Young men and women are lying in the street soaked in their own blood. Simple disagreements are now solved with a gun. A generation is being lost to uncontrolled violence. Kids are soldiers in a war that has no boundaries. Drive by shootings are the form of combat. Ambushes in back alleys and at parties are the new form of gorilla warfare.  There are senseless killing over nothing of consequence. Guns are color blind and bullets aren't biased. Both **** equally when wielded by persons who do not know how to solve their problems without violence.

Images of depravity dressed up for high society. No actual ******, but illusion is what you really see. A game of dance and song on stage with tricks of light and glitter. Extravagant costumes that leave little to the imagination but leave you wanting more. Heels and chairs, smiles and longing stares, sensuality and intrigue. All put on with flare and style, sit and watch our show for a while, Burlesque.

Fire burning passion bright, flame of a hungry soul. Oh how you consume me and drive me mad with lust for the one thing I can never hold. Once I knew beauty and I though I was in love. Her smile was like yellow roses covered in morning dew. She could bring me to the height of desire and cool me with the gentlest touch. My soul would ache to know her love, I would sacrifice to make her mine. Then she flew away and left me empty inside. The passionate fire burned out in my hungry soul. Leaving me mad with desire for the thing I cannot hold. I wailed in torment at her leaving, knowing that I can only feel cruel endless pain. Once you have tasted love so deep, you may never want to love again.

I caught him with my best friend now I am ******! I'm turning up the heat and it goes something like this! Putting on my highest heels, and sexiest little skirt! I'm stepping out tonight and I don't care who I hurt. I'm hotter than a flame thrower and madder than hell. By the time that I am done, he will remember me well. I posted my friends naughty pictures all over Instagram. I didn't bother to hide the web address, so she knows who did her in. I rented a limousine and I'm going out with best his friend. I am not really sure how this nights gonna end? I'm taking the hottest selfies and posting the updates. When he sees what I'm going to do, I will be the one he loves to hate! I tearing down obstacles to my happiness, and setting fires a light! I am dam hot and angry, and I'm gonna burn some bridges tonight!

A stomach on fire from too many unsavory meals. Eyes that are permanently blood shot.  A narrow field of vision that only allows me to see the task at hand. Selective hearing that tunes out anything I do not like. An addiction to Aspirin and coffee. This must be what they mean when you are burning out.

You though your relationship was safe. You thought he was into you. Both thoughts were wrong when you saw him with another girl. Now when he sees your anger burning, now he takes notice.

Lay me in the earth and cover me over deep. Surround me with Rose bushes as I quietly sleep. Let the running vine of the Flowering Cherokee rose grow over me. Surround me with beauty as I lay and wait. Perhaps when they bloom, I will be part of something great. So cry not for me, for I will be in good company, I will be sleeping among the Roses you see.

Honor before all else, duty and obedience without question. Never strike in anger, always be dutiful to your master. Protect the weak and defenseless, in all things live as you believe. Your sword is part of you, an extension of yourself. Focus and harmony must be your creed. Nothing must distract you from the task set before you. Until your end, how ever it may come, you must live the code you have chosen to adapt as your way of life.

Beaten with stripes of a sinner, bruised as a reed beneath the heel of oppression. Crowned with mocking thorns, hanged on a tree for our sins. Unjustly persecuted and reviled, the lord gave up all. On the cross he surrendered to his affliction, abandoned even by the father above. By his affliction we find redemption in Christ undying love.

By that which was shed onto rocky ground, By that which came from the innocent. Under a crimson flow of cleansing, my soul finds redemption. Through the blood stained banner that heralds the victory. By the stains on the cross. By the guiltless that paid for the guilty, that my souls might not be lost. Through Christ sacrifice, it is understood. That any who will believe are redeemed by the blood.

By the blood of the cross I will live, by the blood of the cross I shall be judged. By the blood of the cross I may find redemption. By the blood of the cross I will not know death. By the blood of the cross I will offer up my life. By the blood of the cross I will repent and seek to do better. In all things I am by the blood. If not by the blood then by what measure shall I have hope beyond this life.

My life is a piece of unmolded clay sitting on a wheel. I am not sure where I will go or what I will be. I sit patiently and wait for my life to take shape. With each passing day I seek to learn more. I study and pray for guidance. In each moment I strive to be better, looking forward to the day when I am complete. As Jesus slowly molds me, through his spirit and discipleship, I am becoming a worthy vessel for his habitation, as I am shaped by the potters hands.

