tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34621948937295864152023-06-20T05:44:53.266-07:00Glenn's BlogGlenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.comBlogger214125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-3662763455146772132020-03-24T10:12:00.005-07:002020-07-27T16:56:04.912-07:00March 22, 2020<br />
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Sorry I have not posted in a while. I have been dealing with the same distractions as all of us and trying to put our lives in order. Among the many changes has been restricted to our home for a few weeks. The poem below is a new one that reflects some of my conclusions from this new observation post. I hope you all stay safe in these difficult times.</div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
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<b><u>March 22,2020<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Glenn K.
Currie<o:p></o:p></div>
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I am a social distancer<o:p></o:p></div>
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On a walk to freedom.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rip Van Winkle in a neighborhood<o:p></o:p></div>
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Where I have lived for thirty-five years.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I have passed through a stargate,<o:p></o:p></div>
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And awakened to televisions<o:p></o:p></div>
That are best left unwatched.<br />
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Phones that search for silence.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My only conversation this morning,<o:p></o:p></div>
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A mourning dove nesting in my garage.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I gave her the weather report,<o:p></o:p></div>
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She ignored me with dignity.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Two fat robins observed me with disdain,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Then returned to their search for food.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A solitary woodpecker broke the silence,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Then led an ornithological choir.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Earth seems to be enjoying <o:p></o:p></div>
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This humbling of humanity.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Her chance to replenish the air <o:p></o:p></div>
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And reestablish dominance.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Last night I stood beneath the stars,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bathing in their ancient light.<o:p></o:p></div>
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They told me stories uncensored<o:p></o:p></div>
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By civilization’s white out.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tales of a world overwhelmed by pestilence,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Fires that engulf continents,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Locusts promising famines,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Floods that would float our land.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This beautiful morning their message<o:p></o:p></div>
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Seemed lost in the quiet peace.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But as I walked<o:p></o:p></div>
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I noticed horsemen following.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Copyright 2020 Glenn K. Currie</div>
<br />Glenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-85160171303400934782020-01-25T09:38:00.002-08:002020-01-25T09:38:36.013-08:00<br />
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<b><u>Education</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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It seems to me that we are always fighting yesterday’s
battles in this country. We have let the quality of our education in the United
States decay badly. We put up all kinds of political barriers in what we can
teach, we give teachers no ability to maintain discipline in the classrooms, and
we focus on issues that are relatively unimportant in preparing students for
the art of being human.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The big emphasis that the bureaucrats are no demanding in
school is math and science. These certainly have some importance in educating our
children, but only in the broadest terms. But in most schools we are focusing on these areas to the almost total neglect of such subjects as
history, music, writing, economics, civics, philosophy, and so many other subjects
that are so integral to what makes us human, and has allowed us to create the
great societies that currently exist but are fast disappearing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Humanity, and by nature humans, has succeeded because it has
been able to develop and evolve in unorthodox ways. At present we seem to be
doing everything possible to create children who have no perspective on the
world around them. They don’t know our history, or how our government works.
They don’t really know or understand the finer points of the different societies
embraced by the rest of the world. Almost no one is being raised to be
cognizant of the origins or tenets of the different religions of the world, and
why they play such a role in everyone’s lives. Our children wander through life
learning hard lessons over and over, rather than learning what a great teacher
the shared emotions and mistakes of the past can be. <o:p></o:p></div>
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They don’t know about the Civil War, or segregation, or
Hitler, Stalin, the Khmer Rouge, and the American revolution. They have no
exposure to how science has evolved, the cycles of human emotion, the world
before smart phones, or the stretching of the human mind that comes from
philosophy, art, and the social sciences.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Instead we focus on the current trends in science and math
which seem to occupy all of their time and yet yield many young people who can’t
use any kind of initiative in unexpected circumstances. Their math requires
many times more steps to solve the simple problems and leaves them in a world
where they can’t even make change.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We are preparing them to compete with artificial intelligence,
which is a battle they will surely lose.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As usual we are focusing on the wrong things at the wrong
time. The flexibility and adaptability of human beings are what separate us
from the robots of the world. We need to be giving our children the chance to
develop the skills that can’t be easily duplicated by AI. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Let’s start exercising the other parts of the brain, where
compassion, self-discovery, music, interpersonal relationships, and learning
from our past makes us better citizens and better leaders. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Yes as a student and lover of the arts, I do carry some
bias, but anyone who actually looks at our systems results and failures, should
come to the same conclusion. <o:p></o:p></div>
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If we try to be computer processors, we will lose the
battle. We need to maintain the special skills and aptitudes that have allowed
humanity to succeed. Give our children a chance in this rapidly changing world.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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I am including a poem <u>Ghosts </u>from my new book <i>Ball
of String </i>, which in a very small way, alludes to the problems described.
It deals with the need to understand our planets evolution and the price paid
by those who lose the ability to respond to change in an unforgiving world. Most
of all we need to understand our own humanity…and our vulnerability, if we
forget who and what we are.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The caption under the photo reads: “Nothing occurs without
what came before”.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Regards,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Glenn K. Currie<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Ghosts<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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Tall grass and ancient forests<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hide their origins and endings.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rulers of the Earth, <o:p></o:p></div>
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Suddenly swallowed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Dust to dust.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Transformed in deep graves,<o:p></o:p></div>
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By a universe that wastes nothing,<o:p></o:p></div>
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They rose again,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Born to be eaten<o:p></o:p></div>
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By their replacements.<o:p></o:p></div>
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New creatures, that breathe fire,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Burn the air.<o:p></o:p></div>
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They birth civilizations,<o:p></o:p></div>
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That make the ground tremble,<o:p></o:p></div>
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The stars blink.<o:p></o:p></div>
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They grow to the sky,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Eating the tall grass,<o:p></o:p></div>
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The oceans and the forests.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As they search for food,<o:p></o:p></div>
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They release the ghosts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ghosts who know the cycles,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Unencumbered by time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And the universe<o:p></o:p></div>
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That wastes nothing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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They have seen it before.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Copyright Glenn K. Currie 2020<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Glenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-37583030306680193172020-01-05T07:41:00.001-08:002020-01-06T02:50:20.560-08:00<br />
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Blog Piece-Start of
2020<o:p></o:p></div>
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Since I last posted here we have survived Christmas and New
Years and are ready to face the daunting outlook of 2020.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I want to mention that late in the year the “fall” issue of <i>The
Poet’s Touchstone</i> finally came out. The “Touchstone” is the journal
produced by the <u>Poetry Society Of New Hampshire</u>. I was particularly
happy to see it because I was listed as the first prize winner in both their
annual national and member poetry contests. We have some very fine poets among
our membership and the national prize is open to anyone who desires to enter.
