Eating to Virus

“Without preventative strategies, pandemics will emerge more often, spread more rapidly, kill more people, and affect the global economy with more devastating impact than ever before” — IPBES WORKSHOP ON BIODIVERSITY AND PANDEMICS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY, pg. 5.

“The underlying causes of pandemics are the same global environmental changes that drive biodiversity loss and climate change. These include land-use change, agricultural expansion and intensification, and wildlife trade and consumption.” — ibid 5.

“The majority (70%) of emerging diseases(e.g. Ebola, Zika, Nipah encephalitis), and almost all known pandemics (e.g. influenza, HIV/AIDS, COVID-19), are zoonoses – i.e. are caused by microbes of animal origin. These microbes ‘spill over’ due to contact among wildlife, livestock, and people.” Ibid 5.

     

On Ageing in Face

My children wanted to name a stuffy that had lost an eye, One Eyed Willy. 

My daughter, 6, beat me in chess. That’s not a difficult task for any half competent player, but six?

My son, 10, is much quicker than I am at assessing the worth or not of cards he’s drawn from the pile. He scoffs, and huffs, and laughs at me as I scratch my head and calculate.

So I’ve started cheating on the little buggers. Age and treachery beat youth and speed, for now.

I’m in a foul mood

I hate chickens.

We only know about the failed chameleons.

When I Pee -- A Poem

When I Pee

When I Pee
I sit down
It is a sacrifice I make for the females in my home

I can't always sit down
Convenience, you know
And pride, of course.

When I stand up
I very precisely hit the edge of the bowl where the water meets the porcelain
and the stream slips in just at the edge
so there is almost no sound

I pee elegantly

Not like one of those men who crush the water
and the house rumbles

My son rumbles.

In the morning he clomps into the hall
rubs his eyes awake
slams the bathroom door
and rumbles.

I told him to sit down or clean the toilet.
He does neither

Me civilized admonishes him
Me hooting primate, though, HOOT HOOT!
Fire up that testosterone and rumble while you can son.

Rumble while you can.

Gadsden Banana

I dreamt I wore a huge banana costume to a protest and carried this flag. The interview I gave to the reporter was very serious. I made sure to spell out B a n a n a   P e e l.

Summer projects

In a bid to simplify

to skewer the long to do

I hacked a rotting egg

And moved some stone

Momento Mori

If I go off the deep end 

Do not cry for me

Follow me or 

Let me drown alone

Life is short

It’s incomplete

A great mystery

And desperation threads the pieces of a wedding gown

In the void it’s pure black 

And there is not a sound 

But fear not my love

I’m still hanging around