(RESPECT, the movie and me)
That was the scene
at the piano
Jennifer Hudson as Aretha
and Audra McDonald her mother
From beyond.
Aretha was
A natural mom
To Jennifer and music girls
I think of the roles my mom played with me
I had needs.
Sometimes darkness
replaces losses
When we couldn’t mother our hurters
the folks we wanted as our special friends
were dead ends
-Nov. 25, 2021
"You treat your pets special"
Says the dude w the big muscles
Held the door open
"I like you lady,
You mind your own business
Yes oh yes oh yes."
OH NO! I don’t
Whatever happened to truth telling
And "If you see something, say something"
But now folks aren’t living it
so many so apathetic?
Oh he was so
beautiful
His biceps, triceps visual
I pointed next door
Some things I won’t ignore
He flexed and then he hissed
"Yes oh yes oh yes"
no way, jose
Whatever happened to truth telling
And "If you see something, say something"
But now folks aren’t living it
so many so apathetic?
And told me to forget it.
Said not to speak up
He’s someone that’s
xo tough
"Stay safe," he punched with snickers
Yes oh yes oh yes
Oh yes, siree, ! I’m saying it
‘cause I see it!
Next door to me
Where these ladies
Show cruelty
Animal neglecting
Bullying, abusing,
then lying.
So here’s me preaching
And saying what I’m seeing
Won’t you join me
In seeing and saying!?
Time to wake up
It’s time we all bring back truth telling
And "If you see something, say something"
cause now folks need to say it
and stop being so apathetic!
C Anne Leighton, 2021, All Rights Reserved
UnAmerican!
Your Made in India Bombs
hates Cats, Dogs, Veterans!
Spewing pandemic-
crazies, unpatriotic
bang bang bangs no brain just sick
Dean Friedman's song has alternatives to illegal fireworks. :)
I’ve had enough of crazy
Our minds have become lazy
Call me a jerk for being blunt
There are lies we must confront
Let’s Contradict conspiracies
You and me, and everybody
My name is Anne, and I’ll be a true friend
and speak up when you go off the deep end
Five times I went out to hug a tree
As I watched a film about conspiracies
Trial of the Chicago 7
At first I laughed when the defendants
Said “CONSPIRACY!” when they answered the phone
But that judge lied and made them feel alone
When leaders put people though this schtick
I think of Elvis Costello’s words “I used to be disgusted
Now I try amused” even at smearers
Be they J Edgar Hoover or my neighbor
the one lying and full of much deceit
letting her cats get lost in the street
These conspiracies lie to you
Oh, glorious humanity,
No more notorious insanity
Those foolish things, they go BOO!
He wasn’t the best mind of a generation
And lacked Solomon’s kind of wisdom
Writing an autogenerated
personal note; do you get it?
Let’s take comments on a case-by-case basis
The Conspiracies in Spite of themselves
These conspiracies lie to you
Oh, glorious humanity,
No more notorious insanity
Those foolish things, they go BOO!
The boss thinks his workers
Are like him scheming and hurting others
When all they’d like is some humanity
And opportunities for decent money
Instead Armageddon to others he meets
complaining accusing them all of greed
Vaccinate before a vacation
as we’re all ready to look at your brain
immunologists
therapists,
the next best conspiracists
warning if we research on the Internet
our searching will not be our little secret
These conspiracies lie to you
Oh, glorious humanity,
No more notorious insanity
Those foolish things, they go BOO!
My future ex-mate smears
you
and me without any cares
And my doctors, they will not atone
for birthing my hormones and body groans
from butter, chocolate, and coffee
could they be satanic or healthy for me,
baby!
These conspiracies lie to you
Oh, glorious humanity,
No more notorious insanity
Those foolish things, they go BOO!
Kennedy, Bruce Lee and Lady Di
Painful ways the greats say goodbye
If climate change is something you believe
Then why do you freeze when it’s 60 degrees?
