Newsflash:
Saturday, 08 November 2008 20:00
Last Updated on Sunday, 09 November 2008 07:32
The StarPoet Newsletter
Vol. IX, No. XLIV
Vol. IX, No. XLIV
Before the Trojans
War raged
War raged
After the Americans and the Chinese
War will rage
Look around
It's the nature of the animal
The best we can do
Is kill as few as needed
And do it quickly
And do it quickly
Any less
The war will continue
Unattached civilians will die
Children will suffer
Our warriors will needlessly perish
Honor those
Who would die for us
For democracy
Who would die for us
For democracy
And for the Republic
Lisa Jain Thompson c. 2008 C. E.
Veterans Day
Veterans Day is next Tuesday. If you know a veteran, thank her or him for serving.
If you know a Wounded Warrior, let him or her know you care.
If you know a gay or lesbian soldier or marine, give them a hug.
the poem says it all
Change No Change
Oh at last!
Racism is gone
From the U. S.
Racism is gone
From the U. S.
Gray skies
Are gonna clear up,
Blue skies
Are here to stay,
Put on a happy face!
Are gonna clear up,
Blue skies
Are here to stay,
Put on a happy face!
But wait.
What do I see
Creeping out
Of the alley
At me?
What do I see
Creeping out
Of the alley
At me?
Three quarters of Barack’s
Black Support in California
Voted to ban gay marriage.
Black Support in California
Voted to ban gay marriage.
Fuck the liberal coalition
Of convenience
-- They’re little different
Than the right,
Afraid to speak up
Against black bigotry
And homophobia,
Cloaking their silence
In Jesus and antiquity.
Of convenience
-- They’re little different
Than the right,
Afraid to speak up
Against black bigotry
And homophobia,
Cloaking their silence
In Jesus and antiquity.
Cowards all.
Give me one good reason
Why queers should support
Black civil causes
(and all those other
Liberal banners)
If the support is all
A one way street
And the “progressives”
Are too chicken
To call them on it.
Why queers should support
Black civil causes
(and all those other
Liberal banners)
If the support is all
A one way street
And the “progressives”
Are too chicken
To call them on it.
Lisa Jain Thompson
November 2008
We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.
-- Abraham Lincoln
First Inaugural Address
First Inaugural Address
meanwhile back at work
Oh Lord
Oh Lord, I’m stuck inside
Another endless briefing once again;
Upward and on onward, chart after chart,
A prisoner of PowerPoint scribblings.
Another endless briefing once again;
Upward and on onward, chart after chart,
A prisoner of PowerPoint scribblings.
Where’s the damn summary
(The voice drones on),
How many charts can there be?
My eyes are awake, my brain is asleep,
(I wonder if I can sneak out and leave?).
(The voice drones on),
How many charts can there be?
My eyes are awake, my brain is asleep,
(I wonder if I can sneak out and leave?).
Lisa Jain Thompson
November 2008
the night I remember
The Eve of All Hallows
All Hallows Eve
Children and pumpkins
Candy and goblins
Parents watching anxiously
From the street
Door to door
Children and pumpkins
Candy and goblins
Parents watching anxiously
From the street
Door to door
Groups of four
-- Young boys in t-shirts
and jeans –
Two small girls
-- A witch and a cell phone –
A tiny princess straggling behind
-- Young boys in t-shirts
and jeans –
Two small girls
-- A witch and a cell phone –
A tiny princess straggling behind
The night is quite dark
The stars quite bright
A mild fall evening
Draws the children out
-- The candy chase
Is as important as the candy
The stars quite bright
A mild fall evening
Draws the children out
-- The candy chase
Is as important as the candy
What did you get?
Did you go out last night?
That house over there
Is giving full size bars
-- Snickers and Reese’s
And Three Musketeers.
Did you go out last night?
That house over there
Is giving full size bars
-- Snickers and Reese’s
And Three Musketeers.
