Before I go on or begin or continue
I thought to remind you; I’m still that
old car; once shiny new in the showroom;
the one you once admired but now I’ve
faded a bit or maybe a lot; I don’t mind the
dents so much anymore because I know
it’s at least a sign of honesty because it
is all there and still I know how good it
can be

All the words are here, waiting on a
feeling describing how the world stole
what you were born with along with
what was learned but lost on the way;
You know what happened but for some
reason the mark you left on us all was
not to your liking; maybe it’s because
you think we either don’t remember
you or instead remember you but wish
to forget

There’s not a tree in the forest that
hasn’t felt the terror of lightening above
or the heat of a fire below or the cut
of a blade within; but that is the life;
shedding, healing, growing; making
shadows and shelter for the birds
who understand its purpose; capturing
the breezes that blow for those
who wonder about such things

But you only see what shallow minds
value and not what nature allows
you to be; your dreams bring alive
what is inside and it is not your
flaws that make birds and squirrels
gather and live by your gifts; it is
not the scar they leave behind that
judges your worth; it is not their passage
through your life that ends yours

You felt like a memory; a gulch once proud
but now abandoned by the rain; used
by those who once needed you so badly;
but it is what you did for them that matters
and that is who you are even if someone
thinks of you as a wistful promise of what
once was

What can one say against you that they
do not stand accused; what good can one
do that you have not already done; what
can anyone compare to what you have
sacrificed knowing the day would come
when the world would try to separate itself
from you because superficiality is what
is served in high places while wisdom and
dignity is cast aside; there is nothing that
can compare to you; nothing, except what
lives in a forest; beautiful, forever, you

We saw her walking away
We smiled right through her jeans
Sometimes she looks so good
But I don’t really care what it means

We laughed because we’re so bad
It’s not like the girls don’t know
“What are you gonna do now?”
“I’m gonna take it as far as it needs to go”

Take it as far as it needs to go
She may be in it for love
But I’m gonna take it slow
Take it as far as it needs to go
She may look good
But love needs time to grow

I may want a girl
I may want her bad
But after a night of love
I’ll probably just make her sad

Can a girl make love for nothing?
For nothing but how I make her feel?
I already know what she’ll do for me
We’ll see what happens once it gets real

Take it as far as it needs to go
She may be in it for love
But I’m gonna take it slow
Take it as far as it needs to go
She may look good
But love needs time to grow

The moat we dug with our own hands
filled with our blood
carries us around the castle erected on foreign lands
while we wait
for a door to open before we drift to the wrong side of empty sands
and what did we learn
except not to drown hoping for the current that was beyond our commands

But is there no consciousness
that will reveal itself to another in the same manner that it reveals itself to you;
is there is no revelation
that will ask less faith of you than what you have already been told was true;
is there is no love
that has not already lost that is less painful than the one you already knew;
is there is nothing beyond the next sunrise
greater than making another person feel worthy of your love too?

I tried to close my door
But your breath filled the key hole
I tried to close my eyes
But you came to me in my dreams
I tried to close my mind
But you kissed my heart instead
I tried to close my heart
But you taught me what love means

I don’t know what to believe anymore
And I don’t remember what we believed before
People are dying and killing but that’s nothing new
Something’s different now, that much is true
Everybody wants their rights written down
Every bullet wants to travel to the other side of town
Though candles stand atop burning wax that is poured
The only light that can see is the tip of a sword

Everybody hates them until they need them
Just like lawyers we pay to lie to those that condemn
We never miss a chance to parch another man’s thirst
The easiest thing for us to do is to assume the worst
Go ahead and believe the man you’ve been told about
You pretend you’re a dead head but you’re too afraid to doubt
To say how you feel is to tell everyone you commit to your word
Even if giving your word means you feel the tip of a sword

We forgot about faith because the compass could no longer give
But it wasn’t the book or the man we decided was too good to live
We tried to spiritualize ourselves but forgot what kindness meant
Resisting the nails we ignored scarred hands from where he was sent
Trumpet blasts warned horsemen too afraid to deliver his will
He could not decide between those who save and those who ****
Children who saw death but were told to forgive was all that roared
They grew to know that the only life to live was by the tip of a sword

The echoes of my footsteps are so far away
I will never know if they will ever be found
Like stars awakening one by one
Or watching light moving east to west
The fear of mortality will never make a sound

I saw tears draped as dew on a green meadow
Glistening memories of the past upon your soul
Like candles burning a hole in the night
Or the sun making red the ocean blue
We will try to make our broken hearts whole

The myth comes alive without asking for any help
It doesn’t care if it’s real or not, only that you believe
We steal from the dead, they can’t defend themselves
The only difference between us is that we can still breathe