In wet sand I sank my toes. I closed my eyes and listened to the waves breaking on the rocks. I felt the cool ocean breeze wash over me and I imagined your arms embrace. I became fully still and lost in the moment. At one point I thought I could hear your voice. Then as all things came together I felt your peace fill me and I fell to my knees in reverence as I was by the sea of Galilee.

Before computers came along, before there was a telephone. Scribes sat over parchment and labored intently. With quill and Inkwell they lay down a foundation, preserving and sharing knowledge. In Scrolls and books they repeated and passed on things that were thought of importance. Records were kept and events were recorded for posterity, so that others might look back and see through the written word what others had seen. Many fought against this because they favored ignorance and darkness, but the written word still moved on. Even when it was called heresy and costs those who believed in it their lives, the dedication to the preservation and expansion of knowledge did not stop. So it is by the written word that we rose out of Darkness and remove the shackles of ignorance to step into the light of knowledge and understanding.

I am held inside of a situation I did not ask to be born into. My circumstances are not of my making. I tear at the bars that confine me. The walls of my cell are not made of iron and stone, they are barriers that were place on me by society. Long before I drew my first breath I was imprisoned. Long before I knew my own name I was set in a place. Now I struggle against the grey walls of societies standards as I reach for the light that is just above me. So much is against me, that I feel like I am smothered and cannot breathe. I feel like I am constantly caged and all I want to do is break out and be free.

Hair as dark as newly turned earth and the sass of an alligator. Barefoot she stands stirring a *** of Craw dad bisque. Working up a sweat making a meal for her man, she could charms the hiss out of a snake. Creole in her nature, with a touch of hot peppers, she has a flare for making a bow fiddle sing. She loves to dance from sunset to nearly dawn, give her a little moonshine and watch her spread her wings. All southern woman, a true swamp land child. A flame of Cajun fire that can only be loved but never tamed.

Can I be myself, will you accept me for who I am. Can I live in peace with you. Will you let me go my own way. Can I talk to you, will you see me for who I am. Can I be myself, will you understand. Just because I am different, doesn't mean that we can't get along. If you will take a moment you will see that I am unique. So can I be myself, please tell me yes. Please tell me that you can accept my differences and let me live in peace and perhaps we can be friends.

Voices inside of me, voices outside of me, all telling me what to do. Its hard enough just to wake up in the morning. So much pressure to be this or that, pictures and ads show me what they think perfect is. I cry because I don't fit in, but then the people I am told to be like look miserable. I eat because I am hungry not because I have a problem. I don't like sports because I am not good at them. I enjoy walking because it makes me feel good to see nature. All of these things seem to make me odd. I can't find where I fit, I am a round peg in a world full of square holes. Is there anyone that feels like me. I am lonely but I can be very friendly. I don't mind corny jokes and imperfections. I just want a place where I can be myself.

May I borrow a pair of your shoes. I want to use them for just a while. I want to walk some distance in your place. I want to understand you. Unless I can see from you point of view, then how can we get along? Unless I can understand what drives you, we will never get things resolved. So Can I borrow your shoes for just a little while. I promise I will not be long. I just want to learn more about you so that we can find ways to get along.

If I give you my soul will it make you love me. If I shower you with gifts can I have your heart. What price can I pay to gain your affections. If I pledge my life to serve you will you adore me. If I make you laugh everyday, will that keep your attention. Please tell me if there is anyway that I can buy your love?

Can I do more, how can I give. What can I offer to help others to live. If I fore go a cup of coffee or miss one meal. Will the little sacrifice end my day or cause me to become ill. If I do more to care and make a greater effort to give. Perhaps I can help another person have one more day to live. Though my efforts might seem small, all rivers start out as drops of rain, then when bound with other drops they wash away mountains and form lakes and oceans. So with each act of selflessness, let my actions be as one drop of rain. That through each daily act of kindness, I might help another person live. In one years time may my deeds multiply. Until what I have done is a torrent of life giving hope that does great things and inspires others to ask can I do more?

