A shape
Has meaning
After we shape
The meaning
If we shave
The faults
Off an object
We’re left
With nothing
But the truth

Direction
Air planes
Move on coordinates
Coordinated
By its pilot
In light
Of the mission
Before
Creation
Or rather
For creation

Quick
Quickness
Is determined
By the metric
System
Each step is
Recorded
Then
Put on a pedestal
As truth
While others try to attain
And trick themselves

Believe
Only
Belief
Is deep
Beneath the sheet
Of skin
That wraps your soul
Unravel
Not with your hands
But your mind
And find
What’s inside

God Will
If to freeze
Is to make still
Than thank god
The sun’s moving

The Morn
Morning
Is for the wake
Of a new day
Celebrate
A life lived righteous
There will
Will live on
Through all of us

Worth
Some people try so hard
Not too be forgotten
They say outrageous things
And forget
To say something
Worth knowing

The Dark Place
Jumping from
Thought
To thought
With out putting
A connection
Worth
Presenting
With an audience
That will understand
Your stance
Try not so hard
To say something
Say something
That’s hard to say
But truth
Deep seeded
In that dark place
Behind your eye’s

I wonder
What wee saw
Before sight
Probably
Nothing work
Speaking about

Heaven
Jump ^ over
The ^ tops
And ^ above
Clouds

Go Green
The journey
Was embarked
Embodied
As art
I thought
I walked through the picture
The beautiful land
Laid plain in my eyes
Oh, How I love
To go green

Road 2 Success
A road to be crossed
Is a road
To be watched
Be careful
And sure to look
All ways

Art C Inc.
If I was
Asked
To choose between
Art and Education
I’d go off
On a tangent

Art C. Inc. 2
Creative tools
To be used
In Arts & Crafts
Which one to pick
Is the game

Lost
The compass
Can make
Us
Turn in circles
Trying to find
The right direction

Artsy
The paint brush
Drips
A message
Depicted as perfect
As real life
Even it’s imperfections
Accurately
Portraying
Richness

The Wild
Pick
Through the pieces
And build something
Of your own
Use instruction
As a minor pull
On
Your wild imagination

Claustrophobia
Be not
Afraid of the dark
What’s the difference
Between
The inside of a closet
And inside
Your closed eyes

The Slide
Slides
Of still pictures
Can move
Fast enough
To come alive
If we pull
Them
With a force
That drove us
Out of caves

Heartbeat
Riding
On the high’s
And low’s
Of life
I become a rhythm
A melody
Peacefully
Beating
Like a heart
Nothing else need
The questions
Are already answered
Yes


There will be another
Heartbeat.

Void
We have
To avoid
The void
Or we’ll become it

The Humans
Whose
To say
What truth
Should be based
Off of

How about the plane
We all share
Earth

Joseph Childress

Why do they say
Midnight
Til 3
Is the time
Of Lucifer
I’m losing my mind
Trying to make sense
Of this one
I don’t sit awake
Planning chaos
Far too
Aggravated &
Agitated
To cause grief
Amongst the meek
More likely
To fight after school
Around 3
In the afternoon
The time
They say
Is of the lord
Have mercy
On this fallen one
I fell
To whatever hell
I’ve been avoiding
Since you’ve deployed me
Do my peers
Fight the same
Or is it easier
For them to hear
Or see
I do seek
Your guidance
But your sun
I’m not a fan of
Too bright
And overbearing
So I’m staring
At the moon

****** man
Lurking in the corners
Evil smile
Meanwhile
A child
Alive
But barely
Can't pick of the phone
Who'll answer

A cop,
Rookie
Would be
A vet in time
But the shots
That hit his spine
Hit his soul a lot harder

Almost as hard as
The hits
From a ****,
That used his fist
And never open hand,
Demands not met,
No speech
From the *****'s throat

Silent night
Was supoosed to be
Holy
But the holey stockings
Was a worn out reminder,
The timer hit 12:00
on the 25th
But
A bowl of cheerios
No honey
No milk
Was bold
As the truth
It told
Like
The gifts
Never bought
Or the mall
Never shopped
In the cold

Black ice on the road at night
My car never fought so hard
To follow lights
Flurries proved
To be as blury
As the vision
From sippin
Too much wine
Red stains,
And lipstick
Secrets untold,
Focus on the road
Home is but a couple miles
But another cup
Would suffice
I'm willin to suffer the consequences
What will I sacrafice?
What's the price
For a few drinks
After supper?

Besides,
The bartender wouldnt of offered
Enough scotch
To make my mind alter
He's a friend to me,
What?
You mean to tell me,
That the end of me,
Is in a
Glass of hennessy
Ha!


Hail mary full of grace,
Full of faults
But full of faith
And as she prayed
The lord did praise
Amazed
Life proved to be a maze
But in the haze
A few rays
Would should shine her way
There were 2 sets
Of footprints
But a woman fell
There's been
1 set ever since
Carried
New Born
Born Again
And twice married
Widows tears
On a pillow
Bible never far
Closed eyes
Could still reach
Even in sleep
Wrinkles deep
A hot flash
of her age blinks
on the alarm
1:40
And one 40 year old woman
Who thinks
That if she keeps
His name in glory
Her story
Would end in peace.

