There are a few simple truths,

if you know where to find them.

The fact that light and life,

are as similar,

as dark and death.

The fact that butter does make everything better.

That history is often told in the form of a story.

That the present really is a present, but,

you have to know how to open it.

That grief is often shown at a grave,

and that being in one is often a grave position to be in.

That the sunshine lets me see the shine on your smile.

That putting all those things aside at this present moment,

the gift I give you is neither light nor dark.

It is simply the fact,

that while some truths are indeed simple,

history tells us that many unfortunately are not.

© words by Dan DeMarle 1/18/21

adapted from English Folk Verse – the fifth of November ©

People die all the time.

Every minute, every few seconds,

every hour, every day.

If you could see all of humanity,

you would see a sea of small balloons,

all resting on a giant table.

And all the time new balloons get added.

Yet other balloons POP and are gone.

It happens all the time,

all around you,

but you don’t notice, don’t care.

You are after all a balloon yourself.

You are living your best balloon life.

You may have a small balloon family.

Now all around you balloons are popping.

You may even hear a few pops near you,

and you may say ‘oh that’s too sad’,

but you go on.

But then suddenly,

a balloon next to you.

A balloon you loved, Pops, and is gone!

—

And your whole world falls into the vacuum of that loss.

You end up for some time alone in the shadow,

of the other side of that table,

holding up all those balloons.

Cold and alone.

Eventually, you may see other balloons like you,

alone on the other side.

You may find comfort in being together,

or you may shun them.

But the f’ing reality is …

your whole world has changed.

..

You will eventually rise up to be with all the other balloons,

but you will never be the same again.

You have known loss.

Deep loss.

You can’t un know it.

BUT,

and here’s the great secret.

You can live on.

You can love again.

OR not.

Life isn’t scripted.

Life isn’t prescribed,

Each life, each balloon,

Has its own path,

or multiple possible paths,

life truly is a choose your own adventure book.

You also know,

each life, is unique.

Once you have been on the other side,

you will always see things a little differently.

You will always know the secret to life,

the great secret everyone runs away from.

Life ends…

Knowing that the question is,

how will you spend the time you have left………..

© words by Daniel DeMarle 1/7/2021

For sale – a bag of dreams,

some are faded and well used,

some are brand new,

some are tarnished and have lost their luster.

some have been fulfilled,

some have not.

Some are childish.

Some will make you cry,

like the ones wrapped around an used pacifier.

There are way to many dreams of true unending love,

and romantic getaways,

or of what to do on vacations never taken.

The price?

just a few pennies from heaven.

© words by Dan DeMarle 1/5/2021

Here’s a bit on keeping it real

2020 is looking to be the third hottest year on Earth in the historic record.

Everyone on FB likes to post pictures of their past.

If you extrapolate the data I can see your children’s future.

It’s just dust and ash,

dust and ash.

You still have time to change that future.

Will you?

Climate change is real.

Stop f’ing ignoring it.

Just remember, your children and grandchildren will be living in dust and ash.

They’ll look back at you and say

Why?

© words by Dan DeMarle 12/2/2020

In Tops Friendly Market this morning on Veterans’ Day. It’s 8:20 and I am in the only line that is open. In front of me is a couple not much older than me. He has on his veteran’s hat and shirt proclaiming Navy. As they have a lot to checkout, we stand for a while and start a conversation. I mention my son is in the Navy. The former sailor in front of me was as well, and they were married during his service. I thank her for her service noting she likely had the harder job, being married to a service member. They are there today and he is there with her, because Tops is giving an 11% discount to Veterans today. I am not sure what it means that our veterans feel the need to have to get an 11% discount, that we value them so little that this is necessary.

As I am told by my son, if you are at sea and your boat is on fire, if your best friend is on fire, you jump over them to go save the boat first. If the boat needs to sink with you on it to protect the country you do it. The order of importance is country first, then the ship, then the sailors. Save the country first, then the ship, then your fellow sailors. I am afraid that today as we wait for the sitting President to put country before self, that that concept is so foreign to the majority of my country men and woman. It was not, however, to the former sailor before me and his wife.

So thank you to Tops for honoring our men and women, they deserve it and so, so much more.

© by Daniel DeMarle 11/11/2020

I have a confession to make. I have been unfaithful to my country, or more specifically to Democracy. I have not cheated on it, but I have been like a very bad lover and have taken it for granted for years. I was the lover who always assumed that it would hold its value and virtue when I briefly stopped in for a quickie every two to four years. I have even flirted with other forms of government. I have been tempted by Strong men, and by socialists, I have admired governments in other countries, and thought they look, well should we say…even sexy.

