Hon Seusi se haiku - 혼 초밥​​ 세 하이쿠 - Three Haiku for Hon Sushi

Good friends sit around

Sashimi and Nigiri

Laughter fills the room

The Taste of Salmon,

Creamy Nigorizake,

Friday's Salvation

Last call for sake

Tonight has been wonderful

Kamsahamnida 

Hon Sushi is owned by "My brother from another mother" Chris.  He and his family serve great food and the place is always packed on the weekends.  If you are ever in Morovia, CA you have to give them a try.  By the way I'm not being paid to endorse them.  Just practicing with Haiku and this place always inspires a smile.  

Hon Sushi - 144 W Foothill Blvd, Monrovia, California 91016

If God Should Lose Faith In Me

A passing thought occurred to me

When hearing someone say

That they had lost their faith in God

How it got in their way

I asked myself how life would be

If God lost faith in me?

Would the blessings I perceive

Just simply cease to be?

If she lost her faith in me 

Would that mercy fade away?

And in my darkest hours 

Could I find the light of day?

If the Cosmic Hosts denied my name

Ignored my very being

Should I then cease to exist

My life lose all its meaning?

I believe in my eternal soul

However it came to be

I believe that there is God somehow

Whether they or he or she

In life we may not see or measure

Everything around

The Cosmos filled with mysteries

That for a time confound

We think we know things solidly

And then perceptions change

The truths we once were so sure of

Transform and rearrange

It must be hard for even God

To lose the faith of men

When circumstances shake their lives

To win it once again

God, however you exist

You know I still believe

I only ask that when I fail

Please don't lose faith in me

Life has been a test and affirmation of faith countless times.    I do not suppose to have the answers; I try to ask the right questions.  I try to emulate Christ in the way I love.  I seek peace and enlightenment.  I respect the teachings of all faiths and seek how those pieces fit together in the human puzzle.  I do not believe in God the way many people do, but I do believe.  

Different Yet The Same

In retrospect

I sit and review

The faces that 

I've shown to you

The angry boy

I used to be

Replaced by man

Contemplatively

The anger swells

Inside me still

Like tempest storms

That test my will

As time has passed

I chose to learn

That different fires

Inside us burn

Spirit, energy, intellect

Resolve, positivism, and vision

Replace the hopelessness and rage

That once held those positions

I seek to ride positive streams

Engage my inner light

At times the world around me seeks

To goad me back to fight

Perhaps a balance still I need

Between the flesh and soul

Acknowledge frail humanity

And evolution of the soul

Not every battle can be won

With prayer or good intention

At times the warrior must rise

And enter to contention

I know that I desire to lead

With harmony and peace

And slow to rile the baser side

Unleashing primal beast

So warrior and poet

Both exist inside this frame

Each support the way I feel

So different yet, the same

I'm still seeking.  I'm still growing; everyday a little stronger than the one before.

Sanford Come Golgotha

Just another Jew?

Just another Nigger?

Just another innocent

A kid going home to get his dinner

You denied him thrice; before the cock crowed

You hid behind excuses for murder, playing Sadducees and Pharisees

You justify a homicide and now your true self showed

Afraid of a fucking kid no, you should be afraid of me.

Angry, riotous

Indignant , incensed

Resolved, righteous

Prayerful, fasting, mournful and intense

Just another casualty

Pinned on society's cross

Just a bag of silver

The heart and soul of a system lost

It really doesn't matter

What the verdict reads

Your hands and face smeared and blood spattered

We see the crown, don't we?

Sanford come Golgotha the innocent pays the price

Now cowards, hear the sound, boots on the ground.

We bring  injustice to light

Past time for us all to Stand Our Ground

Dear friends, I used language in this work I do not normally use nor condone.  I apologize to anyone offended.  I tried to give voice to my anger and disbelief.  I wanted to report honestly what I see, the only way I know how.  

It's All About Your Attitude

It's all about your attitude
You have to live your joy
The days will come that test resolve
How you weather them is up to you

This is neither condescension nor platitude
Embrace each day as a child with a beloved toy
Do not let your determination dissolve
Awaken every morn and see it bright, alive and new

Charge your love battery with gratitude
Share it with others; the secret is yours to employ
Let your soul and your mind evolve
Let you soul's light shine straight through

See the blessings come in multitude
Live life and you'll begin to enjoy
See all good things around you revolve
Now awakened realizing that all your dreams have come true

On Bigotry and Moving Forward

I am a person of Germanic blood, born in Latin America and raised in an Afro-Cuban household.  I have traveled extensively domestically and abroad.  These factors have afforded me a rather unique perspective on the issue of race and the dynamic surrounding it.  I am not implying nor stating that my perspective is any more important or valid that that of other people.  I submit my viewpoint and you can draw your own conclusions.

Miriam Webster defines A Bigot as:  a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially: one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance.  Racism is defined as: 1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race  2 : racial prejudice or discrimination.  I bring up those definitions because I think it is necessary to define terms when trying to identify and or resolve a problem.

I am of the personal opinion that Bigotry is one of the most base and common practices on earth.  Most people do not in fact, even recognize Bigotry as they engage in it.  It is a part of every culture to some extent or another.  I have also seen that it is a learned behavior.  Some would call it a defense mechanism left over from a time of territorial disputes over basic resources like land, food, and water. 

A certain degree of Bigotry is accepted and seemingly encouraged by most societies. 

