Rolling meadows and green hills
The water receding before me
A curtain blowing in the wind
The rain washed winding road of tranquility
Cleansing the ghostly plains
As the hurt of the estranged carpet
Rises to receive a kiss from the clouds
A canvas living to please an artist
Long may a flat lonely field lay
With a star spangled colored sky
Standing proudly over memories
Of sacrifice and painful cry
The past lies in state
With stories of the old west
Granting passage to expectation
As memory remains at rest
If you can possibly know
Of my love for you
Can you become what I felt today
Can you become a serene view?
For what was always there
Asked nothing of the reflection in my eye
Yet gave everything
And waved as my life drove by

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

She covers for God
Not you
Are you worthy
Of her will to be true?
To the word
As it is written
Not of man
But begotten
Into the cradle
Of our existence
Heard by those
Who lower their resistance
To what is holy
Not on earth
But in heaven
Where a woman’s worth
Is measured
By the blessing
Of her womb
Life-giving and supporting
Each new creation
Equally touched
By the unseen
But untouched
By sin
Until the apple is offered
By the bare flesh
To our sons and daughters
Yes she suffers
Behind the cloak
Of piousness
Wearing its yoke
Until the strength
Of one man’s soul
Reveals itself
To make her whole
As it was intended
For man and woman
But not before
He has proven
His understanding
That a hijab
Is not weakness
But God’s robe
Which he dare part
To find paradise
In the strength
He saw in her eyes

He said,
“What is it like not to be afraid to die”
I didn’t know
I am afraid to die
If I would so choose
It would be for love

It’s a war

The order,
“Take that ******* hill”
It was an order
An order to die
Who would I obey
My fears?
Jesus?
My country?

I wondered,
“Who is not afraid to die?”
Is it a rational man?
A crazy man?
A man overcome with grief?
A man overcome with love?

But they were real
Not mythological creatures
******
Loving
Violent
Men

How could a seed emerge in a field  such as this?
How could the sun bear to watch?
How could God sleep?

We are candles
The flame is so weak
But glorious
The wax
Deep
But how deep?
The wick
Threaded by someone else
But how long
So many ways to fail
The wind
The depth
The length

I pray to you now

The leaves I placed in the ocean
Will  they come back or float away

I pray to you now

The rock I skipped across the water
How many  times will it skip before it sinks

I pray to you now

The face of a man consumed by  duty
He will never tell me what I  want to hear

Take that ******* hill

I don’t know what to tell you my son
The fire has started and it’s a hot one
The past is about to be undone
We once wanted to learn from it
Now we’re erasing the song they sung
You may have to ask yourself why
And if you can’t understand
Then ask a man who was hung

The storm will pass
Just like the last one
But what will it leave behind?

You can’t change the color of your skin
The way it was worn once was a sin
It’s up to you to decide where history will begin
You had nothing to do with it
You’re innocent but the gallows bell is heard again
Their anger is a tormented man’s cry
And if we can’t understand
Ask if marble eyes have a soul within

The storm will pass
Just like the next one
But what new world will we find?

I’m not worried about why
I just want to know what
I’m not afraid of sinners
You have room to open up

Everybody has their own taste
I don’t think much about yours
That’s part of getting old
I’m autumn leaves making floors

Holy forgiveness
It’s more than I can do
That kind of acceptance
Is for people worse than you

You turned out a certain way
But I’m not the one who did it
Unless I really meant that much
I must have been your cigarette

Holy forgiveness
It was easier with you
The things you did to me
Are nothing compared to what I do

I thought about it enough
I know where I went wrong
Whatever I did to you
It's pulling us both along

Holy forgiveness
It’s hard to accept what’s true
I’ve never been the one
Who had the right to forgive you

What can be believed living in the street?
He could only find peace
From the pages covering his feet
While those with good mothers fight
Over who’s wrong and who’s right
The corner dust forms a memorial
On a vacant Victorian seat

Their words died before they became deeds
Nothing mattered of his past
It could not fill his needs
He tried not think of her
There was nothing he could offer
Through his piercings he bled
But there was no water for his seeds

He looked to the heavens for paintings
But dreams in cloudless skies
Cannot be imagined when it’s raining
The corner was his
But it’s no place to live
Our faces are the measure of his worth
For he knows who he is displeasing

