i am not a demographic

i am a human being

and if you see me carried
upon the shoulders of those you do not understand
it is only because I have chosen to understand them

even more than I understand myself

and should I perish for this understanding
then do not lament my passing but for a moment
because the body is a temporary state
and the thoughts that were carried aloft
are as easily obtainable to you
as the air you breathe

except for one difference

you cannot asphyxiate yourself as easily as you can choose

to open your mind

and if I should soon perish for these thoughts
then to remember me best is to find out why I died
for that I did die is only an inevitability
while the reasons are the choices that can be made
if only you would consider them

if even only for a moment.

I  hear church bells ringing
And all the voices singing
There's always a revival somewhere
Resurrecting faith from its despair

I spent a lot of time in the pews
Kneeling, praying about the news
I remember a word called freedom
It’s for me to choose the right kingdom

Religion for the masses
That’s where the cash is
Alms for the poor
Alms for the poor
I'm not knockin' on that back door
I’d rather pray alone in a closet
God's not inside somebody’s wallet

I saw a girl wearing a scarf on her head
I smiled but she frowned instead
I wonder if she thought I only saw her skin
But I was looking for beauty from within

I can’t change the world that much is true
But I can change someone’s day
And my friends are where my cross will lay
But there’s a man standing on the corner
Jesus wonders if he will know you

Religion for the masses
That’s where the cash is
Alms for the poor
Alms for the poor
I'm not knockin' on that back door
I’d rather pray alone in a closet
God's not inside somebody’s wallet

I don’t know where it goes from here other than the world I occupy by day

Should I learn more about life
Or just about myself

Maybe I am life already

I could look back and try to remember
There are so many moments and facts
I’ve gathered them up
All around me
But I know so many more have been left behind

Some by intention
Some by folly
Some by absolution

How did I become so serious?
Is that what being an adult is about?
Everything well considered
But for how long?
It seems I am preparing for something
Yet some of my best friends are already gone
How can I still be preparing when they are already done?

If I only could know if my experience is enough
Should I find something new?
What if I traveled to where God is life
Or read a book
Or write another one

You never know what you know until you have to explain it
If only they would listen long enough

Seeds that were me
Layers of soil that are the years
Rocks scattered full of stubbornness
Creeks flowing then drying up like uncertainty
Not a walk that could be imagined
Only lived

I thought about the next conversation
But how meaningful can it be when I must continue on
The next ten years must be the same as the last

Currency
Security
Currency
Security

What could one say to save a life when it so hard to live your own?
What could one say to guide a life when it is so hard to find your own?

To be on the ocean
In a storm
Where horizons move faster than chance
And depths hold knowledge we cannot imagine
Because we only know how to earn a living

I wonder if my smile is the same as someone you are considering
Is he so much better than me
Does he know how to love a woman
I know I do
But I’m not sure if I can make you feel that way again
It’s because I’m looking at a book
And a map
And cloth that covers a woman who is trying to be holy
And that is what I cannot know
If it is the next thing I do
Or all the things that I have done
What will tell me if I already know enough
Enough to tell my children they are free
To tell them how to survive
To tell them the world will never be like they dream
Except if they step over rocks
And leap over creeks
To know that stubbornness and uncertainty will no longer matter
It only requires desire
The desire to change
The desire to take a chance
Because what are we waiting for anyway?
To avenge ourselves
Or to make someone’s life better
However slight it may be
What will they remember about you my child
Will they smile at your empathy or frown at your indifference
You see?
The choice is all about desire
The desire to care
And the book
Or the God
Or the woman
They already know these things
As do I
As will you

It may not be a life that you love
And try as you might
Discouragement
Sadness
Disillusionment
All take their place at the table

But there is also someone who loves their life
Who also sits at the table
And they love their life
Because of you