Can I share your pain, can you lend me your sorrow, if only for a little while. Let me have some of your misery, let me cry with you. If you can give me part of your burden, then I will take some of your sadness too . Then you can find rest and perhaps some joy. I will hold your worry for you, don't be in a hurry to get it back. I will keep it safe until you need it again. It is often easy to share your laughter, and to share your love, but as a true friend, I will ask if I can share your pain. Because I cannot be happy, until I see you smile again.

My eyes are so heavy with sleep, but I fight to stay awake. If I fail then the nightmares will take me away. I am on the edge of sanity as I writhe in my bed. I look over the edge and I see the floor a thousand feet below me. The needle is near to me, but I don't want to reach for it, I dare not take that trip again. So I wrestle with my demons as my heart beats in my chest until I think it will burst. I am not sure how long I can fight this battle, I am so tired I just want to sleep. I roll over and come crashing down to the earth, I lie broken and ****** on the floor. I ache but at  least the pain revives me, yet the weariness comes quickly and I am losing the fight. So in one last vain attempt to resolve my crisis, I succumb to the fate that awaits me. Now all that I have left is one question, can I now really sleep?

I know that you have walked alone for a while, but I promise I will not be a bother. I know that you have a place that you need to be, but I will not get in the way of your destiny. I just want to stand by your side while you go on your path. Can I walk with you for a while?

We may not have wings, but we can still have mercy. We may not wear shimmering robes, but we can still be a witness. We may not wield a blazing sword, but we can still give justice. Many are called but few are chosen. The way is not easy but the reward is beyond imagining. What is done is not done for personal gain, but because is right. Often we are persecuted, but we still endure. Can we be angels, the answer is yes, if we choose to be.

I see so many who take up the stage and sparkle like so many stars. Yet he did not want to be above others, he would be happy washing their feet. I see those who give gold and silver as they pass on. He had little but gave all of himself to those who had no hope. Each and every day we have the chance to walk in his footsteps. We have the chance to do little things with no hope of reward. Such small acts of kindness were part of who Jesus was, can we be like him?

A single voice spoke a truth. A solitary life started in his youth. Setting an example for all to see, he chose 12 students in Galilee. About a life they wrote many books. Lessons to live by and words that can save. So we must ask ourselves what can one person do. We can teach our children what is wrong and what is right. We can celebrate the solitary life. We can show kindness to strangers and live with mercy and love. It doesn't matter if you believe in a God above. Though some of the lessons he taught were said to be divine, he said you can't go wrong when you're being kind. So whether or not you believe that Christ is God Son, there are so many things that can be done. As one person you can change many lives. That's what a man named Jesus did Once Upon a Time.

I have so much trapped inside of me. I am so angry with what I did to myself. I never thought of the consequences of playing the game, I only sought the prize that was just out of reach. Now I must face the truth of life in a cage. I am living in an 8 by 11 foot room. I wonder if anyone will be coming to see me soon. I want to do better but I have lost all hope. I am not sure how much longer I can cope with the problems that are all around me. I am still surrounded by hustlers you see. There are just a little closer to me than when I was in the street. I now have nowhere to run but inside of myself. Oh lord will someone please give me some help? The true cost of my situation is finally kicking in, I am not the only doing time, it is also my family and friends. Those who thought they could depend on me, now they have to bear the burden of my misery. This torment is about to drive me insane. Will someone please tell me that they can fill my pain?

I cut and claw to get outside myself. I wash until I am red and raw. Noting seems to clean away the feeling that I am trapped in the wrong place. I scream inside my own head until I can't even think. Why am I caught inside of myself, why can't I get out. I look in the mirror and my image is mocking me. I want out of this place, but I can't shed my own skin. So I cut and scratch some more, until the blood drips from my wrist and neck or until I find a way out of this prison I am in.

Sitting up until the waking hours of the morning. Listening to the needs of a friend. Comforting a sick child who can't understand why it hurts. This is the essence of caring. This is the essence of love.

Our politicians steal our wealth and send it away from our own. They preach to us about how we should embrace the world, as children are starving here at home. We send our young men and women to die in a foreign land, for what we don't understand. Other countries tell us how we should live, then they demand that we give and give. Perhaps we should close the door for just a little while. In fact let's bring every one of our warriors home. We can put them to work solving the problems we have right here. We can step back from the rest of the world and let the caring start here.

