You made your bed
You wouldn't listen to me
You didn't ask the mirror either
You answered your own question
You're the fairest one of all
And I wasn't the one who could reach you
So pull the covers up tight over your head
Accept the darkness

I won't trample upon your garden
I won't pick flowers for myself
Instead you will grow into me
I'm the air you need to breath
The water your roots search for
The sunlight that calls for you
A flower that knows how to live
Inside the soil that is my heart

I don’t have any style
I might have a religion
There’s nothing in my threads
Maybe just my opinion

There’s a place to start
It’s not knowing anything
The older I get, you know
It’s back to the beginning

It’s a feeling inside
I know it well
It’s the same as yours
The one that knows
But will never tell

Why am I here anyway
Was it just for my folks?
What did they get from me
Some love and a few jokes?

You know I’ve grown
But not in how I dress
I’m trying to be calmer
I learned from duress

It’s a feeling inside
I know it well
It’s the same as yours
The one that knows
But will never tell

I have a mental flashlight
And a heart-shaped microscope
I’m not confused for long
Or fall in love without hope

I can’t say it enough
Eventually I’ll decide
I might stare for a while
But then, the feeling inside

It’s a feeling inside
I know it well
It’s the same as yours
The one that knows
But can never tell

There’s no reason
Is meaning important
My emotions say yes
They’re my informant

To know myself
Then always to act
If the truth always hurts
Will you ever come back?

It’s a feeling inside
I know it well
It’s the same as yours
The one that knows
But can never tell

So many times I’ve been told I wasn’t making us happy; so
many times I knew I was losing her even as she tried to save us,
she was sending a home my way but I couldn’t live inside
something I could never understand

How could I know what she wanted when I didn’t know how
to live with who I was; how could I feel the things she held dear
when the lands I carried on my mind were nothing of the sort
that a dream of another could reach?

I was painting my future inside my heart and letting it flow
in my veins coloring my skin in shades that were never revealed
because the air outside was someone else’s paradise where
she could walk choosing which star to leave me for

You and I have lived an entire love story in my mind; you were
everything I wanted and you smiled because you knew I was happy,
but is happiness only about me; I wanted to think of you as my
girl but you thought that meant I only wanted to hear you whisper
my name in the night

Don't waste time pretending
How are you going to be you
Don't try to prove anything
How will you free your mind
Don't be so sure of yourself
How will you learn something new
Don't be afraid to need someone
How will you fall in love with me
Don't be so hard for me to touch
How will I lay my head on your heart

I don’t know what to take seriously
It seems it is only how I feel anymore
Anymore
How I feel anymore

I’ve passed the world by
Watching for the smiling grievers
Just like me
Trapped by choices made long ago

The way a sad man can laugh
Is just another miracle of life

Hopping, stone to stone
The distance widening each time
The place to stand ever smaller
As long as my feet are dry
I will be held together by these small joys

I think I have been blinded somehow
It seems I’ve lost my way
My way
I’ve lost my way

I don’t have to make myself write something
That is where I live now
Not in a closet
Not in the jungle
I don’t have to prove that to you

I wonder about someone who takes life literally
With a sword in their hand, dividing life before them
I’ve felt the blade, ****** deeply
And they told me it was God saving me
Still, I continue on

I am subdued not by sadness but by outrage
I am subdued not by outrage but by sadness
Hopping, stone to stone
Carefully placed before me
An old man cannot survive without his dignity

I think I’ve not prepared myself for this
The greatest challenge of a life
My life
The greatest challenge of my life

Why ain't you improvin'
Whatever is holding you back ain't real
But you made it come alive
You invented a thief that likes to steal
You invented a dream you can't feel
Wake up
Walk outside and find yourself
Then claim it
It takes a long time to master it
If you don't try then who you are will reject you
That's the pain you feel
It's you rebelling from the thief
Who let him in the house?
You did
So why ain't you improvin'
It doesn't matter where you were born
Who your parents are
What church you were raised in
What flag you salute
Who you really are may be a thousand miles away
If you can't find it then you ain't looking hard enough

A rock glancing across a pond
thrown before we knew who
would care to set our life in motion

How long before the last leap forward?

