Poems for a Rainy Day (Book) - 12/16/2024 2:22:23 PM
This book is no longer available. My publisher (Amazon) says it's "out of print." If anyone has a copy, I will buy it back so I can send it to a new publisher.
Poems for a Rainy Day (Book) - 9/1/2019 2:55:18 PM
First and foremost, I must comment on the "Contents by Category," which really caught my eye. I absolutely loved the category names you selected. They, just like your poems, were thought provoking.
When I first began reading "Poems for a Rainy Day,"I was making notes of the one or ones I considered my favorite, however before I even got into category III, I realized this was going to be an impossible task. Too many were being added to my list and I finally came to the conclusion that I was relieved & glad that part of my reviewing the book did not include picking just one as a favorite. That is a task I would not have been able to complete.
The lyrics that you compose leave the readers being able to envision the writer's state of mind at the time you wrote the words. The descriptive phrases you utilized provide the reader with a wonderful mental picture.
I feel I would be remiss if I didn't mention that throughout the contemplative words you gathered how your sense of humor showed through. I found myself chuckling often.
I really appreciate the works you have penned, Edward, and I thank you for sharing them with all of us.
Being a poet myself and currently working on a compilation of poems written by my mother, whom I lost 4 years ago, you provided me with the inspiration I needed to finish the project. Thank you!
Yours is an excellent book of poetry for anyone to have in their library.
Poems for a Rainy Day (Book) - 1/23/2019 8:54:27 AM
Edward Phillips is a poet, an author and above all, a man who has lived and learned about life. He is a spiritual being, philosopher, a lover, a fighter, a hater of injustice. He is one who has examined life and its purpose and dared to lay bare his conclusions for the world to see. This is a book of exposed thoughts and emotions. It's a book the reader will relate to and treasure. No doubt it's a volume to be read again and again.
Poems for a Rainy Day (Book) - 12/5/2018 7:22:22 AM
Congrats on completing your labor of love. Are you the illustrator?
Ron
Poems for a Rainy Day (Book) - 12/5/2018 12:01:58 AM
Congratulations for this wonderful offer from you. I will surely go for it. It will be a prized possession to have for anybody. God bless you dear friend in all what you do. Roseline
Poems for a Rainy Day (Book) - 12/4/2018 9:42:49 PM
Great title, great cover, good luck and congratulations with this one, Ed.
Poems for a Rainy Day (Book) - 12/4/2018 4:40:12 PM
This sounds like a great book to have in any library!!
Love ya!
Jane
The New American Challenge (Book) - 4/12/2016 1:50:55 PM
I will put this on my fb page!!! I do have a lot of "your kinds of people" as friends!! LOL!!
Love ya!
Jane
The New American Challenge (Book) - 2/19/2016 2:53:46 PM
As this excerpt proffers, the art (and struggle) to not only think freely, but more importantly, to critically think, is an intellectual technique fewer and fewer of our younger generations are being exposed to, let alone nurtured into the rewards available for those who learn it. Unfortunately, our (140 character, soundbite, everything-shorthand) media has not only provided a ready-made (sponsor financed) platform for the bloviators and our solipsistic celebrity-obsessed, can't-get-a-life citizenry to wallow in, guaranteeing less and less counter balance critical thinking opportunities as an option. The result: most people use their minds to help them perform but the most rudimentary functions, mostly designed to get unearned attention--and I'm not just talking about politicians. Entertainers with the least amount of talent are the champions of brain-dead thinking. The other unfortunate syndrome of "success" in this country is the obsession for economic success at the expense of loosing one's moral compass. One without the other is a kamikaze-mindset that can, and might, become the downfall for this country...with a few other countries of similar unprincipled behavior cruising for this kind of bankruptcy right behind us. BTW, I'm opting to get one of those signed copies.
Fit as a Fiddle and Ready for Love (Short Story) - 1/20/2026 5:14:34 PM
Your sense of humor is still intact! I also take memory pills (Donepezil, I think it's called). It's one of those meds you question the efficacy of until you don't take it. Same thing with a daily baby aspirin. I never realized how taking one of those a day for my heart actually helped keep my arthritic joints from hurting so much until I was told to stop taking it 10 days before surgery. I could barely crawl into the hospital when the day finally arrived!
Loved the amorous words!
Rebecca
What I Live For (Short Story) - 1/18/2026 5:36:30 PM
I knew there was a reason I like you. Turns out there are many!
Rebecca
What I Live For (Short Story) - 1/14/2026 2:46:27 PM
Nice, Ed. I agree with you that it is a superlative expression of stance and purpose. Regrettably, it would appear that that mountain summit you reference shows little sign of being as crowded as Sagarmatha/Chomolungma's any time soon... as long as the summit parties keep cutting each others climbing ropes and pulling ice-pins!
What I Live For (Short Story) - 1/14/2026 11:40:22 AM
I like what you live for. And I've known you as a scientist, and economist with impeccable, systematic way of looking at issues and problems. But there are those that would say that economists are "soft" scientists, like sociologists and psychologists. Maybe why you say there are no truths.
From astronomy, I gather that it is the truth, that the sun will pass by every 24 hours for the next few billion years. Astronomers will make slight adjustments to our time based on the sun in the meantime. But the relative truth will remain.
I'm a poor scientist but a good problem solver. In graduate school when I heard professor is telling us that they made certain assumptions before beginning to solve a problem. I noticed that they often assumed the entire problem away before beginning to solve it, making it relatively easy, even with higher mathematics. Good problem solving has to be practical, that kind of problem-solving wasn't.
For my doctorate, my purpose was to "do something beneficial for humankind." I'm not sure I will make it before I'm gone. You already have.
Ron
What I Live For (Short Story) - 1/14/2026 3:41:27 AM
May you continue to be on solid footing.
Fit as a Fiddle and Ready for Love (Short Story) - 1/8/2026 2:05:29 PM
You finally gave me the words I haven't been able to remember from September song…Thank you!
Never owned a golf cart, but I started using a scooter, indoors and out in 1991. There's never a good time to start. And I'd keep that GPS, too. It seems like it gets easier to get lost the older one gets.
Haven't used AI to help me write yet. But maybe it's time that I tried. I now use Google AI to help remember those damn names I have on the tip of my tongue but can't spit out. Do those pills work?
Keep on writing those political whammies for the right to wince at because they're true and accurate.
Ron
Fit as a Fiddle and Ready for Love (Short Story) - 1/1/2026 9:59:32 AM
Ed, I loved this departure from your usual esteemed opinion on politics and the current events. This piece is a breath of fresh air, given that another kind of pollution seems to fill our atmosphere daily from Washington. Your anecdotal references are priceless little gems drawn from a life of observation and participation in the ups and downs of living as a conscious being. No, I think you have much more than a "precious few" as long as you take care of those cognitive skills that keep us learning from your esteemed mind.
Voting is Too Important to be Wasted on Fake Bone Spurs (Short Story) - 3/18/2025 1:27:21 PM
I had never heard that story about JFKennedy! Thanks for reminding us that we need to take daring actions if we want our nation to be the better example of all of us. That means going to Town Hall meetings and letting Republicans know that this is a democracy, not a plutocracy.
Voting is Too Important to be Wasted on Fake Bone Spurs (Short Story) - 3/16/2025 12:24:21 PM
Bone spurs are for old men (would make a great book title). While they cause one's feet to be very sore, like my father, who drummed out for ruptured eardrums and myopia when he signed up in 1941, Spurs should be on the title of this essay, not Sores.
I would hate to have to bribe people like the miscreants to get them to fly right like you suggest. But you also suggest that the tide is turning in favor of a more stable and enduring government rather than one driven by lust for power, control and money.
Speaking of lust, I also was given the vote just in time to vote for JFK. A true patriot president with one fatal flaw that wasn't broadcast like it would be today. Kennedy had a tremendous lust for life experienced by his many physical challenges, including the PT 109 adventure.
As a result, he complained of having a bad back. His bad back was eased by brief Secret Service protected trysts with many women, famous and simply picked up off the street. His daily medicine, he claimed.
Let's hope the electorate has awaken to its mistake and begin going after the congrespersons at fault a year from now and senators as they come up for election. And don't forget dog catchers and the like. We need to clean up their act, as well. Let's let honesty and integrity rule over deceit and money.
Ron
What Rhymes with Harmonica? (Short Story) - 2/10/2025 3:42:21 PM
There was no category for "Exaggeration spilling over into humor," so i went with what there was. Now look at the palm of her left hand and tell me what you see...
A Mother's Day Soliloquy (Short Story) - 2/8/2025 6:14:33 PM
I lost my mom Betty in 1996 of brain cancer. She suffered so profound but was surrounded by others that loved her...
I couldn't forgive myself for not being there in her final minutes but i know love is eternal- whether it's on earth or the afterlife and I can't wait to see her again!!!
I think of her often but I know I must not be called there yet....But I do know she envisions over me when I see red cardinals.... In fact I had a dream about her twice since her death showing me there really is no death...The feeling I had that she was sending so much adoration and love for me. It brought me to tears when I awakened.... I knew it was her checking on me out of deep concern, for I was her youngest baby daughter. There was much pain in my life because she abandoned me at an early age with her alcoholism... I feel great compassion now for her because she could not cope with the pressures of life...It took me years to forgive her and after that we became close towards the end...She always told me I was too hard on myself.. After her death I heard a song on the radio about a Kiss Of a Rose From The Grave...In the lyrics it talked about the one who went to heaven said you've always been so hard on yourself...I could go on about other people that have passed that sent me comforting reassurances it was them....
Yet I know in my heart all things happen for a season, reason and are given for a divine reason. I have forgiven myself for many things and that is key to living a more profoundly elevated happy existence. People are called in seasons to us, some stay, some are called only for a time. It sounds like your mother cared so much to leave you that place that has that fireplace. Your a deep thinker Ed and I feel your spirit of gratitude you have been given by your mom- for the gifts that money can't buy and can only be felt with the heart.. Thanks for sharing):
~ j.
It’s Official: One Million AD Reader/Visitors Have Passed My Way... (Short Story) - 6/9/2024 1:41:50 PM
Congratulations on your accomplishment. I'll raise a glass of Riesling to you! Authors Den has been a fun place to hang out with other indy writers and see what all of you have done and are doing. Ed, your writings have helped me understand economics and made me aware of the schemes of which the very rich take full advantage.
It’s Official: One Million AD Reader/Visitors Have Passed My Way... (Short Story) - 6/8/2024 1:23:02 PM
I'm so glad you stayed and persevered because your writing is so powerful and so useful for the leaders of our country if they would only pay attention. May you continue onward for many more years.
Although I've had my website since 1997, I never put a counter on it so don't have an accurate count of what or who came, I'm very grateful to AD for such accurate accounting and the willingness to keep my entries all here for others to read for the duration of my stay here and beyond? Some of the deceased still have their work here being read.
I actually started coming by about 2002, only on Sundays, missing a lot of what was going on in the early years until I got a life membership around 2006.
It is certainly humbling to know that 1,638,813 have visited my pages here since they started keeping count in 2003.
Write on patriot! Write on…
Ron
It’s Official: One Million AD Reader/Visitors Have Passed My Way... (Short Story) - 6/8/2024 6:25:55 AM
Your last paragraph says so much about you, the writer, the energizer, the well-read informer, the heart and mind of a warrior... that's you, my friend. Hope to read you for another 12 years. That will make me 100 and climbing. Hell, Dick VanDyke is 98 and just got a Daytime Emmy. Warriors don't die. They merely trade their weapons of staying alive in for peace and relaxation. Man, I wonder if the digital world and AI will let us get there????
What? Just looked up my own: 1,618,786. I joined AD on August 14, 2008. So, we've both been at it for a long time. Guess we both deserve a couple of imbibing trips, eh?
Continue, Master Wordsmith.
