Closing Down

FINAL POST — I'VE MOVED TO SUBSTACK

After 15 years of daily writing on this blog, I'm consolidating everything on Substack.

Why the Move?

Over the past 15 years, I've published thousands of essays, poems, and reflections across multiple platforms. It became scattered, difficult to follow, and nearly impossible to organize into coherent themes.

Substack allows me to:

• Organize by series (trilogies, themed collections)
• Engage directly with readers (comments, discussions)
• Publish books (compile best essays into collections)
• Build sustainable audience (email delivery, subscriptions)

This blog will remain online as an archive — all 15 years of content stays accessible. But no new posts will appear here.

Where to Find Me Now

My new home: https://alexhutchins.substack.com

I'm publishing 2-3 times per week:

• Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays (January-March)
• Alternating T-TH weeks (starting February)

What you'll find:

• Philosophical essays (Wonderings series)
• Cultural commentary (Justice, Confession, Power trilogies)
• Poetry (from my 42,000+ collection)
• Personal reflections (teaching, travel, life observations)

Free to Subscribe

No paywalls. No spam. Just thoughtful writing from someone who's been doing this for 60+ years.

Subscribe here: https://alexhutchins.substack.com

Thank You

To everyone who read, commented, or simply followed along over the past 15 years—thank you.

This platform gave me space to think, write, and share without filters or editorial oversight. It let me publish 42,000 poems, 3,000+ essays, and countless reflections on everything from ancient civilizations to business ethics to the nature of belief itself.

Now I'm taking all of that raw material and shaping it into something more deliberate, more organized, and—I hope—more useful.

See you on Substack.

— Alex Hutchins
The White Scorpion / Wandering Philosopher

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P.S. If you've been following my work for years, you already know I don't do this for money or fame. I write because I can't not write. Substack just gives me better tools to organize the chaos. Come join me.

New Years Day

New Year's Eve

 

Into the Sky I Drift

into the sky I drift,
looking down
on the past—
all I was,
all I only seemed to be,
the borrowed dreams
and stories shared by others,
now softly left behind.

Into the universe I drift,
seeking the cosmos
and all it adores,
trading places with spirits
who lingered here for eons,
or more, if honesty allows.

Seeing, for the first time,
what was imagined
and graciously offered,
from one star to the next
I float in quiet joy—
dreams once distant,
fantasies absorbed and held,
now mine to carry,
my own to claim.

Following Hubble’s footsteps,
or perhaps Webb’s—
who knows? Who cares?
A free traveler am I now,
horizon widening,
leaving lightly behind
what tethered me,
embracing
the endless beyond,
the gentle thrill of drifting,
and the private wonder
of the infinite.

December 30, 2025

Change

we deal with it every day
year and decade,
what we once liked
we do not now or
vica versa as they say...
childish refusal of eggs
the standard meal now,
boxers seemed too baggy
now are wonderful,
alcohol to relax
replaced with rhythms
of a mental kind...
different yet the same,
complex yet simplified
foolish yet full of wisdom
of the ages - a cliche
but applicable in all facets,
we defy understanding
explore the unreasonable,
a mental suitcase in hand
we galivant around
like a strutting show horse,
squared shoulders and proud,
not as we once were...
somehow different this time
growing into what we've become.

December 24, 2025

A Solitude of Sorts

mornings not longer crash in on me
as they did when working,
from rapid fire to slow motion
they have become...
memories no longer remembered
now are lived large
in the fleeting moments
of their existence
passing - all too quickly
into the illusive, not repeated past.
coffee in hand...  always coffee,
a never changing constant,
take me to the porch - nature
an outward sensation
very easily internalized...
calming and quiet
no sounds around...  except
for the ringing in my ears,
an implication of old age and
the never-ending reminder
I'm on the short end of life.

December 24, 2025

Introspection

into ourselves we peer
not knowing what to see
or overlook...
we are curious creatures
outwardly...  but,
inwardly we falter,
hesitate, postpone
and procrastinate.
we mistake demons
for angels,
saints for the sons
of Lucifer, setting
the dinner table for
those who come late
without excuses...
seeking recognition.
inside, we are free
free to explore or hide
free to overlook or
look the other way,
inside we live out the life
of our inner souls that
need refurbishing like
the poorly constructed
kitchen of a politician
whose journey into hell
began on election day.
into ourselves we journey
like Odysseus who escaped
from himself each time
he waged foolish conflicts,
seeing only that which 
he was programmed to see.

December 21, 2025

Aftermath Awakening

wind howls and blows
a devastating curse
through the valley,
akin to nothing before,
havoc raked out
among the homes
like tilling fields...
crazy - its destruction
late night party sweeping
down from the heavens,
descending god like
weaponization, nature
spits out on the ground
among trees and bushes,
below the ground is
frozen soil oblivious
to the onslaught...
a thousand nails
pounded into us like
a closing coffin
prematurely prepared
for its victims that
were late arriving...
a menacing force 
with which we reckoned
in our sleep is the 
most hideous of all.

December 19, 2025

CHRISTMAS DAY

The Holidays

stockings from the mantle hang
trees in corners stand,,
underneath the presents land,
decoration inside hung everywhere
festive is the season...  for some,
for others, this not be true,
no stockings
no tree or presents
no decoration or festivities,
it is just another day
in a neighborhood of closeness
families cling for warmth
around an isolated stove.
an empty pantry signal the
season for most of us,
too proud to ask,
too fearful to ignore
children understand it all
and want not for more
other than the love shared
between them every day.

December 18, 2025

For a Reason

shallow graves
harvested in rows
on either side
of backroads
lead to the clearing
that houses the
buried thoughts
never acknowledged,
never read twice
never considered
as if they were
aborted babies
tossed in the trash
for pickup on 
recycle Thursdays.
shallow graves washed
over by rain and snow,
heat and cold,
cultivated by farmers
for tobacco...
fertilized and fed 
on even days
weeded and pruned
on odd ones...
and not once did the
neighbors complain.

December 17, 2025

Resilience

moments bleed into
minutes
hours
days...
weeks bleed into
months
years
decades...
life begins as it ends,
alone
but with family,
learning
growing
living
as we slowly die,
returning
to what once was
now no more,
grappling with
why
what
where...
no destiny seen
no future experienced
no reason to 
pursue what is not,
and then...
along comes spring
we bask in the
warmth of light.

December 16, 2025

Friendly No Longer Say

separation
mind and soul
distance foreseen
early on - truth
around campfires told
inside spirits dwell,
protagonist
goes awry...
duty calls seldom
gates are fastened
mouths closed,
loyal to the end
is shared at
meal's end...
fitting are we today,
tomorrow and the
next - hopefully
joined by family
when friends think
for themselves,
odd man out
ladies too
no discrimination
here in this shoe,
save the memories
passed along
one by one,
in line standing
available are
no seats here or
anywhere these days
since the cold
swept out warmth
and belonging 
brought the dogs.

December 15, 2025

Before Consciousness

 

eyes of darkness lived

before the dawn,

before time's beginning

before we were who we are.

eyes of darkness observed

life's creation, witnessing

its explosive growth and 

its formation of all

that lies before us.

eyes of darkness peered

into the future, admiring our

subsequent consciousness

as if it were a rare spectacle

of life - a sentient being

capable of regression

and divestiture of thought

when survival was appropriate

and death imminent.

eyes of darkness, possessing

too much insight were

forever banished to the other

side of the consciousness

they had inadvertently created.

December 14, 2025

Transformation

 

the walk is brief between

land and sea,

we begin at noon or there abouts

to set us free,

 into a new world we

do not know or

may never be witness to,

we journey nonetheless...

a land of new beginnings

new desires and hopes,

opportunities will be presented

never seen before...

all we have to do is

find the portal - the connection

between the two,

one step follows the other

one movement forward

precise, clear and clean...

no one ahead - no one follows

it is our alone to achieve

or vanish in the mist trying.

December 13, 2025

Spring's Blue Skies

window shades pulled halfway down
venetian blinds not really Italian,
glass manufactured in France
home built by Mexicans,
multinational views peer out
looking for rain slow to arrive,
cold air flows through the valley
s temporary place to live,
seasons define characters and
clothes make the man or woman,
juniors watch from cribs sucking
sucking on Venezuela bottles,
neighbors record on cell phones
what's not seen behind curtains,
Cuban sugar cane substitute bananas
monkeys swing on bars while
eating upside down - glorious are
the ones who believe in themselves,
inside, we are warmer than before
waiting for a warmer climate
and the blue skies of springtime.

December 12, 2025

Under the Walnut Tree

empty walnut shells hold
all global truth, whether
real or imagined...
seen or unseen...
practiced or not practiced...
as if life hold the keys
to where it was before;
before all the nations
traded honor for power,
decadence for humanity
freedom for imprisonment,
we founded a new world
far enough from the old
to be special and precious,
alas...  it was not... and
life rotten away on
the god's vines,
souring the grapes
until all that we once knew
was contained in the
shell of a walnut,
cast down to us by our
fearless ancestors who
knew not what they had done
nor the doors they opened
nor the minds changed
because interpretation was
left for the masses to decide,
giving up that which gave
them that right the day
before it all went away
and all that was left
buried by squirrels their
favorite walnut tree.

December

Thought Walks

down through the ages 

my rabid thoughts tumble,
rabbit holes all of them
chasing the dream that
never was or will be...
saved experiences lay
at mental foothills 
waiting the harvest,
springtime festivities
lamented and foregone,
like a judicial review
never performed or a
war never fought...
crimes against nature
is what we do - an
accelerated view of the
life we were forced into
like African slaves or
poor folks out of loan.
distilled memories 
surround us as would
sidewalks surround a city
giving its residents the
needed space to grow
into some predictable
and plausibly deniable.

December 11, 2025

Life Just Lost

darkness prevails
light fades away
fears worsen
evil stalks evil
we are absent
those who believe
or once did...
when the crown
was worn and
laws were obeyed,
not broken as
they are today,
allowing goodness
to hide in corners
of the darkness
where shadows hide
and demons guard
the roads in and out
like Roman soldiers
did before the dawn.
crawlers creep
with death clinging
to them, scents from
hell, it is said...
where no one sees
no one hears
no one senses the
life they just lost.

December 10, 2025

The Tenement House

kitchen smells slowly meander
throughout the rooms
feeling their way along,
riding heat currents upwards
towards the other floors,
inside the other rooms
carrying scents of breakfast
to the tenants of the house,
whose day began before
light broke through windows,
exposing their views and
points of interests while
dressing for work or 
their love making, ignored
by daily preparations...
an unwavering desire to be
first at the table...
first for the stove warmth
for the hot food and
pleasant conversations
before the cruelty begins.

December 8, 2025