Sam, a teacher, mindful of the difference between
Listening and lecturing, believes in moderation,
Recognizes the limits of his knowledge
And the danger in mass approval.
Knowing herself to be a minority,
Sarah forswears the easy, vituperative onslaught
When truth is inconvenient and
Accepts the possibility of error.
Fearful of rejection
Both unwilling to surrender their patriotism
To the scoundrel who demands
Condemnation of things alien.
They take responsibility for their actions,
Allowing for real failure
And something better than success;
A sense of self.
Both believe we can learn from others.
They believe when you say the President
Should not address school children
You are talking about skin color.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Be Reasonable
No doubt she was pretty,
And very well dressed.
18 years old and anxious.
She really wanted the job.
New York in 1961 was an integrated city.
Betty was a negro,
Applying for the receptionist job.
But we had a negro in the company.
My boss, the corporate controller,
Was from Georgia.
I had no such excuse.
“Maybe we should interview Betty”, I said
We had spoken to 7 applicants.
One of those certainly will be acceptable
This was not a racist outfit, our buyer was negro.
What would we be prove by hiring another?
It was late in the afternoon.
“Why not go through a fast interview”, my boss suggested.
“That way we wont have to ask Betty back
And take more of her time knowing the out come.”
I raised no objection,
Went through the motions of screening,
Telling Betty I’d get back to her.
Two days later I called to tell her someone else got the job.
And very well dressed.
18 years old and anxious.
She really wanted the job.
New York in 1961 was an integrated city.
Betty was a negro,
Applying for the receptionist job.
But we had a negro in the company.
My boss, the corporate controller,
Was from Georgia.
I had no such excuse.
“Maybe we should interview Betty”, I said
We had spoken to 7 applicants.
One of those certainly will be acceptable
This was not a racist outfit, our buyer was negro.
What would we be prove by hiring another?
It was late in the afternoon.
“Why not go through a fast interview”, my boss suggested.
“That way we wont have to ask Betty back
And take more of her time knowing the out come.”
I raised no objection,
Went through the motions of screening,
Telling Betty I’d get back to her.
Two days later I called to tell her someone else got the job.
Protest
I will disagree, but gently.
There is no need to push
Dialogue until enemies are created
Out of old friends or strangers.
Yet if I meet with intransigence
Must I leave my disagreement unspoken?
Or if said, not carried to clarity,
Allowing others to guess as to the depth of my conviction?
Must I allow a right to go unprotected,
Accept a subservient position for want of confrontation?
Or bring less then my full compliment of alternatives
To a battle worth fighting?
15 people walked.
They held signs demanding union contracts.
Every year since I’ve lived here this happens.
Workers chant slogans for 8 hours, then go home.
I’m not sure it is effective.
Hotel guests aren’t especially disturbed,
Although a few late sleepers
Might not care for the 8 AM wake-up.
I recall the women’s march on Washington.
One million women came,
Voiced their concerns
And went home.
Members of congress congratulated the ladies,
Noting that the women were not unruly,
Presented their protests and petitions
And hoped that Barbara would soften the President’s position.
A sad commonality joins these protests.
If the goals were modest
And the means exemplary,
Failure was the result.
If the means must justify the means
Both protest cohorts were well satisfied.
Weather cooperated and inconveniences
Held to a minimum.
What of inconvenience?
Would Martin or Gandhi approve?
If the issue you profess matters
Then self congratulations is not the goal.
Your position must matter to the opposition
Who must care, made to see your arguments existence
Feel the possibility of loss,
And their weather turning cold and stormy.
There is no need to push
Dialogue until enemies are created
Out of old friends or strangers.
Yet if I meet with intransigence
Must I leave my disagreement unspoken?
Or if said, not carried to clarity,
Allowing others to guess as to the depth of my conviction?
Must I allow a right to go unprotected,
Accept a subservient position for want of confrontation?
Or bring less then my full compliment of alternatives
To a battle worth fighting?
15 people walked.
They held signs demanding union contracts.
Every year since I’ve lived here this happens.
Workers chant slogans for 8 hours, then go home.
I’m not sure it is effective.
Hotel guests aren’t especially disturbed,
Although a few late sleepers
Might not care for the 8 AM wake-up.
I recall the women’s march on Washington.
One million women came,
Voiced their concerns
And went home.
Members of congress congratulated the ladies,
Noting that the women were not unruly,
Presented their protests and petitions
And hoped that Barbara would soften the President’s position.
A sad commonality joins these protests.
If the goals were modest
And the means exemplary,
Failure was the result.
If the means must justify the means
Both protest cohorts were well satisfied.
Weather cooperated and inconveniences
Held to a minimum.
What of inconvenience?
Would Martin or Gandhi approve?
If the issue you profess matters
Then self congratulations is not the goal.
Your position must matter to the opposition
Who must care, made to see your arguments existence
Feel the possibility of loss,
And their weather turning cold and stormy.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Silly
If humor separates us from most of our cousins,
Embraces the moment as potentially absurd,
Lets fly with a gesture or statement
That carries the thought to fantasy, it speaks to possibility.
There is a universal theme,
Found in all human cultures,
At least until the age of eight,
That resists accepted reality.
A picture of a polar bear
And a sled dog hugging,
Punctures the walls of my enclosure,
And lays waste to limitations.
Surely it is the “practical”
That informs our judgment,
Renders “silly” unhealthy
In the hands of anyone past puberty.
Rather “silly” is opening the window
On a cold day, letting an overheated room cool.