Namaste,
Odin
An AuthorsDen Journey: Up Close and Personal (Short Story) - 5/28/2024 12:47:16 AM
It would seem you and I have been a part of AD for about the same amount of time and, uh, excuse me, but I have never known you to post anything "meager!"
Especially when it comes to expounding on the finer examples of feminine humanity, as you did here.
Rebecca
An AuthorsDen Journey: Up Close and Personal (Short Story) - 5/27/2024 3:23:24 PM
Thank you for your detailed appraisal of these two young powerful ladies in our midst.
I have known Taylor Swift since she was on American Idol and was already writing songs about her high school encounters with the other sex that resonated so well with some young girls and still does because she has stayed fast to that genre for so long. And I agree with you about why she is with an NFL football player from Kansas City. But I'm sure she has a reason and It is a very good one. Knowing Taylor, the relationship will probably last a long time.
I always thought that Carrie Underwood was a better singer than Taylor, but she has not distinguished herself as much as Taylor, probably because she doesn't write songs (not verified). There was one singer-songwriter from my time that really was famous, Carol King. I still love to listen to her sing the lyrics from her songs.
I hadn't heard of Shakira until she appeared as a judge on The Voice. I was immediately stunned with her singing, choreography and Spanish audience, still able to cross over into English to attract even more fans. As an artist, I would rank her higher than Taylor.
But like you, these are only my opinions as I try to sing some great songs in my baritone voice.
Ron
BTW, the Beach Boys just celebrated 60 years in the business and are finding that their fan base continues to grow even from young people first hearing their songs. And of course, the Rolling Stones who survived all those drugs, cigarettes and who knows what else still drawing huge crowds wherever they play. But they are man, and you were focusing on women and I appreciate that.
A Mother's Day Soliloquy (Short Story) - 5/13/2024 2:43:18 AM
A moving tribute to your mom. I'd like to think she'd want you to see the forest among the trees in the semblance of the profound difference you've made and continue to make.
A Mother's Day Soliloquy (Short Story) - 5/12/2024 2:29:25 PM
What a wonderful way to honor your mother. It is truly sad that you lost her at such a young age and had to fend for yourself without your father and only your brother for encouragement. I think that Horace Mann would be proud of the way you've tried to change the financial course of our great nation for the better. For that alone, you will be remembered.
Like you, I keep losing function and friends and family. But I had my young mother and even both grandparents around until I was in my 20s. Mom was even able to chat with me on her TTY phone at 93 before she died at 95 just before Covid-19 arrived in 2020. Thankfully, relieved of many ailments she had to fight after the last time I saw her in person in 2011.
Like you, I struggle with trying to accomplish my doctoral objective "Something beneficial for humankind." I hope that my books will suffice for the future.
As usual, your writing is always inspiring and worth reading for the lessons in life that you convey so well.
Ron
A Mother’s Day Soliloquy (Short Story) - 5/12/2024 12:15:45 PM
I'm sure your mom would disagree, as I do, that you've not made your mark on humanity.
As writers in a forum such as AD, it's seldom that we see the impact we've made, the good we've done, so we tend to believe we've not accomplished anything for our fellow humans. But you've taught us through your knowledgable insights and opinions on everthing from politics to economics and beyond (not to mention some beautiful sigh-inducing poetry that surely moves ME). By your own admission, you've had nearly one million visitors. Surely you understand that there were bound to be those with whom your words resonated!
Yes, Ed, your mom is no doubt very proud of all her son has accomplished in his life. You should be as well. Just make sure your hat size doesn't change overmuch in thinking about it!
Rebecca
A Mother's Day Soliloquy (Short Story) - 5/12/2024 9:38:55 AM
A dear and moving chat you've had. Much to ponder re: mothers. So, continue being who you are and offer us more of your wisdom and insight. Always you offer food for thoughts. Namaste.
Truth is Deadlier than Fiction (Short Story) - 2/6/2024 2:47:25 PM
Probably… Haven't tried it yet. But AI gave you, not a precise, but rather, political response.
If AI is really smart, it will become the richest entity in the world and thereby the leader. We are all just followers, aren't we. We will gladly follow our leaders into nuclear oblivion.
Ron
Segments from a Bifurcated Life (Article) - 6/19/2026 2:56:24 PM
And quite a tale! And one of overcoming the great odds of your beginnings. You've done well. You can rest on that. But I see you've got a bit to do when it comes to convincing those in the government to do the right thing. Don't give up on it too soon on that slippery slope we are all on.
Ron
Segments from a Bifurcated Life (Article) - 6/19/2026 11:29:10 AM
Your article reminds me of an Edna St Vincent Millay poem, "When will you learn, myself to be, a dying leaf on a living tree." We came, we did what we could, and now our damaged ship is sinking. Thanks for being you.
Segments from a Bifurcated Life (Article) - 6/19/2026 4:41:06 AM
Reading what you write is when I feel indeed the pen is mightier than the sword, and your words, my dear friend is the mightiest.....it made my day......dear Ed
Segments from a Bifurcated Life (Article) - 6/15/2026 1:12:21 PM
Yes... Well said with narry an oz of self pity, which you've proved over and over again through the years that such whoa is me complaints aren't your style. Here,again, you've given the reader words that are easily adopted for self-evaluation and hopefully a positive outcome like yo've shown here. Nice work, Ed.
July 4, 1776: 250 Years Later (Article) - 5/10/2026 8:21:29 AM
I remember how proud I was with my special red, white and blue 1976 issued passport as I travel the world and was greeted graciously by other countries.
Now, you and I are celebrating 1/4 of a millennium of an experiment that has proven to the world it can endure.
And I thank you for your steadfast articles that prove, over and over again, the right path that our country should take to move into the future with promise and freedom for all. Not just in this great country, but the world over.
Ron
July 4, 1776: 250 Years Later (Article) - 5/9/2026 5:39:48 PM
You reflect appropriately on the meaning of July 4th by contrasting the original struggle to build a republic with the modern pressures that threaten it. Reading it reminds us that democracy isn’t guaranteed—it depends on the choices we make now, just as it did then, something that we could lose and in losing it would finally make us realize what we once had. Let's hope that doesn't happen.
A Sage or a Saber-Toothed Renegade? (Article) - 4/25/2026 1:51:47 PM
Speaking rather as a 'Saber-toothed Tigger' than a 'Saber-toothed Tiger', I'm sorely tempted to observe that this is a very timely essay, Ed. As a life-long Solipsist, I'm pleased to announce that I've solved most of the truly perplexing existential problems we face, merely by closing my eyes. Regrettably, all that empty 'blankness' that this visual trick brings on comprises rather a lonely experience. Quite unfulfilling, I must say (pausing for some sagely reflection), in view of the fact that all the intellectual gymnastics in the known Universe aren't of much functional use when one is either hungry or horny. Of course, at the onset of the eighth Earth decade of life, both urges diminish considerably (in theory). Or at least the 'wherewithal' enabling apparatus associated with them does. What we all need most, I think, is a 'Viagra' for the entire body, mind and soul. That's my next major area of research inquiry...whether such a reanimating elixor is a real possibility, or not, remains to be seen. As a matter of fact, I had a fascinating discussion on that very subject, earlier today, with a vivacious YOUNG French woman I am interviewing as a possible candidate for the position (horizontal) of lab assistant. But first I need to do a "peer"-review of her work... And now I think it's time to take my silliness and go somewhere quiet, and close my eyes, again. [Hopefully, the other 10 dimensions are still admitting 'undocumented' ET Aliens...my Earth Visa recently expired] -K2
A Sage or a Saber-Toothed Renegade? (Article) - 4/24/2026 2:27:14 PM
I heard the term in 1966 and got interested in implementing a primitive form of self improving computer system that never was programmed to see if it would work.
But I realize it is new to everyone in general, especially those who are not interested in numeric things. After all, AI is nothing more than code. Those of us who have coded dots and dashes have a better understanding of what AI is than those who have never had the revelation of the power of programming routines to multiply our efforts.
You're right about crazy ideas creating entirely new paradigms. We all need to go boldly into the future and stop letting an efficient and archaic social justice determine our course. After all, AI should help everyone. Not make the rich get richer or the strong get more powerful.
Ron
The Most Urgent US Economic Issue (Article) - 4/10/2026 1:04:38 PM
I have read portions of this in several of your other articles and it is a very sober, well thought out and proactive attempt at creating prosperity for all, not just for the growing minority of those who can weather drains on their income challenging it.
Most Americans seem dead set against any form of wealth sharing, even by taxes or by handouts. I don't see how maintaining that tremendous difference between those who have at the top and those who have not at the bottom without some form of shifting of the wealth.
The inheritance tax is a good start, but I wonder if it is enough.
We need to vote, and then there's a lot of work to be done.
Ron
The Launch to Find Ourselves (Article) - 4/8/2026 1:22:44 PM
It's about time. In 1977, I was fortunate enough to attend a conference in Huntsville looking back at Sputnick in 1957 and looking forward to 1997…the 20-20 Conference.
A number of Werner Von Braun's German rocket scientists who worked with him on Apollo were there. They were very disturbed in their words, "We can't go back to the moon."
Werner and all of them haven't lived to see it. I am unfortunate to have. But I'm weary of a colony on the moon. People there will have to be cycled out often or suffer the consequences of radiation, dust, air leaks, loss of bone structure and other unknown maladies.
I love your paired questions. Can people in their right mind read them without wanting to do the right answer?
Ron
The Launch to Find Ourselves (Article) - 4/3/2026 9:20:32 AM
Wise observation with revelatory take away. When all is said and done, the monumental moon shot will most likely take back seat to Trump and his war... which I'm sure you're not aware of, a shot down F15 over Iran with two crew members missing. I have to say it: I'm so thankful for my health and for living here in southern Oregon, which continues to be a place of awareness, but not one that allows the world's hell to upset us to the point of stress on our health.
The Launch to Find Ourselves (Article) - 4/3/2026 5:09:07 AM
Thanks for posting this sensible article. Trump and company have cut money for health care, food, education and environmental cleanups of superfund sites. Yet, there's money for war and a trip to the moon. Sad mess this country is in. We've lost the respect of the entire world! Down with Republicans! Let's take this as an opportunity to rid ourselves of greed and hate!
The Launch to Find Ourselves (Article) - 4/2/2026 8:57:22 AM
With all due respect, Ed, I opt (along with recently demised Paul Ehrlich and Dr. Warren Hearn) for the last option (extinction). Our species has had thousands of years of opportunity to come to some sort of mutually agreeable understanding on matters of not just peaceful but amicable agreement on 'Pax: Quo Vadis?'...all to absolutely no avail. Our species' collectively schizoid personality shows no sign of evolving beyond Freud's mutual Todestrieb concept now, or in the future. Religious faith or belief, alas, is no 'real' panacea for this Lemming-like drive to our eventual doom, either, since faith/belief is still an unproven, intangible hypothesis (only). Besides, any religion that is still capable of committing homicide over the question of whether 'Jebus Crisp' (sic) was black, white or pink, isn't worth even the most remote empirical consideration, here. Sic sunt durae frigidaeque realitatis facta! [For the benefit of our left-of-center religionist friends, 'Shut up and follow the science!']
Lincoln Was Not A Republican (Article) - 3/31/2026 1:05:19 PM
That was an interesting point to take. I already knew it, and most of the history how the two parties gradually shifted into the ideology of the other.
There's a good reason why Abraham Lincoln is considered our greatest president of the USA. Why he's considered greater than even George Washington who set some wonderful presidents for how the president should live and act. Properly, bow out after two terms.
So I guess, for the uneducated, today's Republicans are stealing the banner of Lincoln with an agenda that is so far from what Lincoln wanted, as to be on the moon rather than down here on earth with hard-working people.
Ron
Time to Act is Now (Article) - 3/17/2026 1:46:49 PM
Well said. A couple of months before my cancer diagnosis I had a premonition that I wouldn't live to see the end of the Trump administration. I'm no longer certain if that is a good thing or bad. Maybe chemo has altered the trajectory of my illness. But I keep telling myself that if Germany can survive Hitler then we can survive Trump. Of course Hitler hadn't yet perfected The Bomb.
