Tessera

While Dylan Thomas's poem, "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night". very much expresses growing older, it is also a clarion call to stand up against what is wrong. I bring this poem to you to also take heart and stand up against what is wrong in our world. www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46569/...

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

poetryfoundation.org

This evening I got the following email. Hello JAMES MURPHY, Thank you for voting! Your 2026 Primary Election mail ballot has been counted by Larimer County Elections. I have officially voted in the primary and my vote has been counted. As I said, I love mail in voting!

I turned in my primary ballot at a drop box which is located at the police station. Today, I got this email: Hello JAMES MURPHY, Larimer County Elections received your 2026 Primary Election mail ballot. You will receive another email when your signature has been reviewed. I love vote but mail!

While I doubt that many on this forum will take umbrage with this news, I will say that I am posting this with trepidation. Good friends of ours that were Indian immigrants but went through all the steps to become American citizens, just bought their first home. We are happy for them!

For those that might feel down from the issues of our times I bring you a poem from Langston Hughes. Dreams Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow.

I posted previously that here in Colorado, the state has a ballot tracking system that it makes available to voters in the state. Today I got the following: Hello JAMES MURPHY, Larimer County Elections has sent your 2026 Primary Election mail ballot to you. Now I know my ballot is forthcoming.

Continuing my theme of poem, I will share a poem by Maya Angelou. It speaks of both dread and hope. The dread come at night and hope in the morning. We will see morning once again. www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48992/...

A Plagued Journey

Safe in the dark prison, I know that light slides over the fingered work of a toothless woman in Pakistan. It is sunrise, with Hope its arrogant rider. I…

poetryfoundation.org

During times like these, we must have hope In a garden of worries, a seed lay below, Covered in doubt, unsure it could grow. But it pushed through the soil, reaching for light, Reminding us all to keep up the fight. "Even in darkness, I find my way through, Hope is my power, my start of anew."

This is the second time that the US bombed a country when it was in negotiations to end hostilities. No one, and I mean no one will ever believe a word we say. Trump is a monumental idiot for doing this reprehensible act.

Ken Martin’s report is a microcosm of what the DNC has become. They are not helping democrats and no one should give them any credence. Ken should be fired and the people in the DNC should also be fired or prove to us they are relevant.

I will be traveling to see my Grandson graduate from High School. This got me thinking about traveling and the choices that my Grandson will have to make in the not too distance future. This led me to the poem by Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken. www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/...

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it…

poetryfoundation.org

As a confessional Lutheran, I take comments like these as both unchristian and focused on things Jesus would not support. These people do not speak for all Christians. www.msn.com/en-us/news/u...

MSN

msn.com

As someone of Irish heritage, I have always loved William Butler Yeats. The poem The Second Comming, was written after WW1 during the time of the Spanish flu. It outlines Yeats felling that the world was changing and maybe not for the better. www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43290/...

The Second Coming

Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the…

poetryfoundation.org

While it is difficult to pick a favorite among the wonderous works of Maya Angelou, I think this is my favorite. It speaks to the resistance that we must have to over come what we are facing. www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46446/...

Still I Rise

You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise. Just like moons and…

poetryfoundation.org

During this time of our representation being taken away from us, I think of this poem by Maya Angelou. www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48989/...

Caged Bird

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of…

poetryfoundation.org

Yet another example that our for-profit insurance-based health system is designed to impoverish us and then have us die downwind. www.msn.com/en-us/news/p...

MSN

msn.com

Trump using the court system to game the system. He is a menace. www.msn.com/en-us/news/u...

MSN

msn.com

While the theme of this poem is dark, the message is about resistance. If We Must Die by Claude McKay: www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44694/...

If We Must Die

If we must die, let it not be like hogs Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, Making their mock at our…

poetryfoundation.org

Given the heinous SCOTUS and Virginia court rulings, I though this poem by Langston Hughes would be meaningful. www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazi...

I look at the world

I look at the world From awakening eyes in a black face— And this is what I see: This fenced-off narrow space Assigned to me. I look then at the silly…

poetryfoundation.org

I appreciate all of the beautiful images that many of you share here on Bluesky. For myself, I can share my love of poetry. Here is one from T.S. Eliot americanliterature.com/author/ts-el...

The Hollow Men

"This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper." Read T.S. Eliot's haunting 1925 poem about spiritual emptiness — full text free online.

americanliterature.com