tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91343467071895503672024-03-19T05:48:28.437-03:00The Ancient HippieOne senior's travels on the knowledge path to Moksha, using poetry, essays, and stories as a means of transportation.
The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.comBlogger487125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-39961042561236921112021-02-24T20:52:00.003-04:002021-02-25T15:07:26.471-04:00Dust Motes<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwZs80dFLPUVMkoYQ6jPxxiU7QjgJ8vcwP2CgNH0dKvVyE5Z6uMW8pC5fjiAf1FN4SQGGQldFy4IBrLb_UGHoMucy-xiwi4AdPYWpwzy3yOBp04OpIpUCGYh-utFzAndtEUB8JahzDMp_9/s400/dust-motes.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="400" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwZs80dFLPUVMkoYQ6jPxxiU7QjgJ8vcwP2CgNH0dKvVyE5Z6uMW8pC5fjiAf1FN4SQGGQldFy4IBrLb_UGHoMucy-xiwi4AdPYWpwzy3yOBp04OpIpUCGYh-utFzAndtEUB8JahzDMp_9/w463-h259/dust-motes.png" width="463" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Each alone,</div><div>needs only to be heard,</div><div>and not to listen.</div><div>Each is central</div><div>to the small,</div><div>and insignificant,</div><div>orbit it describes.</div><div><br /></div><div>United</div><div>is a state untried,</div><div>as none are bothered</div><div>to see any view</div><div>not emblazoned</div><div>on the mausoleum</div><div>of shallow lives.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fading</div><div>in a dying sun,</div><div>their lonely dance slows.</div><div>Do they contemplate</div><div>why and what,</div><div>if anything,</div><div>it all meant?</div></div>The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-13977425516900031722020-11-14T18:17:00.002-04:002020-11-20T16:42:07.058-04:00 Bubbles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2hZzeo-mkLPMNKgaeKLKXQOW3CBjuBiFB8aXA2j1mSNVZrZuaX6KNa9lxaSFIn69_o7e__yeHbAT3UP24BRol6KkFrN_o0eWl_83chaG_yzn-KpYVVs2Q7BP76PuSbme97qBkfQG1l7RH/s1080/Bubbles-Lumppini-Fotolia-1080x675.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1080" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2hZzeo-mkLPMNKgaeKLKXQOW3CBjuBiFB8aXA2j1mSNVZrZuaX6KNa9lxaSFIn69_o7e__yeHbAT3UP24BRol6KkFrN_o0eWl_83chaG_yzn-KpYVVs2Q7BP76PuSbme97qBkfQG1l7RH/w483-h302/Bubbles-Lumppini-Fotolia-1080x675.jpg" width="483" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It doesn’t really matter</div><div>that we think first</div><div>of ourselves,</div><div>and not of others.</div><div><br /></div><div>It doesn’t really change things</div><div>that life is egocentric,</div><div>and we alone</div><div>define what is real.</div><div><br /></div><div>It doesn’t really cause pain,</div><div>or offence, or disdain,</div><div>if misery is </div><div>a neighbour’s concern.</div><div><br /></div><div>It doesn’t really matter,</div><div>when at last the bubbles burst</div><div>and nothing</div><div>redeemable remains.</div><div><br /></div></div>The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-10782386170313704632020-09-22T18:56:00.002-03:002020-09-22T18:56:47.161-03:00 Ethereal Reflections<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDQrDdc2DcniDHM6EXeS9nX9lYAveHJhAp5_b6wEEo5aum6973lu_LOCW1_ectdEU6shDrQs3OuzvOJbdU97C2wlHMOnAXuFig_JMo0WzIJGn7eHB-B4ZT-62GbPBztySsEzVek5og_mr/s1280/sep25morningtorii.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDQrDdc2DcniDHM6EXeS9nX9lYAveHJhAp5_b6wEEo5aum6973lu_LOCW1_ectdEU6shDrQs3OuzvOJbdU97C2wlHMOnAXuFig_JMo0WzIJGn7eHB-B4ZT-62GbPBztySsEzVek5og_mr/w400-h300/sep25morningtorii.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;">Morning mist travelling,<br />tenuously,<br />up the valleys<br />of home.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Full moon on the bay,<br />illuminating<br />the Mackerel Islands</div><div style="text-align: left;">with silver.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Happy beagle, baying<br />at imagined squirrels,<br />and rabbits laughing<br />just out of sight.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />The crispiness of maple leaves,<br />and the juicy tartness<br />of blackberries<br />awaiting frost.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />The old man, <br />lost in thought,<br />refuses to project<br />beyond next week.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-33109620019481839472020-09-20T18:58:00.002-03:002020-09-20T20:23:54.699-03:00Stationary Journeys<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdUwFjMmiTdHmmJm4bNM0UNfZj8t_Qt2WHmHe9HDuwf9YR5GL6uK5e4Gyf2Uh292IVFPe3iZ4LPp-kN1ekbIIr_PR0VyjUCLpo_2QvzqPaWkCWmZYWl5rWN668fkeTGpRbXu_hSIUx8WD-/s600/buddha+bodhi..jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="337" data-original-width="600" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdUwFjMmiTdHmmJm4bNM0UNfZj8t_Qt2WHmHe9HDuwf9YR5GL6uK5e4Gyf2Uh292IVFPe3iZ4LPp-kN1ekbIIr_PR0VyjUCLpo_2QvzqPaWkCWmZYWl5rWN668fkeTGpRbXu_hSIUx8WD-/w400-h224/buddha+bodhi..jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Not necessary,<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">those foreign climes<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">of which we often dream.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Not workable<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">our vain imagining<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">of whom we’d like to be.