Because you are their parent

Or their child

And it is your life that allows these things
To gather together  
All at once

Because your strength is the table
And your love has become their life

It’s not looking for me
It hides on the wrong side of a cloud
Where the sun is still bright
And my tears cannot blur its light

I asked the shadow why
But it would rather be silent than loud
I’m not sure how to make it right
The moon lights the wrong side of night

Waiting for something
Waiting for someone
They cannot hear you
If they are not near you
Tell them
Tell them
Or someone else will

I can’t feel it inside
Not when everybody acts so proud
The sky is for birds in flight
But blue reflections know nothing of sight

Waiting for something
Waiting for someone
They can’t hear you
They’re not near you
You didn’t tell them
You didn’t tell them
But someone else did

When a voice carries like that
I wonder if you can hear what I hear
I want to know everything about him
And why he says what sounds so clear

I don't think of him as a lover would
Only as an idea I can take along
When I walk this way it takes time
Starting over doesn't have to be wrong

Look into my eyes for once
Don't be embarrassed to see
Clear your mind my love
I only want good things for you
Even if it's not me

Let's gather those notes together
He can't play for us whenever we ask
It's up to us to remember what he said
And take with us the things that will last

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

If I cried in front of you
Would you think I was less than a man
But what if I let you stab my heart without a flinch
Would you think I wasn't human
As much as I care about you
I just can't worry about what you think
I know what I am
I'm trying to let you know
That's what you always wanted
But you won't let me

I don't think it's just in my head
That's just one place for it
If I know it I own it
But I also found it
You can love me out of duty
That's not what I asked for
You can leave anytime you want
That's not an invitation
I thought it only proved I was sane
Except that's not real love
Or is it?

She watched me down the river
The bend arrived too soon
She wanted to cry
But I left alone
I told her nobody got me
And the way I said goodbye
Was the way somebody talks before they die

I knew how to love her
But it would have been an act
And she would have fallen for it
That's why I can't come back
I helped her walk away
I acted crazy enough to save her
How she would describe it mattered
And I made sure she knew what to say
I didn't want her to live with regret
So I took it with me
I wanted to bury it along the shore
Where only a loner knows the way

If I could hold your hand once
It would always be on your mind
The soft touch before love is born
But I won’t try to drag you along

Our minds silently racing about
Trying not to hold on too hard
Our smiles say take me now
We both know now we belong

Take my hand
Become my lover too soon
As we walk through a crowd
It will never end
It’s time to believe again

The light that became a shadow
Was the hint we needed for more
When we begin to close our eyes
We both know what we will find

Are you uncomfortable now?
It's the only way a moment becomes a life
Somebody has to try

I never thought I could forget myself
Remembering how to let you win
Wondering if you are feeling it too
But a fool must give his life to you

Take my hand
Kiss me before you meant to
In the middle of a crowd
It will never end
It’s time to believe again

There is no certainty in grief
There was so much upon which to depend
Now we must learn to live without
And hope part of us rose with our friend

I finally found a pulpit in my heart
My passion for life rings its own bell
I once baptized myself in your water
Now my cup draws from my own well

I wonder about my time
And how it is spent
So much is unseen but felt
How can I know from whom it was sent?

But where does our laughter go
And our times of sadness
Does it scorch our souls
Or vanish into forgetfulness?

It is of no matter
For what is the worth
In the things we measure
If we cannot take them from earth?

I finally became a dreamer
When I learned to see through my own eyes
But you have become restless
With my constant goodbyes

To where I must go
To places only I can see
It holds strong to my life
Because I mistakenly set yours free

As the night covers my mind
I will listen to each song again
While the silent air whispers
Stories of a long lost friend

The time had come for leaving;
except I was already where I wanted to be
I could not understand sands,
that stood apart from the sea
A landing of sorts
or the door to what some may believe
It served little purpose,
for those who could not conceive

Without a sign post
and someone who could read;
they could only guess as to why,
the poem would no longer bleed;
the truth was stronger than honesty
as ignorance had already agreed,
what more could it possibly know
except which farmer favored his seed

