The Senior Covid Blues --------------- I have read many articles about the virus particles that swirl about and sneak into our noses. I know it takes tenacity to keep one’s lung capacity and not look up and see the roots of roses! According to virology my system’s etiology does put me in the high risk covid group. A condition preexisting has my internist insisting if I get it then my future looks like poop. But I’ll strive for the achievement of avoiding my bereavement to be standing when the next rhyme contest starts! I will fight evil creations of lethal virus mutations that prefer to feast on lungs of we old farts! Doing proper isolation I might miss the titivation a mortician would perform upon my hair. Maybe after vaccination I will not need ventilation to assist me with inhaling clean fresh air! One afterthought, don’t criticize and say that bad taste underlies this poetry and claim it makes things worse because I won’t apologize for rhyming while I strategize about avoiding being in a hearse! ---------------------------------- Of Threats to Democracy
-------------------------------- The essence of democracy is that a person never be afraid to freely speak what’s in their heart. A blessing of democracy is that an artist can be free to fearlessly create a work of art. There was a time not so long past when one idea we held fast was the unquestioned right to free expression. But such is not the case today civility has waned away society has undergone regression. The rules have changed in recent years. It’s animus, hatred and fears that dominate. We all have become callous. And anyone who dares to say that decreed truth is not the way is ostracized and targeted with malice. If one speaks anything taboo that’s reason enough to undo a lifetime of good deeds and honest service. To utter one single bad word means henceforth you should not be heard! That type of thinking should make us all nervous. We say that someone should be fired further discourse not desired and excised from the realm of public thought! Since past behavior matters not and decades of good deeds mean squat all products that they make should not be bought! And thus because of constant fear that someone listening who’s near might misconstrue, misquote or unemploy us we keep our thoughts suppressed inside and feel compelled to always hide our real beliefs so no one can destroy us. The precious right to civil speech is something we must not impeach. It is because of it we came to be. The right to express reasoned thought apparently must be re-taught. It is the linchpin of democracy. I ask of those who scream and shout to drown a disagreement out for one brief second please just lend an ear. To see what is the greatest threat to our democracy as yet stand and look into the nearest mirror. ----------------- Lee Goldberg (aka Rantingsenior) is a writer who lives in Naperville, Illinois. He is retired and has worked in a variety of areas including computer programming and network administration. > https://classicalpoets.org/2021/02/03/the-senior-covid-blues-by-lee-goldberg/