Bearing a burden for another. Lifting life's load for a brother or sister. Carrying a cross in the service of righteousness, falling only to your knees. Kneeling in prayer under the weight of burdens, drawing strength from heavenly places. Enduring through the battle that the lord may receive glory. Such is the way of bearing a cross and sharing the burden of another.

Walk in the light and follow the truth. Give to another what you do not need. Offer shelter to the homeless, and mercy to the oppressed. Remember the widows and orphans. Strive to obtain wisdom and seek after knowledge. Let the light with in you shine. Climb over the mountains of adversity and never be afraid to ask for help. Pray and hope always in all things that you do. Wear a path that will not easily pass away. Build bridges for others to cross. At the end of your journey leave a legacy of which you can be proud. Cast a long shadow so others will seek to do at least as well as you.

Reach out to others and give them a helping hand. Stand tall in the face of adversity. Hold fast to your convictions no matter what the day may bring. Help make a better world than the one you found. Leave a mark of positive change and offer help where you can. Let your presence always give hope and caring. Show others that there is a better way. Let wisdom be your guide. Learn from your mistakes and pass on that knowledge to any who willingly receive it. At the end of the journey look back and see the shadow you have cast over many lives.

Once one nation was under God, now we do not know what God is. Once God was invited to all of our activities, now there is no room or him. At time was when we filled the churches, mosque and synagogues , now we worship sports idols instead of the holy one. Where did we go wrong? Where did we get off track? Why do we seek to cast out God, why don't we invite him back? Into our school and homes, into our daily lives. Perhaps if we seek to let him in, we can find peace again in time. For not it is not politically correct to mention his name. What a shame we are casting out God once again.

Reaching into the sky grasping at the nothingness. Pulling on a string and watching a kite sail. Running into the breeze but holding nothing nothing. Drawing a sail to its full height and feeling the motion pushing my boat forward. Jumping off a mountain top and letting a glider dive then push up with the draft from the valley below. Rising into the sun before zipping past the clouds. Wrapping myself and the one I love in a blanket as the cold ocean breeze blows through her hair. Catching the wind in so many ways and enjoying the nothingness of it's existence as it fully touches my life.

Mentally blocked and trying to express myself, I feel as though the lines have captured me. Between one sentence and a phrase, I have lost what I wanted to say. The words refuse to come to me, they elude my pen and my tongue. I can neither write or speak so I am trapped in a web of my own design. I am caught between the words and unable to formulate what else that I have to say.

Howling and beying, pulled in among the thorns. The prickly Breyers scratch and cut an unsuspecting Hound that's caught in a rut. Chasing that brown rabbit through a meadow and the grassy field. The rabbit scampers safely into a Briar Patch that will not yield. The Relentless Hound backs out, a skin full of pricker Breyers but none the worse for wear. The dog just sits and beys as the rabbits off laughing somewhere.

A boat bobs up and down in the surf as old wood is scattered on the shoreline. The wind blows up the sand and ghost haunt the dunes. Pieces of life fit together in odd ways as each one tries to grasp at reality. The sea froths and churns with cold waves as it makes a groaning sound with each splash against rocks that seem older than they should be. Wet sand ***** you into the earth where the water has soaked it through. Heavy are the desires of nature as old and new tear at each other. A mist rises and the fog horn calls from a distant outcropping of rock telling sailors beware. The home sick souls come forward looking for safe passage as I gaze on into the thick smoke of water vapor that surrounds me and fills my lungs with the cold dank scent of the sea. I head inland to try to escape it all, but the stench of it is in every fiber of my being. I am now and forever intrigued and a prisoner to nature and to the sea.

When I am gone and you lay me low, do not weep for me, I would not want it so. Throw a party, invite my friends and enemies alike. Serve my favorite foods and take utter delight. Drink until you have had your fill, the tab is on me. Its the least I can do, because you had to put up with me. Know with comfort that I have gone on to a better place. Some where more peaceful I think. So remember me with fondness or remember me with a leer. How ever you like, drink up and be of good cheer. If you are my friend, know that you will be missed. If you are my enemy, then to you I say this. You have finally won, I met my fate. Just take a moment while your sober to think of who you will now hate. So take stock of your own lives, and say farewell as I go to my eternal rest. Shed no tears for me unless their of joy, just celebrate my death.