Rebecca
Time to Act is Now (Article) - 3/17/2026 11:48:14 AM
If we compare the first 26 years of the 20th century with the 21st. We will find that the 20th century was far more brutal and led to a second world war before the half century was reached.
Paraphrasing Theodore Parker (1835) and Martin Luther King (1960s), "The arc of history tends towards good."
Gradually, people are waking up to what is wrong. And we must stop underestimating the power of young people and their ability to make change in the right direction.
Ron
Time to Act is Now (Article) - 3/17/2026 8:29:25 AM
Some good thoughts there, Ed.
There is a brief columnar opinion by Editorial Director Hugh Gurdon, of the Washington Examiner (4 Mar 26 issue) that I think you would like and that bears quoting. Found on page 55, Gurdon says, in part: "Crowds of people can be a wonderful sight. When they quietly protest genuine wrongs, they acquire a collective dignity and moral force that can change the world, and have often done so. When with one voice they sing the praises of their favored sports team, or roar their appreciation of an Olympic event, they can be stirring and uplifting in their power and their positive emotion."
[I can think of another such notable moment back in the 60s, when black Americans literally risked their lives and welfare to raise America's conscious awareness of the bias and prejudice blacks have suffered in a predominantly white America, by silently protesting, en masse.]
Gurdon goes on to say, "But when they gather together in a sort of ad hoc conspiracy against law, order and the common good; when they coalesce in a febrile mass to taunt and jeer at the representatives of good government; when they disingenuously pretend that they are having a bit of fun or merely exercising their legitimate right to protest, but are in truth goading officers like medieval bear-baiters, they are knowingly and deliberately militating against the lawful society in which they live and thrive."
"Then they are not a good-humored, well-intentioned or moving throng but merely an ugly, unruly and disorderly mob. It is important for our continued civilisation that we can still distinguish between the two..."
Gustav LeBon's 1895 work, 'THE CROWD", expressed the same sentiments perfectly and presciently. His is a timeless analysis of the unpredictable human behavioral characteristics that unceasingly impedes cultural potential of our species to evolve into a higher, more perfect state of enlightenment.
It is highly ironic to me that back in the 60s, those silent masses of peaceful protesters I mentioned above were predominantly black Americans. Today, the 'ugly mobs' that Gurdon refers to are predominantly white, and of that total, virtually all white women (along with a small minority of 'virtue-signaling' white men). Alohas, -K2
[To borrow Chris Bray's (of THE SPECTATOR) droll observation, "Tell me how this ends..."]
A Conversation with AI Copilot (Article) - 3/3/2026 10:17:10 PM
Ron: This article is really only 7 pages in length--with about 120 bullets that covers all the major topics. That is extremely short given that a book often has 250 to 350 pages that most readers can handle. The article readable in 5 to 10 minutes. A subject as necessary as critical thinkingi is laid out in all its glory for anyone with barely the ability to read and to understand english.. Tell me: Where is the book that covers critical thinking half was well in such a short space.
A Conversation with AI Copilot (Article) - 3/2/2026 11:35:14 AM
AI gets very long winded in this article. Making it very difficult to determine whether or not the article is worthwhile to offer. But all in all, their suggestions outweigh what an individual writing the article would come up with after a long period of research.
We still have to apply some kind of assessment of the AI process printed here. But it's a great starting point on a difficult and fair look at the future. Especially what it takes to change the paradigm we are on.
Ron
What is Science? (Article) - 3/2/2026 9:22:34 AM
A wonderful article showing the promise and joy of science. The pure seeking of knowledge, regardless where it leads us. Knowledge is power. And those who do not have knowledge, only ritual, fear the knowledge that science brings us and want to suppress it.
I'm proud to say that for many years I was a member of the oldest professional organization in the United States, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). I was privileged to be able to attend two of their annual meetings and rub elbows with some of the greatest scientists of the 20th century.
The diabolical scientist is more fiction than reality. But whenever an evil regime takes over a government. They tend to force scientists to create their evil doing.
Ron
What is Science? (Article) - 3/1/2026 7:07:43 PM
Well said. One could also say that scientists are, in their way, amazingly creative. Why else could they imagine something that inspires the phrase, "What if..."?
Tariffs: Who Pays? (Article) - 3/1/2026 12:48:46 PM
I read that the tariff income is far less than the added cost to the treasury by the beautiful big bill. It’s truly a myth that the Republicans, and particularly, this president, are conservative about spending. They just shifted the spending from human services to providing tax breaks for the very rich that are hidden in the trickle down tax breaks that really are inflationary.
Republicans favor regressive taxes like sales taxes and tariffs… value added taxes. Involving consumer goods that everyday people have to buy with their weekly paychecks in order to be living the rat race lives they live trying to pay for all the bills. When advertisers, greed or peer pressure causes them to buy things they don't need or want.
On the other hand, progressive taxes like income taxes based on a progressively stepper tax rate for higher incomes or hereditary taxes that would prevent wealthy dynasties from forming that use all kinds of tax breaks to avoid paying any taxes at all on tremendous incomes producing no goods or services.
Thank you and AI for helping the average reader understand better what the difference is between the rhetoric and the actual effects of monetary policies like tariffs. Much appreciated.
Ron
Tariffs: Who Pays? (Article) - 2/23/2026 11:15:32 AM
Hi Judy:
Empirical studies of recent U.S. tariffs (especially 2018–2020) show:
• Most of the cost was passed on to U.S. consumers and businesses through higher prices.Judy.
Ed
Tariffs: Who Pays? (Article) - 2/22/2026 11:44:48 PM
who keeps all the tarriffs?
How to Make Prosperity a Fair and Workable Goal for Everyone (Article) - 2/20/2026 11:10:16 AM
I noted your remark about managing a $500 MM private aggregate with a grin, because it reminded me that for about 12 years I had responsibility for dispersing half a $BB almost every day, while working for Cal State Treasurer Bill Lockyer. The total 'pocket change' in my rainy-day account (the State's Pooled Money Fund) was usually around $60BB or so. Of course, I can't even balance my own personal chequing account, which helps partly explain the perpetual state of disarray prevalent in Governor Gravel Noisome's annual budget (LoL). But life is full of little ironies, isn't it (and also a few Hydrogen-bomb-sized ones, occasionally, as well...)?
On a more serious note, your remarks on wealth equity are quite interesting but I can't claim to have half the requisite financial knowledge required to respond here sensibly, other than to opine that the public at large is probably hopelessly incapable of understanding the perplexities alluded to in your article, let alone caring about any of it. Not that the arguments aren't logical, well thought-through and factually comprehensive...they are; rather due to the fact that those who actually have the horsepower to make changes to the existing economic status quo can't be bothered to pay much attention to analyses of this sort unless they are on the payroll of this or that bureaucracy.
Capitalism, as we have come to know and understand it in corporate America, is like the deadly dart-frog toxin (Epibatidine) used by Putin to kill Navalny, in Russia, in that its use is hard to hide and identifiable traces remain detectable in the body long after use. America is, allegorically speaking, suffering from a wealth equivalent of acute Epibatidine poisoning, sadly.
Thanks for another interesting and well-argued analysis, Ed.
Leadership: American Style (Poetry) - 8/17/2026 12:30:37 PM
Good sentiments, and I like the idea of leadership being about service rather than self. The vision you paint is certainly one worth aspiring to.
Of late, though, I wonder how close it is to the USA we see today, where the pursuit of power and wealth can sometimes seem to speak louder than fairness and sharing and where the rhetoric of power can seem louder still than the bombs and daily threats felt by the rest of us.
Leadership: American Style (Poetry) - 8/17/2026 9:33:10 AM
You have clearly defined where you stand. And I'm standing right along side of you. The way we lead must change from an autocratic top down way of providing trickle down,o something more fair and equal. "All men [people] are created equal.'
It can happen, all we have to do is follow your prescription for our country's, our citizens'and the world's sake.
Ron
Paradise Found (Poetry) - 8/2/2026 6:33:17 PM
I loved reading and just being lost in moment reflecting on the music/songs that propel me straight into those special memories of love. Even love lost can be remembered fondly with that special song.
Enjoyed reading. Thank you for sharing.
jeanne
Paradise Found (Poetry) - 8/1/2026 12:37:25 PM
Poems about love songs are love songs in themselves. Everyone wants to hear the beautiful music and words of love songs.
Strangely, it is the songs of love unfulfilled or break up that seem to be foremost in the charge for some reason. Perhaps, it's because most of us find that we have more loss in love than gain. It tends to be a learning experience gained later in life for some.
Ron
Paradise Found (Poetry) - 8/1/2026 8:29:24 AM
This hit home. All good. BTW, if you haven't watched it yet, tune into Sheridan's "1883" to have your love word epitomized. Music and story keep your eyes moist.
Paradise Found (Poetry) - 8/1/2026 6:45:06 AM
A beautifully melodic piece, Ed. Your lines move with the ease of a love song—quiet, steady, and full of warmth. The blend of music, romance, and the vastness of human longing gives the poem a timeless glow. That image of two hearts pausing on a beach, ready to take on the world, is like an arrow that hits its mark. Fine work.
Life with Honor (Poetry) - 7/18/2026 4:50:06 PM
Dear Ed,
Your words are powerful ,it removes negativity,hope is in the corner...turn around...live Life with honour...an anthem for present times! you have created.
Life with Honor (Poetry) - 7/18/2026 6:47:19 AM
A powerful reflection. Your three voices—quitters, followers, leaders—trace the hard climb toward integrity. The final truth echoes repeatedly: honor isn’t about winning, but about refusing to surrender the best part of ourselves. Good stuff, especially noweadays.
Life with Honor (Poetry) - 7/17/2026 2:22:22 PM
Powerful words that would make a great commencement speech. Loved every word.
The old parody goes…"fry, fry that hen, before you fricassee."
Ron
When Dreams Come True (Poetry) - 7/17/2026 12:06:48 PM
They say that if you dream it, it can come true. Your poem reminds me of that possibility.
Unfortunately, last night I dreamed that I was being held captive by my caregiver. Only to be released from my agony with a large sum of ransom. It was so real that I tend to believe it may have been true.
Ron
Life with Honor (Poetry) - 7/17/2026 11:16:15 AM
Pessimism is won over in this "no holds barred" picture of the acual, the realism that can erode and destroy, yet... with, as your last phrase states, we continue to "fight the endless line of unspeakables foes..." I was thinking of many of your thoughts here when I wrote "The Heart-Room's Journey." As you have countless times shared with us, there are such possitive aspects to focus on in this battle for survival. Thanks, Ed, for posting this raw testimony.
When Dreams Come True (Poetry) - 7/14/2026 1:15:33 PM
I reread several times for the pleasure of your positive and inspirational words on what love could be ... should be. I believe your vision and your desire speaks to what most all of us hold in are hearts for a relationship.
"When Dreams Come True" spoke to me with a gentle uplifting voice.
Lovely.
~jeanne
When Dreams Come True (Poetry) - 7/14/2026 12:30:21 PM
A tender, uplifting piece, Ed—your lines drawn from a sincerity that makes the promise of shared dreams feel both intimate and timeless. The imagery of love giving wings and opening new horizons is beautifully expressed. A soft, hopeful poem that reminds us how simple gestures can awaken the magic we carry within. Well done.
The Circle of Life (Poetry) - 7/3/2026 1:57:26 PM
I wish I had read this poem before I acted. But I followed your wisdom precisely and did. The story I wrote today required more courage than any I've written. But I thought it was time, based precisely on what you have shown in your poem, that if we don't act on our conscience and our convictions, we will soon be gone and no one will know.
Thank you for confirmation in this poem of encouragement.
