14TH ST. AND MADISON AVE., MANHATTAN, NEW YORK
Peddlers peddle pressed images of Obama
like counterfeit Gucci or Prada printed handbags
and I wonder if his message of ‘change’ will lose it’s way
along the hustle and bustle of making a buck.
T-shirts and buttons read: ‘Yes We Can’.
MAIN STREET, MACON, GEORGIA
My girl’s mom’s a nurse; her step-dad’s in construction.
They’re both out of work and about to lose their house.
It’s a shame when an ex-con can’t apply for food stamps to help
an ailing wife who’s savings support pharmaceutical lobbyist.
YESTERDAY
With Women’s Suffrage and the Sexual Revolution,
campaigns like: ‘I can do anything boys can do but better’
helped paved the way for girls to raze glass ceilings.
Meanwhile, little boys weren’t inspired to be much as men.
(It’s a good thing we have sports, drugs, and hip-hop.)
TODAY
There are more degrees earned by women
and ‘educated’ men aren’t easy to find.
But those who make it know their worth.
Someone’s vested interest put stock in them.
So these men are valued commodities.
Pressure makes diamonds.
BACK ON 14th ST., UNION SQUARE
A vagrant waggles a clear plastic Dunkin Donuts
Coolatta, Café, Latte, Iced ‘cold beverage only’ cup
looking for change different from what Barak promises.
But all our pockets hurt during these belt tightening times.
So my girl cancels holiday plans as she pays her mom’s bills;
still worried about the cost of meds with no insurance—
mom’s been in and out of hospitals for two years,
and haven’t worked for a year and a half.
It doesn’t matter if she used AIG.
It’s the economy.
ON CAMPAIGN TRAILS
There’s no chicken in every pot. The car needs oil.
And a marshal’s note decorates the garage door.
One income doesn’t suffice anymore.
Author notes
"...things started going bad here six years ago..." I like this lots!
Not even two years in this fool's administration!
In 1928, repug-li-can't (as Artis would say) Hoover ran on the platform of "A chicken in every pot and a car in a every garage". Not even a year after he was in office, the market crashed. Though the crash wasn't his fault (wholly) he wasn't voted in for a second term.
Let's hope the polls aren't lying. Let's hope Barak doesn't nap (like the hare vs. the Mc-tortise). And let's hope all votes are counted. Because, I'm hoping he leads like the greatest president this great nation had during the Great Depression. Let's hope for another great generation.
Now wouldn't THAT be great?
Um... Yeah...
Comments
1 - 13 of 13
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Makes you think. This was much needed. Your voice is HUGE!
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Hmmm Hmmm
These are harrowing facts because yes we can has a long course to run and as well meaning as I truly feel Obama is...he is one man and there's so much else on the other sides of this issue of a deteriorating economy but again these are the facts and you state them to the teeth. Obama can not heal this economy alone but I believe in a higher power and that there is a need for a greater intervention. Sorry for getting all spiritual -smile. Excellent commentary Dez.
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Today, I got an email. that shared all the stores closing nationwide. The list went on and on. I am an optimist, and a praying woman so, I hope things get better for us all. Our future president was given an incredible task. That great task involves a healing of this nation; spiritually, physically, mentally, and financially. I believe that he can make the necessary changes if he has pour support.
You, dear Dez, you are doing your part. For all who are suffering...I don't know who made this quote famous but;
"It's always darkest before dawn". It is a new day and I feel movement. We have to all make like we are moving, no matter what!
HANG ON!
Your poetry makes us know the circumstances of so very many and it also offers up a heaping full of HOPE!
Much Love Always ♥
Renee
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you are the voice that I want to hear, because it makes me savor every word, and sentiment...like you I hope, this "change" is the real thing...I have faith.
But back to your arite, Dez I can't wait to read your first novel..."Your Voice" is vital in today's world.
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Amen brother…*sigh*
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You always have such a strong voice on social issues! A very deep and thoughtful write!
