Take Notice, Ye Cynics

The Alpha Pack has convened yet again.
Among the twenty scoundrels in attendance
along with their unctuous on-side cronies 
with the collective potential to exercise 
unlimited power to challenge that of our 
creator who can summon earthquakes
volcanoes, tornadoes, floods and fire to 
remind we cowering creatures who it is 
invested in command of cowering billions.
There they are in the splendid array of
their feted accomplishments a litany of
failure by a gathering of egotists whose
self-regard is resolute and impregnable
to criticism for those that do are bereft
of influence incapable of gathering to
themselves and their cause the tumult
of revolt. The crass and the avaricious
find it expedient to their ends to cling
fast to such leaders while the righteous
and the courageous call all to notice. 
Dissatisfaction in governance however 
fails to move the principled intelligent
to the office rank and repugnant with 
humiliation. Even for the people by the 
people spectacularly failed leading to 
the hubris-endowed and their ambitions
those least bothered by conscience to
rule, dissemble and assemble in triumph.

What If?

What if -- all you profound and earnest
searchers for that ineffable spark of
evasive knowledge -- the purpose of life is
quite simply existence. Know this: the
Universe owes you no explanation nor
explication. Travel the length of your
journey prepared to discover your own
responses to all you see, feel and will
experience for that response is yourself
alone, we all are unique in our perceptions
and what one person finds insufferable
another will find of interest in surmounting
difficulties to prepare for their place in
the world. Prepare to acknowledge those
moments of pleasure and satisfaction just
as much as those times of bleak suffering.
Never fail to find comfort in your own
sense of being and share it with those you
love instead of seeking counselling and
failing to acknowledge your endowment
of critical cerebral and emotional balance.

Winter Idyll

Light snow flurries spiral gently to the
forest floor long since hidden under a
snowpack from many earlier snowfalls
adding its loft and bright crystalline
beauty to the landscape. This an urban
forest accessed by a widespread community
prepared to delve into the ravine that holds
it in perpetuity for the animals and birds
that thrive within its generous acreage
and the people who live within distance
of access to this natural treasure they all
share. It is where a small proportion of
the population finds itself in search of
nature and tranquility and the opportunity
to feel free and unhampered by the calls
of urban life where it is incumbent upon
them to be pressed for time and distance
oppressing the soul searching for meaning
in their lives. Here they wander among the
trees, along a waterway, clamber the hills
 descend the valleys aerating their lungs 
and freeing their limbs to recall of youth
and meet distant neighbours valuing and
searching for solace from the distractions
of their lives. It is where their beloved pets
run free themselves to commune with their
own replenishing their shared optimism in
the existence of the nature of all things.

Forest Fauna

You've noticed, haven't you that in
the summer months the forest holds its
secrets tight, reveals none of the drama
inherent in its habitat for those creatures
who relentlessly hunt as carnivores and
those destined to be their prey themselves
content with browsing, whether on land
in the air or in the waterways coursing
through the forest precincts. The skills
it takes to note the presence of clues
like scattered feathers, an owl's discarded
pellet, the partial pelt of a small furred
animal to interpret the life-and-death
theatre of existence in the forest are not
those of an oblivious visitor. During the
winter months when the forest floor is
steeped deep in snow the threat to life
and limb of small creatures deterred in
their desperate flight from violent carnage
wreaked upon them by fleet-footed
omnivores can be read and deciphered
with far more ease; delicate versus robust
paw prints, the final frantic effort of 
outspread wings leaving their impression
then flown off with up and away, the
tell-tale bright red splotch on pristine white
all relate the silent messages of forest fauna.

Patience, Patient!

