Hubby, dad, Pop Pop, Vietnam era vet, OG coder, entrepreneur, vintage vinyl collector, poet, photographer, observer, recluse, wannabe connoisseur & aficionado of everything, and obviously conflicted ;-)

My body hath betrayed, but my mind is staging a coup as I engage and explore alternative points of view

I’m a 60s-era poet with abiding regard for embracing diversity and inclusion, the import of the phrase “you do you”, the precepts “Do No Harm” and “Leave No Trace” and a practical appreciation for the premise “I’m Ok, You’re Ok”.

I tempt enlightenment by engaging and exploring alternative points of view, form opinions and convictions empirically, and tender my perspectives without apology. They’re merely what I believed to be true at a given point in time, tempered by my liberal* nature. Just one bloke's pragmatic, prophetic, and pontifical perspectives on people, piety, and politics - nothing for anyone to get their panties in a knot over. Hell, who knows, I might not feel the same way about it next week. That's how it works when one continues to grow.

My poems are profoundly personal expressions as are all forms of art and ask only to be perceived, without bias or critique.

I have no illusions about my significance or the impact of my work. It is cathartic. Nor do I apologize for its primitive 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 naively hope my poetry fosters awareness in the uninitiated and clarity of conscience in the culpable.

. . .

Independent thinking is the process of making sense of the world based on your observations and experiences rather than depending on the words of others. It is the ability to trust your judgments, even if they are not in agreement with what others might say or believe.

Free thinking: A Freethinker is a person who forms opinions independently of tradition, authority, or established Belief. No one can be a freethinker who naively conforms to another’s creed.

. . .

* liberal | ˈlib(ə)rəl | adjective 1. willing to respect or accept behavior or opinions different from one’s own; open to new ideas. • (in a political context) favoring policies that are socially progressive and promote social welfare. 2. relating to or denoting a political and social philosophy that promotes individual rights, civil liberties, democracy, and free enterprise: a liberal democratic state.

These are good things, right?

. . .

“Free Thinker” is one of my earliest poems, inspired by the indiscriminate dissemination of misinformation during the Trump years.

© 2018 RidgeMagee