If the Earth should vanish by our own hand
If the book was erased without a memory
If all of life stopped without a trace
Would God still remember me?
Is this what I really believe?
A God who is everlasting?
Can I turn the other cheek?
When will my anger begin fasting?

From the mountain tops
I see the valley of oppression
It fills with our tears
As we drown in man's obsession
But does God need man?
Or to plant a garden on a stone?
Must we **** everyone
Who will be first to atone?

The emotions of man
Invisible to the eye
Controlling our every action
Only our soul knows why
I saw him on the corner
Did I turn the wrong cheek?
Inside my heart I already know
Grace was made because I am weak

Truth as a form of reality for humans
Is revealed or in what we discover
In both, we find what we know
Is controlled by emotional desire
There is a truth or an outcome
That we insist must always be so
Even if the truth we have found
Conflicts with all that we know

From the limits of our imagination
God is a metaphor of anthropomorphism
An assertion as to his nature including gender
Is to place God into a man-made prison
He is beyond the limits of reality
If reality is perception and experience
But if reality is truth then God is reality
And only he knows the hour of deliverance

Creation, purpose and the history of mankind
Each of us could only describe it as a fairytale
And yet to describe God with certainty
Is to limit the possibilities of the metaphysical
Our concept of time and purpose is only relative
Yet we arrogantly believe we can change his nature
And so too it is better not to say anything at all
Than to describe our birth by the hand of the creator

And so we answer questions by singing of the wind
Abdicating all knowledge to nature to justify our sin
And though we know the cause of all suffering is desire
It is not true that all desire is wicked if he planted it within
The more we desire to become a part of the spiritual world
The more we give away the scraps of our enslavement
Enlightenment is said to be found by impoverishing oneself
But who can walk barefoot on the hot pavement?

Love is deepest in a parents love for their child
Or our first love or in the love of an animal
And what is life except devotion to those you love
And to those who depend upon you to be rational
Do not compromise what is wise and good to belong
You have the strength to be alone if you know how to love
For it is without expectation that love is true
And even a wanderer can know what this is made of

Do not command someone to believe as you do
You cannot make them arrive at the same place
Neither in time or where your body may lay
If their origin of birth did not have the same grace
To believe that you alone are the holder of truth
Is to separate yourself from the divinity of the flame
To restrict enlightenment to the narrows of predominance
Is to declare that you alone are the target of your souls aim

Philosophy, reliant upon the development of our soul
Married to truth and curiosity as to our origins, not unyielding
To any new fact that might present itself to you
Is there anything more than what is good and revealing?
But if the world insists that you wear your cross
Then tell them you would die so that others can live
And to God alone you render your fruits for judgment
For the ledger kept is the mark of those who can forgive  

A belief in a dualistic world is to say evil is separate from good
It is as powerful as good and the creator allowed this to happen
If we say that the creator is only good, then what of evil?
Is it the absence of good or is it a war with our own reflection?
Must we assert our goodness or our own evil devices of destruction?
We cannot wait for good to destroy evil or so history has proven
Yet men stand in front of horses and hoses when death has failed
Having made their peace, they wait, for the hour to be chosen

It is our task if good is the passive nature of a benevolent absent God
But if we are made in his image then is he made of good and evil?
If the good in God is also ours, we know of it but who will summon it?
We must take it upon ourselves to steel ourselves upon the anvil
But if our nature is such that the absence of good makes powerful evil
Then is it evil alone that can save us from the very nature we possess
That is why we concern ourselves with such notions as a just war
And wait until the day when there is nothing left except to confess

The more assurance I hear from you the less that I am
I will not say, “This is truth so repent now or perish forever”
Humility is the admission of all that we do not know
But the depth of ignorance it too vast to be called only a river
If humility is to be rejected then your aim falls below the sunset
You have compared yourself to a horizon that will never be found
You have accepted that what lies beyond is of no consequence
Because what matters is that you stand upon your own holy ground

I hardly know myself much less why I am this way
I believe I have a soul, defined as unseen consciousness
But which story of long ago was witnessed by honest men?
I can only hope that I will survive after my body perishes
I will never tell you how to live because I cannot live my own
I will never judge you for your beliefs, only if you hurt someone
There is no contrary opinion that should result in physical conflict
For in the end, what can I prove except that peace has come undone

If I am so insecure that I must destroy all who disagree
Then it is I who should  be destroyed for my weakness of spirit
There is too much temptation to place money above the individual
And too much desperation to steal what they cannot inherit
But as I choose to walk with the pride of knowing my place
And the honor of allowing all who come to sit in front of me
I have found that behind the multitudes there is a place of rest
And it is a place where good and evil can both finally agree

If you do not love the world
Can you love the father who left you behind?
For he brought you here
Along with your mother
So to what purpose was your birth?

