Blogging still a thing

 I haven't blogged for a while, but it's not because I don't still write.  It's just that my profession does not allow posting without being pre-approved.  Therefore, when (if) I ever retire, I can freely post my thoughts without going through a censor.  

2020 12 14 Truth and Love - Two classic Poetic Themes

Dad told us: “Listen to all”

But think for yourself,

Form your opinion,

after deciding what’s fact..

 

On elections and viruses,

Experts enter the fray,

Voicing sides contrarian, 

Announcing victors and vectors.

 

As best we can, 

We harden our ways,

Taking one side or the other,

As we increase our days.

 

We live in the moment,

As if life is forever,

Doubting what’s real,

Perceiving what’s true.

 

And then with that info,

We go forth in the world,

Doing our best,

To love our enemies.

2020 03 China Wuhan Corona CoVid19 Virus

Oh what shall we call this virulent virus?
Past names of pandemics fail to inspire us
It stems from Wuhan, a big Chinese city,
And those it affects we surely do pity.

Of course we’re uncertain about what to do,
In 1918 it was named Spanish Flu,
That wiped out hundreds, thousands, millions,
A century later we’re vulnerable civilians.

Government crackdowns are met with resistance,
We’re told that we should now keep our distance,
We love our freedom and eschew officialdom.
But six feet apart is a certain safe minimum,

The graphs put forth show us trends demographic,
And how we might slow the spread geographic,
Charts show the toll on youth, seniors, children,
But viruses aren’t bacteria, so forget penicillin.

We’re asked that we please shelter in place
Give up all meetings…avoid face to face,
Work from home, and never go shopping,
Except to buy groceries—then home (no stopping).

Life is uncertain, it’s always changing,
Routines we had now need rearranging,
At this point we don’t know how all this will end,
But meantime, use electronics to seek out a friend.

At home we must sit while our life's on hiatus,
We just have to wait for a big change in status.
Breathe deep while you can to fill up each lung
Do live in the moment and strive to keep young!

Copyright 2020

Frank Bliss

2017 05 Journeys

A complete travelers guide in 4 minutes.  To plan your journey, just ask yourself ten questions:

Where to go, what to see?

How to travel, what to do?

What to spend, how to prepare,

What to take, what to dare?

What to avoid and what to share?

1. Where is first with myriad choices:

Iguazu, Niagara, Victoria Falls,

Taj Mahal, Angkor Wat, Reykjavik,

Normandy, Johannesburg, Tetons, Arches,

Yellowstone, Everest, Machu Picchu, Mumbai,

Tuscany, Barcelona, Antarctica, Alaska,

Egypt, Denali, Petra, Amazon,

Kilimanjaro, Korea, Rapa Nui…or Mars!

2. Then plan what to see:

Rijksmuseum, Hermitage, Louvre, Van Gogh,

Fjords, Tulips, Christmas Markets, Castles,

Terra-cotta Warriors, Windsor, Versailles,

Forbidden City, Parliament, Kremlin, Pushkin, DC,

Neuschwanstein, Stonehenge, Thingvellir, Bayeaux,

Serengeti, Yosemite, Pyramids, Notre Dame, St. Peters Cathedral,

Sydney Opera House, Cable cars,

Gardens—Tivoli, Kew, Butchart,

Moai, Aurora, Eclipse, Calving glaciers, catacombs, hippos,

Tigers, Monkeys, sloths, amusement parks.

3. So how to travel?

Boat, Air, Drive, Walk, roller skate,

Bicycle, Crawl, Scooter, bus,

Uber, Lyft, taxi, shuttle,

Coach, Limo, Raft, Climb.

Helicopter, Train, Gondola, Double-decker sightseer,

Dog sled, Camel, Llama, Ski, Snowshoes,

Snowmobile, parasail, ultra-light…hmm.

4. What to do?

Backpack, Bungie jump, bicycle, surf,

Symphony, Opera, musical play,

Ski, swim, scuba, snorkel, Mai tai and marguerita,

Parasail, parachute, camel ride, roller coaster,

Snorkel, kayak, walk, spelunk,

Fish, birdwatch, hunt, golf

Tennis, soccer, photograph, zipline.

5. What to spend?

Pesos, Pounds, Euro, Dollars,

Stirling, Dirham, Franc, Kroner,

Rupee, Won, Yuan, Shilling,

Yen, Rand, Ruble, Lira,

or what about AmEx, MasterCard and Visa?