I feel
The rubble under my toes
The lost destiny
Beneath my feet
The past
Portrayed defeat
More work to be done
Than minutes
Left
In the clock's small hands
Then
I bent my knees
To to undue the destruction
Though
I won't finish
Before my seconds
Diminish
The second
Gener-
Ation
May make it
Just a little weight
From the bolders
Lifted off thier shoulders
The beginning
Has to start somewhere
Why not
Where the apparent
-
Ending is sitting
Right next to us
-
Let's use the strength
Of a billion men
To lift the curtains
As they fall

If "happily ever"
Ever wants to happen
We have to accept
It's probably
"After"
We're dead

Whose strong enough
To face this truth
This fear
And work through the tears
Of our demise
Which
Will be met
Before our son rises
Don't wipe your eyes!
Let our cries
Form the oceans
That were ****** dry
In our time
So our children
Will view earth
As it once was
Once "was"
Becomes us
We'll be proud of what we were
And maybe
For the first time
History wont repeat itself

By Joseph Childress

I'm not afraid of heights
I'll get high
Just to prove it
My wreck-less-ness
Should let you know
What's expected
Resting miles above danger
Enjoying the unexpected
My lack of uncontrol
Is enough to annoy
Those aiming for control
I own
A random nature
Mixed with structures
Of my choosing
I'm losing
The laws of physics
Being lifted
In the physical
Living on a plane
That lands on open lanes
Yet prone
To being blown
From pressure on it's propellers
The dwellers of trenches
Are perched on their benches
The field of clouds
Are for those out
Making yards out of inches
Taking chances
Dancing
On top of storms
Learning
To dodge the lightning
And living above the norm

Preparations
For Love and Destruction
Volatile environments
Whose inhabitants
Distract inhibitions
By enacting emotional exhibitions
Fueled by liquid fire
.Injection.
Fluid spirits
Energize the soul
Chemically reacting to stress
Freeing the hostages
Housed inside the hostile hospice
Of hearts
.Ejection.
Nature’s neutrality
Doesn’t do much
For this current
Wave
Of Lust and Frustration
So,
Lo and Behold
The solo soul below
Who bellows
In the belly of beasts
Like growls
That grows into speech
As I transform from
Animal to Anomaly
Asking for the one thing
That will keep me
From the answer
.Rejection.

I finally made it
To the end of the road
My life told
A good story

What can one do
When the inevitable occurs
Of course, you can fight
And act
As if your antics
Weren't worthless
In fact
You can work less
If you're aware
Of whats the worse
That can happen
The happening happens every minute
Which happens to be
The time
For a hundred tenants
To get evicted
Check the census
And since its
Seconds
That fullfill
Like fantasies
I'll write a fiction

A fraction
Of the factions
Would still
Be in action

Whose actions
Are
Half as cruel
as Hitlers?

Huiessen's
or Stalins?

20 million scream
"Joseph!"
But a child disagrees
And speaks the words
"Barely a third."

So many
Executions
Jesus Christ!
What would you do
The only man
To die
And come back to life

The truth comes to light
But lies lurk in shadows
How shady
Maybe
In May
We can see it all
And to my dismay
This just may be
Already fall

Moon
Moon
Moon!
You’re so creative
Show that sun how to change!
Such range
Give us Gibbous
Then present the Crescent
Earth’s natural satellite
Broadcasting abroad
Casting Lunacy
Across the skies, broad
Tied
To the gravitational pull
But never falls
Please release
That ever so decadent
Blue Moon Cheese
My father
Used to read
Me to sleep
Up crept
The man on the moon
As I slept
Watching o’er me
Rising
Sometimes surprising the sun
Piercing the daylight
With a bright orange hue
Who are you
I wonder
Never cared
For the ego
Of the stars
Shooting
For my attention
Apollo
Followed you
Like a dream
And quite possibly
Ended the war

Your iron core is
Rock solid
Was knocked off
The face of the earth
You’re a third its size
I wish my soul
Left with you
After the asteroid
Set you free
One day
Rather night
We’ll see
If steroid strength
Can find
The energy
To make
This giant leap
For mankind

Continue to complain about how insane I’ve become,
I commend you for not running away.

I defended you
When the offensive ones pointed crooked fingers.
Now I linger in a hollow heart that cannot love,
A heart destroyed by the bitter forces of regret.

I bring you the sweetest peace after the loudest storm.
And in return I receive,
Sorrows borrowed from yesteryears
Carried onto the morrow.

Don’t bury the hate that resurfaces, destroy it.
And don’t carry the weight that brings down, drop it.

Joseph Childress

Do you know what happens when a preacher has an issue?
Reminiscent of a gangster,
He reaches for his pistol.
Fully loaded, as he explodes it,
He knows it can’t miss you.
Bullets of advice he uses to settle the differences,
And his bible helps his mission.
Ammunition for the spirit and the mind
From divine intervention,
Hit men for a cause, who has a price on their head?
Devoted to his job he empties the clip full of holy lead,
Exorcising the demons
Controlling your uncontrollable urge to sin.
But sometimes old endings
Are merged with new beginnings
Thus blending
This unstoppable urge to again, begin sinning,
Then again presenting
The need for the preacher’s mending.
This demon won’t stop trying,
Though it can be managed.
The demon will never die, but it can be damaged.
Hearts not strong enough become salvage,
Unless the Preacher with his pistol
Assures the demon is vanquished.
The never ending war between good and evil
Still has to be fought.
Hopefully Heaven has enough arsenals
To help those distraught.

Joseph Childress

Can a rose survive winter?
You may know of the rose
Which arose from impossible grounds,
Defying the laws which told the rose it could not grow.
Although this beautiful flower came into existence,
Regardless of the environment that tried to prevent it,
It still has many tribulations that it must overcome,
The cold winter is near and won’t succumb for anyone.

The temperature drops, the sun hides away,
The dew which used to be so satisfying now turns to frost,
Slowly suffocating the flower, all hope is lost.
The first snowflake drops, the plants fade away,
The fresh smell of pine trees now takes its place,
Quickly covering the smells the rose thought would stay.

The rose petals begin to crumble, texture begins to toughen,
The hue turns brown, the rose amounts to nothing.
The head of the rose now faces the ground,
That godforsaken ground that no other rose could be found.

