We are drifting apart my friend
Is it because of a woman?
Maybe it is in some way
For what dims our light, reminds
Of promises I made one night
We cannot talk about it
But our friendship reads minds
We do not judge one other
We are able to turn back time
And though will never forget
Between men of weakness
Knowing is where we meet again

You are by day my friend
But she is by night
You offer what you are
She offers dark and light
No tears for losing a friend
Only sadness in the desert
No calm for losing a wife
Only pain when seas part
The heart will break bread
With both sand and water
And while the dust that rises
Lives in the minds of two men
The seas upon which I must sail
Render the verdict between life or sin

I really want to know
Why would anyone have children
If they knew how afraid it would make them feel?
But then we ask for more
Because the fear is the only thing that makes life real

Who lives on the dark side
But smiles walking down mean streets?
She brings her own eyes to see the light and nothing else
The flowers don’t know any better
And neither does a girl who doesn’t believe hope melts

I really want to know
What are the things you won’t tell me
Did you decide to wait before you forget your last boy?
I said don’t hold my hand right now
So you went out alone but you weren’t anybody’s toy

It makes no difference
If we found gold on the land
We don’t climb mountains just because of the view
I could remember it more than once
But instead I live it because it reminds me of you

I have already risen
I have already fallen
I only want to stand again
Next to another friend
Who’s already risen
Who’s already fallen
Who’s ready to stand again
To walk where it might end
To walk where it might begin
But to be a true friend
Never reject the message I send
Or judge the heart that lies within

Beauty without empathy
A smile without depth
A thank you without sincerity
Your believing heart is out of breath
You are chasing a mirage
An oasis of fantasy
But you will know its breadth
When kindness wears no camouflage
And deception knows no honesty

I miss him mommy
When will daddy come home
But he can’t hear them
It is his life that has been sown

Hi darling
I’m thinking of you
I love you so much
I hope you know it’s true

It was obvious
Somebody will die again
The news reports statistics
But a number is my friend

In a short amount of time
My whole life changed
I would never go back
My emotions are rearranged

Happy birthday son
I said it to a bird
In vain, it swept away
Wings were all I heard

Chu Lai, a refuge
A lie, only for the enemy
Mines, natural as the wind
John cleared them for me

I will never see them again
How could I leave?
I loved my home
But not as a place to grieve

Mired in stalemate
Death, shrugging its shoulders
They didn’t seem to care
Except to **** my brothers

The choppers, red cross buses
Politicians have their own ride
Silence is consent
But I know who lied

Our leader, iron willed ambition
Would no longer lead
His ranch calls to him
While bullets make us bleed

He left us behind
But a marine would never
How long would I be here
For a soldier, its always forever

Order at home, shoot protestors
Peace abroad, would I live to tell
The same words over and over
A white house and a jungle hell

From the very start
It seemed nobody understood
We didn’t speak the language
And we never would

Even death could smell itself
Though the trail never died
Rain, once the giver of life
Only increases the dread inside

We were so thirsty
We tried to drink morning dew
To see green grass, a flash
Made me think of you

I saw him remove his stripes
They shot our officers first
He tried to give new orders
My skin knew it would be worse

I thought about a hill I once climbed
It looked like the outline I now see
The answer was not letting anyone down
And the next man up was finally me

We were going to **** everyone
Their orders were the same
Were they scared or nervous?
It seemed they were glad we came

We raced up, the lottery all around
I forgot about being a hero or a coward
Duty made us think of our children
But the only way home was forward

Mommy, why are you crying?
What did that man say?
I will tell you later my son
First we must kneel down and pray  

The flag waves silently now
I don’t think about love or hatred
Instead it reminds me once again
How the life of a soldier is sacred

