Pushing up Daisies

"My boy, don't do what the other people do!"—Gurdjieff's grandmother

My own Grannie, between drinks,

lighting a Craven "A" (her favourite brand—I bought them for her) philosophized:

"Die young and make a handsome corpse!"

I didn't take that advice—I took Yiayia Gurdjieff's instead, and three-quarters

of a century later, touch wood, I'm still here, "pushing up daisies," as Grannie Murie put it,

in perspective, but handsomer these days,

or so I hopefully tell myself, than ever.

I knew things that "the others" didn't

—or so it always seemed to me—

which I tried in vain to explain to them.

Even a yawn would have been some kind of affirmation!

None came—perhaps I'd expressed it badly,

although they said I wrote like an angel.

Needless to say, one does the best one can.

And now my native land seems on the brink of ruin.

But then again, when one comes to think of it,

the abyss is a yawn of sorts, wouldn't you say?

February 5, 2025

Requiem

As of this writing, two thousand South African troops remain surrounded by hostile forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where they had been sent to keep the peace and protect civilians. Fourteen of them are dead:

    Staff Sergeant William Eddie Cola;

    Staff Sergeant Molahlehi Ishmael Molahlehi;

    Staff Sergeant Shwahlane Theophilus Seepe;

    Corporal Matome Justice Malesa;

    Corporal Rinae Nemavhulani;

    Lance Bombardier Itumeleng Macdonald Moreo;

    Lance Corporal Tseke Moffat Molapo;

    Lance Corporal Metse Stansly Raswiswi;

    Rifleman Sebatane Richard Chokoe;

    Rifleman Derrick Maluleke;

    Rifleman Tshidiso Andries Mabele;

    Rifleman Calvin Louis Moagi;

    Rifleman Mokete Joseph Mobe; and

    Private Peter Jacobus Strydom.†

Since I am a South African American, they were my brothers, and I print their names here in their memory. It's all I can do.

The ANC that sent them there, it seems, has found no way to get their comrades out, or bring their bodies home.

†https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-02-02-about-2000-sa-troops-remain-trapped-in-drc-with-no-clear-rescue-plan/?dm_source=dm_block_grid&dm_medium=card_link&dm_campaign=main

Genericide

"The process by which a brand name comes to refer to any product or service of its kind" (wikipedia)

escalator, koozie, onesie, taser, thermos, zamboni . . .

Moreover, by cognate antonomasia,

a proper name may come to represent a class of thing, e.g.,

 "Nero" Lucius Ahenobarbus

“Führer” Adolf Hitler (b. Schicklgruber)

“Duce”  Benito Mussolini

“Stalin”  Joseph Dzhugashvili

"Pol Pot" Saloth Sâr

have all become common nicknames for atrocity.

History’s never kind to such analogy

—it for obvious reasons cannot be.

Ordering obedience in their day,

they gave their names to help define

humanity's horror market's wicked line,

and so, for all eternity, they're necessarily damned—poor swine!

Who’s up there on the block right now

to serve us in this very special way?

Some fine specimens from the hopper

are just about to leap into the chopper.

Having foresworn and sacrificed free will,

their given names shall from now on be swill.

The road to hell is paved with bad intentions,

hoping, against hope, for special mentions.

Monday, february 3, 2025