Within rocks that move
and those that wither beneath our homes;
voices that cannot be heard
are as sturdy but forgotten as buried bones;
but those who dare speak
place their trust inside back-stabbing phones
for they have fallen from crosses
where nails welcome only God’s to their tombs

i wanted to spend all my time
inside your heart
instead I spent all of it
creating art
but if I reach you in this way
then it will be true
it will be true
my love
that I am inside of you
and because of this
you will know
that how I feel about you
is what I say is true
but you left anyway
because inside your heart
you never knew

I know you are real
My eyes tell me so
And how I feel when you go
There is nothing to question
No mystic force to know
Only what your heart will not show
I would rather smile than cry
But until love becomes more than woe
My tears will only travel paths of long ago

Every now and then I look down
It’s not the feeling that something’s wrong
It just reminds me that I’m not the mountain
I don’t like remembering that
It’s the ground beneath me that we love
But who cares what happens to me?

I thought the next step was my last sound
Sweaty palms greeted me tonight
The gravel that spared me is waiting
Or so it seems anyway
It’s not so sensible to think this way
I didn’t work this hard for the things I see

It’s not that I need only flat ground
It’s just that I climbed that day for you
Living on the edge is only for lovers
That kind of stupid is what we long for
Living to die is not how I want it to be

You could meet me outside of town
But will you be her or someone new
I’m not so picky about it anymore
I’m lying again about atmospheres
I believed in perfect switchbacks
Never knowing you lived by the sea

How is it that a memory
Is more real than when you were here
There is nothing for granted
The story has been told
Now you can cry about it without fear

I don't have to look at pictures
I can shake my head now instead
At shooting stars that disappear
You have become every one
An amazement that once filled my bed

In the mendacious times of human existence
The dominion of truth exists only in those willing to die for it
To whom, so sure of themselves
The graves are full of those willing to accept God's will
For they know sin speaks in many ways

"Join us if you have the courage
Otherwise remain as you are
Failed men afraid of their souls
To divine your purpose
You must walk in the dark
While the moon weeps
Eat without a plate
While a King sleeps
Fail at love
While she slays another
You must know fear
As does your mother
Then and only then will you be ready
For the bullet seeks only a hero
But it will only know if you speak your mind
And if you die green we will grow again
And if it is the winter frost
Then we will know our solitude is ready our fate"

I’ve said so many things in the night
I bought diamond rings during the light
I’ve felt every emotion you can feel
I’ve swum in every ocean but it’s no longer real
Now I don’t know who I’m talking to

How many more times should I try
How can I pretend to shelter someone
When it’s my cloud that always darkens the sky

I walked through the fields of a stormy night
I lowered my shields because I thought it was right
I think way back when about times I’d live again
But why think about then when I know how it will end
Now I don’t know what I’m going to do

How many more times to ask somebody why
How can I pretend to shelter someone
When it’s my cloud that always tells the lie

I tried to build something better than what I was
Was it about love or just my own selfish dreams
You thought what I said was only for your touch
Love wasn’t supposed to be about lost movie scenes

How many more times to watch love cry
How can I pretend to shelter someone
When it’s my cloud that always says goodbye

Our dreams travel well
But not so much when they’re close
While hearts see flowers
Minds feel the thorns of a rose
There's such a long road between us
Yet I’ve never been closer than so far
But my happiness only knows its pace
Maybe that's why we’re where we are

Who weeps for their children other than the poor
while we watch and blame them for wanting more
while they raise a glass of tears they drank from before

Who lives in the world we try desperately to hide
where death lurks within the time it must bide
where oceans of fear roll striking before the tide

Who entered your heart without invitation
to cultivate their own garden in soil so foreign
to share in its fruit before the dawn of emotion

Who would know of a God the world does ignore
in darkness where plans are made to make war
in darkness with broken promises they once swore

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

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

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

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

I can't stand it anymore
That's a direct quote
Thirty years ago
I know people matter
But Jesus Christ
I know what I mean
Do you?

