

Consent is easy
It looks like
Me sending you texts all day
About
Tongue and two finger combos
what I wish I could do
Because I know you like them
It looks like me
Wearing a tie
Because I know
You like to take it off
And be blindfolded
Consent
Is both of us
Passionately
Having fun
Both of us
Burning out together
Both of us
Coupled together
Like
A spliced electrical wire
That’s consent
——
If it isn’t firing
If it isn’t equally enthusiastic
If you’re not in to it
Than I’m not having fun
We can do something different
Anything
Cook
Nap
There is no pressure to be anything
Other than who and what we are
Consent is easy
-E
You are
Not
A number on a scale
Body mass
Or
The hardness of your dick.
The fit of your shirt
The measure of your hairline
The balance of your bank account …
The
The
The
The
You are
Your word
Your thoughts
Your loyalty
Your character
Your ethic
Your legacy
Your wit
Your grit
——
Don’t buy what they are selling …
Don’t hate what they are selling
Don’t even consider it…
It’s just their job…
That’s what they do …
But you
Are
A man
A father
A son
A husband
A brother
A human citizen
And you
Are
Here.
You adapt to change
And
Obstacles
Like an Olympic athlete
And you run this race
Your race
And you have a cloud of
Witnesses watching
Cheering you on…
You are what you love
And how you love
You are hands that build
And
Leave
A legacy.
You
Are
Here.
-E
Ethan: Here’s a teaser for a little interview I did.
Simon: We made it!
Ethan: It’s Dekalb Living
Simon: Feb 3rd!
Ethan: Make sure you grab it while you can.
Photo credit Emily Ann Rachel Kirby
The sun it rose
The rose it bloomed
The Years they passed
They said it changed in five
But it’s more like twenty
——
The Jester Jest
While
The Joker did his best
The Bishop wept
The proud man lied
While the ego and pride starved
The hippy cried
Meanwhile
The middle class was slowly dying ….
But the working man
The partner
The power couple
They keep their heads down and they keep building
Dylan said
It’s life and life only….
——-
I climbed that mountain
To write your name in the wind
So they could spread your seduction
Across Appalachia
Now I’m down from my mountain
To tell the tale
——-
Hear the names
From the ghost
From
The broken life
From the middle class
Who endured so well
We try to forget the earth the clay
That we all return to someday
But god is on that mountain
And
The past cries out with every new morning.
Children remember, there’s a cloud of witnesses watching over you…
Who’ve gone on before you-who knows the path so well….
The American people are hurting
Struggling
Out of work
They are enduring
Strong
Resilient
I’ve watched as professors work door dash every day
Just to keep food on the table
They refuse to give in
They showed up to vote
In the middle of a pandemic
——
I remember the night the president was elected
My wife cried herself to sleep….
I remember “day 1”
I remember
The speeches the statements
I am reminded of all the opportunities
To step off the train
And I’ve been waiting
But no one has stepped off
I asked myself how this was possible ?
It’s like watching an abused partner make excuses for their abuser
—–
It turned my stomach to see a small portion of white American conservatives act like they are being attacked
—–
They have been duped by a con man
A liar
Let there be no mistake
History will record with the greatest astonishment
That they did not walk away
They stood by their man
Until the end
And they will have to live with themselves for the rest of their lives
—-
They have shown
That his behaviour is presidential
For their daughters
And grand daughters
They have made excuses
For this slow build up that culminated
As any cult does
Into hysteria
We have seen every form of it …
They have been lied to.
It is a cult
—–
Make no mistake
Even for conservatives
This is not America
The American people do not have time to buy in
They are struggling
They are and have been in survival mode
I want us all to be able to dream again
I want us all to build again
To win
I’ve watched and worked in cities
All my life
I know the American people
And we endure
We build
We continue forward
I still believe in this America
—–
I believe what happened for Georgia will be possible in any state
If we get the relief and help out to the American people so they can build
They do not want a handout they want a hand up
A foothold
——
I don’t have time for cults
For hysteria
And paranoia
Or conspiracy
—–
Call it what it is
Propaganda
—-/
We’ve seen and lived through the harvest this reaps
——
I believe we can do better
We MUST do better
For our children
And their children
For our neighbours
For ourselves
—–
If you were a 14 year old daughter
You are 18 now
Possibly considering marriage
Would you be ok if she brought a sitting con man, jester , clown, abuser home?
Would you really?
Be ok leaving them in the room with him alone?
Or on a trip with him in a car alone?
——
I’ve sat in the room with men who abuse women and I’ve fired them….
Every single one has had an excuse
There are countless excuses
Everybody has them….
Let me say this
—-
I am tired
And I have no room for excuses
It’s time to build
It’s time to dream
It’s time to heal
It’s time to move forward
This never happened
We have to move forward
We have to get relief to our country
The world is watching
Future leaders are watching
Our daughters and our sons are watching
It’s up to us to discern truth
To discern placement
And value
Not social media
Not businesses
We have to do better
We can
We should
We are Americans
We have a personal responsibility
To bring authentic excellence
For our future
—–
It’s bright
We are going to be ok
If we do the work
If we do the work
We will be moving forward
It’s the small details
It’s the living rooms
It’s the families
It’s the you and the me
It’s the professor
It’s the teacher
It’s the clerk
It’s the associate
Getting up at 2:30 am
It’s the business owner
It’s the pastor
The priest
The Muslim
The Christian the agnostic
It’s all of us
We all are Americans
And we all have made it this far
And we all
Together
Are building
And I’m proud
I’m proud to have worked beside you
I’m proud to have lived among you
I’m proud
To be an American
Because we choose our future
And we can decide.
-E