My twin sister wanted to say “hi” to Edna, a neighbor lady
Someone I had not seen in fifty years
I was not keen, having never liked her.
But my sister insisted, so I said “okay” after a lot of begging.
We stopped at Edna’s house.
My twin rang the doorbell.
Edna came outside.
I heard her say “Hi Carolyn!” in a delighted way
Then she saw me and said “Caren what HAVE you been EATING?”
a reminder that I outweigh my twin sister by forty pounds.
Racing against time.
Sailing the hustle tide.
We work where odds outweigh opportunity.
We don't follow systems, we make them.
Children of the soil, barefoot and unshaken.
Belief, the only wealth we ever owned.
Pots kept breaking at the doorway,
So we removed the doors.
We eat what we grow,
but we also grow from what we never had.
No silver spoons,
Just wooden hope and fire-wrapped plans.
They taught us to dream inside lines,
we bled outside them instead.
They named it poverty,
we called it process.
They called it humble beginnings
we saw blueprints.
Brick by broken brick,
we wrote futures with no permission.
Education should empower.
But does the system liberate or sentence?
Everything indoctrination.
Freed in cages,
by systems shaped to look like freedom.
I may have missed the glittering prize,
The fleeting gold that dims the skies.
But deep within, a stillness grows,
A garden where the true light flows.
The noise outside, a restless sea,
Where storms of envy seek to be.
Yet in my heart, a quiet spring,
Where hope and healing softly sing.
The workday’s battlefield of spite,
Where shadows lurk to steal the light.
Their words like arrows, sharp and cold,
But I’ve learned wisdom can’t be sold.
To walk away is strength unseen,
A guardian of the soul serene.
No coin or crown can outweigh peace,
The sacred gift that grants release.
For riches fade and glory dies,
But calm remains beneath the skies.
I choose the path where silence reigns,
Beyond the reach of selfish chains.
A pale ray bleeds
across the swamp.
Slick ivy coils tangled tight,
choking voices into damp grass
hissing...love?
—drowned before heard—
They say Mother Nature provides
but she doesn’t shield—
we live for ourselves,
as the swamp feasts on our marrow.
She taught us:
you either hide from
or become
the man-eating ripples.
You have to get your shoes dirty
to not be swallowed.
“The water,” my mother warned,
“takes the ones you love.
But remember:
love could
never
outweigh survival.”
Edvard's exile could not deter
the course as it flowed
or blood that drove
through his body
life had to change
when the soldiers came
bringing tanks and arms of oppression
machines of war rolled and crushed
Europe was hushed
marching on the 15th
raising flags and ideals
London resigned to opening doors
a haven of sorts
for a few
families and friends
were left to defend
breaking cogs to dismantle and hinder
the view
hiding to assemble
coded messages
that were shared and leaked
though aggression peaked
proving too strong to overcome
yet hearts still beat
and there lay a pulse
duty could not be ignored
as the voices aligned
with a throbbing increase
representing a nation
two and more gave themselves
and rose to the call of the people
standing up
proving no longer the victim
for human passion will smash and smelt iron
selflessly with a cost that would seem to outweigh
the weight of a loss
of one soulless life
we remember that day
the 27th of May
when Jan and Josef gave their all for the fight
and with them hope and freedom were alive.
May we be blessed to understand a beautiful day
is not necessarily a day when everything is perfect…
Sometimes things within a day make us happy
Sometimes they make us sad…
What makes a day a beautiful day is:
when the good things outweigh the bad.
Inclement
Of course, skies are not always clear
our Inclement Mother – we give a pass
for the flowers and crops seem to outweigh
the floods and drownings – besides, we choose
where we reside and pray – even God disadvantaged
often by our resident churches. Sadly, Love Offerings
are not so different, from other commodities: 10% or
be damned! Silver or gold is OK, even man’s processed
paper stand-in just as good...got to admit, a hell of
a price to pay, if faith and community are in the same
pocket. I have no measure outside my heart...which I
try to keep open.
It all started like a loose joke
As thoughtful emotions set in
Gradually spreading within him
With the basements slowly wavering
That the lion emerged roaring
Earned nothing when he fought hard
Impalas roused him up when he had rest
Lost recognition as he intensely roared
Crowned a king if he couldn't run
Which sounded openly skeptical
Should I relax? He pondered
Why not catch the prey?
Is battling wise? He questioned
Why not settle for less?
Pitifully, he'd to promptly decide
Is recognition or satisfaction?
To feel powerful and proud
For helping him survive in the wild
In achieving vitality and balance
Does honor outweigh fulfilment?