If you do not love the world
But love the father who once was your own
It is to love miracles
And life everlasting
Inside the heart you pray God finds worth

You said there are layers and layers
And each one must be peeled away
I cannot enter your heart
No I cannot
Until I relive your entire life
Until we arrive on the same day

You said maybe I already know you
But I must rediscover your secrets
You changed them all
Yes you did
And no matter what I think I know
You are different now or so you say

Every ten minutes you gave  me more
Every smile meant something
Like a perfumed staircase
With candles on each step
Glowing each in their own way
Like the days we have left for each other

I found my way to a room apart
My phone rang and it was you
You made me promise
And I did
I could hold you as if we were in love
But it was only my patience that could  stay

Every year you gave me more
Every night meant something
Like a veiled truth
That only I could lift
And what I found I could only obey
It was love from which I would never recover

Did you honor his death by saying what was given
to his mother is no longer your burden?
The reason he died was not your purpose; it was
not for you and of that you are certain
But was he not someone who set you free by dying
for the idea that you now assert?
He never knew your anger, only that he received
a bullet and his ideals are covered by dirt
You are free to sit while a nation tries to believe in
something, knowing that he did die
Is it because only a certain race can rule the world
or is the harbor torch the reason why?
Reading the entire alphabet forwards and backwards
does not reveal the truth of every tome
Crying every time my grown son leaves does not
mean that I do not have a life of my own
To believe what we know to be true about the past
need not seed tomorrow's foment
And to encourage revolt by those who foster hatred
is only the path of future torment
It is not the destruction of the union that will unite us;
only the bonds of love for what is written
The words of freedom contain no ambiguity but the fire
of hate makes only ash if we don’t listen
It is not the strong to whom we always owe our thanks;
it is the least of us for whom we wish to weep
You say you will no longer salute our symbol of hope,  
but do you pray for his soul to keep?
To those who would read the words and wave the flag is
not a gun pointed at the poor among us
Instead it would be they who would remind that a song
is the moment equality becomes our purpose

to have you tell me you approve
a woman's touch
it is the truth in your life
no matter how it may hurt
when it is the right time
you will be glad you are there
no matter though how great you are
the life you share is so much more
Never forget
It is her love that is the art of her life
If only you could understand

It is how we must live, the will
We do not question our souls
For there will be no answer
Like the wind we cannot see
There is only a feeling upon our life
Or a love song in another language
We do not know the words
But we know the what it means
The eyes of God are upon us
Though we cannot see his face
So too my breath upon your neck
While you turn your back, to say no
For today’s storm is not about me
But I know why it must be so
I know why the forest must burn
And the sea rages against the land
It is the only way they know to live
If only you would not be so afraid
But yes, my love, I know why
It is your soul that I cannot question
Instead I will wait for your ship to land
You will know when the wind feels right
You will know when to capture my breath
And as the mast bends, so too your will

All the gold in the world
And all the promises too
Nothing of this earth
Can wrap around you

It is not about tradition
Or about the ring
The distance around
Is the echo of spring

I thought about you then
I think about you now
Only forever knows why
But I don’t know how

Our eyes scattered behind us
Staring through awakening sand
What washed ashore today
Escaped from my hand

I can’t see what is far away
You can’t see what is near
But what separates us
Is deeper than a tear

I like to fly high
But I like solid ground
Thin air under my feet is a stormy sea
I want to see the world
I want to touch the stars
A mountain is the place for me

I don’t need to fly
I like it where there is no sound
Except the heart of an aspen forest tree
I want to see the world
I want to touch the stars
A mountain is the place for me

I don’t need to ask why
I already know what I’ve found
It’s what my eyes tell me I can see
I want to see the world
I want to touch the stars
A mountain is the place for me

I don’t like to hear goodbye
But I won’t be the one love drowned
And you will never make me a nobody
I will see the world
I will touch the stars
A mountain is what I will be

You thought a woman is why I left
You were right about that
You know her well
But not as well as I do

You said I am living in darkness
That is why I now see the light
What shines at night is brightest
It once burned inside of you

How it flew away I’ll never know
What taunts us is our past
The memory softens with time
Each setting sun makes it true

Soon the price will be paid
The blood we shed is dry
The end is the pain of birth
Forgiveness is how we make life new

Someone asked if I was feeling blue
I said I hope so
Especially
If it means I'm a clear spring sky
A deep ocean sea
Staring into your eyes
Then yes
I am

Someone asked if I was sad
I said I hope so
Especially
If it means I am thinking of life
A day the way it ought to be
Of you
Then yes
I am

Someone asked if I was sorry
I said I hope so
Especially
If it means I am forgiven
A feeling of humility
About you
Then yes
I am

The sky,
flattened, tranquil,
like black and white tile;
For a moment,
I thought it was the ocean,
then I realized it was;
the clouds, shaped by the wind,
like white caps
dotting a distant sea,
they seemed the same to me,
though the land upon which I lay
and the air through which I see
could never agree

The cloud,
triumphant, imperial,
like continents dividing the earth;
For a moment,
I thought it was a mountain
then I realized it was;
the clouds, plateaued,
by the weight of the rain,
a gift of honor for the sun
they seemed the same to me,
though the land upon which I climb
and the air that I breathe
would argue endlessly

The star,
bright, ethereal,
like a burning bush revealed;
For a moment,
I thought it was a cross
then I realized it was;
the light, burning
by the prayers we whisper
for love and life,
they seemed the same to me,
while the land upon which I kneel
and the air a flame needs to be
could only watch silently

