Go Ahead and Let God Decide

If “God put Trump in office,” then, by that logic, God put Obama in office. If you say, “He’s our president, we need to get behind him, the people did elect him for a reason,” then hopefully you had the same response to any criticism of Obama when the people elected him (unlike our current president, more people actually voted for Obama than for his opponent). But, you know, if you believe God put Trump but not Obama in office, then yes, please, feel free to stay home in future elections and let God decide who to put in office. The rest of us can show up at the ballot box.

14 Jan 2018

After Dinner Conversation

I’m not here

to make you 

comfortable

You certainly 

don’t provide that 

for me

My comfort 

is not foremost 

in your mind

I could say

I’m sorry

if my words 

force you 

to examine

the cold, shadowy

crevices of your diet

But my apologies

would be insincere

Why should I

be obliged  

to make my tormentor 

feel safe and secure,

unfettered

by the reality

you gladly consent

to keep hidden 

from your eyes?

Our families

are ripped from us,

just prior to their

being ripped apart

So, if my words

intrude into

the comfort

of your slowly 

digesting meal,

the inconvenience

is inconsequential

compared to

being the one 

you are presently

digesting

5 Feb 2019

Instant Nutrition Expert

It’s a common known fact that

when Big Mac, biggie fry, 

milkshake-eating motherfuckers 

find a vegan,

they are suddenly awarded 

a degree in nutrition

They shout "protein"

like a Tourette Syndrome tic

Like they had any idea the 

USDA recommended level

Like they ever gave it a single thought 

beyond an excuse to pop 

one more cheeseburger

into their open mouth,

until they met me

Oblivious to the protein

in every single vegetable 

on the planet

(and nut, seed, grain and legume)

Oblivious to the saturated fat 

and cholesterol in 

every single animal product, 

driving the leading cause 

of death in America

“You need milk”

Oblivious to the reality that 

minerals, such as calcium,

literally come from the ground

“You need meat to live!”

Oblivious to the fact 

that I am alive

2018

Reevaluating Perfection from the Rear-View Mirror

I met her in seventh grade

It wasn’t just her beauty

that surpassed, in my eyes,

anyone who had yet 

walked the halls

beside me

It was also 

her kindness,

her sweetness,

her friendship

extended

to my small,

awkward self

She was my type

but I wasn’t hers

Or perhaps 

I was just 

too shy to ever

say I wanted

anything more

than her friendship

Maybe I could 

have dated 

her then

Maybe my self-doubt 

was the only thing

that stopped me,

but I have 

enough self-doubt left

to doubt it

Hollow Applause

You cheer

when your president

calls out “fake news”

and attacks the press

You applaud

when your president

suggests banning protests

You celebrate

when your president

tries to stop Muslims

from entering the country

You support

your president as he

promises to negate

the 14^thAmendment

So when you say

you love the Constitution,

what you really mean

is simply

that you love guns

23 Oct 2018

Vegans Are So Annoying

“Why don’t vegans just shut up?” I’ve read several statements recently with that basic question. “Why do vegans push their ideas on me? I’m fine if they eat plants, why can’t they be fine if I eat animals?” If you are truly interested in learning the answer, then let’s consider some examples. Read them one at a time and examine your response each time.

Vegans are so annoying. Why can’t they leave me alone and let me eat what I want?

Civil rights activists are so annoying. Why can’t they leave me alone and let me treat black people how I want?

Feminists are so annoying. Why can’t they leave me alone and let me treat women how I want?

Gay rights activists are so annoying. Why can’t they leave me alone and let me treat gay people how I want?

Why can’t these people just leave me alone and let me make my “personal choices”?

The answer to every question above is simple and consistent: because they care about the victim of your behavior. When your personal choice has a victim, it is no longer just a personal choice.

You are right, there are a lot of vegans who think you shouldn’t pay someone to kill animals for the pleasures of your taste buds. There are also a lot of civil rights activists who think no one should be racist. There are a lot of feminists who thinks sexual harassment should not be tolerated. There are a lot of LGBTQ activists who object to non-inclusive laws. So, yes, it makes sense that if your eating habits were the result of your ethics and your concern for the victim, many would not want others harming that victim either. That is consistent among every social justice issue we fight for.

The reaction is also consistent across social justice movements. Slave owners didn't like being told they shouldn't own slaves. Segregationists didn't like being told to integrate. Homophobes don't like being told they have to bake a cake or issue a marriage license for a gay wedding. Harassers don't like being told what they are doing qualifies as harassment. No one likes the ethics of their behavior being questioned. It has never made anyone comfortable. But if the dialogue doesn't happen, no progress is made. We have spent too long in our history ignoring the victim’s side of the equation when we make our choices. We can do better. 

21 Jan 2018

Intelligent Life on Earth

Does intelligent life exist

somewhere beyond our home?

It is a question 

we might ponder

as we sit in our house alone

Are there creatures 

building towers

somewhere among the stars?

Do they fly in 

Millennium Falcons

or drive in fancy cars?

What would we discover

if one day 

our paths would meet?

Would they greet me

with kindness

or would I be squashed 

beneath their feet?

So much we do not know

of these places far away,

but what if we examine

what we can see today?

When we let our eyes gaze 

though the prairies and the trees,

our eyes appear cluttered

Do we fail to see?

