when perfectly clear
I've no reason to think
a mindlessness that I fear
stagnation does stink

I've no reason to think
give me my abstract
stagnation does stink
give me my mind back

give me my abstract
it serves me quite well
give me my mind back
set me free from this hell

it serves me quite well
to answer questions I find
set me free from this hell
and open my mind

the ability to think
this mindlessness that I fear
can be too often the case
when things are perfectly clear

I want my own answers
that way they'll be mine
so don't worry yourself
I'll be perfectly fine

Sitting
waiting
music playing

the peace within is extraordinary

alone in a crowded waiting room
isolated as I enter my own little private world

people are in too much of a rush today
way too much
slowing down brings so much joy
lets my mind wander

I sit
relax
and travel
to places that have to be recorded in some way

but how do I paint all that I see
I haven't the words to describe
the places that have been shrouded
by a veil created through
today's rat race

there has always been a mist
blocking me from seeing reality
or was I just hoping that reality
was something else altogether

if I'm not given the words
how can I share these wonders
my inner most self has been attacked
by my own lack of belief in myself

my peace has become threatened
I feel the crowd
it seems as they are closing in around me

they demand that which I cannot deliver

how is it that I must continue to sit and wait
even the music has abandoned me

why must I be required to return
from my own little private world

The time is mine
to do with as I please
a time to relax
a time to dream
to drink in life
taking off the top
a heavy cream
smooth as silk
whipped and sweet
enhancing the flavor
of each moment
crowning my dessert
there are many more courses
appetizers and entrees
I find sustenance in the bowl
and the beverage
I will continue to drink from the cup
while I still have breath
for the meal is not yet over
the time is mine

The pain brought rain
the eyes watered while burning
it seldom subsided
and was always returning

It became so hard to read
and equally hard to write
when the hell would it end
it was not a good night

My thought was why me
why must I live in this state
but then I met another
who suffered from a worse fate

He sat in his chair
no legs crippled arms
but the words that he spoke
were filled with great charms

I became ashamed of myself
as all I'd done was cry
this man had conquered hopelessness
while I didn't even try

I'm worried, oh dear
now what will I do
my neighbor lost his house
next week it might be mine too

But I've paid all my bills
while he never paid his
but they could still come
my mind's all a friz

They could take it for taxes
but I know I paid those
yet here I sit and still worry
did my house properly close

Could it be that the realtor
had no right to sell
does it make my house stolen
am I going to hell

Why does this happen
I know I've done this before
worrying myself sick
of problems not at my door

I've got my own problems
and now they're ten fold
as I needlessly worry
over things I have no control

Ne'er-do-well, why do you sit?
Do your feet not hold your weight,
are your hands incapable of work?
Have you given up entirely,
resigned yourself to a life in the gutter?
There is a warm belly in a days toil
and self worth when it is of your own making.

What I would
I have not done
my life cheated
by my cowardice

Afraid to step out on a limb
afraid to follow my dream
unwilling to step outside
that safety net
of being responsible

Dreams are only achieved
by the passionate

Home for Christmas
I don't remember the last time
he's been away so long
sure he's been home for visits
they've been great
but seldom around the holidays
he's so much more of a man
than 22 years ago
seems we have to get to know each other
I can't imagine a better gift
than to have my son home

They spewed words
meant to offend

Their beliefs were not mine

They tried to change me
to make me see through their eyes

They were insecure in their beliefs
and what they needed from me

Was my approval, a justification

The reaction they sought
never materialized

Their anger grew
into a childish tantrum

To be secure means
never having to argue
your beliefs

Birds bring me news of an approaching storm
thunder has announced its arrival
the refreshing droplets of liquid life grace the land
an orchestra begins a symphony of life
raindrops upon the roof offer comfort
the sound I hear as nature delivers its song
is like the plucking of the strings of a sanshin
the traditional music of Okinawa now remembered
I am taken back to the time I spent in Naha
I was young then
I had no appreciation for the cherry blossoms
their beauty meant little to me
I had no real understanding of life
nor of the importance of peace of mind
body
and spirit
now older
my heart is ready to accept the natural order of life
I revel in all that it has to offer
if it is true that we came from dirt
and unto dirt we shall return
then it is not news that I and the Earth are one
it is that we are no longer estranged

How can none
be less than one
when there's an extra n
added to it

It seems to me
that four letters are greater than three
when you add one
don't you always have more

And while speaking of more
three has more letters than four
right now
I think I'm confused

I guess I ask about none
just for a little bit of fun
and this rhyming
the vehicle I've used

