’s already high levels of homelessness. We could see an increase in the poverty level.”

    If those workers aren’t able to recover quickly it could make it harder for the whole region to recover, she said.

    Ted Egan, chief economist at the San Francisco Office of the Controller, said some Bay Area businesses are also being affected by the potentially long-lasting damage the outbreak has done to the global supply chain.

    “I think that there’s some types of business — you think about takeout and delivery services — that people will turn to when they can’t turn to their retails in person,” Egan said, which could include tech companies that do deliveries like DoorDash or online shopping like Amazon.

    But in a recession where the financial system is in trouble and consumers are suffering, not even those businesses will be safe.

    The Bay Area’s construction industry also is affected, with all but a few essential jobs at hospitals and public transit being postponed, said Daniel Romero, assistant business manager for electrical workers union in Santa Clara County.

    “One guy called me, he was almost in tears yesterday,” Romero said. “He barely got back to work and the job was shut down.”

    It’s hard to know if all building has stopped — housing construction is considered an essential service that will be allowed to continue — but Romero said he’s directing his members to file for unemployment if their job is shut down or to access the union’s disability benefits if they test positive for COVID-19. In the meantime, the union has closed its apprenticeship program and is down to a skeleton crew.

    “The unknowing I think is the hardest part,” he said. “We’re complying, so we’re just doing the best we can.”

    For those hoping that at least a recession might bring down the region’s sky-high home prices, research suggests that might not happen, according to a Zillow analysis of past outbreaks. During the SARS epidemic, Hong Kong’s home prices stayed basically the same but the number of home sales declined by as much as three quarters.

    Although most forecasters are predicting short-term economic declines, not everyone thinks the region is headed toward a recession.

    “Everybody take a deep breath,” said Thornberg, of Beacon Economics.”Shutting everything down right now is a way of preventing a problem, not causing a problem.”

    He compared the outbreak to natural disasters like hurricanes or earthquakes, which cause temporary disruptions but aren’t a sufficiently long-term shock to tip the economy into a recession. He said it’s possible we’ll have one quarter of negative economic growth, but that’s it.

    But all forecasters and experts agree on one thing: The economic damage done by the pandemic will be determined by how long it lasts and how quickly it is brought under control. In announcing its revision predicting a recession, UCLA Anderson Forecast included an important caveat.

    “If the pandemic is much worse than assumed, this forecast will be too optimistic,” it said.

    Welcome to The Hill’s daily roundup of coronavirus news.

    covid 19 spread
    covid 19 spread

    There are 5,894 known cases in the U.S., including 97 deaths, according to

     

    Johns Hopkins University.

    The Trump administration wants to send checks to every American in an effort to try to blunt the worst of the economic impact from the coronavirus outbreak — but that might run into problems with Senate Republicans, who are frustrated that they were largely left out of the negotiations on the most recent House-passed bill.

    Meanwhile, frontline health workers are running out of protective supplies, and states say they are not getting the help they need from the federal government. The Pentagon says it’s willing to help, but it will only be a temporary solution.

    Here’s what you need to know today…

    From the White House and Capitol Hill: 

    From the frontlines:  

    • Nurses and doctors say they don’t have enough gear to protect themselves from the coronavirus. States have asked the federal government for more supplies but have only received a fraction of their requests. Shortages could endanger health workers on the frontlines of the pandemic and weaken the public health response. Read more from Jessie Hellmann here.
    • President Trumpis sure to hear more on that issue from nurses when he meets with them Wednesday. Representatives from about a dozen nursing organizations are expected to attend, along with members of the White House’s coronavirus task force, The Hill’s Nathaniel Weixel reports.
    • The Pentagon will give 5 million respirator masks to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) but that makes up a small amount of the masks that U.S. is expected to need during the pandemic. There are currently 10.5 million respirators in the National Strategic Stockpile, but the HHS secretary says the U.S. needs at least 100 million. Ellen Mitchell has the full story here.

    From the cities and states: 

    • New York City Mayor Bill de Blasiosaid he is considering issuing a “shelter in place” order for all city residents. Six San Francisco-area counties issued a similar order Monday. De Blasio’s move comes as the city tops 800 coronavirus cases. Read more from Marty Johnson here.
    • The presidential primary will continue as scheduled Tuesday in Arizona, Florida and Illinois, as state officials say they’ve taken the necessary precautions to ensure that voters can safely cast ballots. Officials though are expecting light turnout. One state where it won’t happen? Ohio. Get the rest of the story from Jonathan Easley.
    • And as for the state to come, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is asking them to not postpone primaries, but instead to make voting safer. More from Jon on the DNC.

    From Wall Street: 

    • Stock markets rebounded Tuesday after one of their worst drops in history a day earlier, as President Trump and Congress and Congress advanced economic stimulus plans and the Federal Reserve took actions to shore up the financial system in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. The Hill’s Niv Elis has the full story here.

    From beyond the U.S.: 

    • The European Union agreed to close external borders to most travelers for at least 30 days to ward off the advancement of the coronavirus. Britain is not participating in the travel ban. Read more from Kaelan Deese.

    President Donald Trump offered assurances that the worst of the coronavirus might be over by the end of this month.

    The president spoke Tuesday morning from the White House on the COVID-19 outbreak, which has resulted in mass closures of schools, churches, stores and businesses — and he broke with many doctors and scientists to claim the situation might be relatively short.

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    “Our guidance yesterday urges Americans to take action for 15 days to help stem the outbreak,” Trump said. “So it is a 15-day period. They would say it is a 14-day period. We are asking everyone to work at home if possible, postpone unnecessary travel, limit social gatherings to no more than 10 people. I am making shared sacrifices and temporary changes. We can protect the health of our people, and our economy, because I think our economy will come back very rapidly. So it is 15 days.”

    Trump again assured the public the viral outbreak would dissipate, and possibly soon.

    “It’s going to pop,” he said. “One day, we’ll be standing, possibly, up here, we’ll say, ‘Well, we won,’ and we’re going to say that. Sure as you’re sitting there, we’re going to say that, and we’re going to win, and I think we’re going to win faster than people think. I hope.”

    From licking floors to praying for an inept government: America’s churches react to the coronavirus

     

    By Daniel Schultz, Religion Dispatches @ Raw Story – Commentary

    It’s particularly important for churches that continue to meet during the COVID-19 pandemic to follow the guidelines laid out by health experts given that worship services are among the largest regular gatherings in modern society, among the most physically intimate, and likely include the greatest number of vulnerable people. Even single members of large congregations can have a dramatic effect on how coronavirus spreads or doesn’t, as South Korea found out the hard way.