The old guy on the corner
Is still giving a quarter
-- When it takes bucks
For a comic book
And a dollar for a soda
Two bits doesn’t go far
Is still giving a quarter
-- When it takes bucks
For a comic book
And a dollar for a soda
Two bits doesn’t go far
Three more then a dozen
All in rapid succession
Mothers on the sidewalk
Fathers in the car
Older sisters in the back
Not too shy to ask
Nine O’ Clock
-- Time to shut the door --
All in rapid succession
Mothers on the sidewalk
Fathers in the car
Older sisters in the back
Not too shy to ask
Nine O’ Clock
-- Time to shut the door --
Suddenly teens on the hunt
Searching for the good stuff
-- If any might remain --
Hoping for multiple deposits
Searching for the good stuff
-- If any might remain --
Hoping for multiple deposits
How old is too old?
Thirteen? Fifteen? Twenty?
When they ask for beer
Should I card them
Call the police
Or just send them away?
Thirteen? Fifteen? Twenty?
When they ask for beer
Should I card them
Call the police
Or just send them away?
Here’s the tally
-- Large and small --
In addition to the cell phone
A strong man and a bumble bee
A mullah and a gangsta’
A dozen renaissance girls
With witches, wizards, and
Evil Spider Men
A complete operating room
Filled with doctors, nurses,
And a bloody dying patient
Proud watchful parents
Enjoying the spectacle
And the smiling laughter
Of their kids
-- Large and small --
In addition to the cell phone
A strong man and a bumble bee
A mullah and a gangsta’
A dozen renaissance girls
With witches, wizards, and
Evil Spider Men
A complete operating room
Filled with doctors, nurses,
And a bloody dying patient
Proud watchful parents
Enjoying the spectacle
And the smiling laughter
Of their kids
All Hallows Eve
Just like the good ol’ days
Except I don’t go out
And my doctor would prefer
I didn’t eat the candy
(not even frozen Snickers)
Just like the good ol’ days
Except I don’t go out
And my doctor would prefer
I didn’t eat the candy
(not even frozen Snickers)
Lisa Jain Thompson
November 2008
November 2008
With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.
-- Abraham Lincoln
Second Inaugural Address
Second Inaugural Address
back and forward
Halloween
Halloween, as they say,
Bed, book, and candle,
Mystical magical calories
Evilly distributed by wicked neighbors;
Bed, book, and candle,
Mystical magical calories
Evilly distributed by wicked neighbors;
A childhood before the world
Re-believed in witches and devils
And whatever costume you wore
Came without any theological implications;
Re-believed in witches and devils
And whatever costume you wore
Came without any theological implications;
A distant lifetime ago and before
We tolerated molesters and rapists
And set them free to walk among us,
Our neighborhoods and streets.
We tolerated molesters and rapists
And set them free to walk among us,
Our neighborhoods and streets.
Lisa Jain Thompson
November 2008
true religion
Thus High Uplifted
Somewhere Jesus and Mohammed
Are laughing their prophet heads off
To see what their followers have wrought
In the name of god and Allah.
Are laughing their prophet heads off
To see what their followers have wrought
In the name of god and Allah.
Homer could not receipt a more epic story,
This voyage from visionary to religious hubris;
Shakespeare’s tragedies pale in comparison
To the waste of human life religion gives us
This voyage from visionary to religious hubris;
Shakespeare’s tragedies pale in comparison
To the waste of human life religion gives us
--The blood wars in the name of the creator,
The persecution of the innocent by true believers,
The degradation of our human as sinful, walking carrion,
The subjugation of women to the rule of self-anointed men –
The persecution of the innocent by true believers,
The degradation of our human as sinful, walking carrion,
The subjugation of women to the rule of self-anointed men –
Jesus and Mohammed must be laughing in tears
To see what fools we have become, denying
Our own humanity for a few precious verses of text.
We are all the seed of Lucy, an evolutionary experiment
To see what fools we have become, denying
Our own humanity for a few precious verses of text.
We are all the seed of Lucy, an evolutionary experiment
That may yet be proved inferior by time and place;
Whether we survive or not depends solely on us,
The ultimate crafters of all our tomorrows,
The onliest makers of all happiness and sorrow.
Whether we survive or not depends solely on us,
The ultimate crafters of all our tomorrows,
The onliest makers of all happiness and sorrow.
Lisa Jain Thompson
November 2008
November 2008
I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe, always, in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.
Americans never quit. We never surrender.
We never hide from history. We make history.
Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you all very much.