When and how
The only questions that remain
When… and how

The questions, never asked within
the pleasure of my own flesh, even
as it aged slowly by the currents
that guided the rock, became nearer
as clear waters revealed where I
might come to rest

But now, when fear of loss looms
along with what I can feel but
cannot control, the question of
when becomes that of how
for what accompanies my fears
now is the pain inside those
who would love me for the
mere fact of my existence
and my love for them

When all momentum begins to cease what
will you feel with the end rising all around
you; what once propelled you forward
now draws you near to the questions
you once ignored but now must confront

When and how; now you know

But the question has now become who

Who have you become?

Is it the stone hurled by someone
else or the stone sinking because
life became something you could
not prepare for or know?

Who will you be when the world
doesn’t value a stone seeking
the floor where all sound must
cease and the sun and the rain
can only be seen through the
prism of fate and destiny colliding
all around you while you wonder
if the choice ever mattered

But what you brought with you
are the secrets of a life with one
more chance to help another stone
hurtle further; held aloft by your
wisdom even though it may never
know that what sunk to the bottom
was not to be forgotten but instead
God’s hand if you will only believe
in your purpose

I thought about what he would say
I was grown and you raised me right
We had our time together as a family
And it is your love that gives me light

I thought about what I might say to him
It’s hard to live in this world without you
As I got older you gave my life new meaning
Now I know why my Dad loved me like I love you

There is still time for hope
I can find it in my love for you
There is so much for me to question
I don’t understand God’s will this time
But I once prayed that it be done

I thought about what we would both say
Would we talk about the day you were born
Or the day you left to become your own man
I was proud but still my heart was torn

Maybe it would be best
to let our eyes talk
to let our hearts talk
to let our tears talk
it’s time for words to rest

There is still time for hope
I can find it in my love for you
There is so much for me to question
I don’t understand God’s will this time
But still I pray that it be done

I know it now
There is no time to think about the past
I know someone needs my apology
Though we may never meet again, still
Everything they need is in my conscience
Because the stars are always waiting for me

I finally came around
But I pushed myself too far
I wonder why it all had to happen that way
I was trying to be what I knew was right, still
It’s what I once was and what I want to be
Because the moon will always talk to me

I still recognize myself
I never did learn how to relax
Every conversation was like a movie
The ending was never like I planned, still
There’s nothing inside that’s changed
Because the sun will always rise for me

I knew it as a child
But it took so long to believe in it
I used to think about it underwater
I liked the quiet sounds of calm, still
I’m the same person I’ve always wanted to be
Because the only heart I know is inside of me

Are y'all together?
Oh yeah she said,
I remind him of that every night
He amazes everyone
That's my curse
His is that I have the strength to leave
That's what she said
He needs to wake up
And she's the one to do it
Yes she is

Strength isn’t a burden if you don’t think about it too much
Knowing who you are is the feather you possess
The lightness of a heart that is true and a mind that is open
Is the way up when the world makes you feel less

There’s not a day goes by that someone isn’t feeling weak
Taking our turn we pass along each other’s duress
We watch birds in a square from windows we cannot open
It seems someone won’t let us change our address

For once I’d like a conch to listen as intently as we do it
Would the hollow shores recede as we confess?
As I walk in a dark room thinking of what I cannot change
I finally realized it’s your turn for happiness

The war is always far from the naive shore
But the horror remains for some at home
The faces of those who paid the price
Grace small mountain towns standing alone

Only quiet streets understand

Setting sail with sad winds at their face
No man can tell them of their fate
For it has already been cast before them
And now they live knowing it's too late

But honor lives forever

We can only fear each other
For what we know
Is what we are told to believe
But still I believe in you
Because you believe in me

What land can we discover now?
Who can we civilize while we **** their culture?
We can only turn on ourselves
Distant shores of honor no longer have a future

Only a past

He cannot remember a time when he could smile
He knows the things that is a death warrant to leak
It is unbearable to share time with those who do not care
The truth is a door that opens to those who dare to speak

If only they didn't bury the key

We only fear each other
For what we know
Is what we are told to believe
But still I believe in you
Because your eyes are all I can see

What is important to us is no longer to you
A story without an ending is what we hope for
But to those looking for another page
The loss of your love was why we wanted more

Were you looking for something
Or is it what you have now found within?
The shock of you is the reason
And the loss of you is where we begin

Something we always knew will always be
You are now the one we will miss
When you weren’t around we felt it
And that is why it was you we could never resist

