Beauty is not seen with our eyes
it is only felt with our hearts
and the truth of love
is the only beauty
we need find in this life

1.

Stuffed men who never made a single day
Of training make brave speeches on this day

Surely each one of them has his reward -

A government SUV
And bodyguards
And a household staff
And a clean, dry place to sleep
And an income
And medical care
And a pension
And a book deal
And a library
And maybe an eternal flame

2.

And the nation’s enlisted daughters and sons
Who sweat among the rocks, not on the golf course

Have their reward from a grateful nation -

Taking cover behind a blown-up Hummer
They are the bodyguards
They dig holes in the rocks and sand
MREs contracted by the lowest brother-in-law bidder
They stand-to all night under fire
They are paid something less than the president’s special, um, assistant
They will be ignored by the DVA
Their eternal flame is the memory of a death-burnt friend
They are dismissed as millennials and snowflakes
          By the Keyboard Kommandos who learned about war
          Just like our stuffed men in Washington
          By watching Patton over and over

The stuffed men bray every hollow cliché,
But this is what the stuffed men really say:

“Thank you for your service; now shut up and go away
Until we want another photo-op on Remembrance Day”

Wonder why we all bleed the same colour ?
Wonder why we all sound the same
when we cry ?
Wonder why we all feel the same pain
when we get hurt ?
Wonder why we all cant see anything
when we get blind ?
Wonder why we all cant hear  anything when we get deaf ?

Yet we still keep on fighting among ourselves.

.
Thrown into an event,
temptation wearing a smile,
as you fall into the void
behind my pale blue eyes,
a willing traveller
through gateways of adventure.

And you stumble through
to mystery, unknowable puzzles,
a Pandora's box of imagery,
bound and enslaved,
to dream, reality, memory,
bedecked with lucid hallucination.

The intensely dark and hollow,
the bright lights hot shine,
all swirl in symbiosis,
dazzling and confusing your view,
assaulting your quiet feelings
with butterflies and nausea.

And you sink enthralled,
appalled, intoxicated,
as thoughts, desires, pictures,
flash before your eyes unbidden,
products of inertia
from the depths of my mind.



© Pagan Paul (02/07/18)

We draw water from the same well
We celebrate and despair together
Our fates are tapestried
In our shared community

I don't ride a Harley. Do you?
I have no need for ingots or ketchups. Have you?
I'm atheist. Are you a believer?
I'm in the body. Are you marginalized?
I respect LGBTQ. Are you in and out of your body?
I have a NEXUS. Do you have a country?
Good thing the air and sunshine have no borders.
It's not about me.
It's about us.

I am beautiful
I am strong
I am loved
I am happy
I am me

Positivity goes a long way
Share with someone to brighten their day

We all can be ******* ourselves
But deep
Down inside
Be happy
For who
You are
This is who your meant to be
Shed some
          POSITIVITY

Here is were it all begins
Now a life time to unfold
A future lies deep within
And stories will be told.

Your road it will be rocky
You will face those stormy seas
There'll be times you will be happy
And times down on your knees.

You will find that life's a journey
You'll get lost along the way
But your not alone there's many
Who get back on track again.

So put on that suit of armour
It's a dangerous world out there
Beware of all the trappings
Their are pitfalls everywhere.  

Don't look back you have a future
And hope is what you need
Your life will be your teacher
And lessons will be learned indeed.

You will find that new horrizon
It is there behind the door
That door will surely widen
And the world it will be yours.

Oh look there's a beautiful bird up there
But it's flying all upon it's own
Could be looking for company
And might just well be heading home

But that bird is not at all lonely
It has the sunshine clouds and breeze
It has it's very own destiny in life
And if it needs a home it has the trees

Beats me why most think everyone needs
Others in life all of the while
Like the bird it only needs it's self  to fly
Doing things it's own way has it smile

It's as free as we all in life would like to be
As it flies viweing all of whats far below
And knowing none ofwhats  down there
Will weight it down unable to fly it's so

Now it's seen as a wise and knowing bird
Away up there with it's own peace of mind
Looked at in admiration instead not lonely
With endless beautiful natural places to find

terrence michael sutton
copyright 2018