Nonsense they say
that I never make sense
and then write a book
in their crude elegance
it's for a work they dislike
and just don't understand
seems to read twixt the lines
they simply have no command
they need things spelled out
made as clear as a bell
if I don't get it right quickly
they'll be raising more hell

War
cities destroyed
roads covered in blood
trails of  the dead
soldiers
civilians
children
no-one remains untouched
nightmares haunt those who survive
the last man standing
wins nothing

You just may find this quite curious
that my writing is often real serious
well I guess it's to tell
a few stories of hell
of some people I find so mysterious

Congress acts so stupidly
with a lack of common sense
no longer working for the people
money grabbing for two more pence

Once they've been elected
treat voters as who cares
let them eat cake is what they speak
after all, they've been given theirs

What we know as a limerick were truly his swan
And over the poet we often did fawn
They were wrote in a flash
By the great Ogden Nash
But it seemed when he died they were gone

Old age
a state of mind
when to that which is new
a man becomes blind
a body may age
but one thing I find
if you're still young at heart
your life's really shined

There will never be peace
till that last soldier dies
the youth who are fighting
swallow government lies

Wars never one sided
the fault lies with both
then brainwashed children
take that ultimate oath

They're to fight to the death
practice an eye for an eye
**** women and children
without knowing the why

Told it's about faith
and on this they should stand
when the truth of the matter
it's really about land

As long as the land
remains the spoils of war
there won't be any peace
politicians keep score

Time now to play war
leaders beating their drums
it's more power they seek
without care how it comes

Sending kids to their death
whether land, sea or sky
it's sad we'll only know peace
once that last soldier dies

Feeling trapped
yet I must muddle through
the day dragging on
never sure what to do
but I make it each day
and I think I know why
at the end of each day
I just wave good-bye

He went away to save the world
at least that is what he thought
his government claimed that it was needed
a great lie that he had bought

But he went and served
then injured came home
where his government bailed
leaving him on his own

His body was broken
his mind had failed
no longer protecting him
he and his madness were jailed

Could no longer find work
losing his family and home
living now on the streets
he'd sit sadly alone

The days would pass by
one after another
till the day that he died
one more lost veteran brother

To wear a mask
an avatar
we're insecure
and it's quite bizarre
that we lie to folks
both near and far
in hopes they'll see
our rising star
while scared of that question
of who we are

Out on a limb
no, not I
why share
my silent opinions
my inner beliefs
are never questioned
never fought over
to argue
only brings stress
stress brings illness
first to the spirit
then the body
peace
tranquility
they can be found
in the quiet places
of your mind
and heart

Why do men need
justification from others
to be secure in their beliefs

Why do they seek
the acceptance of another
before accepting themselves

Why do men
require the approval of others
to be who they are

Out on a limb
I have no need to be
people fall from there

We often disdain
that which gives us our gain
we just won't entertain
yes we'd rather abstain
holding fast in our brain
this lousy dark stain
while we're dragged by a train
on a chain we call pain

if this to you is arcane
and you think it inane
you might go talk to Sir Gawain
maybe he will explain
it won't be mundane
but will likely drive you insane
you see it's a whole new terrain
and even odder domain
but it's time to restrain
and no longer complain
about pain

There's a problem that painters
and poets both have
living life full of feelings
requiring they have a strong salve

for their critics abound
claiming that they know all
providing discouragement
and causing a spirit to fall

these painters and poets
they bring us their art
there's no one way to see it
though an open mind is a start

we must learn to observe
finding what's there for us
instead of going off half cocked
and causing a fuss

a critique is opinion
we're all entitled to one
but to critique to be mean
ruins everyone's fun

Life in itself
can imitate paradise
when one has love in his heart for all
and lives respectful with everyone

Being satisfied with the little things
he will find joy in his heart
and beauty in all that he sees
there is no man more fortunate

they come for our boys with their lies
their treatment as toys I despise
then with their last breath
our young men enter death
no more than pawns in the war mongers eyes

One eye blind
self pity grows
with each day

One eye remains
true beauty seen
for the first time

Petrichor
I know you well
it has been far too long
since your last visit
we have suffered greatly in your absence
but have survived
our crops will now flourish
your visit needed more than one could tell
your aroma is wonderful
now that the drought is passed
and the rain has come

The weak fall
their spirits quenched
words as swords impale their hearts
they roast over smoldering coals
left behind by the unkind

Devoured by their discouragement
they are chewed up and spit out
by a world that simply
just doesn't care

My search for Philadelphia
has found it's populous
has moved away
the city of brotherly love
has fallen

I've been told there is a canon
a set of rules you say
but in this year of 2015
so many have gone away