It’s so unfair to watch something so miraculous
Be forced to despair,
It kind of makes the mind to ponder
If a miracle was ever there.

The months go by, winter comes to an end.
The snow melts in days, as spring begins.
Beautiful plants begin to grow
And in the exact spot where the tragedy came to be,
There is sign of another rose
So similar to the one we used to know.

It’s so amazing
To watch a rose come alive,
It kind of makes you wonder
If the rose ever died.

I only had a shot
But I guess it went to my head…

Alcohol is wrong
Even if it’s just a sip
It will make the cool, calm,
Collect
Calamity and chaos
The cause and effect
Affects those who loves the effects
Just ‘cause
Even when I have what I call
A “Babysitter”
That watchful eye by my side
I still drink til I die
Because when the bottles
Get to popping they wanna take part
Now my designated driver
Can’t remember where we parked
Now I gotta walk home
7 miles In the dark
In the Grand river of Hennessey
And come to find out…
I wasn’t walking I was driving
And I had my best friend
In the passenger side
And
That buzz in my ear
Was no bug
It was them screaming
But I was too buzzed to hear
I just cracked another beer

At the bar,
Cracking brews.
Brewing trouble
Only begets trouble
And it’s is made double
When you had too much bubble
I think I’m fighting
But I’m just stumbling
I think I’m arguing
But I’m really just mumbling
And when I come to my senses
I’ll wake up feeling like ****
Next to another naked woman
I never met
Yea I got laid
But when you don’t
Remember in increment
Of your escapade,
The sentiment fades
And you really just want
To go to the clinic to
To check if this chick got AIDs.
Harmony
Between the dark and white liquor,
Now I’m sicker than sickle-cells,
This liquor sells,
This liquid kills,
This liquor made me lick her,
Now I ain’t feeling well,
I fall under my hang over spells,
I swear!
I only had a shot
But I guess it went to my head.

Joseph Childress

Absence makes the heart grow
Fonder for most
Somber for some
Odd of others

The presence of love
Is the foremost force
In the divorce
Of reason

Attachments
Magnets
Victims of attraction
Repel
Then make tractions
That keep the world
Moving

Rebels revel
In revolution
Worshipping
The great changing
Like crescent moons
Before the new

Each phase
Relays the latest trend
As love, hate and sin
Blends in a cocktail
Of delusion

Drunkards play martyr
In the extremist
Conditions
Relentless systems of belief
That leaves relief
For the reliving of death

The children witness it all
Imitating
And coming up shorter
Than expectations
With each generation
Alternating ideas
For alternatives
Altering native ways of thinking

Beings battle for correction
In facilities
As others rights
Squander
In the quelling of dissent
Fighting fear
Is dear
To the hearts of trendsetters
Setting the standard
For the new age
New way of thinking

Off to Walden’s Lake
For the Great Disappearance
Dissing appearance
For the sake of absence
As absentmindedness
Watches from afar
Don’t worry
I’ll return with enough
Civil disobedience
The laws will have to change
In our honor

By Joseph Childress

Backyard parties
Are more free
Then open houses
No limit power
Sky ceilings
And ground floorings
Flourished
On earth's home
Earth tone colors
And bright flowers
Compliment one another
Feng shui settings
Decorated by nature
Greet guests
And shade neighbors
This lawn is alive
So my backyard is favored

Let our collective imagination
Turn to stone
Antique collectibles
For our future
To own

The dissent
In current politics
Tries to prevent
The Third World War…

Earth’s civil war

The third rock
Becomes
The third world

Third eye
See’s it all
But
The blind leads us

Illuminati Catholicism

The Popes
False sense of hope
Falls
Since
The World holds on
And drags us
All
Down with it

Withering destiny
Dying
In the arms of humanity

Beautiful bibles
Used against
Those
Who know no
Interpretation

The courageous Koran
Has a cordial
Approach to
Oppression
The New Age Martyr
Dies
And ties a noose
Big enough
For two

Jews choose to
Subdue
The wealth
Money is the root
Of it all
But whose truly to blame
If the claims
To royalty
Are fought by all

No-names
Fight for fame
Like nomads
Of a tribe
The top
Is pursued
With the body left behind
Most kings end headless
With their body left behind

The future
Is a faint painting
Blurred from lack of vision
The piece lacks
Precision
From those high
Off power
Making the wrong decisions

By Joseph Childress

Help me write this poem
For real
Grab a pen
Yours is customized
From things we remembered
So you know
The amount of energy
And time
That went into creating
This creator of art

I am working
On my greatest masterpiece
And I need your assistance
"The Book of Love"
Is the title I chose
It's more dictionary
Than novel
The definition is long I admit
100 pages
To explain the one thing that
Helped me create it

You helped me create this
How could you forget
The reality we shared
Of course
This book is dedicated to you
The course
I took is worth the degrees
Of the sun
But it took my cold heart
To keep me
From burning these pages

I love
You
Don’t care

In-diff-er-ent
Isn't paid
Much attention
In my apartment
We’ll
End-if-her-rent
Isn’t paid
In our
Department
But who cares?

Separation
Doesn't
Always cause pain
And pain
Isn't always
The cause
Of separation

We just
Happened
To drift away
Like
Messages in a bottle
Off the coast
With no intent
Of being found
Our lonely islands
Are crowded
With shadows
Of friends

We forget the darkness
Because at least
We no longer
Burn each other
With our angst
And anger

We remember
Everything
Except rations
Of ourselves
We left
Like t-shirts
And underwear
Tangled
In each others
Laundry

Then throw
Them away
Find them
Another day
in the exact same place
We excavated them
The returnment
Of our undesirables
Show fate’s
Sense of humor
But
Only a stubbornness
Such as ours
Could devour fate
And disavow
The vows
It set out
To make...

