Torture

Bag of bones twisted, broken, rattled. A pang, a prick, a squeeze. Knives, guns, electricity, hooks, sticks, pliers, deprivation, bugs, boxed, chemicals, fire, water, boards, a whip, crown of thorns, a cross. Awfully imagining what others do to others; how it must feel! But what about the gray matter crushed by enmity? Hatred convoluting the brain, churning chemicals; Hatred ripping out the heart, hard boiled spirit; Hatred inflicting the eyes, cooked tears; Hatred wrenching the fingers, twisted twigs; Hatred gnashing the teeth, grinding bones; Hatred menacing the skin, seams splitting.

Only the Dark Night

After the Dazzle of Day

After the dazzle of day is gone,

Only the dark night shows

         to my eyes the stars;

         After the clangor of organ majestic,

                   or chorus, or perfect band,

Silent, athwart my soul, moves

       the symphony true.

                                                     --Walt Whitman

My thoughts after reading: Darkness, Silence, Search my Soul, Beautiful.  Where does "After the Dazzle of Day" take you?

"The Biggest Yes"

I thought my co-worker David Clegg was setting me up to watch another person embarrass themselves in front of the world. Given Susan Boyle's homeliness and quirkiness, I was admittedly very cynical and uncomfortable for her and maybe even against her. As she sang, I wondered, "Who is Elaine Paige? Is this performance a gag? Is she lip synching?" So instead of a gyrating rendition of "she bangs, she bangs," I was treated with a most inspiring performance of "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables. Instantly, I was transformed. She was no longer homely, but beautiful. She touched my heart. She blew a kiss to me!

Lone Wolf

Why "lonewolfcry"?  Now that I'm posting it, I'm embarrassed to say that it is a self-imposed nickname I came up with at work.  What sort of person gives himself a nickname?  Why not l-o-a-n wolf instead?  I do work for a company that makes loans.  Since when was a wolf alone?  Don't they travel in packs?  This proves that the very name "lone wolf" is ambiguous and conflicted, so it's probably, maybe, perhaps fairly safe to say that I'm ambiguous and conflicted; after all, I did give myself the nickname without thinking it through.  Are you sure you want to read my blog?!  How do you think my family feels? : )  I just threw in the "cry" part because it had a better ring than "yowl," "howl," or "yip."

Ultimate Sacrifice

Rights of United States citizens and their future generations are more important than life--my life, your life. I will not sacrifice my rights to speak freely, to worship, to be protected against illegal search and seizure, to vote, and to privacy for the purpose of avoiding another terrorist attack like September 11. I believe in Patrick Henry's revolutionary refrain: "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!" My life, your life are no more valuable than an American soldiers' life, but it's our liberties that are more valuable than them all. And it's the American Soldier--not me, not you--that places his life in imminent danger. A soldier protects my liberties on the front line; he is the one that makes the ultimate sacrifice, not me, not you.