They are blind contests with different judges in each contest each year. I was
delighted to read the judge’s comments, and you can probably find the info at
the Society’s website, www.poetrysocietyofnewhampshire.org .<o:p></o:p></div>
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By the way, both of the winning poems, <i>Ball of String(national)
</i>and <i>Flight of the Owl (member)</i> are included in my new book <u>Ball
of String</u>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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At my reading at <i>Gibson’s Bookstore </i>in late November
in which I introduced <u>Ball of String</u> I was asked by one of the attendees
how I write a poem. I had to confess that it isn’t a predictable process. This last
book took ten years to put together partly because poetry comes from a place
over which we have little control. I have gone months without writing a poem
and then will develop rough drafts for three or four in a weekend. But it can
take weeks or years to finally develop a version that I am satisfied with. Sometimes
we are never satisfied and a poem we have worked on for months will never see
the light of day. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I can’t force a poem and, sometimes, when it reaches a stage
that I am happy with the piece, I will look back and wonder where it came from.
There is a force within many poets,( a muse?) that seems to work on its own. It
rises from the subconscious, perhaps, or visits from an alien world, and just
takes charge.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That’s why poetry is art, not science. I can’t just sit down
and write for two hours and expect to regularly create something meaningful. It
comes from the ether, and often I just feel like a passenger on the ride to the
unknown.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Most of us need a little poetry in our lives to open our
hearts and let ourselves travel to places far from the hard edges of the world.
I hope you will let yourselves flow with the music, the insights, the humor and
the discoveries that poetry can bring to people’s lives. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We may need it in 2020.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I am closing with a poem from Ball of String that brings a
little humor to the new year. It is accompanied by one of my favorite photos, (which
I cannot seem to publish on this blog site). The caption under the photo is “The
other creatures of our planet are well-advised to fear us…and to wonder how we
survive. Are we a brief curiosity in history, or will we finally achieve
wisdom?” The poem itself is called <i>Firefly Wisdom </i>and is written in
rhyme with humor and a layer of concern.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I hope you enjoy it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Regards,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Glenn K. Currie<o:p></o:p></div>
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<h1>
Firefly Wisdom<o:p></o:p></h1>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>The
elephant said to the firefly<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>No
one could be as strange as I.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>I
dare dispute what you decry,<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>My
tail on fire, your claim belies.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>And
though we both are odd, it’s true,<o:p></o:p></div>
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There’s some more
quaint than me and you.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Birds that swim
and put heads in sand,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Fish that fly and
walk on their hands.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But upon the
Earth the queerest, methinks,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Is the human
creature, who should be extinct.<o:p></o:p></div>
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He has no skills
that I can tell,<o:p></o:p></div>
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No wings to fly,
no protective shell.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Predators see him
as a tasty treat,<o:p></o:p></div>
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And he only runs
on two of his feet.<o:p></o:p></div>
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He has no claws
to fend off foes,<o:p></o:p></div>
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No fur to warm
him when it snows.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So keep perspective
about your flaws,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Don’t let your
appearance give you pause,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Though often we
be of bizarre depiction,<o:p></o:p></div>
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There’s one out
there who is stranger than fiction.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Copyright 2019
Glenn K. Currie<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Glenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-48902967876469652402019-12-04T02:41:00.002-08:002020-01-06T02:58:40.839-08:00<br />
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<b><u>Blog- Uncut Hay<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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Those of you who have read <i>Ball of String</i> may wonder
about why I included a poem of an event from the Civil War in a book of
reflections from my life. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Sometimes we forget how closely connected we are to events
that seem deep in the past. But it’s deceptive. Something that occurred 154 years
ago is only one degree of separation from me as I write this.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My great grandmother lived with us when I was growing
up. She had raised my mother and her three siblings, and in 1949, at the age of
ninety-four, she often sat with me at age six and would tell me stories from
her youth.<o:p></o:p></div>
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One of those stories was of when she was a young girl living
in upstate Maine and watched the soldiers coming home from the Civil War. She talked
about how they seemed like hollow shells, as they made the long walks back to
their homes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I have thought about her comments for years, and how it
related to my own observations from the wars of my life. This is the basis for
including “Uncut Fields” in my book.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The poem is about the aftermaths, the wreckage, that seems
to follow every war, even the ones we think of as the “good wars”.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Uncut Hay” is about the struggles of our survivors, the
soldiers and the families, and all the potential from those who never returned…all
the uncut hay that is never harvested in a world that is always the loser.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I hope you like the poem and understand why I have decided
to include it in <i>Ball of String.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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May we find a way to avoid this kind of wreckage in the
future.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Glenn K. Curie<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>1865-Fields of Uncut
Hay<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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She stood barefoot in the dirt road<o:p></o:p></div>
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Watching a blue scarecrow approach.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The straw was missing from one arm,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And his bearded face framed eyes<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That had seen too many fires,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Leaving them the color of ash.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dust devils swirled around his legs,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Trying to swallow him, but their assaults<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fell beneath his plodding steps.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He passed the little girl without a word,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Disappearing slowly over the hill,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of many ghosts, haunting the land.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She stomped her foot in the road,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Making the dust flee on the breeze.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then she sat down by the white oak tree <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And weaved a bracelet from the uncut hay.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Her father said he would meet her here,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When he came home from the war.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Copyright 2019 Glenn K. Currie<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Glenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-78378983206854276002019-11-16T07:21:00.000-08:002019-11-16T07:25:24.695-08:00The Skywriter<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Skywriting<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anytime a writer puts his work out there to the public, he
or she is exposing a piece of themselves that people often hide. It is
especially true with poets. They are usually revealing a part of their soul.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is a layer reveal that we take with trepidation, as we
make ourselves vulnerable to an unpredictable environment. It is also exciting,
however, like the brief moment when we first decide to go skinny-dipping on a
deserted beach. The covers are off and we are as we were born.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My latest book, <i>Ball of String</i>, took about ten years
to put together. It isn’t only about the writing and selecting of the poems. It
is about determining what is ready. A typical poet probably revises a poem
fifteen or twenty times or more, and we never know when it is finished. The end
result may be totally different from what we start with, and each iteration
usually involves putting it out to a small group of readers who are expected to
find fault. We also sometimes enter poems in blind contests where we will get
positive or negative reinforcement in the results. Every judge is different and
every reader has preferences in style and form. All of this helps to decide what
works may relate well to readers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In my case, I also have found that collections of poetry
work better if they are infused with some color that can bring the reader into a
poetic world that has not been enticing to many modern readers. I direct most
of my poems to subjects that are relevant to the lives of all of us, and I want
to present an attractive product.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The color photos that I use in my books are all my own. I
take a great deal of time searching for subjects that will relate to the
poetry. This is often difficult because many poems are ethereal by nature and
deserve a little shelter from a world that judges too quickly. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My photos are sometimes designed to bring a little humor to
the book. Most usually just poke around the edge of the poem, and require the
reader to actually do some work to see where the combination is going. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am pleased and proud of <i>Ball of String</i>. It is a
commentary of a lifetime passage as I have seen it develop, but it is also a
gradual reflection of how all of us are connected to each other not only
through our genes but through our interdependence as we live on this big ball
of string.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a world that is changing so fast, I have often felt like
the “Skywriter” in my book. I float alone above a place I no longer fully
understand. And I search for a familiar place to land. <i>Ball of String</i> is
that place for me. I hope you like it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
May you all have a wonderful holiday.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>The Skywriter<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He climbed slowly into the weathered biplane,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whispering to it in the late afternoon cold.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The engine coughed a tired greeting<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then settled into a rhythmic beat<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That carried them into an azure sky.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The heavens were his canvas<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