We must make love
Before we ever touch
We must make love
As we talk
We must make love
Whenever we walk
Together
Or alone
Always on our mind
As a gentle breeze
Capturing your heart
With love
With allure
With anticipation
Even as we wait
Knowing our bodies
Will please the other
Because
That is what matters
Let me be your lover
Let me take you there
You must know
That I crave you
I cannot stop
Thinking of you
Imagining
How you will be
The singular focus
Of my need
To engulf you
Can no longer be denied
And so
It is time
To be still
It is time
To be silent
It is time
For you to submit
To me
We have gazed upon one another
We have bared our souls
We have been equals
Now it is time
For me to be your man
And to be a man
The way you want me to be
The way that I am
You don't have to tell me what to do
I know what you want
I know how you want it
And that is what I want
So it is time
For submission
To be beautiful
To be desirable
To be open
To let me run free
In your life
In your mind
In your garden
Let me control you
Let me turn the key
And open the door
To the way a man
Loves a woman
It is time for me
To carry you
It is time for me
To ****** you
It is time for you
To submit
To my lust
To my desire
To my need
To make love to you
As long as it takes
For your
Exhaustion
For your
Glistening
Beads of sweat
For your
******
Yes
As long as it takes
I will never tire
Because
All I want
Is to make you
Remember
And want more
Every night
I will be your man
I am not beating my chest
It is my heart that beats
In pursuit
Of you
My prey
Let me kiss your neck
Let me turn you
Away
So I can touch you
All over your body
Let me turn you
And see your body
And draw you to me
Let me pull you
To me
So I can touch you
And kiss you
Ravenously
Like an animal
Overwhelming you
With my passion
As you have never felt
Passion
Dominating your mind
So you will forget
Your lessons
Of childhood
So you can be a woman
And make love to me
Your man

Yes, I know how you can be
I was there
You showed me lust
It was the dream of every man
It wasn’t a picture
It wasn’t a fantasy
It was the real thing
And it was you

Yes, I know how you can be
I was there
You showed me anger
It was the fear of every man
It wasn’t a nightmare
It wasn’t a movie
It was the real thing
And it was you

Yes, I know how you can be
I was there
You showed me sadness
It was the guilt of every man
It wasn’t a pout
It wasn’t a spoiled girl
It was the real thing
And it was you

Yes, I know how you can be
I was there
You showed me love
It was the future of every man
It wasn’t a thought
It wasn’t a hope
It was the real thing
And it was you

I know my love is not more important than loneliness
We went so far that it changed your past
It’s not remembering my name but what I was to you
I reached you but still it didn’t last

I’ve become balcony sunsets washed by tides of butterfly’s
Knowing you’re out there makes my heart listen
It’s strange though how we want to listen to something sad
While the roof we built lets the rain in

You walked in the river where I stand
As long as my feet are wet
My soul is a part of everything we planned
I know it’s not my choice anymore
But I’m strong enough to forgive you
And I’m strong enough to still love you

The golden rails to you are being laid night after night
My shadow lays next to them by day
I can’t make it happen but beauty is nature’s story
It’s my imagination that knows what it will say

You walked in the river where I  swim
As long as my body is wet
My life is a part of everything within
I know it’s your choice now
But I’m strong enough to miss you
And I’m strong enough to live without you

Another good woman
Misunderstood by a good man
She loves what’s right about life
He just loves her

Taking guardian angels for granted
You can’t always count on them
Sometimes an angel needs you
It’s the one standing in front of you

Even if you don’t feel the same way
The further away you get
What’s important seems to come together
Clouds and oceans make a world for us

Another good woman
Up against a wall she didn’t see
Believing in someone who can’t love like she does
But years later he said you hurt him

I saw her in church the other day
She was sitting in the back row
Don’t give her a hard time about that
At least she knows which place to go

They were starting to pray
But she only held one hand up
She crossed her fingers behind her back
And only drank half the cup

She’s halfway there
She only prays with one hand
She doesn’t know what to believe
Her heart treats it like a man
She’s only halfway there
Give her time
It’s a long way to the holy land

Too many nights of sorrow
Too many days of pain
She prayed once before
But her life still seems the same
It still seems the same

When everyone stood to go
I tried to catch her eye
But she needs something else
Not someone who might make her cry

She’s halfway there
She only prays with one hand
She doesn’t know what to believe
Her heart treats it like a man
She’s only halfway there
Give her some time
It’s a long way to the holy land

To contend with me now
Is to confront yourself
There is no emotion that I fear
Nothing can change what I am
A human being
I will be sad
I will be in despair
And I know that I will not fall apart
The moments you avoid
Are the ones that make me the strongest
I can lose your love
Know you are with someone else
And my heart will be a forest consumed by fire
But I am also the green grass that returns
I know that now
And it is because I love you like that
That I can lose you and still survive
Because though you are beauty
I am the song written for you
I am the overwhelming love you crave
And I am stronger than you will ever know
You cannot destroy me

Poetry
The voice of the human heart
When we cannot paint
or sing
The words bring us together
Though we are apart
The confessions of a sinner
and a saint
Silently staring at you
But you can hear the bells ring
For what I say this day
You already know to be true

