Science Spoke (Again) But You Decided Not To Be Sustainable Because “Vegans Are Pushy”

The waves were

rocking about us,

the sea level rising 

and dark storms 

gathered overhead

There were millions 

of us splashing

and bobbing,

not knowing 

how much longer

we could stay afloat

Some vegan was 

frantically

turning hemp 

and broccoli 

into life rafts 

of sustainability 

and tossing them 

to all within reach

But the rafts weren’t 

wrapped in bacon

so they didn’t 

exactly entice us

Besides, the vegan 

was rude and 

obnoxious,

not asking politely,

being all judgy

about our holding 

cows underwater,

one of the few

enjoyments we 

treasured in

our watery lives 

Damn pushy vegans

drive me crazy

So I drowned

instead of touching 

his hippy raft

Ha! I showed him 

and died more politely

30 Aug 2019

Inspiration for the poem: My amazing (nonvegan) friend shared this brilliant NYT article (by a nonvegan) that notes meat is killing the planet and, at the least, if we can't join vegans, we should not mock, but support them. The response from 2 of the 5 commenters: "vegans are pushy"

The Day We Caught Happiness

“Catching happiness,”

my sister called it,

as we grabbed for

falling leaves

in my uncle’s forest

And the delight 

in the efforts 

of my young children

as they gleefully

chased those 

blowing leaves 

proved that to be

an apt name,

one that I still think of

these many years later

each time I see

a falling leaf

28 Aug 2019

Charbroiling Towards Extinction

The speed with which

the planet’s lungs 

are being intentionally 

cut and burned

makes me wonder

how many years

my sons have

before the planet

collapses under

the heavy, greedy,

oblivious shoes

of humanity

Makes me wonder 

which animals

are feeling the flames

on their fleeing backs,

whose homes were

just today destroyed,

and which species

we’ve bumped 

to the front of the line

in the endless 

procession

towards extinction 

Makes me wonder

how much longer

you’ll take your beef

charbroiled on

the flames of 

global warming 

and whether you 

will even notice 

the rising heat 

of the water 

before it 

boils us alive

25 Aug 2019

beef is definitely the main course on the global deforestation menu

Watch it performed

The Golden Door Slammed on the Tempest-Tossed As Her Lamp Went Out

Magdalena

She waved

goodbye

with a smile

on her face,

not knowing

he wouldn’t

be there              

when she 

returned from

her first day 

of the 

school year

The tears pour

over her eleven-

year-old eyes

as she pleads

for her daddy

to be released

and back home

with her

Francisco

Armed with

three forms

of legal 

identification

proving his

citizenship,

he travels 

to a soccer

scouting event

He was 

returned,

twenty-three

days and 

twenty-six 

pounds later

Miguel

An Army veteran 

of two tours

returns home,

like many others,

with PTSD

He hides from

his isolation,

his pain,

in alcohol,

in drugs

Then finds the 

country he served,

the country he 

supported,

the country 

he called home,

no longer 

wanted him

Óscar and Valeria

A desperate 

journey of 

a thousand miles

finds a disheartening

hurdle

A line of hundreds

at a closed bridge

Across the water,

the hope 

of asylum

appears tangible,

so closely 

within reach

And reach they do,

as the father

carries his daughter 

across

He asks her to wait

safely on the shore

while he goes back

to help her mother 

cross

But waiting

is not a toddler’s

strength,

and she wades 

after him

He grabs her 

but the strength

of the water

pulls, sweeping

them under

Their bodies

are found 

the next day

among the 

thick reeds,

entangled in a 

final embrace

14 Aug 2019

Magdalena

Francisco

Miguel

Óscar and Valeria

Watch it performed, featuring music by the Angie Haze Project

It Was Not My Turn for Breakfast

When I stumbled upon

the dragon, I had not yet

eaten. Neither had he.

11 Aug 2019

One Reason I Write

Writing poetry,

my coping mechanism

for a world this cruel

6 Aug 2019

The Hidden Crimes of MacDonald, O.

The picture 

he painted 

sure was rosy

when he sang

his little song 

But further

examination 

revealed troubling

realities that

occurred outside

the melodic lines

The crime scene

didn’t just have 

traces of blood,

it was coated in it

Remains of 

victims’ bones

were found 

scattered about

The mooing 

and clucking

he so gleefully

recited in his song,

appear to be

pleas for mercy,

left unanswered

The suspect,

MacDonald,

freely admitted

the repetitive killings 

“But I loved them,”

he insisted, 

while sharpening 

his blade

29 Jul 2019

Watch it performed

Chick-fil-A Can Kiss My Furry Ass

Crudely drawn,

without my consent,

holding a sign

for your advertisement

Chicken for sale,

homophobia too,

just please don’t eat

animals that moo

Don’t kill me, kill her

Chuckle? Giggle?

Offering another’s life

to gain my acquittal?!

Well, I’ve got real advice

from the mooers and cluckers,

“Eat more chickpeas,

you motherfuckers”

5 Aug 2019

Watch it performed

No Socks, No Sandals, No Service

I feel, more and more,

like I am dressing

like a dorky old man

But if the socks

and sandals fit...

24 Jul 2019

Our Tears Fall Too (In Loving Memory of Toni Morrison)

Today the tears of

Pecola Breedlove cover those

eyes she wished were blue

6 Aug 2019

The National Videogame Association Must Have Shit Lobbying

New Republican plan:

Restrict imaginary guns,

Unlimited real ones

5 Aug 2019

When Mitch Met Moscow

Trump: “Crooked Hillary!”
Mitch …

Trump: “Low-IQ Maxine Waters!”
Mitch…

Trump: “Pocahontas!”
Mitch: “You know how the president likes to give nicknames to people”

Trump: “They should go back to where they came from!”
Mitch: "The president is not a racist"

Trump crowd: “Send her back!”
Mitch: “(Trump’s) right (about) the squad wanting to turn us into a socialist country”

Morning Show Host: “Moscow Mitch”
Mitch: “It is shameful to imply that policy disagreements make the other side unpatriotic”

Now you don’t like it?! When the name calling is aimed at you. Now you say something? Fuck you, Moscow Mitch! It is shameful to repeatedly kill legislation aiming to protect our voting from the interference that we already know is happening. You want to lose the nickname? Then stop ensuring that Russia stays in our elections.

1 Aug 2019

Let’s Try Legislation Instead

Another mass shooting 

has me wondering, maybe 

“thoughts and prayers” don’t do shit

4 Aug 2019

And They Are White, And They Are Male, And They Want to Build Walls

A wall won’t stop the
terrorists because they are
already inside

3 Aug 2019