Amoeba’s Lorica: It was a dream

“It was a dream”, they said.
“Ignore it. There’s beer in the fridge
if that will help your rest and ours.”
They turned up the sound on their superhero videos,
ate peanuts from a can, and tossed the nibs and skins in a sack
that they left outside for the little people to pick up,
preferably without making a noise.

I saw their pleasant house, with its heating system’s placid hum
and the empty pizza boxes littering the table,
blasted. No roof, walls blackened and half standing,
the windows without frames and glassless. And all around the same,
from the tickytacky developments to the castles behind the gates,
with none to mourn. No movement on the broken pavements,
no sounds but the wind through the shattered homes.

I called, and I searched, until body and soul alike cried out
“No more!” In every direction, as far as there was sight,
there was ruin of property, absence of humanity. I hid my eyes,
dreading the vision, seeking relief, knowing there could be none.

I must have slept, for what came next
was that bright day had turned to evening.
In the twilight a man stood before me,
tall, gaunt, unwashed, his hair, beard, and clothes derelict.
“You look harmless”, he said to me at last.
“What harm is left for me to do?” I cried out.
“What war, what hurricane, what act of God
has wrecked this place and made you its victims?”

“None of those”, the man replied and shook his head.
“Those who lived here – we who lived here – lived at our ease,
forgetting that comfort was not ours for the asking, until it was gone,
not to be restored at any price. Victims? No.
What you see here is what we brought upon ourselves.

“Heed me well”, the man proclaimed, “and may your people,
against all hope, take heed of what has happened here.
Know therefore, you who are cursed to live in times of plenty,
that you must live as though your lot is dire dearth.
Lest dearth, through your own actions, come with power,
seize those who are heedless of it,
burn them on a pyre built with their own indulgences.
Burn them, and all those who foresaw but did naught,
sparing by caprice, or by chance.”

At last the specter faded, merging into the present.
A candy wrapper crinkled as it missed the basket.

Posted in Amoeba's Lorica, creative writing, personal thoughts, We the People | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Amoeba’s Lorica: Meme-ories 60 (Our True Flag)

“Many [scientific research] grants were eliminated because they contain words, including climate, diversity, disability, trans or women. Some drew the administration’s ire because the applications included D.E.I. statements required by the previous administration.
“Australian academics have stopped attending conferences in the U.S. for fear of being detained.
“Facts are elite, facts are fungible, facts are false. And once nothing is true, anything can be true.”

– New York Times Newsletter, 25 April 2025


Changing times require changing symbols. Ones that accurately reflect Our history, Our present circumstances as We perceive them, Our preferred policies, Our aspirations for the future.

The changing times have rendered Our current national symbols outmoded, outdated. We need new ones, that truly reflect who We are and who We strive to be.

To respond to that need, Your Friendly Neighborhood Amoeba proudly presents his proposal for a new National Flag, representing Our United States in North America United States of America and the authentic, historically-consistent Identity and Aspirations of Its People.

Behold, Our new flag, Our True Flag. The New Stainless Banner!

The overtly white-supremacist “Cornerstone Speech” by Alexander P. Stephens, Vice President of the Confederate States of America, and Our truest and most forthright Founding Father.

Posted in Amoeba's Lorica, history, Meme-ories, politics, satire, We the People | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Dude and Dude: More East

“Time ta call it a night, dude, headed fer my room. See ya in tha mornin’.”

“Kay, dude.”

“Y’ll be sackin’ out yerself soon, yeah?”

“Mebbe.”

“Maybe? Whatsamatta? Sumthin’ eatin‘ at ya?”

“Nah. Though now that ya mention it, I am kinda hungry. But that ain’t it.”

“So what is?”

“I wuz kinda hopin’ ta catch tha easter bunny in tha act. Speakin’ a hungry.”

“Tha whut?

“Ya heard me.”

At yer age?!? Whut tha hell drug’r ya on, and why didn’t ya leave enny fer me?

“No drugs, dude. They cause autism, ya know.”

“Yeah. Riiiight. Dude, ya ain’t laid in yer easter basket by now, ya ain’t gonna. It’s too late, tha stores ‘r closed, Doordash is done fer tha night, an’ ya ain’t given Amazon ’nuff time ta lose yer package fer ya. If’n yer relyin’ onna kid’s fantasy ta get ya yer holiday munchies, yer even more far gone than I always thought ya wuz.”

“La la la la laa, dude. Can’t hear ya fer nuthin’. In case ya care, I gotta question.”

“Yeah?”

How far east is easter, dude?

“[…] O … my …”

Well? If’n tha easter bunny shows up like it’s saposed ta, then I’ll know how far away easter is, ennythin’ closer is just ‘east’. Amirite?”

“Dude, that’s … genius!

“Er, why, thanks dude, I didn’t know ya cared …”

“But ya do know where we’re livin’, yeah?”

“A cheap apartment on Long Island?”

Western civilization, dude.”

“[…] I might give ya tha western, dude, but as fer tha civilization, have ya fergotten who tha President is, an’ how he got there?

“Stop tryin’ ta distract me, dude. Yer lookin’ fer easter, ain’t ya mebbe lookin’ in tha wrong direction?

“… uh …”

“Ya look west fer far enough along a sphere, pretty soon yer lookin’ at sumplace east, yeah?”

“That’s eastest, dude. I’d still have ta do some real trekkin’ afore I got ta easter. Prob’ly shorter an’ easier ta go tha way we set out ta go in tha first place.”

“[…] dude?”

“Yeah?”

“Do me an’ you a favor, yeah? Fergit tha easter bunny. Let it do its thing, wit’out ya tryin’ ta butt in. Go ta bed. Get some sleep. Don’t dream a easter, ‘r east, ‘r north by northwest, ‘r enny a that, ah, stuff. Dream a sugarplums ‘r somethin’.”

NO, dude!”

Whut no?”

NO SUGARPLUMS, dude! That’s Christmas! Don’t go there!!”

Posted in Dude and Dude, Holiday, humor, satire | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments