I was contemplating life
When it occurred to me
That nothing in our lives
Means as much as we

No matter good or bad
Or what it was we had
In time, it just becomes
Another memory

We instinctively move on
To new things we are drawn
And the happiness or hurt
Becomes for us, the key

That decides what we do next
And thus our life affects
As we progress from here to there
And so, defines what we shall be
BOEMS BY JA 105

I will not be remembered as the leader of a mighty Army or drum major in a marching band ! Nor recognized by all of mankind for my scientific acumen , climbing Kilimanjaro or exploring the depths of the oceans ! My eulogy would not describe a man of great intellect such as the architect , lawyer or engineer ! Let my tombstone reflect upon the days of a Father , musician , poet and dreamer , that passed away with curiosity , not sadness .. A sometimes troubled man , with a love for the Arts , sunsets and the animal kingdom with a firm grasp of cherished , life long Southern traditions and moral principles* ...

Farm house windows have been boarded up , dilapidated outbuildings , abandoned water well , farm tractor , implements rusted over . Kudzu has blanketed the garden spot , farm bell lies on the ground , silo in need of paint , repairs ..Clover dominates a fertile pasture , once home for many abundant harvest ! Corn , soy bean and sorghum , sweet potato and collards .. Oak trees , well over a hundred years old with twenty years of unchecked leaf debris beneath them . Apple , pear and peach trees are barren .. A once sturdy white picket fence now unkempt  , frail with rusted barbed wire and nails .. The afternoon train still comes through each afternoon . I can imagine that very train taking the harvest produced by this old farm to market . Macon , Augusta or Albany ? A planter is taking a break beneath a Pecan tree with a bucket of cold well water and a ladle , plug of tobacco , and a daydream or two ! The afternoon train delivers the news of the world , a Farmers almanac , Sears and Roebuck catalogue , corn cake for the rabbit dogs , hog feed from a mill in Columbus , thread and quilt patches for Mother . Off it goes , cloud of steam rising above the mighty engine  , the whistle echoing across cotton fields for many a mile ! The link between city and farm , before electricity , telegraph or telephone . The old Georgia my great grandparents knew . Fruitful Summer harvest , painfully cold Winters laboring , scratching out a meager living and at times barely surviving ! I can still hear the crack of leather , braying of mule , firewood being stacked , horses , cattle and the rooster breaking the silence of night , sunrise announcing the new day to a hard working family plus every hamlet along the way ! .

The 21st Century ,where policemen routinely empty their clips , somewhere a toddler , famished and thankful for an entree consisting of potato chips ..Another thirty second story on the eleven o'clock news ..Teenager killed over his tennis shoes .. Sometimes I feel like Jesus is afraid to come back..Vishnu has dropped down on one knee and wept ...Every race on a war footing , quick to attack ! Justice is nothing more than an act , funded by billionaires , the dead are stars , the supporting  cast say the same things , read off a standard script , lawyers stand behind tearful people looking angry , like a bad actor straight out of central casting ! Tight lipped one day , unable to shut it off the next ..Oblivious to the real desires expressed by his clients , fifteen minutes in the bright lights ! A familiar scene that plays out almost every night .....

Every thing i say
Comes right back to my ear
Hearing my words bouncing off
Of an empty atmosphere

Enigmas in the wind
Can't anybody hear?
Hello, is anyone there?
Or are my words just unclear?

Each sound returning
Continuing the fear
Hollow sounds fading out
Only to disappear

' Tis I ,  Beelzebub ! Hanging me ***** to dry ! ******* my name on a rock , on all fours , cackling as the raven , giggling like a hyena ..Come to set on Randolph's shoulder briefly , take his pen if you will , consolidate his anger for the evening ! Curse his guarding Angel , just as I laid waste to Armenian soldiers , Chinese diplomats and American leaders ! Childhood rhymes , medicated prose , a coiled cobra disguised as a rose ! The warm memories  and feelings from childhood , a confused toddler smacked , wetting his pants ! Your candy dropped from filthy little hands , scattered , riddled with fire ants ! I'm not the slingshot received for being a good boy ! Call me the rock that killed the songbird ! I'm every bad thought flashed before the hopeless insomniac , a capsized ship filled with goodness and light ! Your sarcastic muse , stopped by for a spell , to caste demonic thought across the wishing well !

As I look to the sky my fellow
Simply seeing orange and yellow
Yet blue and white and dreams from a height
Those faces you canter and the ever changing dancers
Are you also there now?
Wishing, wishing, wishing
For that perfect cloud
Which a sunrise or set
Shall make you realize
Don't hesitate before one dissapates
For what then shall you do?
If no other comes for you
See my friend it's all fleeting
So shall one grasp in thy mind?
Or simply forgo till another time?

Quiet evening on the porch . Explosions in the distance , the  soldiers are getting small , incoming ! Attention subjugated from intense light to the west ! It's storming in Alabama tonight ! I'm sure it is ! The insects , mesmerized by porch light , are growing in numbers , catapulted East by violent winds , the prequel to our own battle with Thor and his army ! An entire Division , preceded by artillery , wave after wave ! Refugees have flooded the screen in rear combat operations tonight , confused , terrified faces are flashing before my very eyes ! Sergeants are screaming commands on both sides of the road as the skirmish recedes !  Rain ... Puddles .. At six a.m. as the fog begins to lift , siren of whippoorwills , ambulances rush forward to gather the dead , the toy soldiers have bled all they can ..Their really just plastic anyway ! Play things , hallucinations , flashbacks , whatever word conjures , terminates repetitive mind games , conflict witnessed many years ago , committed to endless replay , delivered by a Summer storm from Alabama last night !

I would make an attempt at reaching Hell one morning , I shall return with an omen or some type of sign . Search for the infamous Lake of Fire , the Prince of Darkness himself or demons flying about ! The Sulphuric Abyss of Christian fable , Kingdom of Hades as told by the ancients ! A gold piece placed in mouth to pay the oarsman , skipped across the River Styx without fear of retribution ! I dare any demon to replicate the horror of Vietnam or Afghanistan , Iwo Jima , Gettysburg or **** of Nanking ! Walk in the shoes of the Veteran that witnessed Omaha , Utah and Normandy Beach ! The Underworld is not for physical torment nor payment for Earthly sin ! Hell is the black hole of space , swallowing souls , returned to mans past , reliving the atrocity of war forever and a day !

It's been so long,
Since I've written for her,
I apologize,
But I've been too busy,
Kissing the words into her mouth

I want to jump in with you.
Clear the skies, clear our eyes.
Are you ready for that leap?
And will they lend a hand?
Make us a simple mockery.
Or even care to understand.
We are one plus one is music.
As my better half our love's true.
If it takes such a simple reach.
With no **** reaction to others.
I simply care to seal that breach.
Let us just hold hands now.
Grace the hills and ocean blue.
When all's done we'll sing anew.

I've built this wall around myself
To shield my heart from the pain
Like the caterpillar, I hide
Until I'm finally free to find
A love to fly with me in the rain