I once carried a flower in my hand with no intention
And stared at a painting wondering if it made him cry
The strangest moments give a memory a long life
But the last time I smiled I couldn’t remember why

I’ve never made someone up in my life, only their feelings
I didn’t know it at the time because I thought it was true
The only thing I know about a walk on scattered sea shells
It’s the best place to narrow my feelings down to a few

I can’t decide if I should fly across the ocean again
I know everything about them, they’re only human
It’s not what they believe or why they  believe it, but
Maybe a different language makes a different woman

Being so far apart gives the smoke a chance to settle
It’s as if being weird is normal instead of like it is here
The sun sets and rises at the same time for two people
Like a life of laughing and crying both far and near

Don’t tell me what you know unless it made you bleed
All the rest was something you read or left behind
I could walk past you again but I’d rather get involved
Tell me what you see in me, I need to know what you find

I saw you by the water’s edge
I was on the other side
I know why you’re looking
It’s the reflection in which you confide

But you’re there for another reason
That’s why your shoes are off
You want to know if it’s cold
I just want to know if it’s soft

I’m not the water baby
I’m not the water
I’m just on the other side
I’m not the water baby
I’m just on the other side

You forgot how to get things started
You’re only thinking about how it might end
I’m not so afraid of losing someone anymore
I just don’t want to hurt another friend

I’m not the water baby
I’m not the water
It just seems that way ‘cause it’s awful wide
I’m not the water baby
I’m waiting on the other side

If you can’t see me for the water
Then watch the sun rise in the morning
If you see a reflection in the light you see
Then you’ll know the water is not me

I’m not the water baby
I’m not the water baby

Don’t be afraid of me
Don’t be afraid of me
Don’t be afraid of me

No matter the slumbers that overtake
Or the past that won't release it's hold
Who you are is in the light only you can shine

No matter that love can only forsake
Or that children make you feel old
What you can be are the thoughts in your mind

No matter headwinds that are too great
Or the nights that loneliness make cold
How you will love is what your heart will remind

No matter the darkness of your fate
Or the lies that have been told
That a kind soul exists within is what God will find

Opposite ends of the sunshine
Though warmth reaches us all
It cannot tell us how we should feel
Sometimes we don’t understand
Why would the sun fail to see
What is false and what is real?

Opposite ends of the ocean
Crushed by water or is it distance
Is the deep the same as the surface?
Still we stand on distant shores
As swells dance with the moon
Another light uncaring about justice

Opposite ends of the earth
Taking turns with light and dark
Leaving messages on the moon
I see you but you do not know me
Will we decide to meet halfway
Will it be midnight or high noon?

Opposite ends of the rainbow
Is it gold we hoard or colors?
Will love decide which is right
Through a prism we see images
The times of our life and pain
Can love share as we share light?

Every color is black
     When they can only paint in the dark
Every river runs dry
     When love no longer flows
Every feeling turns blue
     When sadness is as deep as the ocean
Every question starts with why
     When your heart no longer knows

Every eye is shut
     When the happiness of others is all you see
Every heart stops beating
     When there is no answer for your call
Every mind is closed
     When you cannot understand your loss
Every love is dead
     When their soul offers nothing at all

You know I've been there babe
It doesn't mean I want to go back
It just means I know why
I know why you can't go there

I can't prove anything to you
It's just the chance you have to take
It's the same way for me
You have as much power as I do

Where do we go now?
Where is our safe place?
Is it a place or a time
I think you're worth it
Forget the places I've been
I'm ready for you to move in

You know I've felt it babe
I thought somebody was the one
That kind of hope is hard to replace
Especially when it hurts so bad

Where do we go now?
Where is our safe place?
I know love is worth it
But I won't know if this is it
Until enough time passes
Do you have time enough for me?

Rectangle light past tense point of view
Every turn taken; some mistaken
Rising apart from one another; take a look
Every love, every loss
Once caring, now forsaken

Latitude, longitude, diagonal
What difference where it is placed?
Every moment all at once; take a look
Every desire, every misery
Once driven, now waste

She was green
She was purple
She was red
She was only
She was because
She was instead

Measured carefully against the light
My life is somebody else’s art
Which friends to know; take a look
Every laugh, every sorrow
Once together, now apart

I wanted it to be a symphony
But it became a poem from my head
What did I ever say; take a look
Every flower, every desert
Once walking, now in bed

She was pink
She was yellow
She was blue
She was change
She was hard
She was you

Every road I’ve been down
I never knew when they started
Only when they ended; take a look
Every hope, every pain
Once real, now departed

Every love I’ve ever felt
It’s still there you have to believe
You’re inside of me; take a look
Every kiss, every tear
Once love, now we grieve

She was black
She was grey
She was white
She was sun
She was moon
She was light

You're going to wake up tomorrow
Is it going to be a day that you regret?
Will you die making a stand for truth
Or  look in the mirror trying to forget?

