Yellow Roses To Keep

Love Sonnet XVII: I love you as certain dark things are loved,/secretly, between the shadow and the soul. ....... I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,/I love you simply, without problems or pride
Love Sonnet XI: I crave your mouth, your voice, your hair./Silent and starving, I prowl through the streets...... all day/I hunt for the liquid measure of your steps...... I want to eat your skin like a whole almond. ....... I want to eat the sunbeam flaring in your lovely body,/the sovereign nose of your arrogant face,....... hunting for you, for your hot heart,/like a puma in the barrens of Quitratue.

Yellow Roses To Keep

I lost something in 1989.
Through Barack's elevation to
The White House
I stand to regain it.
Obama 08 has been deeply, deeply personal
To me. It has been therapy, it has been catharsis.

I had a happy freshman year at college.
Then I lost it again.
I thought I might regain it in New York City.
I am not complaining, it has been exciting.
But during those first few minutes with you
I felt it again. Before I sank back
Into the swamp of half living, not
Having a sense of belonging, of
Being on guard. The prejudice cobra
The racism cobra might strike.
But I am a big boy now. I am going to
Stare down the cobra.
I sank right before your eyes.
The swamp had the advantage of years.
You sank into your cynicism
The isolation of your throne
Guys not measuring up to
A warm bath and a good book.

Your cynicism that oh
It was just a homeboy thing
Let him meet the Kentucky dude
And see for himself how he also gets excited
Or he got taken by the Wes Clark name
Let him meet Wes Clark.

I know Indiana like the back of my hand.
India to Indiana is quite a journey.

In the mid 30s, someone is much more
Refined, you know yourself much better
The contours of one's life and being
Are much sharper.
It is easy to see there is not total overlap.
It is easy to get cynical
A little less alive.
It is easy to fall into the safe patterns
Of daily routine.
Of no longer dreaming the big dreams.

But I reject.

Or you could say
You have to find you before
You can find your soulmate.
It takes time to find you.
For me it has been that and trips into wilderness.

You gave me the pre-1989 feeling
Those first few minutes.
And then we both sank.

I guess it takes effort.

But the circling started right away
We both, in our own ways. We kept moving.

Your political poetry.
My flounderings on Nepal, Obama, the startup.

I complained.
I had issues.
I had not written
My online autobio yet.
I needed to process some pain, a lot of pain
Lurking beneath my calm exterior
Before I could see straight.

We circled like people from two very
Different cultures.
Trying to figure out the meaning of
A little gesture this, a little gesture that.
We gave up many times.

I would get angry.
Between me looking in your direction
And seeing someone who likes me
And your actually saying so
That was a racial infinity.
So does that make you a Miss 99%?
Territory to the soldiers of social segregation?
Or a Miss 1%? I thought.
Worse, what if you hop back and forth
Like quantum particles
That are both there and not there.

We confused each other plenty.
After the bookstore hectoring
I was on guard. Give me something concrete.
Or you will just as well throw me to the dogs.
Or you would punish me for rejecting you
With full social force. Even when
I never rejected.

Don't touch me?

There would be long periods of lull.
And then showing up at events.
Mostly you acting professional.
Your professionalism was killing me.

And then there would be flashes.
The summer bash and your touching.
The Holiday party and your brushing full force.
And in between several.
The street fair, the waving to the crowds, Irish Rogue
The education committee event, serving water
Whisking the women away.

And I would be like, if you like me today
You must have liked me yesterday
You will like me tomorrow.
That is what 2.0 is for.

Your acts of disappearing, like an art form
The expression of a basic pain.

I kept looking for something concrete.
I needed something verbal.
I needed to feel safe.

I kept wanting you in 2.0.
I already know what you look like
We have already talked before
Come enter my world of remote talk.
Let's make geography irrelevant.

For you the starting point had to be face time
Or not.

I give you that 5.0 is way richer.
But 2.0 is a coral reef too.

I think you are looking for
A shouting match.

And then you gave up on me.
You felt the shock tremors from Louisiana.
The banking industry took a big hit.
You became guarded about your throne.
The fire alarm went off.
Third persons did a little song and dance.

What was that at the zipper factory?

I have done some amazing work
For Nepal, Obama, and the startup
In the 2.0 environment
But I have paid a price.
I am slightly damanged, slightly broken.
You can ask me to go fix myself first.
Or you could participate and help me
Build back my social muscles.
With your participation, I think
I could build back very fast.
On my own, I fear
I might just become more damaged.
Because the work can not stop
The work has me in its grips.