We
Will
Never
Be
Again
Never
Again
Will
We
Be

Sums
Up the sum
Of each halves
And the total
Is something
The totaled
Hearts
Can live with...

By Joseph Childress

James was correct
This is
A Man's World
Man made his story
And left
Her
Out the picture
Even after the labor
She suffered
To create him....

They call us son
Yet it ain't no shine
When she's gone
No woman
No warmth
No womb
No cry,
'Cause poppa's around
And grandpa
Taught him to shed blood
Not tears

No rain
During droughts
The fruit of life
Deserted
For artificial desserts
Man made
Destruction
And through blind loyalty
I'll continue their instructions...

No cry.

Enclosed
In the cottage
If this
Writer’s Blockage
Lasts
For too long
How lost
Would I be
The reason
For being
Alone this season
Was to grow
My talents
Like an Eagle’s talons
And claw through
The surface
For the purpose
Of providing
A service
That
Serves vice
The plate of truth
Unknowing to those
Who don’t know
Right
From wrong
Produced as a song
Bereft of a beat
Unleft alone
The agitation
Becomes aggravated assault
As I rip the pages
Out the book
To my own fault
I locked the lessons
I was to learn
In a vault
Which doesn’t collapsed
Under the pressure
But becomes stronger
Time lapses
As my mind run laps
And replays the days
When control
Was in tact
Now I let loose
And dug myself
Further in the hole
Any further
Sleep’s cousin
Will become us
Me
And my goals
Lie dead in the same bed
All because
I was too proud
To beg
Myself for forgiveness
Of putting me in this prison
Away from society
With plans
To raise propriety
But how
Can one learn
To better himself
When he’s alone
With no teacher
But himself
So selfish of me
To leave
The fate of the world
In my hands
Too stubborn
To share
My final air
With theirs 

Enclosed
In the cottage
If this
Writer’s Blockage
Lasts
For too long
How lost
Would I be
The reason
For being
Alone this season
Was to grow
My talents
Like an Eagle’s talons
And claw through
The surface
For the purpose
Of providing
A service
That
Serves vice
The plate of truth
Unknowing to those
Who don’t know
Right
From wrong
Produced as a song
Bereft of a beat
Unleft alone
The agitation
Becomes aggravated assault
As I rip the pages
Out the book
To my own fault
I locked the lessons
I was to learn
In a vault
Which doesn’t collapsed
Under the pressure
But becomes stronger
Time lapses
As my mind run laps
And replays the days
When control
Was in tact
Now I let loose
And dug myself
Further in the hole
Any further
Sleep’s cousin
Will become us
Me
And my goals
Lie dead in the same bed
All because
I was too proud
To beg
Myself for forgiveness
Of putting me in this prison
Away from society
With plans
TO raise propriety
But how
Can one learn
To better himself
When he’s alone
With no teacher
But himself
So selfish of me
To leave
The fate of the world
In my hands
Too stubborn
To share
My final air
With theirs

Thoughts of you
Can keep
Sleep up all night

I refuse to battle
The bat of your eyelashes
My heart paces fast
As an attack
And when I die
A kiss
On the cheek
Electrifies

!!!ME!!!

Back to life
Why
Did you not
Let me rest
Though the kiss
Was just a greet
You know
It makes me weak
100 ways to stay awake
Through the rain
And their all
Memories
Of you
The sound
Of your name
Can drown the
Noise
Of a storm
Thundering
While the sun's out
Confused
Yet still
It has nothing on you

I am a caged animal, not a human being.
Not a caged bird, though I know why it sings.
More like a circus lion, forced to jump rings,
The world is my audience
And everywhere I walk is the stage.
People say I’m free to walk but someone keeps me caged,
The crowd gives applause,
And point their fingers,
I’m enraged.
I’m just an angry *** animal, not a human being.
I have animalistic behavior and beastly features,
Can an animal be a savior and a beast a preacher?
We’re all God’s creatures,
But what you see is an animal caged,
Like I’m not a human being.
Even though I’m on this stage,
There’s not a being more human than me.

I walk through the flame
With a torch
Scorching
Heat rises
While the Sun sets
Scolding Iron
Black burns
From the white hot

Esteemed
The bloods boiling
About to erupt
And rupture
The surface
Earth is
Perfect
For destruction
I get to choose
Shall I just quake
And make shook?
Or just break
And make soot?
To explode
Or stay put?
I can enter
As emperor
Ashes and embers
In the center of
Cinders
I stood
Like a cintaur
I was sent for
Tinders and timber
Fire from the heavens
Rays
To dissarray
I can reign
In array
In a way
That braises
Those in the way
I rose
At dusk
As dust showers
A presence with
A towering essence

I reckon
My wreckage
Has a message

Make haste
Or you will ruin
My hue in tune
With my shoes
Blues tone
Tutone
My red bones
Wouldn't break
If you through stones
Whose on?
Rock solid boulder
I smolder
I decide
When to explode
I can mold
Or stand bold

My manifold is manifested
In my crest

The formation maker
of multanimous nature!

I decide!
Devastation
Or Resignation?

Devise a planetary Invasion
or
Reassign my placement?

I think this nation
Is destined
To be the destination
For infestation

Seize the day, because it might be your last,
Leave the problems, drama, and fights in the past.
You can cry later, but now you should laugh,
You never know when you’ll see your life in a flash.

And when your whole life flashes before your eyes,
That same time and moment that you realize,
That your days have demised and you’re about to die,
Please don’t act surprised, and please don’t ask why.

People don’t realize that we’re on borrowed time,
Living there lives like tomorrow never dies.
Believing that their lives, are actually their lives,
And in there lies, what appears a clever lie.
But if our lives, were actually our lives,
Wouldn’t we be able to choose when it was our time.
Instead your destiny is undefined,
And you’re destined to be unalive.

