A Surfeit of Swans

Floating on the river Rhine somewhere
between Amsterdam and Cologne
confronted by this surfeit of swans
do not have a clue what to do with them
as a group when one in a...

The Swan

Across the wide waters
something comes
floating--a slim
and delicate

ship, filled
with white flowers--
...

A Modest Love


The lowest trees have tops, the ant her gall,

The fly her spleen, the little sparks their heat;

The slender hairs cast shadows, though but small,

And bees have stings,...

You Darkness


You Darkness, from which I come,
I love you more than all the fires that fence out the world.


Because the fires make a circle of light
so that no one can see you any more.

Metaphor To Action


Whether it is a speaker, taut on a platform,
who battles a crowd with the hammers of his words,
whether it is the crash of lips on lips
after absence and wanting : we must...

There Is A Road Always Beckoning



There is a road
always
beckoning.

When you see
the two sides

Poem to COVID<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
I´d turn right away from you<o:p></o:p>
wherever I crossed you in the street<o:p></o:p>
and as you came towards me<o:p></o:p>
I´d quickly go the other...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0PzmRfxvz0
The Lincoln Project, Jan 12, 2021

Mike Pence for President

As Vice President, Mike Pence has proven that even in the face of a constitutional crisis...

Chardin's Matter reminds me of Rilke's allusion to Jacob and the Angel:

The Man Watching
I can tell by the way the trees beat, after
so many dull days, on my worried windowpanes
that a storm is...

Hymn to Matter


Blessed be you harsh matter, barren rock; you who yield only
to violence, you who force us to work if we would eat. Blessed
be you, perilous matter, violent sea, untamable...

How to Climb a Mountain


Make no mistake. This will be an exercise in staying vertical.
Yes, there will be a view, later, a wide swath of open sky,
but in the meantime: tree and stone. If...

In most cases the virus is treatable, but a signifiant percentage of the "survivors" suffer extremely debilitating long-term effects (LongCOVID). I have yet to see one of the vaccine-scare-monger,...

What will the dead say . . .

to those who mourn the restless souls
who died alone and drowning
hands held by surrogates—

free us from these chains of neglect
and abuse by the many who...

"The odds that an infection becomes fatal is only 1:10,000 at age 25, whereas those odds are roughly 1:100 at age 60, 1:40 at age 70, and 1:10 at age 80."
...

The Facts of Life 


That you were born
and you will die.


That you will sometimes love enough
and sometimes not.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfDn4kg4keQ

The Hill We Climb

When day comes, we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade?

The loss we carry. A sea we must wade.

We braved the belly of the beast.

We’ve...

well, the definition of 'obvious' seems to be fluid around here. I'd say that the idea that there will be mandated vaccination isn't quite a lie in itself, because the word "will" removes the ability...

On the Pulse of Morning




A Rock, A River, A Tree
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9nTt2F0Kdc
Hosts to species long since departed,
Marked the mastodon,
The dinosaur, who left dried tokens

Thank you, everybody, for your kind words! They have really warmed my heart and given me a sweet afterglow for this endeavor. Big Smile:waccosun:




I am very happy to hear this! I've been in...

In This Place
(An American Lyric)


There’s a poem in this place—

in the footfalls in the halls

in the quiet beat of the seats.

It is here, at the curtain of day,

where America writes a...

The New Horizon




There’s a storm coming
the air changes subtly
something inside
shifts
turns

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"Why has there never been a coup in Washington D.C.? Because there is no U.S. Embassy in Washington D.C.”
- Ira Kurzban attorney, following the 2004 U.S. Coup deposing Jean-Bertrand Aristide of...

Quilts


for Sally Sellers

Like a fading piece of cloth
I am a failure


No longer do I cover tables filled with food and laughter

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The Ear That Speaks

I have been a standing self in this world.
I have braved both pleasure and disgust.
I have lived my words.
The stranger appeared and I did not look away.
The crazy youth...

The Boot Is Coming Down Hard And Fast

Caitlin Johnstone
January 8, 2021


A lot's been happening really fast. It's a white noise saturation day and it's impossible to keep track of...

It’s Time


Stop the digging
There is no pony down here
Despite the stink


It’s time to look upward
At the narrow ribbon of sky

From her website:

"A Buddhist monk I know has on his screen saver the names and photographs of people to whom he is grateful: Gandhi, Malala, Greta Thunberg, Vaclav Havel, Martin Luther King,...

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Deep bows to you, Barry, for your dedication and constancy in providing this gift to our world - weaving the fabric of community. I wish you all the best in whatever venture comes next. You are a...

Trying to Be Thoughtful in the First Brights of Dawn

I am thinking, or trying to think, about all the
imponderables for which we have
no answers, yet endless interest all the
range of our...

SEPTEMBER 1, 1939

by W.H. Auden


Auden: A poet for our times
by Christopher Hitchens

​I sit in one of the dives
On Fifty-second Street

Defenseless under the night
Our world in stupor lies;
Yet, dotted everywhere,
Ironic points of light
Flash out wherever the Just
Exchange their messages:
May I, composed like them
Of Eros and...

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ0Hfc8hvpE
LegalEagle, Jan 7, 2021

American Insurrection at The Capitol

What happened on January 6th was an American tragedy. But one that was entirely...

Dear Barry,
You have made an immense contribution to our community. Wacco will be sorely missed. Where else could be found a web-based community site run by a generous person with good judgement? ...

26-1-1939




When Barcelona fell, the darkened glass
turned in the world and immense ruinous gaze,
mirror of prophecy in a series of mirrors.
I meet it in all the faces that I see.

Burning the Old Year




Letters swallow themselves in seconds.
Notes friends tied to the doorknob,
transparent scarlet paper,
sizzle like moth wings,
marry the air.

Thank you, Barry, for Waccobb. I will miss it. Great work.

Hello Barry, ditto to all the gratitude and appreciation that people have already expressed. I have little to add to all these compliments that are so well spoken. I loved the humor, thank you! Wish...

Barry - you have done a great service to me and all of us through this forum. I remember when it was not as it is today, and went through the transition way back in? 2003? 2004? You built it to...

I'm kind of appalled at the people who think the sad, pathetic little man that is Julian Assange is some kind of hero. Unlike the likes of Edward Snowden, Bradley/Chelsea Manning...countless others...

Barry, Wacco BB has been a wonderful community resource and you are a true community treasure. Whatever new endeavor you take on, I am sure we will all benefit greatly from it!

On to the further...

A singular one from Boston Dynamics:
https://boingboing.net/2021/01/02/watch-boston-dynamics-robots-dancing-to-the-contours-do-you-love-me.html


And a classic from Sissel:...

West County just won't be the same without WACCO. :( It has been a great enhancement of our lives. Thank you, Barry, for your gift as well as your patience, benevolence and sanity. I've mostly been...

Waccobb is closing; I'm sure you have all read Barry's post. I want to thank Barry for all the work he put into this site. It was a great contribution to the Sebastopol community.

For those who...

Hozho


And you will see hozho all around you, inside of you.”
This morning she is teaching me the meaning of HOZHO.
It is dawn.
The sun is conquering the sky and my grandmother and I
are...