Did you know that being honest is ok?
Not running away
Not pretending
That is only for those who are not honest
Because they can’t
They are afraid
But there is no difference except one thing
You are able to be afraid
And they are not
They cannot say these things out loud
Because they are afraid
While you are not
But how can that be if you are afraid
It’s only about something
Not being something
It’s not always about  being afraid though
It’s about ideas
Or trying something
It’s not worrying about what they think
It’s a test for them
Do they know you?
It’s time that they accept the changes
You won’t let it happen
Not to be who you are
You’re not going to think as a man or a woman
Only as who you are
Then they will know
You can still love who you wish to love
The way you wish to love
And they will know
But they won’t know what to think
Because you’re not afraid
Because you’re honest
Some people only speak with their voice
Their heart is silent
As is their soul
But yours are about to come alive
To use your voice
Not be ruled by it
You are not going to  be afraid to say it
That you loved them
That they hurt you
You are going to write something
It’s how you feel
That’s why it’s honest
You are going to no longer worry
What you feel
They feel
You are going to be able to say it
Because you’re honest
And you’re not afraid
They never knew that about you
Now they do
They'll be ok

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

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

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

I can feel you next to me
You can’t hear what I say so I say it to myself
But I hope you think about me
There’s a love and this is what it said
There’s more to a dream than a kiss
That’s the only thing your heart could ever see

I woke to a conversation in my head
But nothing made sense
An obsession in the dark cannot see the picture
I could only hold the brush tightly as it moved
Though the beginning was lost forever
The coming light will reveal what I need to remember

Whatever stands on the far shore
Thinks the same of you
Horizons comfort though the sand sinks beneath you
Yes I can feel you next to me
But no matter how many times I say it
It will remain the same until I decide what to do

Horror
It is the moment
When one culture
Decides
It is superior
To another
It is the moment
When life
Is devalued
To the point
That extermination
Can be done
Without feeling
But instead
With moral certainty
The certainty
That the God
Of the dominant culture
Approves
And
When the screams
Cannot be heard
Because
They are not real
To you
And even if they were
It wouldn’t matter
Because
Insanity
Does not recognize
Itself
And because
Fear
Justifies anything
And because
The reality that has been constructed
In your mind
Is that you are normal
And they are not
So they must die
And you must live
No matter
The symptom
Of the disease
You have been taught
To love

Sometimes you are empty
You've said all that you can say
And then something happens
So profound
That the emptiness is filled
Not by happiness
But instead by the despair of others
Your heart is burned by the sun
When all they know is rain
And by a measure unknown to you
You have found your place
Where frivolity is not worthy
And laughter waits its turn
Until the river repents
By the banks we once loved
But now can only curse

How meadows
   cannot green or divide hills
How lakes
   cannot ripple or remain flat
How tears
   cannot dry in time for another
How wounds
   cannot heal or blood clot
How truth
   buries its lies in unmarked graves
How revenge
   fears justice will turn its back
How reckoning
   fails to pay its debts
How love
   becomes hate by war
How children
   are born old by poverty
How dignity
   cannot calm itself
How eyes
   see knowing their crime
How memories
   only crack mirrors
How confessions
   ask only for mercy
How shame
   walks pretended of grace
How forgiveness
   needed to tell the truth first
How black men
   turn the other cheek

It is an ordinary world in which we live
As do I
With faded carpet
And blinds that carry the dust of my past
Yet it is not what I want for you
I want to say the things you've never heard
I want to show you the light you've never seen
I want you to know the love you've never felt
But how can I put my mind into yours?
How can I when I exhaust myself with these things?
To be always shiny new
To be always what it is you are searching for
Is it too much?
Because to dig into fertile soil
And to vanish into the depths where ships are laid to rest
Is to walk alone with only a match in the darkness
Who could follow the glow of a single point of light?
Could you trust the direction in which I lead
Or is it an ordinary world in which you wish to live?
Can you when it is I who would resist?
I see the path that leads me to you
But what if I can only follow the path of expression
Would you still believe in me my love?