Let’s not talk about eating the babies
Lies destroying friends and families
When UFOS and billionaires meet
as Josie and Pussycats save music
industry
from lies of the world’s conspiracies
stopping all of them becoming realities
I hope we don’t fool ourselves
Believing we can fall victim this mental hell
I’ve had enough of mind games
I’ve had enough of insane brains
Call me a jerk for being blunt
There are lies we all must confront
Let’s Contradict conspiracies
You and me, and Everybody
It’s time we become true friends
And tell our loves when they go off the deep end.
These conspiracies lie to you
Oh, glorious humanity,
No more notorious insanity
Those foolish things should make us seek
truth.
Our Responsibilities on the Centennial of Women’s Right To Vote
I was unfriended for posting that Marianne Williamson supports vaccinations. It was during the 2019 political campaign when social media insisted she was a fat-shamer and an “anti-vaxxer.” One of my intelligent friends blocked me when I insisted that Big Cat Rescue/Tiger King’s “villain” Carole Baskin was loved by the Cat Writers’ community.
The City of Boston excommunicated Anne Hutchinson, in 1638, because she taught religion in her home. In her trial, the church leader that, initially, helped midwife Anne bury a stillborn baby, betrayed her confidence. He testified against her.
The “witches” of the Middle Ages disturbed the male-led world order as many were midwives who brought new babies into the world. They were accused of eating babies and having their cats sneak into religious leaders’ bedrooms to infiltrate their dreams!
I would have been burned or hanged as a witch. I love cats, and have spoken up for myself. From firing an assistant who bullied a black man to pointing out a dear friend’s hypocrisy, I’ve angered friends whom I’ve confronted!
I’m grateful to be alive today, thanks to my mom, ancestors, and inspirational big sisters like Gloria Steinem, and those activists who fought for women before her. I’m glad that people like me are speaking up, and setting records straight, because we’re getting great work done in honest and powerful ways. We care about people, and many men and women know it.
I think that because the “crazy” women have purposeful lives and reflect historical archetypes of the “witch”/ ”mother”/ ”sage,” these females are scorned even by other women. Carrie Chapman Catt was a leader of the women’s suffrage movement that helped women the right to vote 100 years ago, August 26, 1920. First Ladies Eleanor Roosevelt and Michelle Obama are powerful and magical women, but regarded negatively by those with too much time on their hands and too little brains in their heads.
50 years after it was first introduced to Congress in 1971 (after almost 50 years of the first draft!), we’re on the verge of ratifying it to the United States Constitution. If it weren’t for the neighborhood feminist, who called me “Ms.” Leighton, I might not have voted for it. It was my first time at the polls, and I didn’t know that I could be self-dependent being so new in the working world.
Fortunately, nobody made my way easy, and I adapted, taking care of business. What keeps us working is that we’re here to serve the planet and its people. I developed a professional showbiz career on my terms both as an artist and music services person.
News of corruption, sexual misconduct, using government funds for personal use from national heroes, allegedly responsible leaders, and public figures coincided with the declining physical health of our world. We yell at our neighbors. We saw our sisters lose careers if they spoke up against on-the-job abuse. Some of us put them down, instead of going the extra mile to find out what was hurting them.
One of the reasons we still struggle is that the truth-telling woman has been ostracized since the beginning of time.
Smear campaigns… gossip… rumors. Marianne Williamson posted on her social media, August 5, 2019 “There’s an ancient strain of misogyny that labels any women who doesn’t toe the line with the status quo of her time as ‘crazy’ or ‘dangerous.’ We will not have full empowerment of women until we face that head on.”
Gloria Steinem speaks of the importance of building up other women, not breaking them down. She never felt she could succeed alone. One of my showbiz online forums had a man posting that the Chicks were insincere and pandering to the public for dropping the offensive “Dixie” from their name. A woman spoke up for the performers, “We should be happy they’re supporting blacks.” When he called them “irrelevant,” a lesbian posted that she appreciated their support all these years to the LGBTQ community, and that they collaborated with Taylor Swift. We can show the same support for our friends when they’re disrespected.
None of us like gaslighting, nor people telling lies about us. Even if there’s readily accessible proof of our innocence, we’ll see dishonest accusations. Maybe the bully is overwhelmed by the amount of content online. Then again, perhaps the attacker has anger at the world, and wants to start a fight by belittling others.
