#joe gallenstein

[writelikefools-2022]

Silence Versus Listening - Joe Gallenstein - day 13

Sitting in silence is uncomfortable. Acceptance or to acquiesce Go along and getting along With unspoken agreement In white spaces we reinforce the most damaging racial narratives Not listening for the hurt Because we fear the discomfort In multi-racial spaces Where is our sense of solidarity How did I get stuck In this cycle of complacency? Under handed thought experiences overwhelm me And puts me back down Listening brings electricity Movement behind the eyes Synapses fire and connect Awakening something deep inside me Connection with someone Realizing I am not alone Firming up the ground underneath Often to find it as sediment I had never known. Firmer ground in listening Brings collaborative contemplation Silence is stagnating While listening is learning

#napowrimo #joe gallenstein

[writelikefools2021]

April Showers - Joe Gallenstein - day 1

April showers of snow When I long for the blooming of marigolds (what even are marigolds - this city boy doesn’t know)

I wish I could look outside and know the names of every tree Of every bush, bug, or flower But even the names I know escape me

I can’t wait for the summer Where showers of rain and snow Give way to heat and sun And maybe a chance to finally have some fun

#joe gallenstein #national poetry writing month #april poetry #april showers #day 1 #day one #napowrimo #poets on tumblr #writers on tumblr #poems

[averagekyjoe]

#EKU recently announced they are cutting their #marchingband. I’m raising money to help @kentuckiansforthecommonwealth voter empowerment work to help ensure Kentucky raises the revenue we need for #musiceducation & more. Read more & join our work here: https://actionfordemocracy.causevox.com/joe-gallenstein/blog/thoughts-51028 #savethemusic #educationpays #kyelect #bandgeek (at Lions Camp Crescendo)

#bandgeek #marchingband #eku #educationpays #musiceducation #kyelect #savethemusic

[writelikefools-2022]

Poop Loop - Joe Gallenstein - day 11

There’s a spot on our poop loop Where I stop and marvel At the beauty that surrounds us The queen’s jewels Are on full display And every day They sparkle differently On our poop loop We stop and we marvel At the wonders this place has to offer Art Deco buildings in the distance With modern skyscrapers reaching up That touch the clouds All aglow beneath the moon On our poop loop I stop and I marvel At the closest I’ll ever be To the Cathedral Notre Dame On our poop loop I stop and marvel Whether day or night, Cloudy skies or bright To see this city from on high, It confirms how great it is To be alive On our poop loop I stop and marvel From this hill And let out my howl

#napowrimo #joe gallenstein

[writelikefools-2022]

Liberation as Love - Joe Gallenstein - day 4

To know liberation we must Explore our deepest knowledge Of love What do we love In ourselves When we’re alone With just our thoughts? We must love ourselves Finding value not in work hours But in the time that is ours What do we love In community When we are searching for places To  just be? Laughter is the soundtrack That the revolution of our lives needs The stories are accompaniment But joy is our harmony Liberation is made of connection Deep and pure That sees our shared humanity Held up in a mirror Reflected in love That can surround And comfort us

#napowrimo #joe gallenstein

[writelikefools-2022]

To Automatons! - Joe Gallenstein - day 3

Here is to the Automatons! For when humans are dead and gone Through them - Our ingenuity will live on!   Future poems written by algorithm Will ponder sci-fi philosophers problems Like Phillip K Dick’s timeless question            -         ‘Do robots dream of electric sheep?’ When they pass Turning’s test Will they still need the Bechdel test? Once metal folks have proved their best And history has been reset Will robot poems sound like Shakespeare? With dagger wit that cuts like a rapier? Or will robotic poems sound corny? Or could they be written  Just to make androids horny? Will they just be filled with fluff? Will they wax philosophically On the pleasures of having Their bodies buffed? Will they create a society As filled with inequality, greed, and envy To breed similar systems of hate and poverty? When the Automatons write their poetry Can they dream beyond their algorithm? When an android thinks of love Is it still a gift that was sent from above?

#napowrimo #joe gallenstein

[writelikefools-2022]

Weather - Joe Gallenstein - day 2

The weather had been overcast for days I’ve been sitting here Waiting For the rain to come When it rains It pours Letting go of all That was being held But instead of nourishing my garden It floods the beds Stripping away the soil So that it cascades down the hill Clear skies have moved in But the ground has become barren Having surrendered what it once held To yesterday’s storm

#napowrimo #joe gallenstein

[writelikefools-2022]

Community is Liberation - Joe Gallenstein - day 1

Liberation begins when you realize That you are not alone There are others out there Longing to build a new world Here Where you are seen for the beautiful person you are Perfect With all of your imperfections You, who deserves to be safe You, who deserve to be seen You, who deserves to be loved Liberation begins when you realize That you are not alone But liberation can never be achieved Unless it is centered in love Here Where your community is seen for the beauty it has Perfect Made up of imperfect people We, who deserve to be safe We, who deserve to be seen We, who deserve to be loved Liberation cannot be created alone But is built together In joyful struggle Creating that new world Here Where your dreams become realities Perfect Made with imperfect strokes Together, we create a safe home Together, we see each other in the mirror Together, we can share our love

#napowrimo #joe gallenstein

[writelikefools2021]

Puppy Days of Spring - Joe Gallenstein - day 29

Red Buds blooming mean that Spring has Sprung Spry and wet like a puppy from a fresh dip From the nearest creek bed.

But now the buds have given way to green leaves Spring is maturing to its more well-known verdant self Perhaps less colorful, but still vibrant And also deeper and full

Just as a dog grows and still longs to play A puppy in a full body Begging you to go outside

Soon it will be time to play Summer catch And better yet – take Summer naps! Fun in the sun and to sleep by the trees

The dog days will soon be here Long and hot days joined by humid nights The perfect time for an evening walk with your dog Basking in the warm moonlight.