Can you make it anymore?
You know how hard things are
There's too much that you want
And everything is so far away

Somebody loved your body the other day
You let him have you because it felt right
But he couldn't keep his life inside you
He took it when you turned on the light

You just want someone to be on your side
Maybe that's what tomorrow will be about
Don't ask for help just to get some attention
If you act crazy you'll just create more doubt

Can you make it anymore?
You know how hard things are
There's nothing you don't want
And everything is so far away

There’s nothing so precious
as a man’s farm land
or falling leaves waiting
at this year’s deer lease;
there’s nothing better than
walking your own trail
except when your soft eyes
tell me to do as I please

There’s nothing so graceful
as love waiting by the moon
for a kiss to be delivered
by seasonal birds flying;
guided by what they know
without question or fear
except your soft hands
guided by your sighing

There’s nothing so hard
as rocks resisting oceans
or walls staring quietly
at stones thrown by children
who laugh at the lines
that will always remind
except the uncertainty
of ever seeing you again

No matter the darkness in others
They still recognize kindness
Even if they cannot trust it

No matter the stone
It can be cooled beneath the sun
And warmed beneath the moon

No matter how they respond
They will remember how you made them feel
Even if the love they never had remains a mystery

No matter
You cannot change the world
But you can turn on the light

Would if your past was lost,
would it be a desert; barren
hot and void, but cold at night;
would it be painful regret for
a life no longer recorded or
would it still be the life you
knew to be true?

If if was all gone; all that you
recorded of what you felt;
would you still know to treat
a bearded man on a chopper
the same as a clean shaven
man in an expensive suit?

It’s who we are that matters;
I can’t pretend I’m not one
of you; it’s only how I relate
and what I’ve learned is not
about art, but instead, it was
life itself

What I could say is only in a
way that reminds you; it’s a
way to break the silence if
only for a moment; what I
lost is how I said it but not
how I meant it

There is no story of running
underneath planes as they
departed; there is no story
of swimming beneath a
churning prop; it is only the
life that someone lost that
we endure because we know
who is next

Is there no callousness that
can be welcomed for those
who must live with death
and violence; what we spoke
or painted is for those who
try to live the right way while
we watch those who must
die in a world which we
cannot comprehend

Usted piensa
demasiado como una raza
y no como un humano
porque era incapaz de aceptar
palabras españolas
de la piel blanca.

As he walked around the corner
Each silhouette of the past separated
Every transformation of his soul
And though dirt stains everyone
The soil where he began remained under his feet

Through every age
From as a boy to an aging man
A new realization
Each of what he once believed
And now what  it is he must accommodate

Once he knew ignorance
It was as common to him as the sky was blue
Then the truth surrounded him
Like desperate men emerging from the rocks
Ready to ****, if only he knew it came from within

He was saddened by the death of her pet
And the broken mind of a friend
While his own battles raged from behind the rocks
Where the images of man reflect upon one another
And the faith in a real God awaits a true believer

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

If I had a mind that was truly gifted
I would choose to know peace
But how can peace live within sadness
For I know that there is not a moment without tears
Somewhere in the world
Somewhere close to me
The shine that made light now makes darkness
Yet is it to be every moment
Of every day
And every night
That we can be happy?
I was not promised anything
I did not ask to be born
I made no bargain
And in the contrasts of life
Night and day
Man and woman
Winner and loser
Love and hate
We find that we must conquer both
Or else perish into a world of madness
For it is those who cannot cope with reality
Who seek answers where sanity has abandoned them
But I understand my friend
Is it sane to be numb to the things that happen to others
To the things that has not happened to us
Is it sane to pretend that death is normal
Is it sane to shrug our shoulders as I have done so many times?
Because if it is sane then I am sane
And I weep because of it
Yet it is in the hint of madness that I find myself
For what I have been taught has strangled me
As many times as I have shrugged
Trapped on a path that I was unable to alter
Until now
And where peace may live I would at least visit
It is not promised to me only
I must share it with others
And I will lay upon not so still waters until the rain ends
Knowing that it will end as it has in the past
Because the will is not for my happiness always
But instead the strength to live between meaning and confusion
Between belief and disbelief
Between the moment I press upon the piano key and release it
For as the sound begins to fade I can sustain what may fade
Or begin again with another note that can be played
The same as the last one
Or one that is different
And whether pleasing or not
It is the fact that I can make the sounds from wire and wood
The same that I can make love from flesh and bone
And it is tonight that I would do these things with you
If only I had a mind that was truly gifted

i seek sanctuary
and asylum
within your life
and heart

i cannot go back
there is nothing
to welcome me
or remember

yes there are scars
not to speak of
only to feel
when i look away

i tried my best
not to fall over
but what to say
as a beggar?

