Media Save Us "Iraq has once again launched missiles Towards Israel and Saudi Arabia. No knowledge of injuries or damage Is known at this time." Surround-Sound bombings, High-Definition surgical maneuvers Twenty-four hours a day, World-wide coverage Of the operation- Crisis- War. "Details have not reached us At this time. I repeat, No further information is available. Stay-tuned For further developments." Entire casts of commentators, Full staffs of experts and analysts, All bringing the latest news, In descriptive maps, Enlightening interviews, And breath-taking footage. "Iraqi ground troops Have confronted coalition forces, Information about damages, Have not yet reached us." Viewer attraction, To newscasts Sharing similar information, Is decided By the personality Of the anchor, And the professional flair, Of the telecast. "Details have not reached us At this time. I repeat, No further information is available. Stay-tuned For further developments." The flow of incomplete information Continues to air. Updates, And special editions To quench the nervous thirsts: The fearful hunger. "For further details, Stay-tuned For half-hourly reports, And our regular newscast At 11." The Line am i to walk to the left or to the right of this imaginary line for which it is a sin to cross? will i be shunned for walking with those with whom no one would be seen, or will i be assaulted for believing what others would not dare think? can i walk a path that winds its way through life, crossing and re-crossing the borders between ways of thinking, ways of living, ways of being? am i to be what others have created, or can i become the person that others have not dared to be, nor cared to become? Peace (not sold in any stores) To be pro-something, You don't have to be Anti-anything. You can be pro-choice, And not be Anti-life. And you can be pro-peace, And not be Anti-American. I don't subscribe To the philosophy That a feeling of patriotism Can hide any injustice. Being an 'American', Does not make up For the fact That people are dying. Not Iraqis, Not Palestinians, Not blacks, Not Native Americans, Not Lithuanians, Latvians, or Estonians, Not Chinese revolutionaries, Not inner city minorities, Not Communists or Socialists, But people, Citizens of Earth: All brothers and sisters. We live in an interdependent world, Our lives are intermingled With everyone From an Eskimo at the Arctic circle, To an African tribe on the mother continent. To spring From common ancestors, Yet to stray so far. Skin color, Hair, Size, Age, Gender, Abilities, Intelligence- They all mean more to our world Then the heart Which beats in each one of us, And the mind Which thinks And dreams. No matter whether hindered By age or disease, We are humans. If we don't realize that, We might as well be killing aliens From the planet Mars. The killing, All of those deaths, If not by our bombs directly, We are shattering their lives By shattering everything around them. To destroy Food supplies, Water supplies, And sewer systems. To prevent necessary Electrical service, Medical supplies, Sanitary facilities. We are killing them In a worse way Then blowing off their heads, With a point-blank Patriot missile. We are not killing 'Iraqis', We are killing people. We are allowing deaths, We aren't trying to prevent them. Deaths in South Africa, Murders in Latin America, Suppression of the pleas for independence In Eastern Europe, The disappearance of Chinese youth Struggling for Democracy, Even the slayings Of innocent and guilty alike On the streets of our cities. We aren't a country Believing that freedom, Independence, And safety Are sacred. Status Quo is important: The heavenly apparition That the world powers Pray to on their knees. A bump On the flawless road To continuous repetition, Where what is now, Will always be. A 'madman', Saddam by name, Is the justification For hundreds of thousands of lives. Because he was crazy And annexed his neighbor, It is okay, To decimate the citizens Oppressed under his rule. When has any country Not taken what was someone else's? The Romans took from the Greeks, The 'barbaric' tribes of Europe From the Romans, European from European, European from African, European from Asian, European from Arab, British from Native Americans, Americans from Pacific Islanders, Americans from Latin Americans, Whites from blacks, Men from women, Young from old, Rich from poor. When has their been Anything to the contrary? No justification Can be given for Hussein's deeds, But his wrongs Are not just cause For further wrongs. Americans have no right To be the policemen of the world. If there is a God, He did not send His only son to America, And have him die, Tied to the wing Of a stealth bomber, And leave the United States As his kingdom on Earth. Taking sides Does nothing for the problems. Being