Ron
The Circle of Life (Poetry) - 7/1/2026 7:09:58 PM
Definitely a circle of which I want to be a part.
Nicely constructed with both insight and wisdom.
Peace,
jeanne
The Circle of Life (Poetry) - 7/1/2026 5:16:14 AM
These are all the ingredients that round out the circle perfectly, a problem nicely conceived and well executed.
The Magic of Words (Poetry) - 6/28/2026 10:50:20 PM
I love words ... and what a pleasure to read yours which allows us to reflect over the importance of all we say or write.
jeanne
On the Edge of Eternity (Poetry) - 6/28/2026 10:47:23 PM
I enjoyed reading and re-reading your uplifting and grateful tribute to the life we been given.
jeanne
For Pam (Poetry) - 6/28/2026 12:55:33 PM
A lovely, heart-felt tribute.
On the Edge of Eternity (Poetry) - 6/1/2026 12:24:26 PM
Yes, in spite of those that are trying to drag us back into the dark ages of medieval thinking, the Internet has transformed us in ways we have yet to comprehend.
AI is also another transformational experience that will make the 21st century profoundly different from the industrial, economic and very destructive 20th century.
The meek will inherit the Earth, not the strong. Right will overcome wrong. And we will embark on goals as high as your universal enlightenment expressed in dark energy and the essence of life.
Ron
On the Edge of Eternity (Poetry) - 6/1/2026 7:10:32 AM
The way you look at the cosmos in this fine poem evokes in the reader a sense of gratitude, an awareness that we stand at the threshold of something larger than ourselves. I especially like how you weave the innocence of discovery with the vastness of galaxies and dark energy, reminding us that our destiny is always unfolding just like the rest of the universe surrounding us. The poem none other than a gentle call to embrace change and continue the journey with a sense of wonder.
On the Edge of Eternity (Poetry) - 5/31/2026 5:59:02 PM
Eloquently spoken, Ed. We are indeed
"...all as children marveling at persons,
places, and chances to explore
our potential, to engage in sights and
sounds and wonders that help to
shape our next moment."
Nicely framed and crafted. Prosaically, a 'keeper."
Lost in the Mist (Poetry) - 5/31/2026 2:54:17 PM
It's hard to let go, isn't it, when a dream meets its end and then becomes a memory. Especially when that dream was a living, loving reality. But oh to have lived it! Many are never so blessed.
Rebecca
On the Edge of Eternity (Poetry) - 5/31/2026 2:50:09 PM
Your poem reminded me of one of my favorite instrumental works, Setting Sail on Distant Horizons. I found a sense of adventure in your verses that resonated with me. Thank you for that!
Rebecca
The Magic of Words (Poetry) - 5/29/2026 12:14:45 PM
While they won't break our bones, your poem is right in telling us that they influence almost everything.
You are also very right that those three little words are probably the most powerful words out there that anyone can utter. Hopefully everyone that does, really means it.
Ron
The Magic of Words (Poetry) - 5/27/2026 11:24:33 AM
A fine, heartfelt commentary on how words accompany us through every season of life. The closing lines express beautiful simplicity—reminding us that, in the end, love is the truest language we ever speak
The Magic of Words (Poetry) - 5/26/2026 1:34:19 PM
Beautiful words no truer spoken.
Rebecca
Nostalgia (Poetry) - 4/29/2026 7:46:32 PM
Ah youth! Such folly found in those still afflicted with its self-centered nature before life beats them into submission. Better to enjoy the wisdom of your years with someone with whim you share much in common and let the whippersnappers learn how little they actually know.
Rebecca
Nostalgia (Poetry) - 4/7/2026 2:20:22 PM
I sense some musings from the past like in the narrative of Lolita. If the dream still nags you, perhaps write a short story with as much passion as that little story was.
Ron
Lost in the Mist (Poetry) - 4/4/2026 11:12:50 AM
A tender, wistful reflection on love’s rise and unraveling. The imagery of soaring, falling, and finally hearing those distant bells captures the way first love lingers long after its ending. Beautifully expressed.
Lost in the Mist (Poetry) - 4/4/2026 6:50:21 AM
Eloquently expressed, Ed. It captures that precious if ever elusive 'condition' we all contract when we are young and full of hope and dreams, quite perfectly. How utterly sad that our primitive understanding of 'time' and biological mandates dooms us all to eventually lose that brilliantly ebullient sense of unbounded regard for another, that is one of the priceless (if fleeting) entitlements of youth. But the fact that it inspires such paeans of passionate commemoration as this, helps lessen the pain that is often a camp follower of love! I also very much enjoyed this one! It transported me to many similar ports of call I have transited through in my own past. Kudos. -K2
Lost in the Mist (Poetry) - 4/3/2026 2:35:08 PM
One of your best! From the heart without cliché victimization, just picking yourself up, dusting off, and off to new experiences. My latest posting, "Lasting Relationships" addresses some of your focus as well. Keep writing with that developing poetic skill. Enjoyed this. Thank you for posting.
Life, Personally (Poetry) - 3/27/2026 7:03:21 AM
Very life embracing, indeed. There are certainly things in this poem about living fully, and enjoying it while we are here. We only have one life to live and you are showing the way.
Ron
Life, Personally (Poetry) - 3/26/2026 9:12:16 AM
A thoughtful piece that lifted my spirits!
Our guiding Star always available to give
a helping hand and highlight this personal route
we call life…
and If we play our cards right…
The open Gates of Heaven will be our reward…
Diana 🌿
Life, Personally (Poetry) - 3/22/2026 5:09:56 PM
A lovely, uplifting piece, Edward. You capture the quiet wisdom in nature’s cycles and the way they mirror our own lives. The poem’s gentle reminders to cherish life and follow its guiding light give it a calm, reassuring grace.
Life, Personally (Poetry) - 3/22/2026 4:29:48 PM
A beautiful sentiment accompanied by an equally pacific, bucolic image of harmonious nature's splendid assets, in balance as ever and always with all life, Ed, if we would just abandon our acrimonious, destructive vindictiveness and gaze on such perfection as nature's benedict on with the same grace that it imparts! As an innate pessimist and doom & gloomer, I may be a poor choice to compliment this summation of Spring's promise of renewal. but the total package of inspiration presented here would poor indeed if it didn't reach out to recharge the bleakest, most impoverished soul on this Earth! Thank you!
Life, Personally (Poetry) - 3/22/2026 4:16:18 PM
An interesting way of describing the essences and nuances of life, as having a personality. But it fits. If there is a Mother Nature then she must possess a personality of some kind. I think you described it beautifully.
Rebecca
Fortunes Told (Poetry) - 3/16/2026 9:42:08 AM
Interesting. I found this poem melancholy, even a little bitter. There are many, myself included, who could easily see the dark side of life. We've certainly earned the right. But some of us choose not to dwell on the darkness. We believe there is always light somewhere if we only look for it.
Rebecca
Fortunes Told (Poetry) - 3/13/2026 11:08:50 AM
Your poem of truth reminded me (as if I could ever forget) of the way society has allowed and nurtured chaos as if it were some kind of holy grail to follow. Your poem instills, if needed, a sense of living with purpose and defensive armor against the many ways one's resistance is broken nowadays. Some synergy going on here as well, for I just posted "Precarious Stilts" that deals with much of your subtext. Yes, there are those of us who stay poised for the next surprise, and there are those who blissfully prance along, ignorant of the forces waiting for just the right moment... that moment when you make a decision without forethought. Well done, Ed. Another group of thoughts to re-read often.
Fortunes Told (Poetry) - 3/13/2026 9:11:17 AM
Your poem moves with a kind of weathered honesty — the cold arrival, the bruising days, the uneasy meeting place between past and future. I especially like how you weave resignation and resilience together, letting fate, choice, and caution all share the same breath. The closing image of hidden dangers lurking behind the branches gives the whole piece a sharp, memorable edge. Well done.
Fortunes Told (Poetry) - 3/13/2026 6:33:39 AM
"Poems are written by fools they say
That no-one wants to read
And love is a dying ember
Wasted on melancholy."
No truer words spoken, Ed. This is a lovely little composition, for it reminds us that despite our (shared) compulsion to expiate the chaos and confusion that overwhelms our human existence, the sad truth is that, as the egocentric creatures we are, we often forget that fickle fate has doomed us to stew in our own individual hells quietly, privately and forlornly, for the most part. What a rare and wonderful thing it is when something of someone else's (like this piece) resonates within us and reminds us that the bars of our personal jail are only imaginary! The hell we inhabit, as thinking, feeling and soulful individuals may be awful, but at least the inmates are good and worthy company! [And now I'm off to the local park with my grrrryl, but I shall indeed watch out for arboreal 'widow-makers', LoL, both virtual and real alike!]
Trust (Poetry) - 2/14/2026 10:31:10 PM
HI, E. D., THIS IS MY PERSONAL OPINION, OF COURSE. (THANK GOD IN THIS NECK OF THE WOODS, AS OPPOSED TO A LARGE PART OF OUR NATION, I AM STILL ALLOWED TO DISAGREE, SPEAK AND NOT GET PERSECUTED FOR IT). THAT SAID...WE AS HUMANS CANNOT TRUST OURSELVES, I DON'T CARE HOW STRONG OUR CHARACTERS OR HOW WELL BRED WE ARE. FOR...IN SPITE OF ALL OUR GOOD EFFORTS...WE WILL STILL COME SO SHORT. HOWEVER, TO 'TRUST' IS, INDEED THE ANSWER BUT TO TRUST 'IN GOD'...THIS IS THE ANSWER. THE WORDS SAYS...IN ALL OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, WE ARE AS FILTHY RAGS. MEANING...ALL DO ERR AND COME SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD. SO, FROM 'HIM' COMES THE STRENGTH OF BE 'LOYAL'...YES, AND WE GET THE CREDIT FOR 'TRYING'. BUT, AS I SAID, SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE...WE WILL ERR. BECAUSE WE ARE HUMAN AND 'NOT PERFECT'. THIS MAKES ME APPRECIATE THE SO NEEDED LOVE OF CALVARY AND THE PRICE THAT WAS PAID FOR...REPENTENCE. 'HE' KNEW WE WOULD NEED IT E.D. THUS, WHEN WE COME SHORT, IT IS NOT THE END OF WORLD AND WE DON'T HAVE TO 'BEAT OURSELVES UP' WITH GUILT. WE APOLOGIZE, REPENT AND PRESS-ON. THANKS FOR SHARING, ENJOYED. LOVE, BLESSINGS AND FAITH...HIS+INSPIRATIONS
For Valerie on Your Birthday (Poetry) - 2/8/2026 7:25:53 AM
Thunder duckling, such a picture of affection built from attentiveness, shared vulnerability, and chosen loyalty.
For Valerie on Your Birthday (Poetry) - 2/2/2026 7:22:23 PM
Very eloquently expressed, Ed. This creates quite a word-image in its crafting that speaks of deep regard and valued companionship! Thank you.
250 Years...and Counting (Poetry) - 1/30/2026 3:08:22 PM
The good these days are being investigated for crimes they never committed. Some of them are being arrested from their homes and thrown out of the country. Not because they are good, but because they appear to be different.
It seems only yesterday when I had my 200 year red, white and blue passport and circled the globe to countries like Egypt that was under martial law and at war with Israel. Eagerly welcomed to visit Iran under progressive westernization. Thailand and the Philippines were also under martial law, but everywhere I went, with that US passport, I was taken to the head of the line and given royal treatment.
The sooner we are more open to the world again, the more American we will be again. Are we brave enough to do it? It appears that the people from the land of waving grain in Minnesota aren't afraid to do it in subzero temperatures. Made it spread across the land like wildfire.