There it goes, that subconscious
chimera of an emotion between a
shudder and a grimace elicited by
that nauseating sound of your heart
sucking and sloshing as the skilled
technician, courteous and reserved
plies her expertise for that echogram
you were scheduled for. Her free
hand manipulates keys, swiftly and
gently hovers on the mouse of that
peculiar keyboard her eyes fixed on
the monitor that you'd prefer to
bypass, fixing your attention instead
on her curly blond hair, the way her
eyelashes form their delicate arc
over her eyes, silhouetted in the
dim light of the chamber where
you lie inclined on a gurney and
where her left hand probes your chest
with that sensitive device producing
the images on that screen. Explosions
of colour, red, green, yellow as your
heart beats its rhythm, regular you
hope as you submit to the ritual and
she efficiently and unerringly guides
her instruments to fulfill the very 
specific directions your cardiologist 
determined to interpret the mystery 
inherent in your ill-performing heart.

Forest Arras

In the forest all is still but for a slight
breeze rustling desiccated foliage
still clinging to oaks and ironwood.
The interior of the forest is always
dim under the thickness of its canopy
but this afternoon fog shrouds the
distance and mist rises from the
slender brook not yet frozen over
trickling at the bottom of the forest's
ravine. The winter rain has ceased
encrusting the acquired layers of snow
with its sparkling diamond micro drops
leaving the atmosphere suffused with
humidity. In this diffused light bronze
leaves still hanging on beech boughs
acquire an effervescent shade of bright
orange, luminous against the severe
darkness of the day. Though late afternoon 
has not yet arrived, twilight has and as
it swiftly takes possession of the
forest nocturnal residents will slowly
emerge from their daytime havens
exchanging place with the creatures 
for whom daylight signals their cycle
of activity shuffling along the forest
floor or winging from conifer to
deciduous tree sheltering from the 
wicked elements of cold, wind, sleet.

Observation

When I was a child I became conscious
of the strange feeling that whatever I
did wherever I went someone was
carefully watching me. Not watching
over me but observing me. Who might
it be? God? There was no religious
observance in my family, but I did know
that I was different than others of my
peers and learned at an early age to
'recognize' small silent symbols to
differentiate people. Was I someone's
experiment? I'd better be on my best
behaviour to pass muster in that scrutiny.
So everything I did, whatever I encountered
and responded to, wherever I happened to
be there I was living my life and there
was someone watching. Was I being
judged? Censored? Admired? As I 
grew older such childish concerns left
me and getting on with life I abandoned
that awareness that had me at times
pretending to be a boy, thinking that
would garner less interest. Now I'm
past mere maturity with an awareness
that perhaps I am being watched. And 
the reason for that feeling escapes me. God?
My neighbours? Some hidden unbidden
source that would prove should it ever
reveal itself that we live in parallel worlds?

Civilization

To be civil is to be thoughtful and
concerned not only with one's own
welfare but that of others for if others
suffer privation and without order and
security would view your better state
with envy what is to stop them from
committing uncivil violence against you
in their own greater interest of sharing
what you own and would not share?
The state of civilization owes much to
the construct of a deity for nothing
inspires respect and fear so much as
does the prospect of an all-powerful
entity displeased with one's behaviour
capable of striking a fatal blow at a mere 
glance.... As the interlocutor of the 
all-powerful reminds humble constituents
the faithful must adhere to the Almighty's
precepts of civilized behaviour; to be
meek and humble, give praise to their
creator and strive for peace among
their fellows. The compact fails when
humanity stumbles on the impediments
that their creator has endowed them
with and when their creator's design
failed to take into account its flaws
so that all are culpable, the creator and
the inadequately blueprinted created.