But who owns the hill we once won?
Forty years gone and still their children cry
The faces on the magazine cover
Are the ones who can no longer ask why

he asked her a question
that made her want to walk away
it was something about the truth
she had just met him
it was already too heavy
he told her
he didn’t change clothes in a phone booth
he didn’t
ride white horses down main street
he just wanted to fall in love
before the sun went down

she couldn’t see it
but she felt it all the same
he didn’t have the time
still he had the heart
would it be enough
his eyes revealed no regret
he felt one thing only
the strength to be alone

she never answered
she had her own problems too
she decided he was an honest man
growing older meant a lot of things
what did she mean to him
love is a stranger sometimes
it was up to her
it always was
the men are always willing
but she wanted to wait
to watch one more sunrise

she wanted his aggression
even if she turned him down
no man was worth his fears
how could he handle her?
if he was afraid of rejection
then he was not strong enough
if only he knew it would work
but beauty makes you wait

My eyes weep
The truth is so hard to bear
I wish to live only between day and night
It is the dusk that spares my tears
And so too the dawn
Like silk curtains that guard my slumber
Who would find me where time is fleeting
Not cherished
Or written about
Except as a beginning or an end
Where there is expectation or wistfulness
Never contentment
But for this I must pray
The end must be near
So to the beginning of hope
No matter how far the journey
It is only that it exists

Sometimes I want to wake up
But I cannot
I am conscious
Without form
Only feeling
Misty hazy despair
Inside a smoke glass coffin
But not a cocoon
I can see what it is that I am
Though desperation cannot hear me
And freedom cannot see me

Would it be that we were loved
Would it be that nomads had a mother
Would it be that we even knew our own name

Whatever is in my heart will wait
But for what is unknown except for life itself
We are the ones who must hope for a savior
Unnamed but true
For love is all we know
And the worth that man sees in our will to live

There is hope in sadness
Because honesty
And not falsehood
Along with true emotion
Opens its door to comfort you
Because it will receive you
And offer its blessings
To mingle with your own
On a winding road
Of love
You see my daughter
And her smile for my heart
In this I know
The hope that we long for
Is sprouting in the next generation
As we who have lived
And search for our youth
And for something new
Remain in reposeful wait
To live on
In the knowing
Of where we have been
And where we will go
But for me
It is the very feeling of loss
That offers dignity
And quiet assurance
That regardless of my tears
Life will go on
And a little girl
Will be the one who will make you happy
So take her hand
And look past my troubles
And see yourself through her eyes
As she asks you
To show her what you know
And what you love

I know
Or maybe I just think
I can't really judge
Culture is what we make of it
We own it
It says something about us
But my music
Is it really better?
Or is it because of the times
I can listen to something new
In my room
Or in a crowd of young people
But I'm not young anymore
So it has to be connected to something else
Something important to me
So is it the music
Or is it what I was doing at the time?
I once was part of the scene
Now I'm an observer
It doesn't matter what I say
Or what I know
So I'll just stay in my lane
I won't drive too fast
Or make a statement just to do it
I know I'm different
Why do I have to prove it to anyone?
I don't get off on that anymore
I don't trust anyone based on their age
I don't distrust anyone based on their age
I just listen
Then I decide
I know if it's of any value
Not to define their worth
But instead their willingness to be honest about themselves
It takes time
Sometimes there's not enough
And they move on
So it was just a point in time
And they may not even remember you knew them like that
When they were trying to prove their worth
And they didn't even know what it was
Or how to do it
They just wrote a novel in the way they spoke
But the pages will be discarded when they grow up
I'll just wait until that time
Because then they will know what I know
And that is that we really can't judge
Who's going to help the world anyway
What can you do except live?

Daughter daughter daughter
How do I explain
Why your father is dead?

My son my son my son
How can I explain
Why there’s a bullet in his head?

People people people
There’s so much anger
But is it so much
To want to **** a stranger?

Where is the carpenter of peace
To walk in our midst?
Even if he walked on water
Would he be betrayed by a bullet or a kiss?

People people people
We fight over a man’s last meal
And one unkind word
Why do we **** instead of kneel?

Where is the man who had a dream
To wake us from our sleep?
He walked across a bridge
And sowed his life for you to reap

People people people
Why must a good man die
For anyone to care
Are there any tears left to cry?

Where is the little man with salt in his hand
To give us courage and dignity?
He died by the same bullet
Because mankind cannot live in harmony

There is no need for words if they can be drawn

Nothing to add

Red Indian sunsets
Green beautiful eyes
Blue oceans deep

Nothing to subtract

Cyan flickering flames
Yellow honey moons
Magenta universal harmony
Black sky framed stars

What is reflected into our eyes is every emotion we feel
And what we feel is not the same as what is written or heard
But what we see is the same as what we feel if we open our eyes
For a brush is the sunset that reveals the night sky without a word

Bark stripped from a tree
I tried to smooth them
Make them whole again
So you could only see the rings
But all you wanted were promises
What is in your head?
All this love stuff is too much
It’s too much
It cuts us into little pieces
Or strips of memories
Laid upon the floor
Knowing each other
But living apart
We don’t want to admit it
We are the story
Out of the light
That’s what you said
Turn it off
It’s better that I don’t see all of that
That’s what you said
Just make your mistakes with me
Make another layer out of what’s left
It probably will feel good
You know how to fake it
You know how to make yourself
But you need pieces of me to do it right

When can I go to the place we dream?
I can’t see through stained glass windows
Or read words in a faraway language
But I see the tears carving their story
And the images reflected by the stream

It was the fear of living with their choices
The world sought its own refuge
But it was not bricks or stone fences
Instead it was a word that built the wall
And the glory of hearing their own voices

When can I go to the place that was promised?
From meal to meal I travel with a memory
I could say this is who I am but is that true?
All I know is that I could only feel pain inside
They said they were only being honest

I was so tired of being told how to be
It seems they cannot live with their own
I only wanted to talk about your blessings
They were so small I was ashamed of my own
I had forgotten that a breath is the life for me

Is it just listening to an old song with a friend
Is it writing a new one about a love that will never end
It’s hard to know what you’re thinking
You want me to play the music first
When it’s over the message will be in the next verse

Being with you is the choice between walking
Or a car not understanding what it is your saying
A sidewalk is easy on the eyes
Once we open the door it’s never the same
Where we go next is never the way we came

You think it’s going to be different
But that’s no reason to try again
We are what we are
But what you want to forget
Is not the feeling when we first met

Give me the time of day when I ask
Tell me the weather is important to talk about
I wonder if normal is better
We broke all the glasses long ago
I know you’re thirsty but your heart won’t say so

You think it’s going to be the same
But that’s no reason not to try again
We are what we are
But what you can’t forget
Is the feeling when you finally left

In the tower, as a prisoner surrounded
by  walls of flesh and blood; to etch upon
the walls, my innocence and guilt; how
my mind was mistreated by all who had
mistreated their own; what was I to expect
from a life that offers nothing except pain
at birth, life then death; what principles
are offered except riddles by those who
do not care to hear the warnings of
freedoms scattered before them like the
blackened eyes of serpents whose bodies
continue to writhe though separated from
their own minds by the sharpened axes
of each generation that will see the truth
only in ways that make them feel whole

The holiest time of captivity, when our old
wounds gather together; when we know
we are all of these, we begin to speak  
calmly of them, proud of what we know
of our strength in the faith that the sun  
will shine upon us no matter the clouds  
that have gathered, defusing the dewy
stars to make shadows warning those
who laugh at the bravery of peace and  
the truth no matter who may speak it;
for darkness is always reserved for fools
who can only see today as if the sunrise
is afraid to be the one who forgives first,
while we, in the sight of a cross for  life
and a stone for death make the choice
to live for the harmony of love as we
were taught; to share the whole of our
existence with those who once made
us think of hate

The men in her life go their own way
First it was her Daddy
Then soon her brother too
I wonder if she will always have to say goodbye

She never loses her love for us
She forgives and insists we’re a family
Neither of us are as strong as she can be
She smiles knowing tomorrow is the day to cry

I wonder if she’ll ever feel at home with a man
She learned about men early in her life
They make her happy
But it only lasts as long as the last piece of pie

She runs to me with grace running through her veins
I’ve never been able to leave yesterday behind
Yet she can always open a new day of sunshine
She just loves me and I never have to ask why