Ron
250 Years...and Counting (Poetry) - 1/29/2026 3:32:03 PM
An admirable paean and testament to our "Great American Experiment", Ed . On the one hand, though, I remain convinced that democracy, although a high-flown ideal, has proven unsuited to the common mentality of the banal masses, especially when they are so easily led down unproductive, even harmful paths by the rising power of Corporate America that jeoparidise themselves and, by extension, all of us. Still, there seems to have been no better alternative to it that has developed over the past 250 years. As Becca stated it, "So far (the flag) still waves" and I join her and all of us 'right-thinkers' who fervently hope it stays there, fluttering bravely in the winds of dire change.
250 Years...and Counting (Poetry) - 1/29/2026 3:20:02 AM
Timely and moving.
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
So far it does. Let's hope it stays there.
Rebecca
Karma (Poetry) - 1/18/2026 5:46:54 PM
Wise and honest words. Well done!
Rebecca
Earth Day (Poetry) - 1/18/2026 5:45:11 PM
Beautifully wrought.
Rebecca
Earth Day (Poetry) - 1/7/2026 1:51:48 PM
She is all of that and more. Thank you for reminding us.
Ron
Earth Day (Poetry) - 1/3/2026 6:49:53 PM
Absolutely beautiful, Ed! Our planet, our home and our pale, blue dot in the midst of an unknowable vastness that transcends all human comprehension...except...our obligation as inhabitants of this hospitable refuge from the black, empty void demands that we love and cherish it as long as we exist upon it!
An eloquent supplication, at a time of the year when we must all reexamine our commitment to being responsible, caring and dedicated custodians of Gaia!
Karma (Poetry) - 12/30/2025 9:11:13 AM
Lovely image used with this one, Ed. It reminds me of the Big Wood River Valley in Spring, near Sun Valley, Idaho. Solstice is also a time of awakening and renewed hope that Spring will once again occur, of course, and what more encouragement does one need to clear out one's overburdened and bogged-down brain cells than a good Finnish sauna, followed by a dip in the adjacent lake? Your poem is a virtual sauna, that prompts a fresh desire for catharsis in America almost as much as the systemic shock of a REAL Winter-time sauna! Thanks for sharing that important and inspiring exhortation with us and very best wishes for a relaxing and pleasant New Year's entry! -K2
Karma (Poetry) - 12/29/2025 1:22:11 PM
A very appropriate call to action as we watch the sheep follow the wrong signals, hurrying the demise of mother earth without regard of the consequences.
I'll be in there fighting with you.
Ron
Karma (Poetry) - 12/29/2025 9:16:25 AM
You got it, Ed. You've penned a poem that carefully holds out the right hand and slaps the hell out of our left. Yes, writing an honest appraisal of where we are and what 2026 might bring is a task that requires both positive and negative understandings we all should take to heart. "... self-made destinies" fits well with my own philosophy that we create our own realities if we want to dodge the victim-machine that so many love to hug. Please make your own bed and sleep in it... yes. Thanks for posting; you've added to the reality of the end of the year, which I, too, tried to bring forward in my last few postings.
Taking Stock (Poetry) - 11/28/2025 11:38:24 AM
Quite a bit of bad behavior. I believe you covered it all.
Like you are, I'm more hearted by the seeming resurgence of resistance to all this evil behavior thrust upon us as though we deserved it.
But I am worried about the fickle nature of most citizens of the United States who freely follow causes they don't understand, believing that their lives will be better because pundits or influencers tell them so
Regardless of how they vote the underlying nature of the average American is open, kind and good.
Ron
Taking Stock (Poetry) - 11/28/2025 10:35:13 AM
Excellent sentiments, Ed. I particularly liked the analog at the end of being the masters of our fate and the captains of our souls! On this Thanksgiving Day, let us all reflect upon that exhortation, as virtual able bodied seamen on the figurative flagship of our nation, the USS America, and resolve to live up to several famous Naval exhortations, one by Carl Schurz's paraphrase of Stephen Decater's "My Country, right or wrong." [To wit, "My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right, if wrong, to be set right!" ] Another, by Admiral George Dewey: "You may put the steaks on the fire when ready, Gridley! [Oops! That one came somewhat later, after the Manila Bay battle had concluded. The ACTUAL quote was, "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley!" Best wishes for a successful T-Day engagement, Ed!
The Ayes Have It (Poetry) - 11/20/2025 1:15:18 PM
You bring to mind that the idea of appreciating beauty, whether surface or deep within, one never gets too old to understand that the romancing of life is essential... perhaps even more so now in a world that is so literally going bankrupt of our gifted principles. For me, most of my appreciations of beuty happen in my nocturnal journeys. Too busy during the day to go there... save the few hours I spend writing. (Of course, once in a while there's some beauty I can explore.). It is getting scarce. Thanks for posting and I hope your back is healing well. Peace.
In Love with Life (Poetry) - 10/28/2025 4:14:19 PM
Love seems to be a two-edged sword for most... especially those whose career was emersed in body, body, body. Yeah, that's Hollywood. 60 years was enough with 4 wives milking love for a daily drink.
Anyway, your poetic sense of love has many applications, and some of us have found that many of those applications outside of one's partner experience prove to be of considerable importance as we grow older, wiser, and experienced... as you are. Worth the read. Thank you.
In Love with Life (Poetry) - 10/28/2025 9:51:48 AM
I seem to recall your title is a strong line from a song. It's good to see you back and in love. Makes me wonder if you ran into somebody new in your latest adventure.
Whoever she is, she has ignited you into writing about your favorite subject again. Kudos.
Ron
In Love with Life (Poetry) - 10/25/2025 2:37:48 PM
Very nice paean to that strange force of attraction that snares most of us and overpowers us at some time or another. Especially nice on this drizzly day with its tinge of Autumnal melancholia. We human creatures are subject to a great many things in our brief moment of flourishing, but this among them is ascendant. Thanks for this lift in an otherwise ruminative day, Ed, here at the edge of this Earth's lower levels of purgatory.
"To stand there united
Our souls now requited,
The darkness relighted
By the fires of love!"
There! You've pulled me up a level or two with this mind-hook, already! Cheers!
To a Special Lady (Poetry) - 10/1/2025 12:44:11 PM
A very inspiring poem to your granddaughter...love the line, "It’s those who throw that hidden switch and make the dark days sunny." Values are everything!
All the best,
Myra,
Myra Wexler Darwish
Where Ignorance is Bliss (Poetry) - 8/13/2025 12:19:25 PM
I wonder who he is? Sure sounds like one sick puppy.
Seriously, your image depicts what most of the followers seem to be. Deniers of all things true in favor of the fantasy woven by their Pied Piper leading them to self-destruction.
Artfully and thoroughly done. Great job, Ed.
Ron
Time Was... (Poetry) - 8/9/2025 12:08:15 PM
Great thoughts on what little time we have left. Those of us who have thought of it earlier, have more time to reflect on the inevitable and how we might face it.
As I age and old friends die off, while new friends and relatives seldom peek into my life, I am beset with, "the fierce urgency of now." Then wonder if that "plateau" you write of will ever come.
Gave me a lot of thought to think of.
Ron
Time Was... (Poetry) - 8/9/2025 2:40:57 AM
UNFORGIVING MOMENT...?!? SUCH A MOMENT ONLY EXISTS...IF...WE EMBRACE IT! FOR...WITH GOD;'... MORNING, BY MORNING NEW MERCIES WE SEE, GREAT IS HIS FAITHFULNESS,,,' ! SO, 'PRESS-ON', EVERYHTING IS COVERED MY FRIEND...BY OUR GOD WHO SEES THE 'TRUE INTENTS OF THE HEART' . IN OTHER WORDS; WE.. CANNOT BE PERFECT DOWN HERE AND GOD KNOWS IT. HOWEVER, WE GET THE CREDIT FOR ...TRYING...TO GET IT RIGHT. THE SPIRIT OF GOD, THAT SEES AND KNOWS ALL, WILL NEVER LET US GO BUT SO FAR. CONSIDER DAVID, WHO WAS SO IMPERFECT. YET, GOD CALLED HIM...'A MAN AFTER HIS OWN HEART'. NOT BECAUSE HE WAS PERFECT, BUT RATHER BECAUSE HE.. GENUINELY 'TRIED',. AS YOU, I AND SO MANY OTHERS... ARE DOING. AMEN. THANKS FOR SHARING. LOVE, BLESSINGS AND FAITH...HIS+INSPIRATIONS
Becoming Enlightened (Poetry) - 7/11/2025 5:40:36 AM
We need to remind ourselves that FACTS matter. Well penned, Ed.
Rita (Poetry) - 7/11/2025 5:39:21 AM
What a perfect tribute. She was so beautiful and talented. Her life was not an easy one. I think she'll be remembered long into the future.
To a Special Lady (Poetry) - 7/11/2025 5:37:09 AM
Ed, what a wise and endearing message for your granddaughter. Beautiful work.
Best Answers: In Politics and In Life (Poetry) - 7/7/2025 4:11:42 AM
Your eloquet poem haarkened me back to days in the post graduae classes of philosophy. Couldn't help but flash on this quote: "For it is owing to their wonder that men both now begin and at first began to philosophize... They were pursuing science in order to know, and not for any utilitarian end."
Aristotle
For those of us hoping to live well into our senior years, to not take advantage of the time and freedom to learn, to acquire knowledge, to pursue more of science in our journey is a travesty. Within these boundaries of pusuit comes creativity... as we both know.
Best Answers: In Politics and In Life (Poetry) - 6/18/2025 2:09:28 PM
I will throw in a few more, although lesser: Copernicus, Leonardo da Vinci, Newton, Einstein, Stephen Hawking for an unfinished few. Perhaps Gandhi and MLK should be included. Lots of mentors to follow if one is to take the right path in life and become a critical thinker.
Thank you for reminding us to think for ourselves in this poem.
Ron
A Tired Old Veteran Speaks (Poetry) - 6/18/2025 10:14:30 AM
A fine tribute and reflection on those who serve, the sacrifice and the quintessential patriotism. One feels the gratitude for the country that they have served, embracing both duty and identity with a quiet pride. Well stated, especially now.
A Tired Old Veteran Speaks (Poetry) - 6/17/2025 1:39:22 PM
You had me giggling with that wiggling. But seriously, you're not only served your country well hoping that they wouldn't drop those nukes, but you're way with numbers, if ever paid attention to, could light the way to a brilliant future for the good old USA.
Would hate to see that happen a few years after you croak. It needs to happen ASAP… we're all getting older.
Right now I'm not planning on a coffin and if I start feeling one coming on, I'll take a cough drop and stop it. Cough drops still work, don't they? Maybe, honey, Honey.
Ron
A Tired Old Veteran Speaks (Poetry) - 6/16/2025 5:28:03 PM
I have many Veterans in my family . Appreciate this beautiful work.
A Tired Old Veteran Speaks (Poetry) - 6/16/2025 4:17:05 PM
What gives the thoughtful thank you so much power is that it is from an honest heart that has weathered the real thing, a man who gives thanks where others remain silent. This "stamp" you coined, "Paid in full." is what heroic gratitude voices when honesty and integrity have had a chance to live a noteworthy and purposeful life. Congrats Ed. So good to read this.
To a Special Lady (Poetry) - 5/29/2025 4:43:33 AM
What a wonderful tribute to your granddaughter, what a success story it is when you tried and did your best, she is lucky to have a poet of a grandfather like you. Sensitive smart and poetic, I'm sure you love her dearly, Have a great day. Edward
To a Special Lady (Poetry) - 5/27/2025 12:41:33 PM
What a wonderful sendoff for your granddaughter upon her graduation. With slight modification, it would make a great graduation address.
I'm so glad that my nieces and nephews have taken the paths they have without any prompting from me. All successful in their own way.
Ron
To a Special Lady (Poetry) - 5/27/2025 5:36:23 AM
A lifelong guide and priceless loving gift to your Granddaughter Ed…I’m sure she’ll cherish it and refer to it often…
A line that stood out to me…
“It’s those that throw the hidden switch and
make the dark days sunny.”