Forget about the meter
to hell with punctuation
for in this land of poetry
there is a brand new nation

There are those who don't want this to change
and for purity they do strive
please go on stick to canon
and keep your craft alive

But no two people are the same
we all have different tastes
and when a reader hates all one writes
it's his own time he wastes

Not everyone is out there
looking for that classic write
you see today it's like the outback
there are no rules, just right

Political correctness
is not for the masses
it's just always political
being used by the *****
to garner your vote
and get them elected
then they cast you aside
so sorry, rejected

I wished to be free
Within me a war was raging
My feeling was that I had no control
over who I was
I was powerless to break free
from the chain my past had become
Had I been living a lie
for too long of a time
Was I even the same person
as when I was young
I never really did like
the direction and activities
of those who I had called my friends
Why was being like them
the direction I had chosen
for the way I wanted to see myself
Why was their acceptance
so ****** important
I have enslaved myself
to an image
Why had I not given the truth a chance
to set me free

Judgment enslaves
living for that approval of others
denying our individuality
we put our self on the shelf
going out of our way
to escape their frown

we live in stress rather than comfort
the means to the end of their desires
becomes burdensome

why trample over my own desires
am I not worthy
of a life of joy
to be happy
should not my filling come first

how can I lift the spirit of another
when my own spirit
has become buried
beneath the judgment I am a slave to

please be not presumptuous to judge
not all are intended to walk your path
we must all find our own way

we must look again
at the words PRO and CON
neither is is perfect
nor either all wrong

but if we as a people
wish to grow and move on
PRO is more needed
there's no movement in CON

when being PROgressive
we can attain great new heights
but if too CONservative
we'll find the pathway there bites

so PRO or Con
where do we stand
are we for or against
the many issues at hand

if we want move forward
and make real PROgress
we should never depend
on that group we call CONgress

War kills
not just bodies
but souls
while in its wake
leaving hearts emptied
with holes

The spirit of men
ruined by trauma
it's clear
they look to tomorrow
and tremble
from fear

For what it will bring
these men
never know
often like Jekyll
and Hyde
which one will now show

War
is pure hell
for all that it touches
and there's no hiding it
with a million
airbrushes

His mind was closed,
he would not see.
The hours we spent arguing.
they never made a difference.
Finally I walked away.
I went to have a heart to heart with myself.
It was then that I found
that I was he
and he was me.

The four had arrived in the same car
I watched as they entered the waiting area together
they were obviously family
they all took seats
but none together
scattered throughout the room
as if they were actually strangers
my interest was captured
ok, curiosity or even nosiness
call it what you will
discretely I watched
no-one spoke a word
no-one shared a glance
until one was called to enter the other room
another stood along with the one called
they entered through the door
still, no words
only the one glance and beckon
moments later they returned
without a word,
the two who were left in the waiting area stood
the four then left together
I am still not sure
as to whether they a were picture of disconnect
or totally connected

Remembering war
visiting the past
why
all that comes is heartache
the loss of the lives
on both sides
the cost of war
ever at the door
leaving behind
broken families
wives without husbands
children without fathers
for what
political differences
religion
the cost is too high
the freedom of a people
should not be impinged upon
Edwin Star
“war, good God
what is it good for
absolutely nuthin'”
a simple lesson
that we have not yet learned
remembering war
has not made it vanish
war still goes on
our young men continue to die
I hate these wars
I love these young men
they will live again in our hearts
it is they who deserve to be remembered.

Tearing down nations
there's more than one way
from the outside or in
it's the game that they play

There are times they use rockets
that **** folks where they land
other times it's the rhetoric
that bury their own under sand

Whether rockets or rhetoric
in this game politic
it's the innocent who suffer
our leaders are thick as a brick

Salt trails upon cheeks
speak of sorrow
and also joy

joy and sorrow
they are yin and yang
the two sides of the emotional coin

so odd
two totally opposite emotions
yet they release in the same manner

my salt tested twice in three days
that which was lost to us
returned

how is it a pet can mean so much

words so in-edible
you just can't keep them down
they move your insides
you regurgitate
you've had your fill
but the children must play

their game
proving they are better than you
their onslaught of disrespect continues

they don't know when to stop

they have no idea what they cause

in truth, they don't even care

they don't seem to realize
they are responsible
for the pain they bring
the spirits they crush
and the hearts they break

their way is the only way
the game must be won
even if the cost
includes their humanity

the frozen places
are always the loneliest

Adrift for days
which had turned into weeks
The current had vanished
and the winds
they had been taken from his sails
It was as if he was being held prisoner by the sea

Baked by a mercilous sun during the day
and feeling frozen at night
his hope had joined the currents and the wind
Another day of the same would only bring more pain