I decided the trip is no where
No? Where then?
No where other than where you been
Then where is there again
I think that's Hindu
Who am I to argue with reincarnation
I'd like to try again

The answer is publicity
Otherwise you're doing it for yourself
You have to be strong
Anonymity ***** the life out of an ego
That's why I killed mine
Now I'm a rock star
'Cause I said so

I can hear a chord
But it's really a word
That's how you make it matter
It's how you translate it
It's not an interpretation
That's only to keep confusion alive for others
They seem to need it anyway

You can't really hear it in your mind
Still I get goose bumps
That's because I know what to do with loneliness
I can't stand it anymore
That's why I imagine it instead

In everything I do, there is no careless season
Time passes, knowing to trust every reason
You want the things that speak of forever time
How love is innocent and trust commits no crime

In everything I do, the moment has its own belief
Time passes, knowing purpose is not a thief
You want the things that love promises to be true
How tomorrow is us and today I spend with you

There’s a river just ahead
It doesn’t know which way to go
I thought we might walk along the side
Just you and me and the things we might have said
We might figure out the things we don’t know
Or just wait for another day before we decide

In everything I do, there is only what I feel
Time passes, knowing pain makes everything real
You want the things that a normal person wants
Somebody for you and not nights loneliness haunts

There’s a river we left behind
It told us we were walking the wrong way
I thought we might walk back up again
But even the rain couldn’t make up its mind
There wasn’t much left for us to say
We decided to let tomorrow tell us when

I don’t mind feeling this way
And I don’t mind the things I say
It’s just I can’t tell you what I believe
Or what it is that makes me pray

I read about a man who knew how to love
And how he died to save us from ourselves
But it was more than we could accept
It’s easier to believe in fairies and elves

We became equals before God
But not those we called our enemy
And with a thousand pardons in our pockets
We used a needle to steal their currency

Knowing forgiveness never compromises
We keep our loyalties close at hand
We combine the spirituality of faith
When we bring together God and man

Was our survival only about reaction time
Or in the peace reminded by the naïve?
They were long gone, even the ruins
But at least the memory is something to believe

Over in the corner where only the air is affected
The things that make me wish for relief wait
In the fleeting moments of light with no shadows
The rock he holds open is the choice of our own fate

He thought it would take another mountain
One taller than the last
But covered in ice
Frozen with images of his past
Would it be another fairy tale about love
Or a story yet to be told but one that needed to be said
But straight talk was what she wanted
So he had to remove the confusion from his head
It was about making a decision
It was about making a mistake
What time in his life was it ever exactly right?
He always seemed to speak one second too late
But he knew he had to stay up all night
The plan was to go anyway
Sleep was not something that would cooperate
He didn’t want to just dream about what he would say
It was a word that he knew so well
It was a word she was ready to believe
Every slippery step stared back at him without remorse
But his heart told him this time he would never leave

She said there are women waiting to love you
How can I when it’s me who must to learn to love
Where I start is where you are if that’s the way
You know in time you will return yourself there

At the bus stop feeling plain but not about to board
I’ve forgotten how it goes but you know that’s it
I wanted to remember being poor ready for the stars
But I tripped over success and it destroyed my mind

There’s a chorus somewhere but who would remember
I don’t want what is easy and small to be the life
You keep looking at me as if I’ve lost my direction
I might sleep with you babe but still I dream alone

Give me the real thing but you’re a girl why would I ask
This time you smile in front of shadows you live behind
You won’t tell me your ******* so you fake another
Watching you walk away is how I love thanks for asking