pro-this, Or anti-that, Does nothing When people die Regardless of patriotism. "My flag is bigger than yours !" And the world Was a better place, As all rejoiced. More like the world fell to ashes, Like a flag burned in mockery, Of our country, Of our leaders, Of our global ignorance and stupidity. Nowhere Is our personal greed And selfishness more apparent, Then in the hatred of a point of view, Or complete silence And resignation, Showing that injustice is nothing; Has no relevance To our lives. Man I can imagine What these words will do Do the minds Of some of its readers, It may cause them to shout, Rant, And rave at the things I say, But others may agree, With all Or some, But at least they will have listened, And maybe now They may think, And all this thinking has got to lead To something. Man, In the sense Of the sex, Is part of a group, Unorganized, Without solidarity And a uniform code of ethics, But none the less A group. Near half of the population Of people, Are men, But men cannot rejoice in being A member. He cannot flash a badge Stating his membership Without being accosted by women And other men, Who accuse them Of pride in intimidation, And pleasure in discrimination. Any action, Whether it be small, The opening of a door For courtesy's sake, Or large, Choosing the best person For a certain position, Accusations will come roaring Through the air, Ripping everything apart, And leaving everything in a shambles. But in that wreckage, That the pain And frustration has caused, Nothing can be salvaged, For if anything is saved, It is welcoming attacks, On the inability of the system To 'modernize', To de-genderize. Any system, Any set of laws, Rules, Or regulations Will leave someone in the dust Wanting more. Any way of doing something, Will alienate others And cause some to rise up, Accuse, And demand changes, That no system is able to fulfill At such a pace As they wish. The only way For any flaw of a worn system To be changed Into the gem in the crown of reform, Is for time to be allowed, For whispers and gentleness To be exchanged For shouts and hostilities. When you fight to change The way things are, To something that benefits you, Or your group, Then you will most likely Alienate someone else, And ruin other's way of life. To say 'the heck with them' And ignore that fact, Is not to push for greater equality, But to fight for a shift Inequalities. You can desire all of the rewards And privileges of life, But they must be counterbalanced, By the drawbacks, And the hardships That must come with them, Or else some unfortunate people- Probably the ones Thrown from their positions Of superiority- Will be immersed In all of those rejects, And it will not be long, Before they too, Will rise up, And demand the equality, That you had supposedly Been seeking the time before. You can ignore all problems, You can close your eyes To any aspect of a situation That you think has no importance But those areas You chose to overlook, Will only end up As the internal defects That ruin the efficient running Of your personalized Utopia. All the groups, And individuals Who now suffer from the system, are justified in their distaste, But it should not be funneled Into a justification For further oppression, Segregation, And discrimination. You can see the world Of joy and beauty That reigns supreme In the dream world Inside your mind, In that world The equality that concerns us, Is solved. So if you see this perfect world, Why would you settle For anything less than that In the world That lies outside of your head? You can either work For the unity of all In a system of equal rewards, Or you can struggle To improve your own welfare, Only to have the other suppressed Overturn your happiness Farther down the line, And farther down the line Is shorter Than you expect: Try tomorrow, If you oppress them enough In your ignorance. When Love Comes Tumbling Down when you've been hurt by a broken love, you set up defenses. complaining, you swear never to date again. you invent long lists of impossible levels to which prospective dates must achieve. you make up tests, you formulate plans, all to assure that it won't happen again. but that day when the special someone walks into your life, your tests and plans will disappear from memory. for you tend to only see the deficiencies and shortcomings, after losing love. Spin The world is spinning Upon some god's finger, As he tries to impress The latest goddess Placed on his heavenly pedestal. Support Let this line Float into another, And let that one Drop to yet another. Each word can only survive If it has words On either side to support it. If you take away one word, Or overlook a line, The entire structure crumbles, And the poem And all its meaning collapses Into an unmoving form Created by words, Which have lost Their meanings.