6. How to prepare?

Maps, GPS, Brochures,

Ask Siri, Travel agent, word of mouth,

Consult schedules, books, guides, search engines,

Research passports, visas, bookings, transfers.

7. What to take?

Layers—warm and cold, boots, sandals,

Backpack, suitcase, carry-on,

camera, selfie-stick, binoculars,

socks, shirts—long and short sleeve,

Pants—long, short and dress,

sweater, fleece, coat, ties, cuff links,

underwear, glasses, prescriptions,

medicines, walking stick, compass,

cell phone, maps, passport, visa…

And, oh…pack light!

8. What to dare?

Will I bungie, will I jump?

Will I scuba, will I ski?

Will I crawl through caves?

Will I climb the highest peak?

Dare I take the taxicab with the mad driver?

And just how safe is parasail?

Will my wings hold when I base jump?

When I climb free solo, will I fall?

9. What to avoid?

Mosquitos, Scorpions, too much sun,

Flesh eating spiders, poisonous frogs and snakes

Lost luggage, missed connections,

Delayed flights, mechanical breakdowns,

Bumped reservations, pickpockets, thieves,

Fleabag motels, typhoid, cholera and malaria.

10. What to share?

Not much…and certainly not pictures…you’ll lose friends fast.

After all, just thinking about all this has made me too tired to go at all!

2016 09 Writ, Writ Right

Cuneiform formed, and a history was told,

A stylus was used, in that method old.

Papyrus next, became the norm,

Ink—black or red, the words did form.

Black ink was made by burning some wood,

When bound up with gum, that writing looked good.

Iron oxide made red.  The scribe first did think,

Then reeds were fashioned to dip in the ink.

Birds of the feather, provided the quill,

Replacing the reed, but still needing skill.

This pen form of writing lasted for years,

‘Til J. Gutenberg stunned all his peers.

He printed and printed: The Bible—no less.

His readers were awed; with his press he impressed.

But how to create good ideas that flow?

The typewriter sped up, but still was too slow.

The “Selectric” was chosen for keys couldn’t stick,

But still you could hear the slick click, click, click.

Computers created word processing wonders,

With quite quiet keyboards and backspace for blunders.

So what is the good that comes from this progress?

I’ll aside for a moment, that matter to assess…

Profligate writing overwhelms our good senses,

When it comes to reading, the volumes seem endless.

From texting to e-mail, the scourge is “reply all”,

Better talk to your neighbor, and avoid going viral!

Copyright Frank Bliss

September 2016

2015 06 The Violin - A Poem

The Violin

This small wooden box,

Oh where to begin?

Played right, it just rocks,

When held under chin!

It's stroked with horse hair,

Or plucked with a finger,

Deep emotions ensnare,

With feelings that linger.

In starting to practice,

For hour after hour,

It scratches like cactus,

Causing neighbors to glower.

But after it's mastered,

It is just as if,

You've discovered the password,

To remarkable bliss.

Strung up with four strings,

Tuned always in fifths,

The perfect sound rings,

Giving nice aural gifts.

The same is quite true,

Of viola and bass,

And cello counts too,

Just give them more space.

So next time you hear it,

Go up to the man,

Who lifted your spirit,

Tell him you're a fan!

-Frank Bliss

Copyright, 2015

2015 01 A sonnet on Morse Code

It took me a while to figure out how to write a sonnet.  First, I had to look up how a sonnet is written.  It appears that it should be fourteen stanzas with iambic pentameter.  Iambic is unstressed followed by stressed foots. Pentameter is five foots to a line.  So I thought it is a bit like Morse code:

di-Dah, di-Dah, di-Dah, di-Dah, di-Dah,

An A, an A, an A, an A, an A,

dah-Dit, dah-Dit, dah-Dit, dah-Dit, dah-Dit,

An N, an N, an N, an N, an N.

di-Dah, dah-Dit, an AN it is in code,

Sam Morse, a code he sought to write so well,

In recent years the words more freely flowed,

We have computers now with code to spell.

So when you send a poem around the world,

It turns to ones and zeros as it knits

Your message into text that can be hurled,

Without the need to translate dahs and dits.

No longer do we have to learn a code,

To send a message to a far abode.

-.. --- .-- .--. ...

Dowps
Copyright 2015