Have I aged my life with care and truth?
Were the grapes purposed?
I have reached my appointed height
But did I really grow?
Do I have the respect of your children
Or are they embarrassed?
Is the frustration of life in their mind
But hope in their soul?
Do I possess the fondness of a friend
And the times we cherished
Can I endure the sadness of lost love
Trying to fill a deep hole?
The life of a common man with honor
Is it worth how we perish
Yes as we till the soil of our chosen path
In faith for what we don’t know

You might think we have nothing left to give
But what you thought you once knew
Was never as desperate as losing you
The only way that I can live
Is to show you the things that were true
And feel the fire that once made you love me too

how far apart must our suffering be
before we can no longer tell; is that
kind of pain unworthy of you; is it
not educated enough or only meant
for plastic cups?

you can’t imagine living on the street;
you think they somehow like it there,
or maybe the street likes them and
makes it easy for them; didn’t they  
ask for it anyway?

if they can cross a river and not speak
the language then who can feel sorry;
they are tough enough; like a woman
having a baby; they’re made for it,
it’s as if it doesn’t count

is it so hard to respect someone born
to be poor; it has to be someone who
had it all; yes that is true suffering and
even worse is the thought of it; the view
from the terrace is terrifying

you know deep down inside they didn’t
write the blues for you; you’ve never
been that desperate, only that afraid;
that’s why you think about the streets;
they only walk on them

Up early without sleep
the worries of yesterday no longer venturing near
traveling the waterways instead
while the children slept
her husband was drawn by the war
every mundane moment
became precious
would it be the last (?)
if only a glass of milk could remain so comforting
she drank it slowly
hoping it would last
for once the glass touched down
the time for comfort would be past

Hands on the counter
she stared into the yard full of browning grass
winter approached slowly
but nature knew how to play its part
humanity fought her instincts
survival never meant more
no matter a migrant
or a hostage of a casualty of war
the tile floor was cold
she wondered of the man who troweled the grout
would he have known of the world’s misery (?)
but he was already forgotten
not even a footnote of history

Her child rushed along
questions bounding alongside
is the war over (?)
while muffled fireworks in the distance gave the answer
she never knew she had a gift
only to love brightly
but when fear became her night light
she realized her strength was real
there were no formalities to life
only the calm reassurance of purpose
and it was her hearts content
for breakfast was no longer her crowning glory
instead it was to calm life’s discontent

Each cigarette lit by weariness
nothing of another day to consider
only to sit down to talk of pleasure
within the cup of afternoon tea brewed by time
was a moment
a moment unlike any other
she wanted to write in her journal
if she could only find it
every thumbed corner of each page
no longer new but living instead
she thought while her children cried for brave men
she told them it would be over soon
but her prayer was for courage to never lie again

I don't know if you can tell
The way I came to you is not how I'm gonna' leave
There is nothing in my conscience left
The emptiness is not a fire burning
It's just a match that doesn't need to be lit
It's only there if I need the help
But I can take it from here
Sometimes you just know you are right
Even if you can't prove it
I grew up when stating my case didn't matter anymore
This time I know I'm right
And waiting for you to agree is not gonna' happen

I'm not going to rhyme just to say I love you
I'm going to say it without any ornaments
The lights burn out, the tree gets put out
But there I go, saying it another way
Than the way I want it to be

I dream of you but I have to wake up now
The only way you will know is my voice
Yeah I said it and it was so hard to do
Now I have to wait while you hesitate
And wonder how this **** poem ends

I only know how to live with the good times
But the garden of pearls is now desert sand
The beach empties itself as I walk before it
I find nothing now but honor as a brother
We bury Kings and Queens alike in grief
And as we look to the sky staring back at us
The sun reminds us the prince is now heir
Our lessons learned we can only remember
That it is our life now and the time has come
To live as his honor would demand of us
As men who make mistakes far too easily
And loving again with the fear of another loss
Underneath blazing skies that he now lights
His spirit is now the canvas for longing eyes
Where our hearts begin painting a new dream
With the blood his faith bequeathed to you

light the fire;
draw yourself near;
is it,
the doorway to hell
or the voice of God;
my heart is on fire,
i release it to you
enter the light,
do not be confused,
yes i cry
it is not enough though,
to burn with a scar;
it is also the ice breaking,
it seethes as it melts;
upon your skin,
rivers of new life,
awakening you;
but look again,
it is blinding you,
blinding you to your past,
to your pain,
it is there no more;
a beautiful story,
of fire, ice and light;
no longer orphaned,
but instead reborn,
in the light that you choose;
of love,
of life,
of me,
of him,
of you