She lives her life of dolls and being Daddy’s girl
She plays mom to her brother but loves him just the same
One day he’ll miss her and remember these days
Until then she’ll hug us while tomorrow closes it’s misty eyes

I will live where I walk
Nothing to own except what I wear
Though I must offer some value
The world kills those who’s pockets are bare

I will sleep under the stars
They never ask who I am or make me pay
But the ground must swell over me
For the sky laughs at what shivers where they lay

I will care for my children
Without sitting high above lights that never sleep
The hand on the lever of society’s moral failings
Is no match for what a common man must keep

I will climb a mountain
Where temples stand hardened by destiny
For in the faces of holy denial
I will know the gulf between humility and celebrity

I will read the book again
And remove justification from my mind
I will not search to sanctify my glory
And in it I hope it is peace that I will find

I will walk to the rear
To honor those who know the pain of life
For in the days of my time
I have only witnessed but not felt true strife

Why can't the one I love share what I do?

I wouldn’t have thought it
I’ve never been there
So I had to talk about it
With someone who had

Sometimes I laugh without humor
That’s all you can do
Letting it go without anger
That’s how you keep a friend

The sun’s one less problem now
I had to work my way around
I once loved it too much
But that sin is ready to forgive

I like psychedelic butterflies
They can see the air they dodge
Murals welcome them home
It’s up to us to remember them

I’m going to let you see
I’ll stand there while you tell me
What is it that I do to you
Those are the eyes I will believe

There’s a cure I have in mind
I swallowed the pill before we met
Remission is not enough
I’m never going back there again

It’s a song always in my head
I let it happen but I don’t know when
I hear it all the time
Not the same but the feeling instead

I can fade in and out
If you catch me on the bend
Just don’t let your ego cry about it
It’s important to know where I've been

She cried how can I do that
I asked do what
She said you know what I mean
I said when it wears off you won't ask

I wish I knew how to take you there
It's a lonely valley of discovery
I can't speak to you while the music plays
When I tell you my eyes will then become yours

He wanted her to stay the way she was
The way she was the day they first met
She wanted him to change the way he was
She loved him but he wasn’t there just yet

She was so wild when they first met
But she was ready to grow up
He was still just a wide-eyed boy
It takes a man time for him to catch up

They didn’t realize it was happening
But they started drifting apart
She only thought about the future
He only thought about her heart

He’d watch her when she was reading
She knew but pretended not to notice
She felt the pressure of his eyes
And wondered if she could satisfy his lust

Twenty years passed
He wondered why she had to grow up
Twenty years passed
She wondered when he would catch up

It seemed they were never really together
They would make love but then talk about the weather
She didn’t know that he would always be a boy at heart
He didn’t know she wanted to be an adult from the start

They didn’t realize it was happening
But they started drifting apart
She only thought about the future
He only thought about her heart

Twenty years passed
He wondered why she had to grow up
Twenty years passed
She wondered when he would catch up

Let’s forget all this stuff
I know what you said
How you loved everybody
Or did they love you?
You went along with it
But they couldn’t handle it

Collecting rings is like art
But you let the dust collect
The only feeling was disdain
Empty fingers are never true
Being asked was good enough
But being free was better

Let’s forget all this stuff
Tradition is for our parents
I know you’ve loved someone
Maybe it was last night
But he doesn’t know me
He just knows I’m there

You said call me when I’m free
That sounded like a promise
A wall is for the one who built it
But a good climb once made my day
You know what’s on the other side
It’s the way we used to be

Let’s forget all this stuff
I have so much to say
But I’m not sure enough
My moods woke me up
It wasn’t love that scared me
It's that I change so much

Let’s forget about forever
And this talk about tomorrow
That’s what brings on the hurt
That's what brings on the sorrow

You and me live all alone
We both just need a friend
I’m not taking your hand
I just don’t want the night to end

I know how you feel
You wonder if you should let it show
Can a woman be so bold
To love a man and see him go?