You are human and that is now our story
To be admired for being more than us
And to know what it is like to be gone
Is why we ask God if it is his will that we can trust

No matter my smile or good cheer
The light cannot penetrate the depths of your long night of tears
It is not for me to exist in the darkness
But instead to bring you to the surface
From winter’s freezing
To spring’s thawing
Words you’ve heard before
Pretty and nothing more
But the depths where you learned to hold your breath
Are where poets and painters drown in a lonely death
Where hearts break into singular pieces like an arpeggio
The alternating silence of humility and the pain inside your ego
Let my whispers carry the weight of  the ocean you created
The rivers that flow from inside you have left your heart naked
But what I might not understand about why
I can trouble your sorrows long enough for you to see the sky

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

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

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

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

Why are our soldiers dying?
While their unborn children are crying
A nation plays, ignoring their pain
Dreaming only of personal and capital gain
Our anger has become numb
We are blind, deaf and dumb
We sleep, secure inside the fortress
His memory, filling an empty mattress
Where the dreams of a soldier remain
Never knowing if they were in vain
Instead they remain a faceless pawn
To be used by those who are wrong
While the sheep continue to wander
Unknowing in the fields only to squander
Our knowledge and ability to alter
A nation’s soul, so we continue to falter
On the path to progressive enlightenment
And instead living a life that is abhorrent
To the whole of mankind and its ideals
Refusing to grant audience to the appeals
Of the weakest among us all
Who historically take the fall
For the ambitions of the soulless ones
Trample upon the bones of our sons
Diluting the water of courage
Creating an atmosphere to discourage
The rising of righteousness as we should
To band together in a peaceful brotherhood
Of good Samaritans praying for equality
And to end the marriage of life and frivolity
For within a man of peace has become death
And within our hearts remain his last breath

It’s wet sand
in the wrong places
There is an undertow
only I can see
I paint the walls
different colors
Anything really
As long as it’s not yesterday’s dream

But who am I
trying to be
I’m just another person
walking alone
I wonder what
I could say
Nothing really
My heart doesn’t know what it means

I thought I built
something to last
But nobody can tell you for how long
It’s too late
to find another place
I can only live with what went wrong

It’s only colors I never thought could grow
How they got here only I will ever know

I need a place
where to belong
So I tried
to make things right
But how to live
in the right time
Anytime really
It never matters as much as it seems  

I thought I built
something to last
But nobody can tell you for how long
It’s too late
to find another place
I can only live with what I did wrong

It’s only colors I never thought could grow
How they got here only I will ever know

Hung up on how to make it work
So easy to say, do it for the children
Erase every border no matter why they are there
Draw new lines with a fountain pen
Then walk away
Who's problem is it now?

We make art with knives
Deep colors
Bleeding from our fingers
Like weapons of mass emotion
Launched in the dead of the night

Marching citizen soldiers
Let them know how we feel
But back to our lives
They hope we forget
Our problems are all too real
Who has time to sweat
Or freeze on the streets
After all, it's only tomorrow’s children

It is not the calm of discovery that fuels my expression,
but the fury of shedding the tightly wound cocoon I didn’t ask for,
knowing that I will not have wings once I set myself free;
knowing the climate is not for an indigenous refugee in his own world;
knowing I may be eaten alive the moment I open my eyes;
by predators who neither appreciate my troubles, or
the fact that I am aware of their existence

They didn’t expect to see me so soon; a lamb is supposed to die young,
or at least degenerate into a bitter fool who can only reach for a bottle,
his cigarettes and pictures in some magazine of lipstick masquerading as lips

How can words be so black that you dismiss them though they breathe as you do?

It’s never going to be comfortable to make you feel the way I do;
except possibly the moment you realize you were strapped to a gurney too;  but it’s only because nobody can understand you anymore; why should you care?

The world is moving too fast for the one’s living in the comfort
of their own insults and views of a world they have dimmed
by shooting illuminated silk fabric bags that ask questions nobody
cares to hear anymore because they have already decided that
what a man has on his table is either of his own choosing or what
he deserves

Is change only for malleable children who listen intently to those who have given up?

