Category: Society

NaPoWriMo Day 26

On By WinstonIn Enlightenment, Global Issues, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry, Politics, Society, Values, Warfare1 Comment

I know that the sentiments in today’s poem probably won’t be popular with some people. That’s okay. I’m kinda used to people disagreeing with me. They have that right. Just don’t think that outrage is going to change the truth of my words here.

I would also like to point out that this is nothing to do with the fine people who wear the uniform in harms way. This is about the ones who send them out to bleed, break and die for no reason.

OUR ENDLESS WAR

Now sound the trumpet, beat the drum,

Cry war throughout the land.

The time has come to teach our foes,

The end is close at hand.

They do not think or act like us,

Barbarians or worse.

If they will not be more like us,

Their name shall be a curse.

If they would try, then they could be,

Just like us here at home.

But they refuse the gifts we bring,

So our troops we let roam.

To do with bullets and with bombs,

What words and cash can’t do.

Those who cling to their culture now,

Defiance they shall rue.

We preach of freedom only if,

They become just like me.

But if they won’t, then rubble mounds,

Will their whole nation be.

So woe betide the people who,

Their lives choose to defend.

We’ll murder, bomb and burn their lands,

In wars that never end.

Our cause is just, this is a fact,

Because we have said so.

But when the slaughter finally ends,

Was it? We’ll never know.

The ones we kill are gone it’s true,

But those we leave behind.

No counselling or help they get,

For broken, tortured mind.

They’ll wallow in the blood we’ve spilt,

From cradle to the grave.

When all you’ve known is blood and death,

To strike back is not brave.

The only lesson we have taught,

With all that we have done.

If you don’t like how someone lives,

Life’s cheap. Kill everyone.

We’ve proven that, you can’t force change,

There must be something more.

A way of peace and of respect,

Not endless, bloody war.

Winston

NaPoWriMo Day 22

On By WinstonIn Enlightenment, Global Issues, my blessed life, NaPoWriMo, Personal Responsibility, Poetry, Society, Uncategorized, ValuesLeave a comment

We often hear about the greed of the super rich. But the fact is, it’s most of us as well. We all see the poverty in our own communities and around the world, but so few step up to do anything about it. Instead of waiting for the rich to throw money at these problems or the government to fix them, it’s up to each of us. Today’s poem is about the low-level greed and despair that hold us back from a better world. Enjoy.

 

WE CAN BE THE CHANGE

Today I have enough to eat,

A roof over my head.

I turn a tap and water’s there,

I have a warm, safe bed.

 

Sometimes there’s things that I may want,

I’m sad I cannot get.

But then I try to realize,

They are not needs I bet.

 

So many live without enough,

To eat or even drink.

How spoiled am I to stress about,

Stuff I don’t need, I think.

 

It is the blessing and the curse,

Of where I live I guess.

We have so much, but want much more,

It makes our world a mess.

 

Why’s it so hard to understand,

There’s others need it more.

The money that I spend on whims,

Could truly help the poor.

 

Instead of doing all we can,

To help those most in need.

We drop our coin, to buy that thing,

And never think it’s greed.

 

No, greed’s a thing for CEOs,

Not folks like you and me.

The truth is we are just as bad,

On smaller scale you see.

 

We want to keep all that we make,

The same as rich folk do.

And get upset when strangers ask,

For cash from me and you.

 

We don’t want to be told the truth,

Reminded of the fact.

That we are just like all the rest,

Who know but will not act.

 

We get so overwhelmed when we,

Think of the problem’s scale.

But don’t forget that plankton feed,

The mighty baleen whale.

 

No runner ever starts the race,

Right at the finish line.

It’s all the steps that come between,

To victory incline.

 

So think on this, the smallest step,

We take is something more.

And even baby steps move us,

From where we were before.

 

Before you buy that shiny thing,

That just now caught your eye.

Give just a bit, it’s not that hard.

To help someone, just try.

 

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo Day 20

On By WinstonIn Global Issues, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Personal Responsibility, Poetry, Science, Society, Technology, UncategorizedLeave a comment

My grandmother lived to be one hundred and four years old. She grew up in London, England in the late 1800s before moving to the prairies in Saskatchewan, Canada. She went from living in the bright center of the British Empire to living in a sod shack. The last time I saw her, she was talking about all the wonders she had seen over her lifetime. From steam engines to moon landings and from telegraphs to television. The pace of progress is even quicker now. Who knows what wonders we will see…

TOMORROW’S WONDERS

I travel ever on and on,

Through this strange place called life.