Media Save Us "Iraq has once again launched missiles Towards Israel and Saudi Arabia. No knowledge of injuries or damage Is known at this time." Surround-Sound bombings, High-Definition surgical maneuvers Twenty-four hours a day, World-wide coverage Of the operation- Crisis- War. "Details have not reached us At this time. I repeat, No further information is available. Stay-tuned For further developments." Entire casts of commentators, Full staffs of experts and analysts, All bringing the latest news, In descriptive maps, Enlightening interviews, And breath-taking footage. "Iraqi ground troops Have confronted coalition forces, Information about damages, Have not yet reached us." Viewer attraction, To newscasts Sharing similar information, Is decided By the personality Of the anchor, And the professional flair, Of the telecast. "Details have not reached us At this time. I repeat, No further information is available. Stay-tuned For further developments." The flow of incomplete information Continues to air. Updates, And special editions To quench the nervous thirsts: The fearful hunger. "For further details, Stay-tuned For half-hourly reports, And our regular newscast At 11." The Line am i to walk to the left or to the right of this imaginary line for which it is a sin to cross? will i be shunned for walking with those with whom no one would be seen, or will i be assaulted for believing what others would not dare think? can i walk a path that winds its way through life, crossing and re-crossing the borders between ways of thinking, ways of living, ways of being? am i to be what others have created, or can i become the person that others have not dared to be, nor cared to become? Peace (not sold in any stores) To be pro-something, You don't have to be Anti-anything. You can be pro-choice, And not be Anti-life. And you can be pro-peace, And not be Anti-American. I don't subscribe To the philosophy That a feeling of patriotism Can hide any injustice. Being an 'American', Does not make up For the fact That people are dying. Not Iraqis, Not Palestinians, Not blacks, Not Native Americans, Not Lithuanians, Latvians, or Estonians, Not Chinese revolutionaries, Not inner city minorities, Not Communists or Socialists, But people, Citizens of Earth: All brothers and sisters. We live in an interdependent world, Our lives are intermingled With everyone From an Eskimo at the Arctic circle, To an African tribe on the mother continent. To spring From common ancestors, Yet to stray so far. Skin color, Hair, Size, Age, Gender, Abilities, Intelligence- They all mean more to our world Then the heart Which beats in each one of us, And the mind Which thinks And dreams. No matter whether hindered By age or disease, We are humans. If we don't realize that, We might as well be killing aliens From the planet Mars. The killing, All of those deaths, If not by our bombs directly, We are shattering their lives By shattering everything around them. To destroy Food supplies, Water supplies, And sewer systems. To prevent necessary Electrical service, Medical supplies, Sanitary facilities. We are killing them In a worse way Then blowing off their heads, With a point-blank Patriot missile. We are not killing 'Iraqis', We are killing people. We are allowing deaths, We aren't trying to prevent them. Deaths in South Africa, Murders in Latin America, Suppression of the pleas for independence In Eastern Europe, The disappearance of Chinese youth Struggling for Democracy, Even the slayings Of innocent and guilty alike On the streets of our cities. We aren't a country Believing that freedom, Independence, And safety Are sacred. Status Quo is important: The heavenly apparition That the world powers Pray to on their knees. A bump On the flawless road To continuous repetition, Where what is now, Will always be. A 'madman', Saddam by name, Is the justification For hundreds of thousands of lives. Because he was crazy And annexed his neighbor, It is okay, To decimate the citizens Oppressed under his rule. When has any country Not taken what was someone else's? The Romans took from the Greeks, The 'barbaric' tribes of Europe From the Romans, European from European, European from African, European from Asian, European from Arab, British from Native Americans, Americans from Pacific Islanders, Americans from Latin Americans, Whites from blacks, Men from women, Young from old, Rich from poor. When has their been Anything to the contrary? No justification Can be given for Hussein's deeds, But his wrongs Are not just cause For further wrongs. Americans have no right To be the policemen of the world. If there is a God, He did not send His only son to America, And have him die, Tied to the wing Of a stealth bomber, And leave the United States As his kingdom on Earth. Taking sides Does nothing for the problems. Being pro-this, Or anti-that, Does nothing When people die Regardless of patriotism. "My