You gave it away before you knew you had it; they wanted you to think like them; and because you love them you had no choice; but now that you do you find the darkness that clings to you more comforting than crackling bones who do not wish to walk above ground for they have become accustomed to the feeling of not feeling anything because alliteration is not a word for artists but instead the way those who have given up describe vapid, languid submission because it is easier to suffer quietly than to be ridiculed for thinking otherwise

But these things are not relevant if we cannot share them yet we are so far apart; so I must make them hurt; the words must penetrate into your cloth skin because you do not know that it can be removed; and when you feel what I tell you, do not cry or if you must then know that I have already cried and the river of my awakening has not yet crested; there is room for you my friend; listen not for direction or guidance; but instead for purpose and free will

You forgot about that didn’t you?

You can make a new mistake; but it will be your own for who has not almost suffered their own death being born into another world?

The judgments of man are for their own benefit and as soon as they destroy you they will forget you; make them remember and soon they will fear themselves; because they will now know that their own darkness cannot extinguish the darkness that you wish to explore; your darkness; the darkness that may be light in the world that awaits your courageous journey

When will you begin?

Hey you underneath that hat
I just want to know
Why are you looking at me like that
I’m not gonna’ ask
I don’t want to put you on the spot
But I’ve sent enough hints
For the other shoe to drop

Hey you always walking away
I just want to know
What kind of man makes you stay
I’ll never know
Unless I start acting different
But I have to be who I am
Not always against the current

Hey you waiting for another day
I just want to know
How long do we have left to pray?
It’s too easy to be alone
Beauty is cold in the shade  
A broken heart before we meet
Is not why you were made

Hey you playing in my head
I just want to know
When will you be in my arms instead
I like to think about it
But I need you closer now
Why can’t we just say yes
Is it that we don't know how?

I never knew you
And when I found out
You were already gone
I never lived without
Until I heard your voice
Then I knew of your heart
And how you were sad
As am I because we're apart

There is only one life
And yours is still shining
Your shadow my pleasure
Inside my lonely evening
I will always remember
Even as you no longer can
I am ashamed of my sorrow
Unworthy of what I think I am

I wish I knew you
You lost your lover
Then another left you
How did you recover
Still you lived your life
Your tears gave you away
The only way to free yourself
Is to make a new one today

What would I say
   if I were not so meek
What you already know
   that I cannot speak
What we are
   that we cannot share
What we will be
    if only we dare
What I want
   that you want too
What I want
   if only it were true

When I look back
I know I was crazy
The things I did just to love you
Are things I can’t believe are true

I was climbing out of windows
And locking doors behind me
It was me escaping
But it was you I was chasing

Memory  Memory  Memory

If you can remember
Whatever you’ve found
Is not what I’m about
You’re walking ahead
Never looking back
But feeling my eyes
What your heart wants
Is what it felt with me
We took so many chances
And I’d do it again
We learned the hard way
Love wants a crazy life

Now I don’t have the key
But if you were a locked door
You once opened it willingly
Now I can't believe what you’re telling me

Going out on my own
Playing it back in my head
It’s just songs I’m hearing now
I once knew, now I don’t know how

If you can remember
Whatever you’ve found
Is not what I’m about
You’re walking ahead
Never looking back
But feeling my eyes

What your heart wants
Is what it felt with me
We took so many chances
And I’d do it again
We learned the hard way
Falling in love is a crazy life

What your heart wants
Is what it felt with me
We took so many chances
And I’d do it again
We learned the hard way
True love is a crazy life

Memory  Memory  Memory

As the darkness entered her eyes;
they widened instinctively,
as a barren landscape in the migrant rain
or a guilty heart
reading a book about grace
She'd lost the spirit;
oh it was still there,
like the soil after a long drought;
but it wasn't good for plantin' yet
It had been a good life,
up to now;
now she straddled her youth
and what remained of it;
at least what remained of her pretty face
She was still pretty
They told her everyday
It seemed they wanted to move too fast
As if she was desperate
Desperate for a man
But she wasn’t
She was no tombstone waiting for a chisel
He was gonna’ have to his job
She was gonna’ make him do it
Even if she only had a week to live
He had to put in six days to get the seventh
And she’d wait for him;
she'd be resting on the porch,
just like God rested;
waiting to see if anyone deserved all of that