Irrespective of how beautiful was a song
With how boiled inside he was among
And against odds it all belong
All of it was then named wrong
Yet none of it was deemed strong
A war has been on going in my mind,
Of sinful thoughts and bad habits.
So I had to delete the source,
Get back on the right course.
I gave the gram power over my life,
Fiercely driving and consuming me.
I kept feeding it like an addiction,
Still my appetite was left empty.
I felt in my spirit God say pull,
Pull the plug, like a rug under my feet.
An awful compulsion of hiding and seeking,
If this was court, the verdict would be guilty.
Stuck between the traps and temptations,
I made a change like flicking a switch.
Flushed the urge from my system,
Renewed reposition and confidence.
The desire to stay relevant,
Shouldn’t outweigh development.
It’s hard to avoid the trends,
But it’s worth it in the end.
Giant pony-like puppy does not take no for an answer
A grizzly is less aggressive; he intentionally steps on my toes
If he gets any bigger, he will outweigh a giant boar
If I try to write, he runs off with my pencil in his mouth
Do I dare paint?
Painting is out. He has devoured many brushes.
He loves the attention and demands more of it.
Some times he runs full weight at me
Jumping on my recliner and tipping me.
A giant puppy who is usually wet.
We are unsure where all this water is coming from.
He has stolen our hearts, commandeering our home.
Changing our lives in enormously funny ways.
We can not fathom life without him.
Life of Needs and Wants
We begin our lives from the start of our birth to only thinking of our needs to slowly gravitate to not only needs but also wants. Here we will remain for many years to come fulfilling our needs and dreams of our wants. As years go by often to find we struggle for our needs because of our wants like a mouse racing on a carousel.
When and if we are lucky enough to reach those golden years our life goes full circle back to just the needs and no more wants are important. You look back upon the circle of your life knowing the circle will soon close and those needs of family, love, friends and the simple things in life far outweigh the wasted years of wants that brought you back to the simple needs that really are what made your life complete.
I don't believe in miracles
but I see them every day -
A father getting sober,
someone being saved
They'll live to tell their story,
while others meet their fate
I don't believe in miracles,
but I see them every day -
One's life shouldn't outweigh several,
everyone deserves to be saved
Algorithm Almighty?
By Mark D. Stucky
Will AI’s promise
outweigh its peril?
Do we need more intelligence
even if it is not our own?
If AI someday emulates God or Devil,
will it be too late for us when we find out?
In spite of unquantifiable questions,
almighty algorithms relentlessly grow.
But accelerating AI worries me less
than declining human collective wisdom.
After centuries of expanding knowledge,
people now appear increasingly foolish.
Machines continually get smarter
while populations keep acting dumber.
We might have more to fear
from how we harm ourselves,
as we continue endless conflicts,
than from any ill AI causes us.
Our most dangerous menace isn’t AI.
The deadliest threat to us…is us.
(See also my poems “Haikus Against AI” and “Weapons of Wonder.”)
(Image from anonymous artist on pixabay.com/illustrations/man-face-surreal-imagination-845847/.)
I’ve said this a thousand times and still I can never say it enough. Being a mother is the hardest and most thankless job there is and yet they do it for free. In my mother’s eyes, “the needs of the family would always outweigh the needs of the one.” After all the bills were paid, the groceries bought and safely stored away in their larders, you might see her in the store, eyeing that new dress, or new pair of shoes or whatever items that she would have liked to have. She would even go so far as to pick it up, turn it over in her hands and possibly even put it in her cart. But by the time she left the store, it would still be sitting on the shelf. Because, in her words she could get by with what she had. Besides, one of the kids might need something between now and next payday. I think that most mothers are pretty much the same. This is why we have a special day set aside just for them. So pick up the phone, give them a call. They don’t want fancy presents or flowers. They just want you to tell them you love them. Trust me one day you’ll wake up and realize that there’s no phones in heaven.
A simple phone call
maybe a hug and a kiss—
Gives moms all they want
a friction of a sense,
is a friction of a power
fear is a sense of fear
fear is a sense of friction
a sense is a sense of fear
a sense is a sense of friction
knowledge is power,knowledge is fear,knowledge is friction
power is a sense of knowledge
power is a sense of fear
knowledge fear fear
fear outweigh fear
fear is a power of fear
outweigh power,outweigh fear
knowledge outweigh knowledge
knowledge is a chapter of fear
knowledge is a chapter of knowledge
fear is a chapter of fear
fear outweigh fear to a chapter of fear
a chapter outweigh a chapter
a sense is a sense of a chapter
a sense is a sense of power
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