firefly
glow bright, glow bright
chase out the shadows
of the night
during the day
you hide away
to another
place to stay
firefly glow bright
tonight
for fear of the dark
cast out your light
but lest the sparrow
find you by day
by sunrise you
must run away
firefly
glow bright, glow bright
chase out the shadows
of the night
during the day
you hide away
in another
place you'll stay
firefly, just sparkle
and shine
you'll find others
of your kind
for at night only
they come out, too
hidden by dark
plainly in view
alone by day
they run away
lest the sparrow
come their way
in the night
they come together
and shine bright
now and forever
firefly
glow bright, glow bright
chase out the shadows
of the night
during the day
you hide away
but hold on for better
to come your way

In Poland, a young Jewish girl plays with a ball near her house
not seeing the Gestapo riding in on trucks

In Japan, a boy plays with a butterfly-shaped kite
not seeing the impending fallout over the city center

In Nanking, a girl plays dress-up with her sister's old dress
not seeing the army outside of the city

In Hawaii, a boy runs along the beach, jumping in and out of the waves
not seeing the bombers over the nearby harbor

In Ethiopia, a girl and her mother walk home from a friend's house
not seeing the yellow-green cloud advancing

In London, a boy races his friends through the streets
Not seeing the bombers overhead

In Vietnam, a girl looks over her family's farm
Not seeing the troops in the jungle

In Syria, a girl and her older sister walk to get water
Not seeing the fighters moving in

Somwhere in this world, a child is living happily
Not seeing the terrible change ahead.

We are all prisoners of our fears,doubts and insecurities
And we have two options with regards to them-
1)Either we can choose to do nothing and stay imprisoned
2)Or we can fight and find a way to escape
And believe me when i say this
The longer we choose to stick to the former option
The longer we will suffer

The day the music died.

We were all seventeen or eighteen.
The jungles of Nam were waiting
like dark visions in nightmare.
You get to be close as soldiers
more than brothers
more than wives.
The clearing was pretty
the feeling of an opening
in the dark trees
of the  jungle was a relief.
Then the light faded
eaten by some monster.
The flowers of our youth ended
in only a few minutes.
The tracer bullets lined
all the way to thier targets.
The petals of our childhood
fell like snow.
The imprints
of the carnage were
indelible tattoos
on our memories.
Out ofsixty boys
only five of us got out.
the dreams of my life
we're tainted red
from that day.
I visited the clearing
a few years ago.
wartime enemies
turn into just people
when the blood is dried
and flowers grow on
old battlefields.
I knelt down and
said a prayer.
Not to an uncaring God
but to my friends
who lost their youth
and futures in this jungle.
For whom weeping tears
was  just not enough.

Is our evolution a Greek tragedy

Tales of success and stories of sorrow
Borrowed from one generation
Transferred to the next

And the Dna cycle goes on
Loss after loss

Providence expanding
Families disbanding
New lands conquered
New deals bartered

Proteins become Amino acids
Amino acids become DNA
Light sensitive cells
Develop depth and width
Four fingers find the fifth
And we expand the breadth
Of breathing distance
Between us and our species of origin

Oh the stories that could be told
Of love, and ***
Of love, and loss
Of birth and death
History unfolded

But the tragedy is
That it is all history that
We managed to miss

We only piece together
Small pieces of people and animals
Play the game of clue
To glue and deduce the truths
Which are swirling in a muddy bowl of
Unwritten stories

we hate
we love
we wage war
we make peace
we commit ******
we save lives
we ignore issues
we find answers to our problems
we commit genocide
we save nations
we feel
we go numb
we enslave others
we free each other
we lie blatantly
we reveal the truth
we sneak around
we march right in
we run in fear
we stand up and fight
we are thoughtless
we're analytical
we are intelligent
we're emotional
we can all hurt
and we can all heal.
we are humanity.