Eternity is the enemy of mortality,
So internally we wish for immortality.
But even immortality is reached from immorality,
Unless you happen to become a nature’s casualty,
Only if it happens naturally,
Can your passage be in existence, your mortal inexistence,
But you’ll exist in the Heavens you enlist in.


Then, and only then, can you live life at ease,
The days you no longer will have to seize,
On the set day you leave,
Before death is seen,
The concept of “days” you leave.
Does this mean that after life
Time will lose meaning?
Will life after death leave us with nothing to believe in?
Will we still try to seize the day
When we become immortal beings?

Seize the night, better known as afterlife,
Leave the light of the days out of sight
And take sight of rays of the moonlight,
This is your new light and your renewed life.

I believe that upon your birth on earth,
It’s really your death,
And you won’t see rebirth,
Until the earth you’ve left.

So what does this mean, does life have no meaning?
No, just look at it as if we’re all just dreaming,
And we won’t wake up until we’re no longer breathing.
I guess this means life is really but a dream.

But can someone please tell me why,
We’re stripped from the heavens,
And sent here to die?

I believe some of God’s lessons,
Can only be learned through a mortal mind,
And most of life’s blessings
Are appreciated more when you’re inclined
To the belief that your days will end in time.

Day is the life we know,
Night is life to come.
In the day we’re supposed grow,
We see the night when we the growing’s done.
From whence the sun rose, is where the moon will glow,
The orbs of our lives, we should seize both.

Catatonic expressions
On a
Schizophrenic adolescent
Bipolar bearings
Helping ‘em stand
On both sides
Of the argument

Arduous Amore
The Mental Asylum
Silences me
If I speak
I’ll show how weak
My will
To not spill
Crazy thoughts
Is
I remain thoughtless
My conclusion
Signifies delusion
I hypothesize
My hyperactivity Is a hyperbole
Constructed
By psychotic psychiatry
Sigmund Freud
Prescribed *******
And left
The remains
Of white dust
On the brains
That trust
Like the kid
With ADD
Who adds pills
To feel
Emotionless  
If too much emotion is
Not a enough
To be a human
I’ll alienate
Myself from
You men
Few men
Understand
The acumen of Wisdom
They fear
What they don’t know
I’m unknown
Anonymous
Synonymous
With the Question Mark
Who am I?
This question marks
The beginning
Of most journeys
Mine began
With
I know who I am,
But how can I show it?

I became
An open book
That was over looked
By the minds
I tried to reach
Read
As comic relief
For
The Intellectually Elite

Catchy clichés
Can calm nerves if spoken
At the right moment
Appreciative tokens
Of atonement
Can amend this friendship
For the moment
Leave me left
And I’ll be found
Righteous
In my attempts at
Tempering your aggression

Either way I win.

Marriage & Children
Divorce & Retirement
The best things
Come to an end
Which leaves room
For a cycle to begin
Recycling my romantic
Ideals
Of true love

Either way I win.

Deception
Misery & Mystery
Inceptions
Of mystic prophets
Who provide
Love potions with ironic twists
Like the iconic wits
Of philosophists
Who admit to know nothing
This concoction
Can con-artist-ically convince
Common sense
To become rare
Drunken affection
With lips that tell lies
As often as the truth
It tries to depict

Either way I win.

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.

"Could've"
Can be a cold word
The shadow of regret
"Chance"
Has a silhouette
With enhanced details
That show over time
Chants and rants
On the definition
Of the enchanted emotion
So much power
And so little time
To learn how to use it
Still,
It's never useless
I say
Never use less
Words than needed
Or else
"Could've" will become you

By Joseph Childress

This is practice
The climatic ending
We've been reliving
Since we've been passing
Bottles of passion

They explode like champagne
Or the breaking of glasses
When we let go

This abuse
Is useless
The pain is duller
Than the point I made
When I said
We were mad for each other

I meant
Made for each other
But we've mistaken each other
For designated driver's
Our destination
We'll never make
But, you're smarter than me

You'll get another ride
And me
I'll take another shot
Before I leave

Midnight cravings
Of food for thought
The hunger for more
What’s in store
I can’t afford
Just need
A little more change
This time
The current
Tides
I’ll ride
Until the currents change
I’ll trade my time
For money
The current exchange
Daylight saving’s
Time
To savor the day
Use each moment
Pursuing the suit
Of happiness
Happy is the destination
Motivation
Is the vehicle
The fuel
Is expensive
Probably
Is it probable
To assume my problems
Are perpetuated
By the
Way I think?
After all
I'm educated
Without a degree
Knowledge
Of a teacher
Without the salary
But
How will I eat??
No calories
Mean
No energy
Seen
Less casualties
From
Just a lack of sleep
The combination
Of both
Bring
Midnight hungers
Which
Brings hope
To
Spring me
Out of this heat
Like the fall
Of the summer
How far is
What I seek?
The back of my mind
Wonders
I wander
To destinations
I can’t reach
Which fuels
The infinite motivation
I need

Don’t read this
Current exchange
Of words
As ink on paper
Read them
Like a new testament
Of the love
I sacrifice
All I ask in return
Is for you to testify in court
As a witness
As I try to appeal
To the layers
Of disbelief
In the jury
As I speak…

We often have so many misfortunes in life,
We get used to being used by pain’s might.
But if we hold tight,
Regardless of life’s hardships,
Or the steepness of our plight,
We just might keep sight
The fortunes only seen at night.

If you ask me,
The sun’s beauty cannot compare to that of the moon.
Stare at the blazing sunlight,
And I’ll watch you go blind.
While I gaze at the moon’s eyes,
And one day have nocturnal sight.

Sometimes it’s hard to follow the light
When your surroundings are bright.
But it’s easy to find the spark
When your days are dark.

