Privilege

Privileged to work from home?
Some folks would disagree,
Say that the strain is bad for mental health,
Lacking face-to-face comaraderie,

They might point to the need for extra room,
Equipment and bandwidth,
People don't understand the sacrifice,
Finding so much space in your residence,

Others admit, yes it is pretty sweet,
But one day it will end,
Is the joy worth the pain of returning,
To the office again?

That's not the point,
If I might be so bold,
Remove your concerns from the equation
Think of those who never got to go home.

Brain Science

Question all that you see,
This is good for your brain,
Strengthening connections between the parts,
That I can't really name,

On one side are the facts that you consume,
Through all of your senses,
Then scoured through by the other side that keeps,
Filing these things away by consensus,

If you know what I'm talking about, well,
You know more than I do,
All I know's that for my own piece of mind,
I should be asking you,

How do you feel,
After this exercise?
Was there a wave of norepinephrine,
That washed o'er your brain and opened your eyes?

Be Grateful

What are you thankful for?
Not always, but today,
What little nugget can you grasp on to,
That got you through the day?

This is an exercise to help your brain,
To strengthen and excel,
As you build up the list, the hope's you'll find,
You're thankful for things you can't even tell,

Then the thankful things will start to build up,
Like the universe adds,
Maybe not that, tbh, I don't know,
Sounds kind of like a fad,

Or so they hope,
I mean the government,
Happiness is the curse of all rulers,
When it comes from personal contentment.

Perspective

I've received the vaccine,
For me, that's a big deal,
Tell that to some people in the U.S.,
They'll tell you how they feel,

Like surprise that it's taken me so long,
They got jabbed long ago,
One forgets that country's so very rich,
When they push any button, off they go,

But here in the country where I reside,
We're better off than most,
The disparity between rich and poor,
Is truth from coast to coast,

So there are some,
Who may never be safe,
While here I lie fearing I'll have to go,
Back to the commuting from a home office.

Half-Assed

Hold on to those moments,
Of content and delight,
Proof that you have the capability,
In times of doom and fright,

The brain is able to be a tool,
Of shelter in a gale,
Not to ignore the pounding wind and rain,
But provide an extra hammer and nail,

I know it's hard to see the value now,
With water rising up,
Get through this storm then take a look around,
For you may find a cup,

Scoop up water,
Only about halfway,
That's halfway to full, not halfway empty,
I know it's lame, but that's all I've to say.

Change

Is there a change coming?
Would you know what that means?
You might be sleeping and circumstances,
Only change in your dreams,

But who you're inside and your reactions,
Might be eternal things,
So change only becomes a distraction,
To know about your internal workings,

When maybe constancy is the real key,
To unlocking the truth,
Setting the scene for you to fin'lly be,
Authentically you.

But how, you ask?
That was your first misstep,
Just let the world around you settle down,
Then observe the moving parts that are left.

What If?

If you had the chance to,
Run out into the streets,
Maskless, free, right onto an aeroplan,
Into cafes for meets,

Into the arms of a long-unseen friend,
Just like the good old days,
Back and forth each day into an office,
Smooshed up together like sardines on trains,

In clothes you've not worn for seven days straight,
Midst a thirty day run,
Day drinking the hell out of the weekdays,
Like a world champion?

If you'd that chance,
What would you pay for it?
Undistracted from life's first world problems,
Of tweaking until you get the right fit.

What About Me?

There is not much to say,
People cannot go out,
Except for strictly survival reasons,
Or church for the devout,

Spots in the world are outdoing others,
The sun is shining bright,
While I'm sitting here sad, in my bed,
Wondering if the corona will bight,

Nobody can know the devastation,
That is inflicting me,
Sometimes it's hard to make a hardy meal,
From the shelves of my fully stocked pantry,

But that's not all,
My internet's a gong show,
I've called Rogers so much i've given up,
When I'll drop a zoom call, I just don't know!

