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

Pick a card.... any card
     But why just one?
Because that is the game
     But I don't like the rules
Do you want to play or not?
     I am playing
You can't pick more than one card
     I already have a deck of my own
But you have to play with this deck
     Your deck is like mine... lots of variety
Yes but it's not a game of variety
     But I like all the cards... some more than others
That is not allowed
     I can't play with them?
No... you must pick one and then play with that one
     What is the point?
There is no point... that's just the game
     How long can it last with just one card?
The rest of your life.......
     ****

I’m going to do different this time
I’m not going to do waiting
I’m not going to do afraid
But who am I kidding
I’m the one whose heart already paid

The screen behind me is full of sound
But you can’t hear anything
The images are all about life
What’s it about, seeing, believing
I’m sad that you can feel so much doubt

Did you notice something?
Everybody was together
Laughing and crying
What is it about, color?
I know we’re the same
We all want a lover

I don’t want to be at war with anybody
Say it loud, how are you anyway?
We all wasted days, so many
Stop thinking that way
It’s still your life
Nobody has taken it away

How did we meet
So many leaves, floating aimlessly
We both fell from the sky
Our eyes met, wet from the rain
Our bodies felt, the cold of the rake
Will the wind scatter us once again?

No matter how long the table
Or the age of the wine, born today
We can’t take it home unless we dream
We kissed with our eyes open
We both wanted to know
Can you love a heart already broken?

He wanted to float on an island
Make the sea rise like melting ice cubes
Drink from a coconut he shook from a tree
And serenade seagulls with the bark he stripped

Walk with me anywhere but here

He’d rung the towel as hard as he could
Nobody can do anything with it now
All that’s left is to live with his emotions
Instead of telling stories about how he feels

I love you but you already know that

He played all his face cards
There’s no saving this hand
He went all in without remorse
Tears always let themselves go

I have nothing to hide anymore

He didn’t look before he dialed the number
Rejection’s no different than yesterday
She could feel the strength in his heart
And wondered how much he could love her

Don’t be afraid that I learned to be so strong

I’m not going to conjure up
Rabbits blinded by stage light
Or with nothing up my sleeve
Prove my love will make things right

Even with the many hands of my sins
That I have extended like casting demons away
I was not the sorcerer that made love to you
Instead I was begging your heart stay

I don’t make magic
I only discover it
I’m not full of tricks
Only a shot of wit
Drink if you must
But first you better sit
It may not feel well
So drink only a bit

I am hardened by our world
The mystical nights we shared
Did not obey a man of tricks
Instead I found someone who cared

How perfect it was
We knew by our eyes
It was as true as a trick that lies
A soul mate from stormy skies

I don’t make magic
I only discover it
I carry no bag
That I will admit
Let it happen now
But first we must sit
This time is different
The magic is our spirit

Whatever you are
You meet something else
Part of you is the border
The other part is a long stretch of difference
Will you let them cross
They have to walk on your soul
But the other side you also know
The collision is what knocks down the fence
Nothing stops the wind
Or the birds flying south
If you let it happen that way
A stone becomes a river bed of conscience

It’s hard for me
You look me in the eye
And you want me
But I want the sky
It’s hard for you
You want to drink tea
And be in love
But I want the sea
What you want
Is not me
What I want
You can't see
I want the world
I want life’s problems
I want to think
I want to solve them
You want a quiet moment
And so do I
But you want to relax
While I want to ask why
And then you ask me
Why do you have to be that way?
I don’t know why
It covers me where I lay
I see your frustration
Instead of an oasis
I bring discomfort
And restlessness
I want to dig deep
Into the reservoir of emotion
I want to feel the pain
Of the human condition
You want to escape
You need me to take you there
Instead I push you away
All you can do is sit and stare
I let you in my life
As far as I can
I know it’s not enough
I’m not a companion
Yet you seem drawn
To the pictures I paint
The words are like a movie
You watch while I show no restraint
I want to drink that cup
And show you I can care
But as soon as I sit down
My mind drifts somewhere
And it’s not here
It’s not with you
Even with all your beauty
I still can see through
I see through you
As if you aren’t there
Because in fact you aren’t
You’re gone and I paid the fare
And when I sit alone
And wonder what I’ve done
You will think about me
While you are with another one
Drinking your tea
And being loved
While I suffer over you
And riddles that are unsolved

Our voices
Are they an echo
Of a desolate love in the air?
Our longing
Are they the reflection
Of an unrequited love affair?
As we sleep
It watches
Knowing all our secrets
All our pain
All our loves
A reluctant confidant
Suffering
For all eternity
Witness
To all who love
And to all whose dreams are crushed
As we raise our eyes
And bare ourselves
The mirror of our sadness
Understands
In the shadow of it's light

We The People
Sailed the same course
Some willingly
Some by force
Our Constitution
A document to inform
A more perfect Union
To weather any storm
No more kings
No more oppression
No taxation
Without representation
Checks and balances
And the rule of law
Mitigating injustices
Safe harbor for all
The secular trinty
President, Congress, Court
Power to be divided
Veto, fiat, tort
Our common interest
Of self defense
With liberty for all
And justice for any offense
Our common tranquility
And general welfare
A more perfect union
Our resources we share
American rights
And protection
From a despotic government
Or an insurrection
To worship my God
And you yours
Even to deny him
Our right secures
Open discourse
To speak out loud
We must be heard
Not follow the crowd
Collective grievances
Peaceably petitioned
We walk together
But never threatened
To bear arms
For our security
Never being forced
To quarter unwillfully
To remain secure
In our sanctuary
Unless presented
With writ of entry
Neither held
Absent habeas corpus
Or loss of property
Without payment to us
Never forced to testify
To contradict our denials
Or brought forward
In duplicitous trials
To face our accuser
In much haste
Represented by counsel
Our peers hands to be placed
Not just one but twelve
Examining the facts
Brought forward to be sworn
But only this court acts
Reasonable recompense
For fine or bail
Cruel or unusual retribution
Shall not avail
An enumeration
Provides illumination
But within the penumbra
Exists more freedom
From God or self-evident
There is no list or count
None to encumber
None to surmount
A union has formed
But sacred the individual
The tyranny of the majority
Is never permissible
A living breathing document?
Or static words unbending?
Even as we amend
Change never ending
Open to interpretation
If you see a right
Others may disagree
There may be a fight
The spirit of intent
Is there to see
Freedom to choose
Secured by liberty
We The People
A sacred quest
We The People
Freedom will never rest

Upon the receding mass,
we float, imperceptible
gathered with pieces; clues,
hints of what we assume;
perception of truth; together,
we know; but we cannot,
we cannot because we are not,
we are not together, we are not
together, we are not together;
we are only apart, gathered,
but scattered, fragmented,
a song that cannot begin
or end; pausing, hesitating,
charging, hurting, confessing,
but not to each other and only
if it makes the pain go away;
we know when to cry; we know
when to open the box, spilling
the contents before us; pieces
pieces of our heart; and they
will pick one; the one that
our children walk with; to join
the leaves that blow; to join
the rivers that dry; to join
the money that bleeds; to join
the promises that lie; to join
the love that hates; to join
the assurance that confuses;
to join the winds that die;
for what helplessness cannot,
prayer will replace; if only
to believe that someone will remember;
remember we love them more than
we love the days when we were young

now (i) look into his eyes; can he hear us
(i) have seen no visions; only a movie
no matter; it is enough for (my) soul to stir
the simmering *** is where the truth may be

where to start; humility has bound (my) veins
(i) read the words of a bitter man; justified
somehow (i) accepted responsibility for his trials
(i) confessed though (my) white skin never lied

(i’m) trying to decide how to describe (myself)
it’s better to sit in a shadowed corner of a room
you can never prove what you would have done
but he knows (my) fears; they ensured his doom

holy water washed his ribs clean
we have filled our cups yet it remains dry
we cannot believe he is risen nor our evil ways
so (i) listen to horn blasts from man; not the sky

the contents of the letter indicated,
at least it raised the question if not the direction;
could a deep breath just after the first kiss
be held long enough to save herself from
all that will follow tomorrow?

