the songs we sing
are nothing but notes;
just knots in our chests,
melodies in our throats,
that ache to be heard
that yearn to unknot themselves
from our vocal chords
from the symphonies
of our thoughts.


Nov 30, 2015 8:34 pm

Fumbling through a wilderness of pain
Lost in a desert of doubt
Desolate in a winter of anxiety
Buried in a coffin of maladies
Alone in a city full of people

Time and time again hearing whispers of doubt
Negative opinions and false truths
That I am nothing
That I will become nothing
Then die with nothing and no one

For out of the dust of the ground I came
And to it, I will return
For all things under the sun are meaningless
And in the end, toil means nothing except death
For this life is a lost cause

Then the winds of the wilderness increase
And the disorient of the desert intensifies
The death and terror of the winter do not relent
This capsule of corpses latches shut, trapping me inside
And the people of the city war against me

My hands tremble with the fears of my heart
My heart aches with the troubles of my soul
And my head pains with the false-knowledge I know
For I am filled with lies upon lies upon lies
And how might I ever know truth in the midst of such treachery?

It is then, in the midst of my hell
When the weight of this life has all but crushed me
And I am about to give up and die
About to accept these lies I've been fed
But then, the Lord speaks to me

I hear the voice of a heavenly nature, and it says;
‘Son, be still, and know that I am God’
Then, like a miracle
My trembling hands and unsteady heart are cured, and I'm stilled
For He has always been God, and has never left my side
And to the day I die, and even beyond, He never will

Like a spear
Running through my veins
Like a million galaxy
Skies passed with rains
I feel distant
Abandoned
Swimming in shame
Running away from laughter
From happiness you drained
From the sun that hides
When you rise dark memories
I wish my days would go back
Before my heart won its battle
Before realizing that by winning
The war was not really over
Come back with your army again
Bash me with misery
Rip my soul in pieces
**** my existence
Bury me deeper and deeper
Let there be no more of me
Then dive again
In your river of flame

It was the base of all
It had rules and guidelines
and ****** it had time out's
and should's and must's

It was the quarter
that molded the center of you
that gave you that armor
that shield
and most importantly
that helmet

Sometimes there was war
and the walls shook from the screams
and other moments, the warmth melted
the hostility within

It held as many members as it could
and sometimes it magically expanded
as the people grew more and more

You left it for long periods of time
you thought you'd enjoy the liberty
from those guidelines and such
and you did

But at the end of the day
you will always know
the road back
like the back of your hand

You will always
find your
way
home

“Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds,
The Beneficent, the Merciful.
Owner of the Day of Judgement,
Thee (alone) we worship;
Thee (alone) we ask for help.
Show us the straight path,
The path of those whom Thou hast favoured.
Not (the path) of those who earn Thine anger
Nor of those who go astray.”

This we said to you, oh Great One, in the Quran
So many years ago.
But Lord your flocks are fleeing from your fields.
We need your Sheepdog to round them up in their confusion.

They do not see you are a God of many names,
“God” being one of them.
Over the ages you have been Zeus, Jupiter, Odin, Mother Earth, Jehovah, God, Allah
And many others.
But always you were The One True One,
Beneficent and Loving.

All men (and women) are equal in your eyes.
All Life to be cherished and preserved.
Thou shalt not ****
Is what you said.

So Allah now’s the time
To correct your children:
Breathe into them
The essence of your thoughts.

Enter their minds as The Holy Ghost,
So many Scrooges there:
Enlighten them
To know what is really Good
And rediscover what it is
To Love.
Amen.

Paul Butters

Should we all stop eating meat?
No, we’ll starve of protein doing that.
But yes, it’s morally right.

What about plants?
We’ll starve: fruits and berries are all right.
Eat meat instead!

Are we doing enough to avoid nuclear war?
Not enough, we are doomed.
Too much: the next level is with nuclear-holocaust-mutations!

And global warming?
Our greatest threat.
A hoax!

What should we do?
Just what is Good?
****** if we do and ****** if we don’t.

Should we be pacifists or should we fight?
Anyone Out There to put us right?
If there are,
Their lips are kept tight.
Even God, with all of His might.
One Man’s Good is another Man’s Evil,
From a great blue whale to a little Boll Weevil.
For now We stay on a lifelong quest,
Seeking out what might be the best.

Paul Butters

Call it “Faith” or call it “Hope”,
Whatever it is, it helps us cope.
Scientist say we live then die:
Death brings Nothing, no reason Why.
We’re made of matter which doesn’t last,
So soon we’ll be a thing of the past.

Religions offer an afterlife,
With just reward for all our strife.
We hope there will be more than this:
A spiritual world, even heavenly bliss.

We pray those boffins are all wrong,
That God (or Whoever) will summon us with his gong.
Physical reality really *****,
Even if you’ve lots of bucks.
Our common prayer I can’t conceal:
That simply put,
THIS isn’t REAL.

Paul Butters