I Wasn't Gonna Do It

I wasn’t gonna do it

I wasn’t gonna vote

The choice between the him and her

Had got me by the throat

But I see now in your heart of hearts

You just don’t want to lose

I wasn’t gonna do it

I wasn’t gonna choose

I’ve read your explanations

I’ve heard your passionate pleas

Seriously, this election

Has become social disease

She did this and he did that!

You’ve sucked on every crumb

The truth?  It doesn’t matter

Keep banging on your drum

We’re standing at the corner

The signs above us read

“Dystopia” and “Armageddon”

Perhaps we should take heed?

Reason is the price we’ve paid

They’re the best that we can do?

You get the government you earn

“It’s up to me and you”

Well, I simply just don’t buy that

We do just what we’re told

We’re told that these two are the top

I say we’re bought and sold

Yes, to the highest bidder

No matter what your side

The necrosis of corruption

Impossible to hide

So I wasn’t gonna do it

I wasn’t gonna vote

But I kept reading Facebook

And grew sick of all the bloat

What of your mind? Well that’s been set

You’ve pondered all you could

You’ve chosen him you’ve chosen her

But have you done all you should?

See hatred’s always been there

As easy as can be

Due to the rise of Facebook

It’s the plainest thing to see

And now you wear it proudly

For the world, it’s on display

The braying could be louder

For you have so much to say

I’m sick of hearing you talking

And this spiral we’ve gone down

I pray we can do better

If not then yes, we’ll drown

But you don’t care about such things

You only want to win

No matter who your ass supports

You care not for the sin

For you see

I wasn’t gonna do it

I wasn’t gonna choose

But now I’ve changed my heart of hearts

The demons’ on the loose

So I shall seek amongst you all

The worst that I can find

The self-righteous and the blaring

The hideous, the unkind

And whomever you’ve anointed

Whichever you may choose

My vote? To make yours null and void

Oh yes, my friend, you lose

I won’t tell you who I’m voting for

It doesn’t truly matter

Just know that you’ve been cancelled out

Which makes me all the gladder

Whomever you are I thank you

For I wasn’t going to vote

But you’ve made all the difference

For that you should take note

For hatred does not suit us

Upon this dawning day

We are Americans, after all

Lest none be led astray

The times they are a changin’

Imagine, if you can

That upon November 9^th

We’re still Americans

That we still support each other

That we still believe we can

That we can make a difference

In this divided land

We’ve got a lot of work to do

And this is plain to see

But the Republic, she is worth it

For you and, yes, for me

And in four years’ time

The dance, it will, at once again renew

We’ll hem, we’ll haw, we’ll have a ball

Till then I say adieu

Whom I'm Reading Now

“So who is your favorite author?”

I’ve been asked from time to time

I’d have to answer, “Whom I’m reading

Now,” the question is sublime

Perhaps it’s something scary

Tales filled with horror – woe

Perhaps something from Steven

King or Edgar Allan Poe

Or maybe something humorous

To pass away the hours

Some good Mark Twain or Christopher

Moore enchant me with their powers

Or maybe swords & sorcery

With a dragon perhaps or two

Some Tolkien or some R.E. Howard

A Hobbit / Barbarian brew

If I feel mysterious

There are few places that I go

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s nice but

Dame Christie steals the show

Perchance it’s something fantastic

My yen for worlds unseen

Neil Gaiman & J.K. Rowling work

They can truly set a scene

Perhaps a graphic novel?

With true sophistication

Then you want to find some

Alan Moore, he’s your destination

And then there’s science fiction

That just may do the trick

May I suggest some Arthur C. Clarke

Or even Phil K. Dick

And then there are the classics

Too many just to name

Bradbury, Verne, & Stevenson

Deserve their well-earned fame

There’s Hemingway & London

Voltaire to name some more

I can’t forget Kurt Vonnegut

Their voices all still roar

There are many to discover

So many yet to read

I have only scratched the surface

Librarians take heed!

So, ask me who’s my favorite?

Who can I disavow?

The answer is so plain to see

It’s whom I’m reading now.

Bogart's Books ~ My Favorite Bookstore in the Known Universe

Things Found

I found a poem in a book today

It was not put there by the publisher

Or by the author, who happens to be

Neil Gaiman, by the way

It was tucked between pages 70 & 71

In, The Sandman – Season of Mists

And although I didn’t write it I had to

Pass it along – it’s too good not to share

I believe that it is called, “Tapestry” or

“Our Tapestry” or even, as the small

Upside down print on the back says,

“We cross our palms with stars for love”...

here’s our tapestry;

follow each thread,

catch storyful stich.

the reds and golds,

the fires and sparks

that forged us.

the blacks and greys,

the clouds and storms

that overshadowed us.

the purples and blues,

the bruise and tears

that broke us down.

Here’s the white light

for the times we were

saved

here’s the handle;

we turn it to

open a new door

here’s the corner;

we turn it to  

follow a new path

here’s the page,

we turn it to

find a new story

here’s the thing

A life full of turns

has no straight road to

follow

beginning after beginning,

and yet no end in sight.

A loose end here

A loose end there

We gather up the strings;

we weave our own

tapestry

...I stood in the library

With a smile on my face

As the unexpected gift

A discovery unfolded before me

There is no signature

But there is a small drawing of a coy

Fish and a symbol in a corner of the paper

But, to whoever wrote this, I thank you

The magic of things discovered, things found

I find the prose wonderful and, might I add

Much better than anything that this

Humble, pseudo-poet has produced

It made me smile to see it between

The pages of a book by Neil Gaiman

I will replace it as I have found it

For someone else to discover the magic