Image courtesy of: https://saunteringpilgrim.com/2016/11/20/giving-thanks-in-the-land-of-milk-and-honey/
You say this is Paradise
You sing songs of praise
You compare your sunny sunshine
to places of blustery blizzards
as if the cold snapping
and wind whipping weather
is a permanent hell,
rather than a seasonal phenomenon,
a life cycle that births the fields that feed us.
And what of your impervious impenetrable scape?
Is it a highway to heaven?
How far can you see?
Have you looked up from your holy book?
Have you yet to temper
your sallow sermons
your vicious verses
your jaded judgments
that you’ve been unleashing on others?
Where is the Love?
The Openness?
The Affirmation of Another’s Humble Humanity?
Beware of Paradise!
Dig just a bit deeper
Flip that coin
You may very well find another treasure trove
A revelation
that it is nothing
but a cult-like con game
a parkway for plutocrats
serial suppressors of fundamental rights
a no mans land of malls
drive by maniacs*
where Guns, God and “Girls! Girls! Girls!” coexist
as if divinely ordained.
* A recent news story here where a man shot two others, killing one, in a road rage incident
Day 7: This one is an amalgamation of various experiences, observations and news items from living here in the sunny South.
Building A Life Of Hope 
That is exactly how I felt about southern California.
I forgot that you lived there! I’m learning a lot living here, that’s for sure! Home and work life is good, thankfully. Thank you for hanging on while my writing was dormant. The poetry challenge is proving to be an awakening for me. Plus, I am teaching a writing class this year so I share some of my notebook entries and appropriate posts with the kids.Best class I have ever taught! We’re hosting a public poetry slam in May!