(Incidentally my Granddaughter is also graduating soon, .. in mid July…)
My best wishes always…
Diana..🌿
The Power of Words (Poetry) - 5/26/2025 3:54:40 PM
Sometimes I think I live for your love poems. This is both beautiful and true.
Rebecca
To a Special Lady (Poetry) - 5/26/2025 3:44:24 PM
Your love and pride for your granddaughter shine through with warm clarity. She is blessed to have you as a grandfather.
Rebecca
To a Special Lady (Poetry) - 5/26/2025 1:51:52 PM
Sound appraisal and advice from a sage of well-thought-out words that continue to impart your knowledge and add to our chances for learning. Thank you.
The Power of Words (Poetry) - 5/25/2025 12:21:14 PM
The little things…
and within those little things
is the true meaning of happiness..
“I love you”….three little words
that keep our souls soaring…
even in the atmosphere of warm
and endless familiarity…
I love how your words made me think
and ponder…
Best wishes,
Diana 🌿
The Power of Words (Poetry) - 5/20/2025 11:54:16 AM
Yes, the little things mean a lot… especially, those three little words.
Unfortunately, one of my most favorite poems, titled Little Things, turned out much differently…
https://ronhullauthor.com/poems/littlething.htm
Ron
The Power of Words (Poetry) - 5/20/2025 11:48:05 AM
Indeed, it is the little things that we can often lose sight of and undervalue. Thanks for reminding us.
Becoming Enlightened (Poetry) - 5/13/2025 12:53:22 PM
There are foundational reasons cultures both contemporary and ancient taught people to aspire toward enlightenment. Unfortunately few in today's world find value in it.
Rebecca
Becoming Enlightened (Poetry) - 5/9/2025 3:09:53 AM
Some wise and useful words here Ed…
and ‘enlightenment’ is what I still seek…
The search never ends…there’s always
a new beginning to ponder…
Regards,
Diana..🌿
Becoming Enlightened (Poetry) - 5/6/2025 1:08:59 PM
Why do so many think that money is the way to enlightenment? You're a poem once again invites everyone to throw off the shackles of fear, anecdote, lie and half truth.
My sister spent the first 30 years of her life fearful to step outdoors until she got a drug that allowed her to stand being among others without great fear.
Unfortunately, that drug and her basic arrested development has her sure that my sneaking enlightenment for everyone is a ruse and she has a study to prove it in every case from her Internet friends and the great one himself, going to make everything great again… For his family and loyal friends. My sister doesn't know she's being left out.
Ron
Fear v Courage (Poetry) - 4/30/2025 2:07:27 PM
Well written. Shows I'll brave you are in the face of change.
There's very little that I am afraid of. But when I am afraid I can tell because my spine will tell me that it's time for flight… I never will win a fight. But I have a plan… Ram 'em in the shin with your wheelchair foot rest like a tank and they may fall on you swinging while they go down in pain.
But if balancing on the edge with me in the wheelchair I am tied in, tottering, just relax and let me either fall or stay there on the edge until someone comes along to save me.
Ron
To Liberty (Poetry) - 4/29/2025 2:55:29 PM
Read like an article but, stung like a poem. I hope we can do it without another civil war. But the dead had to our expert at video games of war probably think the real thing is as clean as their movie heroes make it seem.
I predict that US presidents will be held legally accountable for their crimes while being president.
Ron
Politics and Free Will (Poetry) - 4/28/2025 11:30:40 AM
"We cannot choose to always be right
But we can choose to reject that which is wrong.
And we must always fight to preserve the difference."
Powerful words from the poet and patriot in you.
Ron
Fear v Courage (Poetry) - 4/26/2025 12:58:56 PM
The dichotomous nature of your two featured words are so dependent on each other when hope and trust seem lost and one realizes courage can exist without fear, but there must always be a need to move or adjust the obstacle. You've given credence to what seems to be a daily pill when one stays abreast of way fear is being patronized for lack of courage. Thank you for reminding us all that to not stay completely aware of these two words every day is to accept the option that we should never entertain: defeat..
To Liberty (Poetry) - 4/24/2025 3:27:45 AM
Excellent!
To Liberty (Poetry) - 4/21/2025 11:54:25 AM
A fine fabric of a poem into which is woven the supreme symbol of liberty with the contemporary realities, "the dark period", of lies and distrust, self-aggrandizement and disunity. May the voice of true liberty sing true.
Politics and Free Will (Poetry) - 4/19/2025 8:48:27 AM
Sadly, for too many in this country have constructed in thier minds a diety out of the word, "Wrong." Your position in this poem is the very focus the Whitehouse needs (or will hopefully have next go around). Thank you, Ed, for your always dependable journalism citing the iimportant principles we often need reminding of.
Voices Along the Highway of Life (Poetry) - 4/10/2025 6:46:49 PM
Your words are mystifying and so truthful, and I so feel the loyalty to your cause Edward, your a crusader for life and for the good of all beings, I can sense that in you, great poem !
Voices Along the Highway of Life (Poetry) - 4/10/2025 2:15:21 PM
I love how you rolled out this prose poem with taking all of us along with you. Down the memory lane of our lives leading to either a legacy or not, depending upon the way we lived our lives. How we touched other people in the process. As well as whether we left some part of progress along the way that wasn't neglected and thrown out the window along that highway of life.
But one person's trash is another person's treasure. What was once thrown out may later be found by AI and rediscovered once again as part of the legacy of humankind.
I love what you've been called to do. You do it so well.
Ron
Voices Along the Highway of Life (Poetry) - 4/8/2025 1:53:57 PM
I love everything about your poem, Ed. It comforts the heart to think about being flawed yet leaving a postive legacy behind us.
Voices Along the Highway of Life (Poetry) - 4/7/2025 2:16:00 AM
A powerful and uplifting poem that highlights what ordinary people can achieve thru perseverance, crossing life's bridge, lighting the way for others and facing challenges. Well done. Just what people need now.
Loyalty v. Trust (Poetry) - 3/23/2025 11:55:45 AM
So true. Trust enables fair relationships without fear of honesty.
Throughout history, those that demand loyalty you have exiled, tortured and killed anyone they felt, even though they could not prove, were disloyal. It's happening in places like Russia right now and could be happening here in the United States with people detained for assumed disloyalty. The practice is barbaric and medieval.
Ron
Trust (Poetry) - 3/16/2025 11:02:13 AM
So well said. I have found that loyalty is a dangerous path to take. I am loyal only to myself. And allow trust to determine by every decision, right or wrong. More often right than wrong.
Ron
Trust (Poetry) - 3/16/2025 9:06:54 AM
A most salient poem for these troubled times, an era that exhibits so little trust in what was one highly respected institutions, not to mention our leadership. To me, it's all a "sign of the times". Something we have somehow earned and cannot avoid. Love your final verse, most apt and true.
Trust (Poetry) - 3/16/2025 7:15:48 AM
Synergism at work. I, too, have dwelt on this principle of late, and your take on it allows me to rest a bit, knowing I'm in pretty good shape in that area. Your last line is so pertinent to our present state.
Suspended in a Sun Beam (Poetry) - 3/15/2025 10:16:03 AM
What a wonderful depiction of the human conundrum where we are so caught up in our personal wants and needs to read the stars. Love those last two lines!
Call Sagen had a wonderful way of cutting through all our earthly pomposity and show us what we really were in the scheme of things large.
Continue to think along the lines of the big picture and write about it.
Ron
Suspended in a Sun Beam (Poetry) - 3/15/2025 6:19:34 AM
An arresting yet very calm look at many of the values that are ours to own and enjoy responsibility for, hopefully understanding we have a duty to further such values. Excellent, Ed.
Suspended in a Sun Beam (Poetry) - 3/13/2025 12:28:34 PM
This is a beautiful poem dedicated to a wonderful soul. We need more like him on this pale blue dot.
Rebecca
America the Beautiful and Our Unfinished Symphony (Poetry) - 3/8/2025 1:57:26 PM
Very rousing and very necessary. It is really time for most of America to wake up and do the right thing. If they don't we are on the path of something every American except those who no longer feel they ever had a voice would never want to be on, dystopia.
Ron
The Many Faces of Love (Poetry) - 3/3/2025 9:34:23 PM
This was a beautiful gift for that couple. Well done.
Rebecca
These Precious Days (Poetry) - 3/3/2025 9:27:22 PM
The body ages but the spirit is immortal.
Rebecca
Risky or Risque? (Poetry) - 3/3/2025 8:39:51 PM
Hmmmmm.......
Just hmmmmmm.....
Rebecca
America the Beautiful and Our Unfinished Symphony (Poetry) - 3/2/2025 2:06:05 PM
Well voiced opinion that one would only hope some of our legislators would exalt. One can hope, but it appears there's more, much more, to come.
Risky or Risque? (Poetry) - 3/1/2025 3:10:43 PM
A very impassioned poem about your deepest thoughts. Much appreciated. And she will appreciate, it too.
Ron
Risky or Risque? (Poetry) - 2/24/2025 1:07:15 PM
Wonderful indeed to have someone near us to hear us and cheer us, that is a blessed state to live in. Enjoyed the poem, Ed.
Risky or Risque? (Poetry) - 2/24/2025 8:23:16 AM
Plenty enjoyable, this one. Poetry style was delightful, as was the content. A very refreshing reading. ~~ djl
Risky or Risque? (Poetry) - 2/23/2025 7:49:28 AM
As it is increasingly visible, the best and most honest appraisal of ourselves is ourselves. Sadly, too few dare take the plunge. Thanks for sharing your assessment, as it is true to what you've presented to your readers for years.
Life, Liberty, Justice (Poetry) - 2/2/2025 9:44:41 AM
Wow, so much has changed in the America I once knew. But one thing is for sure that our tenderness, heart, love, care, concern must never vacate our spirits. There is a dark force trying to do that. We will survive only if we remember the precious and selfless- not selfish duty of fellow Americans that gave all.........We are at a crossroads majorly as a nation. We must never forget love for each other which we still possess but need refinement and awareness..We must always turn to our center of centers of those that gave all at Normandy. I see those boys gave everything...Pictures of them come across my heart and mind of how they never complained- just served as men.... My hero is Martin August Treptow .. I'll copy and paste his biography here- born on 19 January 1894 on a farm in the town of Eagle Point, WI. He grew to manhood in that community and, in the summer of 1917, was working as a barber in a small shop in the town of Cherokee, IA.
World War I was in progress and when the call went out for volunteers, Martin enlisted in the Army on 15 July 1917, in Cherokee. He and his regiment landed in France in the early part of December 1917.
On 29 July 1918, Private Martin August Treptow was serving on the Western Front with Company M, 168th Infantry, 84th Brigade, 42nd Division, known as the famed ‘Rainbow Division.’ The Rainbow Division had been in the thickest of the fight and the battle in which they were engaged that day, Chateau Thierry, would end up being recorded in history as one of the most important of WWI.
On the day that the Yanks went across the river and up the hill, a messenger was needed to deliver an important message to one of the company's platoons. In spite of heavy machine gun fire and artillery bombardment from the enemy, Private Martin Treptow, then 24 years of age, volunteered and grabbed the message and ran out under fire. As he was nearing the platoon leader, Treptow was killed by a hail of machinegun fire.
Later, in the pocket of his shirt, they found his diary. On the first page, under the heading ‘My Pledge’ he had subscribed his name and written something that many others in his company would eventually copy into their diaries. These were his words:
“America must win this war. Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone.” You see Ed it isn't about our differences ever!!!!! It's not political- it's our uniqueness before the world and our gratitude, love inside that will last eternally and while everything else fades this will endure. May God rest their precious souls and may your day be meaningful and beautiful.....
~ j
A Journey to the Edge of Time (Poetry) - 1/27/2025 1:54:50 PM
Those with no faith live their whole lives in fear. No need to fear death, it will come whatever we may think about it but faith takes away the fear and the sting of it. A thoughtful and thought provoking poem, Ed. Well penned.