We don’t think too much
‘cause we don’t know
We say something too far
then let it go
There’s always tomorrow
if we give it some attention too
It could be, but maybe not
there’s no promises,
but I like chances is anyway
it’s better than knowing I lost you

You wouldn’t come inside my house
it makes you think about giving in
You stayed out on the lawn
you don’t like to think were you’ve been
I don’t want to remind you,
you’ve heard every promise that there is
I’m gonna’ leave you alone
even if it means wondering what went wrong
still I know you almost came home
being on your mind is where I belong

I hate listening to that song
It sounds like something I once knew
how come so many people live like that
nobody likes old, just something new
I could never make you feel it
that happened a long time ago
it’s easy for you to shrug your shoulders
I once told you things, now you heard it before
I wonder why it has to be somebody else
loving you this long should mean something more

It seems time can only dig holes
I can’t keep falling in them
I can’t keep pretending I don’t feel them
But I do

Rivers flow downhill
And where it goes
Is where only tears know
They know
And so does my heart

Why does everyone pay so much for nothing
Love is free but it costs too much for you to call me
Maybe it’s because you can’t buy it
It’s safer to pick out a star for your own

It seems that time is trying to make me old
It’s not weary eyes
It’s not tired feet
It’s saying goodbye so much while I pray

I’m not afraid to tell you I love you
That is a gift you know
But you don’t have to open the box
Maybe the ribbons are pretty enough for you

Rivers flow downhill
And where it goes
My tears will follow
Emptying into my heart
It's how heaven raises my spirit

it’s a way to live
relationship instead of ambition
the making of cherished memories
no time lived for waste
no life lived for time

it seems we live to avoid a cold shower
or heat, the type the world knew long ago
we do not walk upon glass except by choice

at least not those of us with parents who knew how to love

what is true insanity except harm to yourself
and those you love
but is it so much to reject the rituals of life
rituals intended to save us from living like savages
but instead we play a hand  from the wrong deck

everything you need to know about me is in an envelope
at least everything that proves I was here anyway
the rest of it resides in the memory of those who care
i am alive as long as they are
that is why i love them so much
for it is them who keeps me alive

who would need to travel to know people are the same
or speak ten languages
there is enough pain in my own heart to know
why do we believe the message
when every conversation speaks the opposite?

i wonder if people treat each other the way we judge them
that is why I do not judge my children
for they are not to live as criminals
or inferiors

we take drugs to escape reality
but true reality is like a drug,
when death is easy
and life is cheap
there is no purpose to reason

by the right i have to say such things
what is beauty in the night sky
is only the reflection of what i see in you
for what inanimate object that awaits my eyes
could ever know you like I do?

that’s why i look so hard at the night sky
it knows where you are and guides your light to me

It is always something small
Something you hardly notice
A moment,
when clouds form shapes
Our favorite meal,
a father and son feeling the love,
for one another
A ritual,
movie night,
a walk on Sunday
Then it’s goodbye,
forever no
But to the life you built
Not the vacation you took
But the small things
A day,
that became too many turn back,
when your son smiled,
just because you came home

I followed the sunlight to a closed window
But my soul requires no opening
Neither my heart
As the will to live passes through all mediums
The barrier between extremes
Opaque or transparent
No matter,
Life offers only the choice to cope
And as the light carried the weight of all expectation
Misting dust reflections without a home
Gathered upon a falling feather
The wistful cry of a bird, shedding its past
Frightening the wind,
Silenced, while natures wing absorbs all our fears
The distance, so far away,
It seemed as if a rainbow was laying on the sand
To my eyes what was true
Was the same as a small square of blue,
The only clue a prisoner has of the outside world
But I cannot falter,
For we are not promised all knowledge
Only faith
It is as the light,
The answer to our own darkness
The truth that shadows cannot deny

Echo cries
No longer human
We start it
Mountains reflect it
Meadows accept it
Then fading away
Where rock slides come to rest
And streams empty themselves
Into the human heart
Never a wasteland of indifference
Only a place to begin again
The birthplace of sound
Anguished and joyful

I don’t want to learn to live without loving you
Maybe there will come a day when I forget
But that’s not a day I want to regret

I can’t make it happen all the time
I can’t be involved with anyone on stage with me
I need somebody who doesn’t know who I am

Don’t worry about how they look at me
I see it too but waiting is all that seems to matter
It’s my past but do you know how to be tomorrow?

Until I touch you again I can only tell you how it feels
A half full bathtub is how I seem to live
Drowning, breathing, clean, *****… it’s my mind you know?

I’m going to do it; I’m going to make you think about love
But it’s not how it makes you lonely without it
It’s about how it’s not comfortable and how you forgot that

I’m going to draw you in with small talk
Then before I stop the storm will blow the swings from the set
We're not playing the game we played before my love

Once again someone writes the word
While others say how absurd!
But I will always remind the world
That one day the freedom flag will be unfurled

Why must this song be heard again and again?
Dylan, Osborne and Bono, a message they send
Beaten down, poets tire of the world's ambivalence
Actions and not words will bring us deliverance

You always have the power and desire to ****
Destroying our world and souls, you never have your fill
You perpetuate your greed and your evil nature
Mankind, once again, weeps and prays for a savior

I don’t want to die anymore for your ambition
We are all chained pathetically to this human condition
You almost succeeded in brainwashing my mind
But in the end you will be surprised to find

That the meek truly have the souls that live
And to the hate makers, the underworld shall give
A flood of fire and pain swelling up from below
And you will suffer for eternity as history will show

I know my judgments are wrong as the book clearly states
But my words are echoed by many as mankind hates
The helplessness that envelops our ultimate destiny
So we sing again and again about your atrocity

You ask who am I to be so angry?
I have not suffered as have many
And I say yes this is quite true
But your lies need to be brought into view

One person with a mind that says “Enough!”
Can spring the world to action and make it tough
On those who lie and hate in the face of our humanity
It is time for all to step away from the cavity

Of fear and bewilderment of men who are wrong
So see the power of truth in another mad song
And let me help you point the finger at my insanity
I’ll save you the trouble of destroying my credibility

For I have the warming machine and drive it for miles
I’m sure this revelation will bring the smiles
To the face of those who say “look at him”
We only **** to protect his need and whim

For living as an American with his right to be free
Why are we wrong to provide him his sanctuary?
But no! I hate what I have become
Soft, detached, spoiled, my mind coming undone

So in my self-loathing I bring judgment with me
I’ll accept unworthiness as a mantle to pillory
But you can no longer contain my mind
I am leaving your ability to intimidate behind

I am no longer impressed by all of your gain
Your power, glory and way of life only causes pain
In the sense that you bring the world no relief
Your consuming and acquiring nature only causes grief

It seems I martyr myself in front of God each day
Judging you and giving comfort to those you slay
I want to delegate it all to someone like Jesus
But it's hard to ignore how you deceive us

Turning the other cheek is for better men than I
It is time for deliverance, we will no longer cry
It is not a message that I reject
It’s just that you do not deserve the respect

Have I given you the moral superiority?
Because I do not speak with God’s purity?
What did you expect from the sheep you control?
Another Gandhi, King or Mandela to foil?

Your inhuman need continues to achieve your aim
I act crazy giving you someone to blame
For deviant behavior that requires your solution
That masks your true self and the evolution

Of your subtle and sophisticated way of survival
Insidiously maintaining your ability to suppress our revival
You see three steps ahead and control the message
You put your arm around me which I know is a presage

Of your plan to gently move me on my way
So you can continue to smile and make us obey
Your message of fear and patriotic chains
The only thing that concerns you is disposing our remains

I am driven by my two children
Of which life awaits to rid them
Of their innocence and wonderful thought
It makes me sick knowing they may be bought

This message has become filled with hate
I must depart before it becomes too late
For me to recapture the joy that is in my heart
So, soon I will begin to start

The recovery of God’s message of love and peace
I will likely allow you to lurk and fleece
Me of my mind, soul and future place
In America, the idea that time cannot erase

Because someone like me will come to the fore
To say “that is wrong,” we will open the door
To a brotherhood of man that respects each human being
And champions freedom, love and is capable of seeing

That those who are too clever for us will always remain
In the world to rule and drive our earthly train
Of money, power and greed for their enjoyment
While we starve and look for gainful employment

So, I say yes, my hate and love is a dichotomy of confusion
But my words have helped me reach a conclusion
I want to be meek and good to all the others
So forgive my glare as I return to my brothers

As I simultaneously judge and forgive
Know that I will never sleep and allow you to live
With impunity in the ways that mankind abhors
My words will always be there to identify the ******

Lest I encourage others to act as you have heard
You must know that I do not reject God’s word
I merely remind that my emotions are weak
I do not invite anyone to hurt as I speak

I have decided in my own arrogant string
That controlling the man in the mirror is one thing
But to allow another to hurt an innocent being
Is just as wrong as the judgment you are reading

Welcome to the world sweet child
Hope anew, the sun and moon smiled
Upon your cheeks the blush of grace
Turning, guiding you to a holy place

Of kindness towards your neighbor
And reverence for your savior
Within you, born the beauty of your life
The pride of your parents, man and wife

Within searching eyes and ears that listen
We see your wonder, with hearts that glisten
With the blood of family stirring us to love
For the gift that we always dreamed of

And without the burden of our own dreams
It is instead his will that makes oceans of streams
The one you travel, we will protect from the banks
And what love made, to God we give our thanks

It wasn’t good enough for you to leave
You wouldn’t even leave a photograph
You know the one I’m talking about
It’s the one of you before you met me

I thought about how you might have felt
Before the love of your life happened
You once thought that was somebody else
Now you know that’s not really true is it?

We can wait all night
We can wait five years
That’s what a picture will do
Make it seem like it’s right around the corner
But you took it with you
Yeah you took it with you

I’m not really going insane over here
That’s for people who don’t know what they want
I have this memory that keeps things clear
So you keep it until you come back to me

I can’t get that photograph back
I can’t get it and I can’t get you
You don’t know why I loved that picture
It’s just gonna’ have to be my little secret
But if I have you then I want your past too

We can wait all night
We can wait five years
That’s what a picture can do
Make it seem like you never really left
But you took it with you
Yeah you had to take it with you

Launched by strains of Auld Lang Syne
Leaving all that he had known
For love of far greater purpose
Glory! Ambition! The throne!

The code of morality
Death to our enemy
But don’t ask why
Life to our legacy
But don’t ask why

The flags wave highest
That most proudly sends their sons to war
Waving at the end of decency
Or is it the beginning that we fight for

For what is decency
Except to spare the life of the enemy
Yet that is not our charge
It is not to show mercy or remedy
Instead it is to march triumphantly
Never counting the dead
Only the medals pinned to a chest
Only the horrors lining his head

And though exhorted to turn the other cheek
Forgiveness is only a bent knee on a rug
He has received his pardon on this earth
For all that WILL be done before his grave is dug

But not for bats disrupted by gunfire
With shadows forming lattice lace upon rocks for the sacrament
But the sands once shifted by God’s breath
Is now ink made holy by the holder of the parchment

What coward would accept condemnation
Rather than death by enemy sword, sharpened
By the exceptionalism of old men
Whose achievements canonized but burdened
In their own minds
Forgetful as they grow into legend
Excepting of their own courage
In the stories they imagined

Giving white feathers but not for honor
To those who plant flowers in rifles
Flowers loved by Kings and Queens
Who smell them while reading lifeless bibles

Those loved by their mothers
Faceless as they march
The song of glory speaking of freedom
While they pass the closing doors of the arc
Their wives would rather weep tears of pride
Than of tears of shame
But what difference to his soul
Rising for what purpose or game?

To honor his family or his God?

Going down with the ship
Accepting the bullet from the front
Falling not upon his sword but upon that of the savage
For that is how to die like we want
There is no reason that must be validated
Victory or defeat
He gave his life without question
And now his name is on a street

But still, the sun rises again
Callously living without purpose
For no man can touch its soul
No sword can plunder its surface
No words can destroy its pride
No tragedy can darken its rays
No, it is the earth that must rise and set
Living waiting until the end of days

And the coward drew small comfort from this
Knowing nature is an idle spectator
As is a flame at the end of a spear
A fire that only kills and not worth dying for

But a spear in the hand of a subject
Serves only its King
While the flower he picks prepares to die
Dishonorable and in shame
For though they may were once beauty
It is only to mark the graves
And line the path of solemn remembrance
For those who hope that God saves

When I'm with you I'm not afraid of God
I didn't ask to feel this way
You said talking to myself is talking to you
That's when I knew
Being a man is the same as being a woman
When love is a sin

When I look at you I'm not afraid of God
I didn't ask for these words to say
You said make love to me before get old
That's when I knew
You're what everyone wants but I'm the one
When love is a sin

When I think about you I'm not afraid of God
I didn't ask to live this way
You said how stupid of us to be so bold
That's when I knew
A fire is hell only for those who are afraid
When love is a sin

I thought I heard you say my name
But your lips never parted
Did I dream again
Or is it time for me to answer them?
I thought I made them up
Instead I was the fiction

It seems my past is now a movie
But the echoes of love sound new
Or the walls in my heart are perfectly formed
The memory of your eyes never fade
And in the darkness where I cannot breathe
The only truth is how much I love you

She’s living a hard life
One that her smile won’t reveal
She cares for her children
Her mother said that kind of love is real

Still she made love once
It was how she felt long ago
Now she’s feeling lonely
But her pretty face won’t let it show

They don’t always drop from the sky baby
They don’t, no they don’t
You know I’m staring at the clouds too
But instead of you falling for me
It’s me falling for you

She’s living a life of love
Her children sleep knowing that it’s true
Let me show them
That a man can love the same as you

She’s worried all the time
About bringing in someone new
Every man tries to catch her eye
But it’s over a beer or a shot or two
That’s not life to her
She wonders if they know
It’s not always easy driving home alone
But her heart knows which way to go

They don’t always drop from the sky baby
They don’t, no they don’t
You know I’m staring at the clouds too
But instead of you falling for me
It’s me falling for you

How far
have the remaining drops traveled
Or do my veins
only flow with manuscript memories
Armed with only
dream vague solution birthrights
White clouds
dot the trail for each of my steps
The lines on the map
alternate between dawn and dusk
An awakening
that resembles gray morning night
But to an observer
what passes as life is only a painting
Red does not stop
but instead draws your flesh near
Green does not go
but instead lays to be walked upon
Yellow does not slow
but instead only says I told you so
It is only experience
that tells you why you can’t trust me
The stark value
of shock is only reality coming home
You thought it before
but not with someone you just met
At least not today,
our perversions must grow slowly
Still you deny it
until the secret code is chosen at random
Then the door will open
and you will find what is inside of me
Is really inside of you
like the droplets of a life you once knew

I am emotion
No matter my wisdom
No matter my age

A tear in every moment
As I have lost my voice
Where once I thought of joy
Now I have a choice
To laugh or cry
In the face of pain
To see the sun
When all I have is rain

I am emotion
No matter my education
No matter my wage

A laugh in every moment
As I find my voice
Where once I thought of sadness
Now I’ve made my choice
To laugh
In the face of pain
To see hope
In the drops of rain

I am emotion
No matter my freedom
No matter my cage

A poem in every moment
As I hear my voice
Where once I thought of nothing
Now I accept my choice
To express my fears
In the face of pain
To see my heart
Dancing in the rain

what did they tell you
it was all bad
the water polluted
the people lawless
the champions corrupt
the blood of deceit
what do they show you
nothing but smiles
triumph
while we watch
waving a flag
we are not immune
it is our culture
it must be great
we shall vanquish them
then we will forget
everything we were told
everything we saw
because there will be something new
something new to fear
our differences will become stark
again
difficult to accept
because judgment is the only game we know
and the eclipse of our common interest
will burn into our eyes
searing them shut
as we retreat back into our safe place

you should know now what I would say
i cannot be engaged by the ambitions of man
instead
i live inside a song
in front of a painting
wading in the ocean
at the bottom of a water fall
in a state of constant inspiration
by nature
and the spirit of man
feeling only how it came to this
that we cannot overcome our differences
yet in the moment of crescendo
where harmony
and color
and tides
and pools form
it is there that we rise above human form
and become spirit
no longer what the eye may see
or the mind may judge
but instead
only that known to God
for only the truth will survive
and before him we are all the same
yet before each other
we are different
and difference becomes separation
and separation becomes suspicion
and suspicion becomes anger
and anger becomes hate
but my emotions are very close to my words
what do you expect of me
don’t you know by now?

He’s got half of what a man ought
Still he climbed up on that horse
Luckily it already knew what to do
Chase that calf no matter its course

He finally knew what they meant
When people look but cannot see
But he didn’t have to ride a horse
To find know who his friends might be

A one-eyed cowboy
Half himself
But now twice another
While faith flowed in his veins
It was grace that gave him back his reins

His wounds were unexpected
At least not while he was wearing his boots
What he thought God took away
Instead he used to lay down new roots

He found his calling was vision
How no man is an island
How it is not so hard if you choose to be
Someone who can live a new life
By the light that despair finally set free

A one-eyed cowboy
Half himself
But now twice another
While faith flowed in his veins
It was grace that gave him back his reins

She asked if I’d ever looked at a bed
Knowing all the things that I’d done
That’s not how her momma’ taught her to pray

She had a husband once
He bought the bed but that’s all
It was up to her to make him want to stay

I didn’t mean anything by it
She asked me, “What did you say?”
I was thinking it was a sad story
She could tell because I looked away

But why do you believe it?
Why do you believe something
There was a white dress and everyone stayed to pray

It had to be right she said
The preacher gave us the word
How could a new bed know he would not stay?

I didn’t say anything about it
She was ready to close the door
She wanted to feel like a woman
But he never could think that way

She asked for roses once
He said it’s not the same to ask
I’ll bring ‘em he said but today was not that day

They never did arrive
That’s why she was so surprised
I gave 'em to her one at a time
One for every tear that ran that day

I didn’t know anything about it
I knew then we’d have to get our own
I wanted the one she had in mind
The one where only true love can lay

I want you to wear scarves, layer upon layer
Flowing like the ocean that I may enter at peril
And what is mystery except what I want
The sun sets in paradise and rises in your eyes
As your hearts glow illuminates the night
With ebbing waters begging to be heard
By the moonlight streaking upon them
Your curtains pull from me desperate love
Out of the tides of unbridled hesitancy
Until the falls crash all around you
From melting snows of a faraway place
Warmed by the passion that burns in your veins
Until the silent sun rises again looking for shells
Though I begged never to leave the night before
As your silhouette reminds of all my dreams
That came true in the instant you smiled
I entered your heart with loving violence
Every arrow from the quill of desire
Digging deeper further than you realized
Killing the doubt that died once before
By promises that were never true
But given new life by misery’s hand
Waiting until the sun sets again
And the night calls me to your side

If you have a moment
That's what I am
If you are strong
Then so am I
If you have no questions
I am the answer
If you only need a smile
Nobody will ask why

You should just walk up to the door now
Go ahead, it’s the only way you can know
They will look at you and see stained surfaces
Only the imagination knows what lies below
You cannot convince a stranger of your past
They nod, wondering how much could be true
Everyone knows we have shaped ourselves
A real friend lets you become someone new
Experience is not how we wish to be judged
Our mistakes prefer the silence of blue deep
There is nothing to see if you forget yourself
Or remember if you see what you can’t keep
A life devoted to becoming duty and toil
You are now where birds gather not fallen
Swaying on swells, limbs and suns setting
And legs swollen with life giving pollen

pick your sinner baby
a bottle of wine
and a look in his eye
or somebody preaching
and taking
the book don't live in no mansion
least that's what he said
you know it's like that
people gotta' live
you gonna' judge
or you gonna give?

Empty cans dotted his mind
as his toes checked the dirt below
He could hear them rattle;
once full, now something to throw
There is no warranty,
a time passed is too late for change
It’s not worth a tin roof,
what you learned only seems strange
But I can’t throw them away,
it’s not so easy when you lose a friend
I’m willing to go further;
a path of twenty years can never end
I wish I had a cause;
like the one we had before you left
Once opened it is no more,
the realization an unwelcome guest
I stared at the wood;
once a tree, now the ghost of a town
It was an oil field,
promise, now a picture I took down
Every shiny object conspires,
how sad it must feel to an old man
But new is not forgiveness;
only the path away from an empty can

Remove the ocean salt from my eyes
So I may petal the flower in my heart
Then I will build a castle to preserve
The true in love while you are away

Remove the doubt from my faith
So I may know instead of believe
Then I will walk as sure as I breathe
Always knowing to whom it is I pray

Remove the perfection of my desires
So I may no longer assume my own
Then I will walk in bare feet before you
So you may know that I will always stay

I don't always want to dream
Sometimes I only wish for sleep
But until I find peace
Or love
I will dream
And while I may seem weary
What I carry
Is only the struggle of desire
Like a potted plant
With roots holding fast
To petals dreaming of the sun

i thought i'd lost
my imagined way
but knowledge seeks
someone who walks its way
it is never lost
only misunderstood
the light is ahead
or is it always behind
the riddle puzzles
the answer pays no mind
instead
you take what is serious
the color in your hands
it is your life now
there is no pretense
you paint my eyes
by the end of your brush
for i will look
no matter how deep i must
the canvas
my heart
please open it
become a part of me
i want you now
the tears i saved
were for you
the man who is not afraid
to show you his weakness
or his desperation
yes
it is you
but between us
what other men also see
they do not know
it is my vision
only you knew what I wanted
as I lay still
for your imagination
trusting your hands
guided by love
for your gift
and your desire
i know it is what you want
i will look back upon you
and not at a work of art
for what you hung on the wall
was instead a mirror
and my love for you
is waiting for you to understand
what you finally created
the colors you see now
are the reflection of you

You’re living day to day
I live thinking I have plenty of time
You're not waiting for dream
Sleeping is like committing a crime

I wait for my dreams to take me away
There’s nothing to read on the walls anymore
All the pictures have been taken down
I have to forget or try to imagine it's like before

You're so strong
You’re already forgiven
He let you live another day
I wasted the one before
He taught you to walk like you’re in heaven
He told me I still need to pray

You don’t ask for much anymore
He taught you how to count blessings
And the day that the morning sun brings
Is the blessing I always seem to be missing

I think about the nights
You think about each day
We seem to live on opposite sides of the world
The light you reflect makes God smile
The darkness I absorb is why I’ve lost my way

You're so strong
You’re already forgiven
He let you live another day
I wasted the one before
He taught you to walk like you’re in heaven
He told me I still need to pray

I wish I would have told her
After they buried her it meant nothing
That’s what I wanted to say
To think of heaven
A glorious beginning
Without carrying pottery on your head
Or living under tin roofs
It was all buried now
The doubts
Your body
Your face
The color of your skin
The measures of small minded men
The one’s that somehow made you count too
But the time has arrived
No more moral dilemmas
No more fences to jump
No more lights flashing behind you
No more of the things you fear
Now it’s like watching a sunset
Or staring silently into my eyes
Not knowing what to say
But knowing how you feel
It’s what I wanted to say
That’s what I was thinking
Ten years from now
Or twenty
On a day called too late
Too late to ease her mind
It was hard for me to believe
I wanted her so badly
Yet she only knew sorrow
I could only see beauty
She could only see flaws
She was so unhappy
If I had only known
I would have talked to her
A stranger one day
A friend the next
I would have told her
A vision one day
My lover the next
Instead I suffered too
Because the woman who was so unsure
Didn’t know she didn’t have to wait for love
She didn’t have to die to find it
It was here all along
If she only knew

Let us climb together
Each step representing the difficulties of life
Walking away from the past
And our differences
But as the mountain narrows before us
Creating common ground
Closer to God
Where the air is pure
And the skies are clear
We will share what little we bring
And what we bring is only what we need
Yes
Only our body
And consciousness
Of life
Our life
And we will then come to know the life of each other
For as the mountain narrows before us
We will become human again
And not a race
Or an object
Only spirit
Wisps of humanity
Filling the spaces between words and deeds
Remembering our place
Not of advantage
Or of dependency
But as equals
And yet I hear your cries
Echoing beyond the valley inside our hearts
Where the battle is fought
Some of your friends will not walk with you
It is the same for me
But we will find others taking their place
And we will welcome them
While lamenting those who chose not to join us
But praying for their walk
Hoping that the clouds that pass before us
Are the spirits that have reconsidered their choice
Ready to bond with us
While the morning fog reminds those who remain
There is still time

I can’t seem to decide much anymore
I keep looking for a sign
That’s not how I used to live
But gettin’ closer to God takes all my time

I think my boy is gonna’ miss me
I figured out being a man meant being there for him
He has to make his way out into the world
But gettin’ closer to God is going out on a limb

It seems somebody’s always tryin’ to save me
I didn’t know I was in such a mess
I can’t be like everyone else
Jesus said pray in a closet
That’s where I think best

I’m slowing things down, that’s how it is
I don’t need to hurry anymore
That’s not how it was long ago
Gettin’ closer to God means not livin’ like before

Did you think I would never miss you
I think I know now how much I was blessed
It’s not about who loves who the most
I’m just gonna’ say it and let God tell you rest

It seems somebody’s always tryin’ to save me
I didn’t know I was in such a mess
I can’t be like everyone else
Jesus said pray in a closet
That’s where I think best