Make Love, Not War

 

" Make Love, Not War" - Bahamas AI Art

 ©A. Derek Catalano

 

 

 Make Love, Not War

The world, a canvas, stained with crimson hue,
Where brother fights with brother, old wounds made new.
From distant lands, the echoes reach our ears,
Of cannons roaring, silencing our fears.
Missiles carve the sky, a fiery, fleeting arc,
While bombs descend, leaving their brutal mark.
The gun's harsh bark, a symphony of dread,
As lives are shattered, and the innocent are dead.
A whispered rumor, then a deafening roar,
New wars ignite, consuming evermore.

Yet in this darkness, hope's a fragile flame,
A quiet yearning, whispering a name.
Not conquest, power, nor the victor's pride,
But love and understanding, side by side.
To shed the armor, lay the weapons down,
To build a bridge where walls have held a town.
To seek the common ground, the shared desire,
And quell the embers of destructive fire.

Always Plan Ahead

 

 "Unexpected Weather" - Bahamas AI Art

 ©A. Derek Catalano

 

 

Always Plan Ahead

The morning sun, a painter's golden stroke,
Awakens slumber, whispers, gently spoke.
A brand new day, a canvas fresh and wide,
But how you paint it, where your steps will glide,
Depends not just on whims of present light,
But seeds you've sown throughout the fading night.
For life's a journey, winding, steep, and long,
And he who plans, will always be made strong.

The farmer knows this truth, with calloused hand,
He doesn't wait for sprouts across the land.
He tests the soil, predicts the coming rain,
Prepares the furrows, eases every pain
Of barren earth, before the seed is cast,
Knowing full well, the season flies so fast.
He measures, calculates, with practiced eye,
And trusts the future, ripening 'neath the sky.
So too must we, with foresight clear and deep,
Before the promises we sow, we reap.

Consider journeys, far beyond the shore,
A captain charting seas unseen before.
No vessel sails on hope alone, adrift,
Without a compass, or a timely gift
Of plotted course, of currents understood,
Of shelters found, for when the tempest brewed.
He checks the charts, the tide, the shifting breeze,
Avoiding reefs, and treacherous, dark seas.
The port he seeks, is anchored in his mind,
A destination, carefully defined.
And so, we navigate our earthly way,
By plans laid out, for every coming day.

Defuse the Situation

 

 "Defuse the Situation" - Bahamas AI Art

 ©A. Derek Catalano

 

 

 Defuse the Situation

 

A tempest brews, a lightning flash,
Two wills collide, a sudden crash.
Voices rise, a heated fray,
As reason threatens to give way.
But in this storm, a guiding star,
A whispered plea, however far,
To “Defuse the Situation” now,
And soothe the furrowed, angry brow.

First, breathe, dear soul, let impulse cease,
Invite within a quiet peace.
Though anger sparks, and tensions mount,
Let not your passions freely fount.
For words unbridled, sharp and keen,
Can cut and wound, unseen, unheard, unseen.
So speak with calm, a steady tone,
A gentle breeze, on seeds of reason sown.

Respect the other, though they rage,
And turn a new, untroubled page.
Their pain, their fear, their point of view,
May hold a truth, both deep and true.
A listening ear, a softened gaze,
Can part the clouds of stormy days.
“I hear your words,” let stillness say,
“Though disagree, I will not stray
From courtesy’s unyielding might,
To dim the darkness, bring the light.”

Don't Beat Me Like Conch

 

 "Conch Meat" - Bahamas AI Art

 ©A. Derek Catalano

 

 

Don't Beat Me Like Conch

From turquoise depths, a treasure drawn,
The conch, a life, a Bahamian dawn.
Its spiraled house, a pearly throne,
Yet on the block, it makes its moan.
The hammer falls, a rhythmic dread,
To break the will, the flesh to spread.
A culinary rite, they say it's best,
To pound it thin, put chew to test.
Don't beat me like conch, I cry,
Beneath a searing, endless sky.

The wooden mallet, scarred and old,
A story of the sea, I'm told.
Each strike a shock, a muscle's tear,
Transforming strength to tender fare.
Soaked in lime, with peppers bright,
A delicacy, a pure delight.
But when the hand that wields the blow
Belongs to those who ought to know
The people's heart, its fragile trust,
And grinds our hopes into the dust,
Don't beat me like conch, I plead,
Don't sow that bitter, bruising seed.

They mount the podium, voices ring,
Of prosperous days the songs they sing.
With honeyed words and practiced smile,
They charm the trusting for a while.
A litany of vows proclaimed,
Our future bright, meticulously framed.
Then deals are struck in shadowed rooms,
As silent hopes become our tombs.
The promises, like shells, are cracked,
Integrity is what they've lacked.
The truth submerged, the waters riled,
A nation's spirit is defiled.
Don't beat me like conch, I shout,
Let honesty at last break out!