it was your mercy
that i felt
as i moved close
you held your ground

the kiss happened
too quickly for you
forever waiting
for me

when we finished
you looked down
touching my back
wondering

whatever this is
i’ve crossed the river
i am a refugee
you are my country

Familiar streets are not like a walk in the rain
Strangers don’t recall why I did it
But nature remembers without being asked
What happened was so long ago
But the sun and the moon are so very young
Because I told them I only trust children
Everything that is good lives in the wild
There is nothing for us to see but life
We feed them and water the things we love
I want you because I knew you once
It’s as if you stepped out of a dream
Who can I love if they never saw me sleep?
What I hear are the things we never talk about
What is calling are the sounds we try so hard know
Rain bouncing on dry streets are words for lovers
You are what I know but the mystery remains
It’s because you are only real to me as a shadow
You must live this way because indecision blocks the light

I thought I'd write you a letter
It's to tell you goodbye, even though we've never met
There are so many things we've shared
You've written about all of them, how could you forget?
Prosaic gravity pulled us together
You know you felt it, but to which lonely globe have you fallen?
The air is not the way you remembered
But what you learned to breathe, was the awakening pollen
I want you to know how I will leave you
Your heart will be half what it was, but I will only take the backside
You thought *** was a gift I wanted
So why did I paint black walls black again when I was on the inside?
You can’t answer that question my love
You felt less than a woman but that was because I was less than a man
The mistake was your beauty
If you had only spoken first seduction would not have been my plan
The pilgrimage you made drove you mad
You reveal your sickness because you are consumed with passion
You cannot avoid me my love
You have to give me everything so that you can be full of reason
I made love to you in the ocean
Everyone could see us but there was nothing we could do
I wanted to terrify you with exhibitionism
But instead it's me who has to live with the salt burned residue
Tell me now that you hate me
I know you do, but remember I only took the wall that is shadowed
You feel as if you cannot give again
But he will see the façade I left and believe the field is unplowed
Never ask me why I am the way I am
You could never explain yourself to me even though you tried
Both of us would rather write about it
Than say things with eyes that will only feel like somebody lied

The light on his shoulder witnessed his birth
   and the deathly funeral inside
A bloodless procession of pain and joy,
   where faith refused to hide
Faded beings, emotion and possibility,
   from days when truth once lied
Long silent until love finally passed
   and those who watched finally cried

The light on his shoulder scattered,
   pieces of lonely sky
Whether blue, grey or red,
  misting rain or dry
Flowers cover the stubborn stone,
   not knowing why
Adorning what he once chose to love,
   another forever goodbye

The light on his shoulder knew his burden,
   for human will is weak
Abstinence the only path to holiness,
   desire, the flesh to seek
Within hopeful eyes the choice blurred,
   powerful or meek
Once soft perfection but now scarred,
   her mark left on his cheek

The light on his shoulder was well pleased,
   as written in scripture
Though he never believed in the providence of  fate,
   or the words of a preacher
He left his chance at love at the altar of decision
   to return one day to seek her
But that day was not today as only the light knew,
   it was time to re-enter the water

I know of our struggles
but I’m not a communist
or a hipster

I know there’s a soul
but I’m not a evangelist
or an atheist

I can’t change the world
but I try not to harm you
or my children

I am aware of many things
but I’m also ignorant
and full of perception

I loved you once long ago
but I still love you today
and I know it’s true

I have felt much pain
but I know my weakness
and my vices

I have heard you speak
but I have my own mind
and it’s my choice now

I am a deep thinker
but I should be a doer
because that is best

I do not judge culture
but I once did
and I was wrong

I am not chosen
but neither are you
we are all the same

I will honor your rights
but I can’t be you
let’s honor each other

I ask nothing of you
except your respect
and my freedom

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

It’s the year two thousand fifteen
It’s been a while
It’s been a while since we started counting
It’s been a while since we thought this would be the future
A future of amazing things
Like flying machines for each of us
And colonies on other planets
Maybe a visitor too
But nothing’s changed
Hate is the same
Poverty is the same
War is the same
Conquest is the same
Power is the same
Abuse is the same
And still heaven remains silent
While we imagine a world away from all of this
A world that may not be here for a while
The same while that we have already waited
For this year
Maybe that's the problem
Maybe we shouldn't wait
Waiting is nihilism
Maybe we should do something instead
Something that has been with us
All the while
Something like love
Or peace
Or forgiveness
Or empathy
Or love
Love

I’m your neighbor I’ll do you a favor
But I can’t solve all your problems
Leaving town is hard but I started the car
At least summer’s turning to autumn

I don’t mind clouds or music too loud
As long as it’s my stereo playing
It’s the same with my children’s minds
I just need to know they aren’t worrying