    While many aren’t meeting at all or are streaming services, some churches that do meet feel like they need to support those who need it, in worship or otherwise. My mother’s congregation in Madison, Wisconsin elected to close for a week or two, but also voted to continue to allow Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve-step programs to continue to meet in their building, at those groups’ discretion.

    [The Rev. Graylan Hagler] preached a fiery sermon for the small congregation, denouncing the Trump administration for spending money on a border wall while cutting public health teams that might have otherwise been ready to respond to the pandemic.

    “Yes, we will come through the coronavirus! Yes, we will come through the city quarantines,” he avowed. “Yes, we will come through an inept government that can’t handle a real crisis. Yes, we will come through an election season, in victory, I pray … Yes, we will come through all our troubles in hope.”

    Other Christians seem less pro-social, let us say. Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne, a Tampa Bay televangelist, equated changing habits in an effort to “flatten the course” with weakness, declaring that his congregation wouldn’t adjust their behavior in worship because they weren’t “pansies.”

    Right Wing Watch

    @RightWingWatch

    Right-wing pastor Rodney Howard-Browne is not about to cancel church or prevent congregants from shaking hands because they are not a bunch of “pansies.”

    Others are willing to go some lengths to show they just don’t believe in this whole coronavirus thing:

    In Arkansas, the Rev. Josh King met with the pastors of five other churches on Thursday to decide whether to continue holding service. Their religious beliefs told them that meeting in person to worship each Sunday remained an essential part of their faith, and some of their members signed on to Trump’s claims that the media and Democrats were over-blowing the danger posed by the virus.

    “One pastor said half of his church is ready to lick the floor, to prove there’s no actual virus,” said King, lead pastor at Second Baptist church in Conway, Ark.

    “In your more politically conservative regions, closing is not interpreted as caring for you. It’s interpreted as liberalism, or buying into the hype,” said King, whose church draws about 1,100 worshipers on a typical Sunday.

    I’m not sure what’s daffier or more offensive: the notion that God’s supposed demand for adherence to rigid gender roles outweighs protecting vulnerable members of the community, or the idea that coronavirus is just a conspiracy theory cooked up by liberals—never mind the insanity that it’s Christians’ duty to protect a president from political attacks. (On a separate note, floors aren’t particularly known to be COVID-19 transmission agents. They might get plenty of other nasty bugs that way, though.)

    Like the Trump administration’s bumbling efforts, these local responses to the current situation relate back to conceptions of truth on some level. On the one hand, while there’s a recognition of the coronavirus’ power, there’s a sense that it’s more important to preach a message of comfort or a word of judgment against the White House.

    On the other hand, there’s a denial of the reality, and a desire to demonstrate a counter-power in butch demonstrations of faith in God, or the inscrutable gnosticism of believing it to be nothing more than a liberal plot against God and country—and God and country’s designated representative, Donald Trump.

    Religious types aren’t the only offenders, either. Twitter was on fire over the weekend with sightings of young folks partying it up, apparently either in the belief that COVID-19 wouldn’t affect them, or in simple defiance of health experts:

    Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

    @AOC

    • Mar 15, 2020

    To everyone in NYC but ESPECIALLY healthy people & people under 40 (bc from what I’m observing that’s who needs to hear this again):

    PLEASE stop crowding bars, restaurants, and public spaces right now. Eat your meals at home.

    If you are healthy, you could be spreading COVID.

    Katie Williams

    @realkatiejow

    I just went to a crowded Red Robin and I’m 30.

    t was delicious, and I took my sweet time eating my meal. Because this is America. And I’ll do what I want.

    Killing Grandma to own the libs is a heck of a political stance, to be sure.

    Continuing to participate in massive boozefests seems ill-advised at best, downright irresponsible at worst. So does prompting a large congregation essentially to flip public health measures the bird.

    Yet I want to hold back at least a bit of judgment. For one thing, the nation has hardly been getting clear signals from the top on how to respond to coronavirus. Sure, there are all kinds of reminders about what to do; but then there’s a president who mutes or undermines every single message his own administration puts out.

    very abnormal three years. The craving for some kind of ordinary life is readily apparent across all kinds of social boundaries. However unfortunate their methods, people will fight to maintain homeostasis. My own family went out for dinner on Friday night, and were pleased to do so knowing that in particular service workers will need the money in coming weeks. Tomorrow our son will go to school for one last day, and I’ll keep a coffee date. Life goes on, one way or another.

    At the same time, it seems spectacularly incompatible with the declared teachings of most religions to act so recklessly when so many lives are in the balance. So I’d like to propose a variation on Pascal’s famous wager: if you act as though COVID-19 were a real menace and you turn out to be wrong, you’ve lost nothing more than a few handshakes in church. But, if you blow the threat off and it turns out to be much more dangerous than you thought, you’re potentially responsible for the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of people. Pascal’s countryman (and NBA star) Rudy Gobert learned this the hard way.

    Wouldn’t it be better in the eyes of your fellow citizens and whatever power you believe in to have erred on the side of caution? Or, you know, sure, don’t be a pansy. Go ahead and put the vulnerable at risk to make America great again. Super idea. And to my fellow Christians: St. Peter will no doubt be a big fan of that one at the Pearly Gates.

    Why the coronavirus could be the tipping point in reshaping the global economy 1 hour ago on March 18, 2020By Marshall Auerback, Independent Media Institute

    The coronavirus has now gone global, and economies are in freefall. The pandemic is clearly the precipitating cause of today’s crisis, but there’s an underlying disease that has been with us for a long time: neoliberal economics. Globalized travel and trade, multinational supply lines, offshoring and overly financialized economies that have prioritized banking interests, cartels and oligarchy above all else have made a large portion of our population highly vulnerable to the effects unleashed by this pandemic.

    Policymakers have a tricky task ahead of them. The virus has created a supply shock, as businesses have shut down and workers have been told to stay at home. In response, demand is plunging as a result of the lost income and the corresponding collapse in sales. That’s highly deflationary (as the bond markets are now signaling). What is required is a robust fiscal response so that workers’ incomes are protected and have adequate financial resources to get health care.

    Coronavirus is panicking Wall Street — but it’s got investors in Donald Trump’s second biggest creditor terrifiedPublished 8 hours ago on March 17, 2020By David Cay Johnston, DC Report @ Raw Story

    Shares of the little, and little known, Ladder Capital (LADR) closed Monday at $8.32 a share, down from $18 less than three weeks ago.

