漫画 Helping the Horse

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詩 Aphasia

I despair of your devotion
When even now the ordered sense
Behind the curtain of my eyes
You dismiss as utter nonsense

The misty delusion that if
Life and death hung in the balance
Then you would be spurred to action
Is dispelled by experience

Why should I waste what little time
Awaiting that sorry day when
My inner thoughts match what you see?
My anger will have no outlet

I'll still be able to suffer
Why should I hope for charity
When even now I beg for it
And yet am turned away wanting?

Mermaid CLXXXIII

Flooding

 

Flooding cartoons, one and two.

詩 On the Beach

(Lulu)
Look at this beach
Right under your feet
You might think your perspective's complete

(Shiela)
You are a man
But you don't understand
What lurks beneath these waters

(Lulu)
Oceans of childhood fears
Self-hatred forms a veneer
Over crushing depths of sadness

(Shiela)
Then buried mountains
A bedrock of rage
To release from its cage

(Lulu)
Joy cannot be found
It seems to have drowned
In the other feelings
All mixed up in a swirl

(Shiela)
I can help you to see
But only Lulu can be
Your guide to tranquility
When you swim in that whorl

(Lulu)
To solve your problems
You have to ask me

If you want me to be
Part of that whorl

To be part of my "Step Fourth" [sic] comic.

Mermaid CLXXXII

漫画 Running Dogs of the Patriarchy

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More blatant sexism

Gender-based denial of participation?
Long-distance running is one of the several sports in which men have no advantage over women, and yet the women in the ROTC at college are always in a group far behind the men.  One of many, many examples here in Idaho.

And of course the men all have very short hair while the women's is long, just as if they were civilians.  Why, that?

詩 Forbidden Feelings

By dint of years of hope-filled work
Gone the concealing sludge of shame 
Crystals of forbidden feelings
All linked by tendrils of distress
Lay in heaps in all directions
Around mounds of shame now revealed
Filigree gardens, spider's webs
Massive rocks of anger buttress
The cold columns of sadness
When cleared of jungle vines and slime
Failed to yield the hoped-for closure
Reached still yet beyond my vision
Down to which depths I did not know
Have I reached bedrock at long last?
Does such a thing even exist?

Mermaid CLXXXI

Ne touche pas mon pote

詩 Superficial

Scratching the surface
Leaves a surface full of scratches
I must go further

Mermaid CLXXIX

詩 Salesmen

Un deux trois quatre cinq six sept huit neuf dix onze douze
Ein zwei drei vier funf sechs sieb' acht neun zehn elf zwölf

Sitting down to write a poem about nothing
Will I finish by writing it about something?

With skill comes the power to express easily
Taking away the need to say something of weight

Or does it allow me to explore new places
The likes of which I never could have reached before?

Is the measure of skill the esteem of others?
If it sells, then it is perforce of some value?

Salesmen are capitalism's shameful dæmons
Whose unrewarded toil props up the secret lie

If it does not rest upon your local store's shelves
And there are no TV ads, you should ignore it

Does no one buying my product mean I'm worthless?
The lie of perfect information rears its head

Does an unseen hand keep all the salesmen away
Or do they do they decide to stay away on their own?

漫画 Ninth Step

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Mermaid CLXXVIII

詩 Do I matter?

Slipping into depression
The agony of doubt
That I have anything to express
Replaces frustration with clumsiness
That I simply can't express it

Mermaid CLXXVII

Japanese Class

詩 Gender Equality

Napkins and tampons
Euphemisms for things
I don't use

Plugs and covers
for orifices
I do not possess
Because it t'ain't there

Twenty-five cents each
A bargain, yes
but still a fortune
more than what I must pay

A quarter is a fortune
if you need one
and don't have it
A problem I'll never face

I can bequeath a fortune
to a needy stranger
for a pittance
Rescue a desperate maiden
from a bloody fate

I put a quarter
into each slot
but don't turn it

Buying protection

漫画 New Girl Scout Merit Badges under Trump

 

Being a "Nasty Woman"

 

Vomiting on Twitter^®

Russian Hacking and Election Tampering

 

Protesting and Demonstrating

 

Grabbing Back 

Fostering Safe Spaces

Being "Woke"

POST if you want to see a color version of these. Feel free to suggest colors, too! Obviously the pussy hats will be pink and the Twitter^® logo will be blue.

Mermaid CLXXVI

詩 Blind Faith

It is not soul-searching
if one knows what it is
one expects to find.

How is it communication
if one knows the reaction
and what to say in response?

How can one truly trust
Anything positive or negative
Or middle-of-the-road

when one does not know
where the road is
or where it leads to?

Mermaid CLXXV

Japanese Class