Loose Leaf Notes

1. If the moon was a bloom, the clouds would be its petals.

2. The moon smokes clouds / by the sun’s stricken match / Stars rush like sparks / from her moody bowl of ash… Read The Night Stars the Moon in its entirety HERE.

3. I’m excited about the red house finches who are coming to our bird feeder every day.

4. Trump’s tweets are an insult to birds.

5. Pope Leo XIV on Palm Sunday:  “Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: ‘Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood’ (Is 1:15).”

6. This (right) is my favorite sign seen at the No Kings protest in Floyd, held by a woman veteran who’s T-shirt read: Veteran Against Fascism.

7. I like the sign below too. It was posted on Rachel Maddow’s Facebook fan page with a comment: “You Are Never Too Young To Voice Your Opinion.”

8. You like your voice but like the quiet / You don’t singalong unless you mean it / You add your own words / to the sum of parts / Distinct as fingerprints / A poet’s north star / You write it down / and read it out loud / Your thoughts are the medium / and voice is your art – Read my poem Voice in its entirety

9. Other favorite signs were “Clean-up on Aisle 46,” “Files into Trials” and “An Unwilling Participant of an Idiocracy.”

10. “Blame is the most sophisticated form of doing nothing.- It masquerades as analysis. It feels like understanding. You identify the cause of your problem, trace it back to someone’s decision or failure, and suddenly you have an explanation. Your struggle makes sense now. You’re not failing, you’re not stuck, you’re not responsible. You’re the victim of someone else’s incompetence, selfishness, or neglect. But notice what happens after you assign blame. Does the situation improve? Does your understanding deepen? Does your agency increase?” Stoic Wisdoms

11. I like how whirl rhymes with twirl and swirl and crude has the word rude right in it.

12. I like the way the British use the word “blooming” as an adjective to emphasize something, such as a “blooming idiot.”

13. It’s too late for dessert once you’ve bit off more than you can chew.

____________Thirteen Thursday