His brush the noisy antique that carried him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For decades, he painted in shapes and words,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fighting the vagaries of wind and cloud,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Viewed by millions watching in anticipation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the world had moved on.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The audience looked to other canvases.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Clouds captured in boxes, had conquered blue sky.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Words hid in their own vapor trails,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And people looked in instead of up.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He circled beneath unseen stars, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Searching, in the fading light, for a place<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Where he could come to rest.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Where messages were still floated in bottles<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And words were still written on the wind. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Glenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-53301682701246235362019-10-24T09:26:00.000-07:002019-10-24T09:26:21.096-07:00<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Divided We Fall<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The news media and politicians have been doing everything
possible lately to pull us apart as a nation,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s all about dividing us into tribes and losing track of
all the ways we are connected to each other.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They want to know the color of our skin, where we are from,
and the nature of our politics. No one wants to notice that beneath our various
colors and flags, we are pretty much the same with many hopes and dreams that
fit anywhere. And the politics of things change faster than the weather. Anyone
who hooks their hopes to a particular party for any length of time is going to
have a difficult and frustrating life. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We should search in life for the things we have in common,
not look for things we can use to cause hatred and division. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If we could stop for just a moment from trying to control
each other’s lives because some politician or angry soul is trying to achieve
power, we would begin to understand that communities and good neighbors are created
by compromise and cooperation. Lawsuits, single party dictates and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>denying the individual traits among all the
broad members of our humanity does not change the fact that they exist. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are letting the purveyors of doom and domination destroy
the common core that makes America great and gives so much hope to the downtrodden
nations of the world.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In my new book, <i>Ball of String,</i> I try to search for
those things that connect us as a nation and as members of world community.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The following poem is about all the “scarecrows” that the
power-hungry of the world try to use to turn us inward and afraid.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thanks for reading. I can’t seem to put my photos on this
blog (a major issue) but there is a great photo that goes with this poem in my
book.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Regards,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Glenn K. Currie<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Scarecrows</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
They are everywhere, flapping in the wind,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dressed to accomplish their role.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
In fancy suits worn like armor to intimidate,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Or in old sneakers and wifebeaters,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Complaining about restricted access.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Soldiers filled with straw, hang from hooks,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Under careful orders to do nothing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Guardians for a negligent nation<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
That has spread its seeds in fields<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Too fertile to go untouched.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Predators use deceit to elude them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Monsters see their vacant stares <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
And pillage without proscription.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The breeze that rattles the tin pans<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Only serves to call invaders to the feast.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Politicians and professors fill volumes<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Praising the accomplishments of scarecrows,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Certain they will frighten away visitors,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
With their hobo hats and souvenir sweatshirts,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
While the ravens quietly eat the seeds.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Copyright Glenn K. Currie<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Glenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-68808785930256974192019-10-16T10:49:00.001-07:002019-10-16T10:49:59.241-07:00<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now that the print version of <i>Ball of String</i> has been
released, I think my blog is a good vehicle to provide a little more
information on the new book. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>BOS is structured in
a very similar way to the other three previous photo and poetry books that I have
published.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The photographs are designed to help establish a mood for
the poem. I include them to add some color to the book and also establish a
more intimate relationship with the reader.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The poems all stand on their own, but readers tell me they
like the mix with the photos, and particularly like the one-liners that are
included beneath the photos to link with the poems.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The photos are all my own and have been carefully selected
by me from my collection of thousands.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most of these poems have been written since the publication
of <i>In the Cat’s Eye</i> in 2009.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
About that time, Susanne began to urge me to submit some of
these poems to “blind” contests which are each judged by different writers and
are provided without names to the judges. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
During this time, I submitted poems in about 25 contests,
both national and local. The results were extremely encouraging as ten were
prizewinners and another five won honorable mention. That was a very
encouraging success rate given that all judges have different tastes and often
tend to select in the areas of their prime interests (rhyme, free verse, prose,
etc.).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was also asked by friends to name the prize winners. I
want to leave a little mystery for the reader so, at least for the moment I am
going to refrain from doing that, although I will say that five were first
prize winners, two won second prizes and three won third prizes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was that success rate that encouraged me at seventy-six
to publish one more book. Poets get very little support in present society and
so it doesn’t take much to fill us with hope that there might be someone out
there who likes what you are doing. And <i>Ball of String</i> is a way to get
the poems out to the public. Please forgive me for this indulgence.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I hope you like the new book and please give me any feedback
that you may have.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Regards.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Glenn K. Currie<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Glenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-3599902842645718542019-10-04T13:46:00.000-07:002019-10-04T13:46:10.124-07:00Hi, thanks for checking up on me and staying with me. I have been working on a new book, Ball of String, which will be available for purchase in the next week. I have also totally revamped my website which will be in place next week and will be found at the old address, www.snapscreenpress.org.<br />
<br />
While the website will have all the info on Ball of String, I want to describe it a little here. BOS has fifty poems and corresponding photos. Ten of the poems were prize winners and the others are all ones I love and fit with the general theme of the book.<br />
<br />
The book is about the many ways that we are all connected in our journeys through life and our experiences on this beautiful planet. We are all connected by our genes or the many other interdependent parts that life on this planet demands.<br />
<br />
The advance reviews on the book have been wonderful and all are available on the website.<br />
I hope you will take the time to read them and the sample poems I have included.<br />
In the future I plan to be making comments on this blog fairly frequently and I hope you will log on and say hi.<br />
<br />
I welcome feedback at Glenn.snapscreen@gmail.com or on the website where I have included an easy way to contact me.<br />
<br />
Best regards,<br />
GlennGlenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-65641904460918879882019-04-04T03:20:00.003-07:002019-04-04T03:20:33.846-07:00HiJust checking in to let you know that this site will be retained and added to in the future. I am currently working on publishing a new collection of poems and photos and will be at a<br />
manuscript conference in Vermont this weekend.<br />
GlennGlenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-47616767971085100172018-05-19T06:55:00.001-07:002018-05-19T06:55:31.976-07:00The following post was also published in the Concord Monitor on 5/17/18<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have been watching the slow but steady demise of the Boy
Scouts of America and as an Eagle Scout
of this former organization, I have decided to write a sad goodbye to an
institution that played a major role in helping me grow up.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The new organization, the Scouts of America, no longer
caters exclusively to boys and their change of approach marks the last of the
major organizations that worked strictly with boys and young teens in their
formative years. (Yes, I am aware that Explorers and Sea Scouts have been coed
for years but they cater to an older group of Scouts).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are many coed organizations that provide wonderful
services to children and teens and I commend them on the great work that they
do. And there are many organizations that still work strictly with girls and
young women. But I think we are leaving many young boys to fend for themselves
in the difficult task of learning how to be functioning young men in our
society. What they learn on the streets or filtered through a coed screen, will
not necessarily completely serve them in adult life. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Boy Scouts was a life-changing organization for me. They
provided me and many others with scholarships to attend a camp where we learned
about teamwork, living in the outdoors, swimming, life saving and many other
skills. I learned from counselors and cabin mates, and was able to talk frankly
with others about the very confusing aspects of the transition to adulthood. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am saddened to see that the Boy Scouts of America no
longer exists. Generations of young men grew up learning about the need to be
trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind and many other positive
traits. New generations will be taught other things by a nation that seems to
no longer value these qualities. For years Hollywood has been denigrating what
it means to be caring and honest, using the term “boy scout” to tag someone as
clueless and impotent. Well, it has finally taken hold. We have trashed them
out of existence.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even though I am sure the new coed organization will do its
best to help develop good citizens, its role will be very different. The
pendulum has swung in recent years to dismissing men’s and boy’s organizations
as unnecessary to our culture. Somehow young men are expected to have all the
answers just by the act of growing up, while young women, who mature much
earlier than boys, are expected to be helpless in dealing with the new world. That
attitude is not good for either sex. I sincerely hope the trend doesn’t
continue to the point that the many young women’s organizations also disappear.
