Haiku 34

Haiku 34

Hostages stand up,
You, your neighbor, your cousins -
All of us dumb bells.

Me, dispensable ?
Sure : old, heavy, not mobil -
Endpoint is Hospice.

Kiss reason goodby,
Divided we cannot stand -
What Constitution ?

Hey ! Give me a  break.
We elected them to lead -
But, in the gutter ?

Hear hob nail boots march,
High straight leg, right arm salutes -
Seven decades past.

Financial ruin near,
Toying with World debt crisis -
Mental dwarfs that vote.

Ronald C. Downie

The Stone - The Stone

The Stone - The Stone

Hone yourself a sharp mental edge
Lest politicians ply their wares.
Silent with skill they drive a wedge
Dividing life into cares and fears.

"Care, yes care, I care for you."
Tongue cheeked message driven,
Script weak, thin, seen clear through.
Be self driven, not prone to speeches given.

"Fear, not me , fear the other guy."
"Believe me , I am not conceited."
Through lips drawn tight of teethe sly,
Bravado loud, dishonest call repeated.

Stone, the stone apply it often
When mind at rest in dullness creeps.
In apathy's folly the robber's hidden,
Citizens engaged, informed, America seeks.

The stone, the stone apply it often,
Hone yourself a sharp mental edge. 

         Ronald C . Downie 

American Patriots 

Summer thermals spiral gulls so high ,
To see them we must pierce the ashen sky
Aloft , one eyed squinting through man made haze ,
An act made necessary to see , not just to gaze .

Politicians knowingly look at you :
Two eyed , forward looking , through and through .
They will not ask your mind to squint or pierce ,
Sound bites of promises are enough , or worse ,

Truths and lies are mixed and matched 
In mental cauldrons where schemes are hatched 
Then fed to you as rare inspired dreams .
Your vote through ignorance , it only seems

Their plan's to catch you unprepared . No !
Denounce their logic and set your mind to :
Question , broaden , be informed , then 
You are - American Patriots -  you women and men .

    Ronald C .Downie  

Haiku 33

Haiku 33

Compromise, Hell No !
Compromise, No, No, Hell No !
Compromise, Hell No !

Little minds dream on
To do small things of nonsense -
Then legislate crap.

Defend Liberty,
Seize the Day, speak Truth to lies -
Battle for Honor.

To oppose easy,
To build a consensus hard -
The tough tackle hard.

Congress's Freshman deaf,
America' shouting out -
"Rich must contribute !"

Big fish eat small fish,
China swims the deep oceans -
We, the shallow seas.

Ronald C. Downie

Haiku 32

Four wheeler a must,
Rough, steep, rocky trail ahead -
Defaulters kill dreams.

Money gap widens,
Rich are richer; poor poorer-
Which camp you headed ?

The Great Depression,
Set U.S. back generations -
Next one, Centuries.

Lemmings follow close,
Right over the cliff, en-mass -
Can't think for themselves.

God knows so darn well,
Feed the poor, aid the needy -
Out money changers.

Ask, why did Rome burn ?
Because Nero fiddled on -
Washington fiddles.

Ronald C. Downie

      A Universe Within

Entombed within our mental mass universes
Await life . Sadly their stillbirth curses
Man to forego quantum leaps. Each generation
Slowly acquires knowledge in rapt anticipation.

Are we moulded in his image by a personal 
God ? Centuries strewn of carnage from temporal 
Piety fouled holy battlefields , all claimed Devine
Right, in demonstration of the horrid worst in mankind .

Awash in perpetual prayer pious true believers,
Self proclaimed , shroud wrapped , these soul receivers
Expect almighty benediction . Man's evolved creation
To ultimate extinction our lot . Demand salvation

During our lifetime by launching heart based
Missiles into the brain unhindered , not interfaced
With two thousand years awaiting Heaven or Hell .
Within you is a Universe - treat it well .

        Ronald C. Downie  

What - Never Ending

   What - Never Ending 

What blots the sun, bloats the moon ?
What from a seance gains us sense ?
What tricks the heart as if at run ?
What causes short breaths to heave
From a chest that wrenches above
The climaxed tourniquet of flesh ?

