The Fool's Golden Tongue

By Rori O'Keeffe

These twenty-one poems turn on the theme of a life contemplated, from the point of view of the fool, comically and with ample tragedy to keep it all real. Nothing sullies life more than the cruel people who mock and disparage fools, with their own inner eyes shut tight. If we could only accept that none of us are great, that our intelligence is miniscule, and that nobody can know the future, then we would live in a more peaceful world with the opportunity for productive living.

We are all born with grimaces on our faces - so it's best and right to laugh ourselves silly, after all we have witnessed in this little game called life that we've entered into.

A sample:
She walks up, rainbow hair flopping comically, tragically, / All about her teary face, stooped shoulders, and hunched back. / She lets out a guffaw as you take her countenance in, / And she starts commiserating with invisible friends - / Invisible to you, that is - / Over what, or who, to have for lunch. / She's not insane, she's just a fool, / Having a particularly ironic day.

18+.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rori O'Keeffe
• Release date: Mar 25, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370935826

Rori O'Keeffe

[e-mail] thought for my fellow journeyers:The new narrative of the right, I've noticed, is downright scary. Is the following an accurate characterization of the new right, or is it satire?"Women have been oppressing men. People of colour have been oppressing white people. LGBTQ people are oppressing straight people. Political correctness is nothing more than a concerted effort to advance those people's agendas. If democracy leads to rule by the weak, stupid and perverted, then to hell with it. Dictatorship is the best and surest way of enshrining the status of the the male, the white, the straight."I wish I could say it's just satire, but observing the multitudes of right-wing voices on social media, as well as paying close attention to the American GOP's ultimate fulfillment of Reagan's dream, it's obvious that Americans are flirting with catastrophe. Beware modern conservatism: It's nothing but authoritarianism, pure and simple.How long will it be before Canadian conservatism becomes infected with this virus? Not too long, I don't think. The same well-moneyed forces are at work here as in the U.S. Expect a sharp shift further to the right if the Republican party takes control of both chambers in the next U.S. midterms.What are whites, men and straight people afraid of? I think the common denominator of their fears is the challenge of having to compete for jobs and status in an inclusive society. Most are insecure because they are woefully unprepared psychologically to compete on a level playing field, having been sheltered by generations of unearned privilege. Soothe them, don't make them feel worse about themselves (think of Hillary's poorly-considered reference to the "basket full of deplorables." That comment may have cost her the election. It proved to many that liberals just hate the uneducated and mostly poor white people of the country.)Whatever you do, don't try to make them feel inferior. That is central to their fears about themselves in an increasingly inclusive social environment. It's important, because if the U.S. goes down to dictatorship, then most or all the other democracies will as well, and civilization will expire in a global Orwellian nightmare. There are so many scathing things I could say about these democracies, but they are almost paradises compared to what a future of dictatorships would be like.Please be kind, unwind.Peace.

Book preview

The Fool's Golden Tongue

By Rori O'Keeffe

Copyright © 2018 by Rori O'Keeffe

Published at Smashwords by Rori O'Keeffe

License Notes

This Ebook is licensed for your personal use only, and may not be re-sold or given away. If you wish to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your own use, then please return to www.smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of authors.

The image on the cover is courtesy of Pixabay.

Table of Contents

The Nose

Blind Evolution

The Illusion of Time

Virtual Reality

It's Enough to Make Me