Category: Columns

by Ernie McCray

I look at the rocks
my young granddaughter, Marley,
has been painting
as one more thing
during these
extremely distressful times
that makes my heart sing,
that help me get through it.

by Ernie McCray

I’m so enjoying
these joyous moments
I can’t stop
going on and on
about it
with no apologies for it
for the reason that
for years an ex-president
who is seeking the presidency again
has been in our face
since way back when
day after day after day,
acting, literally, in the most melancholic
ways,

by Ernie McCray

I’ve enjoyed an incredible
amount of bliss
in my lifetime
but none of it
comes close to the
unbelievable happiness I’m feeling today
because my joys
have been momentary,
kind of here one day
and gone in a few days.

Like a moment when I stood proudly
wearing a warm smile of appreciation
as Arizona Wildcat basketball fans
cheered loudly
in commemoration
of my place
in the university’s sports history.

by Ernie McCray

I’ll forever remember
Snoop Dogg
at the Olympics
in Paris,
images of him
that range
from being quietly playful
and downright hilarious,
at all times gregarious,
embracing the spirit of the games
as though it was the dawning of the
Age of Aquarius,
carrying the Olympic flame
like many a blunt
he’s set aflame;

by Ernie McCray

As the torrential winds
of Making America Great Again
die down
I hear music in my mind,
songs of change
that we’ve cried out for
during these times,
love songs
composed
by Harris and Walz

by Ernie McCray

I like the image I saw of
Tim Walz,
Kamala Harris’s
vice-presidential candidate,
walking comfortably
at her side
into a political rally,
to thunderous applause
which he accepted without pause,
his hands held high,
wearing a smile|
as bright as the audience’s festive energy,
like a man ready, as we used to say,
to take care of the b-i-z,
something the country truly needs.

by Ernie McCray

It wasn’t much more
than a week ago
when a presidential race
was burdening me with woe,
but ever since Biden,
who goes by Joe,
let Kamala Harris
step into the spotlight’s
bright glow,
I’ve gone loco
with giddiness,

by Ernie McCray

Joe Biden,
like the decent human being
he happens to be,
gave his race for the presidency
to his vice-president
and she, like an anchor sprinter
in a relay race,
has taken the baton
like a runner fully into
winning the race,
saying, without slowing her pace:

by Ernie McCray

I can’t help but wonder why
we’re making it possible
for Donald J. Trump
to become our president again
when he once failed at the job miserably,
nodding off in the oval office,
waiting for a ride, from time to time,
so, he wouldn’t miss his tee time.

by Ernie McCray

After the assassination attempt
a Trump disciple was heard to say
“I’m going to vote for him
more than ever now”
and to the question “Why?”
he replied
“You can’t stop us,”
spreading a little taste
of that divisive attitude
we’ve come to expect
from Trump’s MAGA tools
and, as he steps into
his new role as a fist-pumping martyr,

by Ernie McCray

So many voters
want Biden to drop out of the race
due to
how he imploded
in the first presidential debate,
showing his age,
they say,
and that’s easy to understand.

But the contest between him and Trump
still stands,

by Ernie McCray

Although I’m 86 years of age
I never
thought much about
what growing old
would actually be like,
that I would someday be in an
age group
that’s laughed at,
made fun of
in comedy routines|
and on late night TV shows
and on a sitcom or two.