As the shadows fall around you
Like all your mother's fears
I just want you to know
It’s not wrong to ignore her tears

It’s just another night
Will it be alone or will it be right?
Let’s not sit here and worry
That’s all for the morning light

I know how you feel
You wonder if you should let it show
Can a woman be so bold
To love a man and see him go?

It’s hard enough to walk away
So why make a promise?
After being so close
How could I be so heartless?

What if I sang you a song
And bared my soul to you
Is that what it would take
For you to lose your cool?

What if I was on a stage
And said I would die for you
Would you show me your heart
Or would I just be playing the fool?

I know you want love
But you’d rather pretend
You’re saving something
For someday
But I want everything
Today

I have to act like I’m not impressed
You know that’s the game
I’m ready to show you how I feel
But first I need to know your name

What if I walked right up
And didn’t give you a line
Would you still reject it
Or would you think it was a sign?

I know you want love
But you’d rather pretend
You walked right on by
But your eyes don’t lie

You’re saving something
But I want everything
You’re saving something
But I want everything
I want everything
Everything

I want to love you
The way I want you to love me
I want to tell you
The things I want you to tell me
I want to touch you
The way I want you to touch me
Yes I want to give you all the things
I want you to give me

Tell me it’s true
The things that I want
You want them too

I want you to show me your tears
Like the tears I have saved for you
I want you to believe in all the years
The years I want to give to you
I want you to show me your dreams
The ones I imagined every night
Yes I want you to give me all the things
I want to give to you

Tell me it’s true
The things that I think
You think them too

I want to know what's inside of us
The way we know what's on the outside
I want us to trust each other
Like people who are not afraid to confide
I want us to be able to smile each day
The way people who know love smile
Yes I want us to give all these things
You give them to me
And I'll give them to you

Tell me it’s true
The things that I love
You love them too

It always happens that way but I don’t know why
I try to understand but my past gets in the way
Then one day I don’t think about it even if I notice
I wonder why it took so long to want you to stay

I always find myself but it takes too much time
I don’t have an opinion now until the sun goes down
I finally realized you were just trying to be yourself
You don’t hide from anyone and do it without a sound

I’m trying to catch up
Even though I started before you
Watching you invent a new world
Makes me want to live in it too

I decided dreaming wasn’t real anymore
I don’t want to sleep hoping to get to know you
I’ll just think it through without asking what for

How much older must I be
Before I catch up with you?
Watching you ignore the world
Makes me want to ignore it too

I’m going to take my time now and again
If the clouds are out then it was meant to be
I’m not sure what I’m saving my smile for
Nothing old is new and being new is me

I’m trying to catch up
Even though I started before you
Watching you invent a new world
Makes me want to live in it too

It’s not the way your smile draws me back to you even when I wasn't invited
     It’s the way you walk upstream when it would be so easy to float away
It’s not the way you paint pictures of your life as if it’s your last day to tell
     It’s the way you love because you know how to let someone be free
It’s not the way you kiss me and show how a woman loves a man
     It’s the way your dignity tells me that no matter what you will be alright
It’s not the way you light up whenever I walk into your life
     It’s the way you would rather be lonely than settle for the easy way out
It's not the way you make love and forget how a lady should act
     It's the way you remind me that a lady is what a lady decides to be

You asked me how I could say that
But I ask you why I had to live with it?
Someone ***** my mind of all its innocence
Now the truth is considered a lie

You are shocked by my angry words
But what about an angry life?
Someone made me pay for their violence
Now the truth wants to die

You ran away from my honesty
But what about a broken heart?
Someone ripped it out with their silence
Now the truth is asking why

Watching decency roll away
Nobody cares about dignity
Everybody wants instant fame
The genius is in the celebrity

The less we think the better
The mystery is in pouty lips
They only kiss the camera lens
And not the intellect they eclipse

We’re choking on the stars, who
walk the streets beneath our feet
The aging is to see it all again
They only discover the same street

The way to worship is by the day
What will you do to the past
That you cannot do tomorrow
All that is left is what will last

Mountain tops remove desire
Distraction removes pain
Suffer the country or the city
No matter the result is the same

