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hear, hear
through your skull
stuffed with thick tears
clarity
All aboard, we’re goin' down
Next stop, the loony bin!
Familiar faces, hear the sound
Of madness and bitter emotion.
:(:
Cloudy days devoid of light;
Sunrise blends into the dark
Keeping smiles out of sight
And laughter out of lonely hearts.
:):
All aboard, destination love,
But nothing works quite like it should.
Sharing poems, dreams and stuff -
It seemed so easy in Hollywood…
:(:
So all aboard, we’re back on bottom
Runnin' wild with no cause.
Affection, passion; yeah, I got ‘em
But who am I to break the laws?
Written in delusion; punctuation added for effect.
they're living in flowers
up high and across the sea

while we avoid potholes
and bugs just to scrape by
stuck.
many learn lessons that schools cannot teach
where ego meets danger and unknowns beseech
perhaps there is nothing and everyone’s clean
or maybe there’s something that’s going unseen
from teachers who cheat to admins who steal
no dose of prestige can save lives that are real

the crossing guard owns twenty cats with the mange
school cop clipped his brother while out on the range
a history teacher abusing his kids
librarians selling school books to high bids
the crew in the arts are all in on a coup
while the principal staff launders money for *****

hey, i’m just here to sweep up and i call what i see
other folks won’t speak up but a few will agree
i don’t do that no more, i’m out five years last june
they’ll be following suit lest they change their act soon
still no one here dares to expose what’s involved
in keeping the peace held among these halls
couplet for those just trying to get by

for peace in solidarity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojleMU9rZ4k
the disease of despair
gambling
suicide
hate
sadism

symptoms, not causes
of the brown blood
drained from swines'
pockets

gather up your coat
and your hat
for the primetime
event
inspired by Émile Durkheim

for peace in solidarity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojleMU9rZ4k
Another day, another shot
To use your ammunition
Giving everything you’ve got
To friendly premonition

It won’t be Independence Day
For eyes that graze the ground
And every step along the way
Will only feet be found

Look out for the birds
Whenever life’s lows get you down
Cause looking up’s the quickest way
To rectify a frown
Simple; rustic, yeh?
I wrote a poem recently.
Not so much a poem,
more like a story;
a story of love,
kind of like a love story.
Sure,
it was the best love story
we've never read.

There were romances,
struggles,
some revelations
and resurrections...
even a few bruised egos.
Blah,
blah.

Yessir,
a bayside view of
false paradise
if I'd ever seen one;
some dogeared page
ripped out of a
journal written in ink
and found in the gutter.

No beginning or end.
Just a thought.
A memoir
of a fantasy that should've just
been
and never had to explain itself.
note: Do not read.
Waltzing through the chaos that life’s left for today,
Dragging along my battered horn in case she wants to play
‘Scuse me, Ms. Bartender, but I’ve got something to say
Ain’t nobody listening to the radio anyway

I don’t need a soapbox, no suit or microphone
Just a space to spread the truth wherever I may roam
I speak straight from the bottom of a bottle left at home
The night is not much easier when you take it on alone

Hear ye, hear ye, gather round to hear a tale
Of dreaming big, working hard, but destined still to fail

Shredding that loopy little melody,
The craziest cat you ever did see
Make you feel so alive, ladies screaming, “Wow boy!”
I jump and I jive, cuz I’m a bebop cowboy
"Jazz is dead."
~Anonymous
All of you.
Where do you get off
making a name for yourself
out of the mockery
in fallen heroes’ hearts?
What’s in a name;
that which we call
"a genius"
by another label
would be found on the front page
of the obituaries.

And now,
what?
Where do you go from
the top,
looking down on those you
trampled on the way
with some false sense of humility?
How we perceive you now
is like that of a crime lord;
envious,
never aspirational.

Might as well
call it a day
and take note of the
fallacy
that is fame and fortune.
When it pours she finds the rainbow
In the sun she lets the wind flow
Through her sun-kissed auburn hair
Til the scent of perfume fills the open air

When it’s cold she lies real close to me
Til we breathe together in harmony
And get lost inside a dream
Waking up into a love supreme

When I’m late she says, “Don’t drive too fast!”
When dessert comes out we like to make it last
And give each other one more special chance
To make love with just some cheap romance

She’s the killer of all my doubts and woes
Wherever she goes the butterflies follow
If I lose a job she says, “You’ll find another”
She wants a grandkid for my darlin’ mother

When she cries it takes the man outta me
Knowing I’m not being what I know I can be
So we cheer up with a slowdown moonlit dance
And make love outta cheap romance
Country song lyrics; for those who aren't in the club.
Every time they speak
Of injustice in the streets
A silence is born

