Legacy

 

Seems as we get older, generation

after generation tell those who follow

how messed up society has become.

Realizing certain patterns (good and bad)

in life are bound to happen.

Wars, disunity, greed and an appetite for

power historically seem to be an ongoing

obsession for certain members of the

human race.

Sure, there have always been positive

advances in the progression of our species.

Yet, the negatives seem to outweigh the

positives when it comes to ensuring the

progress of mankind

Why, the propagation of Earth’s human

population and the misuse of natural

resources is more than enough to cause

grave concern for our survival.

Most old folks such as myself have

come to realize positive reformation

in human behavior is by and large

lacking in meaningful efficacy. (Ha,

what a joke to ever think it was in our

power to make a difference even when

we were able.)

I suppose therein lies the problem. During

my lifetime, by our indifference and com-

placency, we have surrendered too much

of our power to help insure global peace

and environmental security. We never did

enough to ensure justice and equity for the

betterment of all.

History will not be kind to my generation.

Claiming humankind advances such as

landing man on the moon, fostering the

Rock and Roll era and Hippie generations,

ushering in the computer and technological

epochs were not enough to save the Earth

ensuring the preservation of our species.

In my lifetime, likely I will not see another

Chicxulub asteroid event to wipe the

Earthscape clean, allowing nature to

start all over again.

No, I never did walk 5-miles to and

from school in 3-feet of snow when I

was a youngster (although some folks

claim they did). We usually got the day

off if there was more than a couple of

inches. We humans tend to over state

our accomplishments.

                            -30-

Chris Hanch 3-14-2023

Where We Are Today

 

Last night, Everything Everywhere All at Once

won the Oscar for best film of the year. Haven’t

seen the movie yet, but by the sound of the title,

I’m guessing in our place and time today, we’re

already there—dazed and overwhelmed.

Life today can be a whirlwind of confusion.

In this technological age, the Meta-verse is

no longer a fictional hypothetical iteration.

Everything, even the impossible, has become

our virtual reality. Up and down have been

turned around.

In this manipulative ai world of ours, the threat

is that everything everywhere all at once, shall

plunge us deeper into the precarious abyss as

the Virtual Bamboozled Society (VBS) where

you and I are merely bit players in the game.

In virtual reality, looking back at our societal

history, it has pretty much always been that

way. Win or lose, what's in it for you?

                           -30-

Chris Hanch 3-13-2023

rec·i·proc·i·ty ( the practice of exchangingthings with others for mutual benefit...)

 

Love the sound of that word,

reciprocity.

Has a certain ring to it,

Don’t you think?

A word which popped

into my head today

as I was contemplating

words I might say.

As memory serves me

reciprocity is a word

I have not used in my

poetry or dialogue

exchanges before.

The definition,

exchanging things

with others for

mutual benefit seems

apropos for many of life’s

situations I have known.

Apropos, now there’s

another word which catches

the ear, a word I do recall

using now and again, although

I can’t rightly say exactly when.

Who knows,

Perhaps in our exchanging

of ideas today, a reciprocity

would be apropos.

There, I’ve said it.

Now, the ball is in you court.

That’s an analogy.

I use those quite often

in my exchanges.

                   -30-

Chris Hanch 3-12-2023

Ingenuity

 

Ingenuity. As an old boss

of mine used to say—“You’ve

made a silk purse out of a sow’s

ear.”

Ingenuity. In other words, making

sweet lemonade from sour lemons.

Or more aptly said, making something

worthwhile from something other-

wise deemed impractical or useless.

Ingenuity. Getting out of a bloody

mess I’ve already made for myself.

Or turning a scale of discordant

notes into a glorious melody.

And I, well, I'll take exception with that

sow’s ear notion. I’m sure the sow

would prefer her ear to a silk purse.

Besides, my boss was an advertising

man. What in hell would he know about a

sow’s ears or ingenuity in the first place?

                             -30-

Chris Hanch 3-10-2023

The Measure of Me

 

Some measure me by inches and feet.

I have traveled far into the night

As the day breaks clear and bright.

And I ponder how far I have come.

I say, measure me by where I have been.

Look at me, my friends, and measure me

By the length and depth of shadow

I have left behind.

                          -30-

Chris Hanch 3-9-2023

The Old Man, Me

 

It is the old man, me, you see.

Not the young, strapping man

I used to be. Still a smoker,

though, beard and long locks,

you know, yet another poem

to flow. Even the all stars lose

a step or two over time. I’ll

end this piece of mine with

a pithy rhyme as I limp lop-

sided ever closer toward the

finish line, stiff and pained

in body with slippage of mind.

                   -30-

Chris Hanch 2-8-2023

The Nebulous Whereabouts of Age

 

14-billion years it took us

to get here on this Earth.

In universal terms, all of us,

you and I are cosmological

clock-wise basically the

same age.

A nanosecond, one year

or a hundred-thousand year

spread between us is

inconsequential on the

Cosmic Calendar of Date

and Time.

We humans have evolved

to learn what we must in

order to survive. Some of

us are better at this than

others; others still exist

with a measure of pure

unadulterated luck.

There are so many

variables and forces

at work here.

We as a species have

developed the sciences

to help us explain.

Also, throughout our

history, we have called

upon an omnipresent,

all powerful deity to

praise or blame, to

inspire, punish and

shame us, to justify

and explain the when,

where and why of our

very existence.

And here we are to date,

nonetheless one minuscule,

biologically evolved blip of

self-centered consciousness

among an ever expanding

universe of gasses and stars.

Ah, the revealed and yet undis-

covered, the black hole of our

imaginings, and the sublime

wonder of it all…Pretty friggin’

amazing in human time and

space, I must say.

                      -30-

Chris Hanch 4-8-2023