How can I decide
When I know so little?
How can I know
When life is a riddle?
How can I love
What I cannot see?
How can my mind accept
What it cannot conceive?
How can I preach
When I do not understand?
How can I hear
Tongues from a foreign land?
How can I believe
Miracles from long ago?
How can I choose
Which words to follow?
How can I be like you
If it is you I do not understand?
How can we live together
When truth is built upon sand?
How can I worship
A God who remains silent?
How can I bow
In a world that remains violent?
How can I turn the other cheek
When it hurts so much?
How can I drink your blood
When your cup I cannot touch?
How can I be saved
When the wretched rule our domain?
How can heaven wait
For a mind that causes so pain?
How can I know you
When the words of man fail?
How can I know
When money is our holy grail?
How can I know the truth
When we believe a lie?
How can I know
When the answer is always why?

Am I wearing you out?
I don’t want to be sad
But it’s so unfulfilling
Pretending to be glad

Am I bringing you down?
I don’t want to make you mad
But it’s so hard to smile
I don't follow the latest fad

How can I ignore
How we are not free?
How can I laugh
When the world is not all it can be?

Am I too much for you?
I don’t want to be so intense
But I can’t relax
When nothing makes sense

Am I driving you away?
I don’t want to lose you
But I can’t be who I am
If I can't be true

How can I ignore
How we are hurting each other?
How can I laugh
When we don’t love one another?

Is there room for you in my life
When there is so much pain?
It takes up all my mind
It’s so hard for me to explain

Is there a moment for a dreamer?
When I feel so unworthy?
All I can think of is disappointment
I hope this is not the end of my story

How can I ignore
How I am not the man I want to be?
How can I laugh
When people cry because of me?

We cannot know courage
Until we are touched by fear
We cannot know strength
Until we understand weakness
We cannot know purpose
Until it is ****** upon us
We cannot know inspiration
Until we see those who follow

I found faith standing next to ridicule
And hope standing next to despair
It was up to me to choose
But the power of my own weakness
Made me think of nothing but confusion
Yet without the possibility of belief
Or of doubt
How could I know the difference between life and death?

How did it happen
My foot isn't straight anymore
But still I walk with purpose
I know what I am living for

How did it happen
I forgot someone’s name for an instant
But still I remembered to be kind
I know what is important

How did it happen
I don’t laugh as much as in the past
But still I have a warm heart
That part of me will always last

How did it happen
I ask questions as never before
But still I have my faith  
That is all I need and nothing more

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

Sometimes you just have to live with it
You know what you did
That pile of broken hearts can’t be lit
They'll always know how to find the things you hid

You said I needed to learn how to forgive someday
That I had no right to judge
I know that’s right and right well I judged anyway
It's always easier for me to hold a grudge

We’re all the same
We know life is rough
We don’t say the things we should
But it’s not who won the fight
It’s who decides they’ve had enough

The way you lived was like plowing down a house
You never seemed to know who lived inside
It was just a another person to take off your blouse
They never had a chance because every night you cried

You acted like you never planted any memories
You never watered any knowing you were soon gone
You took the earrings but left me all the stories
What else can I do now but try to write a song

Talkin’ about you like this is just about the bad
But I know I’m telling a lie
You were the prettiest girl I ever had
Now I answer to myself because I asked myself why

We’re all the same
We know life is rough
We don’t say the things we should
But it’s not who won the fight
It’s who decides their heart is tough

Holistic, not horrific
Humane, not vain
Humility, not artillery
Human, not religion

I'm not crazy enough
To believe the world can be one
But I know a home and food
Is the way peace will come

It's not the race we should fear
It's the man who cannot feed his son
When it becomes nothing but blame
Anger lives where there once was none

How many times
How many times
Did someone give you a hand
Why is it so easy
To forget who lost their land?

How far the living have come
Though the dead cannot speak
What is the world of heaven about
Is it the only thing the poor can eat?