Manage Your Money Well

 

"Money Management" - Bahamas AI Art

 ©A. Derek Catalano

 

 

Manage Your Money Well

A Comprehensive Poem About Financial Wisdom

Money’s a servant, never a king,
Treat it as such or chaos it’ll bring.
It slips through fingers smooth as rain,
But held with care, it multiplies gain.

We Are Stardust

 

 "Nebular Tropic Night" - Bahamas AI Art

 ©A. Derek Catalano

 

 

We Are Stardust

In the crucible of cosmic dawn,
Where light was yet to be reborn,
A spark, a pulse, a primal flame,
Ignited life without a name.
From nebulae, vast clouds of gas,
Through eons’ dance, through time’s morass,
We rose from ash, from starlit pyres,
Born of celestial, ancient fires.

 
I. The Genesis of Light
In the void, where silence held its reign,
Before the stars had earned their name,
A singularity, compressed, divine,
Held all that was—space, matter, time.
Then burst the cosmos, fierce and free,
A symphony of energy.
Protons swirled, and quarks aligned,
The universe, in chaos, designed.

Hydrogen bloomed, helium soared,
The elements of life were forged.
In stellar wombs, where heat embraced,
The seeds of us were interlaced.
Carbon, nitrogen, the breath of stars,
Iron to fuel our beating hearts—
Each atom crafted in that blaze,
A billion years, a billion days.

The Rain is Here

 

 "The Rain is Here" - Bahamas AI Art

 ©A. Derek Catalano

 

 

The Rain is Here

A poem about the rainy season in The Bahamas

The rain is here. At last, it comes—
A hush, then drums on rooftops’ tin,
A whisper first across the palms,
Then all at once, the wild begins.

The sky unzips its silver coat,
Clouds spill their bellies, fat with grace.
From long months baked by searing sun,
The islands lift their thirsty face.

The ground, once cracked like ancient clay,
Now darkens, softened, kissed awake.
The brittle leaves of tamarind
Drink deep, and every branch will shake.

Happy Mother’s Day

 

"Happy Mother with Children" - Bahamas AI Art

 ⒸA. Derek Catalano

 

Happy Mother’s Day

Not just a day, but a lifetime earned—
In quiet hours, in bridges burned.
In scraped knees wiped, in hard truths told,
In arms that shield, in hands that hold.

You are the engine that never stalls,
The steady step when the burden calls.
The softest touch, the sharpest mind,
The one who waits, the one who finds.

You made a home out of fractured things—
A coat of warmth, with broken wings.
You read the room when no one spoke,
And bore the weight so we wouldn’t choke.

Who Pushed the Button

 

 "The Horror" - Bahamas AI Art

 ⒸA. Derek Catalano

 

 

Who Pushed the Button

We built the bombs to keep the peace—
as if extinction was a shield,
as if the threat of total death
could keep the battlefield sealed.
Steel death we worshipped underground,
wired for silence, not for sound,
stacked neatly in their silver tombs—
our faith misplaced in lethal rooms.

We told ourselves it kept us safe,
this balance born of mutual fear.
A thousand warheads humming deep
in silos far and near.
Each one a god, asleep but armed,
a curse disguised as charm,
a guardian that held its breath
to keep us balanced close to death.

But how could peace be built on edge,
on trembling hands at history’s ledge?
We had the codes. We drew the lines.
We played with fire. We mined the mines.
Bombs for the East, bombs for the West,
bombs for the ones who claimed they’d bless
the Earth with order, law, and pride—
a genocide all justified.

Don't Make Up Facts

 

 "Don't Make Up Facts" - Bahamas AI Art

 ⒸA. Derek Catalano

 

 

Don't Make Up Facts

Don’t make up facts—
not to win a fight,
not to sound smart under neon light,
not to dress your doubts in borrowed suits,
or twist the root to bear false fruits.

Don’t claim the sky was red last June
just to own the room.
Don’t fake the tide, or bend the moon
to fit your chosen tune.

There’s power in “I don’t know,”
in silence, in letting the real thing grow.
Lies are loud and cheap to sell,
but truth is slow—
and rings like a bell.

One Day at a Time

 "One Day at a Time" - Bahamas AI Art

 ⒸA. Derek Catalano

 

 

One Day at a Time

The sun breaks in like a whispered dare,
Through blinds that bend but do not break.
Another morning, heavy air—
Another breath I have to take.

The clock forgets my aching limbs,
It doesn't pause to see the weight.
It only ticks with soulless hymns
While I drag hope through heaven’s gate.

I used to plan the distant years,
Stacked dreams like bricks in tidy rows.
But futures fold when fed by fears,
And worry reaps what no one sows.

The Generation Gap

 

 "The Generation Gap" - Bahamas AI Art

 ⒸA. Derek Catalano

 

 

The Generation Gap

They say we live in different worlds,
But sleep beneath the same blue sky.
You tap a screen to chase your dreams,
I built mine brick by brick, by try.

You speak in gifs, in memes, in snaps,
I wrote in cursive, mailed with stamps.
You stream your music from the clouds—
We spun it slow on vinyl clamps.

