Education Unanchored

by IRENE FOWLER, Contributor

Education propels the world forward, towards the iridescent light of the possible, practical and perfected

– Irene Fowler


Whatever your preferred flavour of life is – sweet, savoury, spicy or somethin’ else, welcome to the melting pot. I am on West African time, so ‘servez-vous.’

Even though we are helpless to change things on a macro scale, we can in our own small ways, align with love and the positive. As we contribute our quota, we are building towards a critical mass which can force change/s for good.


Unesco affirms the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclamation that education is a fundamental human right for everyone which includes higher education; the opportunity should be accessible to all based on individual capacity, and be progressively free.

There is no doubt that across the board, nations allocate more revenue towards military expenditure, than other domestic sectors. This is insupportable and indefensible. Modern history has demonstrated that there are no winnable wars, These ill-advised, inhumane, adventures result only in immeasurable loss and devastation on all fronts. Furthermore, the grossly over-resourced, irrational, wasteful ‘defense’  pet programs, come at the expense of education spending. In no universe Is this fair, nor practical, in the short or long term for the betterment or sustainability of humanity, or our planet.


Continue reading

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

TCS: Remember All is in Motion – Poems for Native American Heritage Month

Good Morning!

______________________________

Welcome to The Coffee Shop, just for you early risers
on Monday mornings. This is an Open Thread forum,
so if you have an off-topic opinion burning a hole in
your brainpan, feel free to add a comment.
______________________________

The literature of the aboriginal people
of North America defines America.
It is not exotic. The concerns are

particular, yet often universal.

– U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo

Continue reading

Posted in Poetry, The Coffee Shop | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Dear Thursday

by IRENE FOWLER, Contributor

“Jupiter, not wanting man’s life to be wholly gloomy and grim, has bestowed far more passion than reason.”

– Desiderius Erasmus


Whatever your preferred flavour of life is – sweet, savoury, spicy or somethin’ else, welcome to the melting pot. I am on West African time, so ‘servez-vous.’

Even though we are helpless to change things on a macro scale, we can in our own small ways, align with love and the positive. As we contribute our quota, we are building towards a critical mass which can force change/s for good.

_______________________

Thursday

“And if I loved you Wednesday,
Well, what is that to you?
I do not love you Thursday
So much is true.
And why you come complaining
Is more than I can see.
I loved you Wednesday, yes but what
Is that to me?”

— Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 -1950), American lyrical poet and playwright

_______________________

Continue reading

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Dear Thursday

TCS: In the Fell Clutch of Circumstance – Prescribing Poetry

      Good Morning!

 

______________________________

Welcome to The Coffee Shop, just for you early risers
on Monday mornings. This is an Open Thread forum,
so if you have an off-topic opinion burning a hole in
your brainpan, feel free to add a comment.
______________________________

Poetry is not only dream and vision;
it is the skeleton architecture of our lives.
It lays the foundations for a future of change,
a bridge across our fears of what has never been before.

– Audre Lorde

Continue reading

Posted in Poetry, The Coffee Shop | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on TCS: In the Fell Clutch of Circumstance – Prescribing Poetry

A Rhyme for Halloween

October 31, to the delight of children, has become a candy scavenge in the U.S. Our celebrations of the eerie and macabre are pretty bland compared to the holiday’s origins, but as long as people gather in the dark to scare each other with spooky stories, we won’t have entirely lost the awe and mystery of Samhain / Samhuin (SAH-win or  SOW-in – rhymes with cow).

 Tales of the supernatural have always held a fascination for humankind, be they about ghosts, witches, fairies, the dead – or the undead – or ‘things that go bump in the night.’

 Maurice Kilwein Guevara (1961 – ) was born in Belencito, Colombia, but his family moved to Pittsburgh when he was two years old. He is a founding member of the National Latino Writers’ Association, and has published four volumes of poetry. Guevara has a real gift for words that shiver up your spine.

