If we could see all the corruption in the world, the earth would light up like a night sky with a million stars. You did such a incredible and detailed analysis here, VOI. Great work.

The problem isn’t China it’s us….the consumer that buys their products.
Before China there was Japan and after China there will be others for multinational corporations to plunder and exploit and we will continue to buy from them
Great thought provoking write.

Powerfully penned, Keith. Excellent write my friend. Appreciate you.

Damian

Can we stop buying what is presented to us cheaply. Prices go up and we are stuck in the hamster wheel of wanting to do right but it’s often not.

I remember seeing a video where someone took a MAGA hat and turned it around to show it was made in China…which pretty much sums up the issue. Take as much as possible, give back as little as possible and never worry about the other guy. The humanity of the world has become devalued. Brilliant piece

Good work here. Plain, clear, brief, and to the point. It puts all we do in perspective regarding manufacturing and consumption. There are many causes: corruption, greed, graft, poverty, laziness, stupidity, sickness, mental illness, and lack of education are the prime movers. Mix and match and you get governments — meaning the PEOPLE who govern –that are corrupt, uncaring, inefficient, underfunded, overwhelmed, and driven by combinations of all those causes I mentioned. What do you get? Man’s inhumanity to man, our oldest and most practised activity.

This is a nice piece, well said.

This is unhinged in the best way 😂 Dark humor + fast food mythology = instant read.

Powerfully penned, Keith. This is a very clever write my friend. Appreciate you.

Damian

Another one for the books here. lol

What about perplexed soul fast food? Does it include diet cocaine? Everything is so darned conceptual these days.

Cleverly penned, Keith. Incredible write my friend. Appreciate you.

Damian

Well to have ramen and thinking about bizarre tentacle porn is one way to kill time. lol

This is one outstanding write Peter. Well said and very well detailed.

This is quietly heartbreaking and beautifully observed—love and life in parallel lines.

Such good writing Peter. So often, couples won’t acknowledge the other until one day there’s one less partner to walk through life with. Death hits hard and the regret of not sharing openly the feelings that still linger underneath.

Your poem narrates characters in a story of their lives. They live through your words. This is so well done.

Thank you Thomas and Tim for your thoughtful and kind remarks.
I share most of my writing with anyone other than my wife.I wonder how much great poets of the past shared works with their partners.

🙏

Powerfully penned, Peter. Excellent write my friend. This is amazing storytelling at its finest. Appreciate you.

Damian

This is sad and the description of how things even though you are doing what you must day to day you forget that the partner must be taking care of just like everyone and everything else

This is probably the way it is for most older couples. Yet always at least parallel, not veering away. Close enough for a hand to hold, to acknowledge the other. I envy that, to have someday. Just to know I am not ever really alone. As bittersweet as it can seem, it is also a reward unto itself. That commitment to stay so near, even if it seems a bit far at times. Hearts have a way…
Wonderful write. Poignant and pin-point.

Powerfully penned, Wally. A very heartfelt write my friend. Thanks so much for sharing. Appreciate you.

Damian

This had my heart pounding for you. That is something I would never want for anyone to experience in their lives. It does happen though.

Sometimes I’m a little partial to war and the suffering because of it. The futility of the common soldier and civilians. it’s never glamorous and never without suffrage. You wrote it well.