At dawn of eternity, life's river spawned 
Of an ionic maelstrom, primal ooze fresh .
Joining cells bound - Jehovah yawned -
"In a twinkling of an eye", green mould, us
Lusting past reason while rutting in acts of 
Desire, will and wisdom woefully wanting .

Ruinous the occult of carnal appetites 
Transcending an entire life bent on
Worshiped pleasures of the flesh .
Forgotten is real true love, though,
Penetrating passions will never end .

  Ronald C. Downie 

Haiku 31- A Wake Up Call

Haiku 31- A Wake Up Call

Why do you worship :
The Rich, Kings, the Super Rich ?
They've done what for you ?

Figures do not lie, 
But liars figure. Question -
What have they told you ?

When caught in a trap
Animals chew off their leg -
Man just poor mouths it.

Politicians sweat,
They're on a trip to Hades -
Wish them all goodby.

Become a wise one, 
Vote for settled facts of truth -
Science trumps fiction. 

Default disaster
Looms over America's shores -
Vote out "No" sayers. 

Ronald C. Downie

Sir Eagle

      Sir Eagle

Leisurely I looked down at the pond:
Sun sparkled , wind rippled , shimmering on .
Thoughts mingled aimlessly within my mind,
Life' s a struggle, answers are hard to find .

Glide silent , majestically sublime ,
Even there in shade drenched pine ,
Hide and seek on wood 's floor below ,
What grandeur in his shadow' s flow .

Sir Eagle chose my grove to grace 
This day on west winds strong in place ,
For he who rides to heights unknown
Plummets to capture his prey alone .

Extinction faced this noble bird ,
Man 's problems really I'll compared .
So children , we lay down this claim :
With honor carry forth your name .

       Ronald C. Downie
  

The Past Is Knowledge; The Future,Wisdom

The Past Is Knowledge, The Future, Wisdom

Water like thought calms when slowed
Into deep pools at quiet depths
Where mud and murk bottom settles
To clear the liquid for it's continued trip .

Thought, if not allowed to calm
And settle out nonessential 
Clutter keeping the mental stream
Clean, finds no clear ideas will surface .

As water makes it's long journey 
To the sea it encounters swiftly
Moving rapids and falls that roar
Before it again pools and calms .

So too, the mind's mental travel path
Must shoot the turbulences of doubt ,
Navigate trouble, and evil, and fear ,
Each cascading down until calm calms .

Ever since the dawning of time
When water appeared on the earth 
It adapted to Earth's Natural Laws,
Repeat, repeat, over and over, repeat .

In his time upright man found force
Beyond his physical prowess when
The utter strength of his mental
Ability raised him above common beasts .

The sun, the moon, stars, earth, water,
The air, the eagle, fire, wind, and rain
Man would experience and then worship .
But, as with water, strong storms disturb,

Alters flows, and interrupts calm
Quite common with Nature's way .
But thinking man dreams about the future
Thus he soon becomes uncertainty's victim .

The past is knowledge, the future, wisdom 
And through time knowledge accumulates ,
But wisdom is fickle , and the needed spark
Not timely, so wisdom has to be nurtured .

Water flows everywhere to the
Same Laws Of Gravity, while thought ,
Not contained within our physical world ,
Flows in a stream we seek to posses .

    Ronald C . Downie  

Haiku 30

Haiku 30

There's a difference, 
Hearing is not listening -
Congress is tone deaf.

Default's a new tax,
Up interest rates will climb -
They've spent the money.

If old, if female,
If student, if poor, if young -
Government ignores.

Please, Heaven help us,
We're victims of their own greed -
The rich get richer.

Why not holler out :
Get off my back. I am poor.
Stop the whip lashes.

Election Day looms,
This is your chance to speak out -
The ballot is voice.

Ronald C. Downie

Haiku 29

Haiku 29

Yesterday : Eagle,
Today : Hummingbird, Locust,
Yellow Butterfly.

No June bugs out yet,
Japanese Beatles happy -
They're World Cup winners.

I love a good breeze,
Heat and humidity tamed -
Nature's way to cope.