We watched the clock; you watch your feed.
We mowed the lawn; you plant a seed—
A digital one, that blooms in likes,
While we were told to “earn our stripes.”

Grits in da Mornin'

 

 "Grits in da Mornin'" - Bahamas AI Art

 ⒸA. Derek Catalano

 

 

Grits in da Mornin'

Rise and shine

A new day is dawnin',
Bahamians love dey
Grits in da mornin'.

Made from corn
Grin' up dead small,
Grits for da whole family
One an' all.

Gatta know how to cook it
Don't rush da pot,

Use da right amount a water
Man, dat hit da spot.

Give Peace and Love

 

"Peace and Love" - Bahamas AI Art

 ⒸA. Derek Catalano

 

 

 Give Peace and Love

The world is heavy with the weight of pain,
Skies thick with smoke, hearts soaked in rain.
Each headline screams, each screen explodes
With anger, loss, and narrow roads.

We walk through days of sharpened tongues,
Of closed-off minds and loaded lungs.
A thousand ways we’ve drawn the line,
As if to hate is by design.

But here we are—awake, aware,
Still breathing in this battered air.
And in this hour, raw and real,
We face the truth we used to seal.

You Live What You've Learned

 

 "You Live What You've Learned" - Bahamas AI Art

 ©A. Derek Catalano

 

You Live What You've Learned

In the cradle of dawn, where the first lessons bloom,
A child’s wide eyes drink the world’s costume.
The hum of a lullaby, soft whispers of care,
Plants seeds of love in the heart’s tender lair.
Each stumble, each giggle, each tear-streaked face,
Carves pathways of knowing, a map of life’s grace.
For you live what you’ve learned, in the marrow, the bone,
Your soul’s quiet compass, through fields yet unknown.
 
The schoolyard’s rough edges, where friendships are forged,
Teach trust and betrayal, where young hearts are gorged.
A teacher’s stern voice, or a book’s open gate,
Unfurls the mind’s sails to navigate fate.
Arithmetic’s logic, the poet’s sweet rhyme,
Build scaffolds of thought that endure through all time.
Yet beyond the chalk dust, life’s lessons unfold—
The sting of a slight, or a kindness retold.

We Are Not Perfect

 

 "We Are Not Perfect" - Bahamas AI Art

 ©A. Derek Catalano

 

 

We Are Not Perfect

We are not perfect—
not the saints we post online,
not the curated smiles
behind which we hide the mess.
We break things.
We forget birthdays,
hold grudges too long,
and sometimes say things
we wish we never thought.

We are not made of marble.
We are chipped stone,
worn by years of trying,
patched over with second chances
and half-meant apologies.

Nothing Lasts Forever

 

 "Nothing Lasts Forever" - Bahamas AI Art

 ©A. Derek Catalano

 

 

Nothing Lasts Forever

The tide will rise, the tide will fall,
Soft waves erase our footprints all.
The sun that blazes high at noon
Will bow beneath the silver moon.

A flower blooms in morning light,
By dusk, its petals fade from sight.
A fire roars in winter’s breath,
Then crumbles down to ash and death.

The echo fades, the voice is still,
A silent house upon the hill.
The stars that burn in endless skies
Are doomed to fall, though gods they rise.

Believe Nothing Without Proof

 

 "Seek Proof" - Bahamas AI Art

 ©A. Derek Catalano

 

 

Believe Nothing Without Proof

They tell you the sky is endless blue,
A vast expanse, serene and true.
Yet look beyond with eyes that pry—
A storm may gather, shadows lie.

They swear the earth is steady ground,
Unshaken stone, firm and sound.
But faults may crack, and quakes may birth
A rupture deep beneath the earth.

They teach the past as written lore,
Bound in books forevermore.
Yet victors pen the tales we read,
And truth is bent by power’s need.

Play the Hand You're Dealt

 

 "Bad Hand" - Bahamas AI Art

 ©A. Derek Catalano

 

 

 Play the Hand You're Dealt

The cards are shuffled, the dealer calls,
No second chances, no curtain falls.
The hand you hold is yours alone,
No trading fate for the unknown.

Some sit with aces, kings in tow,
Life’s golden road laid out below.
Others grasp at tattered twos,
A losing game, it seems, to lose.

But fortune’s not in what you start,
Nor gilded luck or easy part.
The strength to stand, the will to fight,
Defines the play, not black or white.

Walk with Confidence

 

 "Confident Walk" - Bahamas AI Art

 ©A. Derek Catalano

 

 

Walk with Confidence

Walk with confidence, let your stride be bold,
Through every shadow, through every fold.
Not a step in doubt, nor a glance in fear,
But forward, steadfast, with vision clear.

The path may twist, the road may bend,
But your will is strong, and it shall not end.
You’ve known the weight of falling down,
Yet rise again, and wear your crown.

With every step, know who you are,
A light that flickers, yet still a star.
You’re more than struggles, more than tears,
More than the echo of past years.