Call to Arms: by A.J. Ponder from Prophecy (The Sylvalla Chronicals)

When reality is cut asunder

And made anew

When the world cries out for Heroes

And Death awakens

When Evil slithers through

The cracks of Truth

Then comes a moment,

A call

Then comes a simple illusion that breaks its bonds

And becomes.

I was editing today and came across this old poem. Ironically, it was written as a chapter heading for my to be released book "Prophecy" (Yes, the book is a little bit cheesy. I like a good dollop of humour in my fiction!)

But still, it seemed apt.

The call has been made, either we are for human rights - or we are not.
Our reality is about to cut one way or the other -- into divisive hate, or a step forward to something better.

This is a time for heroes.
Who will they be?
Who will stand up for the rights of babes torn from their mother's arms?
Who will stand up for the oppressed?
What illusion is going to ne freed? One of hate? Or one of love?

Have a great week, people,
I truly hope we can make this world better.

A.J. Ponder

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Battle Hymn of the Resistance

Public domain image from the Project Gutenberg archives

I went to see the truth about the changing of the guard
(After it was over because watching was too hard)
They'd sugared it through serpent's fangs and covered it with lard
And the lies kept marching on

Glory glory, what's it to ya
Glory glory, what's it to ya
Glory glory, what's it to ya
And posttruth keeps marching on

Women's rights were gutted with a scribble from his pen
He's happy to risk women's lives, and so are all his men
Right to life's an awful lie - 

and now thousands will die
And the lies kept marching on

Glory glory, what's it to ya
Glory glory, what's it to ya
Glory glory, what's it to ya
And posttruth keeps marching on

Then he asked Guiliani to impose a Muslim ban
But one that protects his companies, and so they hatched an evil plan
And now they have the gall to say it's not a bloody ban
And the lies keep marching on

Glory glory, what's it to ya
Glory glory, what's it to ya
Glory glory, what's it to ya
And posttruth keeps marching on

Will America be gutted on the altar of his greed?
From Goldman Sacks and lobbyists the US should be freed
And taken to a place where there's respect every race and creed
Let's stop the lies from marching on

Glory glory, time to free ya
Glory glory, time to free ya
Glory glory, time to free ya
Stop posttruth from marching on

For too long your rights to work and vote have been twisted heartlessly
To the right to work for nothing, and to vote provisionally
But you can stop your lives and votes being thrown in the bin
Join a local human rights organization!

Glory glory, and good on ya
Glory glory, and good on ya
Glory glory, and good on ya
Keep #posttruth from marching on



A.J. Ponder 

My goodness, it's not easy to stay current and keep accurate! Also there's heaps I haven't covered eg #NoDAPL, so please tell me if you manage a verse or two and I'll link to it.

Have a great week! Breathe! Democracy is a long term objective, it's not perfected anywhere yet. All we can do is keep working toward a society that gives everyone the best opportunities to achieve-without stepping on the rights of others.

A.J. 

Have you heard the news?

If you're reading my blog at the moment this will be a horribly familiar theme.
Anyone can make a stand - not just Meryl Streep in her Golden Globes 2017 speech. But on the phones, in the street -banding with friends and doing whatever needs to be done for human rights environmental needs, and democratic principles.  Corporate interests have shown money will trump all, and they're framing the debate. They tell us that we're not powerful and we can't change the world - well, that's only right if they can keep you at home and ignoring politics because you feel powerless. So...

Have you heard the
News?
Do you know?
Where you were
When
democracy died?
When
the free world fell?

Have you seen the news
What did you choose?
Where the f*ck were you
When
the lies flew
And before we knew
The meme had set

Did you see #maga become #masa
Make America Scared Again
And all because
We forgot it's our job
To stand up to power
And make the world a better place.

Have you seen the
Show?
Do you know?
Where you were
When
the free vote fell?
Did you see?
When
Jim Crow raised his head
Did you raise your voice?
Or did you watch him
Tear the vote
Away
From the poor
The huddled masses
Yearning to breathe free?

Now you can choose to sing
Everything is
Awesome
To drown out
Reality.
Or you can stand against
The entity that is corporate greed
And demand our world back.

Where are you?
The world is falling.

A.J.

Right, and lets get to it. What can we do?