They Know

We had no need to consult the bible of 
doggy intelligence to infer that our sibling 
poodles rank high in that rating scale for
over the years they have given us ample 
demonstrations proving the level of their 
fine cerebral functioning. As for example 
their sensitivity to our sensibilities permitting 
us the fiction of feeling ourselves masters in 
our own home. Their feeling of protective 
obligation to we two humans whose failings
are all too evident to them is more than 
evidenced in their careful scrutiny of all 
who enter our home accompanied by a 
sharp chorus of barked instructions to stand 
back. Although we fail their expectations 
with our lack of care for them by expecting 
them to consume food fit for dogs they know 
better, holding out for the food we place on 
the table for ourselves depriving them the
opportunity to test its safety. The impression 
we fondly maintain that they are safe and 
secure in our hands has led to their concern 
over our well-being as they vet objects they
suspect of planning us harm and hasten to 
disarm them, leaving every zipper on any 
piece of clothing a ruin and thus unable to 
wreak pain upon us. Whatever would we do 
in the absence of their vigilant presence and
undoubted protection of we lesser creatures?

Home Invasion

Suddenly they were there, in our house
looming over us, burly and brusque
rough in appearance and intimidating
armed with hammers, drills, knives
their presence engulfing our sense of
privacy. Their grit-booted footfalls
spreading dirt on our floors, their
intentional gesture, leaving wide
open our sliding patio doors on a
sub-zero day, snow falling relentlessly
the wretched wind careening into the
open gap bringing the chill of winter
with it as snow swirled within and we
instantly felt our vulnerability yet were
powerless to fend off the cold much
less the actions of these strangers.
Their speech accented, informing us
one from Siberia the other from Poland
their intention to impact our lives as
they set about destroying the frame
holding the doors in place for full
exposure to the raging elements. They 
worked like demons those intruders
coordinating their efforts as professional
installers, removing the sliders whose
functionality was depleted, replacing
them with new ones. Hard work that
took the experienced crew of two  no
fewer than five hours of steady work
as we plied them with coffee and
cupcakes, cookies and genuine gratitude.

Snow's Dominance

Mid-day and yet twilight prevails despite
our surroundings scintillating minute sparks 
of colour emitted from the soft contours of 
fresh snow newly fallen ... and falling ... 
and falling ... throughout the dark hours of
the night and in the daylight hours of the
morning to accumulate muffling the sounds 
of hidden life in the forest, despite the
crowns of deciduous forest trees denuded
in preparation for winter inviting sound
to penetrate. Our footfalls on the forest
trail are muted, the snow not yet crusted
with ice, and our small dogs, jet black
against prevailing white as snow continues
its lazy spirals from the pewter sky 
gambolling before us in an excess of
pleasure at the changed landscape and 
its accompanying texture that moves them
to a transport of delight, provide in their
presence a counterpoint of distinction;
the silent and motionless forest embracing
our presence, the woodland canopy a roof
porous enough to permit snow entry to 
complete its all-encompassing mission to
place the natural world in sleep as nature's
elements of winter's stern reign prevail.
The landscape transformed into a still-life
distinguished by obliterated shades leaving
black, grey and pristine white to dominate.

The Human Construct

There can be no doubt about the reality of 
existence for it is fraught with perils that must 
be faced and somehow overcome lest tragedy
overtake those unable or unwilling to fend 
for themselves in preventing through whatever 
means necessary voiding their lives through 
inaction and lack of caution. Those whom fate 
have placed in backward tribal-infested countries 
where culture is infested with suspicion, hatred 
and violence are never at a lack to find others 
lower on the scale of survival probabilities 
than themselves, working through their fears
and frustrations by persecuting those less able
to mount defences. In socially and economically 
advanced culture where laws are enacted to
ensure that social justice protects everyone the 
pathology of hate seeks the shelter of anonymity 
slithering its presence into dark recesses of 
the mind and public social order is maintained. 
The advent of communication on a global scale 
unimpeded by distance and cost has unleashed 
the primitive in those whose tribal roots remain 
deeply embedded enabling sinister communion 
in the brotherhood of ethnic, racist, tribal venom
emboldening with its assurance of the presence
of shared vitriol that sheer numbers alongside 
the certitude of superiority qualifies them to 
creep out of the shadows resurrecting their 
mantra of racist-inspired leadership under which 
the unter-mensch grovel to plead for their lives 
forfeited to the conquest of the uber-mensch. 