he grimaced as he wrote it, he thought too much,
he decided to put it in writing, it was his gift,
the paper she might later throw in his face,
it was the commitment of the moment;
he could promise anything to anyone

she remembered every word when they first met;
that was her advantage; because lust was a toy
and she held the batteries in her hand; but the
light in his heart did not need anything this time;
this time he knew he meant it

the hardest thing was to admit if she was his type;
beauty was everybody’s preference;
but he had to climb the stairs slowly this time,
was she a cave-dweller or a kite; he would know if he
was either by walking the same ground as yesterday

Will we be remembered for saving the world
Or only how we went about it
For no man can truly save the world
But you will remember how he made you feel

Power, a toy not given to children
Only the strong know how to exploit it
Who can speak of humanity when power is all there is
Only you and I my friend, because we are equals

To be so cold, unable to feel the warmth of another
Is to pass judgment upon a cemetery of silent tombstones
But why do I dream of these things
When love is for living hearts that tell the truth?

A weary face bears the burden of a thousand years
Even God could not convince us
He waits for each soul to reconcile its mistakes
And to ask how I chose which lie to believe

Is it enough to say how I want to live
I know that actions are the only way to reach you
And a kind face can possibly soften the blows of life
But first I must ask Jesus on the corner if he knows me

As long as he could see a ray of light
even from a borrowed memory in the pouring rain
he knew that what made some cry was just another day

There was a way to believe in himself
it was to not be jealous of another man’s choices
and find love from a woman who could understand his way

Arriving in the city or the country
There was no way to know where she was from
The mystery was the game
She wore high heels on a gravel road
Even the dice burning in his hands didn’t know which one

He paid no mind to clashing rocks or sirens
there was no purpose to risk passage to the desire of a dream
he knew not to bargain in the way he would pray

He could never decide how to approach her
there wasn’t any time to think of how to he should be
only to see if there was a door to her heart inviting him to stay

Swimming in oceans or climbing mountains
There was no way to know what she wanted to do
The expectation was the same
She wore a bikini in the snow
Even a ball rolling in a circle didn’t know what was true

I’ll take it in an empty space
I cannot be shared otherwise
I’ll take it in an empty glass
So I can drink my disguise

I think it’s over there
Always so close, I will be
Watch me think about it
The love I cannot see

The one I saw once before
Knew who they already were
But that was because today
Was the only thing that was sure

There was irony in what you said
Actions speak louder than words
I changed when you told me to stop talking
My intent was devoured by what you heard

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

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

Have we lost faith in the ability of our
values to withstand their own bare feet;
darkness has become a boot with so
many holes we bleed on our own streets;
we’ve become a Judas to ourselves,
betraying the things we once believed;
in jeopardy we watch the skies empty
of doves who cry about being deceived;
is it true that as life becomes hard a man
does not know the reason he should die;
his beating heart, pushing his hand away,
asks if fear ever knows the reason why;
the land that we love bears the weight of
so many who wish to walk with the free,
but are the words of our savior lost when
our earthly life is the only life we see?

What is sentiment
except lament of choice
Or the things
we want to remember
I will not say
I am glad to be free
Or that I’m sorry
I removed my chains
Would you that
what you chose failed
Would you that
what failed you buried
Do I thank the bridge
I crossed in cautious haste
Or curse the feet
that took the first step
And though
the span seemed endless
The thought
of water flowing below
Made me wonder
if the other side existed
Had I become
concrete, steel and form
A span existing
only in dreams of lust
Or a mountain
ignoring clouds and stars
A difficult way of living
but what is life if not?
I cannot smell flowers
while building bridges apart
But it will never burn
because of you my love
I will name the one
upon which I stand after you
There is nothing to say
because I can never turn back
What I thought to do
became only what I was able
You know why I did it
I crossed because of you
But the distance served
is the time I have to know myself