Adolescents of both sexes often need time and space to figure things out.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We need to pay attention to the special needs of boys who
are facing a very confusing period as to their role in society. Losing the Boy
Scouts as an organization has added a significant gap in the opportunities for
this development. Learning on the street and from video games or Hollywood
films will not serve our young men or our society well.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am including a poem from my book “In the Cat’s Eye” (Snap
Screen Press 2009) called Boy Scout Camp as a short reminiscence of what will
be missed. I finish with a thank you to BSA for all you did for me. May you
rest in peace.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Glenn K. Currie<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Boy Scout Camp<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Rain pounded<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The cabin roof.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Drum beats on snares<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
That Shrouded<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Rabbits trapped.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
It was scary at
first,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Then soothing,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
As we fell asleep<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
To natural rhythms.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
It was us<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Against the world.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Capture the flag,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Or clean latrines.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Learn nature’s
secrets<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Or bleed in its
barbed wire.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
We played games of
life<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
In pastures<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Where children grew.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
We lay on
battlefields<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Of crushed grass,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Reading secret
messages<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Sent to us by a
million stars.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And we found our way<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Through dark forests,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
To the sanctuary<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Of friendly campfires.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
In the end<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
We learned about
life.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Trappers<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Taught us<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
To survive the
snares.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And to see <o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The world<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Outside<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The rabbit hole. <b><u><o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Copyright 2009<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Glenn K. Currie<o:p></o:p></div>
Glenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-86123047690225754582018-04-24T07:41:00.002-07:002018-04-24T14:27:59.434-07:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Looking for Life Preservers<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have talked with so many people recently who just want to
escape from the constant assault of 24-hour news.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The world is closing in on us. It is hard for a democracy to
hold the middle when assaults are occurring from the edges and from within and
without.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even sports news is no longer a shelter from the storm. We
argue about everything before the games even start. It seems like some of our
citizens take great pleasure in stirring up controversy over even the simplest
of things. And the complex issues like racism are defined by people that seem
to have no sense of history. To say that racism is the worst in our history
seems to ignore the existence of slavery, the Civil War, segregation, and a
whole host of issues that have been overcome. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I meet almost daily with a group of citizens who cover the
whole spectrum of political beliefs. We try not to get into politics too
deeply, but find a whole range of other topics to discuss and agree upon that
show a commonality that seems to be rapidly disappearing in the general
population. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is discouraging that so many try to make every subject a
“no limits” fight that must be thought in a certain way. This kind of
absolutism makes democracy very difficult. Our nation has almost always been
about compromise on issues. No one gets their way all the time. Now people try
to avoid even socializing with those who think differently on issues. We no
longer have discussions on difficult subjects or work to understand each
other’s views. It is a dangerous and disturbing trend that is particularly
evident on college campuses. Our nation cannot survive a place where we cannot
talk about issues and where we try to criminalize differing points of view.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I suggest that we all seek places we can go where anger and
frustration are allowed to fade away. And when you have excised the bile, reach
out across the lines in the sand and try to understand that, for the most part,
we are just people trying to find our way in a very complex and confusing
world.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, there are a few arsonists on both sides of the
political spectrum, who seek anarchy and wish to burn up all the oxygen in the
room. We can only put out these fires by exercising a little common sense and
common curtesy. Let’s try to avoid the Fire and the Flood.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Glenn K. Currie<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>The Fire<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Polemics have become the norm,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Matches struck by doctors of anarchy<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Light fires in angry crowds.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mindless rage fuels protests of everything or nothing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There seems no place to hide.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It seems pointless to speak against the hatred,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cause no one is listening.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All the world is a cauldron<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Left on the stove too long.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>The Flood<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A death of a nation is always surprising.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It gathers slowly, then happens in an instant.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A raging sea suddenly hits those thought safe.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Individual rights are swept away,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Democracy and freedom are cast overboard.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And emotions and panic become the rule of law.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ships of fools do not do well,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When the typhoons come,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And the whirlpools carry us into the abyss.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Copyright 2018<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Glenn K. Currie<o:p></o:p></div>
Glenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-78718925590068996062018-04-10T09:23:00.001-07:002018-04-10T09:23:58.737-07:00HelloI intend to begin posting on my blog in the next few days. Thank you for your patienceGlenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-21964475655340593432017-06-15T12:36:00.002-07:002017-06-15T12:36:56.930-07:00I have not written here in a while because I really don't know what to say. the world seems so full of violence, hatred and disunity that it leaves me feeling lost.<br />
<br />
I can only hope that we find our way out of this darkness that has enveloped the world.<br />
<br />
The good news in New England is that summer is almost here. To honor it's arrival and to focus on some positives, I am publishing one of my new poems.I hope you enjoy <i>Summer Dresses</i>.<br />
<br />
Glenn K. Currie<br />
<br />
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Summer Dresses</u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
copyright 2017, Glenn K. Currie</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
I love summer
dresses,</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The way they shape
and define,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And yield to each
capricious breeze.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Their colors brighten
the day,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Bringing a sense of
freedom,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
That reflects in the
steps<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Of the wearers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Their arrival is a
sign<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
That there is still
hope<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
In a cynical world.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
That at any moment<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Something wonderful
can appear<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
That will lift
people’s eyes<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
From their smart
phones.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Glenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-17557981416183070992017-03-04T15:10:00.000-08:002019-11-25T03:53:44.810-08:00Sand in Our Eyes<div class="MsoNormal">
All the complexities of life, we are told, are the result of
the accidental conflation of events and materials in a universe both
predictable and random. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some think that this is all about to change, that we are becoming
the masters of our universe. We are on the cusp of becoming gods. If the fools
among us would just shut up and fall in line, we would be able to control this