To read Guevara’s “A Rhyme for Halloween” click:

Continue reading

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Biden’s Message to Mother Earth-Gaia-Dunia

by IRENE FOWLER, Contributor

“Awaken to life-giving golden sunlight and the tidal force of the silver moon;
Planetary existence reliant on a single energising, dynamic, cosmic heartbeat;
Proclaiming the sacred synergy and delicate balance of the universe;
Increasing, frightful cacophonies, drown-out harmonious symphonies of creation.”
Irene Fowler

“We are running out of time, and we must have a planetary solution to a planetary crisis.”
Al Gore

_______________________

Good morning everyone and welcome.

Whatever your preferred flavour of life is – sweet, savoury, spicy or somethin’ else, welcome to the melting pot. I am on West African time, so ‘servez-vous.’

Even though we are helpless to change things on a macro scale, we can in our own small ways, align with love and the positive. As we contribute our quota, we are building towards a critical mass which can force change/s for good.

_______________________

Adults keep saying we owe it to the young people, to give them hope, but I don’t want your hope. I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. I want you to act. I want you to act as you would in a crisis. I want you to act as if the house is on fire, because it is.”
Greta Thunberg

“If you really think that the environment is less important than the economy, try holding your breath while you count your money.”
Guy McPherson

“Men argue. Nature acts.”
Voltaire

People of conscience need to break their ties with corporations financing the injustice of climate change.”
Desmond Tutu

______________________

Continue reading

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

TCS: Birthplace of Phantoms – a Prelude to Halloween

Good Morning!

 

______________________________

Welcome to The Coffee Shop, just for you early risers
on Monday mornings. This is an Open Thread forum,
so if you have an off-topic opinion burning a hole in
your brainpan, feel free to add a comment.
______________________________

Believe nothing you hear, and
only one half that you see.

–  Edgar Allan Poe

Continue reading

Posted in Poetry, The Coffee Shop | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on TCS: Birthplace of Phantoms – a Prelude to Halloween

TCS: Everything Remains Unchanged, but Nothing Stays the Same

. . Good Morning!

______________________________

Welcome to The Coffee Shop, just for you early risers
on Monday mornings. This is an Open Thread forum,
so if you have an off-topic opinion burning a hole in
your brainpan, feel free to add a comment.
______________________________

      Raise your words, not your voice.
It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .– Rumi

Continue reading

Posted in Poetry, The Coffee Shop | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Washington D.C. Jihadists: There Be Lions

by IRENE FOWLER, Contributor

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.” Matthew 23:13 – 15

__________________________

Good morning everyone and welcome.

Whatever your preferred flavour of life is – sweet, savoury, spicy or somethin’ else, welcome to the melting pot. I am on West African time, so ‘servez-vous.’

Even though we are helpless to change things on a macro scale, we can in our own small ways, align with love and the positive. As we contribute our quota, we are building towards a critical mass which can force change/s for good.

__________________________


“Where are you, men and women of faith?
If we lose this country, our children will never know freedom.
Stand united as men and women of faith to fight for America!”

pic.twitter.com/FQNKo8vfRs
— Madison Cawthorn (@CawthornforNC) October 3, 2021


Congressman Cawthorne’s histrionic, clarion call was laser-focused on white Christian evangelicals. It was a bad faith, naked ploy to stoke fear of, and incite violent action, against perceived enemies. His reckless appeal to base human instincts, turns Christianity on its head, and makes a mockery of the core tenets of the religion. Posing as a champion of the Christian faith, and cloaking himself in the aura and lingo of Christianity, Cawthorne’s hate speech is heretical. In stirring the pot of imaginary threats and ginned-up persecution, he absurdly compares himself and his gullible audience to Old Testament heroes and heroines, such as King David, Queen Esther and Lions’ Den Daniel.

Continue reading

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Washington D.C. Jihadists: There Be Lions

TCS: It Fits Your Palm Just So – 200 Years in 16 Poems and 5 Quotes

Good Morning!

______________________________

Welcome to The Coffee Shop, just for you early risers
on Monday mornings. This is an Open Thread forum,
so if you have an off-topic opinion burning a hole in
your brainpan, feel free to add a comment.
______________________________

Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history.
– Plato

Continue reading

Posted in Poetry, The Coffee Shop | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on TCS: It Fits Your Palm Just So – 200 Years in 16 Poems and 5 Quotes