Doctor ....

He sees you every six months and
you seem to think your advanced age
gives you liberty each time to tell him
how weary he looks, how strained and
you admonish him as though he is the
patient and you the doctor. He regards
you thoughtfully, shrugs and admits he
needs a rest but cannot see where he
would find one. Too busy, too many
calls on his expertise, too much you
know, responsibility. And you part of
course amicably, in hand yet another of
his prescriptions for a test, one of many
he has prescribed for you a woman an
elderly woman with an irregular heart
condition. His wan and worn image
stays with you and when the telephone
rings and his office informs you that
your cardiologist will be 'away' for
three months leaving others to care for
his patients while he recovers from
surgery you are not surprised that his
cardiologist has sent him to a cardiac
surgeon to undergo open heart surgery.

Bleak Black Celebrity

A crime so repulsively heinous it
boggles the mind that when he recorded
himself eviscerating the man he had
just killed and noting for posterity before
he posted it that the parts were a carnivore's
delight the atrocity provided entertainment
and evoked envy among those for whom
such atrocities were treats to be savoured.
An international search through Interpol
brought him back to the scene of the
crime where he was charged, tried and
convicted, a man whose posturing and
egocentric hubris transfixed a reluctant
audience with disbelief that anyone could
become such a monster. The mute grief
of the victim's parents as they sat day
after day through the trial before returning
to their own country to mourn their son
there, seared the memories of the public
compassionate in their own sorrow that
society could raise such a deviant wretch.
Mother of the sadistic murderer though
begs to differ; they don't know her son but
she does, a lovely human being with not
an ounce of venom in his heart for anyone
for he played with kittens not as charged
tormented then killed them. But it is the
kindheartedness of the national prison
system that places everything in its proper
perspective when it arranged for his
marriage with conjugal rights to another
prisoner as they couple for a lifetime of
what others call happily wedded bliss.

Repulsing Extermination

Disdain, oppress and persecute anyone
long enough, threaten, demean, humiliate
and they've been psychically wounded. Carry 
on and add to that litany of contempt casual 
violence enabled by diminishing the human 
stature of those forever at target and then no 
type of assault, no corrective violence to alter
their place in the world seems to suffice. Leaving 
the ultimate expedient of ridding oneself of an
intolerable nuisance whose presence galls and 
we enter the theatre of atrocities once expressed 
in the frequency of deadly pogroms which 
themselves were obviously inadequate to rid 
the world of the pestilence of Jews. Enter the 
Final Solution to ultimately forge a perpetual 
motion machine; delegitimize sanction, isolate 
and violate paving the way inevitably for vast 
populations of those whose heritage found root 
in what the pious call the Holy Land to be 
obliterated. That was then. Now the remainders 
of the despised have resurrected their ancient 
homeland and now they respond blow for blow. 
Yet there is the reality of timid hesitation, full 
self confidence absent for the outlier nation 
remains held in low regard yet yearns for 
approval so in response to deadly provocations 
looks to the international community, unwilling 
to earn further censure and so refrains from 
striking the final blow to an enemy once
again wholly dedicated to its extermination.

Evolution

There was a time when humans hoped
to stave off hunger by foraging and
hunting, jealous of territory prepared to
conserve its benefits for themselves and
to kill to protect their assets. We have
evolved and civilized populations now
look to government to provide stability
security and the means by which a society
can share among its own the fruits of the
earth. Still among the world's societies
tribalism's challenges toward the other
prevails dividing the world into those
where the social order salutes the greater
good and those where the greater good
is absorbed by dictators. Historically
when people were deprived and their
leaders pirated resources for their private
benefit those deprived would revolt and 
in the chaotic revolution that followed a
transformation took place; for some
another tyrant for others governance
of social responsibility to all. In the
current era those lamenting their plight
in aspirational denials at a time in
history where mass privation and hunger
no longer prevails, to assemble great
hordes like themselves to breach borders
in a wholesale march to claiming the
goods shared to those more fortunate in
their nations' social mores set out to seek
the expedient of realizing entitlements in
short order of haven in other countries
though resources may dwindle with
greater demand as they dismantle their
heritage in favour of instant reward.

