I need balance
I’m too extreme like my beliefs
Far too sorry to apologize
Forgiveness would be a lie I couldn’t live with

Balancing under pressure became a crushing defeat
Misfires and misdirection can land the highest man beneath
Untreated wounds breed infection
The lessons learned are easy to remember
Dismembered and off-kilter

Unbalanced drunkards lay wasted like death
Effigies of what used to be
¨**** it¨ attitudes
Added to the frustration
Of falling and failing, my fault
I brought shook hands
Like an addict

Moderation is balance
My mode is moody
******* and impatient
I meditated to medicate anger
¨Endangered species fighting for survival!¨
Was the greatest lie I ever told
I fought a war for peace
More violent than buddha’s
And I won
I won a deadly victory

Balance was not built for chaos
I’m a riot, raunchy
What I want no longer haunts me
I’m not a victim of crime
Im the victor
Missteps led me away from destruction
My mistakes were made
To save me

Joseph Childress

Construction
Some people
Put
Their worth
In the hands of others
Let them
Decide

Others fight
Off
With words
Or get
Disturbed
By interruptions
In class

Why reply
With what I believe
Are the makes
Of I
When it’s
Construction
Is still
In progress

The finished
Monument
Will stand
Before all soon
And no one
Will question
Its greatness.

Joseph Childress

I face
Worst case scenarios
On a day-to-day basis
I basically live it
Though stern and livid
Most of the time
I tend to get timid
Too much decision making
In tumultuous situations
Besides,
I’ve been waiting for a vacation
Tedious work becomes insidious
To the inside
After a while
And my wild imagination
Becomes destructive
If it doesn’t get to play.

Joseph Childress

Fold papers
Constructed to float
Like planes

Strip
Through the stripes
Along the lines
And take off

Make off
With much more
Than words written
Actual actions
That lift off
Pages

Origami ornament’s
Origin
Arose from bore


The formal forms
Turned
To sheets torn
Without intent to teach

Amusement
From improper usage
Still fuels
The mind anyway

Away and away
Fly fliers
Beneath the lights
Shone
In a way
More motions
Than moving emotions
It coasts
To another plane
Needless of
Communication

Vacation
Much needed
A cruise
For the piece
That used
To be tree
Now used
To set free
The imagination

Twenty-four years remind the tears of my eyes.
(Bury the dead for fear that they walk to the grave in labour.)
In the groin of the natural doorway I crouched like a tailor
Sewing a shroud for a journey
By the light of the meat-eating sun.
Dressed to die, the sensual strut begun,
With my red veins full of money,
In the final direction of the elementary town
I advance as long as forever is.

Ms. Miss Me
Messes with the mess
Of Me
Messianic Masonic Messiah
Making mountainous modules
Manufactured from the make-shift
Makings of my soul
Which lifts me
Higher than before
It’s
Mysterious mysticallity
How you made me
After you met me
The misogynistic misogamist misfit
Meets Ms. Perfect
You misled me
You knew I didn’t want to fall in love
I mistreated you
And now
I miss seeing you
Mr. Missed Her
Mistakenly misunderstood
Her magic
For a trick
My mania must mean
I’m
Malevolently maiming my mind
Never mind me
NO!
Forever mind me
You’re forever mine
Even if only in the mind
My metal moccasins
Stump through
The mine field
On my quest to find you
Again
Constant explosions
Milling
A million
M-80’s to make
A metaphor
Of the fire within
The fireworks
I mean
Hopefully the fire works
I destroyed your
Mint commission
I meant condition
Your mint condition
Was devalued
From my mixed intentions
And messages
Monotonous tasks
To get you back
I get your back
And stay forever
In your past

Empty
M.T.
Mt. Empty

You built me
Just to leave me
Empty

Joseph Childress

Soft words
Are usually preferred
During pillow talks
Foolishly
I foolheartledly
Brought hard words
Harsh
& Disturbed
Which
Hardily makes sense
Since
Your sentiment
Didn't deserve
The sediment
Provided
From my concrete heart
I argue
Our argument
Was all my fault
I dumped asphalt
On the sandy beach
You provided
For our sweet retreat
You retrieved
My roughness
And smoothed
The edgy conversation
Tamed my
Toughness
And soothed
The painful consternation
You could
Ease the temperament
And impatience
Of anger management patients
All the while
Showing
The peacefulness in his
War within
Finding righteousness
In his right to yell
You respect
His freedom of speech
But with each
Negative comment
You seek
To find
The positive content
In the layers beneath

You see the beauty
In the mess
Like an abstract painting
Made for the
Artistically elite
My poor sense
Of creativity
Is lifted
From your richness
I dropped
Destruction
But always
Pick it
Back up
Like bad habits

Rehabilitate me this
Last time
And I promise
I’ll never
Cast a shadow again
I’ll shine
In every way
I direct my attention

Hopefully
Its not too late
But knowing you
My lateness
Will be welcomed
Like a homecoming
You seldom
Look at my faults
And not find
Greatness