We watch the cries of widows
And hide beneath our pale skin
a Japanese tanka #BlackLivesMatter #BlueLivesMurder

for peace in solidarity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojleMU9rZ4k
winter's brush
could not blend
the prints left
by your face

at the first
dew of spring
you renewed
dried up roots

with the last
summertime
you were near
as the sun

as I fall
for the ruse
my heart waits
under leaves

in the dark
now I see
that you've gone
til next year
Triple-meter prose, for the elusive
It’s been some years that we have grown
To think of all that made our home
The nights are worst, or so it goes

Our ‘spring would be fifteen and nine
If we had let them both survive
The dogs would live with love divine
We could’ve swam with massive fry

Or sang again while we’re alone
At home or through the telephone
Basked beneath the wild skies
To give a laugh and take surprise

A hundred hearts, one day each year
And two to hold our loved ones near
Who knows what else would be, my dear
Or might’ve been in place of fear

And now I wait for something more
Til death doth part our lives before
The time has come, whence we’ll be sure
It wasn’t worth a life less pure
Dear, oh, dear.
Don Juan loco, hablas del amor, pero no es puro
Don Juan Loco, el fuego de tu mirada revela tu traición

Ayúdame! Estoy muriendo, el sentimiento es abrumador
Cuanto mas te amo, mi sed de tu locura se hace mayor

Dime la verdad y me quedare y luchare por ti
pero dime mas mentiras y no voy a seguir

Don Juan Loco, perdida en tu solitario corazón
se encuentra la esperanza que solo tú debes hallar.
Lyrics to a Spanish flamenco song; translated by Carolina Herrera Villazon.
Here’s another day to breathe
With fewer yet to be
Set the time for better eves
But do not wait for me

Justify the game we made
In wallowing the fear
Pretending limes are lemonade
As weeks turn into years

Through a friendly daze to weave
Conceal the feelings known
But promise not to wait for me
Until I’ve fully grown

Yes, you can keep your eyes at sea
As countless tales may go
But darling, do not wait for me
For I may never show
sorry to keep you waiting.

Folk Song lyrics for guitar & voice
the hate
comes from every angle
but mostly from the heart
in spite of glaring
desperation
that leaves the
lawn uncut;
as if littered driveways
and starving dogs
justify another term
of stolen wealth
After watching the recent debates.
boom.


that's it.
that's the poem.
Art is antiwar, no exceptions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ravSoceWgu4
These bright minds,
reaching further
and further
into space

As if there aren’t enough
problems
down below

Maybe they’re simply trying
to get away,
just like the rest of us
Dedicated to a close friend at NASA
everyone says
strong bootstraps
beget rewards
while leagues
of craftsmen
struggle

everyone follows
another trend
overboard while
Davy Joneses
hold their
breath

everyone feels
their sin
beside beggars
with hands
made of
*******

everyone thinks
job creators’
heroic strength
will someday
trickle down
decency

but

everyone knows
when something
is heavy
you lift
from the
bottom
modified cinquain using word limits

for peace in solidarity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojleMU9rZ4k
There’s you,
coming up to breathe
for but a few heartbeats
before returning to the
deep, where there’s none
other than those who
belong.

Oh, what a marvelous space,
inverted space to be exact,
to live and float while
still retaining our right to
drift, kick and scream
to noone else but us.

At several leagues I
heard a sound that gave
my neck a chill, but not
the kind that makes one small,
instead the kind that feeds
gigantism in the icy north’s
hadal spheres.

From there, the rest seem lightyears off,
and closely similar in kind and way,
but as you rise at speeds that would
give a man the bends, those waves
will wash away the frightened guppy
until only the brave and strong remain.

It’s a long way down for sure, to
those who couldn’t sense or feel
that rush of bubbling need for fresh
and clean sky in the lungs,
so now theirs hold about a
half dozen wet litres each,
the poor fools.

But what a sight it was to see,
to watch the whitecap gleam
above a newly capsized crew,
and presently neath the sun and
moon and stars at same time;
to hear the truest form of life
that came from both high and low;
now that was worth a second look,
or a third.

And there was I,
wading with my
smallest green lure
and bishaded buoy,
and nothing else was.
Neptunian musings.
Most of it happens
under the hex of
the small hours
between these brittle walls
in the chaotic silence of
daybreak
while the neighbors rush off
to work

Not a sound
but the hum of
a ceiling fan
toiling the extent of
my thoughts
til it's actually time to
“wake up"

The gentle crunch of
Kitty's breakfast
rings with such soothing
abrasiveness
even the crickets can't compare
Nothing can match that
care-free lifestyle I so long for

Long for...
How long exactly?
Three hours past dawn ought to
do it
unless dreary rays of light
burn through my eyelids
and rekindle the cyclical
carnival
that cons the day's authority
over sleep
wee hours
Slap my hand
Bad! Bad boy!
Too much demand
Too many toys

Toss my heart
Back and forth
Play the part
What it’s worth

Don’t be mad
Are we jealous?
What we had
Doesn’t tell us

The bad ideas
Make us scared
The hate reveals
How we fared

I should’ve known
Should have seen
Karma has grown
From being mean

Protection has cost
Rejection has wisdom
All that’s lost
Perpetuates with them

Now she’s gone
So am I
I’m not fond
Of wrong goodbyes

Please help me stand
Please bring me joy
I’m just a man
I’m still a boy
I like to limit myself in writing as an exercise in restraint - this one is a three-word syntax until the end, where one more word is allowed.
here we meet yet again
caught between the truth and lies
almost can’t remember when
the last time silence felt so nice
the middle
Guided by the hidden monsters
Blinded, my forbidden love taunts her

Eyes are widening in the daylight
Death-defying what they say's not right

I don't know what you have planned for the day
But give me just one more kiss, if I may

Few can move me through this huge crowd
Woo me to be loosely brooding doubt

Through me, you see what it's all about
Who's this new me making you so proud?

Hold on to all you can reach for today
Better to love than lose what we have worked for, I'd say

Who do you think I am talking about?
You behoove me just to sing out loud
Lyrics for guitar and voice.
For those who make us grow in life.
is where it doesn’t
feel intrusive
day or night

Someone loved will
come along to
lock the doors
and close the light

That simple laugh
from out the porch
will set me down
to listen right

And on arrival
you’ll be there
to touch my lips
with pearly whites
Honey, I'm home.
I am the ram
and you are the moon,
or at least that’s what
we’re told.

My footing stays precise,
to help leap across large gaps
or swiftly tackle obstacles,
avoid a potential mudslide
or traverse rocky waters.

But now the tide is shifting,
as your relentless core
pulls my heart above the earth
where I can see a haze of
lush mountaintops, free from the
uncertainty of life on the rocks.

I’ve seen this magic before,
but this time it looks
too real.
To my moonlit muse; for a Cancer.
I’d give you my love,
but my love just wouldn’t do, dear.
If only you could use my love.

Then I’d give you a hug
and a kiss so soft that you wouldn’t fear
what you’re dreaming of, my love.

Oh, why then, love,
why do you cry then, love?
Why don’t you try
some of what I’ve
been thinking of?

Darling, I’ve seen what’s above
and it’s you, but you can’t see the truth.
Let me lift you up, my love.
Lyrics for an AABA swing jazz song.
Piano melody singalong @ youtube.com/watch?v=Gv8miGvg8Gs

Check out Jim Martin's JazzArrangingClass.com for free, "open source" jazz writing tips!
heat
fog
pity
dread

those masks
don’t hide
your sin
very well

with every inch
of our blood
we crave for
the soft life

the street is bloated
with pus of greed
while fresh wounds seek
the hand of virtue

for the tired, in reparation
for the made, in rumination
for the hurting, in salubrity
for the fallen, in solidarity
written in additive form progression: 1 word, 2 words, 3 words, etc.

for peace in solidarity
my name's mort
the third
and i sell the
bombs

after hours
me 'n' the boys
grab a bite of
carpaccio

the world is ours
but never yours
without the Wheel it
stops

ring around
guys 'n' gals
we'll give you the
deal

take all you want
sure, you can
pay us back next
year
https://www.rtx.com/news/2020/11/30/raytheon-technologies-honors-giving-tuesday

#BDS
#EndTheWars
#FreePalestine
show me
how to be

what I need
who I am
why I care

when's the new?
where am I?
you look very nice in that box.
Love is a rare and dangerous creature
That only shows face when the time is right now
Lust is a complimentary feature
Which keeps lovers guessing til both settle down

Not to say everyone settles for less
Love doesn't lie, but it leaves room for choice
Those who are willing to give it their best
Keep Lust in its place and let Love be the voice

Love is adaptable, constantly changing
It morphs and it breathes like a woman or man
Lust is impassible, always deranging
It puts up a wall and masks what it can

Nobody knows what happens to Love
When distance requires the mind to have faith
And stare at the images Lust conjures up
Alluding ideas of mistrust and distaste

Isn't it better to let Love be free?
To keep it confined would just let it die
Allowing the chains for which Lust has the key
To govern the feelings of comfort and pride

