Poetry Book of 21

     
             
24 lines

Who am I to tell you how to live your life?
When masked with each day
My skin hangs more gently about my bones
My heart beats darkly, deep
But with each breath I seem to seek escape
My soul’s desire to wander freely
And leave this aching frame of who I thought I was
No one you’d want to be

You walk your path
I ran mine, you take your time
My eyes shut tight against the awesome light
I could not hear my feet touch solid ground
The wind rushed by and drowned all sound
I only heard the bitter thump I thought my heart should beat
When fear was all it was
And fear I let move in me, and move me swiftly

Now I ignore the angry whore of youth
The one who cost me all I knew
And sit here mildly sipping tea across from you
While you ask me how to live a happy life when sadness all around
I can not fake the inner wisdom
All I have regrets and wants of better times for you
Do as you feel not as I do and smile gladly amongst the ones you love
Too soon they’ve gone away

 
Echoes

Echoed before
Someone else’s story
About a man
An idea
A moment of glory

Cut down at once
The word’s just too true
Talking his wisdom
‘Bout me
About you

Pulled him down swiftly
And pushed him inside
Deep in a hole
Where?
We could not hide

He comes back to haunt us
Scarce once in a while
But we’re always ready
Sharp knife
And a smile

 
Acceptance

Go somewhere where it just doesn’t matter
You really can’t change who you are
Gather around the good friends that you have
The others
Allow them to scatter

The clouds may not give up the rain
The sun may not shine in the night-time
Sometimes acceptance is all that you need
Sometimes
Raw feelings are more important than pain

Our parents are our parents and our siblings the same
We can’t know them or owe them
Nor change them
Nor die all the time
For the shame

So breathe in and breathe out sincerely
Let the air fully enter your lungs
The life that is circling around in your veins
Love it all, love it real
Love it dearly

 
Ain’t

Ain’t no moment,
Ain’t no time
Like the present

Make your move
Make it shine
Like the present

They cain’t talk
They cain’t rhyme
Like the present

Ain’t no future,
Ain’t they lyin
Like the present
_______________________________________________

We cain’t see,
We ain’t blind
Like the present

Feel you up,
Take your wine
Like the present

Pull up our skirts
Lose our minds
Like the present

Show our stuff,
Ain’t we fine
         Like the present
_______________________________________________

Pick a number
Stand in line
         Like the present

Best wake up,
Out of time
         Like the present

Take a note,
Walk in line
         Like the present

Cost a dollar
Cost a dime
         Like the present

I don’t mind.

 
Alas

That could not have been all that was said
He would not know the map of her head
She just kept on talking
And he kept on balking
The rejection was more than just read
         
Take a stair step back and remember
The fourth or the fifth of September
He had no way to know
Though the boat he would row
Was cardboard and sinkable timber

I could not imagine the choking
The sickening stench of the smoking
The flames were just flying
The bridegroom was dying
Everyone thought she was joking

The quarrels came fast and came often
The padding the blows could not soften
Take a dime for your time
While you’re standing in line
Think twice before picking your coffin

 
Alignment

The reality is
If we died tomorrow
The options are not that many
We either rise up
Take a deep deep breath
Or we align ourselves with the enemy

The truth of it is
If we heard our worst lies
The papers would come and rent it
We could pick up the phone
And dial a wrong number
And still we would own what they printed

Theory of the day
If the sun’s much too low
The darkness might rise and speak
Still we would burn
Still we would yearn
And happiness still we would seek

Wisdom is an ally
If times allow to mate
The void will beckon in the nighttime sky
Our hope will cry out
Our hope will try out
And we will fall victim to fate

 
Almost Pity

The music is blinding
The ears they yearn to see
All is tasteless condensing air
Bless all, bless you and bless me

Run a step or two forward
Bend arms that can’t bend or stalk
All is not in clarity
A song reveals more than talk

Haven’t you seen one?  Addicted, I mean
I feel no glee, almost pity
Walking in naked as the belle of the ball
It’s been wrong all along, it’s not pretty

 
Always Good-bye

Should I be filled with happiness?
Should I be filled with glee?
Should I be happy to find it’s gone?
There’s nothing left for me

Or should I just paddle on anew
A brand new red canoe
A brand new paddle to a distant shore
A different shade of blue

I hear words I know I should not hear
I see stars where they should not be any
I took all that I could from you
But alas, I gave you plenty

I will walk this path in plainest view
I will see the truth, this lie
No matter if we live or die
The end always good-bye

 
An Island

There in the land of none but me
Lies hope and kindness
Charity

Token petals and blades of glass
Timelessly rooted
Made to last

Where once the symbol of my pride
This job less savored
Now has died

Torn from me a pain so dearly
The people holding
Naught clearly

Souls are but numbers set to red
Grey ghosts do make them
Put to bed

High in the heavens tears with rust
A covenant broken
Shards of trust

Top of the list of nothing token
Greedy rewards of shames
Unspoken

Tight in the arms of ones mistaken
Hopeless heart and heart
Not hastened

Heady fool made for profane
Gullible guilty
Less insane

Make up your mind and mind’s made up
Hitting with lightness
Hit with a truck

 
Another Year


Another year has come and gone
Another is coming about the bend
How is that I still go on
When I want it all to end

Do not listen to me I say
You know I tell a lie
If I wanted it all to end today
Don’t you know that I would die?