molten ball upon which we live, and our scientists could promise us eternal
life. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course many others disagree. Some peacefully yield to
belief in a higher order, others aggressively exercise their views by pursuing violent
approaches to control their destiny. In the process we ensure that the universe
remains full of surprises. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Poets, meanwhile, do their best to understand the world, and
fulfill our roles as scientific artists. We try to put microscopes on life and
human emotions. We use words put together like chemical compounds to cathect
human thought and restore souls. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It has been a difficult time to do this. There is so much
anger poisoning the environment, that it is hard to find the compounds that can
bridge the abyss. And that is perhaps the message as we look at ourselves. We
are tiny creatures in a universe of infinite dimension. We will never be gods, we
are too imperfect to allow this to happen. And we will never have all the
answers. All we can do is try not to let our egos overwhelm our perspective. Part
of the great gift of life is the mystery. If we are honest with ourselves, most
of us like the idea of having some things that are just unknown. We like being
surprised. Okay, we don’t like bad surprises, but they are all wrapped up
together, and part of the human condition. We fool ourselves to think
otherwise.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One thing seems pretty certain. We will all be surprised in
the end. Let’s try to get from here to
there without expecting everyone to want to travel the same road.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The following poem is a little reminder of man’s journey across
this earth and how small a part of it we really are. <i>Shamal</i> is from my book <b><u>“In
the Cat’s Eye”</u></b> (Snap Screen Press, 2009).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Glenn K. Currie<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h1>
Shamal<o:p></o:p></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The storm rolled
across the land,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Pushing a wall of
sand a thousand feet high.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
It carried the
remains<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Of crusaders and
martyrs,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Filling the cracks in
the earth<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
With ancient epoxy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The lines of living
were lost<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
In the enveloping
darkness.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Borders disappeared,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
As the wind blended
sacred soil<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
With the sweat of
shepherds and kings.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
It was a world of the
blind,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Each man a wanderer.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
When the dust
settled,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The moon spread
pieces of silver<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Upon the burial
ground,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And the stars
whispered assurances<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
That nothing had
changed.<o:p></o:p></div>
Glenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-17064645060075520252017-02-15T09:12:00.000-08:002017-02-15T09:12:43.705-08:00<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s all about winning. Suddenly, or maybe not so suddenly,
our society has immersed itself in a game of self-destruction. If we can’t win,
then we must at least destroy the opponent.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We seem incapable of coming together as a nation, or trying
to heal the open wounds. If our population doesn’t wise up, we will gradually
bleed to death.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All the talk about tolerance and diversity has been thrown
out the window. Apparently, it only applies if it relates to our group. And,
sadly, the most intolerant now seem to be the ones who used to preach it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We have reached a point where Kennedy’s famous request that
we ask “ what (we) can do for our country” has been distorted into, “if the
country doesn’t agree with me, I will do my best to destroy it”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It truly has become “all about me, and my opinions and wants”.
There seems little room for compromise or cooperation. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A few years ago, I wrote a poem about a growing sense of
egotism and greed concerning our celebrities and political leaders. I fear that
this has spread into a national disease. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps it would be wise for everyone to take a breath and
think about “<i>National Anthem” </i>(<b><u>In the Cat’s Eye</u></b>, Snap Screen
Press, 2009). Is this really where we want to go as a nation?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Glenn K. Currie<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h1>
National Anthem</h1>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
It’s all about me!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
It’s all about me!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Indubitably,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
That’s how it should
be.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Speaking candidly,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
I’m in love with me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Me! Me! Me!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
It’s all about me!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
It’s hypocrisy,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
To didactically,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Preen endlessly,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
About humanity.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Just turn on TV,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And you will see,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The reality.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
It’s all about me!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
So when up you stand,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
With heart in your
hand,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Prepared for the
band’s<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
First song of the
land,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Please sing after me,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
“Oh say can you see,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The land of the free,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Is all about me”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Glenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-88315192898488515462017-01-28T07:54:00.001-08:002017-01-28T07:54:16.437-08:00<div class="MsoNormal">
I think that one of the reasons that the country is so
divided is that we are losing touch with how to talk with each other.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Face to face communications is disappearing, and as society
focuses more on social media interaction, it becomes easier to think of the
opposition as faceless evil. It is no longer reasonable people with differing
opinions of how to make the world better.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The lack of face to face discussions turns our disputes into
something similar to road rage. We hate that car, that tweeter, that
abortionist, that tree hugger.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The world has changed so fast in the last hundred years,
that different generations have almost nothing in common. When my mother was
born in 1914, automobiles and airplanes were in their infancy. When I was born,
the impact of the Great Depression was still very fresh, and we were in a world
war that caused damage that we can hardly imagine. When my daughters were born,
there was no real internet as we know it, no one had cell phones and a computer
was a curiosity for the general public: something to play games like Pong.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, our children and grandchildren grow up in world where
high technology has overtaken our culture. People no longer write letters or
know their neighbors. Everything is organized, from children’s activities to
how much soda we can be served. Many in our nation have retreated back into
social media for our interactions. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All this change leaves many without the ability to hold actual
conversations. They hide in their facebook accounts where they let their anger
and frustrations build and explode. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Older generations often feel left out of the “discussions”.
They sit at home with no jobs, no input into the new society and no hope for a
future. Their savings accounts have been destroyed by the “zero interest”
economy, they are ridiculed for being clueless about high tech, and their
culture is assaulted on all sides. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The country sits astride all these generational disputes
with leadership that seems clueless to the issues that many face. We were
supposedly “surprised” that people who had been told to shut up suddenly
registered their frustrations in one of the few ways still left to them. We made
it difficult for them to talk about issues but they finally let loose at the
polls. And now, suddenly the dam has burst, and everyone is yelling in the
press, on the internet and in person. And they are all screaming at the same
time. But we still aren’t really talking with each other. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We need a better understanding of history and civics in our
society. We need a better understanding of each other. Part of that is a better
recognition of the massive changes that our society has undergone. We have citizens
from many generations who have been left behind in this new world. The damage
has been economical, physical, emotional and structural. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I recently wrote a poem “The Skywriter” that deals with the
economical and emotional impacts of being left behind. It is about America, and
our own “hundred years war”. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let us all hope we can find peace with each other in 2017. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Glenn K. Currie<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>The Skywriter<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
<i>Copyright 2017 Glenn K.
