My girl and her horse...

Photo by Merrily Calkins 2011

"Fear is the path of the dark side."

human, Homo sapien, Homo human being, bipedal primate mammal : of, relating to, or characteristic of human; having human form or attributes; susceptible to or representative of the sympathies and frailties of human nature (such as inconsistency). ~ Merriam-Webster

Humans are susceptible to “sympathies and frailties of human nature.” These sympathies and frailties include emotional and intellectual inconsistency. As sentient beings, humans are capable of feeling empathy and compassion. Whether or not the aforementioned emotions are reasonable or logical in a given moment depends upon circumstances of that moment and where the reacting human being is “coming from,” that is, his/her life experience to date.

To feel and exhibit anger and resentment, a human must experience anger and resentment. To feel and exhibit empathy and compassion, a human must experience empathy and compassion. Ideally, the latter attributes are taught and experienced from birth, but this is not always the case. Nature endows humans with the potential for empathy and compassion, but that potential must be nurtured by a child’s environment in order for the seed to take root. Sometimes, the seed of compassion lays dormant until a child has the opportunity to venture out into a more worldly environment. If that same child remains in a cloistered environment into adulthood, its experience is limited to the beliefs of that specific faction of society.

Broadening one’s life experience aides in eliminating fear of others outside of one’s immediate environment. “To understand a wo/man, you’ve got to walk a mile in his shoes, whether they fit or not.”

leh

Cliff House View, San Francisco, CA

A Girl & Her Horse

I watched from a distance

Dawn mount bareback

a horse called Moon.

Spine straight, blonde hair flowed,

black mane billowed;
platinum and ebony,

resolute, vigilant,

nostrils flared.

If I were a horse,

I'd be you, Moon,

her words rode on the wind.

Moon whinnied,

her fluid gait uninterrupted.

Rider and mount challenged to trust

each other, inner-selves,

their collective power.

 

leh  (photo by Nina Fuller 2010)

Blessed Be the Heroes

Muhammad Ali is a Muslim
     --a hero in a bipolar world.
Afghanistan pushes for peace with the Taliban
     --the Pentagon sells weapons to Saudi Arabia.
Ginnie asks Anita to apologize
     --a teabagger's olive branch to a feminist.
Reports of economic recovery
     --banks step-up foreclosures.
"Don't ask, don't tell" reprieved
     --it's an election year.
Elton and Leon reunite
     --blessed be the heroes in a bipolar world.

leh

Bad blood rising

Ominous signs

     before the dust cloud settles
          in Berkeley
               left protests, nothing new

     after the dust cloud settles
          at Ground Zero
               right protests, something new

Zealotry begets

     polarization

          genocide

       Solomon's wisdom ... or not

Sacrificial lambs
     not an inconsequential act

       All this, and Pluto II


leh

Alone Together

Naill & Blackwood
on a dog-day quest for fathers unknown
our Golden Eagle soaring along Route 66
attracting attention unwanted.

Disjointed memories

colliding with no rhyme

bypassed the Grand Canyon

nonstop through Navajo land

the Texas panhandle

far horizon country, past
cylindrical bales of gold spun
under a flaxen Oklahoma sun.

Aunt Opal in Carnegie
distant Kiowa powwow, that night
drumming a twister warning.
shelter in Anadarko
Gladys’ cellar fit all
telling lore of bygone family
history to help her belong.
not always right; not always wrong.

Onward to Arkansas
a diamond in the rough
through Cherokee hills
red dust & Ozark sweat.
Uncle Max on a tractor
his last summer tilling earth.
Dad, out back culling greens
only four summers more to reap.

No matter Nashville
detoured south to Broken Bow
undeterred by Choctaw thunderheads
sleuthed among soggy headstones
—none that Blackwood sought.


~text & photo by leh