God may not bless us,
She knows how we treat the poor -
Who inherits, what ?

Time is a waste'n,
Each day we're deeper in debt -
Cut up credit cards.

"Swords into plow shears",
Good advice then - better now -
Wage War - widows weep.

Ronald C. Downie

Haiku 29.

Haiku 28

Haiku 28

Sometimes I wonder,
Will life that we know outlast 
Our politicians ?

The Women's World Cup 
Went to team play by Japan -
Big names read their press.

"Gone With the Wind" shows 
A World entering turmoil -
A tale told of us ?

Serfs may now apply -
The rich have inherited
The Heavens and Earth.

Fifty yard field goal,
Goes thru, win ; misses, then lose -
Simple, close your eyes.

I refuse to wince,
Hurt, physical or mental,
Is part of my life.

Ronald C. Downie

Haiku 20

Haiku 20

A healthy diet,
Trim off all the wobbly fat -
Haiku's bonsai meal.

"A house divided,"
-' I want, what I want, when I ...' -
"Can not stand ", Cantor.

Angry young men whine,
Join old men's rude politics -
Needed more women.

"Day of Reckoning"
Arrives pre-Armageddon -
Then all hell turns loose.

I trust in science,
Which knows more by learning more -
Knowledge always trumps.

Why do I bother ?
Who would want me to lead them ?
I write this and weep.

Ronald C. Downie

Haiku 27

Haiku 27

No jobs, no jobs, none,
The "Party of No" speaks out -
No jobs, no jobs, none.

Sent to work for us,
Congress grovels for money -
Re-election goal.

The Rapture's new date,
August 2, money melt down -
Send them off - vote out !

Even Wall Street's scared,
Their World's built on gambling rich -
Poor not in market.

I'm Depression born,
Soon to die in another -
My life's a failure ?

My depression grows,
As U.S. Recession grows -
My depression grows !

Russian roulette time,
Gun to your head, pull trigger -
Don't flinch, listen, click ! ( or unheard, bang ! )

Ronald C. Downie

Haiku 26

Haiku 26 - Haiku For You -

Past understanding,
Aging adults sniveling -
Congress in default.

Knock knock, who is there ?
A dysfunctional congress -
And we pay these guys.

Drawn and then quartered,
Our planet in steep decline -
Zealots rule the Earth.

Faith an illusion,
Fostered on us by zealots -
The weak are controlled.

Washington's inept,
Our financial house crumbling -
Damn the torpedoes !

My flowers wilting,
Draught and heat sap their color -
Watering's not rain.

Ronald C. Downie

Haiku 25. This Haiku's For You

Haiku 25

Please let oldsters live
Until we get on Hospice -
In death, find relief.

Low taxes means jobs ,
Ten years now of Bush's tax cuts -
Where are low tax jobs ?

Millionaires sleep well ,
They have homes, boats, bank accounts -
Middle, unpaid bills.

It's all about them
Getting elected again -
Congress sells us out.

We all die sometime,
Most in pain or dementia -
Families stressed out.

"The Call Of The Wild",
Is a place I want to be -
At least in my mind.

Ronald C. Downie

Will ad Kate

Will and Kate 

Are the British Royals here to look us over for maybe a take back when the US becomes a basket case and China sells us off at discount ?  Mao's descendants soon will have squeezed all they can out of our- lowest priced possible society- that they'll no longer want us. Our leaders are meeting this evening, Sunday July 10, 2011, to decide America's future, or is it, meeting to chart our demise ?

If you are a women, if you're old, if you're a student, if you're a minority, if you're poorly educated, if, in the future, you're going to need a helping hand tough luck. The future looks bleak for for the vast majority of citizens especially in light of our leader's recent history of squeezing the poor while falling over themselves to give more to the rich and the super rich. It is easily understood, the poor don't contribute to people running for office but the rich and the super rich do. These fat cats get paid back with legislation that pays them back over and over again - money begets money.

Watch the posturing tonight as it will be dissected by talking heads for days to come. It's our future they're toying with, these pillars in Congress who seem only to have in mind their next election. Selling out a country to gain power to crush the masses like we were bugs so their rich benefactors could accumulate more money is the game being played. 

