This is

This is

This is life, or so we thought

This is the new normal, so they say

This is seeing friends, from afar

This is watching TV, religiously every day

This is saying it ain’t me, I’m ok

This is saying stay away, I’m ok

This is thinking, will it stay this way?

This is hoping, will my family be ok?

This is, keep your distance, this is here to stay

This is hurt, in every way

This is uncertainty, and fear

This is overwhelming, in more ways than one

This is why I broke

This is happiness, love and friendship, amplified, yet choked

This is why I broke.

When this is over…

When this is over, I want to bask in the warmth of the sun.

I want to say thank you more often.

I want to work less and play more.

I want to be the love I hope to create.

I want to say hello to strangers.

I want to laugh loudly with friends.

I want to make amends with my enemies.

I want to tell people they’ve changed me.

I want to keep growing.

I want to kiss with reckless abandon.

I want to treat my body with reverence.

I want to revere your body, too.

I want to settle my debts and my scores.

I want to cook more of my food.

I want to taste more of it, also.

I want to radically re-envision society.

I want to work to make that vision real.

I want to lead through my service.

I want to chase what I’ve wanted.

I want to remember I’m decent.

I want to vanquish my demons.

I want to find what’s been hiding.

I want to laugh in the face of fear.

I want to reach the horizon.

I want to live so when this is over,

I want to never write this again.

 

© John Gorman, 13 April 2020

Dirty Britain

Another brilliant piece by my friend Michael about the real impetus behind the very Brexiteers now in charge (I use the term loosely) of the British Government. The world deserves to know about this so reblogging it!

Padraig Colman

Many detached observers have asked what the point of Brexit is. Who benefits?

Many people have asked the simple question: why is the UK going through the ghastly and costly process of leaving the EU?  Remainers are fighting to keep jobs and save businesses, are fearful about their livelihoods. The government’s own research has clearly shown that there will be major disruption to the economy and to the daily lives of ordinary people. Did anyone vote in the referendum to be worse off? Who benefits from this chaos?

The prime minister’s more attractive and brighter sister, Rachel, has some ideas on the subject, “People who have invested billions in shorting the pound or shorting the country in the expectation of a no deal Brexit”. Ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, explored the same theme, alleging that Johnson “is backed by speculators who have bet billions on a hard Brexit –…

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Democracy – Lame Duck or Dead Duck?

Excellent piece by my friend Michael O’Leary if you’re wondering what the hell is going on in UK politics these days.

Padraig Colman

This article was published in Ceylon Today on September 26 2019

https://ceylontoday.lk/print-more/41193

I have been reading a very depressing book called How Democracies Die by Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt. They go back as far as Peron’s populist subversion of Argentinian democracy beginning in the 1940s which eventually led to the horrors of rule by a military junta in which dissenters were dropped out of helicopters. In between, they cover the overthrow of Chile’s democratically-elected president in a military coup sponsored by the USA. They analyse more recent examples such as Erdoğan in Turkey and Trump in the USA.

The book was published in 2018, so they do not cover the ongoing farce that is Brexit. In the UK, as I write, there is fierce contention over the meaning of “the will of the people”. This is a dispute that could lead to civil unrest and has already…

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Freelancing and mental health

Except for the bit about children, I can very much relate to this.

EAT SLEEP EDIT REPEAT

Note: I agonised over whether I should share this post at all, especially on my work blog – but I decided it is better to talk about these things. I also stressed over what to call it, but decided anything else would be a euphemism.   

This is a post I’ve been meaning to write for a while. I haven’t done it before partly because I didn’t dare to admit weakness, and partly because I felt too inert to actually crank out the words.

For those who know me, online or in real life, that part about inertia might seem unlikely, I know. I run an editorial business. I mentor other editors. I have two children, and do my fair share of looking after them. I write short stories and novels in my spare time. I’m studying part-time for an MA. I blog. Sometimes I manage to vacuum the stairs…

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