Thom Woodruff :
VERSE | Three poems

Digital World. Image from Wikimedia Commons.


SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTION

WE ARE RUNNING OUT
of hugs, kisses, cuddles (personal contact)
and our world has now turned virtual/digital
Like being told you can ONLY have online banking
or that your credit card has been hacked
The lack of personal community is a loss
How many hugs in an open mic?
How many eye to eye contacts
that cannot be replaced by ZOOM Meetups?
Pot lucks are gone-the sharing of food
can never be a FACEBOOK photo of a meal.
Neither a revolution, nor evolution-
more a retrograde flattening of the curve
so the virus does not steal all our lives
But part of our lives is strictly personal-
Parts of us are missing and will never return
Somewhere, in the Cloud, are our Real Lives
More than Smartphone SD cards, more than computer hard drives.


WE,THE PEOPLE OF THE UNUNITED STATES

WE LISTEN TO OUR LEADERS, THEN CHANGE THEM WHEN
they are not as truthful as doctors sharing our true condition.
We vote them out because we can, despite gerrymandering,
despite voter suppression and misinformation. We change them
like dim light bulbs, because they are no longer fit for service.
We change them because we have changed-and they do not listen.
We change them when we change ourselves-in community and self-reliance.
We continue conversation with those who speak the truth
because our very lives depend upon this. It is not up for debate.
If you do not represent us, please do not pretend. We, The People
created the Constitution and this Bill of Rights-and the Bill is due.
Pay back all you have taken, and let public service begin again.
Elections are just the tip of the iceberg. Everything has changed.
So we must change everything.


WE CAN NOT GO BACK

SO CLOSE WE CAME!
Carbon emissions fell
Ozone layer hole healed
Animals claimed habitat
Water quality improved
Oil had no customers
The past never worked
yet out they come-unmasked as ambition
Seeking a return to profits-@the expense of civilians
Health more important than greed
Community our real need-to learn what works
so we do not have to repeat. Repeat
Spanish Flue epidemic. Nor SARS/nor MERS
World has moved on. We must, too.
Who is in charge of your life?…you…


Thom Woodruff
Austin


[Austin poet Thom Woodruff (Thom the World Poet) was named State of Texas Beat Poet Laureate, 2020-2022, by the National Beat Poetry Foundation, Inc.]

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2 Responses to Thom Woodruff :
VERSE | Three poems

  1. Austin poet Thom Woodruff (Thom the World Poet) was named State of Texas Beat Poet Laureate, 2020-2022, by the National Beat Poetry Foundation, Inc. This is well deserved.
    Thank you my friend keep up the poetry.

  2. Mariann Wizard says:

    Keeping the beat in beatnik!
    Always a pleasure, Thom!

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