I'm Just Saying Is All

Primitive, Frank, and Relatable Rhymes,
Depictions of Life’s Condition
In the Raw Artless Tenor of Our Times

I believe enlightenment is best achieved by exploring and engaging alternative points of view, that opinions and convictions are best formed empirically and independently, and that we should feel free to tender informed perspectives without apology. They are merely what we believe to be true at a given point in time, and subject to change as we evolve. That’s how it works if we continue to grow.

Early in 2016, as the Trump-era shenanigans were unfolding, long-dormant emotions and sensibilities awakened in me, and I felt compelled to engage. But I lacked the confidence to voice my opinions, afraid of asserting my ignorance, I guess. I needed to figure out exactly what and where my give-a-shit factor was on stuff.

Writing forced me to scrutinize my "stuff" and get better insight into myself. I found I have broad empathy and abiding regard for embracing diversity and inclusion, the importance of the phrase “you do you”, and a practical appreciation for the premise “I’m Ok, You’re Ok”, and the precepts “Do No Harm” and “Leave No Trace”. 

My poems are profoundly personal expressions, as are all forms of art, and only ask to be perceived with an open mind. I have no illusions about my significance or the impact of my work. Nor do I apologize for its tenor or fret over how others might judge it, or me for it. To do otherwise would inhibit free expression, and a reticent, self-conscious poet is doomed to an uncreative and unproductive melancholy.

I don’t pigeon-hole myself as Democrat or Republican, but merely as a free-thinking 60s-era poet who realizes that health is fundamental to both life and the pursuit of happiness, that liberty should be color-blind, and that big business can never be trusted to put their country’s best interest ahead of their bottom line.

My poetry is frank, relevant, and relatable, and depicts the condition of our condition. Naively, my inner liberal hopes it will foster just an iota of awareness for the innocent, an ounce of enlightenment for the ignorant, and a wee clarity of conscience for the culpable.

Ridge