Well, I have only one thing to say- Are you Ready? okay nobody's really ready for "interesting times"
But small things can make a huge difference. Here's a piece from Ecowatch. 6 Lessons Learned Fighting Oppressive Regimes While Trying to Protect People and Planet.
We can do this.

If we stand for truth, human rights, and the environment, and try to make a tiny difference for at least one of those we can make this world a better place. :)

One of the most important things an American can do is protect their voting rights. " The US Civil Rights Commission concluded that the odds of your vote being miscounted or tossed out are 900% greater if you vote in a community of color." So if I was an American I'd join the local @ACLU   https://www.aclu.org/issues/voting-rights  But there are other great organizations you might prefer.

Stay strong, have fun, and never give up hope. We need you. :)
A.J. Ponder

Are you ready?

It's almost a New Year
again
Let's not make America fear
again
Let's not throw our brothers and sisters
to the wolves
again
We could make the world a better place
again
Are you ready?

We've done it before
in days of yore
We broke the bonds of
kings and queens
We threw off the shackles
of slavery
We stood up and demanded
One Person One Vote
Again and again
we demanded a minimum wage, a living wage (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage)
and the democratic world flourished...

But now it's dying,
strangled by the weeds
we were
so careless of.

So, I need to know - are you ready
to speak up
against those who would silence us?
Are you ready - to stand firm
against those who would
strip away your vote?
destroy your living wage?
poison your food and water, the very air you breathe?
and allow innocents to be destroyed -
- in the name of oil- in the name of money
- in the name of power

Are you ready to throw off the lies that mute us?
Are you ready to stand against the gags that deny us?
Are you ready to make this world a better place?
Can you accept the cost?

The longer we wait
the more we'll pay.

So I need to know,
are you ready?

A.J. Ponder

An early poem so it can be published before the New Year in time for resolutions. There will not be one on the 6th, because there's no reason not to make a New Years resolution to support human rights. Mine is to speak out when I see injustice, to hold our politicians to account and to join at least one local group that supports human rights and the environment. 

Happy New Year everyone, also PS - a link to Mike Moore's 5 point plan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbaqst_B498 (it's basically all in first minute or so.)
A.J.

Globalism vs Corporatism

We are
the people of this world

We could
join together

To gain
basic Human Rights

We can't survive
without clean Food and Water

We shouldn't have to fight
for health and happiness

The globalization of human rights
should be our goal

But the corporate lie
pulls us apart

Makes us fight over the scraps
of their bloated table
 
They pay the corrupt
to distract us

They pay the corrupt
to make laws against us

They pay the corrupt
to rule over us

They say we're too small to change the world
but we must

One human at a time
one step at a time

We must think globally, act globally,
because the corporates are already global

We must fight globally and stand globally
because one,
by one,
the corporates would have us
fall.

A.J. Ponder

By using the word "globalization" to mean "corporate globalization" the very corporations it is meant to implicate have managed to steer the conversation and scare us into fighting against the very people we should be supporting. It's designed to prevent us from thinking about how to make the world a better place, and instead focus on scapegoating the victims of the oppressors whose greed has turned our world inside out, in search for oil, in search of gold, in search of power. But we can do something about it. We can join grassroots organisations (organizations if you're American) that promote #HumanRights,  #democracy, and the environment.
 
And the message for today is "Democracy is not a spectator sport - tag you're it." From, (of all places) The Big Picture RT.   Not that I'd recommend them as a news source, given the Russian connection. If you're going to get your news from only one place I'd suggest Amy Goodman's Democracy Now, specifically The War and Peace Report.

Tuesday Poem: How do I love thee? (Sonnet 43, 1845) Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 1806 - 1861

Another poem from Elizabeth Barrett Browning, campaigner for human rights - including the abolition of slavery and improving child labour laws. The first poem I posted of hers is The Cry of the Children, a truly remarkable piece showing the horror of the conditions many children faced at the time, while retaining a lyricism and beauty around the core of unease.

On the other hand this is a love poem, with an inner core of strength, and a sense of the inevitable, possibly obtained from having battled illness most of her life.

Enjoy!


How do I love thee? (Sonnet 43, 1845)  Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints – I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! – and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.



For more great poetry, check out the Tuesday poem hub here.