Women need to speak up for
themselves, especially if they’re the only ones willing to stand up for
themselves!
Famous “witches” are Hillary Clinton, the Chicks (now and when they were Dixie), technology geeks, bodybuilders, Madam CJ Walker, Cher…. Even with deliberate adversity, these women seem to magically prove themselves because they’re smart, productive, and not involved with smear campaigns. They’re busy making the world a better place, including doing their homework and being there for their friends.
These women work in mysterious ways. They know their talents and purpose because they served the public, even making others powerful. They’re so connected with the universe because they play and work with honesty, working for inclusion, especially for the underdogs....or abandoned cats.
Push me out into space
make me see good mother earth from the outside.
I wanna see this place
I wanna be in Space—I gotta be in space
outside of this big ole world.
Faster than the speed of sound.
More powerful than the world being round.
Riding through the universe.
Floating with you in verse and in reverse
outside of this big ole world.
Making rings around the moon,
I’m doing everything up and down
acrobatic clown—a naturalistic sight.
I have caught the speed of light
outside of this big ole world.
-1984
According to Esquire Magazine, this evolved from a game that Marcel Proust helped popularize in 19th-century parlor soirees. People would take part purely as a party entertainment, though supposedly they often walked away with a greater insight into themselves. I can’t guarantee that that outcome, but it is fun and what the heck, we could all use a bit of amusement and/or enlightenment, so why not?
What is your idea of perfect happiness? Close to what I have, where I can sleep with cats, write, dance, eat great food, but also hang out with my neighbors and friends again!
What is your greatest fear? Homelessness
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? I believed in people that weren’t worth it.
What is the trait you most deplore in others? Cruelty, not listening
Which living person do you most admire? Besides my friends, Oprah.
What is your greatest extravagance? Italian food on Arthur Avenue, and working in the recording studio
What is your current state of mind? Thoughtful. Just being my own angel.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Greed ("Greed is good."-The Movie, "Wall Street")
On what occasion do you lie? To protect friends. Sometimes to myself, especially if I want to achieve something the universe seems to be saying "no" about.
What do you most dislike in your appearance? I’m fat, and would love to be trimmer.
What living person do you most despise? Of the people I know, I’d say there are about dozen people that bullied me when I wanted to mend fences with my artist.
What is the quality you most like in a man? listening
What is the quality you most like in a woman? Same thing. We should be encouraging each other.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse? Folks, Meow, Woof, Joe.....
What or who is the greatest love of your life? Myself
When and where were you happiest? When I’m in bed with my cats
Which talent would you most like to have? The right touch when I play piano or guitar. Being able to play those instruments coherently and fluently. Even on kalimba, I’m jagged.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I want to be more lean. I work at it, and I know it'll be amazing, someday.
What do you consider your greatest achievement? Believing that we can all create opportunities for ourselves. It’s possible to make a profit as a writer.
If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what would it be? A neurologist. I’ve planned my next life.
Where would you most like to live? Right here in the Bronx!
What is your most treasured possession? My current computer and my poetry book "The Leighton Explosion."
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? People deliberately being destructive and hurting or killing others. That comes from making assumptions and prejudice.
What is your favorite occupation? Of me, I’d say creative and artist development, including myself.
What is your most marked characteristic? My voice and my smile.
What do you most value in your friends? They understand where I’m coming from.
Who are your favorite writers? Bruce Lee, Nelson Mandela, Dale Carnegie, King Solomon, Susie Rakowski, Elliott Murphy
Who is your hero from fiction? Xena and Nancy Drew!!!
Which historical figure do you most identify with? Frank Zappa
Who are your heroes in real life? My friends Joe, Joe, Phoebe, Sharon, Ian, Larry, Hank, Greg, Catalina & her family
What are your favorite names? Renee
What is it the you most dislike? When I was younger, I didn’t see my beauty. Now it's just my weight that I dislike. I've embraced all of me. I understand the weight issue, and am working on it.
What is your greatest regret? That I didn't always know how to work things out with people, and I'm still not succeeding with it.
How would you like to die? After I got all my work done.
What is your motto? "It's not what you know, but who you know. And if you don't know 'em, go out and meet 'em!!!"
