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

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

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

i always knew there was a leash between us,

i just never was sure

who was wearing the collar.

#micropoetry

#poetry

#humor

#geekslutnerdgirl

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

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 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

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

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

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