Free Speech
Doesn't mean "Free Stage"
You earn attention
or you pay
Get rich wagering
celebrity
with respect
Power over
empowerment
Take media coverage away
from the wars that religions wage
RIGHT NOW.
blame Jews...again
Pay money for trivial deals
YOU MADE
Fade
like a passing craze
Ye,
Speech has never been so free
If only we
can focus, if only
We can keep the streams live
so their screams don't die
Photo by Craig Melville on Unsplash
#KanyeWest #politics #Iranianprotest #Womensrights #Freedom #freedomofspeech #poetry
The Happiest
I've felt in a long time
is combined with wisdom
that this ain't a given
There is a fine line
between been there/
done that
I don't have to go back
to depression, that cat can
rest easy, I put enough pressure
on my own chest without risking
my breathing
I don't wanna say I'll never lay low again
I might still today. The happiness tho
is acquired knowledge, accumulated good
The values I keep, the lessons I've understood
Happiness is not a method, it is a result
The method is one moment at a time
Photo by Aron Visuals on Unsplash
#Time #life #Lifelessons #Philosophy #Poetry #Wisdom #Love #Selflove
Parrying with Certainties
Death and taxes
death
and taxes
dash one away
get axed anyway
To put up with one
put money away
While the other one
gnashes its teeth
If we are free,
how can we be forced
to give to the needy?
Hey! Hand me your need
and I will take up the cause
but just because we need
doesn't mean we can cheat
We can't demand money
Only one type of entity can.
Man must trade, yet
government
can charge for their own parade
What do we always say?
It's okay by me if it goes
to the children
of course
or for the forests, the houses,
(What houses?)
the hospitals,
you name the need,
we'll sign the check
My hospital is in the sickbed.
You can't have a baby there
You can't get overnight care
If you have an emergency
you might be lucky
and not get shipped
100 kilometers away
Death is a clean getaway.
Taxes are a scheme. always
For you see, we
have been taxed
appropriately,
supposedly,
every step of the way
Why then? has none of our money
amounted to the change
we were promised
as children
Weren't we supposed to inherit
the fruits of our labor?
We are exploited
equally, sure. Except
the people on the streets
aren't seeing a piece of this ploy
Governing is never equal is it?
It sure is certain
to change the perceived
problem of the day
Death is the certainty
Taxes are subject to change
Photo by Nathanaël Desmeules on Unsplash
#wisdom #poetry #life #Objectivism #Capitalism
the leash
i always knew there was a leash between us,
i just never was sure
who was wearing the collar.
#micropoetry
#poetry
#humor
#geekslutnerdgirl
Remember
The goddess of reason
fully formed
burst forth
from her father's
forehead
Remember reason
is not a gift. It's a given
It's not
how we make amends
for ourselves
It is our process
the way we
make sense
of ourselves
Reason
is easy
once
you
try
Faith
is not difficult
Not even mildly
interesting
either
I don't care
what you wish for
or how you pray
with all your heart
Show me what you do
with knowledge
Show me how you build
systems of understanding
and I'll show you
Athena, tilting her helmet
to your success
touching your shoulders
with the point of her spear
Shield yourself against dark ages!
Be the conquest
of meaning over mindlessness
Our accolades
praise wisdom
not intuition
Power, not
mysticism
If you choose to live
like an ascetic
it is because
you saw the
cornucopia
of opportunities
and took none
If you choose the title
skeptic, it is because
you witnessed
enlightenment
and chose
to learn
nothing
Photo by Hert Niks on Unsplash
#wisdom #reason #knowledge #power #poetry
Why They Can’t Say Her Name
You might’ve heard two words
about a titan
unburdened
who stood tall as Man should
Maybe you read of a hero who rose
to the challenge, not to the chalice,
who refused any and all claims
to her blood
How are we women, not set ablaze?
The only good philosopher
in 2400 years
and we don’t dare whisper her name?
for fear of sounding too masculine
too capitalist too…what?
Selfish?
Who taught us that was wrong anyway.
She gave us plain language
for self-love when
every man before her
gave us metaphors
and mind games
In metaphysics, I learned
all the tropes and templates
and never once found out
what reality was made of
And then Rand said,
Let us use mind
because existence is
regardless if I,
or anybody realizes it
She said existence exists
and we are conscious of it
As a species, We are the most
remarkable on our planet
As individuals, We are the only
divinity we know
To hear that shouldn’t hurt our ego
Yet we’re so used to taking
our own name in vain.
