As I write this, the poetry blog has received 65,000 total visits since its inception in October 2016. I thank you all for your continued interest and enthusiasm. You have faithfully followed my writings through many twists and turns and changes.
Not the least of those changes was our recent move back to the US from South America. We have, of course, lived in this country before, but not, however, in this part of it. Add to that a little thing called climate change (yes, its effects are already evident in our lives). Your naturist poet is now forced to be even more naturist, wearing no clothes at all most of the time when at home. This will no doubt change during the winter months, but for now the alternative is a painful heat rash in the groin. I avoided this problem in Uruguay by wearing overalls most of the time, with nothing on under them. Florida, though, is far too hot right now to even think about overalls (which I didn't bring with me, anyway.
So, I am learning to live in this new place. In some ways, it is like adapting to another country Some of the changes in this, our country of birth, are definitely not for the better. It is my belief, and my hope, that those will be short-lived.
We are not alone in having to exist in a world that doesn't always share our values. This has probably always been one of the commonest of existential realities. It is now exacerbated by wealth and power differentials, widespread attacks on democracy, xenophobia, racism, and the cluelessness of corrupt "leaders" and governments. I am not referring to just one country--it is a global problem, just as climate change is.
The hard part, it seems to me, is to know when we can afford to make compromises and be silent, and when we can't.
Thanks, again, to all of you. Wadó. ꮹꮩ.
Text and image © 2019 by Donald C. Traxler.