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Not logical<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">to say what if,<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">not facing what is real.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Our journey is progressive,<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">moving in serendipitous ways:<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">one can’t really know<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">if here and now<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">isn’t really there and then.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The secret,<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">gleaned from atop a mount<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">where the guru hid away,<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">is simply to continue<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">being you, each and every day.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">And when tomorrow dawns,<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">as tomorrows always do,<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">just realise<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">that now is here,<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">and you are always you.</span><br /> </div>The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-59471301120524039642020-09-14T10:15:00.001-03:002021-07-26T21:04:22.587-03:00Fragments from a Fading Dream<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />Wispy, and tantalizing <br />glimpses of peace,<br />with an embraced<br />commonality:<br />sharing.<br /><br />Floating, almost unseen,<br />at the edge of reality,<br />a fading symphony<br />of love,<br />of inclusion.<br /><br />The solipsistic gale<br />from countless <br />societies of one,<br />shreds compassion,<br />with blades of hate.<br /><br />There was a time<br />when hope, when optimism,<br />filled our dreams:<br />when people mattered,<br />not things.<br /><br />These fragments<br />from a fading dream,<br />now simply<br />existential haze,<br />that obscures tomorrow.<br /></span></span> </p>The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-61282805554968254062020-08-27T19:06:00.000-03:002020-08-27T19:06:22.465-03:00The Fluttering of Other<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnTkRwWpHtZNneoLFSxIsex0Erxcm1A9TtAdaOyO-fo1WrvRtKzK2QeKUY9giw1umZkEmTyOGmWNgqzWLYIV0MnriiE6NBhpTBwc9BfkcylQJtqLEOcX-sBqV7HG-XMr56BTFBRa1qchJ2/s425/fluttering.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="283" data-original-width="425" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnTkRwWpHtZNneoLFSxIsex0Erxcm1A9TtAdaOyO-fo1WrvRtKzK2QeKUY9giw1umZkEmTyOGmWNgqzWLYIV0MnriiE6NBhpTBwc9BfkcylQJtqLEOcX-sBqV7HG-XMr56BTFBRa1qchJ2/w531-h354/fluttering.jpg" width="531" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The fluttering of different times<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">whispers softly in my ear,<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">and speaks of ancient sagas<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">in places far and near.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The muttering of ancient crimes<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">shame me for our past,<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">and sadden me to realize <br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">our species will not last.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The guttering of dying flames<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">that flicker as they go,<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">symbolise such sorrow<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">as we shall never know.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The puttering of undone tasks<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">batter around my head,<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">reminding me there is no time<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">as all will soon be dead.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The stuttering of unsaid words,<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“I love you” said too late,<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">often transit rapidly<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">to spiteful thoughts of hate.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The shuttering of windows beckoning<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">when I’m so near to rest,<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">destroys my hope for successful<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">completion of my quest.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The fluttering of different times<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">has now become today,<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">and, for us, we can’t look back,<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">condemned to stumble on our way.