Back on the blog roll

Thanks to Mark Wood, who runs Wood S Lot, for updating his blog roll and giving me a place on it. I've been on his blogroll for many years in many guises. To celebrate, I'll repost a poem of mine that he so kindly linked to sometime ago...

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THE STAIN OF THE WORLD


We who live in this miserable time
          know
     that our present is written
         out of past sorrows.
The black ink of our history —
   of avarice, war,
     and a poverty of compassion —
seeps into our newspapers, magazines, and teleprompters.
Yet, despite the continued repetition of the past
         our politicians manage to expect
          a different future.
Mistakes beget mistakes. Sorrows beget sorrows.

If only I could convince
    this ink
              to unform words
              to make bare the pages,
     or better yet,
       to emphasize solace over sorrow,
                 compassion over power and greed.
What future will I give my children,
   I ask this ink.
What future is there for me?