Good day to one and all! I hope you find yourselves in the beautiful and sunny environment in which I currently dwell. It has been a long winter, of season and soul.
First of all, I am extremely excited to share with you something special. An excellent friend of mine has been operating a literary YouTube channel, which I would love to endorse. I adore his analysis and articulation of thought. He inspires me to seek out new and more varied literature. Anyway, Lawrence is a top-tier human and far brighter than I am. I believe my readers will find his analyses equally engaging. Please enjoy at your leisure, should you wish to further explore the wonderful world of reading.
https://www.youtube.com/@LawrenceDebbs
Alright, back to our regularly scheduled programming! I need to start by thanking all the readers who have been exploring my back catalogue. I see the stats and am blown away by the time people take to read these words that I’ve loosely strung together with the end of a roll of tape and scraps of used chewing gum. It astounds me. Poetry and comedy are so subjective, and the notion that somehow others find value in this crafty endeavour is deeply fulfilling. So thank you. Without you, there would be no me. Truly, I am blessed.
Gushy sentimentalities aside, ok, honesty time, I’ve tried six different jokes and none of them fit properly, so I promise to polish them up so they’re actually funny. Something about dead birds being McCawbre or a kinky Santa Claus for whom those similarly inclined would find being on the naughty list to their liking. Jokes are hard. Mad respect to standup comedians, I could never. What a nothing burger paragraph. Good thing the poem is determinably mid and not plain bad today… Dodged a wrench with this one.
Why don’t we move on… The state of the world is so perilously depressing that I’m going to ignore it today. I have the privilege of being able to do what billions can not. Just know that my heart is with you, as are my prayers. Thoughts and prayers, the most useless aphorism known to man. And woman. And anything in between. The powers that be may lack compassion or even the most basic qualities of humanity, but here we are inclusive of everyone. You are valid, and you are loved. I wish I had the power to wipe the board of the objectively evil, but that is so far beyond my meagre talents that acknowledging your legitimacy is the extent of my “power”. Truly, I grieve for your peril and wish you only love, joy and acceptance. I write for you all, the refugee, the transgender, the poor, the suffering and everyone else. These words are for you, as are they all. Your courage defines my worldview.
So much for not talking about it. I just feel so guilty and impotent at times. Here I am, happy and safe, while others are diametrically situated. Any minor twist of fate, and that could have been me. It still could. There can be no light in the absence of darkness, but need the dark be quite so sombre? Apparently so. May the Spirit of the Universe look after all in need. Please.
Ok, that became necessarily maudlin, but let’s shift gears. Today’s poem is a more recent scratching. Sort of. The bones existed from many years past, but like the non-jokes from earlier, much polish was mandatory. Still not entirely certain, but the flow is sufficient for release. Hopefully!
“Wide-I’d”, May 3, 2026.
And so the time arrives
Youth is carved away
Jejune naïveté
Effortlessly ravaged
The crystalline veneer
A vague, nebulous memory
Humanity’s desert
Desiccating soul
Fragment by fragment
Last and lost
Beleaguered pilgrim
Ever seeking
Any place called home
I’m 37 years old now and still have to check I’m using the correct dessert vs. desert each time. Brains are weird.
Personal question: When did you lose your childhood innocence? You don’t need to comment or anything, but it’s an interesting thought experiment. The day we realized adults weren’t something different, just kids with larger frames. I’m not sharing mine either; one imagines they are often deeply personal and possibly disturbing events, but it’s still beneficial in the process of healing to consider such notions. It has been for me anyway.
This has been one of the stranger posts I’ve ever thrown out there. Poor Lawrence got roped into this one like a cattle rustler taking down a baby foal. Roped up? Naughty Santa Claus has reentered the chat!
That’s more than enough from me. I wish you all a blessed day. May all your dreams come true, save one. For what is life in the absence of a dream? I know the answer and pray you do not. Let’s try again. May you be swarmed by golden retriever puppies and laugh until your face hurts. May you be loved. May you know joy. Thank you so very much for reading.
Happy Trails and Waggy Tales,
Alex Blaikie
Dread Poets Sobriety 
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