fighting fascism in my country

I'll never call him President.
Presidents don't tweet and bully,
lie and humiliate all who are not
white and male.
he is setting up the apparatus to destroy
my country, a country of immigrants, of freedom,
still one of hope.
I will fight, I will march, I will call,
I will speak against injustice,
I will send money,
Most of all, I promise myself that
I will not be silent.
I must not be silent.

Sulfamethoxazole fatigue

sulfamethoxazole:
bone crushing fatigue
gravity alone keeps a person from rising
in the morning
bones and muscles complain of being
too tired to move
yet
the dog must be walked
the birdfeeder is empty
I have a job
and sleep evades me.
so unfair and yet it's worth it
as in sleeplessness I do not cough
nor do I snore or sneeze
I am not banished to the upstairs bed
where the sheets are cold and lonely.
I just lie quietly in bed
listening to his rhythmic
breathing, feeling the warmth
of his body.

no response

every time i go east

i call, i text, i email

he used to have a separate bedroom

for his parakeet, Zola.

he never replies

even though he is a writer

of very short prose

it would not be that hard to

email me, text me, write me, phone me

send a postcard of Fenway Field,

i know he loves that place.

our backdoors once opened onto the 

same stairwell.

one year he gave me an address book

with a woodblock print on the front.

i still have it

it still has his address in it.

the power of imagination

Actually,

let's not be in the moment,

although

we swelter in the sun, our eyes peering through slits

towards shimmering mirages, our minds take us

to crystal-clear cenotes and Mayan ruins, the 

cool water flows over our bare skin.

let's not be here in the classroom, bored out of our minds,

when we can compose a symphony, conduct a 100

person orchestra.

we'll listen when there is something worth hearing.

where the human imagination can go,

let it go.

the cleaning of dirty dishes does not require the full mind.

I'd rather dream of walking through alpine meadows, 

imagining lying in the softest warmest bed with a good novel,

the dishes can mind their own selves,

they do not need my full attention.

possibilities

one can go anywhere.
across the expanses of deserts, along a beach,
up mountains, endless roadways facing the wind.
I'll be there.
there are endless possibilities
with a rain coat, a wind jacket and a good helmet,
a friend, a brother, myself with the songs
of birds on the wire.
we'll go anywhere with our hat in hand,
bound to earth by the steady hum of tire on pavement,
a whir of a motor helping us along.
we could all use a hand.
buy an electric bike.

Learning to carve a turkey

thank goodness for YouTube videos,

for sharp knives,

It's Thanksgiving and thank goodness

for friends and family who brought

apple pies and pumpkin pie,

for mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce,

brussel sprouts and freshly baked bread.

thank goodness for our lives,

how privileged are our lives.

in anticipation

in anticipation
of turkey, of friends and family,
of pumpkin and apple pies.
in anticipation of warmth and the smooth
feel of wine, of slippers on a cold floor,
of a dog that optimistically awaits left-overs.
in anticipation of thanksgiving,
or recognizing all we have to be thankful for,
of friends from far-away
met long ago,
those eating Italian food,
Russian and Vietnamese,
of sadness for those who have hunger
and pain, war and loss.
in anticipation
I await tomorrow,
a warm house welcoming
to all.