</span></span></div><div><br /></div>The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-36596882238972859832020-08-23T10:09:00.003-03:002020-08-24T11:23:31.229-03:00Fragmentation<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQOftQV8qgW78MiuYYv0WDL0-Xc-v2eL8fLAky7cfHQZz3r0_oW8RHlDYlYktfsVg20LlY7IHACiIXROJYpIL3rvAzVYMciWwmID2TuOt40SBl1RQMVh3fSmeNnF1P__tnOG2KBZdluTld/s1000/janus-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1000" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQOftQV8qgW78MiuYYv0WDL0-Xc-v2eL8fLAky7cfHQZz3r0_oW8RHlDYlYktfsVg20LlY7IHACiIXROJYpIL3rvAzVYMciWwmID2TuOt40SBl1RQMVh3fSmeNnF1P__tnOG2KBZdluTld/w512-h462/janus-1.jpg" width="512" /></a></div><span style="font-family: times;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: times;"></span><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Clouds, soft and fecund,<br />punctuate a sky relentless<br />in the pink promise of evening.<br /> <br /> Humidity hangs like a shroud, The past presents a poignant pain </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: small;"> giving shelter to myriad bugs, neither cured, nor improved, </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: small;">and encouraging fantasies of sun. by the medication of time. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: small;">The dead road-kill crow<br />offered visual recompense<br />to the folly of life.<br /><br />One sole loon laughed sardonically The spaces between jackpine<br /> at the thought of carefree fish and populist spruce guard access <br /> only metres below. to a mossy living magic.<br /><br />In a random and chaotic universe<br />expecting the unexpected<br />guarantees nothing.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: small;">There is a lesson to be learned </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: small;">perhaps a moral to be discerned</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: small;">but interpretation is best left to Janus.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-61912198827529474952020-08-22T17:03:00.000-03:002020-08-22T17:03:57.820-03:00Skirting The Void<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiij6Jyuw-RUqIrdGT60f-P5CVeCWlTV7m5DV9HFY21-wL-WI_qM8hUzYjO62W1tMlHT-Xg8qH3kdfN97oG6AhmfPOfpEJmanpXQqu_I4G2tLq5Q2_G2Jk6_eFFPd6B15YB-eMzBJYRF7Pu/s2048/4f5aee49edcb537d437d1c60b7e9f208.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiij6Jyuw-RUqIrdGT60f-P5CVeCWlTV7m5DV9HFY21-wL-WI_qM8hUzYjO62W1tMlHT-Xg8qH3kdfN97oG6AhmfPOfpEJmanpXQqu_I4G2tLq5Q2_G2Jk6_eFFPd6B15YB-eMzBJYRF7Pu/s640/4f5aee49edcb537d437d1c60b7e9f208.png" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><br />(umm)<br /><br /><br />(umm)<br /><br /><br />Heaviness assails senses.<br />Thought becomes static.<br />Alternatives do not exist.<br />Hiatus becomes eternal.<br /><br /><br />(umm)<br /><br /><br />Gravity envelopes.<br />Sensory acuity falters,<br />diminishing to infinity,<br />as concept redefines reality.<br /><br /><br />(umm)<br /><br /><br />A slow, heavy return,<br />girded by renewed intentions,<br />bolstered by the exhilaration<br />of skirting the void.<br /><br /><br />(Aum)<br /><br /><br />(Part of series: Cannabis and Creative Cognition: Bubba OG)</span></span> <br /></div>The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-31296216776283640682020-06-23T14:19:00.001-03:002021-07-23T20:57:52.643-03:00Digging a Hole<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<br />
<br />
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I’m digging a hole in this fragile earth,<br />and closing it up behind me.<br />My hope is that, when deep enough,<br />hate and stupidity cannot find me.<br />
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The air is thick, and cool, down here;<br />I’m surrounded by muffled silence.<br />No sound vibration reaches me;<br />no echoes of cruelty nor violence.<br />
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This self-internment will end one day,<br />and my wish is that I shall find<br />we've evolved into a better world,<br />one shared by all mankind.<br />
<span face=""Trebuchet MS", sans-serif"></span><span style="font-size: small;"></span>The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-8294153114501307202020-05-29T21:00:00.000-03:002020-05-29T21:00:47.456-03:00This Volatile Core Of Rage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVMRrlYI8oUbfWliwp8i3JAyL2LborfKpQCIzhahUT6tPXG32x1huguBmCSYJV4lEJixhP2PSXVQvP30I-dGZWoE97WWRfRZHezMsnXIMPvqlQkNadjx5o1X5l6dmT1i3k3ksj2gmpy-Wk/s1600/core.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVMRrlYI8oUbfWliwp8i3JAyL2LborfKpQCIzhahUT6tPXG32x1huguBmCSYJV4lEJixhP2PSXVQvP30I-dGZWoE97WWRfRZHezMsnXIMPvqlQkNadjx5o1X5l6dmT1i3k3ksj2gmpy-Wk/s400/core.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
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We have all sensed it,<br />simmering there,<br />just beneath the surface<br />of our new reality.<br />
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Our paths have been blocked,<br />our trajectories skewed, <br />and resentment seeps <br />through the shock.<br />
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The public mask<br />that we now must wear<br />does not quite muffle<br />the bubbling of potential violence.<br />
<br />
The commonality of our plight<br />must now unify,<br />and inspire us to share <br />a better future for all.The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-40779519072060083142020-05-29T11:11:00.000-03:002020-05-30T10:32:42.216-03:00Microcosm<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQRvsnsb8PVw5prwZtmhiAkNjB-KADkcjKPJtzqW2oRFoVUYNYobA6DKMzNkyWJxvl58Yf4n_bWeW5GfUNanoqxU9frLdB1F06U-WuixTjU-1X9rseqUS_UVaVQteTPddOYMLuBd3iQLkz/s1600/earth..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="800" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQRvsnsb8PVw5prwZtmhiAkNjB-KADkcjKPJtzqW2oRFoVUYNYobA6DKMzNkyWJxvl58Yf4n_bWeW5GfUNanoqxU9frLdB1F06U-WuixTjU-1X9rseqUS_UVaVQteTPddOYMLuBd3iQLkz/s400/earth..jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
