Join Diane, MotherOwl, Mimi, and me as we have fun and exercise our brains to write a poem on this intriguing topic. Or you can choose a different topic altogether. You can leave your poem in the comments, or post on your own blog. If you do the latter, please leave a comment so we can find you and your poem.
*****
Occasionally I find it necessary to exercise my brain while not exactly having "fun" as advertised above. Today's post is one of those times.
I mostly draw a firm line around what I will post here, avoiding things political, but the casual and cold-blooded killing of a black man by a white man in the United States - yet again - followed by the casual and cold-blooded response from the current occupant of the White House, has sent me well over that line.
And then there are the protests. And the riots.
And the President's inflammatory responses to both.
I apologize to readers who come here for something light.
Today, lightness is not enough.
I struggled with how much of my opinion to share, and how to do it. I hope I have not reduced my thoughts to mushy pap, although I fear I have. I did a lot of typing, and a lot of deleting, and I'm still struggling.
If I am ranting and raving, am I building toward a solution?
If I don't speak up at all, am I part of the problem?
The fact that I'm Canadian, not American, cannot and does not keep me from stating the truth: The President's poison is spreading across the United States and it is killing that country.
*****
The Choice
On the one hand are builders
The ones who you find
Laying foundations
Respectful and kind
Together with others who
Build from each side
They meet in the middle
And bridge the divide
But then there are those who
Prefer us on edge
They drive folks apart
Using words as a wedge
They pour on the gasoline
Fake their concern
Then they smile ... strike a match
... and watch the land burn
 |
We all need this ... |
 | ||
... not this |
I hope we all have a chance to build a bridge of some kind this week. It will make a better world.
*****
I wholeheartedly agree with your rant obout America's president. I was totally unsurprised to hear that when he rang George Floyd's family he didn't listen to them or allow them to speak.
ReplyDeleteMartin Luther King Jnr's words seem entirely appropriate to me.
'He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.'
Thank you for speaking out.
I am glad to see the protests happening but worried that the riots are overshadowing the message. It is sad that we no longer feel surprised by what Trump does, only sick of it. He is so predictable in his destructiveness, and those with whom he has surrounded himself are enabling it.
DeleteGood for you, Jenny, wrong is wrong and right is right. One thing that's been keeping me from losing it amid all of this is the way disparate groups of folks are coming together to say enough is enough of this tomfoolery. As I saw on Twitter a little while ago "who knew corona would blow a 28 to 3 lead to racism?"
ReplyDeleteBut I have a bridge story, because I've pretty much always got a story:
My favorite bridges are tune-o-matics, so much so that when Rob traded a car for one of Saint's '67 SGs and gave it to me, I had work to do to turn it into my favorite guitar ever.
See, whoever had it before Saint had put one of those one piece Leo Kwan Badass bridge and tailpiece things on it, and I found it annoying. So Briana got me a tune-o-matic bridge and a stop tailpiece and I installed them myself.
It took more than a week, as the mounting holes were in the wrong place and there were two too few of them, but with a compass, an exacto knife and a Dremel tool I got the new ones right where they needed to be. What took all of my off work waking hours for a week to do that was the fact that the two existing holes were in the right place except too close together, and I had to make these little wooden half moons to fill in the area next to where the bridge mounts went. I used to be a machinist, so I took that task seriously, and when I put the wooden spacers and the bridge mounts in place with some strong epoxy, almost all of the epoxy came back out of the holes when I squeezed them in there.
I let it dry for 24 hours, fixed the paint with a black marker, and set it up with brand new strings and voila! It played perfectly in tune.
Well, as close to perfectly in tune as a guitar will play, which is never really perfect.
I gave the Badass bridge away to someone and played the hell out of that guitar until it was stolen from me in a burglary that I have already written about here (I think): the one that got me to start smoking again after I had quit the first time.
But anyway, that's my story about bridges, and looking at the video coming out of Oakland this weekend, man am I ever glad to be living up on this mountainside.
-Doug in Sugar Pine
My thoughts were the same when I saw what's been happening in Oakland, Doug - I'm glad you're away from that too.
DeleteI hadn't even thought about bridges on musical instruments for this theme! It sounds like you have a pretty deep knowledge of that kind of bridges. It's cruddy that your guitar was stolen - stealing and vandalism make me see red. The feeling of having someone just TAKE things that they haven't worked for, or destroy things that aren't theirs ... it's invasive and maddening.
I hope the riots settle down and the protests are able to come to the forefront again. The protests are getting lost in the mix. And I hope you get a new president ASAP. That one's due date was past before he was even sworn in.
I love the different takes creative people imagine with a topic!
DeleteYours brought back memories of when Husby and I were first married and he played bass in a cover band. They were good. I still can see him wailing on his Gibson Ripper. Good memories!
I love your poem, it's true we need more bridges and less of the divide.
ReplyDeleteIt's harder to build bridges than to keep protecting "our" position, but it's the only way to progress. Thanks for reading, River.
DeleteNo other word than brilliant.
ReplyDeleteYour post yesterday gave me extra courage to breach the no-politics line, Andrew. Although I deleted the more fiery parts because they weren't helpful :)
DeleteWe are imploding because of hate and/or acceptance of hate. Trump didn’t start it, he just fanned the flames. He is despicable, but we all have to answer for our silence and deferring to the status quo. Obama talked about this over and over and and his words were praised but no one really listened and we all went about our business thinking that eventually things would change without doing anything. We are good, generous people but we have allowed this ignorance to destroy so many lives and things must change, our culture must change. It certainly won’t if we don’t all take a part in it.