When we look upon the creatures

already in our view,

we call them dumb and stupid

or turn them into stew

Democracy Ran to Hide in Utah

Outnumbered in Oregon,

a bill they couldn’t defeat,

so Democracy ran 

to hide in Utah

Eleven state senators

decided to flee,

as Democracy ran 

to hide in Utah

Cleaner air was just something 

they could not abide,

so Democracy ran 

to hide in Utah

The future of the planet 

wasn’t worth a few dimes,

so Democracy ran 

to hide in Utah

They were elected to serve,

to let Democracy decide,

but Democracy ran 

to hide in Utah

26 Jun 2019

Democracy may have been hiding in Idaho, Montana, or Washington (but Utah sounded best as I was writing this)

For reference for the story behind this poem:

Oregon GOP State Senators Go Into Hiding to Avoid a Climate Vote (NPR)

Oregon Police Working to Retrieve State GOP Lawmakers Avoiding Vote on Climate Change (NPR)

For Days Oregon Republicans Are On the Lam Over a Climate Bill (NPR)

After Republican Protest, Oregon Climate Plan Dies (NPR)

The Ways of Our Past Do Not Have to Become Our Future

I was taught 

to believe 

in Santa Claus,

the Easter Bunny,

God

And I did believe

in all of them,

for a time

I was taught

to wait at least

thirty minutes

after eating

before I jumped 

into the water

And I listened,

for a time 

I was taught

homosexuality 

was weird

and wrong

And I believed that,

for a time 

Be Thankful, Johnny, Just Ignore the Death

A tradition of thanks,

centered on death 

Oh, the contrast,

the absurdity

Take a moment

to realize that

you can’t even 

argue with the 

indisputable facts

that your day 

of thanks

is built on death

From the 

white-washed

repetitions 

endlessly recited to

school children

proclaiming 

the kindness 

of the pilgrims;

a relationship 

of sharing 

designed 

to help us ignore 

an entire trail of tears

To the dead body 

that literally sits 

on top of your 

beautifully set 

thanksgiving table 

Forty-six million 

lose their lives 

each time 

the calendar

bleeds its way 

to the fourth

Thursday 

in November 

Because how 

could you possibly 

be thankful 

without a

carcass 

with bread 

stuffed in her ass?

21 Nov 2018

Watch it performed, featuring Zach on guitar

Motherhood (A Cow Haiku)

Being a mother

is watching your newborn pulled

forever away

Feb 2019

Using Presidential Language

Offended? Remember every insult came straight from Trump's own mouth.
Please pardon my use of Presidential language.

18 Apr 2018, updated 28 Jun 2018

If We Were Comfortable, We Wouldn’t Need to Look Away

If we were 

truly comfortable

with the idea

of eating dead animals,

we wouldn’t need 

to keep the process

hidden from our view

Slaughterhouses 

would have glass walls

and stream webcams

and it wouldn’t deter

our ample appetite

Pictures of this process,

with opened skin

and dripping blood,

would be brightly displayed

on the packages

of their dead bodies

Which is, after all,

what is passing

through our lips, 

death

But when we take 

their chopped remains 

to the checkout counter,

we insist the label 

ensure us they were happy

We want to see life

on the package,

merrily roaming through

open green fields

Even as we literally 

pay for their death,

we are unwilling 

to allow ourselves 

to imagine it

5 May 2019

Cat Dreams (Alarm Clock Poetry)

I don’t remember 
how the argument
started, or even 
all that it involved

But she stormed 
from the house,
grabbing the key
with her paw

I followed out the door,
and heard it shut,
locked, behind me

She chose a strange path
and I almost didn’t follow,
still upset from our quarrel

But then it dawned on me
Whether she was right
or she was wrong,
it didn’t matter
All that mattered was
that she had the key

4 Apr 2019

I Was Just Wondering

I see all these people

shouting with hate,

and I was just wondering,

now are we great?

We’ve demonized immigrants,

locked children in crates,

and I was just wondering,

now are we great?

We attacked your rights

because you aren’t straight,

and I was just wondering,

now are we great?

We declared a religion 

we won’t tolerate,

and I was just wondering,

now are we great?

Hate crimes have climbed

at an alarming rate,

and I was just wondering,

now are we great?

We left the Paris accord,

disbelieving our fate,

and I was just wondering,

now are we great?

Too many students

keep losing classmates,

and I was just wondering,

now are we great?

We ignore the homeless,

but the rich celebrate,

and I was just wondering,

now are we great?

We attack the free press

and their right to debate,

and I was just wondering,

now are we great?

Women’s rights to 

their bodies evaporate,

and I was just wondering,

now are we great?

We consider protestors

enemies of the state,

turning weapons 

on those who demonstrate,

using tear gas to ensure

equality cannot fumigate

and I was just wondering,

now are we great?

Not just great, but great again

and that has me wondering,

When?

The time of tribal extinction

or when we shackled our slaves?

When women couldn’t vote?

Oh those were the days

When we hid in our closets

from genuine fear?

When we were locked in prison

for just being queer?

When American citizens 

of Japanese descent

were held indefinitely 

in internment?

When we granted rights

based on the color of skin?

When “Segregation forever”

our governors grinned?

When Nazis marched openly

out on the street?

Something I never 

thought we’d repeat

Is it greatness now

and greatness then

that our government kills

with a fountain pen?

Is this greatness we see

as we look all over?

I guess greatness is in 

the eye of the beholder

25 Jun 2019 
(two stanzas added Jun 2020)

Watch the video