I guess it takes effort.
We know each other better than on day one.
It is not true we have not talked.
Each time I have seen you in person
Has felt like an elaborate conversation.

Amitabh and Jaya did not hook up on day one.
It's okay.
It takes time.
There are no short cuts.

You carry the weight of history on your shoulders
I carry the weight of history on my shoulders.
For you, I will neutralize
Sexism, physicalism.

Queen.

This city is magic.
My mind is exploding with dreams
And possibilities.
And I want you to know I feel for you.
You can tell me you don't feel for me today
But you can't say you have never felt for me.
But why would you
Why would you say you don't feel for me today?
I am better today than ever before.
I would like to believe
I am a good looking kind of guy.













Yellow Roses

Hillary Should Concede March 4

Hillary Is Not Losing, Barack Is Winning

Hillary is not losing, Barack is winning. This new kind of politics, politics of hope is a paradigm shift thing. And that is why the old Clinton hands are flustered.

This nomination fight has to end March 4. Hillary has to be prepared to give a great concession speech. She is going to lose the two biggies. Both Texas and Ohio will be had by Obama 08. Then it is over. But things don't have to end for Hillary if she gives a great concession speech. She is a capable woman who has a lot to contribute.

I relate to Hillary in a very personal way. Hillary has been a first in many ways. When Hillary got into the White House, people were like, this First Lady is actually talking public policy, woe is to me. It was unfair to her and to the women of the world that her talking policy was news, but it was. She has been a pioneer woman. She has taken a lot of flak from right wingers, and sexist men in the Democratic camp. But she has also taken a lot of flak from women, period. And I relate to that. There is sexism, anti-sexism, but also internalized sexism. Hillary has been one angle facing two angles. There is ethnic prejudice, anti-prejudice, and internalized prejudice, this I say about being a Madhesi in Nepal. There is racism, anti-racism, and internalized racism. I have been one angle facing two angles on those two counts. So I relate to her in an extremely personal way.

And there is also this sidestepping thing. The powers that be will always find another Madhesi, or another brown guy who does not have "issues." They will find people in that second angle to suggest, see, I am not prejudiced, I am not racist, there are these people who get along with me just fine, it is just you.

We can't do that to Hillary. We can't think of another woman for the ticket. And white men are absolutely, totally out of bounds. Women have come so far, and I don't mean just the women in America, but the women of the world, actually I mean primarily the women of the world, the women of the world have come so far in Hillary simply have come this far as a candidate. America had never before seen a serious woman candidate for president. This was a first time. It is kind of primitive that the country waited for so long. But that does make Hillary a pioneer woman. She can not be wasted. She has come this far. She has to go further. She has to get on the ticket.

The Need For A Race Gender Coalition
A Vote For Barack Is Not A Vote Against Hillary

Simple Arithmetic

This has been such a tight race. Simple arithmetic says you got to get Hillary on the ticket to unify the party, as simple as that. Don't make a short list. Don't shop around. As soon as Hillary gives her concession speech, call her up and offer her the slot. As soon as she accepts, and accept she will, she suggested as much during the Texas debate, you go public. You give your speech saying you are honored to have Hillary on your ticket.

Great Chemistry

Barack and Hillary genuinely like each other. So it is not just about arithmetic. We got arithmetic, but we also got chemistry. Hillary ran a tough, competitive campaign. That is why she will be a great Vice President.

History

Barack fans are like, oh, Barack is just so great. Hillary fans are like, oh, Hillary is just so great. Well, when you are a black man, or a woman, you have to be great, you have to be super, you have to be a superduper individual to get as far as these two have gone.

We can't waste either of them. So it is about arithmetic, it is about chemistry, it is about history.

It Is Hillary Or It Is Nobody

I can't think of anyone else.

Dragging On Makes No Sense

March 4 is it. That is the day when we have to become one campaign. That very night, we have to announce that we have become one.