Be free, my love, to run through the brush
But always remember where you were at peace
And hurry on back when you've had enough
For I may not be here when your venture has ceased
The duality, everchanging
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls
witness every shape and size
and as the whole world spins and swirls
not all but one may realize

Life brings trouble, worry and woe
but drowsy spirits pave the way
for pacing thoughts rode to and fro
until the breaking light of day
The circus.
I’m a man on wheels.
Don’t got much to ride for
and I know how lonely feels.
Few women I would die for,
none in ribbons or high heels.
There’s a place back home
I call my own,
but the emptiness it yields
makes me remember why I’m a man on wheels.
The days of constant travel.
“Here’s the contract,

sign the line
with your codes
don’t forget the
shared collateral

Keep it clean

there’s a spot
between the Eyes
where the feeds
can’t see

Make it petty

grab the dirt
and his wallet
we’ll call it
‘botched robbery’

He was ****

tried to show
what we said
at the 'Yard
last summer”

… I forgot the wallet.
for The Convo Couch
#FreeAssange
Leaving behind all the memories for the moonlight,
there is no more time for a dance under the stars.
It's hard enough to see, even when you're near me.
So I won't move, what else can I lose?

Just standing in the night, waiting for the daylight
when you will shine, and show me where your eyes are.
But do not look for me, for I have been sent to leave
and without you, it seems
that nothing else can be.

The way that you miss me cries into the skies
over the tide and out to sea
where no one sees
where you've left me.
Prose lyrics for jazz trio & voice.
i couldn’t find you.

i looked everywhere,
including the spot
you said to look.

a lifetime ago i might’ve
found you there
but not here,
not now.
will you be?
two times the charm
a gallon of tears
bedtime rituals
and the most out of life

still
the glass is half
empty

a ring made of your mind
tickets to dreams
freedom from blame
and three handfuls of safety

now
it's but half
full
square one
O fast day that trembles at the sight of Moon -
when will your warm arms bend again
the night's thick armor
that shades the world of joyous muse?
 
It is most facetious in its illusion,
that renegade of pale indifference,
when daylight dwindles and leaves more to imagine
than can be seen with naked eye.
 
Beneath the gaze of Her taunting face,
people do not walk as done in light -
suddenly, trudging and stumbling are hip style.
Faces covered in guilt, remorse, fatigue -
all the things Sun can wash away with a simple,
lucid grin.
 
If brightest bright were set ablaze amidst the night,
would people be plucked from this false sanctuary
which darkness so convincingly provides?
Then many a Lost could be freed;
if only to see clearly through effervescent
haze.
 
O blessed Sun!
With your arousal, Truth and Freedom will also renew -
until again that blank stare casts its malevolent glow on
Delusion.
prose from a street-lit bench.
No matter how much strength of yours is kept
It always comes back down to whom you know
For every time you think you are adept
The caws of meritocracy doth crow

Americans have dreamt in dreams of gold
High hopes upheld with promises of clout
By working hard there’s fortune to behold
Lest lack of means cause gatekeepers to doubt

Yes, push that rubble up the sacred hill
To watch it fall and tumble to the depths
For all eternity it is your will
To pay with sweat and blood for all your debts

Perhaps if only there were something more
To lifting destitution from the floor
a sonnet for the oppressed

for peace in solidarity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojleMU9rZ4k
Once I loved a pretty girl
But she don’t live round here no more
Ventured out into the world
To keep her pride and settle scores

I remember brighter days
Full of song and open seas
Then mid-September’s chill gave way
We can’t refuse our destiny

Seasons changed – feelings, too
Suddenly she’s out of touch
Portraits of our dream won’t do
Now as I paint, I lick the brush

After hours at the bar
Chewing fat and catching eyes
Often wonder where you are
Or if that’s you dressed in disguise

Once I loved another girl
But not the same one as before
Like a clam without a pearl
She was a shell without a core

I tried to help; I gave her love
Favors, ***, and cash to burn
Everything I could think of!
And asked for nothing in return

Then I fell into a hole –
Funny how these things turn out –
In need of but a gentle soul
To lift me up above the clouds

But when I asked for her to care
To show the warmth of open arms
She offered nothing but a stare
And only time could break her guard

Once I healed a broken heart
Brought about by foolish charm
Gave it my all right from the start
Unraveled like a ball of yarn

Days went by and turned to months
Drawing close to my twine’s end
So I sought out familiar fronts
To seek the love of kin & friends

My heart grew warm and full of joy
I leaped with faith and did good deeds
My shaded past would not destroy
The man that only I could be

