Hey, you—yeah, the one blinking at this 3D Matrix flickering around us. Ever feel like the world’s a first draft, all typos and crossed-out lies? That’s March 2025 for you, and I’m here to spill the ink on it. Read on to decode the political noise, the spiritual hum, and the stories keeping us sane. I’m scribbling this from South Africa, where the plot’s as thick as a veld fire, so join me as we check out the mess.
The Prologue: Shelley’s Ghost Meets Trump’s Swagger
Percy Shelley nailed it: “Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world” (A Defence of Poetry). Bet he’d smirk at 2025. Climate justice is roaring—poets slamming verses about drowning coastlines, novelists churning cli-fi, TikTok kids dropping #ClimateJustice haikus (X search). But here’s the kicker: Donald Trump, back as the 47th President, isn’t just watching. He’s forcing global leaders to level up—think G20 summits where he’s barking, “Fix it or flop,” tariffs on the table (Euronews). Art’s not just noise now; it’s a megaphone in a world Trump’s shaking like a snow globe.
The Plot Twist: Humanity’s Rewrite, Amazon’s Reckoning
This climate justice wave—check NASA’s CO2 spike—it’s not just stats; it’s soul-stuff. Fridays for Future has kids marching from Berlin to Jozi, chasing a planet that doesn’t fry us. Trump’s in the mix, shoving world leaders to match his pace—Africa’s pitching business over handouts, and it’s working (Economist). But here’s where it gets real for us word-slingers: Amazon’s KDP is a battlefield. Royalties are tanking, algo glitches bury indie books, and authors are scrambling—some say it’s a 30% income drop since 2024 (Publishers Weekly). The old story’s crumbling—greed, smog, gatekeepers—and we’re drafting a new one, ink-stained and stubborn.
For me, a South African scribbler, it’s personal. Down here, traditional publishing’s a maze… Too white to fit the post-apartheid narrative? Maybe, like all BEE stuff. I’ve sent manuscripts to local houses, only to hear crickets or “diversity quota’s full.” I did get published by Europe Books but locally I’m dodging that mess and now seriously considered going indie via KDP for future books — except now Amazon’s playing hardball too. It’s like Neo dodging bullets, only the bullets are rejection slips and algorithm tweaks. Ain’t the Age of Technology grand?
The Pen in Hand: Your Turn, Co-Author
All right, reader – your move!
Write a haiku about a world reborn—five-seven-five, no stress. (Mine’s got a local twist: Dust lifts, rains return, Cape winds howl a new refrain, Roots rewrite the sand.)
Or rewrite a “chapter” of your life—burn the old draft (safely, bru) and start over. Like a blank canvas, you get to choose what your new world looks like. Then make it happen! This isn’t just artsy vibes; it’s us hacking the system, one line at a time—whether Trump’s shaking the globe, Amazon’s shaking our wallets or Cyril Ramaphosa is turning South Africa into another Zimbabwe.
We, the people, hold mighty swords. Not just politicians or authors – ALL OF US – never forget that!
Global patriotic well-wishes to you all ♥
Zee