I leant upon a coppice gate
When Frost was spectre-grey,
And Winter's dregs made desolate
The weakening eye of day.
The tangled bine-stems scored the sky
Like strings of broken lyres,
And all mankind that haunted nigh
Had sought their household fires.

The land's sharp features seemed to be
The Century's corpse outleant,
His crypt the cloudy canopy,
The wind his death-lament.
The ancient pulse of germ and birth
Was shrunken hard and dry,
And every spirit upon earth
Seemed fervourless as I.

At once a voice arose among
The bleak twigs overhead
In a full-hearted evensong
Of joy illimited;
An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,
In blast-beruffled plume,
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
Upon the growing gloom.

So little cause for carolings
Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
Afar or nigh around,
That I could think there trembled through
His happy good-night air
Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew
And I was unaware.

-- Thomas Hardy

#Poetry #Hope

These were my grandchildren in 2012 and in 2020:

In them you will find the heritage of parents and grandparents from Central America, Africa, the Caribbean, the British Isles, and Most of Europe. As they have grown and matured, they also represent a multitude of CIS and LGTBQ backgrounds as well. Indeed, many of them have now chosen partners of their own that they love and cherish, regardless of their DNA or their cultural and sexual identities.

And some of them are now having children of their own! Evelia and I as Great-Grandparents, who would have believed it???

I cannot express how proud I am to have been a part of their lives and how much I believe that their background and beliefs have enriched mine.

I am also aware that while we have come far with regards to diversity and tolerance, we still have a long ways to go. It wasn’t that many years ago that there were places myself, my Wife, and our own children could not go without a look, a remark, or a singular attitude that made it clear our mixed family was an aberration that wasn’t approved of. Over a lifetime of marriage however, we saw more acceptance and in good moments, indifference, which is the ultimate acknowledgment that the color of our skins didn’t matter when it came to who we chose to love and who we choose to be.

But the struggle remains real, and I will concede that when, many years ago and many times revised now, I wrote the first version of this tribute to the work of Martin Luther King, I truly believed that in the United States at least I would see the day when everyone would be judged by the Content of Their Character, instead of the Color of Their Skin, Who They Choose to Love, Or Who They Identify As. However as I reach my 60th year in this World, and on this day of stark contrasts in the way our leaders wish to define that path forward, I have come to the sad conclusion that it won’t fully happen in my lifetime.

But like Dr. King, I still believe it will someday happen, and the three(!!!) generations that now succeed me in my and Evelia’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren are the reason why.

For they are the colorblind generations, and they are the Leaders of the future. Their diversity and the way they see the world continue to instill in me unshakable faith that The Dream will be achieved.

Thank you, Mr. King for continuing to show us the way.

Here's an interesting and relevant article I found on Mastodon by the esteemed author, podcaster, essayist "Cory Doctorow".

MLKDay
pluralistic.net/2025/01/20/cap…

I'd like to create a new group here on Friendica, not sure how to go about it. I don't have the option on the right side of the Contacts page, as per the manual. I was thinking of creating one art and one tech group.

#groups #friendica #socialmedia

Is there a friendica/bluesky bridge that does the same thing as the mastodon/bluesky bridge? Let's one follow bluesky accounts on friendica?

#friendica #Friendica-Support

My first post at Friendica! Here's one of my watercolor illustrations!

#watercolor #gouache #mastoart

Seems apt for today in the US

nefandous

PRONUNCIATION:
(nuh-FAN-duhs)

MEANING:
adjective: So wicked as to defy description: abominable, appalling.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin nefandus (wicked), from ne- (not) + fandus (to be spoken), gerundive (verbal adjective) of fari (to speak). Earliest documented use: 1649.

#AWordADay

When I ask people why they're still on Facebook they all mention closed communities inside groups. So - if I am to have any chance of moving people to Friendica we need the same kind of open or closed communities here.

But I can't really see where to create a community like that? Can you even do it?

Edit: What I want from a group is:

* Can be open or closed
* Members don't have to be friends to be in the group
* Group creator/admin can act as moderator, or elevate other people to mods, inside group