“Hmm, well, from what I’ve seen as an ‘outsider’ to the conflict -“
Wait, but at this point, how could you be? Hundreds of thousands slaughtered, didn’t that make you sick?
Make you feel? Give you chills? Make you angry? Make you sad? Still have any respect for the IDF?
“Here’s the thing, they’re just defending their land,” Yeah, that they systematically stole from Palestine and keep stealing,
Shooting Palestinians for nothing, the IDF has lost their humanity and feelings,
Starting with the trigger finger and all the way throughout
But no amount of that krav maga discipline will drown-
out the screams of the civilians you killed for ‘your country,’
look around, even Israelis are protesting, they don’t want this!
“But Hamas are terrorists! They did October 7th – ” Yes, another milestone in the conflict that goes back way before every one of us were here –
Thousands of years past, and one party will still blame the other for each of their latest attacks,
but what Israel hates is when people tell the truth:
For the last 77 years Palestine has been fighting with both hands tied behind its back.
No legal army permitted, yet Israel continues to bomb them.
Other countries come to provide Palestine aid, yet Israel cuts it off, continues to bomb them.
Israel loses track of hostages, even kills some in friendly fire, yet Israel continues to bomb them.
Ever since the Nakba, historic erasure has been a thing,
All the way from the end of World War II through the Arab Spring;
Israel has pummeled Palestine, taken it’s land with impunity,
How sad for a country to behave this way towards it’s neighbors, since right after the defeat of Nazi Germany. – RSM
Melt
The Chi got a lot colder a lot quicker this fall,
An orange tsunami of fear and xenophobia hovered over us all.
You smelled their dirty facemasks miles away
trying to cover up while committing crimes day to day –
Cowards.
With the law on your side you’re invincible, huh?
Cowards.
Play Batman all you want with your work buddies, it’s not gonna add up…
Descending on entire buildings of people unprotected, unexpected, allegedly “looking for criminals, undocumented,”
Everyone knows the real intent is to implement a culture of fear to the ones who give our ‘president’ jeers –
Raid a building in Chicago to flex his fragile ego,
Nevermind the lives affected, interrupted,
It’s 8 months into this term, so here we-go,
This ride will get rockier, more innocent black and brown people to be intentionally disrupted.
You’re a fool for joining, no matter what the upfront signing bonus was for you;
Sure, 50K means a lot to anyone all at once,
but it takes a real racist psychopath to do this for ‘fun’,
I’m sure there’s a lot more than one in the ranks
Who fantasizes about ‘othering’ humans, and using violence, guns, bombs, tanks;
But you’re so far gone on the wrong side of history
and your descendants will remember YOU, and all your colleagues’ activities
as some of the corniest, stupidest, and most easily manipulated GOONS,
of a ‘leader’ and a country obsessed with constantly pulling a Cheddar Bob – it’s not too late to get a different job, dude!
Until the ‘American Nuremberg’ trials start one day, in a just, near future that will come to pass,
enjoy reminiscing about having your own humanity, and being Class Traitors Plus™️ while it lasts. – RSM
The Hardest Part Of The Day
Each time I blink it feels like a few minutes go by.
It adds up – I feel heavy af every morning and I wish I knew why,
Fast forwarding reality by blinking – an uncontrollable reflex
while contemplating ways it pays to stay awake, trying to not blink my waking life away, I re-flect:
“Wait. Maybe I’m not losing time, but just leaking minutes?”
It’s the morning; I’m done traversing different dream scapes and visiting a city on another planet that’s kinda like Venice.
Time’s a menace. A few more blinks, a few more hundred seconds.
At this point just I’m sleeping in, making the outside world jealous.
The hardest part of the day is the first thing to do,
getting out of bed heals this blinking-based time warp, finally starting my day and closing out the loop. – RSM
Rise Through The Fall
It’s colder, but I’m glad the mosquitoes are dead
I remember the way they sucked my blood and left my body red.
I love summer, adore spring, it was a great time, but only just a fling.
All seasons are flighty but this one makes my heart sing –
sad songs serenade while a feeling of an otherworldly, mission-driven renegade
takes over when the leaves drop and the
temperature drops harder to about below 60 degrees Farenheit, or 15 in centigrade.
The seasons do change and line up well with life lately,
Pages turn while fire pits burn, new chapters emerge that make you ask life “maybe…”
Autumn is a time of change and self reflection
As the leaves turn, so do curses into blessings
So the next thing I’ll speak to truth for myself
Is health, wealth, and peace; an autumnal spell. – RSM
Pixelated Walls
A while ago there was a Black Mirror episode about a guy
Who lived in a screen-covered room alone, and day and night
all the walls that were screens played commercials, and he would be punished for closing his eyes.
21st century’s a quarter past and pixels are on the rise,
Every pocket, purse, clutch, backpack – pixelated walls torment us all, different kinds and sizes, under the guise
Of progress, convenience, technical innovation;
Technology is a bullet train so fast it ends up leaving the elderly and underprivileged at the station.
I’m more of a “touch grass” person than the type
to gush over a machine’s details, the next model coming out, or the like.
It’s a living, for sure, but tech/life balance is key,
Feel the wind in your hair, with your hands free, and you’ll see
that being surrounded by commercials and machines all day was never meant to be. – RSM
Poison Ivy and The Metallic Dress Shop
The last few years or so I put another layer of joy into my familiar repertoire;
A ‘what if’ from my past came true, and I was elated.