The deadly sinner, committer of Pride,
Sinister commissioner with a mission to hide,
But only hidden behind eyes shut wide.
I’m described as a scribe that tells the most beautiful lies,
Inscribed on my spine are scriptures,
And wings ready for flight,
But only when the time’s right,
Till then my pen spills sins, as I write,
Irate as I rant about the things I can’t.
I am the Tyrant, self-made king of violence,
****** he wrote, But innocently he spoke.
I devise wise plans with a smart mouth,
And my poetic device could take a life!
Smiling faces tell tall-tales, so a frown makes well,
Stories told so cold, it could make a brown face pale.
Base it off true stories, then mislead them with rhythm,
I break through hymns, and change live with ‘em.
Talking with a slick tongue known to ****** virgins’
Do not disturb him…
Illusionist using his wits to twist intent,
The effect so intense,
The crowd laughing at my drama,
And crying at my comics.
Over your head like inside jokes,
Solo, but so high, I’m thinking outside your box,
And undermining.
Minding my own business,
With money and top of it.
Pondering my lines is suicide,
Repentless sins, “in a sense”,
Even if you avoid ****** wrists,
You’re still “guilty” of pleasure.
Mind Imprisonment isn’t a kind enough gesture,
So fans, family and friends, read my lethal injections.

My ignorance
Is no longer blissful
I said "I love you"
And I meant to
I commend you
For not returning the favor
Clearly
You would not
Have meant it
Demented thoughts
Would be brought
To the mind
Of a false lover
But I
Am not bitter
I’d wither
With her
Miscommunication
Communing
With a Miss
Whose kisses
Tell stories
Weak lips
Trying to force
Passion
Though mine
Blazes like a fire
You coldness
Froze me
I recognize
Dislike
Distaste
Dissatisfied
With this stratified
Hate
Hiding beneath
The layers
And presented
As a gift
A curse
Is wrapped beautifully
It used to please
But love’s police
Seized
All the properties
Although
My ill-gotten gains
Will be forgotten
My repression
Of your memory
Will return
As déjà vu
If I see you
In
Another life

Discombobulated...

"Bob! You late Again!?"
Its not
A statement
You can make
To make her change
The date again

Happy Belated
Birthday celebrations
Embracing
Her forgiveness
As the cure
For your forgets
Forged
Your signature style
Across the lines
Of her smile
As you kiss
With the intent
To signal her bliss
And ignorance

What's in store
For her
Is distortion
This portion of life
Fused with confusion
Contortionist
Twisting
The body
Of lies
With the a prose
That matches
Her pose
Unjustified margins
Never
Crossing the red line
But riding it
Writing with a wit
That could
Split her brain
In half
You call it
The gift a gab

Emotions versus Logic
The verse is
Littered with poetry
Personified
As a woman
Mixed feelings
Remixed
And mastered
To produce
A new product
For you to accept
Instead
You neglect

Her
Collected thoughts
!Implode!
She gathers
The pieces
To gain recollection
Of what happened

To her
To you
To love

She battles
Herself
To win the war
With you

Tie the knot
For christ sake!
Or undue
"To hell
With you!"

She yells
Her voice fails
To really reach you
It takes
Two
To tangle
Not to tango
To tango
Is to dance
And you'd
Miss your step
Every chance
You get

She feels
Obligated
To feel
For her first love
Inoculated
By the drug
That leaves her

Discombobulated...

By Joseph Childress

Red letters
Wrapped in velvet
With heartfelt sentiment
Passion uncovered
Enveloped in naked truth
Special attention
Opening up
On birth and holidays
Old age wine
Or brand spirits
Breaking seals
To spill emotion
Untying ribbons
Expose love
In it's barest form
Intimate gift giving
Sharing time
For soul's mate
Exchanging
Our body of work
For playing outside
Enjoying
The rejoining
Of missing pieces
And coming full circle

I am not mad!
This scientist intentions
Were only to be inventive
With science
And look what I've invented!
Made a dead man
Come alive
From live wires
Electrifying
Like lightning rods
From a God
I am the creator
Shall my creation
Worship me
Work for me
or Sacrafice
A Life?

An animals?
Or his own?

On his own
Like an animal

Will he
Look to me
For guidance
Like
From father to son
Or sun to man

Study
all of my
Writings
Read my work
Like a bible

And spread my scriptures
Which were
Ripped up
Pages out a journal
Out-dated
Which
I used in the beginning
Addressing
Old testaments
From old tests and
Old testing kits
When I made my first attempt
At revelation
He,
The prophet
Concluded my project

No matter
How loyal
My creation

The formula
To be able
To be royalty
Is made by faith

Will he reject my claims
And claim
I lack proof

I made you
In my image
So I guess
Like you do
And hypothesize life
Until I have
The power to create
One

Ever so eager to be evil,
Only way to avenge is by revenge.
Committing sins that’s justified
When you amend
Like when men pray then “Amen”.
Convinced by the belief that you’re reprieved
When you repent.
You stick with it
Even though you know it makes no sense.
The only way to hit where it hurts is by malevolence,
Benevolence hardly hurts when it hits
So it’s irrelevant.
Why **** ‘em with kindness,
When you can **** ‘em with violence,
**** acts of kindness,
And act with vileness,
That’s about as mean and wild as vile gets.
Meanwhile, foul gets the best of you,
But what will get the rest of you?
Believing that god is still blessing you,
When karma starts addressing you,
God is really testing you,
Hopefully you catch it
Before you’re taken to hell’s vestibule.