And lose myself in daily rounds,

Of sadness, joy or strife.

 

But every now and then I wake,

And look around in awe.

At miracles I see each day,

And then forget I saw.

 

A medicine that saves a life,

Last year was surely lost.

But we don’t see the miracle,

Just grumble at the cost.

 

A car that stops before it hits,

A person in the street.

Don’t care about the life it spared,

Just think, “That’s kinda neat!”

 

A human habitat in space,

Now orbits overhead.

Where scientists experiment,

While I I’m asleep in bed.

 

The pace of progress does not sleep,

It forges ever on.

As long as questions still get asked,

‘Til the last human’s gone.

 

Think back to when you were a child,

Now see the massive change.

Now see tomorrow and the next,

How beautiful and strange.

 

I know that it’s not guaranteed,

This future that I see.

But giving it a fighting chance,

Is down to you and me.

 

Try to consume a little less,

Give back a little more.

If we all do a little bit.

We’ll reach that golden shore.

 

So look around with open eyes,

At what we can achieve.

Now every one of us must build,

That future we believe.

 

Cheers, Winston

 

NaPoWriMo Day 16

On By WinstonIn NaPoWriMo, Personal, Personal Responsibility, Society, Uncategorized, ValuesLeave a comment

So I’ve got a funeral to attend today. I don’t like large groups of relative strangers, or stranger relatives for that matter. I especially don’t like funerals. But I’m going anyway because it’s what we do. This poem is about that sense of obligation.

OUR SOCIAL CONTRACT

There’s things in life we can’t avoid,

There’s things we have to do.

Those things we hate, and would avoid,

But no where to run to.

A social obligation is,

A dreadful weight to bear.

We must fulfil it all the same,

To show how much we care.

We are all social creatures and,

On each other rely.

But there are times, we’d rather be,

Alone to sit and cry.

Instead we wear our public face,

The one we wear for show.

We put away the truth of us,

That no one else should know.

We go and do expected things,

Because that’s who we are.

When we’d far rather go and spend,

That same time in a bar.

But we know others count on us,

We’ll count on them one day.

So brave face on and out the door,

The platitudes to say.

Now do the things I can’t avoid,

The things I have to do.

The things I hate, and would avoid,

All right, I will, for you.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo Day 15

On By WinstonIn Environment, Global Issues, NaPoWriMo, Nature, Poetry, Science, Society, Uncategorized, Values2 Comments

I know not everyone believes in the reality of climate change. I’ve read a lot on both sides of the question and to me it’s obvious that we’re having a huge impact on the planet. Wherever you sit on this debate, I hope you enjoy today’s poem.

OUR CHANGING WORLD

The climate’s changing very fast,

More than we thought it could.

The future’s looking different than,

Most of us thought it would.

 

I know there’s those who claim that all,

The climate data’s fake.

And nothing that is done by us,

Could any difference make.

 

But I have looked at this a lot,

And I just can’t agree.

The climate’s changing and the cause,

Comes down to you and me.

 

We love our cars, we love our trucks,

We love our SUVs,

We love to drive so who cares if,

They cut down all the trees.

 

We love our cities sprawling ‘burbs,

We’ll pave all of the farms.

And as we stand in flooded streets,

Claim we don’t cause these harms.

 

We’ve engineered some crops that can,

Both heat and drought resist.

But GMOs are “evil” so,

That research gets dismissed.

 

As millions starve because their land,

Can them no longer feed.

We let our surplus food just rot,

So much more than we need.

 

As deserts grow and forests shrink,

We multiply so fast.

‘Til all that’s left to eat is us.

Then see how long we last.

 

But disregard this poem ’cause,

It’s not what you would hear,

I’m just another scaremonger,

Who’s spreading pointless fear.

 

When the last lonely tree has died,

On dead and barren Earth.

Look then and see what we’ve done to,

The planet of our birth.

 

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo Day 13

On By WinstonIn Enlightenment, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry, Society, Uncategorized, Values2 Comments

Over the yers, I’ve become a huge fan of situational ethics. Mostly, questions of “right” or “wrong” boil down to one answer. It depends. That extremely grey area is the subject of today’s poem. (Before anyone tells me, yes I know that there are certain things which almost everyone now agrees are beyond the pale. Don’t feel obligated to provide examples.)

MORAL RELATIVISM

I wish I was a wiser man,

Than what I seem to be.

Then knowing what is right would come,

More easily to me.