I’m not telling a story
As soon as a chapter ends
I rip the pages out
I can do better than that
I’m not sticking to what I said
What did I know anyway?

I’m too old to talk about being shy
It’s too late for that one
If you want to be impressed
Then look the other way
The actors are expecting you
A life of pretend always feels better

It’s time for me to talk
You said it’s time to act
I can’t live a life of proof
I wish you could believe

What I said was true

I’m not so sure about how to live
That’s what made you wonder
But it wasn’t you I questioned
Instead it was why I kept changing
I thought  we were in the same car
We were but you lost your way

It’s time for me to act
You said you wanted to talk
You can’t live a life of faith
At least not in someone like me

What you said was true

Things were falling apart
The way we came together
And the way we lived
Falling apart
But we loved every moment
Until forever told you what to say

It’s time for something
What we said wasn’t enough
What we did wasn’t either
We just couldn’t believe

What we thought was true

What can you tell that’s true about me
You can’t because if you could you’d run away
I never thought I’d see a glacier move
But that’s what’s bearing down on me
The slow carved rock is permanent
That’s who I am
That's what's true

I know how much time has traveled
I saw so much light maybe that’s why it’s here
You think the stars are so far away
But what happened long ago is there every night
It’s my story trying to catch your eye
I wonder if I can
It's up to you

Too many dreams laid upon your path
Too many eyes cried too
You have no idea except maybe you do
I have to forget you now
I’m not going to walk that way again
Not where it all began
Not what I once knew

The feeling in my feet is the question
I’m willing to wander aimlessly
I have to play this hand out so deal me in Lord
How can she believe she loves him like me
Maybe the one before me said the same thing
He doesn't give a ****
But I still do

I want to cry
I want to scream
But I won’t do it
I want to laugh instead
I need to laugh instead
I should laugh instead
I’m going to laugh instead

What do I deserve
How strong am I really
What do I deserve
How blessed am I really
What do I deserve
How privileged am I really
I know how much
I know how much
I know how much

I feel everything you do
But it looks like I’m numb
Or maybe it’s that I don’t feel
At least not the way you can

I want to be your shoulder
I want to be your heart
I want to cry for you
I want to inspire you
But how can I
When I only think of myself

No I’m not going to cry
And I know the reason why
I know what I deserve
And it’s not my own tears
It’s not my own tears
It’s only yours
Because I did it to you
Because life did it to you
And I’m still here
The same as ever
How can I cry
When you beat me to it?

I look at the sun and sky
I squint not in cynical repose
It’s just that it hurts
It’s that simple sometimes
I know why things happened
I was there the whole time
I can take it
I can take being wrong
I can take being strong
Because I am
I am because I can cry
But not about me
Not about me
Only about you
I can cry about you
Even walking the streets
Like being asleep with my eyes open
I can cry
And they won’t know it
Because it’s on the inside
And they think my eyes are red
Because I stared at the sun
And I did
Yes I did
You were the one who burned me
So why do I keep looking up?

