Neighborhood Activism

 

I'll begin this post with the standard disclaimer that I do not support or encourage anyone breaking the law and putting graffiti up in public places. I'll say, as well, that I have seen visually gorgeous and compelling graffiti on occasion, especially that of Banksy. But don't do it, 'kay?

And yet, someone in my neighborhood recently went around spraying "FUCK TRUMP" in vivid red on utility boxes, walls, and other places -- one of them being the stop sign limit line at an intersection two blocks from me. Another place I saw it was on a construction fence near me, where a massive Kaiser addition is being built. I waited a day to grab a photo and it had been painted over, but I took a photo and can still see the underlying message. 

I admit to feeling a zing of satisfaction and solidarity that someone has decided their activism involves painting the world with a repudiation of this man, what he represents, and all the harm he has committed. Thank you, mystery neighborhood activist! Well done.

KALEO - No Good (Official Video)

Can't fight the temptation
When you get the vibration
Won't do you no good
Won't do you no good

You better start running
When you hear the man coming
Won't do you no good
Won't do you no good

No we don't mind
If you don't mind
Hell I never mind

Don't let the mold break you
Let the feeling come take you
Won't do you no good
Won't do you no good

And you know I got fever
When you hit me right, you know you might as well
Won't do you no good
Said it won't do you no good

And I said, kiss your baby goodbye
Come on, love, it's alright!
Heaven knows they wanna break you apart, yeah

Kiss your baby goodbye
Come on, love, it's alright!
You never know unless you give it a try
Oh baby

Said do you no good

Can't fight the temptation
When you get the vibration
Won't do you no good
Won't do you no good
And you can tell I got fever
You try to shake it off, try it all you want
Won't do you no good
Said it won't do you no good

And I said, kiss your baby goodbye
Come on, love, it's alright
Heaven knows they wanna break you apart, yeah

Kiss your baby goodbye
Come on, love, it's alright
You never know unless you give it a try, oh yeah!

Yeah, yeah!
Whoa, yeah!
No, no, baby
Yeah!

Whoa yeah!
Want my sweet little baby
Whoa you're no good babe
Yeah!
I said yeah
One day yeah, baby!
Ah yeah!
Woo!
Oh yeah!

On Renee Nicole Good

On The Resolve of Minnesota

The Library, Mid-Winter

The Library, Mid-Winter

The library chair holds the shape of a body
better than the body holds the news.
Outside, the rain is a gray slant of percussion,
drumming a rhythm for a march starting 
somewhere south of our borders.

We ate eggs while discussing our work
of mending, healing hearts and minds.
We called out each other's blind spots
to examine, completely safe within
our connection of love and respect.

But it’s time to undress the Christmas tree,
to stow the baubles and lights, yet I dawdle.
The branches hold beloved memories
that visit once a year. There is no guarantee
I will unpack them again.

I think of the earth, waiting for the pine,
waiting for me -- to be turned back into
something that helps the flowers grow.

-Kathryn Harper

NPR Tiny Desk Contest 2023 - Andrea Gibson - MAGA HAT IN THE CHEMO ROOM

 

 

Andrea Gibson's brilliant force has departed their body. They were a beacon of courage and compassion communicated through poetry. I mourn our loss. May their brilliance and love manifest forever. 

 

Andrea Gibson's website.

 

Andrea Gibson's Substack.

Emotional Education

Desert People

"I think there are desert people and then there is everyone else. It takes something specific to flourish in the desert, to find its beauty obvious, to take root and weather the dry heat, the epic and swift flash floods. Only certain people figure out how to blossom in a landscape that wears its bones on the outside, where scorpions wander in the front door and tarantulas have migrating seasons." - E.A. Hanks 

In Sunlight

Belly Rubs

 Watching this video of a baby sugar glider getting massaged, I feel at peace.