OBS POST #41: These Most Erratic Times
When it is right to write! In the meantime, the big storm is a coming!
Greetings Friends and Associated Beings,
We are sequestered in St. Augustine with the pups at friends Chris and Mary Beth’s abode. Deciding to abandon Tampa was difficult, but in reality was a no-brainer. So here we are and it is raining relentlessly. We expect rain and more rain, and then the winds to blow fiercely, but not as fierce as it will be in Tampa. So we are glad we got outta Dodge.
In the meantime we wait
Hurricanes are not fun and certainly not relaxing. Simultaneously, you have to appreciate Mother Nature aka Gaia and her strength and power. She has been a reluctant witness to what we have done to her planet and I have total empathy for her moods, but can she not carry her revenge to loss of life and property. I ask this for totally selfish reasons. We have no idea what to expect when we return to Tampa, no idea whatsoever. Will our ground floor apartment be submerged and relegated as a new basement flat? It is this anticipation that makes ya crazed. The anticipation of the arrival of a storm named Milton. And what kind of name is Milton for a life-threatening hurricane, anyway. I’m sorry, but Milton is just not a fierce enough name for such a storm. And then there is the anticipation of what we will find when we get back home. The whole process is just not moving fast enough. Check out this great video of Carly Simon singing Anticipation in a fierce wind. Seems mighty appropriate to me.
The Right to Write!
The right to write is sacred and holy, and every word written is a blessing for the beholder and reader and of course, the writer. I started writing OBS Post last November, almost two years ago. It has not always been fun, but it did provide a different outlook besides poetry for me.
I have, obviously, not been keeping to any schedule for this past year. It has been crazy times for sure. There is so much noise in the world. I am so inundated with communication that I have to turn off email and messengers just to retain my sanity. Literally, I have to keep checking on my watch to see what day of the week it is.
The politics of the world, have turned me inside out in many ways. I have lost oh so many friends because I do not submit to the orange god. I have kept so many of my feelings to myself that I about to burst. Not only that, but I want to scream at the world and at those drivers who are sleeping at the wheel.
I try and stay above the fray and work to create a new and creative civilization. This has not always been successful, but I will not be shut up on this quest. It has not been easy to try and coalesce our various tribes into creating a future for our somewhat beautiful planet. Simultaneously, I am oh so troubled about how antisemitism has become a norm. Again, I will not be shut up. But I must admit this range of antisemitism at times has rendered me speechless. Unknowingly, I have developed a kind of JewDar, It has enabled me to detect and understand (if it is possible to understand) antisemitism in all its many forms, even from people I thought I knew.
I've decided to write OBS Post when it is right for me to write and not to schedule. I reserve the right to write said he from the Department of Redundancy Department. :) Furthermore, I am hoping to up my frequency and circulation. I humbly apologize for not writing more often. I want my words to heal a nation, a world, a galaxy.
I profess that poets are doctors of the soul. So let us do our job and work our magic.
I AM ART NOT THE ENTERTAINMENT
I am art not the entertainment
I speak with words
bequeathed by muses
I am not here
for your political enjoyment
although you might enjoy
I am not here
for your entertainment
although you might be entertained
I am art not the entertainment
if truth is your consequence
you will love me
if hate is your passion
you will hate me
if love is your dream
you will desire me
for I am art
ultimate truth
not merely a reflection
but life itself
I am art not the entertainment
questioning wills
and agent of will
I don’t blow you kisses
pander to your wishes
I serve my words
on your silver dishes
I am art not the entertainment
I am a Zen Buddhist koan
a two by four growing from
worn nimble fingers
meeting your head
with my charms
I am art not the entertainment
I drink life in
great gulps
I defecate on
forbidden dreams
I steal your orgasms
and set them on fire
I am art not the entertainment
I hope you enjoy and appreciate my words and love of humanity. We are lying low till the storm has moved out to sea, where it should have been in the first place. Stay safe wherever you are. You are important to me.
We’re in the greater West Palm and have gone through enough direct hits to be grateful we’re somewhat clear and glad you got safer. That Carly Simon concert is one of my favorites. I sailed by there on my 22 foot sailboat trip in 1977. The song you chose is perfect. I reposted it on my facebook page and credited the inspiration to you.
Good to hear from you Larry. Take care during this difficult season. Nancy Shiffrin
https://www.NancyShiffrin.net