Bigotry is the basis for racial “humor”, stereotypes and attitudes that we see on T. V. and movies.  It is however, the seed that allows Racism to sprout, grow and thrive in a culture.  I have even seen Bigotry turn on itself and become self-loathing.  This creates “collaborators” and “corroborators”.  People that either go out of their way to prove the negative stereotypes or distance themselves from the group and say “I’m not like them; they are…”

Regardless of its origins, we should address the fact that Bigotry is a learned behavior, not a natural one.  The problem is its institutional acceptance and it existence on a global scale.  If the tide of Racism is ever to be stemmed we have to educate it out of existence.  Sweeping programs, mandates, and regulations have masked the symptoms but in the end, only education and developing new habits will ever reverse this social disease.

There must be a spiritual transformation of the individual.  We must learn how to see ourselves honestly and take ownership of our lives.  We have to come to peace with our past; forgive those who have harmed us, offer amends to those we have harmed and give thanks for the tests that have shaped us into the people we are.  We must acknowledge the commonalities shared by all people.  We have to treat each other with respect and dignity.  Most of all we have to learn to be grateful, truly grateful, for the gift of life and all of this experience.

The law must also evolve.  The institutions of governance must follow the same course as their constituency.  The United States Constitution is a beautiful poetic document but, it is long past time that it become more than poetry.  Its high minded ideals and promises must give way to social and spiritual rebirth and reform. 

All of these things require work.  But with hard work comes great satisfaction.  We can build a different nation.  We can build a better world; we owe it to ourselves and our children.

Ask Yourself

What is it about your beliefs 

That make you think you have the right or the responsibility to tell others how to live?  

Have you been given a mandate to ignore your own short comings 

In order to point someone else’s out?  

Have you been told that your actions are so beyond reproach

That you have the right to convict, condemn or penalize another?  

You claim to worship the same God I do 

Yet your understanding of his golden rule is vastly different than my own.  

I say you have been listening to gossips and liars.  

I say you have allowed someone to pervert the gospel of love and forgiveness

Turning it into one of judgment and hatred.  

I say you need to repent and rediscover the love of the Christ in your heart.  

The time is short; if we do not find love,

we will surely loose our lives.

Mother

Life such an unkind blessing at times
Tortured by demons pursued by curses
Given children who did not understand
Sacrifices punctuated by blasphemies and unuttered verses

A voice that longed to sing
Silenced by shame and fear
A soul that longs to soar
Fettered by those who will not even shed a tear

Mother I forgive all
Mamma I ask forgiveness in return
Dear God, what would I be
Without the lessons, from you, I've learned

I will champion your freedom
Where I failed you before
If I showed disrespect
I will err no more

Your bravery, valor, never again in question
Your music running through my veins
Your imagination, your joy, will live
Your family will not fail you again

Life, was not wasted
Lessons, great teacher, have been learned
Liberation, brave soul, you shall find
Love, dear mother, has been earned

The ghouls will not have you
To poke and prod  nor dissect you as you languish
For once mom, I will not fail
I will allow you to see the finish

Heaven will open unto you
If such a place exist for anyone
If there is justice, honor, or strength in me
So help me, I will do my duty as your son

Tomorrow mother, your children will come
In your defense, we will fight
Give you peace and dignity
Those things you earned by right

Mamma, I love you
The tears I cry, are tears of shame
For every time, no matter why
I ever cursed your name

I know the value
Of you above all others
She who gave me life
My dear sweet loving Mother


Margy Clark Born to miners, lived as a teacher and nurse care giver, fighting for her children who'll never forget.  Sacrificing for babes that have grown fierce.  Mother, teacher, nurse, friend, human, sweet spirit who deserves peace.  Gladys and I will fight for you mom.  So help me God.

And Still

At the first glance

I was done, I knew

I had no chance

It has always been you

Battered dreams

Feeble hopes, false starts

Advances, retreats, all tearing at the seams

Alone, a glass, a hotel room and Makers Mark

Stranded in paradise

Etta swings and I sing mournful and out of key 

Salted water hiding in my eye

What would you think, if you could see

Night and day, baby it's you

No matter who I'm with 

Regardless of what I do

Memories passing through bring me bliss

Pour another plastic cup

In my solitude, Billie surely knew

Perhaps, I should just give up

Hold no dream to get me through

Damn the thoughts that keep me sparkin'

Cursed hunger yearning to taste those lips

Purgatory, torturous hell, lovely voice to which I hearken

Longing for pleasures between those hips

O' divine vision, obsession, since first impression

Sate me, release me, kill me a thousand times

Lift me from this fool's deception

Release me Lord from passion's crimes

But prisoner I will ever be

A sweet and bitter pill

Forever locked and chained by she

Love's prisoner, laying here, quiet, and still

Roger H. P. Clark

The Necromata
(RM)

On the Death of Noble Rat

Some would say you were only a rat

Vermin, source of disease and destroyer of property

I was content to let you live because you offered no insult

You committed no crimes against me

I denied you your sources of food

I hoped you would just leave

But you were cunning and still you thrived

I admired you and your perseverance

You began to destroy wires and chew through things

Much as I might, if left to starve

You fought to live

You fought to survive

In my anger, I set plan in motion

I would be avenged for having to repair that which you had broken

I laid trap, and bait and I would wait

And in my snare you would fall

My "genius" bore fruit

You did succumb

And as you lay helpless

My hammer fell ending your spark

I name myself villain

My new name fiend

But how to make recompense

How to cleanse my sin

I will honor you, adversary

I will fast and pray

That your small soul will find home

That your journey will begin anew

As for me there is no pride

I will not be hypocrite adding to my crime

I will simply say this chapter is done

And move on and hope to do better than before

I name you Noble Rat