But I’ve not had enough
I won’t sink too far
I like to swim
I won’t tell anyone how deep
They might try to save me
I know how long I can hold my breath
Maybe it’s that we’re in the same place
And if you see me then you know
You know how bad it is
Because that’s how bad it is for you
We can swim alone
Or together
But oceans aren’t for dying my friend
It’s only a place to fall
It’s the quiet life
Where everything can only stare
The way I am walking the streets
Dodging the light from above
Because I know it’s you

We can be deep,
alone in a silent world;
or distant,
wishing upon a star;
but when we come together
as a community,
whether in mourning
over the loss of someone who touched us all
or to share the joy of the insular world of music,
where those who plot to save us
with the clever comfort of fear cannot penetrate,
it is there where we can see the promise of love;
unconditional;
a smile for a stranger without expectation;
a man and a woman dancing together
without remorse or confusion;
go there,
take it with you,
it means something
and it exists already in your consciousness,
in the unseen world of your being,
where your feelings live,
always in need of a friend

I never really was too sure
Though once I thought I was
I decided to have a look
But found only laws
I could see the light
But didn’t know why
My hair was wet
But my mind was dry
My voice was loud
But knowledge was silent
Inside every wrong word
Were the seeds of violence
Not to naked flesh
But still you bled
I wondered how this could be
That a scar became what I said
I carried it everywhere with me
The only idea I had was guilt
The only smile was knowing it
It was then that doubt was built
I had an opinion once
It was something important
But the man on the corner
Still has a hole in his shoe
The things I can’t see
The life around the corner
A book never opened
Was why I couldn’t warn her
I decided if we’d never met
Your reputation would survive
Because if I say nothing
The truth remains alive

Give me a call
When you get back to the you I know
All I have to do is be me
It’s the easy thing to do
Why can't you decide who you want to be?

You turned my faith into doubt
My free will into no choice at all
It like believing in heaven
It’s too confusing sometimes
Why do you make me wait to be forgiven?

I hate having to think so much
We used to know how long to kiss
It was three moments all in one
You me us
Now even the shadows are gone

He had to start thinking about her faults
Until they all became who she was
Even a blue sky can darken quickly
But his heart needs more than just because

There’s a good reason so don’t ask why
Tell yourself it’s none of your business
The two sides of love can never agree
The heart is not a willing witness

Find a mountain that’s willing
Or an ocean the rivers keep filling
Walk alongside God’s country
He’s the reason you’re still living

It’s not a New Year’s resolution
Or a habit you’re trying to break
It’s a way to find your life again
Before she became a mistake

Find a poor man to be giving
Or a child’s life you’re fulfilling
Walk with those who are hungry
They’re the reason you’re still living

Just calm down
He said it to nobody in particular
But she knew who he was talking to
Believe in me
That’s what she wanted to say
But she didn’t know if it was true

You marry somebody
It doesn’t have to be the wrong time
It doesn’t have to be the wrong one
You tried that life
But one day there’s something more
The stars stopped leading you home

How do  you live
You left behind the blood you planted
Your heart travels well but not today
You feel the tremors
That is who you are and it is dying
Even the sun decided to walk away

The harvest is done
The people who were born with hope
Live inside a prayer watching waiting
What can we do
The land of our birth is on fire again
But my soul lives in the land of believing

They don’t think of me
I left and they said my tears are my affair
If only a baby could decide for its mother
I want to tell you
I can never go back so why do I cry for them
Comfort for my children is not their savior

Life was given to you
With time unknown to span
In death you may not part
Except by your maker’s hand
Change the only constant
Love moving you forward
You may enter the kingdom
When your faith he does reward

Everyone suffers
We are all the same
We live each day
Just as we came
If a baby lives
So too shall a man
No matter the consequences
Of his unspoken plan

In his silence
You must walk
In his silence
He hears you talk
If you believe
Hear his voice well
You are his witness
You must ring the bell

Everything you touch
And everything you bury
Is blessed by your love
And to him this they carry
We have our own time
As they had theirs
They are telling you now
It's not time to climb the stairs

I love no particular place
Only a feeling; fleet, unplanned
I have no past for which I long
My heart is a green meadow
where your rescues may run
But should we gaze upon it?
For what is meant to be
will disappear into the night
when we decide it is ours