What was life without love
Before, you were what you wanted
After, you were disappointed
Now, you walk with the haunted

I want to tell you that I believe
But not in my life or in my death
Instead I want to believe in you
I see the tears in your every breath

All I could do was point to my heart
It was the sign of my love to the end
You were saddened by what he said
But still, I will always be your friend

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

If every angry idea would remain chained across the void
We would never know the exhausted delivery of its hurt
No matter how we try to soften the people’s confusion
It is the loud echo’s that demand we forget their worth

If every open eye would close while your lips speak the truth
He would never know the despair of soft skin that streaks
Vanquishing words cloud mirrors no longer needed
Because a whisper is a heart beating in the language he seeks

If every walk towards the ocean ended where a boat began
And if every boat sailed until welcoming lands drew it near
Every idea born by honest men who journeyed with their children
Would fill the void and part the clouds covering the reflection we fear

An explosion in your head
Not so shallow as our nihilism
Or cruel as our abuse
He only wanted to talk freely
You couldn’t take his mannerism
Martians aren't so conservative
Instead it became something you read
You were shocked by his optimism
Smiling he lit the fuse
His pink dress flowing freely
His spike heels killing cultural fascism
You couldn’t believe the alternative
Flesh painted red
It was only lipstick narcissism
How else to make the news
His religion spoke freely
A guitar conducted the exorcism
Only God understood the narrative
You wondered who was in his bed
You only could see hedonism
And not the future with nothing to lose
And now we walk freely
The bomb blew up your prison
It is your turn to live

My helplessness
Is not in my mortality
But from my beating heart
Which tells me of the reality
That I walk at someone’s behest
I cannot make it stop or start
I hope it remembers what to do
For I am unable to impart
Any sense of who I am
Or what I feel
Onto its rhythmic
Turn of the wheel
And when I look closely
And see the fiery sun
I feel the same fear
Just like the one
Over my hearts life
And I wonder how
I can live
As I do now
And did long ago
With joy
And heartbreak
And now a man from a boy
I wait for the final beat
And the final ray
Of my life
Will it be today?
How will I ever know
On that day
When what I cannot control
Chooses what to do or say
And in the moment after
These questions
Will no longer matter
Nor will the suggestions
Of how I should live my life
In preparation for the sun
And my heart
To decide their work is done

La puesta del sol se cayó para ti de nuevo
As you looked to the West
I turned my back
I wanted to see if you could make the sun rise

Que estas buscando mi querida
I see you longing for something
That is why I must wait for you to decide
What am I compared to a dream that paints the skies

Entonces es mejor esperar que perderte
I’ll be around like this thing upon which you travel
It’s so far beyond the horizon
It’s become my life to imagine the reason for your cries  

Me miraste a los ojos, todavía buscas
Why must you make me wonder
It is how a woman must live needing to be convinced
I’m not asking you to trust my words, just my eyes

What are tears
What is anger
What is joy
What is it

Dare we make the trade
From one feeling to another
Dare we take a break
From horror to happiness

Everything is fleeting

Take time to care
Take time to share
Take time to smile

You have that right

The water will make you bloom
Though it will never posses you
It is your secret desire
You cannot live in it
But you need its touch
Its caress
Its strength
Its life
Then you can live without it
And show everyone your beauty
The petals bursting with pride
While the water silently vanishes
Knowing your secret
Living alone
But knowing its worth to you
The water draws your radiance
But dies each day
Only to live again tomorrow
Let me be the water
With my eyes
With my words
With my approval
With my love
With the whispers you cannot hear
But can surely feel
Let me give you life
Life that you share with all the others
All I need is my muse...