Currie<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
He climbed slowly
into the weathered biplane,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Whispering to it in
the late afternoon cold.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The engine coughed a
tired greeting<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Before it settled
into a rhythmic beat<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And carried him high
into the azure sky.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The pilot had spent
his life writing on the heavens,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
His brush the noisy
antique in which he rode.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
For decades, he captured
the eyes of curious millions <o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Excited to decipher
his unfolding works<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Before they
disappeared forever into the ether.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
He no longer painted
the sky.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The audience had
moved to other canvases.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Clouds were now
captured in boxes,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Where words hid in
their own vapor trails,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And no one needed
blue sky or sunshine.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Instead he circled
beneath unseen stars, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Searching, in the
fading light, for a place<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Where messages still
floated in bottles,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Dreamers colored the
world in chalk,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And words were still
written on the wind. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Glenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-10749676248939817802017-01-04T09:45:00.004-08:002017-01-04T09:45:48.334-08:00<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is not an easy world in which to be your own person: to
avoid the brain-washing of the media, and the false choices provided by the “true
believers” of the left and right.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Unfortunately, many in our society have ordained that
everyone must think alike. We see this at our universities and among the
clustered masses that gather to demand that you agree with them or remain
silent when sensitive issues are brought before the public. Political correctness
leaves no room for different points of view, or intelligent discussion
regarding ethics or morals. This, in turn, results in bottled up emotions that only
finally surface in “surprise” events like the recent election.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We have become a nation with too much time on its hands and
not enough perspective to know how to use it. Instead, many in our population
create imagined slights, or overreact to affronts and disputes, resulting in a
steady stream of angry confrontations that split society and cause us to feel
like a nation coming apart.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The saddest part
about all of this is that too many of our young people are totally unprepared
to deal with the “group think” movements. Their lack of historical knowledge
leads to little understanding that our nation was built on compromise and
evolution, not the absolutes that too many now try to cram down our throats.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Too many have been processed through a shoddy educational
system, and have been raised in an environment where they have been told they
are smarter than they are. They have not been confronted with anyone
questioning their brilliance and never learned to actually do their own due
diligence on issues. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I wonder how many of the children born in this century will
even know how much they don’t know. We don’t teach them history or civics or
geography. For the most part, they are no longer exposed to philosophy, or the
great books. Debate and active discussion of sensitive issues is discouraged in
most institutions of “higher” learning.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The sad result is we are not preparing people to lead. Who
are the future inspirational guides for our country? Certainly they aren’t the ethically-challenged
celebrities or sports figures who think that achieving one skill makes them an
expert on everything. Most of these folks are like the action figures that
promote them. They are images, not reality. Most are less informed on real life
in America than the average shopkeeper or garbage collector. And I have not
seen many true statesmen/women evolving out of the meat grinder of our current
political structure.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are being carried away in a sea of platitudes and
hyperbole, and no one is standing up and talking about it. We are dying as a
nation because we no longer know what we are. We are a people that is being
taught to believe in nothing. And if we don’t wake up soon, that is what we
will become.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I wrote a poem a while ago that asked its readers to have
the courage to use their common sense and strength of character to hold fast
against panic and crowd frenzy when those with an agenda try to force us to
rush to judgement.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I wonder how many still have that strength. We will learn
much about ourselves in 2017. Many have already drawn the battle lines. There
are many things that need to be fixed in our country. No one has all the
answers. I pray that we are smart enough as a nation to demand that our leaders
sit down together and work on solutions, rather than playing the petty games of
stonewalling and obfuscation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“<i>Am I a Man</i>” is
from <b><u>Daydreams</u></b> (<b>Snap Screen Press</b>, 2004). I hope they
are words you all will consider as we move into this new year.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Glenn K. Currie<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h1>
Am I a Man/Woman<o:p></o:p></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
I am a man, I am a man,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
A man I am, if only I can,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
If only I can, take a stand,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
If I can stand, and raise my hand.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
When honor calls, calls me to
stay,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
While others called, are fading
away,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
I hope that day, I can display,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
The strength within, to find my
way.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
When I see crowds, in panic fly,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
And in that panic, the truth deny,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
Trampling in hate, those who defy,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
The panicked flight to invented
lie.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
Then I’ll find if I am a man,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
If against that crowd I can then
stand,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
Can I stand and raise my hand?
Stop<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
From saying, “I’m only a man”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Glenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-56233238462242253852016-12-07T12:31:00.000-08:002016-12-07T12:31:59.483-08:00<div class="MsoNormal">
It has been about a month since our election and the sparks are
still flying. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On a broader basis, sparks are flying all over the world. Major
political change has become a fact of life in Europe, the Middle East,
Southeast Asia, and South America.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We also are seeing Earth rebelling. Climates are doing crazy
things, and even the tectonic plates
seem to be grumbling about what a mess we are creating.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Internally, the United States has been ignoring building
pressures for years. We have let the rust belt rust, and allowed social
pressure to rise to a level where the country is pushing itself apart instead
of pulling itself together.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many intelligent people are saying and writing things that
will embarrass them in years to come as they fall victim to the influenza of
over-reaction. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The world seems to be in a downward spin that has left most
of its citizens dizzy and nauseous. News clips flash by of constant war,
religious zealotry, homeless millions caught in the maelstrom, precious capital
used to blow things up instead of building homes and factories and infrastructure.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And yet in some respects we are better off than ever. We are
seeing wonderful advances in technology, medicine, healthcare and food
production. To paraphrase Dickens, “it is the best of times, the worst of times”.
