Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Seeking Justice (2 poems)



Author's Note:  I've never combined two poems in the same post before but these works seemed so related to me I figured I would try it.  The following are found poems.  Both are electronic communications from allies whose words and opinions I've come to value.

Picture of Me, Unbeknowst


This  is   icture is a picture of me taken the day of SMUG vs. Lively 
trial.   It was taken without my knowledge by someone from Mass 
Resistance, aLGBT hate group, who was there to support equally
anti-LGBT pastor Scott Lively as his lawyer motioned to dismiss a
 lawsuit broughtby a Ugandan LGBT group.   They also hate me, 
personally, because  I don't fit their warped stereotype of an 
LGBT person.


Source material: Mike Volkman's response to my Facebook post.  This response was sent at approximately midnight on January 15, 2013 EST.

So they like lipstick
lesbians and bull dykes;
 those are okay to hate
in the normal way,

but you are way off the charts
and they just don't know how to protect
the world from you?
 What kind of prayers can they come up
 with for your salvation?

 They can't figure that one out.
 
Breathe and Entreat 
Author's Note: I was supposed to attend this trial, but ongoing health concerns prevented my attendance.  This poem is my attempt to invoke the good well of the universe on behalf of Charles.

Source material: Daniel Keefe's e-mail of January 15, 2013 at 7:29 PM EST
 

Hello Friends - 

We are on the home stretch
of the Commonwealth v. Charles Wilhite trial.

 The prosecution, led by
Assistant District Attorney Blake Rubin
 finally rested their case today.

 Rubin belabored EVERYTHING
 day after day after day,
proving little.

Today, the defense introduced their case
 with refreshing crispness and punch.  

Tomorrow (Wednesday) the defense will rest
 their case, both sides will present closing arguments ,
and the judge will ask the jury to deliberate. 

We are so close to the end, but we are not there yet.
 We need to maintain our presence at the courthouse
tomorrow.  

Please join us a second-to-last time
 in the courtroom (the final time will be when the jury
announces the verdict) to show the world our support
for Charles and his family.  

We will be congregating on the sidewalk
outside the courthouse at 8:00 am for
a quick energizing loud and vibrant rally,
followed by court proceedings at 9:00am.  
Join us when you can!  
If you can't attend, you can do other things:
post on facebook, tweet, send positive vibes, pray.   

So many people have attended parts of the trial
(i'd guess there have been close to 150 different people).  
Thank you to everyone who has attended, in body
 and in spirit.

 We are almost there!  
Charles is almost there.  He has been
unjustly
imprisoned for 3 years, 3 months, and 29 days.

 We have heard this quote
 many times over the course
 of this campaign,
but now, on the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr,
it takes on special meaning: 

"The arc of the moral universe is long,
but it bends toward justice."  

keeping my fingers crossed - 
Dan 

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Mass Shooting #1

Source material:  First Malala, now teachers shot on bus   The Times UK  on January 03, 2013 12:00AM

GUNMEN
 on motorcycles sprayed
 a van carrying community centre
 employees with bullets yesterday,
 killing five female teachers
and two aid workers,
but sparing a child
 they took out of the vehicle
 before opening fire.

They were working
 at a centre in Swabi,
 a small city about 60km
 from Islamabad in the volatile
 Khyber Pakhtunhwa province,
 where gun and bomb attacks
 have been launched before on people
working to educate women.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Well Said...


Source material: Laurilie Plato of  LETHBRIDGE, CANADA, her comment on this petition on change.org

I am a parent with Asperger's
 who has children
 with Asperger's.

I am also studying psychology
and have access to the latest 
research in medical journals.

 Not one study has been done
 to prove that there is a cure
 for autism.

 Definitive research
 into the causes or a cure
 are impossible
 at this point because
there are too many factors involved.

 Mr. Best is not presenting
a "new idea".

He is presenting lies.
spreading hate and fear
and giving parents of children
with Asperger's false hope
in a cure that does not exist.