Calculations

The teacher discusses theoretical
and practical applications
of mathematics, the value
of finding X and Y in the daily
mechanizations of life,
whether it be calculating change
from 100 shekels, or figuring
time and distance for daily travels.

The students in this class
are not yet advanced enough
to contemplate more complex
concepts such as trajectory of flying
objects and variables such
as drag, weight, thrust and velocity,
or the intricacies of the Gurney equations
which determine how fast fragments
in an explosive device accelerate.

Neither have the developed the cognitive
ability to understand the human
variables involved in political
calculations. They are ignorant
of the thought process which
ends in the decision to store
weapons of war in the basement
of their school, nor can they
comprehend the necessity
of destroying those same weapons,
or the assessment of the loss
of political standing resulting from
collateral damage.

But they are learning.

Taking My Glasses Off

Seen
through glass
the blurred words
become clear lines
of my poetry,
attempts to capture
moments in time, love and hate,
and visions of past and present.
At times, I think blurred to be better.

 

inspired by a picture posted to FB 
by Emmet Wheatfall.

Metal

The frame and skin of an airplane
is made mostly of aluminum and lightweight
composite materials, designed
to be strong and flexible, able
withstand the rigors of flight.
There is not a quality control test to determine
the effect of a missile on flight worthiness.

The exterior shell of a missile is much
the same as that of an airplane:
light, composite materials intended
for stability at mach 5 speeds. The difference
in payload though, is somewhat significant,
and its inherent impact on continued
flight is tested in depth.

The shoulder-fired, or portable, version
is commonly referred to as a rocket,
and while its basic makeup is the same
as the missile, it is lacking in a key
component; a guidance system. It tends
towards more haphazard results. There
is accumulated data regarding its effectiveness.

The smaller cousin of the rocket is the bullet,
typically composed of lead and jacketed
in steel. It is considered much more accurate
than its larger relatives, and less, shall we say…
explosive, making it more precise in consequence.
The statistics on its efficacy are debated and primarily
used for political purposes.

There is metal scattered across eastern Ukraine
and throughout fields and settlements in Israel.
Bullets can be heard cleaving the air throughout
Gaza, Chicago and many African countries.
There is much reported about the metal,
much discussion of cause and effect, very little
is said of humans, other than to give a body count.

Designs on Power

He strains against the constraints
of republicanism,
separation of powers
a constant impediment
to his ambitions.
Every move a test
of timing for when
he can name himself
Caesar,
and cross the Rubicon.

The Love of Money

Another crowded night at Tootsie’s
in downtown Nashville, packed in
hip to hip, no room for elbows,
the band is good, beer cold.

The owner of the local hockey team
has taken up residence at the front
corner of the bar, surrounded by busty
sycophants about 30 years younger.

He comes supplied with a stack of one
dollar bills. Occasionally, between songs,
he takes part of the stack and tosses
them into the air to scatter among the crowd.

He smiles the smile of a gleeful bastard
at the frenzy created. I do not know who
disgusts me more: the rich prick
throwing crumbs to the peons, or those

down on the floor scrambling for a dollar.

Fireworks – An American Sentence

 

Celebrating freedom, forgotten after the fireworks finale.

 

Dependence Declared

“Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. “

Fireworks in celebration of …
something lost, forgotten
in a miasma of bickering and partisanship,
foundational principles scorned,
frowned upon by those who rule and by those
who fool themselves into thinking they
are not subjugated.

We hold no truth to be absolute and all subjects worthy of endless debate and legislation; no one is equal and all must be defined as part of a group which will constantly fight for their own equality at the expense of all others; there is no Creator you may speak openly of and only the government can bestow rights, including life (outside of the womb), dependence on what the ruling elite is willing to provide and happiness as they define and allow. Men are subjects of the government and prohibited from redress or questioning of its actions or motives, and shall be denied any tool with which to assert perceived rights. The history of the present King of America is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. We would submit the facts to prove these assertions, but the majority of the subjugated do not seem to care.