Archive - 2015
March 7th
The Road to Damascus
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sat, 03/07/2015 - 09:09Yesterday, a friend posted on Facebook,
Stop calling members of ISIS "barbarians" and "animals." Just stop.
I hate ISIS. I've hated them since before they named themselves back when they were just beginning to emerge in the vacuum of power in Syria. I've been practically screaming for three years on Twitter to anyone who would listen about the growing danger they represented.
But the reality is ISIS is made up of human beings. Many of whom you might have walked past on the street, ridden the subway with, sat next to at Starbucks - before they grew out their beards, changed clothes and took up arms....
When we participate in using language that DE-humanizes other human beings, we increase our own capacity for participating in or supporting acts of evil committed in our name - or, yes, in God's name.
What do you think makes it possible for a member of ISIS to saw off another human being's head or throw him off a building to his death because he is gay? If ISIS members saw those people as fully human, how might it be different?
This morning, I read a line from a different friend on Facebook
Praying that an Apostle Paul would raise up out of ISIS - and praying for justice.
That post brought up comments from others about how Damascus is in Syria, so who knows. Another person commented that they’ve been sharing the same prayer for a few weeks.
Now, I realize this may rile up some of my atheist or anti-Islamic friends, but it seems to hit at a much more important underlying theme that transcends religious dogma. Failing to recognize the humanity of every person, no matter how inhumanely they have acted. Is the first step to becoming inhumane ourselves.
March 6th
The Tenth Leper
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Fri, 03/06/2015 - 21:12The long line of witnesses
appear before the appropriations subcommittee
telling the stories of their struggles
and how one agency or another
had helped them survive.
Every budget cut affects someone.
The powerful are always there
to make sure they get their share.
But speaking before a lawmaker
can be frightening to the disempowered,
the broken, the victim.
The activists find those
that are willing to speak
and can be coached.
They provide classes,
transportation and motivation.
Yet there is more to it than activists
seeking to keep the services they believe are important
funded.
The disempowered find a little power
and the broken find repair.
The chair thanks the witness
and reinforces the encouragement.
The legislator in the chambers
or the voter watching on TV
can hear something else
important.
Those who have been helped
saying thanks.
March 5th
The Talisman
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Thu, 03/05/2015 - 22:28Throughout my life there have been objects
not necessarily magical or sacramental
that have taken on special significance.
They haven’t been the unattainable
objects of desire,
lost, partial, untranslatable.
Nor have they been transitional objects
like the blanket my sister had
or the velveteen rabbit which became real.
Instead, they have been trinkets received as gifts,
practical objects used long past being worn out,
or some combination of the two.
There was the reversible fall jacket
that lasted through much of high school and college
until finally my mother convinced me
to get a new jacket.
There was that coffee mug
which I was given
when I worked in the high school library
helping with inventory
and stayed with me for over thirty years
until the last time we moved.
At other times
there have been coins
which I carried for years
almost like prayer beads.
Perhaps, they are more like H.D.’s mullein-leaf
causing us to perceive the other side of everything
including time.
March 4th
Cognates
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Wed, 03/04/2015 - 21:52I read through the ‘about’ page
of a website my daughter uses at school
“to help students excel at tests”.
It is the wonderful world of
SAT verbal prep.
My SAT verbal prep
was translating Catullus.
“Odi et Amo”
Now, I am enamored with words;
their feel on my lips,
the thoughts they conjure up.
And as much as I value computers
in helping us connect to one another,
the idea of learning words
to excel at tests
I find odious.
March 3rd
The Old Grey Cat
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Tue, 03/03/2015 - 20:57The old grey cat perches on arm of stuffed chair
interested enough in being patted
to feign indifference.
I pat the bony structure
covered by long fur
and carefully work out
a few knots.
In the shadows, the younger black cat
pursues his prey;
a dust bunny, part of a toy,
or perhaps just another shadow.
When I was young
and sick or injured
the family cats
tended me.
They taught important lessons
about curling up
in the sunshine
that shone on the couch
in the afternoon.
As my mother aged
and became even more introverted
the guardian cats
became quieter too.
Now, the old grey cat
walks across my lap
from one arm of the chair
to the other
as if to say,
“Enough.
It’s time to end this poem.”