Whatever the night may reveal
Or the day may choose to conceal
It is of no consequence to my being
If I cannot discern between morning or evening

However intrigue may make us smile
Or how the self-evident nature of man may beguile
It is of no consequence to my being
If I cannot understand the way I should be living

Whenever fear failed to dissuade me
Or courage only became stupidity
It is of no consequence to my being
Because reason was something I was missing

Whoever loved me in spite of my reticence
Or who walked away despite my penitence
It is of no consequence to my being
If I cannot understand what I am feeling

Inside the saliva that forms when she parts her lips
The dream was a steady drip
He knew
Art never passes beyond an approximation
Unless it reaches someone
But knowing the woman he loved dug her claws into his skin
It was no longer an opinion
Or an accusation
It was reality
And it no longer required a brush to play pretend
To paint the warm tears upon a canvas required his own
Because then he would know it was true
Deciding between truth and faith tore his heart apart
He wanted to believe
And not know
Because belief was hope
And knowing was fear
Fear that the cornerstone of his being was as human as blood
Blood that could not be washed away
Only form a river of electrical activity on a screen full of dots
It meant he was alive
But he realized he was translating himself from another life
The words were easy to write
But the meaning required a life to have been lived
That way his errors could be identified
And meaning
And unresolved memories
Like water spilling out his side
Could moisten her lips while she made love to another man
So he could dream again

Am I a river?
I was
But now I am a lake
Because of the dam
The dam of life
The dam I hate
The dam I cannot defeat
I see my stream
But I cannot rise above the dam
So I sit
And I wait
And I exist
But I do not live
But as I am slowly released
Part of me has become you
For I too am a stream
Yet you want a river
And now I look for a river too

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

I don't have to remember words
Only the feeling you left behind
I don't have to remember a place
It could have been anywhere
I did not notice the setting sun
Or the reflective mountains
Or the glistening shore
You are the painting
And a frame is of no matter
For the colors of your love
Is why nature bows to you

There is so much time spent being a reservoir
A holder of the things they want us to cherish
A tribe defined by what we hold in common
Yet our differences breathe life into our individuality
I don’t know if it is that I need a passenger
Should it be my destiny to explain guide or suggest
When it is that I prefer no past
And no future
Not because of shame or death
But because these things cause discomfort
It is instead a life of calm that I seek
As it is walking with nature or the animals we care for
I can only ask if you want to fall in love
Or if there is a word that would describe me
I hope it is honor
And truth
I don’t know how it is we can agree not to be perfect
We have such a precise expectations for our life
Would it be better not to watch through a moving window
Instead we could be a part of what it is we seek
Or create it for ourselves
If only we knew how

You once talked so much
You were beautiful
The face of love
And all the boys wanted you

You had a husband once
He loved you for a while
Then he stopped thinking of you
Even when the song was slow

Still you decided love is worth the pain
Even though you love the sun instead of the rain
You wouldn’t let him buy you a drink
But you told him you’d change your life
If only love was true
If only love was true

What did he say
That you hadn’t heard before
But this time you wanted to play
Giving in is a game you wanted to lose

Did he get your attention?
He sounded so different
But you needed another month
To know if it was real

You decided love is worth the pain
Even though you love the sun instead of the rain
You wouldn’t let him spend the night
But you told him you’d change your life
If only love was true
If only love was true

The things he described were you
Was it a lucky guess or was it him too?
You admired his taste in women
Because you admired yourself

Though the rope was getting tight
You had will power no man could understand
But you were weaker than he knew
It was always up to you

You decided love is worth the pain
Even though you love the sun instead of the rain
You wouldn’t let him kiss you in the car
But you told him you’d change your life
If only love was true
If only love was true

You watched him drive away
But you didn’t know he liked it
You didn’t give yourself away
His pride smiled in the mirror

You wondered what was next
You gambled that rejection was a turn-on
And even though you were right
Would his courage overcome the doubt?

You decided love is worth the pain
Even though you love the sun instead of the rain
You wouldn’t let him know how you felt
But you told him you’d change your life
If only love was true
If only love was true

he said,
it’s good to still be among the living;

a new year makes someone say things like that

but I wondered,
is it better than walking on streets paved with gold?

the life we leave behind is for those who will miss you

the legacy of our journey, is it in need of forgiveness;
yes it is, always

we make promises we cannot keep;
we turn out lights but cannot sleep

it is because we do not know the difference
between light and dark; or if the difference matters,
we can only listen to a poor black woman, a legacy,
singing gospel with her gift to carry the shame of men;

to carry it to God; TO GOD!

to ask him to forgive them for what they did to her;
because she knew that he would ask her a question

who have you forgiven my child?