Texas Is Not Looking Good For Hillary

Hillary: "Tell Him To Come Meet Me In Texas"

In The News

Poll: Clinton, Obama Tied in Texas The Associated Press Hillary Rodham Clinton, 50 percent Barack Obama, 48 percent

Curfew in southern Nepal, capital running out of fuel AFP
Election Count Begins in Pakistan Voice of America
Obama seeks to turn table in Ohio, Texas Los Angeles Times Obama has launched a newly aggressive strategy to undermine two pillars of support for rival Hillary Rodham Clinton: Latinos and working-class white voters. ...... a push from younger members helped persuade the Service Employees International Union and the United Food and Commercial Workers to endorse Obama last week. ...... "He's not just going to crack a glass ceiling. He can really kick the door off its hinges, and clear the way for all of us, even Hispanics." ..... Texas, where Latinos and blacks have a history of building political coalitions ...... The state's complicated system of voting, involving both a primary and a caucus ..... Obama's strategy is to try to make NAFTA a central issue of the campaign
Obama quietly meets with ex-rival John Edwards Los Angeles Times Obama sneaked down to North Carolina on Sunday and met with former opponent John Edwards .... Reporters normally travel with Obama, but he flew down in secret. ..... eight consecutive losses to Obama. ... Polls show her with a comfortable lead over Obama in Ohio, and the two candidates are scheduled to debate in Cleveland on Feb. 26. ..... she sampled a spicy Mexican sauce at a Milwaukee grocery store in a heavily Latino neighborhood and purchased hot peppers, which she eats in large quantities to try to ward off colds.
In Wisconsin, Obama has edge over Clinton MarketWatch
Clinton Camp Charges Obama with 'Plagiarism' Washington Post
In Wisconsin, Clinton Campaigns at Vigorous Pace Washington Post
Is Hillary History? she had just lost four states to Obama, been forced to lend her operation $5 million and dumped her campaign manager ...... She is drowning in a sea of negative coverage. ..... "the once-mighty Clinton campaign is beginning to feel like the last days of Pompeii." ...... if she doesn't win Ohio and Texas next month, "she's out." ..... likened her campaign to the Titanic. A Slate headline put it starkly: "So, Is She Doomed?" ...... The Nation, the country's largest liberal magazine, has endorsed Obama. Markos Moulitsas, the most prominent liberal blogger, voted for Obama in the California primary and has been ridiculing Clinton's campaign. ........ the candidate "crippled by poll-tested corporate packaging that markets her as a synthetic product leeched of most human qualities." ...... a conventional politician pitted against a cultural phenomenon. ...... a mathematical long shot. ...... Clinton is a disciplined and detail-oriented candidate, with a style that produces few sparks, while Obama is filling basketball arenas with thunderous oratory. That is why her choking up in a New Hampshire coffee shop became such a huge story -- because we rarely get a peek behind the steely exterior. ........ After his victory speech Tuesday, MSNBC's Chris Matthews said he "felt this thrill going up my leg." ..... Obama has defied the laws of journalistic gravity, somehow avoiding the usual scrutiny applied to front-runners. ...... her "direct and plain-spoken, with an edgy sense of humor . . . she can be tough, and even a little steely." She is "outspoken, strong-willed, funny, gutsy, and sometimes sarcastic," cutting "an athletic and authoritative figure" ....... The editor of the NYT compares Obama and Mandela. ..... kicking Hillary when she's down ....... "Her attitude clearly is to win, no matter how, and worry about the repair job later. ...... 'I'm tested, I'm ready, let's make it happen!' she yelled into a mic on a stage in Texas on the night of her latest defeat. This is meant to look like confidence. Whether or not you wish her well probably determines whether you see it as game face, stubbornness or evidence of mild derangement. ........ my sense is that Obama has already won this thing. ...... Much of Clinton's current predicament stems from Penn's disastrous, glass-jaw 'inevitability' strategy and the mind-boggling decision not even to contest a slew of states where Obama racked up huge victories and many delegates. ........ that the Clintonistas would even suggest the use of super delegates to subvert the will of the Democratic Party electorate ....... "Among the 125 million people in the U.S. who visit online dating and social-networking sites are a growing number of dullards who steal personal profiles, life philosophies, even signature poems. 'Dude u like copied my whole myspace,' posts one aggrieved victim."
Mandela, like Obama, although he wasn’t always the most riveting public speaker, was the kind of speaker who didn’t dwell on the details of his ten-point program, but went for emotional lift. ..... both of them, in a way, transcended race

