Anything but Bluebirds
To Mac, with love
Hello dear readers,
I’m back! It’s Sunday morning, and until I figure out any new publishing schedule, I’m going with what brought me here.
Today’s offering poured out of me in response to some comments made on Kathleen Devanney’s most recent gorgeous piece. I just couldn’t help myself.
More soon. Happy New Year, you glorious human beings.
xox
M
Anything But Bluebirds
Dear Mac,
I hope you do not sleep —
sleeping will not change anything!
And kindness won’t either.
Nor will smiling
or praying or gratitude —
all that happy-go-lucky bullshit
is a WASTE of your time.
Platitudes!
Slogans!
Optimism —
All useless!
What the world needs
is information, and lots of it.
More facts,
more more MORE!
Data!
Charts!
Statistics!
Being informed will save us!
Take up your sword and pen
and never ever ever
EVER
put them down to rest
for one single moment.
Write about evil!
Talk about evil!
Read what others say about evil!
Remember all the evil perpetrated,
or that could be perpetrated,
or that will be perpetrated
if you cease thinking about it
even for one minute.
Keep human atrocities front and center!
Consume calories ONLY
to sustain the fight against monsters!
Make love if necessary but
call it something less sugary,
don’t enjoy it,
and race back to the fray.
Hurry!
Action!
Nose to the grindstone!
Pessimism and hard work will save us!
Clamp down on joy,
ramp up the righteous anger!
Speed through nature.
Sure it’s nice,
but can you afford distraction
from the ongoing battle?
I don’t think so!
Ignore sunsets!
Children laughing!
The smell of gardenias!
THEY can’t help you!
Disregard any invitations to dance!
Who could dance
at a time like this?
Cover your ears when others sing —
how will singing
win this fight?
Resist all temptation
to commune with the Divine in yourself
and others,
to dream of a better world,
or to harness your imagination to create it.
What a joke!
Get real!
Stay serious!
FINALLY,
and I hope you’ve been taking notes
because this is all IMPERATIVE,
whatever you do,
for god’s sake, Mac,
this is the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING,
I BEG of you:
PAY NO ATTENTION
TO THE EFFING BLUEBIRDS!
They are worse than poetry.
Love,
Mary
Thank you, Mary, for that powerful, incisive poem! 🙏
You made me laugh with gratitude.
Thank you echoing the message (and linking) and then amplifying it with humor and poetry as the wordsmith you are.
"Ignore sunsets!
Children laughing!
The smell of gardenias!
THEY can’t help you!"
Still laughing. Sending virtual hugs!
How sublime! Yes, indeed, we ought to dance, sing, bask in the laughter of children, read and write poetry, and pay attention to bluebirds ESPECIALLY at a time like this! Thank you for this gem!