The Last Post

The melancholic notes hung on the air
wrapping themselves around the men
in their mud-filled trenches, delivering
a message of hope they would live to see 
another day. The melodic ritual assured 
them they had, after all, endured another 
dreadful day of intolerable horror to the 
human spirit and their spirit proved it 
could tolerate that assault so why not hope 
they might outlive the conflict and return 
home... Many did, many others failed to 
and for them it was the last post they would
ever be part of in answering the call of
their country to impede and halt the
cruel march of domination and hatred
achieved through manipulating minds
to mass murder. In this war of unending
attrition where combatants faced one
another without recognition of the
humanity each represented and where
civilians too paid the ultimate price
of time and place, an unhinged world
descended the fiery halls of hellfire.
Now, the Last Post signifies not the
end of the day and sleep but war's end 
and the permanent sleep of the dead.

Enchanting Spirals

It's one of those gloom days we know
to associate with late fall. House
interiors are dark as though perpetual
dusk has arrived not merely shorter
daylight hours. Venture out of doors
and you're assailed by blustery winds
and the temperature grudges bumping
up beyond freezing. Yet everyone you
come across walking in the streets hosts
a conspiratorial smile, a wink and  a nod
as though they've just had good news
and think it's worth celebrating. Oh
yes, of course, it's snowing, the first
full-day snow of oncoming winter, a
symbol that it's on the way to becoming
a daily expectation, so prepare and be
forewarned. Yes, all right, message
duly received, but why all the smug
smiles, do all these people in their very
mature years imagine themselves to be
children, the season heralding that
most colourful of holidays and gift
giving, sleds, skates and winter slides
impromptu igloos and gleeful snowmen?
Guess that's it; incomprehensible to
anyone whose earliest memories are
just such as those that yearly come
back in a flood of recalled happiness.

That Conundrum

Well, you know the type, generally
referred to as reserved in temperament.
The kind of person who always seems to
have a supercilious hint of a smile flickering
over a face that's otherwise hard to read
a really annoying trait that doesn't tend
to rouse confidence in the casual but
frequent acquaintance. Exemplifying
in fact the kind of personality you prefer
to acknowledge with a quick smile and a
swifter but polite parting. Something most
definitely off-putting about such people.
They don't seem to gain much in the
company of others, sufficient unto
themselves, you know? Well, you think
you know and you may be wrong. They
may be self-contained and that might be
because of social awkwardness and a
sense of not 'belonging' whatever that is
to whoever feels that way, an uncertainty
you don't share. And then the day comes
when the facade slips and a torrent of
confessional intimacies inundates the most
casual of passing conversations and you
stand there, an unwilling and confused
confidante until the realization dawns that
this person whom you've meant to avoid
whose presence makes you uneasy and
whom you don't think much of is really
another person in need of a friend to 
confide in. What's your response? Will
it make any difference, misjudgement?

Exhilaration!

You've just left nature's garden and as you
strolled through the forest trails noted the
absence of vibrant foliage for yesterday's
violent winds and rain swept them from
the branches of the forest canopy and
drained them of their colour. On the forest
floor a litter of detritus, long-dead branches
newly fallen amongst decomposing tree trunks
turning to their destiny as compost for the
forest. Nature is busy and sees no value
in tidying up her garden, but soon you are
in your own and under dark clouds where
the late morning has been cast in dusky
shades you rake. You have few deciduous
in your garden, mostly conifers, but your
neighbour has a large maple and another
an oak and they line your garden beds and
litter your lawn and you feel joyfully
braced with the cold wind blowing them
hither and yon, taking huge pleasure in
filling compost bags with the desiccating
foliage, their fragrance returning you
momentarily to childhood. You carefully
snip back the rose canes still cheekily
setting up tender pink-white buds to bloom
pull the last of the yet-blooming annuals
and empty the garden pots of their soil.
Suddenly rain falls copiously and you
are grateful, euphoric, your mission well
accomplished. What a wonderful day!