And we need to understand both.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are also reminded on this date of what a horrible place the
world can become when we are forced into deciding events by destruction and
chaos. Most of us truly want to find a way through all of the many issues and
emerge in a place where we each have a chance to raise our children in peace
and prosperity. It may seem out of reach right now, but we are in the season
where hope should be a transcendent emotion. Perhaps we need miracles. Perhaps we
just need to deescalate some of the rancor and take one step at a time towards
healing. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In that spirit, I offer the following <i>Christmas Prayer</i> which is derived from a similar prayer <b><u>In the Cat’s Eye </u></b>(Snap Screen
Press, 2009).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, or whatever holiday
you may celebrate, and may we find a way to a more peaceful and happy new year.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Glenn K. Currie<o:p></o:p></div>
<h1>
<o:p> </o:p></h1>
<h1>
Christmas Prayer<o:p></o:p></h1>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
We live in a world,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Where people do unto
each other,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The most horrible
things.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Please help us to
find a way,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
To silence the hatred
and animosity,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
To end the explosions
of hearts and minds.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Send to us a gentle
breeze,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
That can blow away,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The smoke that blinds
the soul.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
In this season,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Help us to begin to find,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
That gift born within
each of us.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The light, the glow,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Emitted by the human
spirit,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
That reaches to the
farthest stars.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
That quiet flame that
illuminates the path,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
To a promised land of<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Peace on Earth, Goodwill to men.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
.<o:p></o:p></div>
<h1>
<o:p> </o:p></h1>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Glenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-68959703466665715462016-11-12T08:32:00.002-08:002016-11-12T08:32:37.448-08:00<div class="MsoNormal">
Everyone needs to take a breath. The recent election isn’t
going to turn America into a world of hate unless we let it. Trump was never
what the left defined him as in the election. That was standard election stuff which
they do in every race. Republicans are always immediately branded as stupid,
racist, Nazis and hateful towards women. That doesn’t mean that Trump isn’t an
egotistical blowhard who isn’t the best choice to run our country. But, the public
was faced with two poor candidates and they chose the outsider instead of the
business-as-usual candidate. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Democrats need to blame themselves for this loss. Many
in their normal base were hurting because of the economy, and were tired of
being ignored. While the rust belt workers who were the core of the Blue Wall were
dealing with poor schools, lost jobs, declining infrastructure and a feeling of
abandonment by their party, the primary focus in Washington seemed to be issues
that weren’t even on the radar screen of the workers in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Instead of spending time listening to their problems, the conversations in the
Swamp were all about more immigration and transgender bathroom rights. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This was combined with such a sense of derision towards these
“deplorables” that the party dismissed the “make America great again” group as
a bunch of no hope losers. The “fly-over” country was just that: places they
flew over and ignored.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This country will see some change in the next few months.
But it will be mostly about finally focusing on the needs and fears of the
middle class and middle America. Assuaging these concerns is necessary and will
be done with or without the cooperation of many Democrats. They should get on
board with things that help these people. The 60,000,000 million who voted for
Trump did so because they had lost hope. They are predominantly ordinary
Americans who are dealing with huge changes in their lives and are trying to
find a place for themselves and their children. They need to be treated with at
least as much concern as the immigrants of the world. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our country and our infrastructure need a little tender, loving
care and feeding. We can’t solve the problems of the world if the ground is
crumbling under our own feet.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our nation needs to lower the rhetoric and fix our problems.
Donald Trump is basically the same person who was a big favorite of liberal Democrats
a few years ago when he was hosting their parties and financing campaigns like
Senator Schumer’s. The fact that he saw the world starting to come apart and,
somehow, from his own ivory tower, heard the cries from the middle class, doesn’t
mean that you should immediately believe the standard hate speech that is
attached to every Republican who runs for office. Trump has a lot of issues. He
has always been an entitled, somewhat crass, headline-hunting boor, who believes
his own publicity. But he also brings a fresh look to America’s problems, and
he is blessed with a Congress that might allow him to do a few productive
things. And there is always the chance that the office will grace him with a
little humility. It has done that in the past, allowing us to ignore all the foibles
of Bill Clinton, in return for his willingness to listen to the needs of the
electorate. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Democrats blew this election. They can be bitter for a
little while. But in the end our country needs some change and, if they really
still care about the middle class worker, they should get on board to help
them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Glenn K. Currie</div>
Glenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-61328958028237929632016-11-01T08:54:00.001-07:002016-11-01T09:02:14.918-07:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes we forget what a wonderful place we are blessed
with in our country. We have this broad mix of major cities and their suburbs, small
towns tucked away in a rural America that is representative of the origins of
our nation, farmlands that help feed the world, and vast stretches of land that
are basically untouched and which provide a beauty that is breathtaking.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is hard to appreciate this sometimes when we are
inundated with steady news programs that emphasize the worst in our country,
and a political atmosphere that has left us all feeling a little dirty.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But when we step back from that, I have the feeling that
there is a place for all of us, if we are smart enough to find it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For me, I found my place as I was traveling back to Houston
from a business trip that had taken me halfway around the world. I looked out across America from 30,000 feet
and knew that I wanted to be part of one of those smaller communities that
passed quietly and sedately beneath our wings. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Places </i>is a poem
that I wrote about 31 years ago. It was first published in <b><u>Daydreams</u></b> (<u>Snap Screen Press</u>) in 2004. I think, for
all of us, it is useful to step back from the world and give ourselves some
time to think about our individual lives and the decisions we make.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have never doubted the one I made on that aircraft. I hope
you all find what is right for you.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Glenn K. Currie<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoTitle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoTitle">
<b><u>Places</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
We were chasing
the sun<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Across the
country.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
But we were too
slow.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Now we fly in its
wake<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Breathing a
trail,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
In the gathering
darkness.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Below, appearing
in the dusk,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Are dollhouse
clusters,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Of warm lights.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Small worlds,
where evening comes<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
At measured pace.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Embraced with
pleasure.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Towns where
people walk,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Looking up to
see<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Pastel streaks in
the sky.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Places without
names,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Quickly fading.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Lost behind the
horizon.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Places that never
knew,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
That they were
lost.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
But hope they
won’t be found.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Glenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-6593973033304372762016-10-03T09:34:00.000-07:002016-10-03T09:34:35.975-07:00<div class="MsoNormal">
Ephemera are the things we use in life and then usually
throw away. They aren’t made to endure. They might include newspapers, old
letters, cereal boxes, posters, playing cards, common utensils, dishes, lunch
boxes, photos, inexpensive furniture, or even children’s toys.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I believe that these types of items, when we can find them from previous
eras, are much more interesting and useful in understanding the people of a period,
than the staid statues, old buildings and generally sterile books that try to
recreate the times.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I suggest that people keep this in mind when they sort through
the stuff in their attic or basement. Often, people will find old letters, photos
and other items that had special meaning to a previous generation. Millennials
seem to be a generation of non-savers. Everything important is in their smart
phones or in the cloud, and they may have a tendency to discard these things. As they get older, however, they may realize that they
have thrown away the very things that will help them to better understand their lives. These
tangible connections to their ancestors are often useful guideposts to who they
are. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we each look in the mirror, we see a collective piece
of our ancestors. Understanding a little bit about these pieces, can help all
of us to find our way on our own life’s journey.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am including below a poem, <i>Reflections</i> from <b><u>In the
Cat’s Eye</u></b> ( <b>Snap Screen Press</b>,
2009). It is about tangible connections and, also, our own quest for a measure
