Regarding the Poem ...
I posted in the previous post. It was prompted both by the death of Rigoberto Alpizar and by the reporting about the incident. Well, mostly by the reporting...

It appears we have this predeliction for sticking our noses into other's tragedies, but we don't really want to feel anything about it. We just want to know what happened and what everyone thinks. We want opinions not emotions...

"Just the Facts, Ma'am" as Joe Friday of the 50's TV show Dragnet used to say. "Just the Facts". Certainly, don't bring any feelings into this. And if we do, lets just talk about them...

Unfortunately, it appears we never get to "just the facts".
With 24 hour news channels, and very few "noteworthy" tragedies other than war and war's ancilliary events to cover, what I see is: few "facts" are presented but an avalanche of opinion and conjecture comes forward. Just an observation, but it appears that most of the "news" is driven by fear rather than a true connection with what is actually going on.

What is it we are learning here? "Just the Fear, Ma'am, just the fear".
What is it we are learning here? "Just the Fear, Ma'am, just the fear"!

Just Another News Bite (Dec. 07, 2005)

A man was gunned down today.
At an airport in F L A.
His wife mourns.
His meds are missing…
Along with his breath.

There are never enough words to tell the truth.
Sometimes there are too many.
A constant buzzing…
Trust me.
You don’t want to feel anything about this.
Let me fill your void with my dictionary.

A man was gunned down today.
Somewhere on the way back home…
His wife wails.
His meds are finished…
Along with his life.

I leave my heart at home,
Take my pet fear for a walk,
Clutter my sidewalks with numbness.
Trust me.
I don’t want to feel anything about this.
Fill my void with your dictionary.

A man was gunned down today.
His wife rides guilt.
His swinging from pole to pole…
His agitation are over...
Along with their tomorrows.

There are not enough words…
Fill me with sound!
Bite me off another chunk of noise and
Soften my alleys with confusion!
Trust me,
We don’t want to feel anything about this.
Fill our void with a dictionary.

A man was gunned down today.
Out on the tarmac, down below the sky.
His friends are wrapped in shock.
The gun is now empty,
Along with the law…
Fear runs roughshod over us all.

A man was gunned down today.
Watchers gather in fascination.
The gunman re-lives the trigger.
Not enough sound to cover the confusion...
Fear runs roughshod with us all.

Trust me and my dictionary.
I tumble dry my mind with meanings,
Desiccate my heart with words.
Oh, Trust me and the noise…
Fear runs roughshod in us all.

On the Death of Rigoberto Alpizar, December 8, 2005

There is no sense to be made of this if we stay veiled in fear. Every moment contains lessons waiting to be learned.
What can be learned here to lead us toward love?

The ony sense I find can be found in "A Course in Miracles".

What am I learning? What are you learning?
It is only by our actions and our inactions that we know.
It is only by our actions and our inactions that we know!
All the words and all the thoughts are as nothing in the face of a single action or inaction...