#napowrimo #joe gallenstein #national poetry writing month #poetry month #poetry writing month #national poetry month #poetry #poem #poems #spring

[writelikefools2021]

Ferengi Sonnets Pt 1 and Pt 2 - Joe Gallenstein - day 6

Part 1

It is a truth that is universal That when a Ferengi looks for a wife He is looking for a spouse To not just care for his physical house But that expands his opportunities for Latinum Someone that helps his fortune reach its maximum

But misfortune comes to the Ferengi who ignores women For the future is on its way It won’t be long before Ferengi ladies will have their say A male heir to the fortune was once a businessman’s goal But what about if the son’s enterprise was hopeless? Any child could be talented, or even taught, in the ways of business Why would forward looking figures look away And the emerging power of women is here to stay

Part 2

Because courting you is a dangerous game For my heart is my most valuable possession And Rule Zero of The Rules of Acquisition state That If Grand Nagus tells us it must be so And Rule Two makes clear that Money is Everything So you must be money made flesh For to me you now are everything.

Rule One says Once You Have Their Money You Never Give it Back Your heart is the fortune That I have spent my life searching Rule Ten says Greed is Eternal And so we come to my proposal Will you do business with me for all our tomorrows?

#napowrimo #joe gallenstein #poetry #sonnets #sonnet #ferengi #star trek #trekkies #trekkies only #for trekkies only #poetry month #poem #poems

[writelikefools2021]

7 Haikus - Joe Gallenstein - day 8

To build a home here Or to return where they left A refugees choice

New American Settlers seeking refuge Turned away by greed

What are we today If we quit dreaming that America can

Can go to the moon Can fight the pandemics that We have created

Racism and the Dollar imperialism we have perfected

Gifts with strings that we Always have attached so that We look like good guys

Drug tests don’t screen for Trauma that we helped create Or make people safe

#napowrimo #joe gallenstein #haiku #national poetry writing month #poetry

[writelikefools2021]

Good Friday - Joe Gallenstein - day 2

And what’s so Good about Friday? Not much these days When we all have to work on Saturday

And Sunday is a holy-nother matter Find myself sitting around Just getting fatter

Can’t relax or even enjoy the day Because before we know it We’re back to Monday

We live not just in the mundane We live for the mundane Every day is a part of the grind

But what’s so Good about Friday? Now that TGIF seems to mean The Grind Includes Friday

#joe gallenstein #napowrimo #good friday #day 2 of napowrimo #day 2 #poem #poems #poetry #poet #poets #poets on tumblr #writing on tumblr #writing

[writelikefools2021]

Domestic Life - Joe Gallenstein - day 26

Bathtime looms at 8 pm and then Time to put the kids to bed

After bedtime it’s time to chore Domestic life is such a bore

Laundry, dishes, trash and more … did I just hear a child at the door?

Another round of medicine, Bedtime stories and good night kisses

I guess domestic life ain’t so bad For this middle aged Dad

#napowrimo #joe gallenstein #national poetry writing month #poetry month #poetry writing month #national poetry month #poetry #writing daily #dads

[writelikefools2021]

Studying Lit in StarFleet Academy - Joe Gallenstein - day 3

Imagine for a moment You’re sitting in the future Studying literature at StarFleet Academy

Discussions are heard About the logic and nuance Around Vulcan poetry

Vulcan works of nonfiction are much better known Works of instruction and reflection With life’s clearly illustrated lessons

Known more for literal than literature There’s something deeply meaningful When you read their attempts to be lyrical

But whose words are worth more Than the Ferengi whose thirst for gold Is all that they quest for?

Openly filled with guile With words designed to flatter In hopes that their wallets will someday get fatter

But every son of Kahless will tell you That Shakespeare is best When read in the original Klingon

#napowrimo #joe gallenstein

[writelikefools2021]

History and Home - Joe Gallenstein - day 28

History and home are complicated Because the people who made it are too History and places filled with stories Passed down from the past to you

German-American neighborhood markers change Brevet Bavaria’s Bremen Boulevard became Pershing Plaza to put people in their proper place

As Brevet Bavaria becomes Mini-Mexico Pershing still stands tall But most visitors don’t notice him at all

The names of places reflect who we are And who we want to be As well as what outsiders seem to see

Communities named for displaces peoples Tacit acknowledgement of genocide That our history books too often try to hide

Or to systems that persisted too long Lasting long after we had accepted they were morally wrong Calling new residencies Indian Acres or Plantation Pointe

Statues of slavers sit in some communities That they never called home A celebration of courage and heritage To protect property, profit, and hate

Celebrations for those who sought To disunite the states Slavers whose confederacy for which they fought Aimed to cement white supremacy

And over there sits a googly-eyed general Protected on private property To prevent the forward march of progress From fully dismantling his legacy

That statues of people we erect Shows who we are and want to be Preserved in shameful posterity

History and home are complicated Because the people who made it are too History and places filled with stories Passed down from the past to you

#napowrimo #joe gallenstein

[writelikefools2021]

Cicada Symphony #1 - Joe Gallenstein - day 18

Cicadas emerge slowly in late Spring, Singing at first slowly, Almost sweetly and sporadically

And then the cicada’s voices crescendo, As their chirps grow as big and diverse as a symphony, They create a new and deafening cacophony

Though slowly as summer’s temperatures rise, The sounds of cicada’s voices dies, Fading by July into their soft Summer slumber

Seventeen more years until these cicada’s children, Will emerge to sing their early Summer songs, Again celebrating with a new chirping melody

#napowrimo #joe gallenstein #national poetry writing month #poetry month #poetry writing month #national poetry month #cicadas #kentucky #ohio