Greetings Earthlings:
The content in this post is a poem written a few weeks ago. I could not post it sooner because it was one of three poems entered in a contest. One of the others took second place. I will announce the details after publication.
On another subject, I noticed that Facebook is placing a lot of advertising on YouTube, and concluded that it might be losing ground. Somewhere, I read that people are leaving the platform because it is perceived as an “old people’s space.”
This strikes me as funny. At 73, I left the platform because of its owner’s affiliation with the current presidential administration. I noticed a shift in the content, and I generally am not fond of social media anyhow. I sometimes call it anti-social media. At this point, I only subscribe to Blue Sky Social and, reluctantly, to Instagram, and I am debating canceling those accounts.
I consider Subtack as a publishing platform, though it has some aspects of social media. Despite the growing presence of “notes” and “messaging,” I plan to continue for now.
I was also horrified by recent articles discussing the purchase and destruction of rare books to feed AI’s gaping maw and satisfy the need for more and more content to remain active. I was thinking of writing an article contrasting this action with Project Gutenberg, an organization that scans rare books and those for which copyright has expired, and makes the content available online for free. I would not be upset if someone else took that idea and ran with it.
My time is absorbed with producing a new book of poems, which I have tentatively titled “Resistance Poems.” Today’s offering is one of them.
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published
Invisible People (Out of sight, out of mind) What if we figured out how to use less packaging? What if we learned to live in harmony with nature? What if we found a way to feed the hungry people? What if we restored the dignity of hope to each person? What if it is not too late? We live in a society that says “Use and discard.” Landfills hold mountains of metal cans, Plastic bottles, and other assorted trash. What if it could stare back at us? Recycling centers overflow with trash That arrives faster than it can be processed. Could we use less packaging? Rivers overflow with brown, fertile soil washed to the sea as streambank erosion kills Hellbender Salamanders. Auctioneers sell farms to developers Who cover the land with condos. Farmers go bankrupt as people starve, But we once bragged that we could feed the world. Stories of the Epstein Files abound, and the Discarded girls must wonder how this Could have happened to them. Cities offer homeless people one-way Bus tickets to any destination they choose. I risk being labeled a nuisance when I choose to feed a hungry person. Our government gives wildlife refuges To businesses that can pay rent because Wildlife pays no cash. Cities tell people that the grass they see From a paved walkway is nature. There is no use in going to Yellowstone Where a bear will eat you. Cities kill bears because they are expanding their range. Society falls apart because it too Is disposable, but what if we found another way. What if we figured out how to use less packaging? What if we learned to live in harmony with nature? What if we found a way to feed the hungry? What if we restored the dignity of hope to each person? What if it is not too late?
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