October Morning
I arrived just in time
To see an echo of sunrise
Trying to brighten a cloudy sky
The water was up, waving
And the breeze strong and air cool
The coffee was warming
And a peacefulness reigned in me
Despite the turmoil of a windy morning
And struggle of a sunrise on a new day
Our Table
We dine at an elegant table
A bounty, a harvest of riches
We imagine that we all are able
To enjoy and sample these dishes
But the table is far from stable
And some unfortunates are holding up
A legless-comer and are not able
To partake, never sipping from the cup
Of plenty and tasting fruits of the vine
Until someday they drop their support
They’re no longer there as we dine
Because of our imprudent deport
Of those that held the table steady
And the dogs will dine on the scraps
As they are always there, at the ready!
Dark Money
A shadow moving across the land
Sowing a crop of bitters for a harvest
To feed something monstrous and dark.
For, if it was pure of motive
Pure of intent, it would not hide
In the shadows, choking the fruits
Intended for innocents,
Who surely will go hungry.
I’ll Be You
I’ll be you, you’ll be me
Then we’ll know and see
What you mean to me
And I mean to you
So we may love each other’s
Unique perspective and view
And knowing what it means
When I’m you
And You are me
Long Poems
Long poems are not portable
They require a wheelbarrow
And multiple trips
To dump them in the backyard of your mind
By the time you feel their meaning
They weigh too heavy on you
I promise never to write long poems again
For the sake of your back
And for the sake of meaning
Migraines are rare these days, but they still happen for me… this one came as the baseball game was just starting… and the field and view was distorted, and it came unraveled in short order… here is how I think of it, and a way to explain what happens…
Two People, One Mind
One is in control and rational
One is childish and irrational
One knows all is wonderful and fine
The other, lives there too, but barely
Co-existing, while playing around
The corners of my mind each day
Until seemingly unprovoked
A tantrum it must throw,
Shattering windows
And making a mess
Giving no peace between us two
For five hours of irrational hell
… If I only knew what sets the little shit off…
New Replaces Old
A new one arrives
Packaged in remarkable efficiency
Showing that it was not born
Of craftsmen,
But rather engineered
Everything in its packaged place
So this means the old must go
The disassembly begins
The air of life is let out of it
The wrestling away the pieces
As the old, still with luster and shine
Vainly tries to resist, but loses
And becomes a carcass
Stacked in the garage…
The new is assembled, she of a modern style
The new functions no better than old
The new just sits there and looks pretty
As we breathe life into new
And wonder what to do with old.
If I Could
If I could find the quiet word
Never thought or even heard
If I could live with spirit lifted
So all felt loved and gifted
If I could be a source of happy joy
And never, give cause to annoy
If I could find the rhythm and rhyme
I would sing it out loud all the time
If I only could …. I certainly would…
Irony and Fate
Irony is a bitch, with little thought
While Fate a future carefully brought
As Irony cackles in our head
Reminding us of what we once said
Fate whispers of a future time
A future fair, and of synoptic rhyme
For Fate is a lady of balance and grace
While Irony is wild with smirking face
Fate has a twin that may intertwine
Thus finding company as they align
While Irony remains lonely, bitter and cold
As it seems, from stories that’ve been told
Many poles have indicated that Americans believe that Trump is better for the Economy than Biden. This is largely due to the continued extraordinary claims Trump has made about the success of his economy pre-COVID, and the recovery underway. In fact, he claims to have “built the best economy ever”. These claims may be persuasive for some, but are not factual. His first three years (pre-COVID) indicate a growth rate of 2.5%. This is middle of the pack in historical performance. However, the real question in front of us at this time, with an election just a month away, is whose policies would be better for the US economy in the coming years?
A highly respected and independent source of economic analysis and modeling is Moody Analytics. They have carefully modeled four scenarios:
The results show that a Biden win with Democratic Congress is the best case scenario for the US economy, and the worst case scenario is a Trump win with Republican Congress. The full article can be found via this link, it is definitely worth the read. https://www.moodysanalytics.com/-/media/article/2020/the-macroeconomic-consequences-trump-vs-biden.pdf
The summary economic results can be found in these two charts extracted from the article:
My takeaways from this article include the following:
I hope this is useful as you consider the facts and policy differences of the two candidates for President.