Weight Loss Isn't As Easy As It Used To Be

Eat It Up

by Rachel Hoyt

image by m_bartosch

The shelves are stocked against you

with profit packed flavors -

trademarked tastes of the sweet life

you've limited time to savor.

Just one bite? No, that won't do.

Who would eat all the rest?

It was bottled and boxed to cure your strife,

cooked up just for you, the guests. 

Copyright © 2015 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

Trying to be/get/stay healthy is no piece of cake:

The Money Spent Selling Sugar to Americans Is Staggering - The Atlantic

Why It Was Easier To Be Skinny In The 1980s - The Atlantic

Packaged food purchases are up but nutrition quality is down. - Science Daily

Fat shaming. It's a thing. - Sociological Images

Are There Any Straight Answers Anymore?

Some Mouth

by Rachel Hoyt

image by Michelle Meiklejohn via freedigitalphotos.net

It seems there are no longer answers

to any perplexing questions,

only tongue twisting word dancers

with responses and suggestions.

The truth is stuck, obscured by the fog,

and some are brewing clouds -

small parts peek out (attention to hog)

as some mouth says stuff that wows crowds.

Copyright © 2014 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

Is this how it's going to be every time there's a big breach of security?

US Sanctions North Korea for Sony Hack Despite Spotty Evidence

North Korea's Grudge Towards the US Grows to Grandiose Scale

Technorati Tags: Sony, North Korea, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Could We Learn to Coexist with Wildfires?

Behind Old Smokey

by Rachel Hoyt

image by Keerati via freedigitalphotos.net

When they named me Smokey,

Do you think they knew?

Did they set that spark free

To shift blame to you?

What if mitigation

Is just a nice myth?

What if propagation

Is every thing's pith?

Word around the forest

Is that you don't know -

Flames don't die, they just rest

While smoke steals the show.

Copyright © 2014 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

(Some researchers at UCSB inspired me

to wonder what Smokey would say if he could see

the results of their wildfire study.)

Technorati Tags: Wildfire, Smokey the Bear, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

When Loving Your Job is Like Joining a Cult

The Corporate Personality

by Rachel Hoyt

image by stockimages via freedigitalphotos.net

It's all for one - a single goal:

endear our product to your soul.

We found it was love at first sight.

We know that you'll see we were right.

We sometimes work from dusk to dawn

(if you count camp outs on the lawn).

We love rare beats and ethnic foods

and how emoji boost our moods.

We hate to wear our shoes indoors

(and thus also hate cold tile floors).

We banned memos, don't use voicemail,

and have greeters who wag their tails.

A family, we grow as one -

each bullets in a loaded gun.

Copyright © 2014 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

Some say the "best" way to build a small business

is to act like a cult leader and embrace prejudice.

Technorati Tags: Work, Cliques, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Religion Is About Faith, Not Knowledge

The Be in Believe

by Rachel Hoyt

image by nuchylee via freedigitalphotos.net

There's no need to study -

Just pray and repeat.

The wavelengths are steady,

Listen to the beat.

You'll feel in your bones that

You now know it all,

Once ritual's rat-a-tat

Breaks down your heart's wall.

Copyright © 2014 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

Apparently most of us know much less than we think

about religions other than the one whose wisdom we choose to drink.

Technorati Tags: Religion, Knowledge, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Some Can't Afford to Sleep

Nap for Hope

by Rachel Hoyt

image by BimXD via freedigitalphotos.net

It comes at you while you're awake -

The American Dream.

Inside your lids, the world looks fake,

Just roses and sunbeams.

With just one nudge, it vanishes,

Engulfed by dollar signs.

The time clock's ticking banishes

The dream for which hope pines.

8 hours for work, 8 hours for rest,

8 hours for your free will?

That's just a goal. (It's not a jest.)

Still, one must pay the bills.

Cherish the moments in between,

When you can nap for hope.

A moment in that serene scene

Will boost your will to cope.

Copyright © 2014 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

The lowest paid workers need three to four jobs just to survive.

They can't afford to sleep and live lives busier than a beehive.

Technorati Tags: Work, Sleep, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Water is On the Black Market

Water Rustlers

by Rachel Hoyt

image by vectorolie via freedigitalphotos.net

The city's their range.

The drops are their gold.

The funnel of change

Is their stout stronghold.

They fight to hydrate

Their people, their land.