Constantly changing
Like constellations
Through
Seasons
We see son’s
Of our fathers
In the stellar
Configurations
Scientifically
Debating
The reality
Of make-believe

As humans
We strive
To find purpose
I propose
The deposition
Of myths
Are dispositions
In need of disposing
This poses
The belief
That science is all we need

I suppose
Rather
Postulate
Our posture
has change from
Hunchback
To upright
Because
We’re in the right
Direction
Abstract
Ideas
Such as love
Take a back seat
To concrete evidence
Of necessity

Your conception
Of love
Was simply a misconnection
In the synapses
Of your brain
You truly
See me
As a proper mate
For continuation
Of our primates

******
Isn’t conceived
As such
With our fellow
Beings in life
Our nonsense
Perception
In meeting
After death
Is laughed at
In the kingdom
Of animals

If evil
Is ever
The right decision
I guess
Injustice
Can be found
In justice

If righteous
Is ever
The solution
To abuse then
I guess
In retrospect
I can respect
Retribution

Evolving
Into the final human
Is a slow changing
Progress
Mutating
To survive
In the environment
That becomes
Harsh
With our further
Proofs
In the lack of use
For love

The marsh brings
Reptilian
Tendencies
Spewing venom
With split tongues
Awaiting
Full separation
Usurping serpents
Urging the up-rise
Of our final
Being
In love’s insurgence
Hisses
Drown the
Sounds of kisses
And signals
The sign...
We finally evolved.

It hurts
To get pulled
In opposite directions
When your soul
Wants nothing more
Than to remain
In it’s position

The pealing off of suits
Offer
An awful truth
Inner me exposed
Like the falling of defenses
Or
Enemy exposed
Like the failing of a friendship

If the lord
Should grant my soul
Enough courage to be shown
I promise
To never be a show
Or entertainer to be owned

Jailhouse blues
Aren’t only sung by caged birds
I’m free
And I sing
Because
I haven’t earned my wings

The unveiling of my secret
Societal mind
Will amplify
The ample voices
Speaking at the same time

It hurts
To get pushed
In one position
When your mind
What’s nothing less
Than to go
In all directions

Farce!
False!
Fantasy maybe. Even still,
It’s far from fact.
Fiction!
I've seen more accurate depictions
Of Love
In abstract pictures.
At least it’s fierce colors
Show so form of passion
Fashion!
Artistic? It can be
But this is trendy
It'll fade as a
Fad!
True art is timeless
Truth? It can be
But this is candy
Not fruit
This is pop
Not soul
Technically it’s music
Because of it’s movement
But this needed no muse
Only tech
No chords
Piano or vocal
Only vocoder!
Inhumane, alien maybe.
But even the Vulcan
Shows some form of fire  
Folktale!
Fog!
The misleading smoke
Shows no water
In the vicinity
Only industry
The only esteem
In this engine
Is steam
Gas.
The closest thing
To nothing
Fodder!
Deflowered. Devoured
By self-expression
Selfish innovators imitating life
Forgetting to live it.
****!

Set the mood
So the setting
Sits well
Magnificence
Magnified
By the affection you've displayed
Imagine
If this magic we've witness
Could be the norm
Take off with me
As we cruise beneath the storm
Worry free
Hurrily
Through the gates of paradise
Before the end of life
Hold tight
As we ride
On the waves
Good byes
Wicked highs
As we set sail
Coast across
This endless sea
While islands stand idle
Sandy beaches touch
The tide
And your foot
Prints faint memories
On the shore

Your heart soars
And
Your heart sores

Blood paints tragedy
Across halls
Of a beach house
A spouse
Is found unloved
Barely living life merry
The wife carries guilt
And it hurts to birth sadness
Just to grow up
To be a killjoy
Madness
Clashes with a smile
It drops
Crashes in the pile
Of lost laughter
How tragic
The fastest route
To self-doubt
Was tooken
Scenic pictures
Seemed obscene
To your dark eyes
Images shooken
And unfocused
Under a dim light
One for both of us
Our past was so bright
But the future fades to black...

To love or loathe?
That is the question…

Answer
And the quest begins
Then ends
Happily ever

After
One’s up, on a time
When other‘s are down and hate
Your Laughter.

By Joseph Childress

This isn't coincidence
These predicaments
Don't occur
From compromise
I promise
This instance
Was made from insistence
Fate
Need not play a role
Why chase you
When I can stalk truth
And take soul a step further
I sing blues
Off cue
And play keyboards
Off key
To mimmick the mockery
Of clowns that show grief
Or clones that make art to show originality
The irony
Can leave wrinkles
In the corner of a smile
But for me
This comedy
Isn't worth my while
If this tragedy
is but a wrinkle
On the loose leaves of the wild
I don't aim
To tame these emotions
I only aim
For your heart
With arrow's pen-pointed
I always draw my words
The most artistic of weapons
If you listen
This suicide will be assisted
Either save face
Or erase your pencil thin smile
Although,
We'll fall from grace
At least
We're falling with style.

Fame frightens me
So evil
With it's disguise

Fans holler your name
When you rise

Then scream
When you dive

Their love
Rides at the edge of hate
Too close
The
Applauds are just
As loud as the crowd's laughter
When you fall
No sympathy for the weak
You are
The almighty celebrity

So that billboard in the sky
Is a mirror image
No blemish
Finished
Perfectly

Are you?

My mugshots show
An ugly side
Never before seen
My front
Was just as bad
It wasn't me
I swore

Lie in front cameras
Paparazzi
Spot's me
And shoots me
Repeatedly
I turn around
To run away
And twist my ankle
And hit my face

I can't see

The flashing lights
Are so blinding
I stand up
And
Run to my ride
Hoping I won't die
Like the princess
Inching closer
I jump inside
And pull off
With a vengence

They follow me
In vans
Advancing at a pace
No ordinary
Horse-power could
Soar at
Gaining on me

High beams
Blind my rear-view
Mirror shows
All
Even in the privacy
Of my car
I remain
In spotlight

I haven't read this script
Let alone rehearsed
Will this high speed chase
End
Or is the next scene
In a hearse?