This is left field, but I always wished of a world where fancy, rechargeable, metallic dresses were a thing, and my bestie Mary Jane had told me she started working at a place that sells exactly that!
Me and MJ go back since high school, so when I first pulled. up to her new fancy job I couldn’t believe it –
I had to be over 21 and show ID to get in. In the middle of the day. Weird. The vibe was eh to be honest, it looked like an Apple Store in there.
She was wearing a metallic, cylindrical, futuristic dress that needed to recharge after a few wears, she told me.
I was glad to see Mary’s glow up, she said the money was good and she’s been wearing these new dresses every day.
One time I stopped by and she introduced me to her coworker, Ivy.
She donned futuristic clothes just the same, but had a fiery look to her. She just seemed so… concentrated. Not a bad thing, Ivy was cool people, the three of us started hanging out after work sometimes. Then a lot more.
I started wanting Ivy around all the time, so much that even MJ gave me a side eye about it every now and then.
Ivy had me wrapped around her fingers like a vine. Things were great, things were golden, things were also terrible, things felt numb, things were too dependent on Ivy being around for me to have a good time.
Ivy was fun! She knew how to be discreet but still had a wavy vibe anywhere, anytime.
Eventually we started spending so much time together that I seldom felt like I could evade her gaze, but I wanted to be under her gaze all the time. Euphoria had trapped me.
We had adventures together, the 3 of us, but burning holes through lungs, pockets, and one’s ability to cope with life ain’t worth it, and trust me, Ivy had pretty expensive taste.
I sat down with Ivy and MJ, tension noticeable between them, and had to make a tough choice – I let Ivy know we couldn’t really hang anymore.
MJ and I have had ups and downs, but I’m glad we’re back on the same page. I understood eventually why the side eye or shade of other kinds were thrown.
I realized Mary was looking out for me.
Ivy took it surprisingly well, she’s not losing any sleep over me with all her other metallic, rechargeable dress loving friends.
Mary and I are as tight as ever, but I don’t visit the fancy dress store she works at anymore. We just chill on our own, just like old times. – RSM
West Coast Waters
Waves of misery nip at my bright, sandy shores,
Like gravity, they’ll always be around,
Threatening my homeostasis with cold, wet feelings
as they boomerang endlessly – an emotionless, rhythmic back and forth;
But when I face the crashing, icy waves at the beach
I’m reminded that the border between the familiar and the ideal is getting through the uncomfortable.
As I wade in these waters I feel impatience, fear, and hesitance wash away, dissipating into the Pacific.
The same waves that sink ships can uplift your heart, mind, and soul, when any of them have gone adrift;
The feisty waters may at first yell “fight me!” but it’s just a test,
to see if you’re up to the kind of rough play the ocean is up to most days.
‘Rejuvenation’ doesn’t do the feeling justice;
I shed a layer of the world every time I find myself within the passionate seas that float alongside SoCal –
the worries get lifted out of me by the water, and carried away by the breeze. – RSM
A Laser-Focused Job
“Tip toe tip toe STOP.
Don’t. Move.
GO GO GO GO wait!!!!
RUN! NOW! WAIT, NO STOP!!!”
“Can’t you see there are motion detection lasers EVERYWHERE, agent?! One false move, and this whole operation is FUCKED!”
“Tread carefully…
I can be your guide, but getting through this is on you.”
“OK. Get past this hallway and the safe should be around the next corner.”
“Great. Get started on the door now.”
“What’s taking so long!? The alarm can only stay disabled for a few more minutes. Hurry!”
“Amazing! Grab the payload and get to the pickup point now!”
“BE CAREFUL WITH THE LASERS! They’re still on!
You only have a minute or so to leave the building!!”
“Great work, agent, you completed death-defying stunts and foiled state of the art bank security with ease. You got what we needed, and got out on time. Oh, and you’re alive, too.”
“Lower your heart rate and get some rest. Same time tomorrow.” – RSM
Haikus Part 5
Bare feet on aged wood;
Serenity, before me.
The sun shines. I smile.
–
Ignited a flame
That dissipates all worries.
Released sacred fumes.
–
One day comes and goes,
One thousand days inch along.
Every second flies.
–
I still can’t stay still.
Bursting with raw energy,
I try to unwind.
–
Natural cures help.
Artificial cures buy time.
Internal peace heals.
–
Patience is priceless.
Do not trade it for anger.
Hold onto this gift.
–
Traveling grows minds.
Meditation goes inward.
Practice both in life.
–
Breathing is the key.
It is our minds that are locked
by our emotions.
–
Overthinking leads
to distrust of one’s own thoughts.
Let thoughts pass along.
–
Planes pierce through the sky
but the sky remains unchanged.
Clouds still float, birds soar.
Glitter Bomb Your Fears
They come at you suddenly, relentlessly,
Without warning, your heart rate spikes,
A cold sweat forms, and whatever that thing that scares you the most presents itself:
Your biggest fear. The ‘bogeyman’ in your life.
Whatever form a boggart would take for you if you were a student at Hogwarts.
Instead of running from it, fighting it, or resisting it, have you ever tried trolling your fears instead?
Fight fire with jokes. Reduce feelings of your impending doom with Grade A mischief.
Meet potential failure with a confident smile.
Think of your biggest obstacles as Batman – but you’re The Joker.
Play pranks on your worst anxieties in your mind, and watch how differently this will paint your world, and how much better stress can be managed day to day.
Be the Bugs Bunny you wish to see in the world. – RSM
Rubén Sebastián Muñiz | ∞ 