Peering through a looking glass awaiting the stars and planets to come into focus. Sitting under the pail blue moon watching for a sign. Tracking the movement of Venus with Jupiter ascending. Looking for the perfect set of conditions. In a moment the time has come, to plead to the heavens and make my petition known. Under the celestial alignment that best focuses the powers to do the most good.

When you give a cup of water to someone and then a bite to eat, you do more than meet their material needs. You show them a simple kindness and give them something in which to believe, you build a link in a chain of hope that helps all humans live. For a chain of hope is stronger than the problems of life, it helps people to be renewed in spirit, it helps them to come alive. If each person believes that kindness still exist, then a chain of hope can be built with bonds of family through out the world of man. It makes each person say that I can do something and makes them want to stand. So the next time you see a need, do what you can. Continue being a link in the chain of hope that can bind us all together as a human family and bring want and need to an end.

The oceans churn, and the sky's turned black! The wind howls, and the mountains Shake! For too long we have relied upon ourselves. We have taken and not given, and hoarded up our wealth. We steal from the poor to enrich ourselves. Merchants sell death or trade lives like a pair of shoes. As long as our own belly are full, we think we are doing well. With each catostrophy, we are warned to change our ways, yet many fail to hear and blindly go on their merry way. For thoes of who heed the warnings, we may yet be saved. The change is coming whether we accept it or not. It doesn't matter if you believe that it be of nature or God. The truth will be the same, the world is reeling from our selfish ways and it is going to change.

The old ideas of the day begin to fade as new paths are blazed into the future. Some people cling on to the old things that no longer hold any value. While some philosophies such as kindness and generosity do not loose their value, stigmas and stereotypes have no place in the future. As the new generation takes hold and begins to leave it's own mark on the future, let their be a peaceful transition of power at the changing of the guard.

Running after wisp of air, trying to rope the wind. Living in fantasies and wondering if the life we have chosen is worth the struggle. Making sacrifices for an idea. Living to see a wish fulfilled. Daring to risk it all for something that is in the abstract. These are the qualities of dreamers. The ideals of people who believe in the impossible. When things are desired more than our next breath, then we pull together all of our might and make it appear out of thin air. This is what it means to chase a dream.

In howling wind and sheets of rain, I blaze a trail. Fierce as the lightning that tears across the sky. Fighting nature at the core of it's force, I go where others will not in hopes of saving lives. Where ever there is trouble, I stand ready to answer the call. Riding torrents of water or through tornados as they roll across vast open plains. I subjugate my fear and want to preserve myself. As I chase the storm with all of it's destruction and magnificence in order to know how it works. Through this knowledge I work to keep others safe.

Curds and Whey taken from churned milk. Filling molds and sitting in the dark. Taking on distinctive flavors and unusual shapes. Turning into colors and hues of every imaginable kind. Some are delicate and some are full of holes. Some are briskly sharp and some will take your breath away. Some are well aged and come are only a few weeks old. Some are the stuff of legend or nightmare depending on your pallet. Cheese, a delicacy shared by both kings and commoners. Versatile and useful, cheese.

Adorned with flowers in her hair dressed in red and green. Dancing in the sunlight, an angel in a dream. Hold her tight, as tightly as you can. Never let her love slip from your hand. Give her all of your attention, hold her close each day. Cherish her in every conceivable way.

In the windy city on the shores of lake Michigan, the streets are Crimson with innocent blood. The princes and potentates that laud themselves over the general populace pull the wealth out of the city and impose byzantine rule on the innocent and the deprived. While they sit in ivory towers and refuse to see the war that people wage on each other. Violence seems to be the only cure for poverty, as well intentioned efforts on the way to the hell that their leaders have created have failed. So in the end, who is guilty of the streets of such a great city being filled with innocent blood?

A set of stairs made of uncut stone. Creaky boards on an old front porch. Cane polls hanging on the wall. Waiting for me to come along. The smell of biscuits cooking in the stove. Old fashioned music playing of a record player. An old man whittling on the back porch in a rocking chair. Hunting dogs barking at a rabbit in freshly plowed fields. Happy is how these things make me feel. Fondly remembering my grandparents farm. The simplicity of life and weather worn charm. Though the work could be hard, it had to be done. Chores before fishing and a lot of fun. All of these things take me back, my childhood memories of what my past was like.