ReplyDeleteTrump is very good at one thing only - making things worse. There are so many fine people in your beautiful country, Arleen. I feel very badly about those on the receiving end of racism AND those who find it deplorable but are drowned out -- and frightened, as kind people often are -- by those who perpetuate the racism. I am glad to see the protests happening, but their message is being lost in the mess of the rioting. I hope the violence ends and the change begins soon, but I fear none of that will happen until Trump is out.
DeleteJenny, what a lovely poem. I completely understand how you must have struggled with writing this, but thank you so much for doing so as it reflects how many of us feel right now. I struggled with my effort for an entirely different reason. Initially I couldn't think of a thing to say about bridges, but then this one came to almost fully formed. A pity about the last 2 lines, which I feel are rather weak. However, maybe as it is in a lighter vein it will serve to brighten your day a little.
ReplyDeleteBridges
There are bridges for getting from A to B
There are bridges to burn and bridges to cross
There are bridges of wood and bridges of iron
And old stone bridges textured with moss.
There are bridges to stop your feet getting wet
And bridges to sail under in a small boat
But the best of all bridges for Pooh and his friends
Is the bridge they stand on to watch pooh sticks float.
I LOVE the last two lines, Heather! I think they're the perfect ending! I have to admit I didn't know what pooh sticks were until I Googled it, but it all made sense then - hah
DeleteBridges was a difficult topic for several of us, it seems :) Thank you for another fine poem.
Beautifully done!
DeletePooh Sticks is our family’s favourite game! Into the 3rd generation now...
And you’re definitely right—those are the best bridges of all!
Powerful. I'm glad you said this as it's exactly what's going on.
ReplyDeleteAnd how much more damage is Trump going to do before the rebuilding can begin? It's a scary thought.
DeleteWell said. My heart is heavy too.
ReplyDeleteIt's awful. And the George Floyd death is only the latest in a long line of needless and horrific deaths due to skin colour. It's crazy, and the racism is absolutely being fed by Trump.
DeleteWe need to build bridges between me and thee
ReplyDeleteSo I see who you are and you can see me.
Exactly, Marie! You have a way of compressing so much into just a few lines. This is the whole message. Thank you for that.
DeleteYes wee need more bridges, not more vitriol. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteIt can be very tempting to lash out against the perpetrators but I think it ends up just being venting. It's not really helpful.
DeleteDaddy always told us that everyone wants to make their mark in the world. Positive people do it by building. Negative people do it by destroying. He would always ask us who we were. Builders? Or destroyers.
ReplyDeleteI knew always what I wanted my answer to be!
You had a smart father, Diane. I wish more people had fathers like yours!
DeleteBe thankful you don't live here...
ReplyDeleteIndeed, I am thankful, e. I think about my blog friends and worry about them (including you) every time another crisis happens there.
DeleteYour poem is excellent and fits the situation well. I agree completely with all you have said here. I also deleted a lot of words before I posted my blog today. But I feel you are correct in what you said: If I don't speak up at all, am I part of the problem?
ReplyDeleteThank you Jenny, and bless you for your understanding and kindness.
And thank you for those kind words, Bonnie. It's so hard to know what to do when things get this bad, isn't it?
DeleteThanks, Jenny. It's been a very bad week. In fact, it's been a very bad three plus years.
ReplyDeleteIndeed it has. It seems like there is no bottom of the barrell, it's just down down down forever.
DeleteAn excellent observation about taking the time to build bridges.
ReplyDeleteSpikesBestMate, i really enjoyed that one!
Please excuse my not addressing the topic of politics. Because in the written medium you cannot tell tone of voice or read body language, i prefer to have such discussions in person, although i have no objection to people writing what they please on their own blogs.
That's a valid point, Mimi. And I have no objection to readers passing on commenting!
DeleteI do hope we can build that bridge because we need to do something quickly before it's too late. I am scared to think what he might do if he loses the election. Hang in there, take care and thank you for sharing your lovely words.
ReplyDeleteYou're not the only one worried about the president's reaction if he loses. He's such a destructive force.
DeleteMy heart is heavy today Jenny but thanks for posting this. Some things are too important to be hushed up and swept under the carpet. It's time to build that bridge with friendship and respect. x
ReplyDeleteWe need to try every day, even when it's hard and even when others are not doing it.
Deletei have always found bridges fascinating dear Jenny
ReplyDeletethey do what i love most in this world
"connect "
must be most favorite job of creator as when we look at nature everything seems to create bridge within and around ,that is how it works indeed "by connecting "
i think in the world of today we need them more than ever
hope you are perfectly alright my friend and enjoying your spring to it's fullest
sending lots of love and best wishes on your way!
We surely do need bridges more than ever - symbolic as well as real.
DeleteIt's been such a tough time lately. As if the virus wasn't enough. My heart aches for the brutal killing of George Floyd. I cannot imagine the grief the people who loved him are experiencing.
ReplyDeleteIt's horrifying and I would be enraged as well as grieving. It was just so, so wrong.
DeleteSadly, your poem is far too true. What a heartbreaking and toxic situation.
ReplyDeleteToxic is an excellent description. It's difficult to see it play out.
Delete