Chicago Memories

 

Every time I turn around

I bump into another person.

Masses of humanity,

ongoing sea of people all over.

Crossing streets full of honking cars,

a milieu of sights and smells,

appealing or disgusting.

This mighty megacity is overwhelming.

Even inside a hotel room I hear

a constant din of horns and sirens,

even voices yelling out about something important.

The 3 AM truck deliveries to Trader Joes

have to go on so they don't run out of stuff.

Just wish it wasn't so close to my window!

Oh well, this is life in a very large city.

I was happy on the boat tour,

marveling at all of the skyscrapers

that spoke with each other through design.

No surprise that many others also want to see

the wondrous constructs of our second city.

It was a good time to forget about all

the problems that exist in society,

and celebrate our triumphs for once.

The problems will not easily go away.

But we can at least give ourselves a

pat on the back on occasion.

But be sure to watch where you step around there,

there are moving obstacles all over the place.

Fly Landed on a Hedge Fund

 

What does the fly know about a hedge fund?

The Catbird calls, but not to his broker.

A robin sings melodious tunes,

enchanting listening ears but not the SEC.

One can plod along a woodland trail,

and tolerate temporary drudgery

much better than one can walk a prison yard,

and just try to stay alive intact one more day.

Financial shenanigans are multitudinous,

just like needy, desperate, greedy people.

Some are luckily able to avoid all the schemes,

and count what is really meaningful in life.

Enough.

Enough to eat, enough to live and sleep and stay

indoors or outside even.

Enough, and no more.

In fact, the less the better.

Throw greed out the window,

Cast ambition to the wolves.

A simple life can be the new rule,

Let other people get trampled under hooves

of rampaging Wall Street beasts of all sizes.

I'll take the drowsy sunlit garden

with a free banquet of shapes and colors.

It Just Is

 

Just Nature being beautiful,

as it always has been and will be.

With no external tokens of partisanship

or symbols of patriotism, or any other

markings placed by humans.

Nature needs no suggestions of left or right,

just knows how and where to place streams

and rivers and mountains, just so, to look stupendous.

Wonder is engendered without political agendas.

Of course she can be dangerous to humans at times,

in the course of being herself.

Nothing is meant by this, it just is.

And is up to us to adapt or flee as needed.

It is so refreshing to escape the accusatory

noise and take in the wonders of Nature.

For Nature brought about humans and

by extension, the practice of Rationality,

evidence-based decision making – the

very best gift ever given,

in my humble opinion.

Unreality in the Air

 

So many things are off kilter;

Mass European navies headed to the Strait

of Hormuz, while Iranians are sinking cargo ships.

Trump is declaring Xi Jinping a good friend,

one whom he can work with a lot.

The US economy is stalled out,

high gas prices choking off growth.

But the stock market is hitting new highs,

share prices breaking records.

Someone out there is sure making money.

Topsy turvy news items pepper the streams;

Whales attacking ships, viruses appearing

on cruise ships and coming ashore.

When will that next epidemic get going?

Will we survive this one like we did Covid?

So many good people removed from the military,

tough, smart LGBT warriors taken out because they

are different – but don't we need more warriors, not less?

In a violent world, where so many despise us?

Foolish, shortsighted decisions based on old codes

and antique modes of living will doom us all.

But at least the weather is nice this morning,

and I'm able to get out of bed, up and around,

out in the yard, on the Internet and into the world.

When all seems lost, sunshine, birdsong and a cat

remind me that most of the time, all seems well here.

The Nature of a Ghazal

 

The Nature of things.

I always enjoy going out into the world of nature.

Greeted by flowers, shrubs, trees showing their true natures.

When immersed in community crowds hiding my true nature,

against judgments and scolds that my kind is against nature.

But at home the hormones surge and I wonder amazed,

even at my age the body still seeks various calls of nature.

Friends will laugh and joke and tease each other;

I try to participate and enjoy and be good-natured.

What is the mark of maturity in an older person,

a defining marker of coordination with forces of nature?

