Determination & Deliverance

for my sister on her 64th birthday

You my sister are a force of love,
a whirlwind of will power,
a dervish of determination.
It’s in the genes of the clan
passed along from the Scottish Highlands
and the Reifenberger tower.

When I consulted the oracle
regarding this fucked-up year
we’re all faced with, the oracle said,
“A feeling of clarity”
accompanies the urge to throw up,
and there is a sunrise coming

that will bring a swift sword of justice
and peace from the almighty
along with the dew of the morning
and the compassion of a
well-aimed kick in the ass from on high
if we can remain determined

to ride it out out and be delivered
from “an inferior man 
in a high position”—you know who.
That’s where we find ourselves in this
the advent of your sixty-fifth year—
and we will get there together.

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