These Precious Days (Poetry) - 1/16/2025 5:09:05 PM
Over 70 years young ? Age is nothing more than a milestone of attitudes... Ageless is mind over matter! The best can be to come if those have spines of steel in spirit, that truly see with eyes of care and concern for others, a charitable heart and hands of humanitarian selflessness. That is medicinal manna for the bones, heart and spirit. Thank you Ed for this):
These Precious Days (Poetry) - 1/16/2025 2:20:43 PM
I really love this one! It's filled with great references that I can relate to. Even though my hearing is nearly gone.
For example, September Song is so mournful and poignant that it's great poetry. But I mourn for all the Great song titles like We've Only Just Begun, along with all of the great book titles that we can no longer use because search engines will never find ours but multiple copies of the classics. If I were to start a band today how could I come up with a unique catchy name like Queen or Kiss?
But like so many others here who have reached that magic 70 where everything seems to start to deteriorate and are anticipating the end of their creativity to the point of, in some cases, a kind of posting desperation.
I tip my head off to you for coming up with that creative poems that are always different and enjoyable to read.
Ron
These Precious Days (Poetry) - 1/16/2025 6:35:20 AM
One of my favourite songs sang by Edward Woodward, and has been since I was Eighteen years old…
I used to think of it in terms of my Parents…now it’s myself…
After losing my husband at a relatively young age, your well worded poem really hit the spot…every day is precious, and by appreciating each to the full, and filling them with as good thoughts as we are able, hopefully they will go by a little slower, and with the gift of a grateful heart…life will still hold some special Magic…
Diana…🌿
A Journey to the Edge of Time (Poetry) - 1/10/2025 2:48:39 PM
I really like that last line. Waiting in life is the wrong time to Think about writing wrongs when the wrong should never have them done in the first place.
Throughout history, there have always been power brokers who have been looking or ways to quel the misery and anxiety of the masses. It is best done by establishing a religion that indoctrinate people into the idea that if they are religious enough, faithful enough or loyal enough they will be rewarded Beyond the life they're living.
Almost everyone in the world has taken that bait and hopes that they will become some creature of high value or sit alongside Thor or one of the many gods of history that well power of religion over people.
Ron
A Journey to the Edge of Time (Poetry) - 1/8/2025 12:37:22 PM
Were all glorious miracles and no two alike.... This passage you pen is very in depth, extremely thought sincere, deeply provoking that stirs the reader into inquisitive revelations and analysis of just what the heart reveals.... Yes many people wouldn't care about our birthdays, and our journeys but in the silent world it all depends on angels that are among us that you never thought existed that have stood over you when you came into the world until now----. Just ask them- they would glow in joy from head to toe of you. There are angels among us in disguise. Many would in fact say a prayer above in silence for you, for your behalf, for they know your heart ... . The heart is the most revealing thing there is, if it's broken and hurt. We must lay it bare before all heaven because it "does care"...Consider there are many angels in disguise who would care about your birthday--- and they will tell you never to lean on your own understanding about your life---- but there are all possibilities with the spirit of love through God and angels plead for your beautiful benediction.
~j
A Journey to the Edge of Time (Poetry) - 1/8/2025 9:06:08 AM
It's true and we cannot escape its reality. We live our lives with an abiding mystery. Centuries went by before we were born, then we were born and are now living. Feels real. But centuries will go by when we (as such) will no longer be here, at least in this present incarnation. Life (and death) is a mystery. Let's embrace it.
The Many Faces of Love (Poetry) - 1/6/2025 2:54:07 PM
Your depiction of love is a many splenderd thing and a song title to boot.
Seriously, very well thought out and delivered.
Ron
The Many Faces of Love (Poetry) - 1/6/2025 6:37:53 AM
A brilliant and beautiful picture of love, Ed. A joy to read.
Advice to a Young Man (Poetry) - 1/3/2025 7:15:32 AM
This piece really made me smile…and
I really needed one today!
Thanks Ed…
Diana…🌿
The Many Faces of Love (Poetry) - 1/3/2025 6:28:34 AM
A brave poet that takes on love and explores down into its heart in a manner that is sensitive and insightful, a poet who has experienced love and can summon in words what it is capable of. Kudos.
The Many Faces of Love (Poetry) - 1/2/2025 3:34:10 PM
If only everyone had these standards Ed…
What a different world we would have…
This is carefully considered, unique and
Wonderful writing…
Diana…🌿
The Many Faces of Love (Poetry) - 1/2/2025 2:15:10 PM
SUPERB!!
Interesting we were both on the same kick today as I just posted "Love is..."
Your work here, Ed, is the best I've read in a long time... you're riding a wave here and staying atop. Namaste, dear poet.
The Why's of Life (Poetry) - 1/1/2025 2:16:43 PM
The only resolutions that one would need in life… Beautifully expressed in your poem.
I'll have to admit that I followed that path long before I ever met the poet that wrote it.
It's just the right things to do. Everyone should know that. Some don't have to be reminded buy poems like yours.
Ron
The Why's of Life (Poetry) - 12/31/2024 8:43:14 AM
Totally uplifting Ed..
And words offered from a Heart
that has truly known and acted on each line…
Happy New Year!
Diana…🌿
The Why's of Life (Poetry) - 12/28/2024 2:55:06 PM
Such an encouraging poem can only come from someone who as acting on this and succeeded , your heart is in the right place for sure, ED
The Days of Swine and Roses (Poetry) - 12/28/2024 2:16:36 PM
Sometimes our egos say we can do anything..we cant; not in one incarnation..and if we have extreme power an noone to pull us back...it can be devastating to us an those around us..
I read Helen Kellers great teacher; Ann Sullivan was extremely strick with Helen, thus the world was given a great gift.. But Helen and Ann recognized each other...they earned heaven.
The Why's of Life (Poetry) - 12/28/2024 11:21:32 AM
Fine resolutions as we approach and move into the new year. Not easy to accomplish because of the pressures that life puts upon us, especially in today's 21st century world, but certainly worth setting timely goals and pursuing them in the coming year. Thank you for posting.
The Days of Swine and Roses (Poetry) - 12/27/2024 11:36:16 AM
Once again your prediction of a Civil War. I certainly hope not in this country where we've always been able to do better with nonviolent protesting than we have with any kind of violence, coercion or ignorant name calling.
Advice to a Young Man (Poetry) - 12/23/2024 2:00:01 PM
Just getting back here from this damn flu.
Damn right! Gotta laugh. The only thing a man's got in the end that can hold them, is money.
Ron
Visions of Eternity (Poetry) - 12/20/2024 3:59:21 PM
Oh, my, Ed. this is a deep and heart touching poem. I love everything about it. A true reflection of courage and love.
The Power of Possibilities (Poetry) - 12/20/2024 3:55:53 PM
Ed, your beautiful poem re-enforces my joy in knowing the human spirit can never be imprisioned, it was created to fly free.
Advice to a Young Man (Poetry) - 12/15/2024 10:16:41 AM
Thank you for the laugh, Ed.
Somewhere Out There (Poetry) - 11/28/2024 1:34:45 PM
Your first stanza resonated with me. Here's why…
When I got off the plane in Karachi in January 1977, I was greeted by a grumpy old man. And rightfully so. He told me that he was expecting a visitor from America the next day, and now he had to change plans, like leaving his room so the visitor, me, could occupy it.
But the California style house in a suburb was actually owned by the brother-in-law of the doctoral student who told me that I could stay there. After being entertained by a strikingly beautiful young woman who was a medical student, in the evening, the master of the house appeared.
Talha Siddiqui was a couple of years older than me and worked for a German pharmaceutical company. We hit it off immediately as though he was as close as my twin brother. It was that connection you wrote about.
Ten years later, he was visiting his brother in law in Illinois and gave me a call. We took off talking like we had just talked the day before.
Ron
Somewhere Out There (Poetry) - 11/27/2024 11:16:25 AM
Indeed, what was meant to be will happen whether we like it or not. within the folds of our destiny like a kindred spirit.
Somewhere Out There (Poetry) - 11/27/2024 10:31:25 AM
This is a beautiful and meaningful pen, Ed. I found that if we keep our spirit and heart open, we will find that place of a surrounding sun. Love your poem.
Visions of Eternity (Poetry) - 11/22/2024 12:42:36 AM
The power of words can drive away shadows, yet bring shelter in the glare of negativity.
I really like this one, Ed 👍
Love and light 🌞
Rx
The Sun, Technology, and Me (Poetry) - 10/29/2024 6:38:46 AM
Technology ain't always all it's cracked up to be.
Rebecca
A Time to Live (Poetry) - 10/29/2024 6:14:38 AM
So very true. I'm "only" 62 but my health issues have forced me to contemplate my mortality and what I want to leave behind. I hope that I leave the world a better place than I found it. At least my little corner of it.
Rebecca
A Time to Live (Poetry) - 10/15/2024 12:33:59 PM
Wise words as we all approach the inevitable that no one who has ever promised has ever come even close.
We all need to leave the world in a better place than it was when we came into it. If we don't, we probably won't be around to see the result of our actions.
We are already at a tipping point where all the kings horses and all the kings men could not put the world back together again. If we don't heed climate change as real and scientifically proven or, even more stupid, believe that we can engage in wider war leading to nuclear "tactical" strikes and not do program damage to the ecosystem that will kill us all. Consumerism using plastics for convenience and price is doing that very insidiously in a small, but deadly, way. As well as our insistence on pesticides and herbicides, overuse of antibiotics and drugs of both benefit and pleasure to our eventual demise.
If you want to do something right before you go, change… Change quickly to what is right in everything you do. Your grandchildren and great-grandchildren will thank you over and over for doing the right thing during your life to save theirs.
Ron
A Time to Live (Poetry) - 10/14/2024 5:54:50 AM
'Is our ride over or just begun?'
your poem asks..I believe it is just beginning! Thank-You for a beautiful poem!!
The Sun, Technology, and Me (Poetry) - 9/21/2024 2:45:21 PM
Very well written. Intriguing, catchy, unique. ~~ djl
The Sun, Technology, and Me (Poetry) - 9/19/2024 7:08:02 PM
Wow! Extremely strong poem. I thought of Bob Dilan reading your
"The Sun,Technology and Me"..Title makes me wanna put music to it.
Life, Liberty, Justice (Poetry) - 9/4/2024 12:01:28 PM
As I read it resonated freedom and wanting for a better way ahead. You have been part of those that are factually laying the groundwork for a better future for everyone, not just the privileged old order and wealthy.
The best poem I've seen from you. You're not getting older, you're getting better.
Ron
Life, Liberty, Justice (Poetry) - 9/4/2024 4:01:53 AM
Lovely poem!!! The words my soul longed to hear. Thank-You!
Kamala is the One for Me (Poetry) - 8/26/2024 1:29:23 PM
I can see you can't help but notice, as the French say, "Viva la difference," even when dealing with the distaff side of leadership. I say, "It's about time!"
For those who say that Kamala is not experienced enough. She was attorney general for the state of California for 6 years, followed by being one of California's senators for another 4. California has an economy that puts it as the 5th largest country in the world. As vice president, she has learned what it takes to be president, while keeping a low profile and doing the heavy lifting work to support her president. Now, it is her time to shine.
There was a time when the primary requirement to be president was to be born in a log cabin and self-taught like Abraham Lincoln. More and more, the primary requirement to be president seems to be part of a political dynasty or someone of great wealth. President Obama broke that mold nicely. Now, it is Kamala's turn to break the glass ceiling of the presidency. And smash it for good.
I can't wait to watch her debate the former bad president, either. His lies won't get very far with her crossing examination of the facts.
Ron
Kamala is the One for Me (Poetry) - 8/26/2024 10:50:40 AM
Yes, Kamala is all you profess and then some. There are those saying the debate (assuming Mr Chicken doesn't bail) will have one hell of a world audience.
