false 139 464 450 true 5775080 read 2 true 3762833 currently-reading 12 true 3762832 to-read http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/201429-poem-for-senator-ted-kennedy José made a comment in the Published Authors group:

The Man Who Should Be President
In memoriam: Senator Edward M. Kennedy,
Feb. 22, 1932 – Aug. 25, 2009

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die."
speech conceding
the 1980 Democratic presidential nomination.

Ted, headlines read of your passing,
Camelot Ends, Again;
Liberal Lion Dies;
A Torch Extinguished –
But we refuse to believe it.
You taught us better than that,
“I speak out of a deep sense of urgency
about the anguish and anxiety I have seen across America.”

The death of our Liberal Lion
Must not nullify his roar.
“The cause endures” in a jungle
Of disease, poverty, unemployment,
And every child left behind.
In a cacophony of conservative voices
You sang of Jefferson and Jackson,
Committed to jobs and health care
While opponents labeled you liberal,
Your laws and causes, Socialism.

But you knew better than that.
Which 300+ bills
You authored and enacted
Into law were written in the reddest ink?:

Immigration and Nationality Act, 1965,
National Cancer Act, 1971,
Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act, 1986,
Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990,
Ryan White AIDS Care Act in 1990,
Civil Rights Act of 1991,
Mental Health Parity Act in 1996 and 2008,
State Children's Health Insurance Program, 1997,
No Child Left Behind Act, 2002,
the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act in 2009,
Or was it several unsuccessful efforts at immigration reform?
Or Universal Health Care you championed for since 1970?

In Camelot you would be King,
In America, the man who should be President.
Contemporary Ben Franklin,
Master Orator, Elder Statesman,
Super Diplomat, The Man
Who got the deed done,
White hopes shrouded
By the black cloak draping
Your desk, formerly your brother’s,
white roses in a black vase – a song of yourself,
The great “I” not individual
But communal, community, America.

Your 46 years in the chamber
Outlasted single and two-term occupants
Of the Oval Office, 9 to be exact –
there would be no rest
For a Senator whose cigarette box
Engraving read, “The first shall be last.”
Good Catholic, Moses of the United States,
Your Old Testament values
Never shrugged due to New Testament politics,
And none of us have yet seen
The Liberal Land of milk and honey.

Though your body be dead
Your legacy is not.
Out of that deep sense of urgency
The cause must endure.
The illiterate must not remain illiterate,
The unemployed must not stay unemployed,
The sick must not get sicker,
The hungry not get hungrier
While the rich continue getting richer.
You vowed yourself to Whitman’s America,
Gave us a song and a dance and a dream.
Had you been President
America would be coughing less
And missing less time at work.

May every Patriotic American,
With Faith rooted in the Bill of Rights,
Get a tattoo of you on their Left arm,
The one used in the voting booth,
Hoping to keep the American Dream alive
And showing that “the dream shall never die."

© Joe Gouveia, August 26, 2009
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41809734 Unscrambled Eggs (Paperback) by Nadia Janice Brown
bookshelves: to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/40748676 Adam's review of Sex, Art, and American Culture: Essays
by Camille Paglia

She is. But ballsy. Something to be said for that. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/40818584 Adam's review of Blindness
by José Saramago

Have you read The Gospel According to Jesus Christ? I think it was his best book. Also, The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis is a cool read. Reis was one of Pessoa's heteronyms, and when he dies another Pessoa heteronym comes from Brasil to Lisbon for the funeral. But as we are in the womb for 9 months, the ghost/spirit is in limbo for 9 months, and an interesting relationship w/ the dead develops. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37735186 José's review of Rubber Side Down: The Biker Poet Anthology
by Jose Gouveia

I am proud of this book for challenging the traditional stereotype of the "biker." 44 poets and a half dozen photographers, w/ bio section in the back to see the broad range of backgrounds these motorcycle enthusiasts come from. An international publication and a first-ever book of it's kind, Rubber Side Down includes poets and photographers from the US, Russia, China, S. Africa, Holland, Canada, New Zealand, England and Ireland. Also, 4 essays included, along w/ 2 photo sections and the poetry. Featuring the incredible photos of Michael Lichter of Easyriders fame. The book has everything from formal verse to free verse to even haiku (we call it baiku). A book for the ages! ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/40823325 to: Blindness (Paperback) by José Saramago
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/58134-talk-about-your-books-here José made a comment in the Published Authors group:

RUBBER SIDE DOWN is my first book published by a small press, Archer Books in Los Angelos, California. It is the first-ever book of its kind, and just got a great review in Rain Taxi. An anthology of 44 poets, 4 essays and 2 photo sections, all written by those who ride motorcycles and on the motorcycle theme. Includes poems by Allen Ginsberg, Thom Gunn, Diane Wakoski and members of the Highway Poets Motor Cycle Club, the international organization of published bikers. This book represents poets from the US, Russia, China, Canada, S. Africa, England and Holland. RSD challenges the traditional stereotype of the "biker," with poets from all walks of life. Complete w/ bio section to see such. And featuring the incredible photography of Michael Lichter of Easyriders fame. Published by Archer Books, August, 2008. ]]>