We have been reduced.<br />
We have been diminished.<br />
We have been shocked.<br />
We can, however, now see our world<br />
as a place of interconnectivity,<br />
and the rapid spread<br />
of rumour, or distrust,<br />
and disease.<br />
<br />
It seems so small,<br />
so fragile,<br />
that we can sense<br />
it could disappear,<br />
and human-based time<br />
would end.<br />
<br />
We pick sides;<br />
we assign blame;<br />
we rage and cry,<br />
and yet it seems<br />
all we really want<br />
is an impossible<br />
return to “normal”.<br />
<br />
This is our one chance<br />
to sculpt a new normal.<br />
A standard where equality<br />
and compassion<br />
are the pillars<br />
upon which we might build<br />
our new, and inclusive,<br />
tomorrow.The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-36187550458343667022020-05-28T10:46:00.000-03:002020-05-28T10:46:40.970-03:00Knot Of Anger<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-oMI7Qwxv2vBYxj1WBx7pW0iUDMWZBmYcounidHMgCL_g-0MKV2ErxnKWA6z-GN1tUKo_YEqYfzHeLMCskW83WgL0wVaE0c7kNLUO9zM375rzpkaIk7wKgq8PaJcIilZfnbSZK0Zbc15/s1600/hooded.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-oMI7Qwxv2vBYxj1WBx7pW0iUDMWZBmYcounidHMgCL_g-0MKV2ErxnKWA6z-GN1tUKo_YEqYfzHeLMCskW83WgL0wVaE0c7kNLUO9zM375rzpkaIk7wKgq8PaJcIilZfnbSZK0Zbc15/s400/hooded.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />There lives a tight knot of anger<br />deep inside my head.<br />I have set up mental retaining walls,<br />but they have broken in the past,<br />and the beast ran free.<br />
<br />
I am not always aware of the dark<br />
and foreboding animosity <br />that rumbles and complains,<br />pushing against the restraints,<br />ranting about freedom.<br />
<br />
Some time periods are calm,<br />momentarily,<br />until a fevered whispering<br />blisters my sheltering mind,<br />and sends me paranoia.<br />
<br />
There lives a tight knot of anger<br />in a cage devoid of light,<br />coalescing into fierce emotion<br />as society devolves slowly, surely,<br />into change, or oblivion.The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-12875689472001857052020-05-27T21:09:00.000-03:002020-05-27T21:09:30.624-03:00 If I Suddenly Cry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2pBVPt2Zz52JOLzU8VU4y8qFG6zC7YRFDpSCP0Duf2_zcT_2NaoL3dA9Ly_OnL1slGD8qzLnosBQp154K_0t7PM0pEi3apo7Pbs9ybpl_sl2lGZBd8ypXoP2wUvqVU8XaR_PzKZYjkO5m/s1600/tears.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="850" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2pBVPt2Zz52JOLzU8VU4y8qFG6zC7YRFDpSCP0Duf2_zcT_2NaoL3dA9Ly_OnL1slGD8qzLnosBQp154K_0t7PM0pEi3apo7Pbs9ybpl_sl2lGZBd8ypXoP2wUvqVU8XaR_PzKZYjkO5m/s400/tears.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
If I suddenly cry<br />
please do not be alarmed.<br />
It passes like a thundercloud,<br />
and leaves<br />
unsullied skies.<br />
<br />
Sadness sneaks,<br />
and jumps out from behind<br />
ordinary things<br />
(is anything ordinary anymore?)<br />
to beleaguer your soul.<br />
<br />
It is not so much<br />
that I am sad,<br />
rather simply overwhelmed<br />
by this paradigm shift<br />
to some Lovecraftian dystopia.<br />
<br />
If I suddenly cry<br />
kindly know it will pass,<br />
and I shall momentarily be distracted<br />
either by something slight and shiny,<br />
or perhaps unimaginably horrific.The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-83428092870707443362020-05-27T12:32:00.001-03:002021-08-03T18:36:59.290-03:00I Should Like To Think<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<br />
<br />I should like to think<br />that, in my head,<br />there is a place<br />where a boy runs<br />with a stick<br />by a picket fence<br />that goes<br />thack, thack, thack.<br />
<br />
There needs must be<br />an ocean vista<br />where this old man<br />can look at tomorrow,<br />faithful beagle by his side:<br />but it seems, <br />in my dilemma,<br />to be quite out of reach.<br />
<br />
I should like to think<br />we are smart enough<br />to learn, and to correct.<br />Our threatened, locked-down spirits,<br />are withering, while we wait<br />for a global realisation<br />that “normal” is gone,<br /> for good. <br />The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-54853795555239787872020-05-27T10:49:00.000-03:002020-05-27T10:49:08.674-03:00Just Another Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbLzTL30npg8nt7ZKp499z_1ICPDaKFX4_6cAEkVE8UBzZQbABJTAyjlAKtrqKx6j6YENFs6D0khaua5T2bDVR3mTKcVicrOMHXwGwX9XUnnvNVxEuLkTTKGjGlNBnkHCjApurtXBBjUA/s1600/Angry-Mob.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="955" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbLzTL30npg8nt7ZKp499z_1ICPDaKFX4_6cAEkVE8UBzZQbABJTAyjlAKtrqKx6j6YENFs6D0khaua5T2bDVR3mTKcVicrOMHXwGwX9XUnnvNVxEuLkTTKGjGlNBnkHCjApurtXBBjUA/s400/Angry-Mob.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />Chet Baker on Spotify;<br />bread rising;<br />dog basking on south verandah;<br />dinner planned of scallop mornay;<br />why, then, does comforting,<br />predictive,<br />and linear thinking<br />seem so difficult to achieve?<br />
<br />
