MY HOLIDAY POEM FOR 2023

                                                                          

They DO not need to sparkle,

Or make an awesome sound;

The Xmas gifts that MOST delight

Are those I deem 'profound'.

They come from hugging loved ones,

And children's winsome smiles;

They draw from sacred memories

Traversing hallowed miles.

There's magic when a carol's sung,

Sweet mystery within hymns;

There's harmony when snowflakes fall

And dust our window trim.

Although I treasure festive lights

And candles burnt down low,

It's cherished, joyful holidays

That bring the greatest glow !!

poem by L.P.-G. /12-2023

SUPPOSE THE GREAT PHILOSOPHERS WEIGHED IN

              By Way of a Political Debate: What might their take-away points be?

   

John Locke:

·       No man is a divine king; hence, no man [even as president] should claim divine rights

·       Human nature 'allows' man to be selfish at times; this must be tempered for the good of society as a whole

·       Men join societies to preserve their liberty

Thomas Hobbes:

 

·       All men are created equally egotistical

·       Man's state of nature is a constant state of war

·       Where there is no 'common power' there is no law

Jean-Jacques Rousseau:

·       "Strength in numbers" only works  if there is no chaos

·       Individuals will only work together, collectively, when there is some incentive for them to do so

·       Man will willingly give up some of his freedoms to become part of a society in which he wishes to belong

Yet, I'm sure that ALL THREE OF THEM would agree to this: Vivek Ramaswamy is an a**h**e !!

AS REGARDS 'MILESTONES' ...

                                                                        

A milestone looms

[TOMORROW!]

We trust that all is fine;

Celebrations commenced

This very night:

Last day to be 29 !!!!

XOX,

MOM, DAD, J.J., Lara, Jim, Jude, John,

Kelly, Richard, Kaitlyn, Ryan, Alison, and Hannah

BAD LIGHTS HAPPEN !

Our Lord's capricious

"WISDOM"

In making 'The Fly'

Is NOT the only

"WHY"

I'd demand...

There's this annual

Occurrence that ties me

In knots; a matter

I don't understand...

How does it happen

( Just 11-12 months prior )

When Xmas lights are

Carefully stored;

Upon plugging them in,

The very next year,

Their brightness is sadly

NO MORE ?!?

The strings look intact

But - OH! - how they fool;

Is this a cruel joke

By some wire?

Perhaps I unwittingly

Select nascent 'lemons'

And ruin future

Xmas attire !!

THIS year will be different,

I firmly declare:

Their packing will get TLC;

'Temperature control'

Likely needs more attention

RE: post-season '23 !!!

poem by L.P.-G. / c. 2023

COLD, HARD FACT: EVIL IS 'AS EVIL DOES'

 

Oh, "CAGEY" is not

Super Smart;

It's more "reptilian brain".

Folks like these

Do as they please

It's all for selfish gain!

Sociopathy is the key

To scheme and bribe and con.

Yet, why do scores

Refuse to see

The wickedness of Don?

Is it  that they're just gullible,

Or yearn to be beguiled?

 Perhaps they never quite evolved:

 Their brain remains 'a child'...

poem by L.P.-G.

A SEASONAL INTERREGNUM

                                                                      

Eggnog replaces cider-spice, and

Autumn leaves by mistletoe...

Turkey dinners are exchanged

For evergreens and powdered snow...

Scarlet overcomes orange-tones;

Hay-bales yield to Christmas trees.

No more pumpkin pie right now,

But sugar-plums on a frosty breeze!

A snowman beckons

Toward the stars;

With darkest coal-black eyes...

Yet, it's too early

He is told , for

Reindeer in the skies !!

Autumn Stands Brooding

It rose east, on high, Autumn's

Dark, slattern sky;

       So brooding; so sullen and gray.        

                         

                                White 'sheep-clouds' lay withered,

Their pillows gone flat ;

Now outlines looked

   Ragged and frayed...    

These are the skies

That foretell a grim landscape:

Damp pastures and bare-naked trees...

For months we'll light candles,

Tend fires, 'make merry'

As late-fall bends

Sun... to its knees.

poem by L.P.-G. / 11-2023

THREE WITCHES ARE BETTER THAN ONE !

                                                                           

       

Fire burn and cauldron bubble !!!

November post-script: When King James VI came down to London from Scotland, Shakespeare wrote Macbeth. What's more, he put lots of witches in it; supposedly, just for him !!!

IN LIGHT OF THE PRESENT MID-EAST CHAOS and TURMOIL,

               I'd anticipate a fifth tragic poem; i.e., were Primo Levi still alive...

                                                     

                    In the Beginning:  a poem by Primo Levi

Fellow men, for whom a year is long,

A century a venerable goal,

Exhausted earning your bread,

Worn out, enraged, deluded, sick, and lost;

Hear, and be consoled and mocked:
Twenty billion years ago,
Splendid, moving through both space and time,
There was a globe of flame, alone, eternal,
Our common father and our executioner,
And it exploded, and all change began...

  Even now, the faint echo from this one

'Catastrophe-reversal'

Resounds from the far ends of the universe.

Everything was born from that one spasm:

The same abyss that embraces us and taunts us,
The same time that gives us life and ruins us,
Everything each of us has thought,
The eyes of every woman we have loved,
Suns by the thousand, too,
And this hand that writes...

IT'S WELL KNOWN THAT

                                                              

OFFSHOOTS OF THE SURVIVAL

 INSTINCT CAN BE TOXIC

Our survival sense...Oh!

It's the strongest we know;

Yet, tribalism

Spoils second place...

The latter spawns

Discord, destruction and war;

Such a curse

On the whole human race!

Taking stock of our foibles,

Our faults and our flaws,

Permits one to slowly

Save face...

Does history not teach us,

Through years of despair,

That PEACE yields the

Ultimate grace??

poem by L.P.-G. / 10-2023

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, "PRINCESS KELLY QUINN"

                                                                   

                         XOXOX, 

Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Robb, Uncle Ryan and Aunt Alison, baby Hannah, Uncle Richard and Kaitlyn

99 is a Definite Milestone !!

                                                                         

A few days ago

He turned 99;

A past president

Who's still of sound mind...

I wish I could say

The same for  D. Trump;

Does the former even know

His brain from his 'rump'?