-- John McCain
Concession Speech
Concession Speech
sonnet for a new millennium
Dancing the Night Away
(low orbit)
Back when we were older,
So sure of ourselves and the future,
Everything was going to be easy,
Rock ‘n’ Roll and us would live forever.
Funny how time slips away
Even you think you are alive each day,
How strange the streets seem
When you’re living all alone
Even you think you are alive each day,
How strange the streets seem
When you’re living all alone
And all your prophets have feet of clay.
My generation – your generation –
There just ain’t no magic carpet ride,
When you think you’ve finally got it all in hand
That damn white whale shows up again
And you think yourself lucky if you survive.
There just ain’t no magic carpet ride,
When you think you’ve finally got it all in hand
That damn white whale shows up again
And you think yourself lucky if you survive.
Lisa Jain Thompson
November 2008
ballot box blues
Coin Flip
Oh my, what have we here,
What carefully suited beast
Is slouching towards Washington
To lead the home team
To the Super Bowl?
Where is Johnny Unitas when you need him?
Instead all we get is Joe Theisman,
A serviceable inspiration to be sure,
But not someone you would call
If Montana were still available.
Instead all we get is Joe Theisman,
A serviceable inspiration to be sure,
But not someone you would call
If Montana were still available.
Lisa Jain Thompson
November 2008
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
-- Abraham Lincoln
Dedication of Soldiers National Cemetery
at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Dedication of Soldiers National Cemetery
at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
What's available
In Washington on the Potomac
Gaetano Donzinetti’s Lucrezia Borgia,
Directed by Plácido Domingo;
Henry the Fourth at the Folger Theater,
Running through the month of November.
Directed by Plácido Domingo;
Henry the Fourth at the Folger Theater,
Running through the month of November.
Midori on Violin, McDonald on Piano,
As well as the Israel Philharmonic;
Sarah Brightman on her world tour,
West Side Story at the Kennedy.
As well as the Israel Philharmonic;
Sarah Brightman on her world tour,
West Side Story at the Kennedy.
Stacy Keach in Frost and Nixon,
Mid-month on the stage at the Eisenhower;
Ebersole and Naughton,
Followed by the Warsaw at the Strathmore.
Mid-month on the stage at the Eisenhower;
Ebersole and Naughton,
Followed by the Warsaw at the Strathmore.
A Christmas Carol, the Estonia Choir,
The San Francisco Ballet;
The Treasures of Pompeii
Now showing at the Museum.
The San Francisco Ballet;
The Treasures of Pompeii
Now showing at the Museum.
The Inaugural Balls and new President
Celebrating in the middle of winter;
Our life in Metropolitan Washington
Whether we choose to go or not.
Celebrating in the middle of winter;
Our life in Metropolitan Washington
Whether we choose to go or not.
Lisa Jain Thompson
November 2008
our vanishing heroes
Opus Redux
Goodbye, Opus, goodbye,
It’s been to know y’all,
But this is the second time
You’ve gone and left me
And I don't know what to say
I didn’t say before.
Goodbye, Opus, goodbye,
Be sure to tell Berkeley to write
-- Remember not to look in your closet,
There’s no telling who may lurk there –
So do go gentle into that good night
And maybe we’ll meet again,
When the times are different
And you feel loved and needed
Somewhere down the line.
Be sure to tell Berkeley to write
-- Remember not to look in your closet,
There’s no telling who may lurk there –
So do go gentle into that good night
And maybe we’ll meet again,
When the times are different
And you feel loved and needed
Somewhere down the line.
Once more goodbye,
Our good friend Opus,
Goodbye, toodeloo, fare thee well.
Our good friend Opus,
Goodbye, toodeloo, fare thee well.
Lisa Jain Thompson
November 2008
© Lisa Jain Thompson 1995-2008.
Further distribution of this newsletter in its entirety is authorized.
Further distribution of this newsletter in its entirety is authorized.
Email your letters and postcards or visit her contact page at the Starpoet website.
Set as favorite
Bookmark
Email this
Comments (0)
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/hide commentsWrite comment
Show/hide comment form
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
Starpoetby Lisa Jain Thompson.
I welcome your comments. You can use the public forms that appear throughout the site or visit my contact page and leave a private note.
For your own email copy of my weekly Starpoet Newsletter, you can subscribe here or (sadly) unsubscribe there.