    Dow Jones Industrial average. Shares of Trump’s biggest creditor, the large Deutsche Bank, are down 43% in the same period.

    — but now it’s an ’emergency’Published 12 hours ago on March 17, 2020By Amanda Marcotte, Salon

    For weeks, Donald Trump clearly believed he could lie the coronavirus away. As David Leonhardt of the New York Times carefully chronicled, starting on Jan. 22, Trump began a campaign of falsehoods geared towards tricking Americans — and especially the stock market — into thinking everything was going to be fine, this epidemic was “very well under control,” that “like a miracle” the virus “will disappear” and that anyone who suggested otherwise was participating in a “hoax.” Fox News and other right-wing media, in the endless infinity symbol of conservative lies, both led and followed Trump on this, blanketing red-state America with a steady drumbeat of assertions that the “liberal media” was exaggerating the crisis to hurt Trump.

     

    The country has around 125 confirmed cases, and it’s a bit of a puzzle how the world’s second-most-populous nation, with 1.3 billion people, has seemingly remained unscathed so far.
    There could be many more cases in India than have been detected, because of the difficulties of getting tested. But it’s also possible that the country has actually managed to so far escape the worst — either because of quick and strict efforts right from the start, or another mix of factors.
    The relative calm has fueled disbelief in some quarters that the virus is even a threat. Over the weekend in Lucknow, one of India’s bigger cities, young people packed into pubs. “I am not scared. I eat, party, sleep,” said Akshay Gupta, an accountant who was bar hopping on Saturday night. “The scare is overhyped.”
    ■ The European Union has adopted a 30-day ban on non-essential travel to European countries from the rest of the world, starting a stretch of isolation like nothing in modern history outside wartime.
    ■ After suffering their worst day in decades, stocks bounced back: The S&P 500 rose about 6 percent as Washington policymakers talked up plans to try to cushion the economy.

    Coronavirus shut down Sin City, creating a potentially devastating situation for Las Vegas

    A couple walks along the nearly empty Las Vegas Strip on Thursday. (David Becker/For The Washington Post)

    By

    Robert Klemko

    March 22, 2020 at 9:19 a.m. GMT+9

    LAS VEGAS — Don Gummerson and Josh “Pepper” Clarke left The Flamingo and sauntered alone down the sidewalk of the Strip, past locked casino doors and outdoor daiquiri machines shrouded in black trash bags, to the only restaurant serving food for a half mile in either direction: McDonald’s. The oil workers from Manitoba were in town for a wedding: Gummerson married Clarke’s stepmother at 11 a.m. Wednesday, the last nuptials at the tropical casino for the foreseeable future, a day after Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) announced a shutdown of all casinos, hotels and “nonessential” businesses in response to the rapidly moving coronavirus pandemic.

    As Clarke slung a $7 bottle of Wycliff champagne from his hip to his stubbled lips, Gummerson, in a matching black tuxedo, lamented their lonely journey through an eerily quiet Sin City.

    “That’s gonna be our wedding f—— supper,” he said. “McDonald’s.”

    The sudden closure of all Nevada casinos was an overreaction, they insisted, drawing an expletive-laced tirade about how they didn’t think Las Vegas would throw in the towel. Clarke was especially upset because he thinks the virus is really affecting only old people: “I don’t believe that this should be happening.”

    A worker updates the Fiesta Henderson Hotel & Casino marquee after all casinos were closed in Nevada as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. (David Becker/For The Washington Post)

    The men were among the few remaining tourists navigating the Las Vegas Strip as no one has ever seen it: nearly devoid of revelers, gamblers and street hawkers. The governor’s directive, which fell on some deaf ears around the city (including those of an 18-and-over strip club offering drive-by lap dances), became a mandate Friday afternoon. Sisolak announced that police action would be taken as a last course of action against businesses that refused to comply with measures to stem the spread of a virus in a city reliant on the opposite of social distancing.

    As casino floors fell silent — many for the first time since their construction — a desert town built on tourist traffic from around the globe boiled with anxiety. In local union headquarters, homeless shelters, around-the-block gun store lines and churches, people of all stripes braced for an uncertain future. It was almost unthinkable, this city up against the only true showstopper it has ever experienced: An insidious virus that was first detected on the other side of the world.

    Sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access.

    As the coronavirus forced Las Vegas to shutdown, tourists scrambled to head home

    After Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) ordered all nonessential businesses to shut down on March 18, tourists in Las Vegas were forced to cut vacations short. (Ashleigh Joplin/The Washington Post)

    Traffic on Las Vegas Boulevard has fizzled, and the continuous buzzing and beeping inside the monolithic casinos has given way to the low hum of electricity, whooshing air conditioning and 1990s pop hits played for an audience of security personnel and cleaning staff.

    The waters of the spiraling Bellagio fountains lie still, though a few of the hotel marquees remain illuminated at night, painting the sky blue, white and gold on an empty desert soundstage. A few mumbling panhandlers remained seated on Strip sidewalks. Unable or unwilling to seek alternatives in this strange new reality, they held up cardboard signs with marker-scribbled messages to a handful of people in no mood.

    “Disabled marine veteran. Homeless. Only God can save us now.”

    As a White House news briefing on the coronavirus is broadcast on a television, an employee cleans the back bar inside the now-closed Emerald Island Casino in Henderson, Nev., on Friday. (David Becker/For The Washington Post)

    Where are the keys?

    The shutdown has not just been unpopular with departing tourists, it also has infuriated Mayor Carolyn Goodman, who offered a stern rebuttal to the governor’s decision at a City Council meeting on Wednesday. A shutdown of this magnitude was unprecedented, she said. Neither the events of 9/11 nor the October 2017 mass shooting that took 58 lives at a music festival here had the effect of a 30-day freeze in tourism.

    “I know we, and they, cannot survive any total shutdown of the economy for any length of time beyond the immediate week or two,” Goodman said. “Please, governor, we need to be able to live our lives, support our families and, yes, keep Nevada strong, but together.”

    She called for an eight- to 10-day shutdown, shorter than what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says can be a two-week incubation period for the virus. Goodman’s challenge to Sisolak, which was ignored, divided many Las Vegans as it has many people across the country. What’s better? An economically crippling shutdown long enough to ensure the virus is in the past, or fewer restrictions on everyday life and the risk of widespread infection?

