OFF THE GRID

By Katherine Harris Szerdy

Hocking Hills

     forced the Screen Queen to

Gaze at the afternoon light

     reflecting off young leaves,

Listen to the cat-like calls of deer

     beckoning little ones to stay close,

Smell spring saplings lift

      Rich loam from last year’s leaves--

Green tendrils unfurl, 

      nudging their way,

             seeking sun’s rays.

I soak up the silence,

      wallow in the whispers of

Foothills formidable enough

     to keep

              signals from

                    penetrating…

24 hours

     off the grid

          zero bars, no not one…

  And that’s a good thing.

© 2014

Speech is Costly--Free Speech is Dead.

Yikes!  It's election puke time again!
I'm already sick and tired of the robocalls
and sound bytes and video clips and carefully
cropped photo ops replete with propaganda and
euphemisms and lies!
I don't trust people or the process any longer!
And we think Putin is corrupt!
We no longer watch local news media whose primary
motivation is editorializing whatever will attract the
numbers which translate directly to advertising dollars!
I have been victim to their distortions!
And free speech is dead.
I've never seen this nation so divided nor witnessed
an electorate so discontent.
I have always considered myself to be an optimist, but...
i wonder, if Anne Frank were alive in the 21st century,
would she still claim that "Despite everything, I still
believe that people are really good at heart"?
I think not.
God help this nation.

Copyright 05/02/2014  by Katherine Szerdy