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This is a rivetting read, Dez, and you make a lot of political points. Even though I'm not American and know relatively little about US politics, your writing makes a lot of sense to me.
Excellent work,
Bill
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Some bitter truth here, that elections and the need for change don't run together...things started going bad here six years ago...when we began to systematically look the other way while the bush administration fed their political friends OUR economic future. We should have been building infrastructure to put people to work here, investing in clean fuels produced here; investing in our own people with universal health-care...it would cost two months of Iraq to insure us all even with the incredible greed of medical corporations and pharmaceutical companies... or $35 billion if you deal in dollars... we could have new industries producing high tech solar paneling for rooftops ...imagine the energy we waste on a sunny day in a major city?
So it is not really about Mr. Obama, its about the faces in the mirror in 120 million households, and when will we finally say...i want my government to do its share, to help make life better...HERE.
The American people are at least as deserving as the millionaires getting the benefit of the financial bailout
ooopps...who put that soapbox here... PK -
I can't exactly figure out if this is supporting Obama or not. On one hand he's promising change and wants to make things better. On the other hand, his plans to raise taxes won't be making things easier for people who already struggle to pay the bills. Just some political thoughts, that's all. This is very well written and paints an vivid picture of the society we've found ourselves in.
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Deeeeeeeeeepp!
love the structure.., yeah one income painful in these time..very hard truth presented here, and a two thumbs up!
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You said a mouthful in truth here!
A change of centered must be the mantra of our
Expected Commander and Chief. He appears to have good intentions and hopefully,not just pulling the wooled threads over our eyes like a master puppeteer. Question is. "how do we keep um down on the farm,after they've seen the greed they'll see?" I see him as a strong man with a cool mind in calm. But the muck we're drowning in now would swallow the strongest of us.He's going to need clean hands around him to muster repairs we need. Washington isn't known for that! Incidently,I watched him headed down the street to his Grandmom's apartment on CNN. I saw the little boy pondering what to say and do in his step. He's the real deal and looked human. Hope he can maintain that humanity always for himself,family and all of us. Tough row to hoe! I don't envy his task at all.
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Dez my friend,
when you set out to make your points poetically you do it with panache, this isn't a rant but a revelation in the chapter of what is gospel.
In the first stanza you use alliteration well, the usage of counterfit goods to still feed the appetites of consumerism at a cost that can be met buy those seeking what they percieve to be the purity of brand names, alongside the pressed images of Obama, liked the nuance, the inference that he is pressed into a shape onto the streets and priced as much as everyone/everyone else maybe.
"Yes you can" The irony is we can goods, produce placed in a tin is canned, somethings are in the can...those buttons and badges are just as pressed into a space that is confined.
Liked " vested interest put stock in them" Neat.
"Pressure makes diamonds" Yes pressure may make diamonds, I like that line, yet to that pressure needs to be for a long time to make a diamond from any kind of carbon anywhere it's mined. And the women who got their degrees because those heroines in the past risked life and liberty to allow them equality...believe me it isn't easier for women to learn and earn just because men now let them earn and learn whilst they run homes, see to their husbands needs, their children's needs et al. Whether male or female anyone that shines after pressure deserves equal space to shine on the shelf surely?
The last stanza brings home the bacon " there isn't a chicken in every pot" Yes everyone's car needs oil and one income doesn't suffice and two barely do. This whole list of societal and political ingredients is beyond even Colonel Sanders to cook up a finger lickin' recipe that can be served to the masses at a price they can afford to pay even, even, if they are sold it with a "have a nice day"
Hey, forgive the rambling, so many points within this well written piece that just run with the baton, you handed it to me and I ran with it too.
Olympian Poetry
In the Stadium
For the People
Kudos
One
Yvette
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Very thought provoking piece here my friend. Brings out a lot of truths and reality that seem to always be present in our societies. Great job!
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