She said life is the good
and virtue is the means
by which we maintain it
She said Happiness is
value
time
She proved! free will is a given: As in,
Make up your own damn mind!
Determinism only
waltzes in, hand in hand
with coercion: As in,
a bible or baton
She said survival requires reason
We trade our ideas, our labor, and our time
For all who would pull the wool over our pride
She showed us how to flip the script
flip the bird, flip the table
We were taught to grovel
She showed us how to shrug
#Philosophy #Life #Poetry #Canadianpoet
Photo by Siddhant Kumar on Unsplash
What Breaks a Heart?
What takes a strong heart and makes
pinpricks like blade licks
Small incisions, like decisions
to snip a part of you away
I take your hand to place
on my chest, take a second
to breathe
Take a minute to feel strength
feel the pulse of my own ache
My old wound held together
moment to moment
by hand shakes, by embrace
Feel the release when you realize
That’s all it takes
Human connection like rose inspection
Is a trust game
You must prove you can remain
Stable and soft
even in heat and exhaust–
You cannot faint!
You can't feint either
Every time your heart’s cut
you must train
at least at the start
To lead with your brain
not as they say, with your heart
A strong heart
is cut apart
and eaten
A weak brain
is picked over
again and again
Lead with your mind
like your life depends on it
Hold your heart dear like death
is nothing to fear
It’s inevitable.
A strong heart can break
a thousand times
but a strong mind
not even once
Photo by Zac Durant on Unsplash
#poetry #philosophy #life #mind #love
Rhetoric
Say evasion could convict you,
could you speak with conviction?
State your specifics
Adhere with precision
Scrape the jargon off your tongue
Be honest, just once
Just say, humans are impotent, worth only
what they can give to God
or Give us the benefit of the doubt for once
...We've risen our own daily bread thus far
If you believe otherwise, stop disguising
how you despise your own species
I don't know, how do you define Christianity?
Take all the time you need
Nail yourself to the cross
or, say outright: This is wrong
education is the natural state of a mind
not religion
Our birthright is free, volitional action
Non-taxable—No worship required
Be forthright just once, and be forgiven
For once, wash Yourself of sin
Photo by Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash
#Christianity #Philosophy #Religion #Humanity #Life #Poetry #Poets
, it’s true,
On the cusp of CRISPR
and nano-regen technologies
it is imperative to critically consider
the prolonged vitality of our species
I’m not talking postcard happiness here people
I’m talking long, drawn out lives,
aided and abetted by bionic limbs,
and espresso machines that know your decision
six seconds before you do
You can’t pretend you are getting too old for technology
Technology is creeping into your dreams
It’s seeping into your cornflakes
like those little bits of iron,
slipped in to meet the daily recommended requirements
How soon until we reach optimal intake?
How long until the cancer jig is up
and we are faced, not with our deadliest advisory,
heart disease, but instead, our greatest achievement
the juice cleanse of youth
Now is the time to stop speculating
Stop reprinting Oryx and Crake
You cannot compute this utopian present
because your history book is from 1984
Ours is no longer a game
of hidden lives and thought crimes
Instead of collective mobs
gobbling up genius, electing slobs
We, as individuals,
create an era of great benefit
We will outlive our parents
We will outgrow our planet
We who hold the knowledge
of the universe in a usable way
And so?
Photo by Umberto on Unsplash
#poetry #futurism #technology #humanity #knowledge #dystopia
Collective
The tone is
harmless
like
warblers
nesting
warm
inviting
Come in
out of the cold
if you only fold
into us, we'll all
be warmer if you
only give us more
of your feathers
Wait don't go
don't be alone
Let go of self
preservation
Best is yet to come
so grab this gun
Just point it
away from
us
No, no no
lay your eggs
right here
We look
after
it.
Majority decides
Power to the people
who've been here
the whole time
We know who
history goes to
We know how
how to weave
through stories
like a mongoose
through cobras
We love
an underdog too
or an old man
asleep
at the wheel
Your kids get us
Death is better
than all this
suffering
The bill? What
purge? No, no,
The kids'll get it
We'll tell 'em
be like Jesus
be quiet. No
We can't turn
the heat on
be like Jesus
conserve energy
but come curl up
right here
on the screen
and quit your
crying
You're not really
one of us
are you?
Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash
#SocialMedia #Media #Poetry #Politics #Philosophy