flag is bigger than yours !" And the world Was a better place, As all rejoiced. More like the world fell to ashes, Like a flag burned in mockery, Of our country, Of our leaders, Of our global ignorance and stupidity. Nowhere Is our personal greed And selfishness more apparent, Then in the hatred of a point of view, Or complete silence And resignation, Showing that injustice is nothing; Has no relevance To our lives. Man I can imagine What these words will do Do the minds Of some of its readers, It may cause them to shout, Rant, And rave at the things I say, But others may agree, With all Or some, But at least they will have listened, And maybe now They may think, And all this thinking has got to lead To something. Man, In the sense Of the sex, Is part of a group, Unorganized, Without solidarity And a uniform code of ethics, But none the less A group. Near half of the population Of people, Are men, But men cannot rejoice in being A member. He cannot flash a badge Stating his membership Without being accosted by women And other men, Who accuse them Of pride in intimidation, And pleasure in discrimination. Any action, Whether it be small, The opening of a door For courtesy's sake, Or large, Choosing the best person For a certain position, Accusations will come roaring Through the air, Ripping everything apart, And leaving everything in a shambles. But in that wreckage, That the pain And frustration has caused, Nothing can be salvaged, For if anything is saved, It is welcoming attacks, On the inability of the system To 'modernize', To de-genderize. Any system, Any set of laws, Rules, Or regulations Will leave someone in the dust Wanting more. Any way of doing something, Will alienate others And cause some to rise up, Accuse, And demand changes, That no system is able to fulfill At such a pace As they wish. The only way For any flaw of a worn system To be changed Into the gem in the crown of reform, Is for time to be allowed, For whispers and gentleness To be exchanged For shouts and hostilities. When you fight to change The way things are, To something that benefits you, Or your group, Then you will most likely Alienate someone else, And ruin other's way of life. To say 'the heck with them' And ignore that fact, Is not to push for greater equality, But to fight for a shift Inequalities. You can desire all of the rewards And privileges of life, But they must be counterbalanced, By the drawbacks, And the hardships That must come with them, Or else some unfortunate people- Probably the ones Thrown from their positions Of superiority- Will be immersed In all of those rejects, And it will not be long, Before they too, Will rise up, And demand the equality, That you had supposedly Been seeking the time before. You can ignore all problems, You can close your eyes To any aspect of a situation That you think has no importance But those areas You chose to overlook, Will only end up As the internal defects That ruin the efficient running Of your personalized Utopia. All the groups, And individuals Who now suffer from the system, are justified in their distaste, But it should not be funneled Into a justification For further oppression, Segregation, And discrimination. You can see the world Of joy and beauty That reigns supreme In the dream world Inside your mind, In that world The equality that concerns us, Is solved. So if you see this perfect world, Why would you settle For anything less than that In the world That lies outside of your head? You can either work For the unity of all In a system of equal rewards, Or you can struggle To improve your own welfare, Only to have the other suppressed Overturn your happiness Farther down the line, And farther down the line Is shorter Than you expect: Try tomorrow, If you oppress them enough In your ignorance. When Love Comes Tumbling Down when you've been hurt by a broken love, you set up defenses. complaining, you swear never to date again. you invent long lists of impossible levels to which prospective dates must achieve. you make up tests, you formulate plans, all to assure that it won't happen again. but that day when the special someone walks into your life, your tests and plans will disappear from memory. for you tend to only see the deficiencies and shortcomings, after losing love. Spin The world is spinning Upon some god's finger, As he tries to impress The latest goddess Placed on his heavenly pedestal. Support Let this line Float into another, And let that one Drop to yet another. Each word can only survive If it has words On either side to support it. If you take away one word, Or overlook a line, The entire structure crumbles, And the poem And all its meaning collapses Into an unmoving form Created by words, Which have lost Their meanings.

reality mirrors 2 Table of Contents

Words Never Spoken. Copyright © 1991 by Matte Elsbernd. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission.