I've said it before...
I could spend the rest of my life with you from the start.
Kids or not, whatever you would want.
With a house where we could make ends meet
And still make all of our art.

It's a dream, but some people will try hard enough in this world
Where they can come true.
Whenever I am drunk, lonely, *****, being hit on or flirting,
I always think of you...

I know you know what love is; somewhere hiding inside.
I don't just act like I love you when I am around,
I act and feel it wherever I go, I don't have to try.

But you can't promise me anymore. Just do it or don't.
I just want you to start living, and see what you find.

Love me, or love me no more. Let's please make up our mind.

The reason why it's so hard for us to get paid and live on our words is because words don't cost us anything to give.

I sit on the street and pass out my writing.
All but a few keep on driving.

Do I just sit here and lock up my poems?
Throw them in a vault and never show anyone?

I sit in the market and pass out my writing.
All but a few keep on talking.

***** it. I don't care if nobody will pause to read.
And I don't care what they say about me, because words are cheap.

I sit on the pier and pass out my writing.
All but a few keep on walking.

Those who dare to sit and read, instead of speak while blind
Will find the value in a stranger's lines
Hidden just underneath.

I sit on a mountain and pass out my writing.
A hiker came by today and did something strange...

He started reading.

My Grandmother told me stories
How she lived across the street from Bugsy Siegel's mother in Brooklyn
If you knew my family, it's hardly believable.
Mobsters near the family, I was told "things always fell off the truck."
I guess Great Grandpa Willie made it by, must have had good luck.

Berger became Bock, Grandma Marcia married Joel, my Grandpa.
He left Brooklyn for the Air force and they moved to Arkansas
East to Midwest, to West....
Grandma went with him, they finally rested in sunny California.
Willie would have been proud of Joel when he served during Korea.

William Berger passed away, I never knew him.
We now have scholars, businessmen, artists and athletes
It's iconic how living here will shape your reality
The memories and moments of a family to which we clutch
Softly being recorded, my family history shows how much he loved us.

A mysterious, touching legacy was left over time.
I'm sure my grandmother keeps pictures and pages I will never find.
No matter what, whether he was honest, hardworking, or in crime,
I know he did it all for his family, prosperity or depressing times.

I was told he had a lot of courage, and always made friends
I wish I could have seen his face, I wish I could have met the man.

Grandma says I look like him.

From last to pulling first, underdog all the way
David is beating his Goliath, winning with his gains
Took a down to make an up, slim grin, courage and experience
Finally it's now payday

Found the energy drink of emotion
That liquid juice of intense life
Drives the will forward, giving confidence
He's moving up the ranks

Seen the errors of the past, this will is strong
The crowd is cheering, wings outdrawn, this takes no effort at all
Can do this for weeks, can't feel pain anymore
He's going for first, silver won't cut it

Whether it's a wish that's chased, A life trying to be made
The distance is relative, infinite space, in the face
Bull-rushed, heart of a child and beat of a bass drum
Nothing is stopping him now.

Started knowing not where to finish, relentless
You gotta give credit to those who go the limit
Insanity or determination,
Looks like he is finally winning his race

...I'm feeling lucky today

Scratch it out, scratch it into a tree.
Put it down in history, or erase it from memory.
Just don't go insane, you know it's not necessary.

I want there to be nothing but smiles on your faces.
I want music playing, with laughter and dancing.
I want you all to know how much I loved you.
I want to fade away into that soft light, the quiet night.
I want to walk out the door without a farewell
Because there are no such thing as goodbyes.

I'm trying to get off the floor
Hard and painful to break through
This selfish, superficial glass ceiling called corporate.
I have no choice but to sit and sacrifice to it.
Why is it always about money?

No room for the artist, the poet
No time for the writer, nor the dreamer.
I know I need to be at this nine-to-five
If I ever want to afford my paper and pencils.
Determined to write through this candlelight

But when you take the time to look at my face, or stare into my eyes
You will see a river flowing with such grace and force
It will flood your world and make you cry.
With such emotion in a moment of infinite love
That you will feel like you were ready to die.

I have thoughts I want to share with you, if you have the time.
I'm patient though, at least I'm trying.

Such good poets on here!
You guys are awesome.
Y'all make my life better.

:-)

Is on my back left shoulder.
I forget it's there sometimes.
It is a tree of life and all of it's changes.
Because of it, when I die, I won't be buried with my family.

Just burn me, turn me to dust, return me to the sea.
Because I really don't care what you think of it, or me.

You never feel like you're being used until they stop.

You keep running, I keep chasing...

I look at photographs of us to remind me of the love I have and the love you shared. Six years running.
Little things like the scent of your perfume as I pass a beauty shop makes me promise to never give up. This, my heart must bear.
Just like Jenny made Forrest Gump.
  
So you keep running, and I keep chasing you...

You say you love me. So much, that if I died, you couldn't live.
But you never stay for long by my side before you're gone again.
"You don't have to run. Just jump in, I'll give you a ride."

But you keep running, and I keep driving alongside...

Quivering amber-green eyes, afraid of staring back, glance serenely into me, gently.
She speaks somber, softly, and quickly. "I love you. Help me run, one day, you can escape from me."

Yet she keeps running, and I keep chasing her.

The diagnosis she has is an unstoppable fear.
She doesn't need to run, she just needs her home and to stop diving into tears.
The dream she shared of us together, the one she is looking for.
Every morning I pray she finds it at the finish line.

So after six years, she stops to let me hold her in my arms.
If it happens, I will never let go.

Bad like a habit, we had to have it, I can't stand it, it's just like gold to a bandit.
Well you take, what you get, when you do what you do.
It's okay, I won't give up on you.
Don't you fret, bout the mess, you don't have to wear armor.
No more, no more my amour.

~^~~^~

And when all is said and done, and we are both long gone,
Lord knows you were the only one.
And when all is said, then undone, fights we lost, or we won.
They'll know we just liked having fun playing with guns.
Playing with guns.

Put it down, pick it up, breathe again, take a plunge.
Holes in these eyes, and this skin, I see you naked, now don't give in.
And you fell how you fell, I understand that you feel down.
Freedom and prison don't mix very well, do they now?

~^~~^~

And when all is said then done, and we are both long gone,
I can't wait to see what we become.
Old souls, ghosts or angels, supernova-omegas.
They knew we just liked having fun playing with guns.
Making big bangs playing with guns.

Having fun playing with guns,
We're just having fun playing with guns.
Having fun playing with guns,
I know we're not the only ones.

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It was so real.

Addiction doesn't go away, it just gets put on the shelf.

I'm gettin' tired of tellin' everybody how bad she treats me now.
I keep hearing myself buzzing round and round,
Like a disgruntled honey bee, who can't find his hive nor his queen.
I'm a broken record by now, you know what I mean.

So I sit here on this dry, sunny day,
Drinkin' whiskey and singing the same song when I play.
I guess I just wanted her to hear me say.

I didn't like that, no. I really didn't like that.
I didn't like that, no. I really didn't like that.

She came in looking like a sin, struttin' past my way
looked me over then said, "You shouldn't gawk that way".
Then I stood up, gave in and took her home anyway,
She slipped out before the light of day.
So I say,

I didn't like that, no. I really didn't like that.
I didn't like that, no. I really didn't like that.

When you look she's divine, then find out she's a demon.
You wake up in the middle of the night,
She's got you hollerin' and screamin'.
What do you get when you love a razor with the body of Venus?
You just say,

I didn't like that, no. I really didn't like that.
I didn't like that, no. I really didn't like that.

I'm goin' back home now, done with her anyhow, anyways.
Find some land with horses, sheep, orchard trees and some cows.
This bee don't care no more 'bout his queen or the colony.
Before I left, I shot her down, then ran from the felony.
Don't do what I did, but I meant when I say,

I didn't like that, no. I really didn't like that.
I didn't like that, no. I really didn't like that.

I really didn't like that.

So we say as we play, under moonlight or day
That we can learn to love and live oh,
I feel this movement now, creeping into my bones
My lungs inhale, I sing, Oh.

We have each other, at the end of the game
We don't worry about the scores as we play
We just twiddle the time, and write down these rhymes

So we laugh as we play, under moonlight or day
That we can learn to love and see oh,
I feel this now, this movement in my bones
My hips swing then I sing, Oh.

We have each other,
We don't worry,
We just twiddle the time
Write down these rhymes, Oh

So we say as we play....
That we can learn to love and live this love,
Oh yes.

Is when you wait for that perfect time of day.
Somewhere between 4:00 and sunset when the light gives perfect sight.
Follow your rule of thirds and keep your aperture right.
More than your skills, art is within the eyes.
Which through experience and passion, just like film;
Both develop over time.

Just for that precious moment.

It starts in other countries, in other states, in other cities. We see it on the news. It doesn't affect us. When it happens to somebody we know, we grieve for them, but we won't look them in the eye.

Only when the pain and surging, suffering tide of the escaping masses comes to break down your door, will you then say, "There is no shelter here. This is MY home, stay here no more!"

And they will all cry,
"No, it is YOU that has no shelter here! Why did you look away when they went for your neighborhood?"

Yelling back as you remind,
"Did you not turn them away the same as I, to deny them brotherhood?"

By then it's too late.
Misunderstood, we run but can't hide.
There will be no shelter here.

Waiting for the big restart.
Imagining a corner pocket with the lights off, all drinks served room temperature. Harmonica in my pocket, an acoustic leaning on a seat made of worn leather. No politics, no war, no religion, no John Lennon songs necessary. Just empty homes and never-watched, stocked pharmacies. Walk-ins preferred, no prescription necessary.

Boredom would be our only enemy, bibles our note paper. God packed up and left. It's a great neighborhood to raise your kids.
Nobody needs a bomb shelter when the bombs have all fallen.
Sitting in a lawn chair, with a good friend and no cares, watching nature retake her world.

I am waiting for that day to come.

The difference between a civilized society and anarchy is accountability.

I wish you stabbed me.
It would've hurt less.
At least then I would know how you honestly felt about me.

Rusted train tracks slip down the road, winding into the fog.
Memories of old shows and carnivals brings me back to a time when I thought cotton candy and hot dogs were sacred.

I reach into my pocket to find twenty-nine cents.
The change from the Coca-Cola I bought that day when I was traveling for the first time alone. Three hours, Los Angeles to San Diego.

I remember my mother and father telling me to cherish the time we had together on our family vacations. I was never afraid of flying or got sick in cars or boats, but homesick? I was always looking for my origin.

In the final hours before sunset, tumbleweeds tip-toe and roll across those tracks which travel to all roads and counties, residing at this final crossing.

I didn't wait for the train to arrive before I started walking.

Once I was at a house party in the highlands, I got very drunk.
We were skateboarding on the large tennis court up on the top of the extravagant property which did not belong to any of us.

I was trying to do a trick and the board flew out from under me and rolled out of control into the center net. I didn't know it, but I broke both bones below my wrist clean across.

When I fell, I was initially disoriented.
I remember everybody letting out a big gasp or "Oooh, ouch."
I staggered to my feet and tried to assess the situation.

I started to feel dizzy and fell back over.
I think two people helped me back up and got me sat down in a chair.
I remember the feeling that I was blacking out and couldn't breathe.

"I think I am going into shock." I said to everybody around me.
"I think I might need some medical attention." I said immediately after.

Nobody really paid attention.
"You're fine." Somebody said.
I shook my head as to say no, but to no avail. Nobody was listening.
"I need an ambulance"
I passed out again.

At some point, I woke up and drove myself home, drunk and with a broken arm. Nobody wanted to give their good time to help me, even though I knew everybody and I desperately needed it...

The terrifying part about this, is that it has happened before.

Know who your friends are
Know how cruel and negligent they can be.
Know how little drugs and alcohol care about you.

The state of our future society is not to be blamed on our parents, or corporations, or warring nations.
The responsibility of our future lies solely on our own shoulders.
For nothing will or can be done unless every single one of us decides to change the world we live on in each waking moment.
Within myself, I hold no blame for the future, only for my past…

But I must take responsibility for both.
This is my soliloquy.

I was raised being told to respect my elders,
But they only ever called me a punk growing up.
They said they raised us to one day give us the world.
Gave us what? Cities of ****, dry lakes and burning rust?
A generation of parents, so worried about taking care of their kids,
They destroyed the world so they wouldn't go outside. Mother's Envy.
They told me to pay attention in school,
And taught me that I didn't fit,
Never how to find a job, but certainly how to quit.

When your generation was growing up?
I don’t want to hear about your generation.
The generation that cared more about what created the world,
Than how to keep it alive?

A drunken stepfather blamed by his son,
In turn blaming his own father for the reasons his son hates him.

You want your kids to behave a certain way? Don’t force them.
Explain to them the effect and the cause.
Guide them, not govern them.
Accept and love them, they have your flaws.

Don’t forget that you would rather be rich and your enemy richer
Than to be blind in one eye so he will be in both.

I won’t use your generation as a scapegoat.
Today I am here to stop this cycle.
No, you will not be my excuse.

I will stand up and give a voice to the voiceless.
Run, walk and crawl for the crippled.
Find a cure for our parent's cancer.
Pay for our broken homes, flooding with bills.
Will break my back to farm for those without food
Who starve in our valleys, our plains, our hills.

But I beg.
Just please, oh Mother.
Don't force me to ****.
Because if I have to dear Father,

You know that I will...

Like a blind date on wedding night,
You came before me once again.
This time, you said you loved me...

We drove and talked, you smiled
And told me everything I needed to hear.
Not what I wanted to, but what I needed.

You're changing, and I like it.

Ride with me once again,
Until the red wine is gone
and sweet nothings are said.

I admit I still love you too.
Yes, we can start over again...

Yellow painted walls. This place makes me smile.
As she sits there by night studying, her dress flows elegantly in the wind
That is blowing through the balcony door.

Polka dots in black and white, she bites her pencil tip.

She makes me smile.

I can stand on a cyber soapbox all day
Telling you nothing was ever okay
That you have a voice, a million in one,
Able to be heard from here to the sun.
So tell me what is important to you,
If you're smart, or a *****,
Or just have no ******* clue.
You only live once.
No, hashtags don't include
Your memories of screens, drugs and delusions,
Fear makes the conclusions.
Drop the key in the lock on your mind
From the courage we all have
Lost long ago in time.
Stop acting.
Start living.

Generic Asian food dish picture, drunken Vegas selfie with my betches, #cheatedonmyboyfriend, picture of my ******* on top of a mountain on the only hike I've ever been on. Have you seen the gap in my thighs? Almost as big as the gap between my legs. Lots of visible beverages, this is our club! (no idea I'm borderline alcoholic). I want a real man #imafuckingliar