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

There was a green meadow
And on it a house
Inside were bright curtains and wooden floors
And a garden on the side
Where she got dirt on her blouse

There was a desire to love in her heart
Then there was a man
In him there was fire and feeling
And strong hands gentle enough
To till the garden where love began

He walked proudly next to her
But she did not feel the same thing
She wondered if she was on the rebound
He wondered why she kept that old ring

But like a winter bird she finally flew
It was not how he wanted it to be
They had their ups and downs
But something more made her stay away
An empty horizon was all he needed to see

He slept like a baby next to her
One night he had to find a different dream
She finally left him without a sound
Except the echo of a lost lovers scream

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

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

How can you smile so brightly
While life burns so unkindly
You hear music playing sweetly
While someone treats you cruelly
Inside the fire you didn’t start

How can life burden you so unfairly
While your heart loves unconditionally
All we see is the love you send freely
Who would make such a beauty
Live inside a fire she didn’t start?

I wonder if you will ever find
The feelings you once had
Your smile is all that is left
I would never know sadness
If I was always looking at you
Only you know what’s true

How can you live so calmly
Being treated so wrongly
No flower should be so lonely
Who could live their life so coldly
Feeding the fire you didn’t start?

Let me take you home
I only want to cool your mind
To believe in tomorrow
You have enough time
The way you look at me
You are so much more than sorrow

I took her to my home
Still I forgot her name
She was a problem child
But I wanted to play her game

If I never see the sun
I won’t be losing again
Because the parting light
Means the heartache begins

I never know which drink
Is the one before too many
But I know why the sun shines
On a room that is empty

You made every mistake
That a woman can make
I know all your flaws
But whose heart is gonna’ break?

If I never see the sun
I won’t be losing again
Because the parting light
Means the heartache begins

I wonder if a woman
Can feel a man while she sleeps
My eyes won’t leave her alone
She doesn’t know I’m playing for keeps

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

We left this world
As we came
You were the first
And we both felt pain
As I carried you to God
I knew the clock began
In the time to be born
It was to you I ran
It took nine months
For my life to start
And nine more
To rejoin my heart
As I existed
Within you and without
I felt your presence
There was never any doubt
It was our destiny
To always be near
There would be no separation
This much was clear
They did not want me to die mother
But it had to be
Things were never clear
I was unable to see
Into the depths of suffering
I sank until there was no light
Then God’s hand reached out to me
And created day from night
The door of pain beckoned
And I entered without fear
Though I knew those left behind
Would shed another tear
It is who we are mother
The young ones in their memory
It is how we must live
And how we will be remembered by history
It seemed a cruel fate
But for what did we pray?
Eternal life in heaven
And that is God’s way
Do not weep for us
We are together in this place
We quietly wait for the day
For our family to join us in God’s grace

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

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

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

Every morning when we see
A great ball of light
It is our rising son
Every morning when we see
A great white cross
It is our rising son
Every morning when we see
A stone rolled back
It is our rising son
Every morning when we see
A picture of a child
It is our rising son
Every morning when we see
A winged shadow
It is our rising son
Every morning when we see
My garden growing
It is our rising son
Every morning when we see
Love in your eyes
It is our rising son
Every morning when we see
Grace faith peace
It is our rising son