Will and Kate didn't get a full look at the USA but they read about us and like millions of others, they wonder, "WHY ?".

Ronald C. Downie

Haiku 24

Haiku 24

Sir Eagle's shadow
Majestically flows land -
Eagles awe, rains green.

Pardon me people,
A sky high Eagle is news -
Look up, God is there.

The World is in love,
Animals do not worship -
Their faith's in mating.

If congress is real, 
The people are crazy nuts -
So vote them good by.

Scratch your head again, 
Why do you believe garbage ?
Think logically.

Speak up, then cry out,
The squeaky wheel gets oiled -
Power is in speech.

Ronald C. Downie

Hogwash

Hogwash

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesman, and philosophers, and divines." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Emerson spoke not only for his era but also for all times sake. Just like rigid, hard rock which shatters into pieces when struck with a hammer, the rigid consistency of a zealot shatters into illogical segments when confronted with reality. A life worth living is lived in the middle away from the harsh sheen of pure white and equally away from the bleak somber of jet black. It has always been through the art of compromise that brings thinkers from the their extremes at the edges into the middle ground, that fertile area where fresh ideas are grown.

The vast chasm, opening ever wider and deeper between rich and poor, is a prescription for failure.
We certainly need jobs here in America but, as importantly, we need an increasing middle class population with incomes sufficient to allow them to purchase the goods and services produced here. Jobs remain a function of a demand society so if you cut workers income to the bone they purchase less. Inversely, when the rich have less of a surplus they need not scrimp to just exist. 

Hogwash, it's hogwash in my mind that asking those who fed at the trough of obscene profits for decades to pay a few percentage points toward a recovery program which could save our nation as we have known it. More hogwash is the claim that these enriched few if asked to pay their fair share would starve the system by not creating new jobs. Ask them, how many jobs did they eliminate in the last decade which created their obscene wealth ?

It is the greater percentage of our population who is going to suffer if deep cuts are made so the rich and super rich can whaler in the sticky mud of greed. Old, mostly men, clinging onto a worn out creed that wealth is somehow a right of passage similar to a cast system as found in India, make up our Congress. Their time has passed and they must be sent home.

The "Pledge"of no revenue increase is one of a foolish consistency adored by little statesman. 

Amen !

Ronald C. Downie

A Reason For Being

 A Reason For Being

A poem like a story, a song, a yarn or a tale, or a communicationOr just a conversation has a reason for being. Thoughts come to mind that need to be, are itching to be, amplified. 

The following poem, A Cry From Mid-Space, was written at a time in my life when those things I dreamed about doing were not going to happen. In a long life unrealized dreams are commonplace. Moving on in spite of desires being unfulfilled enables a person to dream anew. When we lose the capacity to dream the flames of hope flicker out as the path to fulfillment blurs until a new spark lights the way for dreams to reoccur. 

What's the old adage ? "It's not the number of times you are knocked down, it is the number of times you get up, that counts."

   Ronald C Downie

A Cry From Mid-Space

    Cry From Mid-Space 

God damned you, Dreams, whore no more to me, release me
To covet grayness bleating from a sullen sky .
Don't show me violets pure nor roses gay that cry
My inter soul awake . No !  I must not think free .

Chain my mind, please stem that emotion swell
Within this hide so I do not hope in vain .
In image of his maker man can train
As oxen yoked to circle round the well .

I can not define mid- space where dreamers dwell ,
Far sight a scene then slowly squint it into
Mental pictures , like a frosted pane looked through ,
Is it real ? Is it heaven ? Is it, well is it, hell
Theater must be a hell for a lost dreamer's soul :
Not in dance around soothing flames and crackling sounds
That flow the senses' veins ; but of grey ash mounds 
Staged of choking soot waiting to fill a dreamer's hole .

Accept the young, they have not traversed the gorge 
Left by dreamers old whose torrent thoughts erode .
Fill the young with placid manna lest they explode
With alien notions thinking they're their own Saint George . 