Obama numbers rise as candidate endorsed by service union Bizjournals.com, USA Obama has taken the lead in the Texas Democratic primary polls ..... Obama ahead of Sen. Hillary Clinton 48 percent to 42 percent ...... Obama took point with self-described independent voters by a vast margin: 71 percent to Clinton's 24 percent. Clinton edged out Obama among women (54 percent to 42 percent), whites (51 percent to 40 percent) and Latinos (44 percent to 42 percent), while Obama captured the lion's share of men (55 percent to 29 percent) and blacks (76 percent to 17 percent). ....... "We haven't seen this kind of energy in years. We hope our endorsement will help propel him to victory in Texas to secure the nomination." ....... Texas primary, with its 228 delegates at stake, could be the most influential of all the remaining state primary elections. Dallas, which offers about 67 delegates

In The News

Obama hits Clinton on NAFTA support in drive to win crucial Ohio ... International Herald Tribune Barack Obama hammered Hillary Rodham Clinton on her long record of support for a free-trade agreement unpopular with working-class voters as he pushed to win next week's Ohio primary and possibly force his rival from the Democratic presidential race. ..... Obama has won 11 straight primaries and caucuses this month ..... Bill Clinton has said publicly his wife probably needs to win both of them if she is to capture the Democratic presidential nomination. .... In Ohio, polls show Clinton with a narrowing lead .... "He thought that there was no difference between Al Gore and George Bush and eight years later I think people realize that Ralph did not know what he was talking about," Obama said.
Thousands pack University of Toledo stadium for Obama rally Detroit Free Press The first Barack Obama fan arrived at the University of Toledo at 3:45 a.m. today, anxious to see the political phenomenon. ...... By 3:45 p.m., Savage Hall at the university was packed with more than 10,000 adoring supporters ..... politics that aren’t about tearing people down, but lifting people up
Political Memo Somber Clinton Soldiers On as the Horizon Darkens New York Times she has the perspective of a realist: someone has to lose. ...... To her longtime friends, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton sounds unusually philosophical on the phone these days. She rarely uses phrases like “when I’m president” anymore. ..... Mrs. Clinton has begun thanking some of her major supporters for helping her run ....... she no longer exudes the supreme confidence that was her trademark before the first defeat, in Iowa .... she is also a cold, hard realist about politics ....... “She has a real military discipline that, now that times are tough, has really kicked into gear” ..... she knows that there will be an end ...... Over take-out meals and late-night drinks, some regrets and recriminations have set in, and top aides have begun to face up to the campaign’s possible end after the Texas and Ohio primaries on March 4. ........ expressed frustration with the difficulty of “running against a phenomenon” ...... not planning a political strategy to compete in the primaries after Feb. 5. ..... 700 people, $100 million, nationwide offices ...... Morale is low. After 13 months of dawn-to-dark seven-day weeks, the staff is exhausted. Some have taken to going home early — 9 p.m. — turning off their BlackBerrys, and polishing off bottles of wine ....... Some advisers have been heard yelling at close friends and colleagues. ..... Others have taken several days off, despite it being crunch time. Some have grown depressed ...... some of her major fund-raisers have begun playing down their roles, asking reporters to refer to them simply as “donors” ....... she had been a better candidate than her campaign strategy and operation reflected. ...... she talks to her aides on the trail and at headquarters about the tasks at hand, pursuing them in checklist fashion —impressing some with her hardiness, while suggesting a joyless or workmanlike feel to others. ...... “Hillary is not a fatalistic person — this is no woe-is-me woman.” ....... “I am honored to be here with Barack Obama. I am absolutely honored,” she said. “And you know, whatever happens, we’re going to be fine.” .... to some friends, she is in fact acting differently; to others, the situation has become simply heartbreaking. ..... When Mr. Clinton said last week that his wife had to win in Texas and Ohio, it was not only the first public admission by a senior member of her circle that her candidacy was on the line, it was also a moment that deepened the feeling of shock felt by some of her supporters. ....... Clinton has not retreated into a shell. She asks her aides about their children, spouses and partners. ...... has pointedly not talked to her staff about the notion that she might drop out someday.

The Early Word: Hard Times for Hillary Clinton New York Times speculation that her closing debate remarks amounted to a concession
Clinton Takes Strong Exception To Tactics of Obama Campaign Washington Post "the sudden change in tone" and questioning Clinton's timing, ahead of Sunday newspaper deadlines and with another debate three days away. ...... "She's the champ, she's part of the Democratic network in Washington, and if you're the title holder, then you don't lose it on points. You've got to be knocked out."