of immortality.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Glenn K. Currie<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h1>
<u>Reflections</u><o:p></o:p></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
I bought the mirror for
my daughter,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
A month after she was
born.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Now it leaned against
the eaves,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
In a far corner of
the attic,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
No longer used for
capturing images.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Life’s blades had
chipped away at the edges,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And a century of dust<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Cast a veil across
the glass.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
I watched the young
woman gaze into it,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Eyes bright and full
of hope,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Smiling through the
haze.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
I smiled back,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
From behind the
glass,<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And blew her a kiss.<o:p></o:p></div>
Glenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-83467547307939128462016-09-23T10:59:00.000-07:002016-09-23T10:59:02.103-07:00I am 73 today and like most of us I'm happy to be celebrating another birthday. But I also realize that we never know how many more we will be fortunate enough to enjoy. I have continued to write quite a bit and have been told by many that they feel my poetry is better than ever. I hope that is true and I will continue to post old and new poems as well as comments on life and the world as long as readers seem to be enjoying it. I would, however, appreciate a little feedback on what you find you like best on the site. Please send me some feedback to glennkc@aol.com.<br />
Thank you.Glenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-20446436706671625662016-09-14T08:12:00.000-07:002016-09-14T08:12:06.424-07:00Just a brief note on some good news. My poem, String of Hearts, just won first place in the latest New Hampshire Poetry Society contest. I will put it up on the blog as soon as it has been published by The Poets Touchstone.<br />
Also, Around Concord Magazine, just did a three page color piece on my poetry and photography in their fall (current) edition. The article and some additional poems can be found at www.aroundconcord.com and also is on my Facebook page.Glenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-71682290425276580002016-09-11T10:18:00.001-07:002016-09-11T10:18:15.937-07:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the interesting things about the state of affairs in
the world, is how the vestiges of colonialism and imperialism continue to
impact international events.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We see it in the illogical demarcation lines in the Middle
East, the wreckage in much of Africa, the mixed messages in the United States
towards Mexico, Cuba and Puerto Rico, and the many scars left by Spain
throughout Central and South America.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The British Empire was probably the most successful in
gradually evolving from an empire into a Commonwealth of Nations. But they,
too, had many failures as evidenced by their impacts in the Arab world, Kenya,
South Africa, Pakistan, India and Ireland. And even in places where they had a
somewhat successful presence, they had much for which to apologize.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I traveled a great deal in the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s, and
had a chance to see, first hand, the transition of many of these places from
colonies to nations. It was a bittersweet period. The world was changing faster
than our ability to adapt.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On one of those early trips, I wrote a variety of poems
about the places we visited. They were almost all post-colonial parts of the
Middles East and Africa. I saw the beauty of the Seychelles, the poverty of the
Sudan and Eritrea/Ethiopia, the confusion of post Mau-Mau Kenya, the barren
emptiness of al-Masira, Oman, the developing storm in Aden, and the magnificence
of the Suez Canal.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was an interesting testament to the long term
ramifications of what we do as nations and as citizens of the world. It was
once said that “the sun never sets on the British Empire” and it was true. But
the sun eventually sets on all of us. We are currently creating more issues for
our children to resolve: more issues that actually had their origins in this
same era of empire-building. Great anger and many actions remain to be resolved.
We need to ask ourselves if what we are doing is rebuilding a better world or
creating future nightmares. We will all be judged by what we leave behind for
future historians, and even poets,that to analyze.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since much of what I have written today involves the Middle
East, I will leave you with a poem <i>Entering
the Gulf</i> (<b><u>Daydreams</u></b>, <b>Snap Screen Press,</b> 2004) I wrote at the
time, and which involves a great deal of symbolism. I do believe, however, that
my comments from 1966 have stood the test of time.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Glenn K. Currie<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h1>
Entering the Gulf<o:p></o:p></h1>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
The ocean’s surface boiled,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
Alive with red sea snakes,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
Wildly striking out at<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
The churning of our wake.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
The foam grew thick with blood,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
Welling up from below,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
Hell’s gates broken open,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
Releasing venom’s flow.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
These serpents seemed to guard<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
The entrance to this sea,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
Warning those who pass here,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
“This blood will flow from thee”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
Suddenly they were gone,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
The Persian Gulf lay dead,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
Silence like a gunshot,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
So quick the vision shed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
The quiet like a veil,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
Drawn o’er the Earth and sky,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
An eerie, empty mask,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
Concealing angry eyes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
The land then came in view,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
It’s rage burning the air,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
Desert sands spewing flames,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
Black blood flowing everywhere.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Glenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3462194893729586415.post-42616138834693337602016-08-16T12:36:00.000-07:002016-08-16T12:36:42.124-07:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Susanne and I just returned from two weeks visiting the
Maritime Provinces of Canada. The climate was perfect, the food was great and
nobody seemed to care about conflicts of interest, bribes, emails or Trumpisms.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s been a little warm since we got back here in New
Hampshire but it’s supposed to get a little warm in August. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The fish are jumping and the corn is high. Corn is important
here. There is nothing better than New Hampshire sweet corn grown in northern
New England and freshly picked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To my readers from overseas, and there seem to be a lot of
you, I would suggest a trip to New Hampshire that runs anytime from mid-August
until mid-October. You have a chance to eat some truly wonderful fresh produce,
take some spectacular photos and watch the world change colors.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Did you know that the state of New Hampshire has more land
under forest now than it had two hundred years ago? If the world is starting to
feel a little crowded, we provide a great change of pace.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We have been invaded by a few city folk who want to make us
just like New York or Massachusetts, but, fortunately, the majority have worked
to maintain our special status. We are a population that likes to find its own
path, and refuses to be stampeded onto the crowded paths. We cherish independence,
ethical living and the use of common sense. I hope we can sustain that despite
all the negative vibrations that emanate from much of the world around us.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes it is easy to lose perspective in our lives. I
wrote a poem a few years ago, <i>Wandering
in Cemeteries</i> (<b><u>Riding in Boxcars</u></b>,
Snap Screen Press, 2006), that will, perhaps, remind us of what is important.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Glenn K. Currie<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h1>
Wandering in Cemeteries <o:p></o:p></h1>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Monuments to those,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Who spent their lives<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Worrying.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Living in comas.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Hidden now<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Beneath the covers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Monuments to those<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Who raged inanely.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Angry at the weather,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Or the news.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Passions wasted,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
On passing storms.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Monuments to those<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Burning their lives
away<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
In the furnace<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Of somedays.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Ashes carefully saved
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
In time’s vault.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Monuments to those<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Seeking immortality.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Striving for
greatness,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Interrupted in their
quest.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Their only mantles,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The first snow.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
A city of souls,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Filled with regrets.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Unfinished stories,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Written in stone.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Read by those<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Wandering in
cemeteries.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Glenn K. Curriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17605340806918848633noreply@blogger.com0