Dreams - damn you !  Lay not your head on my breast this day .
Free me, so I may see what our Nation antes up :
Those dull, brow bent cast of actors who hold the cup,
Which keeps America hostage and wastes a dreamer's play .

   Ronald C . Downie    

Haiku 23

Haiku 23

Absent yesterday,
Politicians parade walk -
Thought they would be booed !

They forgot Pottstown,
When we're down they keep us down -
Cut, battered we bleed.

Education facts -
Poorer districts have problems 
Elite never know.

Fuel a hot bonfire,
Congress needs a cleaning out -
Term limits a must.

Old men make poor laws,
World moves faster and faster -
Grid lock from Old Bulls,

The young must wake up -
They're stuck with paying the bills
Their elders have spent.

Ronald C. Downie

" I Love A Parade "

"I Love A Parade"

Late morning, long after sunrise lights the east,
Necks craning, the gathered peer up High street,
"Must have started, when will we see the lights?"
Every year brings a similar anticipation treat.

Police cars, lights actively rotating, lead
As spectator's expectation comes into view.
Slowly the cars carrying Chiefs and Captains
Roll at their lead pace. Parade's started true.

Patriotism and flowers with flags and music, 
Join the deep rhythm of heel/toe marching
In straight lines, as our service men and women 
Parade down High Street, uniformed backs arching.

Waiting, bands and pipers, military vehicles pass
To hands clapping in gratitude for their service,
Then a bevy of classic cars, there's yellow bikes,
And a grouping of motorcycles. Promoter's purpose

To satisfy all people by expressing their interests.
Beautiful as ever the Queen and her lovely court,
Bathed in sunshine, are perched high in convertibles.
Their's is the future accompanied by a male escort.

Like ants scurrying for a meal, volunteers work 
The crowd for donations to fill collection buckets.
Vehicles, Fire Engines, shinning and grand, drivers
And volunteers are a Town's invaluable nuggets.

Year after year organizers give of their time
To bring smiles to faces both of young and old.
Curb lines filled with overflowing happy crowds,
Tell how good parades of old were. Stories told.

"I Love A Parade", the excitement of a crowd,
The music, the colors, the hubbub, the pageantry,
Humans becoming alive by expressing themselves.
I need a hat, where's that bucket for my ante ?

Independence Day, July 4, 1776 , Declaration Of
Independence signed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
We observe with parades, picnics, and fireworks
But we must never forget the breadth of Sylvania. 

"I Love A Parade !"

Ronald C. Downie

Dedicated to daughter, Heather Kurtz, birthed on July 4.

July Forth

   July Fourth

As cloth to the weaver
Is canvas to a painter,
Both use intellect combined in form.

As the lecture to a teacher
Is a sermon to the preacher,
Each needs sustenance to get along.

As a wheel to the potter
Is the pen to a writer,
Necessary tools to start the morn.

As the score to a conductor
Is a child to the mother and father,
Created, rehearsed, sweetness in song.

As daughter, Heather, to us you are
An Earthbound light, a twinkling star,
Now with child, a new family being born.

    Ronald C. Downie

4th of July,1993, for daughter, Heather, upon her birthday awaiting the arrival of Connor, her first born .

The Carousel - PTC #9 -

    The Carousel - PTC #9-

Round and round, up and down,
Horse and lion, giraffe and hound,
Children laughing, smiling, asking,
Please, please ! Again, again !
Another ride ! Please, again !

Nostalgia, dreams, oh memory,
Young and old, all, everybody,
Climb abroad ! The organ plays 
Familiar tunes of bygone days .

1905 at the birth of Century Twenty
Wood carving artisans hew a plenty
Standards and jumpers to stencil then paints
Murals of landscapes, portraits of Saints .

The ring, the ring, get the brass ring,
Coveted is such a small round thing .
Heart jumping, anticipation high
Circling round and around for another try .

One hundred years soon gone by
Hark, listen to echoes of a joyous cry
Melded within these ancient pieces
For boys and girls, nephews and nieces .

In tribute to you fine workers all :
Helpers, investors, you believers tall,
We will honor his memory forevermore
For the living : those happy, healthy, and well
The Derek Scott Saylor Memorial Carousel .

   Ronald C . Downie