Category Thoughts About Art & Culture

Breathing Deeply

On the Wing ~ Philip Brent Harris ~~~~~ We gather wings unto our being Flex, unfold our spirit, lift and fly Alighting quickly, timid, cautious Breathing deeply, expanding Our soul, to dive into the void Unknown, yet anticipated, expected Glory in flight alone, unaware Sailing higher, until we look down Nothingness greets our eyes, vision […]

Willing to Want

~~~~~ While I wait, I watch and I wonder, Periodic people passing by I ponder. Makes me mull missing motivation, As I await an answer with anticipation. My path pursued sans my past passion. Where would it, in weakness, wander? Am I in anyway able to grasp it again? Troublesome times transpire truthfully Mindful many […]

DICHOTOMY PROJECT

~~~~~ Found Verbiage Free Verse Exploring what haiku, poems and stories can be garnered from the headlines, sub-heads and captions (the bold-faced type) in my local daily newspaper, I began to wonder what this says about our existence at this moment in time. Like snapshots, capturing images, emotions, our greater story expressed in our headlines. […]

Mute, Moot

~~~~~ This computer which consumed my life Nibbled away in small bits, large bytes. It jabbed, twisted as it stuck in the knife; If only Ben Franklin never flew the kite. A world away, you read what I’ve written. This strange interface provides translation. The powers that be would rather we fit in; Beware, they […]

You’re Not

~~~~~ No longer will we require any high-school senior To recognize the words sagacious or prevaricator. I do not think that’s wise, to say I do, I’d be a liar, As the dumber we become, the lower we’ll aspire. The only smart things we’ll own are phones, cars And really, both are more intelligent than […]

I am the Very Model of a Modern Mogul Criminal

Variation on a W.S. Gilbert libretto ~~~~~ I am the very model of modern mogul criminal. I will tell you lies, smiling while I screw you, with intent inimical. I’ve stolen from everyone I’ve known; critics call me delusional I babble nonsense when I speak, I am terribly confusional. My enemies say I’m mad or […]

By Any Other Name

~~~~~ Would miracles be or seem, by any other name, so grand? Miraculous, magical, names for what we don’t understand. Magic, for some speaks evil, dark powers we cannot define. Miracles, equally mysterious, argued as proof of the divine. Minds shut so tightly, some refuse to heed any dissertation; Faith in their own unknown eschews […]

Ours to Choose

~~~~~ Mentioned rarely in polite conversation, I follow you around. Rarely will you see or hear me because I never make a sound. Unknown the land that I will one day lead you, an adventure. Oft times I’ll snatch you unprepared, long before you’re sure. Still, whether slow or sudden, I always choose the correct […]

Anyway

~~~~~ Still he says and still he says He is not the one, Not the one they want, Not the one they need. In one place He believes this. Other places, he knows, Knows he’s lying If only to himself. When she says and when she says You cannot mean me. I’m nothing special But, […]

Prufrock’s Lament

~~~~~ With the current news in the world, both economic and political, the pandemic, aggression, bigotry, misogyny and xenophobia, it seemed time to revisit Prufrock, with thanks to T.S. Eliot for his original brilliance. War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength; Trumpery is Reality ~~~~~ Variations on a theme by T.S. Eliot. Let […]