They know the flood gates

Are in white gloved hands.

Copyright © 2014 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

Water is now such a rare commodity

that the black market wants to bottle a sea.

Technorati Tags: California, Drought, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Lucid Dreamers Think Outside The Box

Think Rebound

by Rachel Hoyt

image by 2nix via freedigitalphotos.net

Lucidity uncorks my mind,

right when I want to unwind,

just as stresses cease to be,

and, for a moment, I float free.

Then my tormentors appear,

as blank faces or ones held dear,

surrounded by strange scenery,

things I feel but can't quite see.

Once awake, I know the gist,

my gears feel oiled, begin to twist,

form answers where light seemed expired,

to all except why I'm still tired.

Copyright © 2014 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

New research on lucid sleep

shows it's truly not as deep

and that it means that that brain can

 solve problems outside its span.

Technorati Tags: Road, Path, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

A Reward Seems Greater if it Comes From Your Choice

Pro-Choice

by Rachel Hoyt

image by Stuart Miles via freedigitalphotos.net

My choice is better than your choice

because the thought was mine;

My choice is truer to my voice,

yours imitates it fine;

My choice is cause to rejoice,

yours (sometimes) tickles my spine.

Copyright © 2014 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

Scientists say we like our choices more

than any plan another might have in store.

Technorati Tags: Choice, Reward, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Poor Diet Can Dull Your Sense of Smell

Sniff Life

by Rachel Hoyt

Wake up and smell the roses,

One of life's loving scents,

A blossom which proposes,

Our senses can be bent.

Go on and squeeze a lemon,

That fruit which smells so clean,

A nutrient filled weapon,

That scrubs systems and scenes.

Get out and walk a garden,

An orchard or a field,

Ask fat to beg your pardon,

Sniff life where health is sealed.

Copyright © 2014 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

This study concluded that eating too much fat

kills your sense of smell. What do you think of that?

Technorati Tags: Health, Smell, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

The Proposal To Split California Into Six Separate States

Hexa-fornians

by Rachel Hoyt

image via sixcalifornias.com

They say that we should cut up

My state, the land of gold - 

They yearn for a pick-me-up,

A rule to be extolled -

They want safe towns and wise schools,

Smooth roads and sunny skies - 

They're flush, funded by moguls,

And fueled by selfish cries -

They want to save a great state

By splitting it in six -

They're half trying a bit late

To create a quick fix.

Copyright © 2014 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

Some are pushing for California to be split into six states,

possibly wishing such a split would make some lands seem even more great.  

Technorati Tags: California, Government, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

What Does Our Flag Mean To You?

The Flag

by Rachel Hoyt

The pattern - how it flies,

With every gust it tries,

To appeal to the skies

To billow its glory.

A symbol - red, white, blue -

That flutters inside you

To unify minds who

Write liberty's story.

Copyright © 2014 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved

Are you familiar with all the flags in US history?

Did you know that wearing the flag is still illegal, technically?

Technorati Tags: Flag, Pride, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

We Loathe "O" and Like "I" Sounds?

Loathe or Like

by Rachel Hoyt

image by Stuart Miles via freedigitalphotos.net

Sometimes I moan,

Bold as green mold,

Play the joke who's broke,

A flake the cold doled,

A groan with no tone - 

Sometimes I fly,

Ride the wind's tide,

From a sip of fine wine,

A nice smooth wide stride,

A sigh for by and by.

Copyright © 2014 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

This study says "I" sounds are easy to like

and "O" sounds probe your ears like a spike.

Technorati Tags: Beauty, Style, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Dr. Oz and Vogue Are Saboutaging Your Hopes and Dreams

Work For Dreams

by Rachel Hoyt

image by Master isolated images via freedigitalphotos.net

Hopes and dreams can lift you up

and help you reach the sky,

or leave you parched, an empty cup,

consumed by pretty lies.

You're beautiful the way you are

when you nourish yourself,

when hopes and dreams aren't kept on stars,

or bottled on your shelf.

They act like you can buy the life

you want through pills and frills,

making earnings a noble strife

and shackling your free will.

The life you're told to wish you had

won't make you the best you -

Hopes and dreams are not a fad

and with work can come true.

Copyright © 2014 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

Dr. Oz was scolded by members of the Senate recently

for planting unattainable hopes in you and me,

but still few care that Vogue's contents cost three years' six figure salary.