Tendrils of like-minded thought<br />tantalize the web-me,<br />but the rising insanity<br />from manipulated masses,<br />goaded by their ideological masters,<br />terrifies me,<br />and keeps me from contemplation<br />of tomorrow.<br />
<br />
The pandemic of group-think<br />is achieving equality<br />with Covid19:<br />if the one doesn’t kill us<br />the other will.<br />There is no conspiracy,<br />other than conspiring openly<br />to survive.The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-53283953839872404532020-05-26T19:24:00.000-03:002020-05-26T19:24:12.406-03:00Wishful Thinking Kills<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1xwt2yX1xJ9djofrkm7dW1fxvIiHQcCai7lAzDUs9GCK7hDbSrT7C1HcdKnTsLDfTY0s2FJrYufQUnR2Ixr_rbQ04szG8ztIYX-txaSXhiOi7fsz1gd-4WMyYwQa1rTWi2EjnY71xEJN3/s1600/vague.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="662" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1xwt2yX1xJ9djofrkm7dW1fxvIiHQcCai7lAzDUs9GCK7hDbSrT7C1HcdKnTsLDfTY0s2FJrYufQUnR2Ixr_rbQ04szG8ztIYX-txaSXhiOi7fsz1gd-4WMyYwQa1rTWi2EjnY71xEJN3/s400/vague.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />And yes,<br />we are so very tired<br />of isolating, <br />and of being made to do <br />that which we do not willingly do.<br />
<br />
And weeks have passed,<br />and the sourdough starter lives,<br />but there courses through us<br />a spirit of rebellion,<br />a mighty scream of<br />“fuck you”.<br />
<br />
So they open the parks,<br />and relax the rules,<br />and all you can see<br />are people too close,<br />too exposed,<br />too vulnerable<br />and anxious<br />to pay attention<br />to <br />the <br />bottom<br />line.<br />
<br />
Are we, then,<br />so fragile,<br />so dependent<br />upon the contact<br />with others,<br />that we completely,<br />abjectly,<br />foolishly,<br />abandon logic?<br />
Whatever happened to<br />“self isolate and stay safe”?<br />
<br />It is time to evolve<br />
beyond climate,<br />
beyond politics,<br />
and beyond having to cope.<br />
It is time<br />
to abandon stupid,<br />and embrace common sense.<br />The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-56137361998710690062020-05-26T09:56:00.001-03:002021-07-27T18:38:51.806-03:00On Long-term Planning During a Pandemic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<br />
<br />The cogs ratchet slowly<br />upon their allotted circuits.<br />Vibrations of the<br />“click, click, click”<br />cause time parameters<br />to shift,<br />to morph into vague sepia images<br />that bear<br />unimaginable glimpses<br />of an obscured,<br />and uncertain,<br />future.<br />
<br />
This country does this:<br />
that country does that:<br />politicians waffle,<br />granting themselves<br />exemptions<br />unavailable<br />to the non-elite.<br />
<br />
Conspiracy theorists<br />scream of government control,<br />of 5G electromagnetic manipulation,<br />of chemtrails,<br />of the removal of “freedoms”,<br />and of how vaccinations will<br />kill everyone.<br />
<br />
“Click, click, click”<br />
<br />
There is a future,<br />but it is unclear<br />how it will progress,<br />other than with vast societal<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">CHANGE,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span><br />
for the betterment<br />of all.The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-86037962181315025502020-05-25T19:21:00.001-03:002020-05-25T19:21:30.714-03:00Thoughts On Sheltering In Place<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsKBFrjwjOToNuTZzUhlQ3R4hln6clY82VccvBlUrXqk9yCPu9WrTmP9pl03c8Zu5BWmS3nYhIssplokPF2eC0iseLTRB8yAGRk5vAGT_62h8wtjXg58dmpk4t5kfTvwdWKiREpheXBL6I/s1600/echoes..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsKBFrjwjOToNuTZzUhlQ3R4hln6clY82VccvBlUrXqk9yCPu9WrTmP9pl03c8Zu5BWmS3nYhIssplokPF2eC0iseLTRB8yAGRk5vAGT_62h8wtjXg58dmpk4t5kfTvwdWKiREpheXBL6I/s400/echoes..jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Domm, domm,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">heavy </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">hollow</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">echoes, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">shadows</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">of what may come.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thunk, thunk,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">sculpting a thought</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">one chip at a time,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">but time</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">becomes the harmonic</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">that shatters</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">the opus.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Weird sounds,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">unlikely linkages,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">and hiding,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">hiding,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">hiding and sheltered</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">in the backroom</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">of my mind.