why not a poet in chief?
That would be the poet laureate, no? Currently appointed by the Librarian of Congress, which seems an O.K. arrangement. I’d be totally into changing the title, though. At any rate, I did include a quote from the current U.S. poet laureate.

Couldn’t resist the Naomi Shihab Nye quote
Thanks for not naming the quote, though I don’t think you’re the first to vote for it knowing the author. The authorship of couple of the others is probably pretty obvious, too.

“Give me silnce, water, hope./Give me struggle, iron, volcanoes.” -Neruda, “Canto General” (toward the end)

“the true civilization will be the harmony of men with the land and of men among each other” -this one I don’t know. it was painted on a banner over a revolution scene in a Diego Rivera mural

If the Henry Miller quote is in the context of capitalism, fine, everyone is entitled to an opinion. But let’s not forget that there’s an entire globe entangled in capitalism. It has engulfed us all.

To me, the black cloud is made of greed, oil, and shortsightedness.

And yes, even Obama will say that the election was not about him, it was about us. If you believe in the view that history is propelled by the masses, then the grassroots movement is only a beginning.

leslee – Thanks for the feedback. I think you can expect to see a continuing evolution in language and imagery at the Morning Porch, because otherwise I’ll grow bored with it.

christine – Thanks for voting for the cornbread one; a couple other folks have followed your lead now. I’m sure I could have found a more crowd-pleasing quote from that poet – one of the most exciting younger poets out there – but that one reminded me of the Daodejing’s saying about how governing a state is like frying a small fish, which someone referenced here in a comment last week. As for having hope, yes: and not so much because of Obama per se, but because of the grassroots movement that got him elected. Still, I personally remain anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist in my political leanings, so the Henry Miller quote, while a bit jarring perhaps, does come from a place I understand. (I was one of those oddballs who found Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s sermons prophetic and moving, and couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about.)

What a relief
created

over and over.

– Michael Dickman, We Did Not Make Ourselves.