Doomed to Fail

The tribe of Judea has been faithful in its 
gratitude that YWHW made his ineffable
presence known to them that they dedicated
themselves to his glory in perpetual worship
and thus has it been since the beginning of
ancient history tasked by the Almighty to be
a light unto the nations and through the goodness
of their existence obeying heavenly guidelines
impressing upon others the magnificence and
the power and the glory of God. Despite an
almighty struggle against the forces of disbelief
and abhorrence the people of Israel failed in
their task, their numbers arrested, their presence
abroad and within their ancient homeland 
diminished as the world memorably rejected
both their belief and their presence. Their
spiritual devotion saw reflection in the brief
presence of a Messiah, one of their own whose 
adherents still despised Judeans' presence on 
this Earth and devised countless monumental 
atrocities for their destruction. From a second 
source taking possession of God's scriptures 
for their own came another source of violent 
persecution with no end. Through millennia 
reduced to centuries of malice and threats
struggles and death the people survived in 
discreet numbers unwilling and defiant against 
those intent on their final destruction. Through 
sheer intransigence to total annihilation Jews 
survive, their detractors claiming for themselves
the position of God's emissaries on Earth have 
also seen abject failure. Only their creator can 
know why he chose Jews to herald his presence 
and through that abandoned them to their fate.
Hear Oh Israel, the Lord thy God is One ....

Alert, Aware, Aversive

Control and power? Begin at the beginning.
Language, communication, the power of
words in the long stretch to control. Name
yourself in terms that appeal to the audience:
National Socialism; a world of good can be
read into those words, and nothing ill can
possibly result from a dictatorship whose
stated purpose is for the people of the people
by the people, now can it? If the people are
Aryan they represent perfection in the human
body and spirit, the ubermensch whose storied
achievements will lead to world domination.
If the people are Jews they are destined for
total elimination despite that among them
are exemplars of extraordinary expertise in
science, medicine, the arts, economics, music
representing a cleverly covert cover for their
true aspirations to assert complete control of
the world's news media, finances and politics
to serve the exclusive needs of a people who
in reality are a scourge wherever they inveigle
their venomous presence. Those charges nicely
bolstered by skilled and relentless parodies 
depicting Jews as evil, consciencelessly brutal
spreading viral disease wherever their polluted
wanderings take them. The verbal assaults
succeed wildly leading the willing to accept that
these sub-humans have no place in society
anywhere and must be exterminated. The
test of resolve from Kristallnacht to the Ovens
of Auschwitz succeeded but yet failed for
the pestilence still roams the Earth despite
the dedication of anti-Semites everywhere to
destroy what they themselves can never aspire
to become; decent and  honourable, prepared 
to forgive the rank stupidity of humankind
while maintaining the clear vision that what
occurred once struggles constantly to reoccur.

 

Worshipping Nature

Worshipping nature in her own
cathedral I am her grateful child
as around me giant cedars lift their
heads to the sky and I am wholly
embraced by their presence
welcoming me as simply another
of her peerless creations, living
breathing, growing, glowing in
the sunlight shafts penetrating the
great canopy of this old growth
forest where I walk among the
elderly and the compassionate
viewing immense downed trunks
nourishing seedlings of the forest's
future, those nursing lots fulfilling
nature's instructions that nothing
be wasted and everything be
recycled. From death arises new
life, and so it is there and anywhere
that the cycle endlessly spins to
rebirth, renewal and the ultimate
creation of a perpetual blueprint.