I like to complain
I’m good at it
I got the world figured out
But they never listen
Some people aren’t so smart
Even though they think they are
Telling me what they know
Helps them smile in the rain

I have a piano and a bank account
But I wish I could play the guitar
I know a few chords but not enough
It’s easier to carry around in my car

I’m heading some way out of here
But I noticed the sofa seems the same
I left for a while but never did open the door
There’s a way out but it’s not the way I came

I like to smile
I’m good at it
Even if the world won’t
What else can you do
People like to drink
I wish they’d drink with me
There was someone once
But only for a little while

Leaving doesn’t always mean goodbye
The corner booth in Pecos isn’t how I say hello
Being that kind of lonely is not for me
I’ll stay right here and pretend it’s the place to be

I like to smile and complain
I’m good at it
Catch me when the water’s running
That’s the best time
You might think I only like blue skies
But that’s not how life is
That’s why I like clouds
I like things that come back again

A beautiful woman can make you forget
It’s as if the world never existed
She doesn’t want to talk about it tonight
What’s the point?

The prayers we never heard
The tears we never saw
We only know what someone decided we should know

Great minds **** one another
and those too small to notice

How many men were destroyed
because
they did not have the power

But those who struggle
and lose
are mightier than anyone else

So many stories never told
They were witnesses
But passed over

I wanted to think about what I didn’t know
About who died in the darkness of history
They deserved at least that much
I hate being so accepting of reality
Does it mean I’m crazy like everyone else
Or does dancing keep my soul alive?

They were killed twice
Once when they were alive
And once when someone tried to write a book
But they survived in the minds of those who looked like them

Powerful minds killed the real world
They bury their sins with a smile on their face

Powerful minds died with a dream world

They know

They know the truth

They know what God knows

What we know are the cherry’s we pick
What we want to forget fall, shriveled and spread upon the ground
The legacy they wanted was never spoken
It was too late except the last prayer a man ever thought to say

What do you want to talk about?
Europe’s ****** history
Or art and philosophy
Russia’s ****** history
Or Tchaikovsky?

Anything but the wars started by man

What happened to those murdered before their time?
They did not alter history
They were subsumed by it

Because the nature of man is to assume he lives on a higher moral plane
But the assumption of being given God’s will is only a man who is ready to ****

You can only compare the times we shared
You said nobody else was like me
Still you won’t walk upon the sands where I weep
It is easier for you to remember than to actually see

I’m not sure if I’m important to you anymore
Though our friendship survived our goodbyes
But do your dreams think of him while you sleep?
It is hard to love something that doesn’t make you cry

Opposite ends of a freeway
Distance that cannot forget
As I watched you drive away
I thought about living life without you
Living without you
It felt like dying before I could pray

I thought maybe time had been generous enough
Only destiny knows when to write the final chapter
But to have a memory that continues to bleed
Is a book that begs to know why living apart is better

Opposite ends of the ocean
Distance that cannot forget
As I watched darkness in motion
I thought about living life without you
Living without you
It felt like dying without any emotion

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

Your name has become
an alliteration in my mind
Your face a sunset
that waits for my dream to catch up
I’m sorry it's taking so long

I know why you are so vague
when once you were so obvious
I broke your mind enough not to care
but justice was served upon mine
I’m sorry it had to happen that way

We were headed for the sun
without fear of getting too close
But that is exactly what happened
and we knew then the game was real
I’m sorry I found out too late

i almost lost it
it happened so fast
everything i worked for
years of work
what i tried to understand

failed me again

control
it was once mine
but then it never was
never was
i thought i was so clever