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Once there was a time,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">and once a time there was</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">when we knew who we were,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">when we knew where we were going,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">when we almost</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">knew why.</span>The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-61451756740881844812020-05-22T19:18:00.002-03:002020-05-22T19:18:47.495-03:00I Never Pictured Here<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDzpmOgQ7H5nETCkDLitJRVXgR4n4dfHVmd6k9oJIMWMFx2oTbdK4h9A27XlUxu6ve0keyUDWCIBck5O5XQLauusZTazx8W_Pa0x5eluxNz5z1bWFpGGwCSdLdkI9oPTnQAAZkvX3Mji3d/s1600/Not+here..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDzpmOgQ7H5nETCkDLitJRVXgR4n4dfHVmd6k9oJIMWMFx2oTbdK4h9A27XlUxu6ve0keyUDWCIBck5O5XQLauusZTazx8W_Pa0x5eluxNz5z1bWFpGGwCSdLdkI9oPTnQAAZkvX3Mji3d/s320/Not+here..jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sure:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">imagining on occasion</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> being other,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> being elsewhere,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> being headed</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">for someplace</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> that I could not recognise</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">even</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> as I arrived.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But then,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">there were,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">you will know,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">events.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And stranger things</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">have happened</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">that</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I never pictured </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">here.</span>The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-47151183842049033052020-05-22T18:41:00.002-03:002020-05-22T18:41:45.332-03:00March/April 2020<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYPN1Nxx_dfN7w9bCTM4aJ4woz1lStzdQ65bfCMIzYAlRR646-hnDy8YgrlLNi7onUTSB-7ViYgWCefZp2pKVX1uaqvUkX20Bn__QJ6Ir75JdJt5MiPVgcA_GuWWhF_J-emWj5-GJd_Bu/s1600/Time..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="276" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYPN1Nxx_dfN7w9bCTM4aJ4woz1lStzdQ65bfCMIzYAlRR646-hnDy8YgrlLNi7onUTSB-7ViYgWCefZp2pKVX1uaqvUkX20Bn__QJ6Ir75JdJt5MiPVgcA_GuWWhF_J-emWj5-GJd_Bu/s400/Time..jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I never know when</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">it is,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">but I do,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">vaguely,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">comprehend</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">where.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Plans are long interred,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">to be celebrated, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">perhaps,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">in requiem,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">after this time</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">of now.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It is to contemplate:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">it is to meditate:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">it is to await,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">without imagining,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">tomorrow.</span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-62916855211514743452020-05-21T19:03:00.001-03:002020-05-21T19:03:34.809-03:00Lockdown Ping-Pong<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8liirDfJfc2oadDO8_1ns5Q8oqkvOHtalcJa3x-pLoCTrOWFoS2Kn6sS_H3ZaBDSW5D6gP1yQPZksCYMBFE2nDZ5mLDSgdy1h1a_uv_n-22OblGTlptDmOoip_QWry19neSwbO-B8ddYo/s1600/pingpong..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="626" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8liirDfJfc2oadDO8_1ns5Q8oqkvOHtalcJa3x-pLoCTrOWFoS2Kn6sS_H3ZaBDSW5D6gP1yQPZksCYMBFE2nDZ5mLDSgdy1h1a_uv_n-22OblGTlptDmOoip_QWry19neSwbO-B8ddYo/s320/pingpong..jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It tantalizes,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">just a bit,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> those rogue thoughts</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">of tomorrow.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now you see them,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">now...not so much.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> They morph,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">crying in small voices.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And just when you think</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">you can look forward</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> you can’t;</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">retreating callously to now.