Flipping Out About It
Episode #91 - Poetic Expanse - Eight Days A Week Series continues.
Today’s Ponder Point . . . . .
USA’s executive branch monkeys have declared “Antifa” a terrorist organization, and plan to fight it as such. Which is rich, considering Antifa isn’t an organization. It’s just people who think fascism is bad. it literally is named “anti-fascism.” There is no leader of Antifa, so who are you gonna call? Who are you going to send your soldiers to get? If you are against Antifa, does it mean you are for fascism?
Just to be clear this is what the Antifa movement is against!
Fascism (/ˈfæʃɪzəm/ FASH-iz-əm) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement,[1][2][3] characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy.
And who does this sound like? Is the next step for the Pentagon to step in and murder young protesters and rebels in neighborhoods under the slogan Antifa, - in the same fashion as they are murdering fishermen in the Caribbean, calling them drug smugglers?
The Human Hum . . . . .
“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.”
“A lie will have traveled around the world, while the truth is still lacing up it’s shoes.”
- Two quotes from wily wisdom of Mark Twain
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The Political Part . . . . .
There is an attack on free speech going on. A law against flag burning, firings and attempted penalties for flipping the police the bird finger, and on and on by the President and his dutiful attorney general. Clearly, to me and most of you flipping a finger, swearing at someone, and burning a flag are ridiculous actions that accomplish nothing. However, these actions do constitute having the right to express one’s opinion. Stupid opinions are protected by law, if they weren’t the President of the United States would be rendered mute.
It seems that, both the Supreme Court and lower courts have ruled that giving cops the finger is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment. Along the same vein, swearing and any other profane speech directed at law enforcement is also protected.
So if flashing the middle finger is protected by the Constitution, why are people getting arrested?So know your rights! - and do not allow a government and a fascist administration to strip them from you.
The Update on R G’s creative publications . . . . .
Poetic Expanse - A compilation Vol. 1 by R G Schmidt - is for sale as a paper back on Amazon Kindle books. Or - order direct from the author.
Happy to receive so many good Reviews from some fellow poets on this Poetic Expanse:
on Summer •
“This piece carries deep emotional honesty, a reflection of memory, loss & the ache of time. Its rhythm moves like water itself, flowing between reflection and regret. The picture of swimming and sinking beautifully mirrors the struggle to stay afloat in love and in life. Brilliant piece!”
on All the Ripples •
“Your imagery flows like the very ripples you describe, ethereal, vast, and full of introspection. I love how the poem leads the reader on a cosmic journey before landing gently on the self, revealing vulnerability and self-reflection in such a striking way.”
Mantler’s Shack - a novel by R G Schmidt - is in publication and on schedule for launch in December 2025. Pre order directly from the author for a signed first edition, by listing how many copies you would like below.
A Poetry Piece . . . . .
SUMMER
(109.01)
I really wasn’t much of a swimmer when I met you that first time.
Your long damp hair made you insuperable to resist.
Nonetheless, you were certain,
and you could glide in and out among the waves,
While I used up all I had just to keep my head up.
Saturdays were always the worst.
We would spend every hour of the day in that water together.
Hard headed insistence, was the best way,
I know that is what I said then, - I feel less that way today.
Or maybe it was really bare paranoia,
that blocked my kick from coming together.
It was heady and gentle to an art,
to let me paddle and patter
and for you to perfect your part.
During those years as I drifted, - in and out of your life,
I never understood why you let me float there,
Not until today, when I see you naked again,
On the bottom, and on the shore.
Willingly, shifting the control through the brain. . . . .
— — —
So I peel the skin from the apple,
I cut through the noose with my knife.
Pummel the tin with an anvil,
As the the water washes away at my life.
I wanted to swim with the sea lions
impelling them from shore to shore.
I want to be a lover of ages
and of rivers that have come before.
I want for my time to be noted
as if there were something much more.
— — —
Clearly, I am still not much of a swimmer,
and you don’t help me keep my head up anymore.
The normal inside all this scares me to a shiver,
Even my good friends call me Richard now.
- R G Schmidt
on Summer • a review from All Poetry sources.
“This piece carries deep emotional honesty, a reflection of memory, loss & the ache of time. Its rhythm moves like water itself, flowing between reflection and regret. The picture of swimming and sinking beautifully mirrors the struggle to stay afloat in love and in life. Brilliant piece!”
Another Poetry Piece . . . . .
SLIPPED
(008-1.0)
Slipped again – Oh! No!
By the side of the road,
with that aura all around my head again.
Pictures of the valley hot!
Slept for days without cloths!
In September, then the water froze!
You should have seen my toes!
Sometimes, it’s just not worth it!
You should have seen the scene in St. Louis.
When all the people thought the World would end.
Somedays, you can’t even get a cheeseburger.
But, you can still get next to that trend. . . . .
Not long ago I rode a submarine.
Up and down like a barber’s chair.
Then the window broke and there wasn’t much left to see there.
But I was happy just being in it, for a little while anyway. . . . .
Flying isn’t easy when there’s no place to land.
You should take a fish with you to Ohio.
Think of all the friends you wouldn’t have to stand.
And they wouldn’t be bumming a dime, all the time. . . . .
I can’t remember Paris, but I am sure it was in France
A woman tried to sell me her underpants.
She didn’t seem to know that she hadn’t the dance.
and that I’d already bought a new wallet. . . . .
You can sit quiet if you think you should
But, I’ll still be sticking’ fire works under your hood.
You must be getting tired of being so systematically good.
So light up the match and get cracking. . . . .
Water doesn’t run, it just kind of slops around.
You think your in a puddle, but your feet are above the ground.
It’s a crazy way of fishing’ but it gets you out of town.
So pack up the kids and get rolling. . . . .
If I had a night like this everyday,
I wouldn’t be thinking of her,
and have so much nothing to say.
- R G Schmidt