    “As someone in the tourism industry, I really liked what Mayor Goodman had to say, for selfish reasons,” said Tim Brooks, owner and general manager of Emerald Island Casino in Henderson. “But I don’t really know what’s realistic. Would I like to be back at work and not have these families suffer? Yes. But at what risk?”

    The Emerald Island, a single-story casino with a bar and 24-hour restaurant, is far less reliant on tourism than most casinos in the heart of Las Vegas. Think “Cheers” with slot machines. Late last week, it dawned on Brooks that the front door of his 24-hour casino hadn’t been locked since he opened the place 18 years ago. Where on earth are the keys?Anticipating a shutdown, Brooks called a locksmith on Monday and had a new lock installed. When the news came, he gave last call for the first time ever, at 11:50 p.m.

    The next day, his staff went about the unfamiliar business of closing a casino. Slot machines were emptied of cash and wiped down with disinfectant spray. Liquor bottles were capped and keg tap lines blown clear.

    Casino porter Geralyn Johnson deep-cleans video poker machines inside the Emerald Island Casino after it closed. (David Becker/For The Washington Post)

    Owner and general manager Tim Brooks checks a door as he surveys the closed Emerald Island Casino. Brooks had to hire a locksmith, as he has never had to lock the doors in the 18 years he has owned the business. (David Becker/For The Washington Post)

    A month on the shelf will mean a six-figure loss in revenue, Brooks says, and he’s keeping 20 to 30 essential staff members on board and letting go of more than 130, most of whom trickled into the Island between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Friday to get educated on unemployment benefits.

    “We were humming right along and planning an expansion at the end of the year and to employ 50 more people,” Brooks said. “We’re hoping the state will step up to the plate and ease some of the restrictions for all the people collecting unemployment. What hurts me more than anything is that it’s affecting the livelihood of the people we know and love.”

    ‘It’s insane right now’

    Jose Triana emerged from the front desk of his health clinic Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. to unlock the front door and tell a towering, mohawked man coughing into a blue medical mask that drive-through testing for covid-19 was over.

    “I would rather you call tomorrow. It’s insane right now,” said Triana, 29. When the man asked how long he’d have to wait to be tested, Triana’s pain and exhaustion broke through his N95 mask and medical visor. “I don’t know. I really wish we could, I really wish we could. It’s just … I can’t afford it, I can’t afford to pay my staff.”

    Sahara Urgent Care and Wellness was one of just a few clinics here offering coronavirus tests, available to people exhibiting symptoms. For three days beginning Monday, employees directed cars through a maze of traffic cones linked with white rope to a spot where technicians waited with nasal swabs. When the results were in, patients waited several hours after they were obtained to be notified if they had tested positive for the virus. Cars circled the block each day, and after more than 700 tests, the clinic limited them to appointment by phone or online.

    In hard-hit areas, testing restricted to health care workers, hospital patients

    “We’re not getting the support that we’d like,” Triana said as the man retreated to his parked car, where a woman in a mask waited in the passenger seat. “Our resources have been exhausted. Honestly, everyone that was coming in, they looked bad. We really didn’t turn away anybody.”

    Triana said he wasn’t allowed to share how many confirmed cases his clinic has reported to Clark County — which includes Las Vegas and Nevada’s second-largest city, Henderson. According to the Southern Nevada Health District, 126 positive cases of covid-19 were reported in Clark County as of Friday, with two deaths, both being people in their 60s with underlying medical conditions. But the threat of transmission is especially high compared with the rest of the country, experts said, because in the region’s more than 200 casinos, people handle chips, cash, cards, slot machines and touch screens, all in proximity to one another.

    Bertha Lopez, of Mexico, wears a face mask as she visits the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign with her family on Thursday. (David Becker/For The Washington Post)

    Six medical providers at five hospitals who spoke with The Washington Post said each had been inundated with patients seeking tests after exhibiting covid-19 symptoms. Such was the demand at Valley Hospital Medical Center, two nurses said, that security was concentrated in the admissions areas to deal with overflow and assist in screening. That provided an opportunity for badness: Thieves broke into five cars belonging to members of the hospital staff, and they took multiple garage door openers and registrations bearing home addresses, staff members said. The two nurses spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing a hospital rule against unauthorized contact with the media. The Las Vegas Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.

    “When I first heard about it, I thought, no, that’s gotta be fake news,” said one of the nurses. Then she saw the pictures and spoke with those whose cars were targeted. “We’re just trying to do our jobs and trying to help people, and it feels like there’s no one helping us. It just doesn’t sound real. Who attacks the people trying to help them?”

    People wait in line to enter the Briarhawk Firearms and Ammunition store in Las Vegas. (David Becker/For The Washington Post)

    Four miles away, at the Briarhawk Firearms and Ammunition store, more than 30 people waited in line to purchase guns and/or ammunition when the store opened at noon, mirroring a scene at multiple other gun stores here. Some customers said they were motivated by stories circulating on social media of home invasions. Three cited a specific item they had seen on Snapchat that described a home invasion in nearby Henderson, in which men apparently dressed as utility workers held a family at gunpoint and stole supplies. Many such stories and claims from around the country — many debunked — have been circulating online and on social media for days, stoking fear; the Henderson Police Department said the posting was not deemed credible and has urged people to stop spreading rumors.

    Shawna Sanders, one of the first in line when Briarhawk opened at noon Thursday, said she had heard stories of break-ins and seen videos of fights in grocery stores. When she read that someone was stabbed over supplies in another state, she figured the violence was coming to Las Vegas. She moved here four years ago from New Jersey to live with her mother, a decision she has come to regret. The single mother of two worked as a bartender until the shutdown, which caused her to be laid off. On Monday she Googled “guns for women,” then showed up at the Range 702, a local shooting venue, with an idea of which pistols she wanted to try out. She narrowed the options down to two small, light guns — a Glock 40 or a Glock 9 — both in the $400 to $600 range. “I can’t be out here trying to live life with a knife,” she said. “I need real protection.”

    Volunteers load boxes of food at an emergency food distribution site in the parking lot of the Palace Station hotel-casino in Las Vegas. (David Becker/For The Washington Post)

    ‘The Twilight Zone’

    Representatives from more than 130 nonprofit organizations in southern Nevada joined a United Way conference call Tuesday morning, hosted by Kyle Rahn, 60, the first female president of the United Way of Southern Nevada. Homeless shelters, meal providers, drug and alcohol treatment centers and state and local health and emergency assistance representatives joined in, aiming to take stock of resources and encouraging collaboration. Many anticipate that the shutdown of one of the nation’s largest county’s will put the people on the fringes of Las Vegas’ economy at great risk. Rahn three weeks ago set up an emergency assistance fund for the nonprofits, anticipating a shutdown.