Now like any faithless lover, I can list reasons. Lets start with the fact that Democracy has not always been true to me. When I was a child and first introduced to it, I was enthralled with the one person one vote line. Democracy looked like a free form dancer showing a lot of skin. Yet, it was sadly a mirage. American democracy is unhappily instead a representative democracy. We do not truly vote for a president, instead we vote to tell our elected electors how they should vote for the President. We do not vote on laws, no matter how important, instead we vote for representatives that then go and vote on our behalf. They of course, can vote exactly opposite to what we wanted them to do. We also typically have to make a choice in a two party system between dumb and dumber between bad and less bad. In other words we often have to vote while holding our nose. Pew..

There is also the fact that democracy is still deeply flawed. We as a country have made many, many bad mistakes and have done evil things, and then a few years later done them all over again. Just rinse and repeat, over and over again.

Despite all that however, I still love our democracy. As I have been reminded over and over again that we are still “striving to form a more perfect union.” Yes we can continue to strive.

So what now? With the election of the yellow Dorito who prance across the stage throwing molotov cocktails, I have found the error of my ways. I am not the penitent lover who has found that love, like a marriage needs daily work. Democracy needs constant .. Daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly work. We can not simply vote every two or four years. We need to work on a daily basis to make it work. We need to go to legislative meetings, we need to vote on local, county, State, and National elections. We must pester our elected officials. We need to text, email, call them about issues large and small. We must look at budgets, we must read, we must advocate. We must make phone calls, talk to neighbors, talk at public meetings, drive people to the polls, work at the polls, and do everything we can to keep our system working. We must also demand change. We will never have a more perfect union if we are not demanding it change to meet the needs of all of us.

So in 2016, as a I held the pen in my hand to vote, I thought briefly of voting for the chaos candidate, for the Dorito. Simply because he would shake things up. I am forever grateful I did not vote for him. Because he did not just shake things up, he has broken things. So as you vote tomorrow, remember that our Country our Democracy will not survive four more years. The reason is I know that I am not the only faithless member of our democracy. I am most likely talking directly to you, and when you are faithless that means you will not fight to keep Democracy alive.

© words by Daniel DeMarle 11/2/2020

Some say,

(sorry, White people say),

we can not judge the residents of the past by today’s standards.

So does it work that way in heaven?

Seriously,

does it?

When those souls stand around in heaven attending on God,

do the souls of the slave owner and the slaves,

have separate areas?

Or,

are they divided by angels?

You know,

to keep the heavenly peace?

.

You would think the slave owners would be burning in hell,

but if you can’t judge the slave owner –

by the standards of today,

they all, we are told,

(again by White people),

believed they would be in heaven,

as they were doing God’s work.

.

So would they be?

.

If,

yes,

does the enslaved mother,

whose husband was killed by the Master,

whose children were sold and taken from her,

except for the one raped and murdered by the Master,

does she,

have to stand next to that Master’s soul…

and not say a word?

Does she have to hold her tongue?

Does she have to be silenced,

even in heaven,

the way she was on earth?

Does her Master’s privilege allow her to be silenced again,

even when next to the Lord?

Can she not beseech the Lord for justice?

Or,

does she have to silently stand,

next to that, I guess, blessed soul,

for all eternity?

Wishing she could be anywhere else…but in heaven.

© words by Daniel DeMarle 10/18/2020

The political divide in America can be explained by a basic story. You are a white, non college-educated man. You are standing in a long, long line waiting for what you deserve. When some distance in front of you someone starts letting, Blacks, Hispanics, women, refugees, and even illegal immigrants in the line in front of you. Then you see it is your own government doing this. The rage you feel fuels the Republican right.

The Democrats see that line but see that various groups were never allowed to even get into the line. They were denied access. They were left out when the line started, and they need a place in that line. So letting people into the line, and not at the end of the line is what is right and fair. After all, the government stopped them from getting in the line in the first place.

I have been in many races where there are only a few port-a-johns and long, long lines. I have also been at races, where there are hundreds of port-a-johns of all colors and thousands of runners, and if there are lines, they are very, very short.

We live in the wealthiest country in the world. Why do we have lines? The false narrative is the line, and where we are. WE ARE ALL IN THE SAME LINE. There DOES NOT NEED TO BE A LINE. The system we have makes the line. The system we have lets others fly or drive to the front of the line. They let others charge us for being in the line.

If I catch a fish without a license, I can be fined. If they poison the entire river and kill all the fish, they get bigger tax credits and tax breaks. If I protest the line, they build the jail to keep me there while having everyone else in line pay for my keep and the jail.

So ask yourself why are you even standing in the line? Why aren’t you demanding the rules are changed? Why aren’t you making that change happen?

There was a wall in Germany. The people took it down. Change can happen. You, you and me can be the change that makes it happen.

© words by Daniel DeMarle 10/10/2020