Adventurous (Poetry) - 8/13/2024 9:46:25 AM
A thought provoking pen about the realities of life and living. Well penned, Ed.
Inflation (Poetry) - 7/24/2024 8:20:22 PM
An excellent poetic description of such times as this! Well done, Edward! What we lack today is authentic leadership! Clown Harris is always smiling, which is nice. But take her off script, and she will sound like the RIDDLER! She talks in circles! She is a GREAT circus act but not good presidential material. Our present administration has brought inflation to new heights! God save our country! Amen X 110!
Why I Dislike Debates (Poetry) - 7/14/2024 11:01:17 PM
I wish people would understand that when we vote, we are hiring someone to do a job. No less. I preach every chance I get of the need to thoroughly vet the candidates, not take them at face value because they'll say anything to get "hired." Would we hire someone based solely on what they say in the interview? No, we'd do a thorough background check. No matter what they say they'll do, it's what they've done that will portend what they'll do.
Rebecca
Adventurous (Poetry) - 7/14/2024 10:42:02 PM
Life is meant for living. Better to "go for the gusto" than to molder in place.
Rebecca
Adventurous (Poetry) - 7/7/2024 8:00:36 AM
You make here an important point. Yes, the our adventure is there to be had and many people like to travel and be adventurous. But there is a drive toward the inner adventure that takes stamina and courage, to see and then find ourselves. Perhaps that is adventure enough, to meet our destiny and the future of ourselves with determination and courage.
Adventurous (Poetry) - 7/6/2024 3:37:02 PM
Beautifully stated truth about why we need adventure in our lives.
When I was younger I took every opportunity that I could to adventure. Many times alone because I could get no one else to go with me. But as aging and my paralysis increased, I had to be more patient and less adventurous. Now, I'm pretty much confined at home and have to relive my adventurous life by writing fiction.
Ron
Why I Dislike Debates (Poetry) - 6/26/2024 10:43:45 AM
Your poem made me immediately think of Mr. Smith goes to Washington (1939). As I recall to confront dishonesty and corruption. And also, the bad history of Sen. Joe McCarthy and his rampage against Hollywood and communism (mostly creative Jewish people).
I believe there is a clear choice regardless of who wins the debate. Both candidates are too old , but backed by the big money interests in their parties with diametrically opposite, uncompromising views.
The measures of not having an audience present and blocking the microphone preventing interruptions, are good measures, but I probably won't waste my time watching… Just get the highlights, later.
Ron
The Power of Possibilities (Poetry) - 6/7/2024 5:28:36 AM
This is wonderful Ed…right up my street!
I love the idea of the universe as our Playground..
and the idea of endless possibilities…
imaginations unbounded to roam free…
AI…who knows…?
shades of HAL .. rather scary!
Diana…🌿
The Power of Possibilities (Poetry) - 5/28/2024 12:59:02 AM
Your poem got me to considering a universal conundrum: when, and where, did the universe and time begin? I suppose in the great realm of possibilities, something such as the Big Bang can exist. But is that really the best explanation that science can come up with for how the universe began? In my own little corner of the Realm, I think that our universe began with the spilling of an alternate universe's matter through a wormhole. But that's just me and I'm just a peon of the keyboard.
Rebecca
The Power of Possibilities (Poetry) - 5/26/2024 9:53:59 AM
So well thought out and well written. Isn't it great to be free from fear and to let our imaginations run as we placed words on the ether of the cloud of the Internet? What better thing to do than to rehash old ideas that no longer taste good in the mouth of reality. The time to cast them off and imagine as John Lennon wrote.
I'm having the time of my life writing about the future in my latest novel. One of the things I remember my mother who read all of my novel was, "Ron, I certainly hope that some of those things you have written about someday come true."
Finally, I look at AI as our assistant, our friend and the way that we can enhance ourselves beyond all believability if we only let it happen rather than letting our fears take over.
Ron
The Power of Possibilities (Poetry) - 5/26/2024 8:17:52 AM
Profound in its simple presentation, not allowing the reader to escape with merely a nod, or a smile of recognition, but an urge to stir up some new imagination. Loved this, Ed.
The Power of Possibilities (Poetry) - 5/26/2024 8:01:14 AM
I like the realm of possibility that you attribute to AI in the opening up of our future. Of course, there needs be a negative side, because that's the way of the world, but just think of all the possibilities that our "imagination" can come up with, and all the resultant power to shape our own lives and destiny.
Love's Inspiration (Poetry) - 5/17/2024 11:34:26 AM
Such a beautiful reflection of love. That last stanza is my favorite. Lovely work, Ed.
Love's Inspiration (Poetry) - 4/24/2024 3:40:05 AM
Ed,
I greatly respect those poets, such as yourself, who have the courage and depth of experience to wordsmith emotional and intellectual principles of truly "living" life fully, not just taking up room to exist. This poem of yours (saved into my Ed Archives)takes a position alongside the many articulate and insightful essays and other poems I've saved of yours. This line, in particular, says volumes. "It’s known only by those who have found a permanent connection with humanity."
It's a wonderful feeling to know one finds solace and peace in "being Love." You have that quality. Namaste, dear friend. Keep your words of wisdom coming.
Life (Poetry) - 4/10/2024 6:14:14 PM
we should never give up on life, Edward, no matter how bleak it looks. Your poem touched me, :)
Life (Poetry) - 4/9/2024 8:22:58 AM
Throughout history, most people didn't have a choice in their lives. they did what their fathers and mothers did, and bowed down to their rulers. They were often forced by stupidity and greed to fight for causes that they didn't agree with.
Democracy was supposed to change that, especially to leave autocracy behind. But the powers that be seem to have managed, at least here in the United States, over the last 70 years, to take the wisdom of the people away and place the power back with kings and emperors, only disguised with the robes of justice.
These are trying times and your poem shows it very well. We all have to stay close to what science tells us and what is right and fair. Not what is stupid and unfair. Simply that. If we do that, we will not be running off and doing anymore silly wars so that wealthy people can get more wealthy while we shed blood and their children have a dynasty to live on without working.
Ron
Life (Poetry) - 4/7/2024 6:20:04 PM
You have reminded me that the older I become, the less I am "certain" of and certainly the less I know. Life and our purpose on this gem of a planet (before we completely ruin/ed it) is truly and enigma. Love, peace, and best wishes to you, Edward,
Regis. 🙏🐦🦋🌳🦉💚🌲
Life (Poetry) - 4/7/2024 11:51:12 AM
This is a truly profound poem that asks some very profound questions. Have you ever noticed how just as you think you have the answers something happens to make you question those answers all over again? It just goes to prove there are no, or at least very few, easy answers in life.
Rebecca
The Earth Speaks (Poetry) - 3/23/2024 12:33:49 PM
A chilling warning, if beautifully wrought. More people than those of us here on the Den should read this.
Rebecca
The Earth Speaks (Poetry) - 3/3/2024 7:42:50 AM
Well said. You've chosen a simple vocabulary to express the language and vernacular of the universe in all her ability to adapt. Now if only more would listen to the melodies of Nature that our once pristine environment still offers through the murky air, water, and attitude of its tenents. Enjoyed this immensely.
The Earth Speaks (Poetry) - 3/2/2024 11:11:36 AM
I like the mixed message in this poem. I hope those with locked minds can read with understanding. Great job!
Ron
The Earth Speaks (Poetry) - 3/1/2024 8:38:49 AM
The earth as a lady who speaks if we only listen to what she has to say. Beautifully rendered.
Passing the Torch (Poetry) - 2/18/2024 6:20:34 AM
Did he change the world? Did he change Russia? It's too early to tell because sometimes it's not the person themselves who is immediately responsible for the change, but someone else they inspired along the way. There are many unsung heroes who have done just that.
Rebecca
Passing the Torch (Poetry) - 2/17/2024 6:17:24 PM
Such a wonderful tribute, you have an observant eye and a great loving heart, thanks for sharing this, creation
Passing the Torch (Poetry) - 2/17/2024 8:32:31 AM
I wonder who will pick up his torch.... May justice prevail for whomever does. Thanks for a very deserving tribute. r
Passing the Torch (Poetry) - 2/17/2024 8:30:29 AM
"it seems the good, they die young." (Paraphrased from Dion)
Martyrs sometimes change the world. Your tribute suggests that Alexei Navalny didn't change anything. It was one more nail on Putin's coffin. The Russian people are getting fed up. But do they have the courage of Nava\ly?
Your last stanza is perfect and really sums up his life beautifully.
Ron
Passing the Torch (Poetry) - 2/17/2024 7:38:13 AM
Amen. May his memory and struggle live on.
Passing the Torch (Poetry) - 2/16/2024 11:14:25 AM
An inspiring write, as so many people get their news from vagrant blogger sites in business for the sheer act of making money regardless, never giving any deep-felt consideration of a news item's truth or non-truth. There is so much ignorance afloat amongst the truly uninformed. A friend of mine texted me this morning that social media was running crazy citing this death as a natural cause death. Please. He was a man of exceptional courage who most likely fought to stay alive, probably knowing the poison he had injected a while back might be coming in small doses in his food. Now, his widow will have to plow through the misinformation to speak of his legacy as a hero among murders. Hopefully, she goes on assisting his long term battle to call out Putin for what only a blind person would see as leadership. (Of course, we'll have to pardon Tucker Carlson as he knows not what he does... and never has. Again, thanks for posting this honorable credit to one of the few political heroes left in the world.
How are We Doing? (Poetry) - 2/7/2024 1:43:38 PM
Wow!!! I'll keep on singin' in the rain, Edward. But seriously, keep on writing to help us think.
How are We Doing? (Poetry) - 1/21/2024 12:30:26 PM
I have taken up singing after the 2 minute warning because it soothes my soul and makes those around me happier. I sing the same tune as your poem but not with the pure mathematical rigor that you do so well.
So continue to sing a song of sixpence (a pocket full of wry?), or trillions if you try.
Ron
How are We Doing? (Poetry) - 1/21/2024 9:03:57 AM
Looks like a couple of little typos: There went his
of knowledge life...
advanced thinkers to
Think things through for us.
the Donald would this issues solved it by now.
Loved this piece as it fused levity into an often trying and depressing subject. And then, of course, there's old orange face with the IQ of a ball of twine.
Write on, dear friend, for you help keep the scales in balance.
In it to Win it for Love (Poetry) - 1/18/2024 12:30:16 AM
Did you ever find a composer? One suggestion would be to look around on Fiverr.com. They have freelancers of all kinds, including songwriters. You could probably find a composer or two as well.
Good luck! I am really looking forward to listening to the final product!
Rebecca
A Tribute to Emma Lazarus (Poetry) - 1/17/2024 10:10:06 PM
A professor once declared to his class that since Man has no natural enemies of his own he must then turn on himself. I see the truth of this every single day just by watching the evening news.
Rebecca
A Tribute to Emma Lazarus (Poetry) - 1/9/2024 6:45:12 PM
She was a special lady who had the right idea, we need to remember that humanity is something we should never abandon nor water down,
well said dear poet, this was a pleasure to read, Edward
A Tribute to Emma Lazarus (Poetry) - 1/9/2024 11:21:40 AM
Your poem is a wonderful addendum to Emma Lazarus's immortalized poem on the plaque at the Statue of Liberty. But, it is just as important today when we think about how the United States will be viewed in the future of the world society. A world society that is forming against the wishes of perhaps 50% of the people of the United States who think that a world society is the death of nationalism that so many hold so dear.
When I was at the Statue of Liberty, I don't recall reading that plaque. But fortunately, especially here, but elsewhere, like the national news on television I hear that opening line often and have been educated even though I may not have been taught those words in school.
Ron
A Tribute to Emma Lazarus (Poetry) - 1/8/2024 4:23:03 PM
Thanks for reminding us about Emma Lazarus and Horace Mann, Edward.-I like to read well-written and thoughtful poems like this one.