It allows for the de-sanctification of ideas,
And the recognition that we take ourselves far too seriously.
Beyond clearing a path for honest dialogue
“Silly” allows for the “what if”.
Essential, should we wish to explore,
With a child’s willingness, to imagine.
Embraces the moment as potentially absurd,
Lets fly with a gesture or statement
That carries the thought to fantasy, it speaks to possibility.
There is a universal theme,
Found in all human cultures,
At least until the age of eight,
That resists accepted reality.
A picture of a polar bear
And a sled dog hugging,
Punctures the walls of my enclosure,
And lays waste to limitations.
Surely it is the “practical”
That informs our judgment,
Renders “silly” unhealthy
In the hands of anyone past puberty.
Rather “silly” is opening the window
On a cold day, letting an overheated room cool.
It allows for the de-sanctification of ideas,
And the recognition that we take ourselves far too seriously.
Beyond clearing a path for honest dialogue
“Silly” allows for the “what if”.
Essential, should we wish to explore,
With a child’s willingness, to imagine.
Beach walk
Floating free from the restrains
That wall our daily lives
A stranger, who would not hold out a hand
Might pass without comment.
Or we could choose to acknowledge,
Perhaps go further,
Insist that he engage,
For he is essentially impartial.
He will not have experienced
Your frown or the way your body leans.
He cannot recognize your history,
Know of your failures, or triumphs.
This may be a moment of extravagant potential,
A time to try on new clothes
That lay hidden in a dusty closet,
Or fearing rejection, move quietly away.
It could have been Emerson’s effulgent morning,
Dry, clear , except for scattered, innocuous clouds.
Foot traffic on the beach walk is light.
Rosie and I followed our accustomed path.
A woman, old enough to need the cane
Held across her chest as we greeted each other.
“I hope you are not going to hit me”
I smiled to this stranger.
“Not if your good” she responded.
“I’ve not hit my dog today” I countered.
“Do your plans include beating her later?”
“I’ve no plans for today.”
We parted without past or future,
Without knowledge of each other
Beyond a recognition that we shared humor,
An altogether permanent comprehension.
For that moment the universe offered a gentle touch.
I was tempted to call the day “good”
And start back to home.
It’s hard to improve on 100%.
That wall our daily lives
A stranger, who would not hold out a hand
Might pass without comment.
Or we could choose to acknowledge,
Perhaps go further,
Insist that he engage,
For he is essentially impartial.
He will not have experienced
Your frown or the way your body leans.
He cannot recognize your history,
Know of your failures, or triumphs.
This may be a moment of extravagant potential,
A time to try on new clothes
That lay hidden in a dusty closet,
Or fearing rejection, move quietly away.
It could have been Emerson’s effulgent morning,
Dry, clear , except for scattered, innocuous clouds.
Foot traffic on the beach walk is light.
Rosie and I followed our accustomed path.
A woman, old enough to need the cane
Held across her chest as we greeted each other.
“I hope you are not going to hit me”
I smiled to this stranger.
“Not if your good” she responded.
“I’ve not hit my dog today” I countered.
“Do your plans include beating her later?”
“I’ve no plans for today.”
We parted without past or future,
Without knowledge of each other
Beyond a recognition that we shared humor,
An altogether permanent comprehension.
For that moment the universe offered a gentle touch.
I was tempted to call the day “good”
And start back to home.
It’s hard to improve on 100%.
Problem solved
We don’t state the problem properly
Then proceed to make the conumdrum worse.
That in turns leads to rants,
Condemning those who did not support the misstated cause.
There is too much difficulty seeing.
Shore lines are indistinct
And we insist on judgements
That add sound, not clarity.
This spring all the pigs in Egypt were slaughtered.
An attempt to forestall Swine Flu.
It worked. No cases of Pig caused flu were reported.
How's that for a metaphor for the human condition?
Then proceed to make the conumdrum worse.
That in turns leads to rants,
Condemning those who did not support the misstated cause.
There is too much difficulty seeing.
Shore lines are indistinct
And we insist on judgements
That add sound, not clarity.
This spring all the pigs in Egypt were slaughtered.
An attempt to forestall Swine Flu.
It worked. No cases of Pig caused flu were reported.
How's that for a metaphor for the human condition?
Sneakers
I’ve have one pair of sneakers.
Pablo has 20.
Both Pablo and I have two feet.
Is there a question here?
Pablo’s sneakers do not fit me.
They will fit someone.
He should give away 19 pair,
Or 18 if he can justify a 2nd pair.
So many sneakers.
Morning coffee, walking the dogs
Cutting the grass, changing a light bulb,
Rainy weather, a pair for protest rallies.
How do such things happen?
Maybe sneaker police would change things.
People with excess sneakers
Would go to vigorous re-education.
Some people believe Pablo is certifiable.
I do not share that view.
I think with his first donation of a few pair of sneakers
He would feel the call and be saved.
Pablo has 20.
Both Pablo and I have two feet.
Is there a question here?
Pablo’s sneakers do not fit me.
They will fit someone.
He should give away 19 pair,
Or 18 if he can justify a 2nd pair.
So many sneakers.
Morning coffee, walking the dogs
Cutting the grass, changing a light bulb,
Rainy weather, a pair for protest rallies.
How do such things happen?
Maybe sneaker police would change things.
People with excess sneakers
Would go to vigorous re-education.
Some people believe Pablo is certifiable.
I do not share that view.
I think with his first donation of a few pair of sneakers
He would feel the call and be saved.
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