Can a nation forgive?
Or must everyone die?
Which generation
Will walk a grudge by?
Did the Jews forgive?
Did Nagasaki forget?
How can the heart become
What the mind won’t let?
Did Jesus speak to you
Or to a nation?
Did he command the soul
Or write a Constitution?
Where exceptionalism is assumed
With a mandate from God
A people destroy the ground
Where holiness did trod
It is written
An eye for an eye
But is this for Caesar
Or for you and I?
It is written
Turn the other cheek
But is this for a superpower
Or only for the weak?
Why do we cheer
The death of a man
When God’s own son
Gave us a plan?
Or did he?
Can no man believe
That which his brother
Failed to conceive?
You abdicate your wishes
Behind a closed curtain
Believing in the good
Your vote always certain
The republic gathers its sons
And its daughters
But the outcome is decided
They’ve parted the waters
The collective never yields
The individual a myth
Ancient documents pretend
What rights do you walk with?
As the national interest swells
Our destiny is manifest
The chosen many
March East and West
Civilizing savages
Extracting resources
Stealing fruit from peasants
Mitigating encumbrances
The walls pushed further out
As we play in the yard
We pray before commerce
While someone stands guard
I call for our memory
Of a man in untouchable clothing
And for the son of slaves
To bring peaceful reckoning
Beaten down over and over
Suffering the indignities of a lifetime
Laying down before charging horses
To show us power’s crime
What is the seed of change?
An atomic bomb?
A protest march?
Or a Psalm?
What have you been told?
What have you witnessed?
A miracle has occurred
And yet you are calloused
I speak to you now
As you show me your smile
Will each eye seeks its mate?
Or will you walk the first mile?
And then the next
As it was spoken
But not for Caesar
For he will never be broken
Will you walk
And accept your mandate?
Will you give another man your coat
Or will you hesitate?
Can a nation forgive?
Can you or I?
Can a newborn baby?
Or will you teach it an eye for an eye?

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

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

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

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

Why do I keep throwing my memories away?
Every new girl wants to **** my past
Now that you’re gone
The next one will want to **** you too

I don’t want to deny my past
I just want something that will last
Why waste time talking about her?
That’s all behind me now

I never think of them
Except when you bring it up
I’m not the type to go back
Why do you want to go there?

Don’t make me deny my past
I just want something that will last
Why waste time talking about her?
That’s all behind me now

You were supposed to make me forget
But you kept reminding my heart
Why did you do that?
You turned us off before we could start

I put on a slow song about the coast
And then I said, “Let’s dance”
But before long
You said, “That was ya’lls song”

It must be terrible to be so afraid
Why are you scared of a ghost?
You worry about what will never happen
You keep thinking about that song about the coast

Don’t make me deny my past
I just want something that will last
Why waste time talking about her?
That’s all behind me now

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

It’s a life of fear living inside the life of my own
I threw everything away except some common decency
I want to do what’s right by my children but it’s so hard
I had to find myself in order to get on the right frequency
My folks always felt the same way
But it was me who didn’t want to care

I decided to open every box I’d packed away
All were labeled wrong except for one labeled right
Since I was the one who decided these things
I needed one to be lit only by the natural light
My folks knew this would happen
But it was me who waited too long

I try to explain the ways of the world but who can say
We decided the best road was to manage our own
I opened their eyes just by asking if everyone is the same
I hoped their hearts were made of blood and not of bone
My folks never tried to burden me
But it was me who ignored what they know

I have to let go of the things that once scared my folks
There’s no chance what they want is for my peace of mind
It’s a feeling I get when I’m alone thinking if I can take it
I shouldn’t care but then it would be my heart I couldn’t find
My folks decided to let me grow up
But it was me who didn’t know how

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?

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

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

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

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

He wanted to make a t-shirt
He put Einstein’s picture on it
Underneath the words said
“You don’t know ****”

He imagined being a crazy singer
One who made the crowd go nuts
Not because he gave them happy talk
But because acting crazy takes guts

I’m not sure what I’m going to do
But I can guarantee
You’ll remember what happened here
Because I made you feel crazier than me

It made him feel connected
Not to the fools all around
But to knowledge of those that did
But most of them are underground

He read about the place they blew up
All the horrors tried to run and hide
But somebody finally gave a ****
And dug up the truth lurking inside

I’m not sure what I’m going to do
But I can guarantee
You’ll remember what happened here
Because I made you feel crazier than me

That's right
Crazier than me
I made you crazier than me
You'll never know how easy it was
To make you crazier than me

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

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

Living life as a metaphor
A face without features to explore
Emotion without skin or form
Rain and wind in the eye of the storm
Chambered piano notes fading, carried away
By wingless birds with feathers waiting
A horse with a river for a tail, trailing
A brush with colors, an artist unveiling

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