Anthem

Anthem Jul 2019

at night I have dreams of dancing with the dead
their eyes all turning skyward and holes all in their heads
the come and take my hand, lead me out to the floor
but the musicians have all gone home so there's no music any more
so we sway in silence to the beat of borrowed time
they're smiling with all their teeth and I keep losing all of mine
the moon comes through the ceiling and slowly it descends
it get down to the ground but still doesn't seem to end
it falls right on through the floor to back from wherever it came
so I dive down in right beside it hoping that I'll do the same

Anthem Nov 2018

Don't get too comfortable

the waves crash upon the beach
but still the mountain grows
though patience is thin
a sparrow dips and dives above the crowd
singing all the while
it's the clearest sound in the world

the wind picks up
there it is
that old familiar
thick enough to taste
if things were only still
buried coals finally catch
with new light
flame spreads
there is death and destruction in the hills tonight

aren't we all just the same strays
old and worn out and lonely
castaways
what else do they have to lose
lets see what we can get

the world looks very different tonight
the cloven rejoice under torn banners
crow upon a mangled throne
maintain a tangled crown
as if that's all that makes a king

Anthem Nov 2018

The air is red

As the fire of knowledge grows, the more it illuminates all the things we have yet to know. It begins to seem that most preconceived notions are nothing more than petty misconceptions. Perspective is relative but not always relevant. And yes, sometimes it can be stupid and pointless and boring. But that doesn’t make it worthless. If it’s all a game anyways, a game you have to play, why not play to win? Accept that sometimes importance is self-fulfilled. It matters because it exists. It exists because it matters. So stop being afraid to admit when you’re wrong. Learn from it. Move on. Stop trying to be perfect and just try to be good

Anthem Aug 2018

Why aren't you laughing

We meddle and blame the seed for being buried in the ground.
We built bridges! roads! schools! abroad
all the while we allow our own to ground to dust.
We spent billions on bombs
we drop on weddings
on the other side of the world.
All this, while allowing 1/6 of our kids to be "food-insecure"
whatever the **** that means.
Our courts are less justice and more criminal.
Our politicians base success on 're-electability'
not how they've improved our lives.
Our happiness is collateral-gain.
We tread on poverty while rejoicing among the virtues of the rich.
The most basic humanities are reduced to tired pawns
in the minds of millions
and we are the American dream.

Anthem May 2018

Wik

some days i don't feel like waking up. but i can hear you tell me to try a little harder. stop standing in my own way. it'll be better today.

it's been so touch-and-go, i don't even know what it's about anymore. so many words. not nearly as many meanings. pretending like i've ever learned anything.

just a time and a place and a name. a wooden frame and a photograph.

the candles have all burned out but the memory remains.

Anthem May 2018

May

it can't ever be justice for all if you're only making amends with the things you think you love. when it's always up hill both ways. good luck, goodbye, good riddance. and the ground's always so littered with old thoughts and half-hearted prayers. some nights we gather and wonder if things will ever be the same again.

Anthem Mar 2018

cyclical

and it can't be justice for all if you only make amends with the things you think you love. for the rest, it's uphill both ways. good luck, goodbye, and good riddance.
you smug sonofabitch. i'll have you know my father died right along with the rest of them! wide-eyed and wild the day he was born! i think i've earned the right!
you're not righteous, or enlightened. nothing you love is original. you're a cynic, a parasite, a bore. a festering wound that should have long been a scar by now. you're only happy when you're miserable.
it's easy to draw them in, you know. even hold them for awhile.
eventually, the rot sets in. then it's as it ever was.
the flower may wither, my child, but the roots stay strong and deep. we'll be back. as it ever was.