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Maybe tomorrow</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">will make transition</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> more viable</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">than this shimmering,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> shadowplace,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> kaleidoscopic vision</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">of what must be.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-75856145941279146182020-05-13T18:49:00.002-03:002020-05-13T18:49:44.222-03:00Return to Normal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg44THpnLhKc-pJLPmtG_khNW-7DyTjhTx1LwUbeHS89YHKKDUPMIwq3t6mTY66NKU1gmKoePZMrtNYGADzzvx4r_vSanxG-GSPsirK8BZ5-YOCTQDAzI_L4Kg9hqAQLqmlVUollIoDC4Zz/s1600/Doors..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg44THpnLhKc-pJLPmtG_khNW-7DyTjhTx1LwUbeHS89YHKKDUPMIwq3t6mTY66NKU1gmKoePZMrtNYGADzzvx4r_vSanxG-GSPsirK8BZ5-YOCTQDAzI_L4Kg9hqAQLqmlVUollIoDC4Zz/s400/Doors..jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Years from now,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">when I am gone</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">but my lockup colleagues remain,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">you will try,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">through data analysis,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">to formulate a question</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">that will help us understand</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">just</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">what happened.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You must be careful</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">to use your word skills:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">no room for political </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">policy statements</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">here.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What happened?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What didn’t we do?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Why were we so slow</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">to stop the spread,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">but focussed instead,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">on controlling the message.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Assigning blame allowed us</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">to ignore action</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">until</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">it was</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">far</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">far </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">far</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">too late.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Let your future</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">give us an answer</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">that will not further alienate,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> will not further confuse,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">but offer</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">some slight glimmer</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">of comprehension,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">and of</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hope,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">in an uncertain Tomorrow.</span><br />
<div>
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The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-59694390251211968552020-05-02T21:28:00.000-03:002020-05-02T21:28:22.798-03:00Lockdown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-_8WEaQvyY8BYpGbtrUpGTKBuXsTE1vx4orh9qGhDjkda31Y17HM3e4wDUxUW93t7FbSWViJdPQr7tPQXiwXNQNtw6ON39pp-jmHgqzz_qJ4CTJXZylJAPxwb0IFaaCV0Dk_wTF7bV-B1/s1600/Cage-Download-PNG-Image.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="882" data-original-width="841" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-_8WEaQvyY8BYpGbtrUpGTKBuXsTE1vx4orh9qGhDjkda31Y17HM3e4wDUxUW93t7FbSWViJdPQr7tPQXiwXNQNtw6ON39pp-jmHgqzz_qJ4CTJXZylJAPxwb0IFaaCV0Dk_wTF7bV-B1/s320/Cage-Download-PNG-Image.png" width="305" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">...and I have become</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">more threatened</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">more enfeebled</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">more focussed on the micro</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">letting the macro monster roam free</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">and out of my mind</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">...and I have developed mechanisms</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">whereby</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I do not think ahead</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I do not anticipate</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I do not speculate</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">but by this diverse,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">and