Choice by IC Imagination
Signposts
Somewhere along the way we
were shown boundaries:
blue states here
over there reds,
and some got it into their heads
that signposts pointing left
and others pointing right
would help them hold tight
to America's true path, would m o v e
them along to the best destination,
or toward destiny
or providence
and if their side prevails--hence
only then could they rejoice.
But were the boundaries and
the signposts ever truly their choice?
Are they really m o v e r s-and-shakers?
Or did values turn the people into
joe-and-jane milquetoast & jam
up the center to spread out
these pledge-takers?
MLydiaM ~ June 2012
Written for Poetics—It's a matter of Choice.. at dVerse Poets.
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Signs, signs, everywhere there's signs
ReplyDelete[F...in'] up the scenery, breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the signs.
~ The Five Man Electrical Band
Well, the one on the right was on the left
And the one in the middle was on the right
And the one on the left was in the middle
And the guy in the rear was a Methodist.
~ Johnny Cash
At the crossroads
stood a Bear
uncertain there of what to do
with all these signposts
red and blue
pointing each and every way.
The messages buzzed
inside his head —
a great cacophony.
It seemed the signs
began to twirl,
turned kaleidoscopic,
in his eyes
and in his mind
only adding
to the
Bear's pain
and confusion.
Bear closed his eyes,
then turned his back
to escape
the sensory
inundation.
Bear returned to the bush
where the shrillest voice
belonged to
the chatty jay
overhead.
Bear vowed again
to live
by the simpler law —
the law of the jungle:
honour, loyalty,
duty, courtesy
friendship, obedience,
perseverance, cleanliness, and
thrift.
nice political bent in this...i think we are more shattered than ever honestly...and if we think we really are the decision makers here we are sorely confused...money talks and paints the states blue or red...
ReplyDeleteMilquetoast- eeewww- terribly soggy stuff- at least in my memory. You are right the roads split too often
ReplyDeleteand the signs are misleading! thanks.
Love the political commentary, Lydia--the mushy middle that won't pay attention is almost worse than the idealogues who at least *think* they've made a choice.
ReplyDeleteI like the biting nature of this. In '68 I was liking the counter-culture and its politics. I was in Chicago and with the SDS at the Democratic convention. And in '72 the convention in Miami. By that time, the counter-culture had gotten self-absorbed and into drug escapism. It was inevitable, but we left a mark....I hope.
ReplyDeleteOne day the 'divide and conquer' game will stop being effective. Occupy and the Scott Walker protests have already showed that day might not be so far off.
ReplyDeleteLydia, how wonderfully clear and succinct and compassionate and hopeful!
ReplyDeleteI hesitated over the 'hopeful' because you did not express a solution to what you describe; but the hope is in the heart of the reader, who sees that all its not lost when the people, as embodied by yourself, have such clarity.
Rob-bear~ My-oh-my, Bear has been unleashed into the world of poetry and it is wondrous indeed.
ReplyDeleteBrian~ I do hear ya on all counts. But come time to volunteer on a campaign I will probably regain my hope...
izzy~ I think some of the signs are extremely misleading. An informed voter is a smart voter, but we sure need to fact-check most all information. :)
hedgewitch~ What an interesting take on the middle. I'm not sure who that includes anymore, and what you wrote no doubt has a lot of credence to it.
mythopolis~ Your past political activism not only left a mark, but even to today I find myself grateful to you for doing it.
susan~ Perhaps but it seems it will be a part of this Presidential election. And I am still shaking my head over what happened in Wisconsin.
Vincent~ Thank you. Your comment gave me heart. Not kidding, because I really have not felt that good about this poem. Maybe it goes to what you mentioned: that I did not address a proposed solution. The frustration is that I don't have one. I just wish that everyone would realize that our time together as residents on this planet is fleeting--& we don't need everything we want, and that we should work together to preserve it for future generations.
Oh, the blindness represented by both those colors. Guilty of being part of hedgewitch's "mushy middle" but would like to think that I pay attention. Just don't know how to act on it--other than vote what passes for "conscience." What is it that Yeats wrote? "The best lack all conviction, while the worst/Are full of passionate intensity."
ReplyDeleteSigh...
You might be interested in what the Black Agenda Report had to say about Wisconsin. It was one of the best explanations I read.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me, what was once good, truthful personal values, has turned into a clash of egos looking for something to be against in a bid to reinforce identity and self-importance. It's a crisis...
ReplyDeleteds~ There is nothing mushy about voting your conscience! And anyone who would share that amazing Yeats quote is certainly a more thoughtful citizen than many.
ReplyDeletesusan~ I am sure I will be interested in it. Will bookmark to read in quiet time. Thank you.
Stickup Artist~ Read your quote over several times and I think it is brilliant! It is a "quotable quote" for our Time, followed by the most succinct three-word summary. I'm proud to know ya!