    “It’s no longer business as usual,” Rahn told the group. “And it may never be again.”

    It’s the kind of work that can’t be done from home, so throughout the week a core group of five women came to the United Way offices every day, diligently washing their hands and maintaining social distancing while organizing a growing network of volunteers and nonprofits re-purposing themselves for a tsunami.

    One of the women on the call, Terry Ruth Lindemann, runs Family Promise of Las Vegas, a group that helps newly homeless families find temporary housing in motels and with religious organizations. Lindemann requires visitors to wash their hands upon entry. After that, parents are introduced to case workers and go through the often-painful process of explaining how they got there. Children sprawl on couches and watch Pixar DVDs in the main room; the office is packed with stacked boxes of diapers.

    She has been working 13-hour days, answering hundreds of emails. “I’m still not convinced that I’m not a star in an episode of ‘The Twilight Zone,’ ” Lindemann said.

    Clark County, she says, typically finishes each school year with about 14,000 children listed as homeless, which she estimates to mean as many as 5,000 families are living in cars or otherwise oscillating between homeless and housed. Family Promise has about 40 families on its caseload, with plans to expand to 100 in 2020 with an operating budget of $700,000 per year, a portion of which is public funds.

    Closing the Strip, she says, will create “a lot of need for food banks, for rental assistance, for motel shelter,” she said. “That means that this community is going to have to come together as we never have before, and we are beginning to respond in that way, much in the way they had to for Katrina and Sandy.”

    Maintenance workers clean the stairs for a Las Vegas Strip pedestrian overpass. (David Becker/For The Washington Post)

    As she spoke, the first housing casualties of the shutdown walked in from the street and parked on the Family Promise couch: A family of five, led by a single mother, who just last week made the pilgrimage from Utah to Las Vegas in search of work.

    Two miles east, at the Culinary Workers Union headquarters, the largest union in Las Vegas and arguably the city’s most powerful, workers called in and filled the waiting room, wondering about their paychecks while casinos and hotels sit vacant.

    “We’re negotiating that this week with casinos,” said Bethany Khan, director of communications for the culinary union. “For most workers that the culinary union represents, nothing will change. They’ll be paid throughout this. We are demanding that all employers, union and nonunion, pay their employees during the closure.”

    While some nonunion casinos did offer compensation for furloughed employees — including notoriously anti-union Las Vegas Sands owner Sheldon Adelson — most smaller casinos, hotels and small businesses that exist on the periphery of the Strip will not. And with about 40 percent of residents not being members of a union, the impact of a month-long pay freeze will be long-lasting and severe, said Rusty McAllister, executive secretary-treasurer of the Nevada State AFL-CIO,

    “If you look back at 9/11, we were one of the hardest-hit cities, and it

     took the longest for us to come back,” McAllister says. “If people are worried or people have to look at places to cut back, one of the first places they cut back is on their vacation plans. That has an immediate impact on our city. We’re one of the first to feel it and the last to come out of it when something like this happens.”

    Hair stylist Hunter Stewart collects her belongings from her work station at The Hair Lounge salon.

    For small business owners beyond the reach of the union, but no less reliant on a vibrant Las Vegas Strip, the length of the shutdown and the decisions handed down by the state and federal government may mean the difference between owning a business and not. Lisa Ortiz, owner and operator of The Hair Lounge, says the future of her business is reliant on her hair stylists paying rent at a time when none of them are working.

    “If they pay their rent, and we bounce back, I will waive some stuff and try to get everyone on their feet,” she said. “But if they don’t, it may not bounce back. It honestly depends on whether or not this lasts longer than 30 days. Everything’s up in the air right now.”

    So she’ll wait. On Thursday evening, Ortiz brought her young son to the shop to meet one of her stylists who needed to pick up supplies. She had spent the week clearing out hair products, intending to sell them via social media at cost, and securing the shop against looters: locking up mirrors and expensive salon equipment. She had seen the home invasion claim on Snapchat, too. And the salon recently experienced a break-in after hours. Tucked in her jean waistband as she buckled her toddler into a car seat was a small loaded pistol.

    “It just feels like anything can happen,” she said. “You don’t know what to believe.”

    For others, the math ahead of them portended more desperate measures. Walking the aisles of a Cardena’s grocery store, Oscar Ibarra and Judy Luis contemplated what was required to feed their 10-month-old, Catalina, pay rent and feed themselves after both lost their jobs. She was a hostess at the Grand Lux Cafe on the Strip, and he worked for a pool-builder.

    “Because of this whole shutdown, the clients don’t want us around right now, because they think someone might have it,” Ibarra said. “I have a little bit saved away, enough for the next few weeks.”

    They’ve been buying in bulk, and skipping meals. That should work for four weeks. If the shutdown lasts longer than a month, the family might have to move to Portland, where his mother lives: “Unless they tell us we don’t have to pay rent for the next month, there’s not much else we can do.”

    And while some walked grocery store aisles and performed the painful calculus of how long they might last in a Las Vegas without work, the last of the tourists who once propped up the city made their way home.

    On the Strip, crossing paths with the hungry Canadian wedding party, Matt Cross and Gio Feusi had carry-ons rolling in tow. They had been asked to leave the Cosmopolitan two nights into a three-night stay that, combined with airfare out of San Francisco, cost just $480 in an economy gripped by the virus.

    “We got out of San Francisco because things were shutting down, and it was so cheap to get here,” Cross said. Added Feusi: “We didn’t think Vegas would ever shut down.”

    In this, they were not alone.

    Inside California’s great lockdown, glimpse America’s stay-at-home future

    More than 6 million people in the Bay Area have been ordered to stay home since Tuesday, prompting empty streets, cabin fever, creativity and acts of kindness

    San Franciscans enjoy the fresh air and views along a stretch of beach at Crissy Field on Friday. (Photos by Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

    By Geoffrey A. FowlerReed AlbergottiFaiz Siddiqui

    MARCH 22, 2020

     

    Add to list

    SAN FRANCISCO — Nearly a week into an unprecedented health and social experiment, more than 6 million people here are asking: Just how long can one stay at home?