The months grew closer to next year
As one by one I placed the stones
That built the path to facing fear
And taking on the world alone

Once I triumphed over evil
Choked the devil til he died
Oh, he’ll be back, there’s no doubt he will
But never more shall steal my pride

Once I learned that Love is Evil
Now she’s back to claim her prize
But I won’t let my heart be refilled
Without the whole piece of the pie
Once
still not enough
two cold cups of coffee later,
once the morning show has ended
and Boss quits yelling through walls.

jingle bells leap through the door,
an alert to be alert.
yeah times are tough,
but we're tougher.

keep on smiling,
another threat will leave
and you’ll still have a job
and you’ll still have a bed.
so they’re not satisfied
with the color palette,
big deal.

escape route would be nice,
but then it’d be You vs World
and there’s just too many of Them.

well,
at least soon there will be
one more of Us.
for M.S-P.
--
the ones that teach you,
who lift you up over
their heads
in good faith,
these are their stories.
why you did it
still escapes me
but nothing else matters
now

all that savings
for better lives,
vows and memories
don’t make it any
easier

some kind of relief
or reassurance
would be great,
but i know there’s
nothing you could say
or do to fully
convince me

i hope It has
my nose or eyes,
but surely It has
your voice

… guess we’ll see
for T.W. & L.W.
--
the ones that teach you,
who lift you up over
their heads
in good faith,
these are their stories.
can't sleep,
early to rise
and search the
classifieds.

one more movie
should do the trick.
or maybe finish
that next game level?

i'll shower after
i get back from
the station,
long walk since
the tire popped.

first things first,
smoke break.
meet us around back
in buddy's tinted van,
you know
where nobody goes.

8 or 9 months is
plenty of time
to shape up.
gotta get it all in
before there's no more room
for my needs.
for A.J.
--
the ones that teach you,
who lift you up over
their heads
in good faith,
these are their stories.
hello,
how can i help you?
...
sure i can do that,
do you have an account with us?
...
i'm not sure Sir,
did she leave a hint?
...
well, i would but
i'm not your wife.
...
it means i have no way of knowing
what her favorite book is,
can we try another form of info?
...
that's not listed here either Sir,
aren't you a grown adult
or do you get a kick out of
lewd prank calls?
...
you won't have to,
i don't need this stress.
for B.J.P.
--
the ones that teach you,
who lift you up over
their heads
in good faith,
these are their stories.
live hard,
care free on
the open lanes
just to get a
break
from it all.

besides,
how am i supposed to
have any fun
cooped up
like a house cat?

this place is different,
just enough light and
not too sticky but
the hops taste like
stale lollipops.

"call for a good time"
thanks, way ahead of ya.
two-dollar condoms?
what a way to make
an extra buck.

i'm back, sorry
wasn't expecting
to stay so long.
i'm parked out front,
what's your favorite
breakfast food?

Mom warned me not to
trust these dogs,
should've used
my last eight quarters.
for L.J.W.
--
the ones that teach you,
who lift you up over
their heads
in good faith,
these are their stories.
buzz, ****
doit, mute
hustle first
then bustle
screamin' chops
tired lips
crimson ties
broken blues
closed circles
open arms

wag the dog
book the gig
call the cab
hit the beat
play the set
chew the fat
sell the axe
make the rent
let the next
be the last
for D.P. & M.M.
--
the ones that teach you,
who lift you up over
their heads
in good faith,
these are their stories.
eyes on my skin
hands on my hair

eyes on my words
hands on my thoughts

eyes on my home
hands on my rights

eyes on my fun
hands on my slog

eyes on my past
hands on my fate

eyes on my womb
hands on my kin
for T.M.C.
--
the ones that teach you,
who lift you up over
their heads
in good faith,
these are their stories.
doors are paved
buckets are heavy
fingers are glazed
pockets are ******

give and take
wife and man
pride and joy
hope and plan

air is toxic
back is failing
sleep is painful
bed is creaking

start or stop?
lows or highs?
smith or serf?
debt or worth?

car not starting
strap not locking
meds not working
wheels not stopping
for J.C.P.
--
the ones that teach you,
who lift you up over
their heads
in good faith,
these are their stories.
I’ll bake your bread
but never eat

I’ll curb your taste
with extra cheese

I’ll sell your wares
through cheeky grin

I’ll charm your trade
while breaking down

I’ll take your calls
neath frowning cheer

I’ll print your life
without the clout

I’ll scrub your floors
and your *****

I’ll give you time
at mine’s expense
for M.S-C. & M.S-P.
--
the ones that teach you,
who lift you up over
their heads
in good faith,
these are their stories.
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