I have always lived
in alien enclaves.
never taking root
no matter how long I stayed
in one place
long enough to belong,
my distance from others
engraved in my soul,
that for some reason,
cause, curse, inheritance,
coincidental as existence
I am as temporary
as a gust of wind,
though I move slowly enough
that I don’t blow away,
in an instant.
I began
like so many others
without knowledge, experience,
just need
urgent appetite
to be fed, held, soothed
in the strange new world,
having been abruptly removed
from conception chamber
where all needs
were gratified
without thought, question,
everything flowed
as I wanted,
warm, comfortable, secure.
Then disruption.
Demands to vacate the premises
I resisted with all my might,
not wanting to leave
home.
Intrusive hands
forced me out,
yanked me into the cold,
wrapped me in garments,
but it wasn’t the same,
put me on someone’s warmth
but it wasn’t the same,
There was nothing else
and for the moment
my ordeal was over.
I slept.
For many years
I worked and gave of my soul
to homeless families with children,
most of them surgically removed
from the rest of society,
placed in isolated hotels
in unwelcoming neighborhoods,
identities horribly subtracted
by callous government agencies,
abandoned by those who should help
who escape responsibility
because the homeless are transformed
into non-citizens,
arbitrarily deprived of their rights,
more vulnerable then most of us,
and the children feel the disconnect
between them and humanity.
Life has become so complex
in the good old U.S.A.
that the average citizen
can no longer understand
the issues that divide us.
Just as we get a handle
on the biggest current problems,
Covid-19, immigration,
shutdown of the government,
disasters suddenly happen,
wild fires, floods, hurricanes,
further eroding the fabric
of a struggling society
slowly being overwhelmed
by the conflicting demands
to maintain our fraying country.
I
Is America crazier
than in the past?
Was anything crazier
than the Civil War?
Americans killing Americans
for who would rule the country,
Northern Industrial Magnates
or Southern Agricultural barons?
And many of the men were told
they were fighting about slavery,
even though it affected few of them.
Were we more moral then?
Dumber? Definitely Not!
More gullible? Maybe.
Information was different then
It moved slowly
from points of origin,
without video, audio,
just the printed word,
black and white illustrations.
II
Not many protested the Spanish-American War
when we stole a senor empire
from an attenuated European power
and moved onto the world stage
with the ‘Great White Fleet’
sailing the seven seas,
announcing to the old empires
a new player in the game,
not reluctant to project power,
snatch Hawaii, then Guam
declaring to Pacific nations,
’we’re here to stay.’
III
Teddy mediated the Russo-Japanese War
that furthered Russian resentment of us
and birthed Japanese hatred
when we didn’t give them enough
for defeating the moldy Russian bear.
But our leaders learned enough
to build a bigger role
in international affairs,
even though we didn’t always know
what we were doing
and were often outsmarted
by the European old dogs.
IV
So World War I went on
and on and we finally intervened,
turned the tide against weary Germany,
then were completely outmaneuvered
after the armistice was declared
by the cunning French,
the ruthless British
and got little from the settlement,
but started the League of Nations,
an impotent body that couldn’t compel
anyone from rivaling anyone else,
couldn’t alleviate suffering,
couldn’t prevent war,
poverty, hunger, disease,
the ills that beset the world.
V
The Great Depression struck most of us,
except those wealthy enough
to survive all disasters
and they profited mightily,
feasting in splendor
while millions dined at soup kitchens.
Yet unbeknownst to the public
a mighty empire was stirring,
getting richer, more powerful,
ready to replace tired empires
once the aggressors
were totally defeated
and we inherited the Earth.
We have been trained to accept
the marvels of technology,
camping out in rain or snow
for the latest IPhone, IPad,
following social media
that subtlety or brazenly
assaults the minds of our youngsters,
mostly hidden from adults,
manipulated by tv,
absorbed by FOX News, CNN,
too busy to monitor kids
separated from parents,
another alienated group
further shattering the family,
the fundamental unit
that maintains civilization,
arbitrarily altered
for the comfort and convenience
of the exploitative 1%.
Discoveries is an unpublished poetry collection that reveals some of the problems that beset us in this difficult life.