But wisdom’s not what I possess,

So I just try to guess.

And hope the choices that I make,

Might turn out for the best.

What I’ve learned is that right and wrong,

Are never what you think.

The more you know the more they change,

Before you’ve time to blink.

To kill is wrong, this we all know,

Except for when it’s not.

For they will order us to kill,

When battles must be fought.

To steal is wrong, so we all know,

Unless it’s by the state.

Like taking land from other folks,

To make our country great.

So many more could illustrate,

The point I seek to make.

That right and wrong depend upon,

The point of view we take.

So think on this before you rush,

To judge another’s act.

Without context we cannot see,

Their truth and that’s a fact.

To understand the other one,

Give empathy a try.

Then right and wrong will matter less,

On reason more rely.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo Day 12

On By WinstonIn Enlightenment, homelessness, Personal Responsibility, Society, Uncategorized, ValuesLeave a comment

I work in downtown Ottawa which is the capital of Canada. My office is a five minute walk from our Parliament building. Every morning in the summer there are homeless people sleeping in many of the doorways on my street. You see them year round with hats or cups in hand, sometimes with a sign. They don’t ask for money because the city has forbidden it.

No matter how far they have fallen, they are still worthy of our help and being treated with dignity and respect.

IT COULD’VE BEEN ME

Each day as I walk down the street,

I see them here and there.

Their dirty coats and ragged pants,

Are all they have to wear.

 

A hat held out, a hopeful smile,

They cannot speak their need.

For we don’t want to hear them ask,

Will we their hunger feed.

 

They seem like broken drifting wrecks,

Left on a hard life’s shore.

But they have stories just like us,

And hopes and dreams and more.

 

Most mornings in the summertime,

You see them quite a bit.

In doorways where they spent the night,

Though streets are brightly lit.

 

These people are no secret here,

Most just choose not to see.

And if they do their only thought,

It’s naught to do with me.

 

But it’s to do with all of us,

I’ll tell you something true.

If things had turned out differently,

That person could be you.

 

So share your change or share some food,

Or help them how you may.

And thank whomever you would like,

You’re not out there today.

 

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo 7

On By WinstonIn NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry, Self Awareness, Society, Uncategorized, ValuesLeave a comment

Own You

Why do we do the things we do?
What is it makes us go?
And when we do what we should not,
Pretend we didn’t know?
Some say this is the way we are,
Imperfect, full of sin.
Some say it’s what our parents did,
Still buried deep within.
I say it is each choice we make,
We make each one alone.
Not parents, God nor DNA,
It’s on our heads alone.
We choose to hold one person back,
Another person teach.
The hand that hurts, the hand that helps,
Just one mind guides them each.
We are just who we choose to be,
No truth could be so plain.
Some lash out from the smallest hurt,
Some rise above their pain.
You cannot choose all of the things,
That life will bring to you.
It’s up to you how you respond,
Think well before you do.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo 6

On By WinstonIn Enlightenment, Loving Life, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Self Awareness, Society, UncategorizedLeave a comment

I Believe In Us

 

When all the news is doom and gloom,

And hope’s a fools game,

Remember we’ve been here before,

It’s just the tune that’s changed.

 

We only hear the worst of things,

Bad news sure travels fast.

But there is much that’s good as well,

Although we hear it last.

 

So many want to hear the worst,

To feel their lot is best.

It’s really hard to find the good,

When bad’s sought by the rest.

 

The worse the news, the more it plays,

It’s hard to get away.

Find better news more upbeat words,

Folks with good things to say.

 

So I’ll say this for those who seek,

For words some hope to bring.

I still believe in you and I,

And caring is the thing.

 

Cheers, Winston

 

NaPoWriMo 5

On By WinstonIn Enlightenment, Environment, Global Issues, NaPoWriMo, Personal Responsibility, Self Awareness, Society, ValuesLeave a comment

THE FUTURE

We see a shape but dimly there

Not certain what we see.

Project on it our hopes and fears,

No clue what it will be.

 

A thing of beauty it may be,

Yet certain we are not.

It may be brutal or bizarre,

May prove ice cold or hot.

 

The problem is we cannot know

Until we reach that time.

If it will be a paradise,

Or childbirth a crime.

 

What we must now remember most,

It will be what we make.

Our children and their children shall,

Pay then, what we now take.

 

So live your life with one eye now,

With one the future seek.

And leave to them a dream we built,

Not nightmare dark and bleak.

 

Cheers, Winston