Technorati Tags: Beauty, Style, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

We Are Now One Step Closer To Proving We Should Fake It 'Til We Make It

Dressing Up As "Me"

by Rachel Hoyt

image by Ambro via freedigitalphotos.net

At birth I knew no shame or fear,

I roamed naked and free,

But as life added days and years,

Clothes helped me feel like "me".

To church I wore my Mary Janes -

Their black patent leather

Balanced the frills of lace dresses

And kept stray thoughts demure.

In high school I was a Tomboy,

Wearing jeans and flannel -

Few colors were ones I enjoyed

During that dark, square spell.

For a time I wore casual suits

To bolster my power -

Sometimes I paired them with heeled boots

To look more like a tower.

Now I sit typing, hardly dressed,

Free to do as I please,

Wondering which outfit is next,

Which image to appease.

Copyright © 2014 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

A new study shows clothes we wear influence how well we do

at least as much as each of us believes they hold the power to.

Technorati Tags: Clothes, Power, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Being Cynical Can Lead To Dementia

Cynical Jim

by Rachel Hoyt

image by Salvatore Vuono via freedigitalphotos.net

At birth he hated all things square

And cried when points approached,

Once old he forgot that he cared

And many points encroached.

While young he grew to mistrust suits

And uniforms, (They're shackles!)

Once old his one friend was named Boots -

The mail man known to cackle.

In high school he fell in love fast

With prom queen, Jessi May,

Once old he smiled when she walked past,

Forgetting past dismay.

He spent his life trusting no one,

A cynic to the core,

Once old he forgot he'd missed fun

And couldn't define "bore".

Copyright © 2014 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

A new study says that cynics might be hurting their brain -

They're more inclined to develop dementia, a sanity sprain.

Technorati Tags: Beliefs, Thoughts, Poem, Rhyme, Dementia, Poetry

Why Do We Believe What We Believe?

Believe Me

by Rachel Hoyt

image by samuiblue via freedigitalphotos.net

We believe the thoughts that fit

and discard the thoughts that break,

See the world as we see it -

Facts exist just for facts' sake.

Change must come from deep within,

Where we're often short of wealth -

Love yourself and you'll begin

to lay the track to true self-health.

Copyright © 2014 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

Recent research shows how hard it is to change what we believe,

even when all of the "facts" were admittedly spread just to deceive.

Technorati Tags: Beliefs, Thoughts, Poem, Rhyme, Love, Poetry

Do You Believe Time Travel Is Possible?

Is It Time?

by Rachel Hoyt

Is it time for time to bend to our will?

Time that travel offered a new thrill?

Time that we risk a continuum rift?

Time that predictions were a proven gift?

Time that our dreams become reality?

Time that we really see all we could see?

Time that the past is not just the past?

Time that the world be infinitely vast?

Copyright © 2014 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

I believe many think time travel would be fun,

but didn't know it is a real pursuit for some.

Technorati Tags: Time Travel, Time Machine, Poem, Rhyme, Think, Poetry

Can A Sharing Economy Coincide With A Desire For Onlline Privacy?

The Triple Standard

by Rachel Hoyt

image by idea go via freedigitalphotos.net

Don't talk to strangers

or eat their free candy.

The street's full of dangers

that squash fine and dandy.

Know that the government

is always spying,

claims wise discernment,

but could just be lying.

Use your spy tactics

to learn who to trust.

The world's full of antics

and fun that's unjust.

It's the triple standard

hip modern folks hold

to transform substandard

lives into pure gold.

Copyright © 2014 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

This poem was inspired by an article about trying to "opt out"

and one about the share economy that's growing more stout.

Technorati Tags: Spying, Sharing, Poem, Rhyme, Think, Poetry

UPS Saves Millions Per Year By Avoiding Left Turns

Right Wrong Turn

by Rachel Hoyt

If you missed that left turn,

There's no need to stop stern,

Blocking and locking up traffic -

Life will move more slick

If you go straight, then right,

And right at the next two lights...

Assuming you must go that way,

Don't find joy while astray...

For sometimes on the long way we learn,

Good can come from making wrong turns.

Copyright © 2014 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

UPS saves millions by avoiding left turns.

Could this truth extrapolate to life lessons one learns?

Technorati Tags: Turn, Drive, Poem, Rhyme, Think, Poetry