Instead I take another breath
I wear a smile upon my face
The years don’t seem to matter much
When I know I’m still in the race

Love until the end of me

 
Beautiful Life

A beauty in the fragile
A beauty in the strong
Life doesn’t last forever
Life doesn’t last for long

The rain may come in springtime
The sun may come in June
The fall may be forgiving
The winter comes too soon

We are, but we are different
We are, but not the same
The life may come in circles
The pain may come in vain

Come listen to the laughter
Come listen as we sing
Sometimes we come together
This life, a beautiful thing

 
Bitchedly

Bitchedly
Wretchedly
Walking the stroll
Making a dime
Playing a role

Sucked up
Shook up
Knocking it down
Keeping it real
Thorned like a crown

Picked up
Sicked up
Nothing is less
Roughing is regal
Doped is a guess

Hurtedly
Flirtedly
Arresting is wicked
Inserting the blade
Damn!  Girl is just gifted

 
Caught in the Middle

Caught in the middle, between a rock and a stormy sea

We walked on the deck together
Hands held behind our backs
They told us we were guilty
Our faces, our legs went slack

We were caught in the middle, between a rock and a stormy sea

Downtrodden in the sandy banks
Seaweed up to our eyes
The salt was crystal between us all
But they told us not to cry

We were caught in the middle, between a rock and a stormy sea

They gathered us slaves together
Sinners every single one
They gave us one bullet, one blank, they said
Then told us to load our guns

We were caught in the middle, between a rock and a stormy sea

Wind whipping and lies blasting
The sentence was clearly read
We aimed the guns, one loaded, one empty
Then shot our captors dead

We were caught in the middle, between a rock and a stormy sea

We loaded their bodies onto the ship
Then stowed them below the decks
We couldn’t leave them here where we were
Or surely they’d stretch our necks

Caught in the middle, between a rock and a stormy sea

By the time the storm was over
By the time the anchor was cast
It seemed none of us had survived the voyage
Who knew it would be our last?

None is really caught in the middle, none between a rock and a stormy sea

 
Conspiracy Theories

Stories spread amongst us
Can’t be proven and might be true
I find no comfort in the telling
Conspiracy of two

Mutually exclusive on the whole
Ripe for picking here and there
These stories seem to grow on air
From whom, from what, from where

People heard and never seen
Not present in the here and now
Yet quotes from recent days and nights
Believe them true, but how

The same who speak, authenticate
We fools who drink their words can know
They see and sell us parks of land
They just exist for show

We believe and we say we do
We call and pass along
These words are false and we should know
To pass them on is wrong

 
Corrupted

A corrupted stream of consciousness
Illness rising from the din
Life approaching final chapter
Its purpose true to never win

Talking words are whispered nightly
Prayers aren’t true and are not real
No one else has spoken to you
Name forgotten and no big deal

Traipse this earth in darkest splendor
Crown aglow but eyes are red
Could not find a way without you
All are lies and you are dead

A corrupted scream of consciousness
Lost amongst the silent past
A new horizon shining forward
Though we know the sun won’t last

 
Darkness

Darkness made the night
But the rain will tell the story
Draped across our eyes in gloom
In pain, in fame, and in glory

Marching across our faces in sadness
The sun refuses to shine
The clouds surround and block out the heat
Life, no longer is mine

The mistakes we made in earnest
The righteous path we led
The rivers they rush with our rage and our anger
The wrong, they linger instead

Surrounded by eyes I don’t recognize
Sounds I can not repeat
Why is my time just slipping away?
Why does my heart not beat?

 
Daylight

It’s a treacherous world out there
Felt often the easy target
War plays in the malls all day
Death reigns at the market

Taking the subway of convenience
Rails lead to no showplace
Bombs hidden in overstuffed backpacks
A gun shoved in your face

Take some homage in giving
Just sleep while they are sleeping
When others can easily steal it what you have
It really isn’t worth keeping

Just what gives us importance?
They say that God has told us
The house or the children alone in the manger
Or is it the work that controls us

Take a picture of this as now
Tightly clenched here in my hand
I’m fighting my daylight in all my glory
Giving it the best that I can

 
Disillusioned

We’d prefer a pretty picture
Showing us how lovely life can be
Instead we have the sadness grass
Surrounding a lonely tree

Wanted to be the leaders
Is it a vanguard we’ve become?
Or are we merely waving flags
And miming a simple song

Astounding words from an idiot savant
Ringing true and clear and wise
Never heard nor ever printed
Instead made out a booby prize

We’d like the sand a little less thick
Not so high about our necks
Will we get out or will we die
Fly high? Or simply next

Remember what I’ve said and me
These words fall from my lips
We are no more and are not less
Our lives not gambling chips

Take your jacks and take your ball
Go home and feed your little dear
Create her wise and watch her play
Remember why you came here

 
Dissolution

Amongst the recriminations and allegations
I recognize myself
Too much water and too many bridges
Too much pride to ask for help

How is it now I find the words?
The phrasing true yet subtle
When in the past I silently sat or laughed
Unavoidably masking the trouble

Now we sit here our blades are drawn
Our weapons nowhere to be seen
We’ve hidden them deep in the darkest of places
But they’re sharp as sharp and mean

All of our lawyers dressed expensive
All of the colors black
All of the curses hurled out before us
None of them coming back

Our children sit high in the upper tiers
Shedding tears with every word
Some that they knew some they did not
Some they should never have heard

When I look over I see all I have done
When I look back it’s with shame
I should have known better than play with our home
I should have known home’s not a game.

 
Dust Head

Depressed, dead, or almost
That was what they said
I could not reply or lie or die
I’m locked inside my head

Raindrops echo on the leaves
Collecting on the ground
Like the scattering of friends; my family
No one is around

Medication or designer drugs
None of it prescribed
The drool cascading down my face
It’s not wrong or right

As they lay my body down
Or am I standing up
I can’t tell the wind is blowing
Death can be so rough

My arms now frozen at my sides
They say my heart is beating
Damn, it seems I’m still alive
It isn’t fair, I’m cheating