    On Monday, San Francisco and five other Bay Area counties were among the first in the nation to officially order residents to stay home to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. By penalty of law, going outside is allowed only for certain jobs, food shopping and other “essential” activity.

    Life inside low-key lockdown is a battle against boredom, isolation, anxiety and the fear of no end in sight. The region known as the heart of the tech industry is both inventing a new online reality and feeling the strains of economic inequality. As the rest of California and more states issued stay-at-home orders this weekend, the Bay Area’s lesson to the 1 in 5 Americans now affected is: This is harder than you think, but you’ll be surprised at your creativity and the kindness of neighbors.

    Tumbleweeds might as well have rolled across the Golden Gate Bridge during rush hour Friday, though cooped-up people filled nearby Crissy Field to exercise, mostly keeping a respectful distance. Boarded-up display windows for Christian Dior, Fendi and Louis Vuitton lined the city’s deserted Union Square shopping district. At 5:40 p.m., just one car was driving down the city’s windy Lombard Street.

    TV weatherman Lawrence Karnow from KRON-4 now reports the forecast from a room at home decorated with a few candles and a WiFi router. Inspired by the 2010 World Cup, fourth-grade teacher Tom Culbertson and his 16-year-old son blow vuvuzelas at 6 p.m. every evening to encourage their Palo Alto neighbors to step into the street and say hi.

    “We feel like we need to bring some kind of silliness to this as best we can,” Culbertson said.

    Everyone is learning the self-quarantine rules.

    TOP: Tom Culbertson blows a vuvuzela on Friday to encourage families to join their neighbors on Amarillo Avenue in Palo Alto, Calif. BOTTOM LEFT: Shoppers pick through fresh produce at Weirdly Farmers Market in Oakland, Calif. BOTTOM RIGHT: With help from her roommate, Pilates instructor Carley Henning streams a class from her apartment in San Francisco.

    Allowed: walking your dog, ordering takeout food and cocktails, farmers markets, biking, getting gas, using laundromats, and shopping at some liquor stores and medicinal marijuana emporiums.

    Not allowed: petting someone else’s dog, dinner parties, going to hair and nail salons, in-person yoga classes, shopping for nonessentials and even throwing Frisbees.

    “Look, I don’t make the rules, okay? That’s the department of public health,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed said in an interview, adding that she would have to do her own hair, too. “I know it’s not in our nature to not be close to one another or interactive or social when we’re around one another. But unfortunately, this is necessary for getting through this and also for saving lives.”

    So far, so good, she said. “I’m really proud of this city,” Breed said. “But this is week one. And I’m sure that in the beginning it might be a lot easier. And as time goes on, it’s going to get more challenging for people.”

    For the most part, violators aren’t being arrested, although it carries a potential misdemeanor charge. A spokesman for the San Francisco Police Department, Officer Robert Rueca, said enforcement is a “last resort” and the goal is “voluntary compliance.”

    Still, cracks appeared as the weekend approached and the weather turned sunny. Some residents were spotted holding picnics, while others reported receiving citations for going to parks. The East Bay Regional Park District said it voided some parking tickets issued Tuesday, and California’s state parks authority said it was not ticketing but was urging people to leave parks “where social distancing cannot be implemented.”

    Witness an empty San Francisco under a coronavirus ‘shelter in place’ order

    San Jose had to officially order a gun store to shut after lines started building out the door Tuesday. The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office advised Tesla to close up shop, issuing a ruling that the electric carmaker is not an “essential business” after chief executive Elon Musk had thousands of employees report to work.

    In an interview, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said the Bay Area may have it relatively easy when it comes to compliance, thanks in part to a highly educated population, including many who can continue to draw a paycheck by working at home with a computer.

    “And yet even here in the largest city in Silicon Valley, we have this enormous divide with hundreds of thousands of residents facing horrific choices about how they’re going to make ends meet,” he said.

    The counties made the drastic decision to force residents to stay at home in an effort to “flatten the curve,” essentially spacing out coronavirus cases so they don’t overwhelm local medical and emergency resources and contribute to rapid community spread. It will take weeks to know whether the measures prove effective. By Sunday, there were 1,468 confirmed cases in California and at least 27 deaths, less than a month after the state reported its first case of community transmission. The Bay Area was the first part of the country to report cases spreading in the community, in Solano and Santa Clara counties.

    California Surgeon General Nadine Burke Harris said that while necessary to stop the spread of disease, the orders also have the potential to exacerbate depression, anxiety and such chronic health problems as diabetes and high blood pressure. Social connection is vital, she said, particularly for children.

    “Whether it’s virtually — phone, text, FaceTime,” she said, “I would say it’s more important than ever for our communities to stay connected.”

    [I’ve been working from home for eight days. The Netflix and quarantine life is not that chill.]

    While municipalities have published lists of rules, interpreting the orders is happening one household at a time.

    Corinne Downey, 41, of Palo Alto, said her 11-year-old son was begging to see friends in person, so she invented a new game: quarantine basketball. Each boy brought his own basketball, which only he was allowed to touch. The kids would sing “social distancing!” whenever they got too close.

    Love in the time of coronavirus requires creativity, too. Matthew Cooper, 37, proposed a first date at a park just kicking a soccer ball back-and-forth. “It feels like we can do that from a safe distance,” said Cooper, who lives in Oakland.

    The vital organs of urban life still mostly function. Trash largely gets picked up on schedule. Trains are still running, though often empty. Crime reports are down, but officials worry about a potential increase in domestic abuse. Several local jails have released prisoners early, in hopes of reducing the risk of an outbreak. San Francisco has also ceased evictions and issuing parking tickets.

    TOP: Kitchen workers take a break outside Nico’s Restaurant in quiet downtown San Francisco. BOTTOM LEFT: San Francisco residents ride an eerily quiet Bay Area Rapid Transit train on Friday. BOTTOM RIGHT: A traveler arrives to a quiet Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport.

    Some residents are choosing to severely limit their activities to avoid exposure. Kimberley Gilles, 63, of Piedmont, asked on Nextdoor.com for strangers to help with grocery shopping. She got seven responses in about an hour.

    Gilles said self-quarantine has left her with a “low-grade melancholy” but given her a new appreciation for community. “One of the things we are all questioning is our ability to control everything,” the high school English teacher said. “I can control kindness. I can do that. But almost everything else is beyond my control.”