constricting,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">route</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I avoid tomorrow</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">change will come</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">but it will be a nuanced change</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">a change of social consciousness</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">a change fomented today</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">while we are locked down</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">in our various ways</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">in our varied lives</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">waiting</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">to go slowly forward</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">into </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">our </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">shared</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">tomorrow...</span>The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-17975443112564415742020-04-11T19:10:00.000-03:002020-04-22T07:53:42.890-03:00Washing My Hands<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhjr7zjmO1lFxCY27pzz00HFcGDVslusFBAgqXV7ATQvAJxipWYgNYUngd5ZinuTt5P-JQeLSz64rs8bBlKQk6OiwJxj-HI1STnMTR_IW0a9CFysQXNqR7xXB2XwFM04v9TPtjCIfVACO7/s1600/washing+hands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1299" data-original-width="1300" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhjr7zjmO1lFxCY27pzz00HFcGDVslusFBAgqXV7ATQvAJxipWYgNYUngd5ZinuTt5P-JQeLSz64rs8bBlKQk6OiwJxj-HI1STnMTR_IW0a9CFysQXNqR7xXB2XwFM04v9TPtjCIfVACO7/s320/washing+hands.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It all comes down to this, then.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Manic hand cleansing:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">no beseeching of the uncaring gods:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">no besmirching of immigration policies:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">no longing for other days that</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">forever</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">have passed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We share, with our cleansing routine,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">a commonality </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">that long has been lost,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">if</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">it</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">ever</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">existed</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">at all.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The parameters have been reset.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The future is ours</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">for</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">the </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">making.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Be secure in your loneliness,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">knowing,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> paradoxically,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">that you are not </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> alone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Count to tomorrow,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">then simply</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">scrub</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Repeat.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<br />The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9134346707189550367.post-67676159733733052342020-02-06T09:28:00.001-04:002020-02-06T09:28:20.858-04:00The Ripple Effect<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcjAceqhTbpGj3dm1LwsQIX7NUI1sVKbLAVtcvi0Nhs9ImbqWNMxz9kSRpKESQtP429qaTJ_Tim4EWQtkxxzPP8X8OqDgL5ynuHaVeeS4cr4WF2m4hT068cUwnNIjaR5lQ63vdM8DAjwlZ/s1600/Ripple..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="640" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcjAceqhTbpGj3dm1LwsQIX7NUI1sVKbLAVtcvi0Nhs9ImbqWNMxz9kSRpKESQtP429qaTJ_Tim4EWQtkxxzPP8X8OqDgL5ynuHaVeeS4cr4WF2m4hT068cUwnNIjaR5lQ63vdM8DAjwlZ/s400/Ripple..jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />If life is<br />but a pebble in<br />this eternal ocean of time,<br />how can we ever really begin to know<br />upon what exotic, strange and wondrous shores <br />the effect of our actions will roll towards, and expend?<br />Just a simple splash, a random wave, and the ripple begins.<br />Speeding ever outward, seeking resolution in harbour or shore;<br />the change that we have wrought will become, perhaps, catastrophe,<br />or vibrant inspiration, in ways we cannot know as we struggle<br />to keep afloat. Perhaps this distance amplified breaker<br />will attain tsunami strength and speed, and crash<br />upon some quiet beach, bringing change<br />and pain. Or, from some peaceful bay<br />the wave prisms radiant sunset,<br />offering solace and refuge<br />from a busy world<br />that simply<br />does not<br />care.</div>
The Ancient Hippiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10527622562744698854noreply@blogger.com0