I bent
The rules
Because
Of an emergency
Who knew
My hidden followers
Would emerge
And see
The emerging seas
And have faith
My staff
Would break
The flood

Then take
My shortcuts
Emulate
And shortcome
And drown
In fate

I am
Far from great

The average joe
Dressed
In a multi-colored cloak
Spent days
In the Lion’s Den
Growls
Rang load
Above grounds
The sounds
Played silently
In the ears
Of the proud
Fool
Too foolish
To be afraid
Another
Risk-taken
They’ve mistaken
My leap of faith
For suicide
I’d die
For my cause
But now’s
Not the time

I’m a fresh out of high school, freshman, at college.
I got scholarships and grants,
So to my mind I pay homage.
It’s granted that I’m a scholar,
Ready for the next look.
Made my way to school, no cash for textbooks,
I can work my way around that,
But that was only the beginning,
Then my mind got caught up in the time I was spending.
Mood started dropping in the letters I was sending,
Moms got worried cause my grades started slipping,
And matters got worst when my girl started tripping,
Couple trips to my home,
Family matters rise,
School coming to an end,
Stress at an all time high.

First summer out of college I get guns to my brain,
Out of school and in the city, the drama remains.
They never pulled the trigger
But my hood still shooting for me.
My problems getting bigger,
But my mom still rooting for me.
So I got to keep fighting,
With the dark truths you threw before me.
I stand in this line to success,
And everyone getting through before me.
I’m not making excuses;
I’m just trying to tell you the story.
I wouldn’t say I lost my way
Rather my way lost me,
So I have to change my ways,
Because losing is costly.
I refuse to be lost just as I refuse to lose,
I was just misplaced,
Just as you do a pair of shoes,
But I found where I was,
And I’m ready to move.

I am not a college dropout,
Just fell really hard,
I did fail some classes but won’t be classified as a failure.
I just failed to recognize seriousness of my decline,
Decided on readmission and I’ll admit I was denied.
My past had a grasp that was too hard to shake,
And it’s still trying to grab me back to that mental state.
Hood mentality, but I won’t diverge from my reality.
I will not return to the state of mind
That tries to keep me down.
Memories will be the keepsake,
That state tried to beat me down.
You think I climbed in this position only to drop out?
The only thing I’m dropping is bad habits
And regretted mistakes,
All of which are trying to block my escape.
I just want to leave the past in the past,
And just pass every class
That’s thrown in my face.

I will deny anyone or anything that states…
“I have to face the fact that failure is my fate.”

For every fail
I promise
To prevail tenfold
I'll multiply exponentially
In the multitude of exponents
I've handled carelessly
Through the years
The hearts affected
May never repair
I'll repent
Whether forgiven
Or forbidden
In hopes to console
Know
I have control
Regardless
Of regard or disregarded
I've discarded
All rocks
And hardplaces
That reside in my heart
I've guarded
Insecurity for far too long
I've longed
For disarmament
Like peace keepers
And prayed
For the tearing down
Of these walls
Like Germans from Berlin
Since 1989
My history tells
A story of falls
And progression
Transgressions
From past sessions
In classes
Of no interest
Now
Shows current
Though currency
Can never measure success
I owe
So much to you
And myself

There were
Words upon a page
Written chronologically.
Chronically illogical
Logically impossible
Possibly an anomaly
And that would be
Phenominal

"The fate of failures, is perfection"

Attempts at great
Aren't practical
Without practice
Wrong turns had to be made
To find a new world
Order a new atlas
Errors addressed
At last
We find where to go
Because of someone's
Shortcomings

Trials
I err
Human is what I prefer
It's a blessing
My preference
For learning my life lessons
Is by living
Yes, I listen
But I'm missing the point
I have perfect vision
But Im def-
Finitely trying to zero in
Do you hear me?
Or at least see
Where I'm coming from
Nothing
The only option is more

If I plunder then fall
I'll spring
Before summer
Without having cold feet
Cowardice
Never climbed mountains
But a wise guy
Kept his toes
And still walks
The open road

Success
Is but a mile a way
My failures
Are just footprints
It's easy
To see
Where I tripped
But know
I never tripped
About it
When I reach
What seems to be
Overnight success
Just know
How you see me
Is the night before
And it took me
Ten thousand miles
To get to this
Opened door

I wish
I could write my way
Out of this one
One too many
Slips of the mind
And forgets
Of deadlines
Lining up
To collect their debt

Take my time!
I don’t
Give a ****
Though my time
Is measured
There are infinite
Minutes
To obtain after life
I sold so much
To stay alive
But never my soul
What’s the purpose
Of life without it
I doubted
I’d ever be placed
So low
On the spectrum
Of happiness
But I happen
To have a heart
That beats regardless
Of a hardship

A list of loans
To be made
I borrowed
More than could be paid
During my days
In the burrows
Buried by my mistakes
Helping hands were lent
I took a grip
An uplifted spirit
With
A price tag
That wasn’t fit
For this
Budget
I wouldn’t
Budge
If this loss
Is my final
Than Finally!
I choose to refuse!
Help
For the price
Of my life
And lose
Again.

Again,
I gain something
From a loss
Against the odds
On the eve
Of destruction
Fate
Made a statement
That was heaven sent
A testament
That tests a man’s
Strength
Overcome this disease
Or come to your knees
And succumb
To defeat
Decisions will be made
To give in
Is out the question
Giving your will
Is instilled
And your vision
See’s the blessings
Seize the blessing
And received
The lesson learned
Let it burn
As a memory
Tattooed permanently
And showcased
For all to see
As history
Stares at its future
Which you’ve
Created