Yet the days continued to come
Each one bringing more of the tortuous rays of the sun

His eyes had been dried
unable to produce the badly needed tears
to relieve them

His skin damaged
The sea water which had helped to cool him
no longer brought relief
instead the salt produced prolonged burning

The eagerness of those first days to survive was gone
In his heart he knew that only death would bring an end
to the suffering

Was it ever true
was it ever alright
there was more than a twig snapped
to give birth to this fight

two lives now uprooted
the end too soon was found
love hadn't been rooted
firm and deep in the ground

the anger had grown
they were both far too proud
neither could back away
their voices now loud

the violence was verbal
this had not come to blows
but the hurt went much deeper
as insults found some new lows

had love ever existed
or had lust been their bond
and with the newness worn off
they'd both found they'd been conned

those three words “I love you”
they lied through their teeth
all they had done was to hide
lust that had lain deep beneath

I looked upon the spot where that old tree stood
So many memories of days spent in her shadow return to me
The relief from the cruel sun of summer
The moments of relaxation lying in her shade
The changes as the seasons came and then passed
Green leaves gave way to the colors
The colors disappeared leaving the beauty of the branches behind
Snow and ice took their turns visiting
How the ice would shine
It was as if my tree was covered with diamonds
Then the thaw
The budding
The new leaves
And the shade would once again return
We had many a picnic under that tree
There came a year where the bud did not return
then a second year
But now she's gone
She is no more
Now I am warmed by her
As I rest watching the glow in the fireplace
And the shadow she casts
Contains fond memories

Sheep
they follow
never seeing the world
for themselves
they all become alike
they have no individual traits

told where they can go
they are limited as to what world
has to offer
hounded by the dogs
who move them toward a pen
they say for there own protection
yet it is for the shepherd
truly an issue of control

the wolves will always be there
the pen is no protection

those who have not learned
to stand on their own will fall

those who become as the big horn
will experience life

To sit in total silence
my world becomes filled with peace
it's as if no others exist at all

I am alone in that emptiness of sound
where no one and nothing can touch me

I become for a short while
he who molds the entire universe
into a single harmonic entity

There is no hate

There are no wars

No sickness nor hunger

One may believe
this to be running away  
from reality

But in truth
it is more a journey within
which returns my sanity

In the morning silence
sitting alone
well my wheezing cat is here beside me
but otherwise alone

Memories of my earlier days
seem to enter and exit my thoughts
seldom present long enough to dwell upon
unable to be opened fully
that I may enjoy those which had shaped
the good and positive portions of my being

The bad times
those that shaped the negative within me
they never leave
they're always with me
yet they were lessons that needed learning

These lessons
their very memories
repulsive as they are
move me toward an acceptable behavior

I don't even want to think about
reliving the moments that brought them

In continually moving away from these times
unto times that spread happiness to others
I am able to express my thankfulness
that I learned to pay attention

You see the pain of the negative
and not wanting another to experience it
opened the heart
and freed my spirit

Maybe the fleeting memories
those that I thought I wanted to dwell on
though grand
maybe they're not the important ones

Maybe it's the memories of hard times
that keep me on a road
that makes a difference

Slamming doors and burning bridges
they're pretty much the same
once it's done there's no turning back
life becomes a brand new game

The grass that's seen on the other side
though greener it may seem
still needs the same amount of tending
not like what was in your dream

Yeah the land of milk and honey
sure that's what you thought you saw
all things brand new within your view
through your gaze you're held in awe

Taking the step you claim your land
wait don't burn that bridge you just crossed
you slam that door from where you've been
it's all that could be lost

Things don't always work out the way you plan
sometimes you've just gotta retreat
and if you destroy your only pathway back
it's your demise that you could meet

So leave that doorway open
and keep that bridge intact
they could be quite useful in your future
and save you from being trapped

It was a peaceful setting
one that had its own way
of taking people back
to a place and time
where they had experienced
peace of mind and spirit

Their minds eye awake
with eyes closed they returned
to the earlier and quieter
days and times
times free of stress
free of the rat race that fills today's world

For this moment
alone with their remembrance
their lives were once again changed
in their solitude
they were able to once again
find their hearts

He sought peace at the beach
the surf was thunderous
though the sea was calm

He looked to the rain forest
the morning mist was light
yet sounded as if he stood under a tin roof during a downpour

The mountain top proved no better
he could feel no breeze
but stayed disturbed by the howling of a winter wind

Wandering the Earth
the peace he searched for
could not be found
giving up his quest
he sat upon a rock
strangely he felt tranquil