    Things have gotten especially tricky in “co-living” houses, where young professionals cram together and share the cost of exorbitant Bay Area rents. Melissa Wong, one of 14 roommates in an Oakland home, faced a weighty decision when the house collectively decided to require residents to either socially distance themselves from significant others or stay with their partners during the outbreak. Wong, 32, chose to move in with her boyfriend of a year and a half while still paying $1,650 in rent to keep her bedroom. She said she and her boyfriend had been looking for a “more celebratory context” to live with each other. Fortunately, “it’s been pretty positive,” she said. “We will get our moment to actively choose living together.”

    For many, the biggest challenge is passing time while normal life is on hold. Ashleigh Azzari, a 36-year-old manager at Anthropologie in Palo Alto, is still collecting a paycheck but can’t go to work or leave the house, except to walk the dog and grocery shop. She and her husband are trying to conceive, and even fertility treatments have taken a pause. To pass the time, she bought an unlimited annual subscription to Rosetta Stone for $99 to brush up on Italian and learn Japanese. At 6 p.m., she joins a virtual happy hour with co-workers.

    She’s also a puzzle enthusiast but has been finishing them too quickly, piecing together a 1,000-piece art deco set in a couple of hours.

    By the end of the day, “you can go through all the emotions,” she said. But it’s also been a reminder of what’s important to her. “Like hanging out with my husband. He’s a nice guy. We get along,” she said. “We are all taking a step back from how fast we were moving.”

    A worker disinfects an elevator at a BART station in San Francisco.

    Other people have had to choose between income and their health. Steve Gregg, 51, of Antioch, drives for Uber and on Friday decided to log off the app because his lungs don’t handle infection well. He’s now reliant on a side gig of writing.

    “It went from ‘I can do this’ to ‘this is Russian roulette, I’m not playing it,’” he said, describing dropping off a passenger near a hospital that triggered a panic attack. “I went home and I haven’t driven since.”

    [The webcam will see you now: Doctors urge patients to replace in-person visits with apps]

    Then there are the 28,000 Bay Area residents who have no home in which to quarantine themselves. T.J. Johnston, 53, has been living in the same San Francisco shelter since November, where he sleeps in a room with about 10 sets of bunk beds. “There’s literally another person on top of me,” he said. The city has told shelters to extend their reservations until the end of April. “I tried myself to maintain social distancing,” he said. “It is kind of difficult when you put so many people inside a confined space.”

    Some restaurants are shuttering, unable to balance high rents with a decline in customers. Others are finding unexpected ways to adapt. The Los Gatos restaurant Manresa, which boasts three Michelin stars, has closed for dinner and told its hourly employees to sign up for unemployment. But it’s now transformed into a takeout joint, offering a gourmet “family meal to go” for $35 to $59 per head. Friday’s menuincluded Japanese medai a la plancha and seasoned sushi rice along with pineapple upside-down cake.

    Ericka Wells was laid off as a waitress from Grand Lake Kitchen in Oakland on Thursday as the restaurant shut down. So the aspiring pastry chef took to Nextdoor to inform her neighbors she was officially open for business. She’s delivering 14 pastry boxes this weekend (she plans to leave them on porches in sealed plastic bags to avoid germs).

    Her business, Layers By Xanthe (her middle name), has turned into a bright spot in an otherwise dismal time, she said. “The universe just put a stop button for all of us and told us to reevaluate our lives,” she said.

    There are still moments of fear. Walking in the park or on the sidewalk — while technically allowed — prompts many passersby to swerve roughly six feet out of the way. Doctors and nurses keep going to the hospitals, where cases are starting to mount. Coronavirus testing sites have not been made public, in an effort to guard them from an overwhelming crowd.

    TOP: Pigeons gather on an otherwise empty street in San Jose. BOTTOM LEFT: Dennis Wishnie and his daughter Lauren Altbaier practice social distancing near the Embarcadero in San Francisco on Friday. BOTTOM RIGHT: A San Francisco postal worker delivers packages.

    The stay-at-home order can be especially terrifying for people with families who are feeling sick and can’t get tested. Pat Burtis, 50, a venture capitalist in Corte Madera, was coughing and had a fever of about 102 earlier in the week. He drove to an urgent-care clinic, a walk-in clinic and called his county health department, but he couldn’t get anyone to test him. So he grabbed a couple of extra masks from the hospital and has been isolating himself from his wife and 8-year-old daughter. “When I come downstairs, I am wearing a mask as much as possible and maniacally washing hands and wiping things down,” he said.

    Still, there are many silver linings. One is how technology is bringing people together in new ways, from Zoom teleconference happy hours to online play dates for closed schools.

    [It’s ‘quarantini’ time. People say cheers to video happy hours when they’re stuck at home.]

    Amanda Deering, director of operations and strategy for Mariposa Kids, an after-school program in San Francisco, sent an email to all the parents in the program with a link to a free Google Hangout, where recreation leaders and a program director host two-hour virtual programs.

    During the first session on Monday, there were plenty of kinks to iron out. Kids accidentally muted one another, and the rec leader was even silenced at one point. Things were going more smoothly by the end of the week, when staff members came up with creative ideas to keep kids engaged without just staring at the screen, including exercise classes, coloring contests and scavenger hunts in which kids find an object in their house that begins with a certain letter and then show it to the class. Students can earn “tickets” if they are well-behaved, letting everyone have a chance to speak and participate. When real-life class resumes, the tickets can be redeemed for prizes, like toys and ice cream sundaes.

    “What we would like to create for kids is a space where they’re hanging out with friends but they’re also engaged with environment,” Deering, 29, said.

    Even religion has found a home online. Cody Harris, 41, a lawyer in Mill Valley, held a virtual Jewish shabbat ceremony on Friday night with 20 other families over Zoom video conference. Attendees lit candles and sang together. “It’s just about being together and trying to bring some order and ritual and tradition into this situation,” he said.

    A few people walk the streets of San Francisco on Friday.

    Correction: Pat Burtis went to an urgent care clinic and a walk-in clinic to seek testing. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said he went to a hospital emergency room.

    Nitasha Tiku contributed to this report. Photography by Melina Mara. Video by James Pace-Cornsilk. Photo editing by Annaliese Nurnberg. Design by Audrey Valbuena.

    end

  • Ten New Poems

    Ten New Poems

    Ten New Poems

    these are some of my most recent poems that I have posted on All Poetry, Poetry Soup, Cosmos-funnel, Hello Poetry, Poetry Opus Magnum, Fan Story and  Sweek among other places. Check it out.