CAN YOU IMAGINE ANY OF THIS?

the longest road out west is part of the scene

you can ride alone and think about where everyone went;
why would they not want to live here when it is so quiet;
is that why; the quiet?

even looking at the word makes you feel uneasy,
if only for a moment;
but the soft wind limps behind,
while nature focuses upon you alone,
with your rifle and your hat

beyond wondering what happened there long ago,
and what might be behind that cactus, you can only
keep walking to find what you came for; or maybe
it’s just that;
you and nobody else, with brown grass
and dry air substituted for streets of gold;
and you’re ok with that;
it's because you found somebody who agrees with you

you told her you sure like talking to her; she’s not too
******* you; she gets the strain in your life and how
it’s  really about companionship and not rearranging
everything

she is part of the living and it makes you want to live;
right up to the time that gospel song began to soar,
because that made you realize this whole thing is one;
one with her, one with God, one with that song, one
with that long road

gold ain’t got nothing to do with it

Yes, it's the way you look
I hope you are as different as your eyes
But don't look at me like that
Unless your voice speaks without disguise

The light always seems to streak
Like the hair you keep changing
I was staring as you walk by
Wondering how not to get burned
By a lady I can’t seem to meet

You seem to enjoy being different
You laugh easy but then you don’t
You always change the way you think
Or maybe I just haven’t figured out
The way the river shades the current

There’s a shadow in your smile
Only I can see
I know you want to say something
I know you want to say it to me

It’s a feeling only a fool tries twice more
He’s not afraid to be shot down again
It’s not the sign of weakness in a man
It’s the same shadow he saw once before

There’s a shadow in your smile
I feel it when you talk to me
I know it’s not what you really wanted
I know it’s not the way you want it to be

It is the will

The will to be
The will to give
The will to love
The will to live

That is all there is

Sew and lash
Are you the wind?
Sew and lash
Are you the sail?

You do not believe
You cannot see it

But neither can you see the wind

She dances without music
She can hear what she needs
She is so sure of being herself

But her sails beg for new seeds

The will to be loved
The will to be hurt
The will to cry once more

Whose sails will you fill today?

Sew and lash
Are you the wind?
Sew and lash
Are you the sail?

The mountain is so high
I've chosen the hardest path
But to see what God has made
Means I won't turn back

From the sweetest water I drank
Quenching a thirst I never knew
I always thought I was satisfied
Until the day I met you

My mind had been sheltered
With life's beauty only a hint
When you came into my life
I finally knew what love meant

I can never tell you enough
The feelings that blossom each day
Bursting forth from a swollen dam
I will never let you get away

You are my soul mate
We know each others walk
Unspoken words move between us
There is no need to talk

Our love is always there
We are comforted by knowing
It always will be with us
On our faces always showing

The glow of our life together
Beckons us both in the distance
When we gaze upon one another
We know to end the resistance

I love you as no other
With my heart, mind and soul
Come with me baby
Let's make each other whole

You were as happy as a girl but a sad one too
Everything you could be in a day
So many times I wondered what you believed
Was it me or something only you could feel
I never was sure what you were trying to say

Listening to my memories
This time a world that wasn’t make believe
The things that were real
Were all I would ever need
It seems so much easier now than it was
Like a happy boy sitting in a tree

How many years since I was like that
I drank to those who knew how long it would last
You were all the reason I would ever need
I finally became a man one sad day
I'm still wondering what you did with my past

The song kept me awake
Even a dream gets tired trying to believe
It happened once before
I was sharing the wrong bed
It seemed so much harder now
For the boy not knowing who was me

There's somebody worried about a baby
Pray with them
There's somebody missing their mother
Comfort them
There's somebody who needs you
Be there for them
There's somebody who is very lonely
Spend time with them
There's somebody missing their father
Hug them
There's somebody needing it to be true
Believe in them