we are
part of the procession
of no tomorrows
shrinking… day by day
recording though our memories
upon our hearts
and tiny footprints in ink
windows
opened to nature
birds
that never change
while we…. year after year
lose ourselves
fate seemingly fire upon water
though each generation lives on
ignoring the past
assuming lessons without experience
is a fire without a hero
sin without redemption
is pleasure without love
our vessels
mystical knowledge of our existence
physical feelings of pain
and love
pictures drawn upon skin that burns
and peels
our heart to be revealed
yet buried with our bones
We are
part of the march
of endless past
growing… day by day
forgetting what we cannot change
inside our minds
or scars aging like rings inside a tree
windows
closed to our fears
courage
that never changes
as we… year after year
find ourselves
fate cooling ashes of sacrifice
as each generation lives on
remembering the future
assuming faith will lead us
as a hero wearing a cross
redeemed because we loved
our vessels
shed of our weakness
floating upon the promise of our suffering
mental feelings of pain
because of love
dreams etched upon the walls of longing
that never sleeps
our heart to be experienced
to be saved
along with our souls

I've got one more life
It's doesn't matter how long
Only that it's true
I don't care if I feel bad
I don't care if I feel sad

I've got one more life
It's because I'm still around
And that's what I came to know
I don't care how long
As long as it's not wrong

It may be my own way of living
I just know that I'm not alone
I just know that I'm not alone

I've got one more life
It's because I figured it out
Nothing matters anymore
I don't care about the past
I don't care about living fast

I've got one more life
It's the only one left
It's the one that's me
I don't care how long
As long as it's not wrong

It may be my own way of living
I just know that I'm not alone
I just know that I'm not alone

There is nothing for me to say
There is nothing for me to do
Because what's left is to listen
And reach my hand out to you

It may be my own way of living
I just know I'm not alone
I just know I'm not alone

Let us not aspire to be like them
We are not to follow one man or woman
Or to sacrifice our brothers and sisters

They offer our existence
We give our obedience
They offer us equality
We accept mediocrity

Let us remember not to trust them
We are not to assume their good intention
Or that they can change the hearts of men

They decide at night
We hear speeches in the light
They ask us to blame one another
While they wink at each other

Let us not forget why we love the seasons
We are not to live a life without our own reason
Or spend our time crying like the children we are

Our surrender a cocoon
As is every revolution
Our violence a butterfly
Free will until we die

The travails of our skies
Helplessly waiting each day
Blue seas pierced by the sinking sun
A nebula that finally arrived
With the words of a lonely man
From long ago
It was the only way we could know
For nothing written
Can fill our eyes
And what is truth
If not the silent witness
Of God's canvas
Our daily bread
And a thousand bursting suns
Lambs blood upon our door frame
Brooding as it draws near
Waiting not to torment our souls
But instead to be loved

we started filling it up so long ago
it should have been for sailing
and watching dreams come true
but
how it began
is not how it ended
the water would never seem the same

there was too much unpleasantness
like a hard wind spoiling a sunny day
i kept wishing
for the sunsets you wanted
but
you thought I brought them with me
that’s when I lost you

a lake still needs a river
the doors were already open
the trickle at the bottom  made it so
but
when your heart started to empty
the lake fell
revealing what I already knew

bare naked trees
poking through the ripples
The way you kissed promised so much more
for some reason
i thought you meant it literally
but
it only lasted as long as you needed

i could hear bells skipping across the reflection
it was the promise
one person to another
We noticed how the wind tried to calm the rain
but
it wept uncontrollably
because of how shallow we had become

I never felt rejected
That's not how losing something makes you feel
You are the one to blame
You should have known the things people steal
I never felt less
That's not the reason I'm sad today
I let you down
But I never believed you could walk away
It was my own ego
You tried to tell me that I didn't believe in you
I thought I was the one
Yet another man taught me that was not true
Now I know why
And the fields that I wander have grown high
That is where I am lost
That is where a hello becomes a goodbye

I’m ready for the sun
Though I love the snow
The cold lit the fire beside us
The warmth melted it long ago
Bad mistakes I’ve made make that kind of sense

If you are open to something different
You will ignore everything I’ve said
Can you believe like I do in you
I am not in love anymore
I just don’t have anything else to talk about
The first word you speak will erase the past

I’m tired of pretending
What is there to admire
They don’t think about mending
Instead it’s how they aspire
I hope my next mistake is not about ten more cents

There’s not enough time to talk
Sleep and work take turns living your life
But I’ve learned once again what I’m about
And it’s not to tell you someone to work harder
I hope you can be all that you dream
While I remind myself a sail is always tied to a mast

Your mirror looks so sweet
It knows everything about you
It shines through all your doubts
And the things it knows that are true
I wanted to ask a few questions
Letting on is not your style
I stared long and hard at the streaks
The fact it wasn’t clean made me smile

I stared so long things moved in on me
Tell me about the men she charmed
I needed to get a drink first though
I didn’t want to be unarmed
When I got back I was ready
What I heard wasn’t what I’d imagined
You sat in his bed smiling at the camera
But you once told me it never happened

That’s what the problem was
The things I thought were secrets
Were the things I already knew
But I wanted to conquer my weakness
I had to stare into something
I was tired of running away
What I finally saw was not a reflection
But instead unshaven words I could never say

We saved Satan’s jewelry in the ossuary
Skulls adorning the walls
Bones piled together without a cross or star
Their shadows braided by death
No longer living in mud stained fear
The end when a poets life begins,
where a hand reaching for God
is consumed by rhymes lost in time
is only remembered by those who march willingly;
to be scorned by those who would try again
to control the destiny of those who love their children
There is no applause in the gathering place
No conversation or last rites
Their once covered their faces of shock and
their glazed eyes that once pierced every conscience
stripped by time to feed the living
No one knows their names
or who ordered them to their death
But he shot those who would run
They lay in wait for someone to say,
“That is my friend”
But nobody came
Only their mothers know they never came home
And they wait hoping someone wiped their brow

We can meet at the pass
I don't care from where you arrive
The decision is yours to make
The question though is mine
Will you walk as you are?
Not as a reflection
Or as a scar
For in your beauty lies nature
Living free no matter the wind
A pure face without deception
A soft heart without malice
These things you possess
You must only ask for courage
To believe in your past
Ready now to live as a river beds memories
For you have no childs wonder left
No need to walk like all the rest
You are ready at the pass
As am I
It is there where we begin
It is where two equals can rest
Looking for peace
Whether east or west
That you must decide is upon you now
Though it is not about direction
Nor any vow
Only the courage to believe
That a tree is as beautiful barren
As spring leaves that will soon be fallen

He was too tired to care about much
The mistake was admiring the wrong people
He became a stranger to himself
It’s sad to find out when there’s not enough time

He started too late to make it
Now it’s too important to leave it
They say don’t go and wonder why
There’s never any reason why we live and die

He wondered which book they read
The one about the law or the one about love
He said zealots were the same as bankers
They leave envelopes in the pews and the lobby

He wanted to start as soon as he could
Thought there were knots he still had to tie
But he decided the last chapter wasn’t the end
So he tore it out before that ship came in

The pages have been turned one at a time
He thought about the ending then he remembered
They said there were two paths we can follow
But when he looks back he can only see one

He thought of sands that once burned his feet
He remembered running towards the water
It was so bright it felt like being born again
The sea told his soul it’s never too late to begin

Uninvited though I may be
The butterflies were not to be led astray
Dancing upon low-cut flowers
They knew to avoid my footsteps
Their work was of far greater importance
My presence was of no consequence

My heart sheathed no sword
The sun baptized my bare skin
As I continued forward in silence
Solitude granted me clear conscience
For in nature vanity is not the soul of flowers
And wealth is not the seed for its life

It is in my word that I find what is left of me
Though temptation remains like a rusty nail
Holding fast with memories of the initial blow
Foolish and incomplete thoughts mark each step
But a man alone without a judge can see
As stones never to be thrown guide his way

I said, “I will make my own way”
Across the stolid path’s worn pages
Where the flakes of my burned skin
Spurned the fire that laid them to dry
I tried to find the distance safely away
From the anguish of false sages
Who by their own actions weaken
Their beliefs without knowing why

As sure as the sea, an eternal voice
Must you erode the sand of my choice
The shores that line the hearts edge
Are all that is left of loves pledge
Your fears of your own mortality
Destroyed the life we held dearly

And name me a time of when
The reasons have passed
To look at me now
Is to see a mistaken reflection

I realized I don't have any pictures
I thought a sunset took care of it's own
You can find it wherever you are
But not someone who meant to leave

I only wanted to feel you deep in my heart
The only way was to be the forest itself
Not living to look at the past as a wisp
But taking a chance with the lightening

I can't say anything being about my girl
Is that only for times when we were young?
It's that I want to carry you up the stairs
Who can say when but I know I can

Oh London
We weep for you again
Hatred upon your streets
The cancer over which we weep

Oh London
Is it so the next life to be lost
Is less than the virtue inviolate
We preserve no matter the cost

Oh London
Is it so the fears we harbor
Are less than the courage
Of the martyrdom of the free

Oh London
Is it so we walk the streets
With carefree gait and whistle
While evil threatens our peace

Oh London
Is it so we must forever believe
In faith and innocence first
No matter the life we grieve

Oh London
Never surrender
The final refuge of civilization
Rests upon your ****** crown

The first man I trusted
was one who didn’t need anything from me
He’d help me or my ma cross the street
even if he’d never see another dime or dream come true
There was a time I didn’t think like that
because the air I was breathing had already been sold
I could only hear the sounds of an angry man’s hammer
but that story has already been told

I saw him changing someone’s tire
It was hot and ***** but that was how he lived
Being able to help someone with a home
is a day off for a man with a sign
Being able to hear someone say thank you
is love inside his mother’s letter
He knows what you’re thinking
he’ll take the blame if it makes you feel better

I saw someone spill his guts
but he was wearing a mask on his face
It’s not like he didn’t believe
It’s just that we didn’t understand
So it was time to wake up in a new bed
and pretend he was better off alone
Maybe we’d better leave him be
There’s too many questions and not enough homes

I never thought I’d live this long
with eyes knowing how it’s going to end
That’s nothing new it’s just a matter of time, but
you know the price of your coffin by what’s important to you
There’s nothing I like about chance
I’d rather be broke than watch another man’s hand
I knew a girl once who disagreed
She had a pretty face, I had a bottle full of sand

I don’t want to live a life about loss
I know what happened to me
But that is something that’ll never be me

I don’t want to be known by my past
I’m not escaping from shame
It’s just my turn to decide what I believe

Tell me why I should live a certain way
Life will never be like it was before
I am tired of thinking about why
Still I wonder what you think
But it’s time for that no more

I just can’t pretend I’m something else
It was you who made me understand
You took so much there's nothing left for me

It’s a new day
A new day and a new way
What’s happened has come and gone
It’s time to find a new light to follow
Away from the things only darkness would say

I finally washed my heart with new blood
Still I feel the sadness of survival
But what time takes tomorrow must never grieve

Tell me why I should live a certain way
Life will never be like it was before
I am tired of thinking about why
Still I wonder what you think
But it’s time for that no more

I am not the point of a spear
And because of this
I have drawn the walls near
But I feel no discomfort
For there is nothing left
Except what I hold dear

We cannot **** everyone
We cannot arrest everyone
We cannot **** a burning bush

The world stands to one side
Watching the violence of men
While the conflicted who cried
Sleep between culture and truth
Despairing for our innocence
Standing accused inside the divide

Why do we believe we are the chosen ones?
Why do we violate the rights of others?
Why do we value one child over another?

The old one could never understand
Why we cry so easily about life
When his friends bloodied white sand
But we question our choices
As history reveals only death
Our history will not be as they planned

Every generation watches as it dies
Every generation wonders about the end
Every generation listens for Gabriel's horn

I do not need to prove my freedom
By mocking another man’s beliefs
Because that is not freedom
That is fear of the unknown
That is fear of our own faith
I thought we were all God’s children

let it make you happy
like a dead head
because you're pretty today
it's your song
somebody said thank you
they were glad to see you
you had a good time
it's ok
clear your mind
you have to do it for yourself
the world wants you to be angry
you can't hide from it
but the feeling is the chance
when it is upon you
take it
paint your face if you have to
look in the mirror
laugh about it
you feel like an out of tune guitar
but still you make music
that's how it works
a moment
you can't paint
but you made a line
and crossed it twice
then smeared it
red and yellow
just like your painted face
look at it
and laugh
let it make you happy
that's what just happened

Winter followed me inside
I used to smile at the cold
It always drew you close
Like I am now to the silence of leaves that have fallen

I heard a love song today
I used to feel that way once
I thought I heard your voice
But it was just the echo of a season soon forgotten

Seeing myself walk next to someone younger than me
I see how much I’ve changed
It’s not just my thoughts
It’s the look upon my face