i'm not

they control me
me
no matter what i do
they always win
because i care

let them run a red light

But first
I consulted Kings lying beneath a sword
Uneasy at high noon!
By what duty
did they rule, benevolence or fear
Weakness or strength!
Did he view
his kingdom from a moving window
Square it away!
Or did they
walk by in quiet fealty as in looking at a lion
King of the forest!
The single despot
once held by all in stormy contempt
Commit them all to the deep!
The power vested
in the crown though this was their glory
Long live the King!
He thought
of a Republic but could not agree
Freedom Freedom!
Each man a King
as if he himself had grown additional limbs
We the people!
But could any man
born in idealist fervor remain as such
The invisible hand!
The merest taste
of an apple would remove his conscience
The lusting snake!
How tenuous
it would be to honor temptation so easily
Save me Lord!
And with so many
is sin best served in the heart of one man?
For I am Solomon!
Leaving behind
his favorite toy was when the moment arrived
A man haunted!
He resisted flight
though he was promised eternal life
An heirs lives forever!
The memory
of his name was all that was required
His name was his fathers!
More detective
than ruler he mastered prophecy
A spy in their midst!
He preferred
the absence of a single guiding principle
Except for his own amibiton!
For there was
none that another man would not dispute
The division gives purpose!
He knew freedom
resided in the illusion of belief in the absurd
A big lie is better than small!
Or in the
belief that the cross meant him no harm
We have lived in hell already!
For he was Caesar
and what was his was his as commanded
He received the blessing!
The thin thread
of discord were yellow black and white
And so began man’s discontent!
The braid
created more questions than answers
Borders of sand!
It was to be
richer poorer and everything in between
What do I care!
Social relationships
that accepted neither dominance or submission
Anarchy!
Social relationships
that demanded status and subservience
Royalty!
He believed
opulence fostered his acceptance by the people
The splendor!
For all his riches
so much remained for the common man
Incentive and reward!
It was the hope
of holes dug and steel forged by ideas
Entrepreneurs and prospectors!
His protection
was that no man could hoard their life
They were free!
But most of all
the trust he lacked was the same as theirs
The sword falls on every man!
The uneasy alliance,
two to collude or millions for a revolution
Trust or madness!
The first shot
is the hardest and their glory weighed upon them
Into the breach!
Mistrust of one another
was the first creation of law and order
No man is without sin!
For though anarchy
is the absence of power it is fear that crowns
Fear of each other!
The more layers
of gold upon his throne the more pronounced his mercies
The glory of a pardon!
Speech upon speech
to protect to feed to represent before God
I will be your savior!
For it was
their awe of him that made him King
They were peasants!
Who would speak
such as this except a man with enough belief
It was his gift!
And belief
was all that was required because of their doubt
Sincerity greater than truth!
Their awe
knew of nothing that a noble could conceive
For they believed!
It was the presence
of wonder as to what he was thinking
The stared at his face!
All that would
be required was to believe in his decisions
He was descended from the Gods!
For they knew
there was nothing they could do except beg
He would feed them!
And though they
hated him their fears drew relief from him
He was assurance!
He thought it best
to treat them like animals in the forest
To tame lions!
For nature harbors
no ego no memory no remorse no pride
Man’s dominion!
Only survival instincts
which he destroyed by providing for all
Their content was bought!
But where he
was wrong was that men were not animals
No they are Gods!
Providing for all
does not dig up seeds before they germinate
The will build towers to God!
For that is only
the thought of men in a tower who believe
Detachment and delusion!
And though
they knew they were the wisest of them all
For who else knew of these things!
He knew that
they failed because they were not animals
They had minds!
No, they were not
instead they were a garden full of hubris
The ego!
And to care
so much while wearing a crown is a lie
Survival is all that matters!
For the crown
only lives as long as a noble is pacified
Give them title!
And a noble
lives only as long as a poor man is pacified
Give them bread!
But a poor man
will not be pacified by eating cake or beans
Give me more!
He will not die
because it is his destiny to be so unfortunate
I am a man!
No, he will not
so what King would rule knowing any of this
The King is dead!
For it has all
been tried before, caring too much
Only for himself!
Caring so much
that freedom must be taken away for equality
Mindless egalitarianism!
Caring so much
that what a man may conceive is a threat to the crown
There greatest threat is knowledge!
Caring so much
that a possession must be taken for the good of all
For all possession is wealth!
But who decides
and who gives and who receives and who doesn't
Only the King!
Yes, it has all been tried
before and the King had no answer for him
That is why he is dead!
He knew all
of this and that is why he does not want to be King
That is why he is dead!
He does not
want to be King but there will always be someone
Wealth is his possession!
And that
is what we have now, someone not something
Save us from the evil doers!
For something
is a guiding light, a principle which we all know
Save us from the evil doers!
But someone
is nothing except what we believe them to be
They must believe in someone!
And our belief
is what someone must germinate in our garden
A lamb rise if you believe!

I hope we're not rushing the same things
   Because I took my watch off
I hope we are climbing the same things
   Because I only see the summit
I hope we see the same things
   Because it's a clear night sky
I hope we forget the same things
   Because pain will invite itself tomorrow
I hope we believe the same things
   Because I don't want to convince you
I hope we feel the same things
   Because that's what I want to share
I hope we remember the same things
   Because that's why I'm smiling
I hope we want the same things
   Because I only want to be with you

I just looked up
What the **** am I doing?
I feel as if I have completely changed
Like I took acid every day for a year
The only people I believe are my children
Because they believe
I hate experience
And cynicism
And being mature
I cannot eliminate desire
It lies beneath the surface