I knew of every color
And every sound
Like shells on the beach,
netting on a trawler,
anchors on the ground
But you knew what they meant
Together in your heart;
it was an ocean voyage
and an island for us to love

Look at the night sky
What you see are the scars
Evidence of the past
And it was me
I removed what was there
One by one
What remains
Is light
Experience
If only you would see them for what they are

They wait for you
For night
Your night
For theirs is always different
You have a memory
They are your memory
And they will never be anything else
Yet you are able to spend time away
While they point in all directions
Without a compass
Or a purpose

You are not locked in a room
You are walking freely
And every good thing that happens
You must see why it happened

For once
Long ago
There was something in the place of the scars
Something before that was only about you
But now it’s about something else
Something you must share
But I have your past in my hand
Before it all happened
For they were never stars
Instead they are scars
But they smile even though you cannot
I took them with me
The purity you long for
But that is not life
Purity is not life

Only a reminder of what is important

Look at them
Look at the sky
You have lived

The purity is now what guides you
It is in every smile
And there are as many left as there are scars

Every scar is a reminder of what lies ahead
That is why they are bright against the darkness

Just as the chance to be happy contrasts with your sadness

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

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

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

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

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

We get along with people we do not care for because we need the money but hurt and hold grudges against those that we love...

They do not pay us for our conscience or our ability to love; only if we provide value.....

A man is never worthy of another man's daughter because he knows we will never love her like he does....

The poor will always strike their stones together instead of making masa when those who rule them approach so that they will know that making bread is not giving up their souls...

A man who looks forward everyday to talking to a woman that he will never touch loves her more than the man who does....

No matter what is said, you can find a reason to disagree; but when men agree it is because they cannot find peace any other way...

You will know an honest man not only when he admits you are right in front of people who have the power to judge him but also when his eyes say so...

Why is a man who is able to arbitrage a momentary advantage in markets admired while a man who can repair your car is forgotten?

It is always assumed that a man who rejects luxury when it is offered for a moment is bitter... it is always assumed that a man who takes luxury when it is offered wishes he was someone else....

You will never understand how a poet can describe in the world without leaving his room....

I'm not giving it away
I mean it
You think this is an act?
Day after day
You know me now
It's blowing right through me
The hurricane inside my veins
You may think you are more than I can handle
But I don't recognize rocks or sand
The sun needs me to rise
It needs me to set
That's what you watch for
But I'm always there
There are no more questions
I'm always there
The chair that fell over
The light that won't turn green
The day that won't end
An argument
Ambiguity
Discomfort
These things matter
They do
You do
I do
I want to be everything
Because I see everything
Everything
Both sides
Right
Wrong
Wrong
Right
It's that way
They believe it
I feel it
I tell you now
You don't know them
Unless you give yourself up
Then you are free
Free to be crushed by their world
Crushed because you know now
They are human
They are JUST LIKE YOU
Do you know that?
Do you?
I wonder sometimes

You loved it
You always do
But you had to hide first
That's how rainbows are made
Sometimes it's more than you can take
More than your life can make
Of being in love
Of being in love with  me

I loved it
I always do
But I had to hide first
That's how rainbows are made
Sometimes it's more than I can take
More than my life can make
Of  being in love
Of being in love with you

Go ahead
Move the camera closer
Either eye
The both end up in the same place
Even though they don’t look the same

There’s a dream in there
Can you find it
Or is it your imagination that must do the work?

Go ahead
Talk too loud around me
I used to be you
But it took me to a difference place
I wonder if you’ll ever make it there

A man said I sound like a bird
And though he cannot remember
What it meant was he knew life while I could only pretend

Go ahead
Walk on by as if we never met
I know everything about you
But still I want you
I wonder if he can take it like I could

You trampled through my life
But I didn’t notice the mess
Until you left and I realized I wasn’t ready to clean it up