The Doomsday Clock

Its hands move silently forward then 
slightly back again, no need for the
rhythmic tictoc of time clocking its 
passing for it does and it will of its own 
volition unmindful of the schemes and 
visions of mere humanity, uncaring and 
oblivious of those who conspire to destroy 
their very own existence. It is as though
SunYat-sen and Machiavelli met as
kindred souls to prognosticate a future 
they would not knowingly be part of 
yet gleefully predicting the lengths their
successors would strive to promulgate in 
the universal human preoccupation with
deadly precise contrivances of increasingly
advanced technology whose strikes are
more than capable of obliterating life
and for whose eager proponents visualizing
success in achieving such ends leading to
power and conquest view mass annihilation
a somewhat modest price to pay to achieve
their overweening but Pyrrhic ambition.

It's Show Time

Hopeless romantics and nostalgia
seekers alike join as nature lovers in
the annual trek to the scene of the
drama where flamboyant conceit hangs
from trees and litters the forest floor in
the original colours that nature devised.
Their reward in the inner confines of a
forest their forbears long since migrated
from in favour of progress and the
tenor of the times mitigating against
the embrace of nature in favour of
a sterile urban setting where awaited
employment and the leisure pleasures
of city life. In dimly perceived primal 
memory of something discarded they
flock briefly back to their origins as
the offspring of nature's creations to
fondly recall moments in childhood 
when the appearance and texture the 
aroma and sound of autumn leaves 
and migrating bird calls drew from 
their souls a memory they failed to 
recognize but now stirs deep within 
their subconscious the latent desire 
of return, to witness their past.

Seeking Refuge

Our world, once so vast and distant
mysterious and unknowable has
contracted immensely. No longer are
there unknowns and distances too vast
to bridge for now technology in our
modern era has enlightened our base
of knowledge, our capability to travel in
a measure of time never before imagined
while communication is instant and there
now are no longer places so exotic and
remote we have no inkling of their
existence. Humankind's capacity to
learn and to invent as masters of their
own fate and stewards of nature's gifts
have tested our mettle, and found it
lamentably lacking for despite all such
advances we have been unable to tame
the wild beast that lurks menacingly
within. The slender veneer of civilization
wears thin and transparent in ceaseless
conflict and power struggles; primitive
urges surging through the subconscious
motivating the psychopathic tyrants
among us to dominate and demand
their due, the while creating an ever
growing class of people known for 
their desperate search of haven from
the ruthless ambitions of conscience-
absent rulers intent on their territorial
ambitions serving none but themselves.

All Is Forgiven

In a northern latitude where climate
rules, word of impending weather is
always first and foremost on everyone's
anxious tongue, warning of extreme
events, complaining of nature's tantrums
and her intransigent disregard for the
comfort and well-being of her hapless
creatures, a gloom descends when the
all-too-brief season of warmth and sun
prepares to depart leaving another year's
memories of transitorily benign days
all too soon consumed by rampaging
time, in their wake a rising tide of
expectation buoyed unhappily by those
sage interpretations of farmers weighing
subtle hints to predict an oncoming winter
of ultra ferocity, and all shiver within 
the confines of their shelters hastily
embarking on preparations for survival.
Days and weeks of waning light and
cooling nights of frost and migrating
birds increase the anxiety quotient
beyond toleration. Then sanity returns
to the hovering masses suddenly
noticing the beauty surrounding them
and the forgiving of nature's extremes
when autumn allows a final few weeks
of gloriously benign days where the
landscape extends its invitation to 
enjoy what we have when we have it.

Aiding and Abetting

What does it take to embark upon a plan
of action cloaked in righteous sanctimony
whose end result will be the agonizing deaths
of a vast multitude of children, women, men 
representing a vulnerable population whose
plight as a target for territorial cleansing is of
little moment to the world at large, expressing
outrage yet moving not one iota of intention
to intervene? Start with an alliance between
a pair of tyrannical bullies for whom their own
and their nations' interests overwhelmingly
eclipse all irrelevant notions of human rights.
Despite a power imbalance, they share the 
characteristics of benevolent dictators who 
walk softly among their own who obey and 
torque a deadly cudgel to those who fail the 
test of loyalty to regimes known for their  
extravagant bombast and eagerness to impose 
deadly force to solidify their rule. The alpha 
ruler considers the argument of the beta ruler 
agreeing to set aside considerations of humanity 
enabling the crushing of the spirit and body 
of a noble people whose numbers will be 
decimated, the remainder become stateless 
refugees to satisfy the whims and wiles of 
conquest. This game as ancient as humanity 
once again striding across the world stage 
unleashing death and destruction and a huge
wide yawn of disinterest on the part of the 
global institution representing the finest
interests of humanity, failing the critical test.

As Theories Go

On their street of middle-class homes with
more than their share of backyard pools
despite living in a region with but few
months of the year conducive to that 
manner of luxury, they stand out. Where
the vast majority of home-owners take
justifiable pride in their ownership of such
fine homes the condition of theirs marks
them as slovens. Fastidious in caring for
their smooth, green lawns and shrubbery
the appearance of their almost-upscale
homes, the wretched appearance of a
house whose outer aspect resembles an
abandoned domicile where weeds have
long crowded out grass and the property
fences have long since collapsed, the
attitude toward these people on the part
of their neighbours resembles resentment.
Some homes over the  years have been
burglarized, it's true. Think: is that not
supremely clever? Who would want to
break into a house that appears abandoned
with nothing of any value to be taken?
Brilliant! Oh, right, forgot. Their home
once long ago had been burglarized in
bright daylight. They long since installed
a security system serviced by a reputable 
security company. It was only a theory.

The Democracy of Equality

Are we, the great unwashed public, really 
that feebly credulous as to cling to the urban 
myth that 'all men are created equal'; all 
equally endowed with an equal measure of 
intelligence. Lending credence to that other 
urban myth that democratic action ensures
a fair and equal opportunity for those who
aspire to the highest offices in the land as we
acknowledge the welfare of the common weal
to be uppermost in their minds for they so
very demonstrably wish nothing but the 
opportunity to rule wisely with no intention 
whatever to advance their own agendas, no 
wish to gain worldly goods, no irresistible 
attraction to power motivating them whatever. 
No never. And so, to the great masses is
given notice that all is in their hands by
popular acclaim through the ballot box and
that their choice, their vote, their earned trust
invested in a flamboyant, egocentric and
well-born celebrity figure will serve to advance 
the public good, where equality will prevail 
and a flood of goodwill to equal expectations 
will reward everyone equally, those whose 
support a democratic tyrant relied upon  to
become dulyt elected and those sufficiently
intellectually discriminating to recognize the
gross deficiencies in character, honour and 
honesty underlined with pride in incompetence
that would surely bring ruin to all, equally.