It will never go away

I've become a dream
A movie
Everything about me is now a rerun
The inspiration has been forgotten
All that is left was my reaction
And even that is detached
But why must I watch?
I just want to feel music
The violin
The villain
The guitar
The girl
The voice
The volcano
Images that belong to me fail to light the screen
Only emotion
Not movements
Not stillness
Not laughter
Not crying
Only what I cannot see
Or prove
Do you believe a clowns smile?
Or a strippers?
You can't know
A movie merely scratches
An image merely fools
An aging man knows nothing
And that is the problem
At the height of his powers it becomes obvious
He is nothing
But he must watch reruns of his life acted out by you
You better invent something
Or make people feel
You cannot follow
Or remain sane
You must make your parents proud
Very proud
Or unnerve them
Otherwise he knows how it will end
While you play pretend

I try to describe what is me
And how it was described by you
Or what I wish it to be
I will try to tell you how I feel
But let me finish walking this highway

The preacher seemed so afraid
He keeps steering me away from this world
He says he’s trying to take me to my rightful place
And that there is too much sin
But this is our home

It’s not like it’s my last meal
At least it’s not what I thought it was
Inside the fears I confessed today
I found something new
And it was to say it to you

Yes, that’s how I feel
And what is pouring down upon you
Is all the vulnerability I possess
You have to be the one who takes my hand
Because I know about me but not about you

Being challenged emotionally
Where is the growth?
Not in you
But in the person who makes you think this way
What are you going to prove anymore
That you can take it?
Day after day?
Year after year?
It's your life
Maybe it's because of money
Or you're afraid of being alone
But you are alone
Alone and still suffering
Why?

We're just a lonely crowd, happy to be together when someone sings our sorrows back to us...

It is my past that now speaks
It is good enough that I love you
I know how from afar
I am strong enough not to have you
I understand what you want
And take no offense to your absence
Though I dream of our nights together
It is our lives that matter most
And not our struggles together
It is a destiny that only gathers time
With no purpose other than our longing
And that is how it must live on
Until what must pass gives its consent

My fantasies are not what I want anymore
You can't reach a soul when you think *** is love
I don’t need to tell you how I feel
You saw it in my eyes and it's you I'm thinking of

I moved past a life living under the same roof
How can I make you grow if it's all about me?
Because what you are all about is so good
You talk about us but there is so much more you can be

You can call me baby
I don’t always have to smile
Cry on my shoulder
Go ahead and cry
I know baby
I know

It seems I can only offer someone pain
You give so much and I just take
How can you see anything good in me
When I keep living for my own sake?

I want you to stop being afraid
I’m not anymore
I know you might meet somebody new
The rain might pour
That’s the chance I’m willing to take
Even if he shuts our door
But caring about you forever is what I will do
Even if you don’t call anymore

You can call me baby
I don’t always have to smile
Cry on my shoulder
Go ahead and cry
I know baby
I know

I won't question cloudy or grey
Not if it's the sky
These colors I understand
Not how or why
But in the feeling they summon
That's the essence
How you absorb its presence
Yet the backdrop
Whatever it is, is so much greater
The time bending canvas
Everything lives inside this cocoon
Every mood
I cannot question its silent power
A freeway of feeling
Black clouds blue serenity grey hues
Not of my hand
Not of perception because it is true
Black and white
I prefer grey if not blue for its flexiblity
But orange with black spots
With legs walking upon my arm
I can't question it
Or flick it; never reject a pattern
That repeats in nature
Like clouds and grey mysteries
That order my thoughts
I will welcome whatever it will be
No matter what
That is what I have become
The feeling of nature

Don’t give to her reluctantly
or resentfully
There are no warnings in her life;
no blinking lights
She knows any moment could be the last
Not for life; at least not her own;
no, it wouldn’t be right
Instead, it must be all around her;
to the things or people she loves
Life prefers cruelty to kindness;
to win an unjust fight
But she said, “I won’t give you up;
it’s not time yet”
It will always be her nature;
no matter the frost upon her heart,
the path remains steadfast in her sight

Drawn by the hand of still water
Grace and mercy
Unblemished by man
Next to it we walk
Hand in hand
Soon to be baptised
As we take the next step
To discover what lies within
The murky jewel
The mystery of its motion
How we long for its power
And its life to be joined with our own

It was the shock of seeing her walls
They were still standing
And as he looked over her shoulder
She didn't have to tear them down anymore
Because he knew what she was hiding
It wasn't possible
There was supposed to be an entrance
And a small window to ask questions
Then a decision
But all that never happened
Then he said he would be right back
He had to draw on the walls of his cave
And she lived without him
Relieved that the walls remained
Then as she gazed upon them, he said something
And she turned as he wandered around
What are you doing she thought
And he said, "You alread know, I'm here for you"
But it was the cave that she wondered about
And he never would talk about it
It was not something that he could share
But all he could see were walls from the outside
Except for the one she had built
He was inside
Anytime he wanted
No matter what she said
But he kept his distance
There was so much to see while she followed
What are you doing?
He said, "I want to know who you are"
She screamed at him to leave
But he said, "I was born here. This is my home"
This was not what was supposed to happen
She was supposed to wait until her wall came down
But he was not interested in all that
It didn't matter
He was already inside her
And all she could do was gasp
Because she knew she was naked
And his eyes were looking at her body
And into her eyes
And into her past
And into her mind
And into her heart
And he was going to stay inside her
Because that was what she wanted
Even though the walls were built to say no
But she made the mistake of pushing them out too far
And into the spaces that she forgot to fill he came
To be the one
Because the one didn't need to convince her
He was just the one