The Cold War

I guess they're both so large,
They deserve attention,
Two countries rich in military stock,
Now creating tension,

Some say not over the Ukraine at all,
But uber posturing,
Biden 'blinked' in response to troups sent in,
Sometimes you have to go with the sure thing,

Between a pandemic still going strong,
Cops shooting black people,
Thousands of children kept from their parents,
Plus the climate ordeal,

There's so much more,
But isn't that just life?
Start counting the challenges that you have,
I'm sure many things will make you blink twice.

Heard Immunity?

Is it time to return,
Past preoccupations,
To the forefront, in front of Covid fears,
Over this past annum?

Countries are now claiming immunity,
With mass vaccinations,
The richest ones, who will soon demand that,
There must be a passport for anyone,

Who wants to travel across their border,
So much for unity,
All this common threat to humans has shown,
Is inequality,

Those with money,
Person or government,
Will take care of themselves, then when secure,
Share enough to stay superincumbent.

Behind Her Eyes

What is loving someone?
What's being loved by them?
Common thought often lends the opinion,
That it is translucence,

That what you are and the world that you see,
Aren't dreams you proffer,
Two lives lived, but as one experience,
The comfort of knowing there are others,

But what is a person completely nude,
But like everyone else,
The fashion of hiding specific parts,
Is the meaning of self,

And so is love,
Knowing the other hides,
All but what they know brings you the most joy,
What's left's what they know should be kept inside.

Chin Up

On the Ganges river,
Millions gather to bathe,
They'll free themselves from reincarnation,
By running to their grave,

Along with Daunte Wright in the North's Star,
Who knows what happened there?
Stopped for air fresheners on his mirror,
Then shot while Chauvin's trial's still laid bare,

Meanwhile, Somalia faces famine,
From locusts and no rain,
I swear the good news is harder to find,
Laid down beside this pain,

There is one thing,
The human aptitude,
Despite inequities surrounding them,
To still keep up a hopeful attitude.

Growth

You are a potted plant,
Soil rich and nourishing,
For as long as it's watered by others,
Who you will never see,

AS long as the sun is allowed to shine,
The curtains drawn aside,
You will continue to grow in your pot,
Never thinking that anybody lied,

Not questioning your own limitations,
To leave behind your roots,
Maybe you're transplanted or rotated,
Or develop new shoots,

You change so much,
But you are still a plant,
Nowhere to go, while your caretakers flit,
Wondering when your big chance will land.

I'm He/Him

My kids have a gender,
I have a gender, too,
I don't know about the cats I live with,
They don't give me a clue,

But what a wondrous world that we live in!
This thing, humanity,
To create roles for sex o'er centuries,
Then acknowledge this ain't how it need be,

Anything that blurs the lines between us, Is a-ok with me,
They were all manufactured, anyway,
To find identity,

But, here we are!
Comfortable in skin,
That houses all sorts of different minds,
With different preferences in humans.

The Satan Shoe

I can't read one report,
About the Satan shoes,
Sounds like Lil Nas X put some human blood...
Sorry, that is my cue,

To put the notion right out of my head,
Not that I disagree,
Sounds like he's got crazy amounts of press,
Though, I don't know of his celebrity,

The problem is blood just makes me naseous.
Oops, here it comes, again...
Nike has stopped the shoe, but not the race,
Of his reputation,

To the front page,
Making me feel alone,
I used to fear my heels would burst with blood,
This whole topic cuts too close to the bone.

April Fool's!

How could I trick you best,
On this April Fools day?
Pretend the world's been hit by a disease,
That it can't keep at bay?

Say Hong Kong protestors have all been jailed,
For their remaining lives?
Those both seem too farfetched to catch you with,
It would be mean to convince you, besides.

Maybe that Derek Chauvin got let go,
Unlike Floyd, his victim,
That Burma's burning 'cause its government's,
Against its citizens?

Perhaps I'll say,
The air is clean, today,
Everyone's decided we're all equal,
How's that for a trick on April Fool's Day?