     

    Poetry Soup Poems 2016-2019 

    Index

    April 2019 Poems

    end of the worldDeep Fake Era
    Demon Cat from Oregon
    Strange Cat Looking at Me
    Cat Dreams Kill All Humans
    Visiting Father’s Grave
    Ghosts of Yakima
    Another Day Another
    Mountain Forrest
    End Times Approaches
    Rumors of War

    Deep Fake Era is Upon Us

    The Deep fake era is upon us
    Every thing is fake these days
    Everything is a fraud
    Prepare for the deep fake world

    Fakery, fraud, and falsehoods abound
    All artfully done Killing the last shred of human decency left
    Everything is a deep fake
    these days

    Oregon Demon Cat

    The demon cat
    Lived in Medford Oregon

    The demon cat was a big black cat
    His eyes were filled with demonic energy

    He stared at you
    Looking into your very soul

    Filled with anger, and hatred
    For the entire human race

    He seemed at times
    To be not from this planet

    Perhaps an alien species
    Studying the human race

    Or perhaps he came
    Form hell itself

    The demon cat loved to torment visitors
    For some reason he hated the man’s daughter

    The cat would stare at her from his perch
    Down the hall from the old man

    Then he would run at her
    Screaming like an escaped banshee
    Straight out of hell

    She told her dad
    Either the cat goes
    Or I go

    He said
    See you later

    The demon cat smiled
    At the small victory

    And she left the house
    With the demon cat
    Screeching good bye

    Strange Cat Watching Me

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    A cat sits on the edge of a bed
    Watching me watching him
    Both of us thinking

    What sort of strange creature this is
    That has invaded our personal space
    Upending our daily routines

    The cat came up to me
    Staring at me

    with his soulful eyes
    Boring into my very soul

    Looking for answers
    To these dark fundamental questions

    The cat smiles a mysterious smile
    And purrs in contentment

    Having found an answer of sorts
    And indicates that we can be friends

    As long as I know
    That he is the boss of me

    And I pet him
    Acknowledging

    the time honored
    Ritual of human cat interaction

    That dates
    back to the dawn of time

    When humans and cats
    First became aware

    Of the other
    Strange creature

    that shared
    our planet

    Cat Dreams Kill Humans

    cat sitting smiling
    cat lost in buddha trance thought
    cat dreams kill humans

    Visiting Father’s Grave

    Visiting my father’s grave
    In Yakima

    The ancestral land of the Aller clan
    Thinking about my father

    And his legacy
    And thinking that I am
    My father’s son

    There is so much
    I wanted to tell him

    So much I wanted to share
    So much I wanted him to see
    My accomplishments

    He was taken from me
    Before I had achieved
    my dreams

    Before I had become the man
    That he and I both knew
    I was destined to be

    Ghosts in Yakima

    Walking along a graveyard
    Looking for my father’s grave

    Seeing all the gravestones
    I begin to sense the spirits
    Of the restless dead

    They linger around the graveyards
    Waiting for visitors

    Eager to talk to anyone
    Who cares to stop
    And chat

    So lonely being a ghost
    With no one to haunt

    Mountain Forests

    Driving through the vast forests

    Of Central Oregon
    Through the wall of trees

    I imagine them talking to me
    The trees are whispering
    Dark satanic rituals
    Voodoo mumble jumble

    Evil chanting
    Then they speak
    Loud and clear

    Welcome humans
    To our world

    You think you are
    The king of the world

    The lords of creation
    Masters of the universe?

    Soon, all too soon
    God and Gaia his daughter
    Will tire of you
    Their latest plaything

    They will discard you
    Throw you down

    Disgusted at the world
    You have made

    You took the world
    They gave you for your pleasure

    This huge wonderful world
    Filled with life

    You took a paradise
    Beautiful, bountiful

    Rich and wonderful world
    Turned it into a sewer dump

    God and Gaia
    are not happy

    Not happy at all
    With you stupid humans

    They will rise up
    Smite you down

    And turn you
    Into dust in the cosmic wind

    And we will laugh
    and we will be witnesses
    at your funeral

    but we will not cry
    No one will cry

    No one will miss you
    No one cares about

    The fate of humanity
    And so you
    Will fade away

    Into the distance past
    Just dust in the cosmic wind

    And the trees started laughing
    And the birds and bees
    And all the other animals

    All joined in the maniacal laughter
    Laughing at the prospect

    Of poetic justice For the enemies
    Of the natural world

    And the coyotes
    And the wolves

    Joined in howling
    Under the light of the full moon

    Thus I imagined
    Would be the end of days

    The end of the world
    And the end of humanity

    Another Day Another Shooting

    another day in paradise
    just another day in America

    land of the free
    Home of the brave

    and guns
    lots of guns

    more guns for all
    cries the NRA

    yes another day
    another gun battle

    another white man
    who just wants to kill

    the President sends his condolences
    Thanks the law enforcement

    for an incredible job well done
    It was horrible

    Hate has no place
    in our country

    and we will take of it
    and do what ever we can do

    condolences
    nothing but false words

    empty words
    lots of things to do

    it is mental illness problem
    but he fails to mention

    the words gun at all
    not at all

    and tomorrow and tomorrow

    but he at least finally said
    hate has no role in our country

    nothing but prime BS
    in my humble opinion

    he did not mention
    white supremacy

    his rhetoric had nothing
    nothing to do about this at all

    and so tomorrow
    I will turn on the TV

    and we see nothing
    nothing has changed at all

    and the dead
    will remain dead

    the guns will fire again
    nothing will be done

    welcome to America
    land of the free
    home of the brave

    the End Times Approaches

    why do I feel

    the end times are approaching

    with each passing day
    the news gets worst

    the hatred grows
    the fear grows

    the end of time
    comes closer to our door

    and I fear
    the growing power

    of the fascists
    and their ilk

    and I fear
    that the world
    is ending soon

    Rumors of War

     

    it seems that
    we are in the end times
    wars, and rumors of war
    terrorism all around us

    the dogs of war
    are restless, just waiting
    to emerge from their lairs

    to unleash havoc
    death and destruction

    end of the world
    and the leader of the world

    our purported president
    is every day

    becoming more deranged
    moment by moment

    loosing his mind
    as the inner demons

    take over
    and at such a time

    when the whole world
    seems to be sliding towards war

    Our dear leader
    seems determined

    to lead us to the ultimate
    war of all

    world war 111
    looms ahead

    it could start any day
    and nothing will stop

    our idiot in chief
    from unleashing
    the dogs of war