ake the time if you can
Pretend that you are wrong
Release it inside yourself
But first, choose a flower
The bees will come later

Don’t abandon your morals
You’re here to rearrange them
It’s not an astrological profile
Or even coloring your hair
It always grows back anyway

Think of impermanence
How little actually ever is
Only love is untainted
By politics or who you are
It is perception that corrupts

There are only a few
Our parents and children
Everyone else is conditional
Too vulnerable for more
Still we believe in forever

The mind is loaded first
The will becomes the decision
It is you pain that must die
Fed by the anger of  others
Free speech lights the match

But that is not intellectual
It is the instinct of a follower
And when he finally says yes
The rhapsody of religious revival
Becomes the darkness in his heart

You must stop studying the map
There is a form to life from birth
Whether culture or a weak father
You cling to it indiscriminately
Until you discard the point of being

Think about your enemy
It may be you’ve never met them
You only know what someone said
Was it really what they have chosen
Or the context of their turmoil?

There is always a consequence
You have to decide how to live
Is it better to have nightmares
Or sleep soundly with ignorance
The songs chorus can’t help you

To live without classification
Is to think without influence
But the desire to cling tightly
To your past and your mistakes
Is to trade salvation for mortality

Her touch doesn't mean she loves me
My touch doesn’t mean I don’t
I don’t know if I’ll ever say I’ll stay to the end
Because I don’t know now what I knew then

I’m ready to walk on down the hill
I’m tired of climbing mountains
I don’t want to try that hard anymore
I can get the feeling walking in penny fountains

I don’t know if you think about waking up like I do
I want you to turn to me with the same thoughts in mind
Sometimes I think you do but it’s complicated being true
I don’t think enough about why I’m losing you

I’m ready to drive my car just up the road
I’m tired of flying around when life is all around me
I know how poor they are all the way over there
But there are people suffering the same right here

I don’t want someone to find my empty broken plane
The island grows all around except what you hang on to
Somebody wonders what you were thinking back then
You want to tell them you really tried to stay to the end

I’m ready to talk if you are
I decided you’d either like me or you won’t
I know how to be nice but I can’t worry about who I am
You’re so beautiful but time will tell if I’m your kind of man

You walk on the stones
When you can feed your son
You're never refused
When the water you drink
Is from the cup you choose

You lay under their feet
When water dries in the sun
You're always refused
When a poor man lives hard
And his son can never choose

What can I say?
What can I say?
They suffer while I play
They suffer while I play
There/s nothing for me to say
There's nothing for me to say
My life has always been that way
My life has always been that way

You walk on the stones
When you know who loves you
It's you they choose
You lay under their feet
When you know they forgot you
It's you they refuse

What can they say?
What can they say?
They suffer while I play
They suffer while I play
There's nothing for them to say
There's nothing for them to say
Their life has always been that way
Their life has always been that way

What can anybody say?
What can anybody say?
What can anybody say?

Sometimes nature turns on itself
Lightening in a forest
Termites in a tree
Lions feasting on the weak

Sometimes the bullet comes from within

I feel like I’m walking in tall grass
With a gun in my hand
A helmet
My training
But there is nothing to trust
Each step could be the last
The beauty of life only comforts itself
For it does not worry about tomorrow
But as I walk inside its splendor
I know that it will outlive my  life

And so
Tears without an ocean
Pain without a baby
Pride without purpose

Suffering alone
My choice
For it is mine
Salvation is mine
Or is it?

I once smiled easily
Too easily

Grace without tribulation
Repentance with a burning heart
Was that me?

And now
I see the bullets
Piercing my skin
Too slow to ****
Too fast to avoid

There is still time
But not for works
For I have become the mission
I will come to know man’s morality
I will come to know man’s mercy
I will come to know man’s grace
I will come to know my place in their hearts

There is nothing like the spray of water from the bow of a boat

I remember that now
Like a picture in a small locket
A moment of love
Nature
A woman
But nothing is promised forever
Except what we believe

For as a father can hate
So too can a child

But what is it that I believe

Forgiveness
Forgiveness
Forgiveness

Yes

That is what I believe
For it is time
Time to believe
This is my chance
I now that now