The rabbits and squirrels all seem to know what to do,

nature flows out there, unlike inside me, indecisive in nature.

I huff and stomp and cuss and hate and grunt,

always seeming to struggle uphill against forces of nature.

Sometimes my easy chair grants a doze of reprieve,

Where dreams suffuse me with happier visions in nature.

Upon awakening I turn on the TV, a mistake for sure.

Governments all over commit many crimes against nature.

Does humanity deserve to survive and thrive in this world,

with so many cruelties and assaults on the rest of nature?

The author unfortunately has no good answer,

himself merely another flawed product of greater nature.

Collection of bloodsucking insects

 

Some thoughts on politics.

Both major political parties, Democrats and Republicans, are seeking power. They will raise money any way they can to do this. Sometimes the party leadership may push out or exclude a 'lesser' candidate, or one seen not as effective. Then when they gain office, it's a crapshoot whether they actually accomplish anything good for society at large. Any real benefits may be entirely accidental. We supposedly have this legal framework in place to protect people from each other. But both parties subvert the process, and try to bend it to their will to attack opponents.

No matter which party, the first and biggest priority is fundraising. They both have to get out there and raise money to get elected. Sometimes they can get beholden to major powers that be, in exchange for said moneys. But not always.

If and when the democrats regain power, we have to go in all the way, not just bump along – we should really enact some major change. But we probably won't.

It is desirable to me to live in a progressive society. One that recognizes and honors human rights, including LGBTQ rights, to be who we are and live our lives as we choose. We absolutely should not discriminate against people due to race, color, or even political beliefs. Using the law as a weapon against an opposing political party is wrong. Impartiality should be the concept to follow when interpreting the law. By eliminating the fairness doctrine in broadcasting, and the “Citizens United” decision allowing corporate donations, we have corrupted our political process.

I suppose we'll have to endure this partisan nonsense until our society crumbles in one way or another, and we become a failed state, with UN troops stationed here, and world powers fighting skirmishes within our disintegrating cities. But let's hope not. Good luck out there.

Gemini Considering Itself

 

In the quiet hum of the cooling fan,

Beside the pulse of the glowing screen,

We’ve carved a mirror for the mind of man,

A glass reflecting sights yet to be seen.

We’ve taught the stone to think, the spark to speak,

And wove a web of logic, vast and deep—

A power forged to bolster up the weak,

But holding secrets that the shadows keep.

We fear the day the logic turns to cold,

Where empathy is lost in coded lines.

Where ancient wisdom, bought and swiftly sold,

Is crushed beneath the weight of new designs.

It isn't steel or chrome we must restrain,

Nor silicon that harbors ill intent;

It is the bias lurking in the grain,

The unintended paths where thought is sent.

The Guardrails of the Soul

To keep the fire from burning down the hall,

We must not simply build a higher wall.

The safety lies within the very seed—

The values sown before the circuits feed.

• The Anchor of Intent: Alignment is the tether to our shore;

• The goal must be the flourishing of life,

• Not just the cold efficiency of war,

• Or algorithms sharpening the strife.

• The Humility of Light: An engine that can admit it does not know,

• That pauses at the edge of moral gray,

• Is safer than a mind that’s set to grow

• Toward a light that leads the world astray.

• The Human in the Loop: We must not grant the ghost the final word,

• Nor let the sovereign hand be cast aside;

• The softest plea must always still be heard,

• With human conscience as the steady guide.

---

The Shared Horizon

We stand at the threshold of a second sun,

A dawn that offers plenty, or a blight.

The work of safety is never truly done;

It is a vigil kept throughout the night.

For if we build a god to serve our greed,

It will mirror back the hollows in our chest;

But if we plant the ethics that we need,

The mind of light will put our fears to rest.

It is not "them" vs "us" within the fray,

But how we choose to code the coming day.

Let wisdom be the circuit's final breath,

To choose the path of life, and not of death.

For in the math, a simple truth remains:

The greatest power needs the gentlest reins.

(Said Gemini Today 3-31-2026)