I’ve learned the secret of my life
I thought my time had passed
But now I know it’s not true
Every time a snowflake melts there is another one calling

I don’t understand falling in love so quickly anymore
Every flower is pretty in its own way
But what of the roots we cannot see
Only a true friend can take your place

I see you
We are the same
But we must shed our layers
Our pride
Our distance
All the things we assume to be true

It is our weakness that separates us

It is our fears that controls us

We cling to race
To flags
To Gods
And to gold
Because we are afraid

But the world that was promised
Is about faith
In God
And in love

We say we believe in God
And we say we believe in love
But we are lost

We accuse
Each another

We hate
Each other

We reject
Each other

We hide our hearts
Out of fear
We do not believe we are strong
So we run away
From love
From each other
And pretend to be strong

We are afraid of rejection
We give another human all the power
The power to destroy us
The power to judge us
By their standards
And not God's

In the night
All alone
In your silence
Your honesty is awake
That is who you are
Though I cannot see you then

What would happen if I was there?

But I see you now
We are the same
And now I stand naked before you

Look at me

I have nothing to hide
I don't care what you know about me
It doesn't matter
I am still what I am
Weak
Fearful

Because I only know that I am not long for this world
I can dig my grave now
I have a spoon
You see silver
I see rust

At least I don't have to use my hands

There is nothing that I can prove about what I know

There is nothing that I can prove about what I have done

There is nothing but us

There is nothing but love

But where is it?

I didn’t know what to ask
You didn’t know how to tell
The days of certainty have changed
All we can find is a wishing well
It’s deep enough for time to pass
And we know how long ago we fell
Because we’ve not yet hit bottom
We live between heaven and hell
The sounds echoing all around
Is the world inside our shell
From the ocean you so love
To the heart you’d never sell
That is why I fell for you my love
But is it my hello or your farewell?

The dream was a deeper feeling of emotion
There was nothing to hold it back
No notions of manhood
Or sanity
Or walls to build
Or stones to carry
Only bare feet
And faith in our differences
As shapes of anger and longing float by
But as he looked upon them they changed
And he realized that they did not want to him to know
So instead of looking
He felt their presence
And the room suddenly was full of light
Not because his eyes were filled with the sunrise
But because his soul was awake
Every emotion he had ever felt gathered before him
And none would look upon him
For they could not ask of him what they could not give
And when he finally stood up
He took his time
There was no reason for haste
Or impatience
His life would now forever know
That a dream was the way inhibitions yield to truth
And that emotion is the only way to love

I don’t want to talk about why everybody’s angry
I don’t want to think about why they lose sleep
They’re running away from love instead of hate
Nobody’s worrying about promises they should keep

Would everyone say something if we got together
They see the differences the world can’t get over
But I only see your smile, it’s the same as mine
I’m not going to be looking over my shoulder

You think about these things
I think about them too
Worrying about the world
Is not something we should do
We’re just killing time
Instead of living free
If you want to be different
Then just talk of love to me

I want to love you like my children
And forgive you like I forgive them
I want to know tomorrow is ours
The way I know tomorrow is theirs

Why do you want to be part of a world that hurts you
You want to fight back and show them you’re strong
But I see your beautiful heart and it’s so lonely inside
It’s time to find a new world where we both belong

You think about these things
I think about them too
Worrying about the world
Is not something we should do
We’re just killing time
Instead of living free
If you want to be different
Then just talk of love to me

What is in the air you breathe?
Is it a belief in a man
Or the answers to a prayer?

What is in the water you drink?
Is it the baptism of your soul
Or the depths of despair?

What calm do you see in his face?
The inspiration for a greater good
Or what is in his hands alone?

What has religious fervor wrought?
The desire to howl with wolves
Or a gentle heart ready to atone?

What are in the words you speak?
Is it the absolute truth
Or the hedge of perception?

What are in the words he speaks?
The promise of freedom
Or the requirement of his opinion?

What garden do you till?
That which raises fists of stone
Or flowers of individual expression?

What do know of your neighbor?
Is he full of understanding
Or correct minded without reason?

What power would you give the state?
The power of your fears
Or the power to be humane?

What is the will of your heart?
For a power greater than yourself
Or for a love that comes from within?

What is true comradeship?
Is it formed by conflict
Or by honest compassion?

What is the meaning of life?
Is it a line drawn on a map
Or love and human emotion?