Ballad of the Refugee and Her Would-be Rescuer
You are neither brave nor fit.
You abhor the deep-blue sea.
Innocent, who will acquit
those who look like me?
Liars all, you pay off the sharks
that murder us with glee.
You are neither brave nor fit.
You abhor the deep-blue sea.
Innocent, who will acquit
those who look like me?
Liars all, you pay off the sharks
that murder us with glee.
So much death and pain today: slaughtered fowls,
reminders of genocide and oppression, celebration
of abundance denied to billions. Cousin, did you know
400,000 Ethiopians are suffering famine?
“The earth is not dying, it is being killed, and those who are killing it have names and addresses.” – Utah Phillips Of all that the so-called Facebook Papers revealed, most interesting, I think, is the fact that on social […]
At what time the fog took over, I do not know:
I was, if not sleeping, attempting to, tossing
and turning like a Heron’s wing, lost in fog.
Birthdays present the chance to reflect on the passage of time, on how one’s life has intersected with the broader narrative of humanity. I was born on November 14, 1984
Love, like light, has no mass, is information.
Not that which is found in books, newspapers,
sacred texts: Suns laugh at our quest for
knowledge. Imagine a poem with no beginning
or end, no author or reader, words or meaning—
A week of coughing and fitful sleep.
Pigeons at war over the allocation
of crumbs. Irretrievable hours spent
before a screen, shades drawn tight
to keep out the glare—and still my eyes
are sore, my back.
I do not nap unless I’m deathly sick:
the day is for working, not rest;
only at night can we touch, flame to wick.
Midway through, I open my laptop to write. No matter
how cramped, unpleasant, flying is flying. Over the Rockies,
above the smog, the drying-out Colorado, the fires—sky in every
direction. How not to find inspiration?
What momentary peace in the yard!–The peach tree straining under the weight of its fruit, the sound of water giving itself to gravity. I stir my coffee and breathe. A solitary ant scampers about my foot; in no mood for […]
I am the Founder & CEO of Capital Good Fund, a nonprofit social venture seeking to tackle poverty through financial services. I am also a writer, poet, cyclist, and avid reader. Enjoy my blog!