Actionable Joy

(So it ain’t sophisticated but it amused me. :))

Actionable Joy
“An opal holds a fiery spark, But a flint holds fire.” — Christina Rossetti

We hold these ruses to be self-evident: baubles of trouble-
d double D legend are poignant, a jinxed tragic beauty we must scrape
to. How to keep pap and pope held above all the rabble of a good
bawdy joke? We are brought up short, a jerk of the shoulder
curt word to ensure we heard young man what a world this is.

A bombing is not enough, the one more scarce than scary —
must be re-run in syndication, spun into articles, editorials
plethoraing. Dramatization queens are made, not born. Vigilance is
trustmost, a curse borne by
all who are Responsible Denizens. Pray
we look at archives of international lists
compiled, trotted out his- and her-stories,
cross-reference to thicken where thin with
unibomber or do-wrongers, patch and scrap up
some fear-factor(TM) morality, be a good laddie,
poll someone quick before momentum
flits off to those damned flowers and sunshine again.

We must keep people Aware of how much Danger they
are in, how many (by number not percentage) once
screwed up something which we can’t bear
to ever let
anyone live down
because trauma
is not
to be trifled with
except for profit or propheteering.

Hurry, hurrah against all this counterevidence
mounding around the homeless man
who has a name we dare not note
he who
as if equal (imagine!)
ruffles the hair of the Clean-Coated Boy
who turns, smiles with his dad
glances back without a care (careless is a better paraphrase)
dad who adds a nice-sort-of-day-isn’t-it wave.

And the woman who falls on the intersection and
blame hardly has time to reach lips when a suit swifts over
soothing words, lifts her, checks she is
fine, tears not even with time to get out of ducts.
How is one to work up a good funk unless we blot
with the ruthless practicality of kittens sacks and stones…

We won’t even discuss how people keep talking with family
and colleagues or how when they break up
have the sense to shrug
and get on with other things.
Such harassment of relentless coping
and feel-good copy must be stopped. How dare people
keep breathing air, not be stricken with parts per million broken,
forget the majority that works.

Words bitten back in considerations,
spoken kindly, resilient healing
more tyranical than manical’s most celebrated hopes
goods and money to buy it and airports of people greeting people
they missed. Yes, con-
centrate on the ache of miss.
Bang that pang. Hammer,
no, no, they weren’t fine before.
They weren’t in contact all the
way in line by text. Think of poverty, depravity, abuse.

Let me dig up some files for you.

Each life has pain enough you say.
Now we’re getting somewhere aren’t we? Roma have been
failed by some institutional schooling and have tin shacks,

happiness study says poor are happier and have a community
of support, laughter, long lasting points pass
like ships in dark night of souls. Incandescence of critical
observation should be outlawed, already is in some areas
you know but what is scandulous and when I count to 4 you
will wake and do a headless chicken whenever I say war. 1, 2…