He doesn't want you to hate him
He was happy just the other day
Someone gave him a smile
It reminded him love is not far away

How many times
How many times
Did someone give you love
Why is it so easy
To forget what peace is made of

I was wondering how old my blood is
I haven’t bled in a long time
At least not on the outside
Maybe I should set some of it free
Free to find another
Another body to love

Say goodbye when he goes off to war
He won’t be what you remembered
He might not talk for a week
It didn’t make him wise
It just made him aware
That’s why his smile is so old

I was wondering how old my tears are
Seems like they are born every day
A gully inside every reason
A reason inside every drop
No particular place to go
Just a scar soon forgotten

Say good morning when she wakes up
The sun in her hair may set too soon
I will have to live with a regret
But I know I will always love her
So when tomorrow comes
My mind won’t feel so old

Not everyone who dies for freedom is a soldier; without money or arms their weapons become their dignity. You do not know their names nor did you hear them cry; still, you know they lived; you know this because it is you who are now free to live the life you choose if you only have the courage

I am awake when I see nature’s beauty
But I have to sleep to dream of you
It’s so easy to fall for the sunset
There is no good or evil inside to see
There is no fear of what it might say next
I’m always ready to try it without remorse
I don’t have to think about it until I do
And tomorrow it will wait for my return
But getting personal is not how it loves
It doesn’t have to do anything, unlike me

But how much more could I love someone
A wild animal will never make it easy
A snake makes a path then sheds itself
Changing with life as it’s meant to be
And to love you when you are so fragile
So able to crush my spirit with your body
Giving it away even though you love me
You can do that because I never knew
You were willing to take it as far as it takes
My pain proved you once were in love with me

I remember when I was hungry
I still am
But not like before
I remember when I would climb out a window for you
I wonder if I would do that again
But I know you now
The mystery is gone
It's like money
It once mattered
It still does
But not like that
Not like it once did
Now I just need enough to live
Before it was a way to define myself
And I hate that I ever thought like that
I
HATE
THAT
But I don't hate that I thought that way about you
I
LOVE
THAT
And you made me feel that way
It can be that way again
All we need is time
Time for the mystery to build again
Time for you to grow
Time for me to grow
To be so different than before
I am
I wonder if you are
And that's what I need
The mystery of you

Looks like she's comin' around here again
It's been so long I can't remember when
I wonder if she just wants to be my friend
Or is she gonna' take my heart out for a spin?

You know, it really don't matter to me
It's not like there's another girl I want to see
But I hope she doesn't bring up that memory
Just come on in and what will be will be

Hurry up and kiss me
Before I change my mind
Make me close my eyes
It's better if love is blind
Hurry baby hurry
Kiss me right away
Hurry up and kiss me
Before I change my mind

Are you gonna' run my life again?
Love me hard like it's never gonna end
Then pick that scar that won't ever mend
I wonder what kind of message she's gonna send

Hurry up and kiss me
Before I change my mind
Make me close my eyes
It's better if love is blind
Hurry baby hurry
Kiss me right away
Hurry up and kiss me
Before I change my mind

The drinks are going down like I knew they would
I'm ready to love you like I never could
But that memory makes me wonder if I'm thinkin' straight
I wonder if maybe I ought to wait

C'mon baby kiss me
I'm tired of all this thinking
C'mon baby kiss me
Kiss me and keep drinking
Kiss me baby kiss me
You won't want to leave
C'mon baby kiss me
Hurry up and make me believe

Hurry up and kiss me
Before I change my mind
Make me close my eyes
It's better if love is blind
Hurry baby hurry
Kiss me right away
Hurry up and kiss me
Before I change my mind





COPYRIGHT 2011. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MARK LECUONA

I want you for the part
You must be spot-on
Every mistake must be made
Every tear must flow
I want to remember what is like
To love someone the right way
No matter their flaws
Because that is not the burden
Of being a fantasy
But instead of living a life
How could I want anything more
Than to prove to you my love
Yet how can I do it
Unless you let me down first

I am not old
I am alive
I am a new discovery
I am not living to survive
I am not old
I am older
I am not feeble
I am a strong shoulder
I am not old
I am wise
I am able to tell the truth
I am not a lie
I am not old
I am strong
I am able to say what is right
I am not afraid to admit I'm wrong
I am not old
I am not possessed
I am able to control my desires
I am able to live with what is blessed
I am not old
I am love
I am able to live life with faith
I am not waiting for a twig from a dove

I know the feeling of uneasiness for the first
time; for the world has arrived at our door,
the fortress is no more; I am growing up as
I know each day is now where fear comes to
feed upon our lives; and yet it is still a prayer
that is the thin line between a long life and
one that is the horror of tomorrows news;
it’s them, always them, people who aren’t
real; but they are; they are as real as my own
thoughts and dreams; but I do not know where
the thoughts behind my eyes live or where
they go when I am asleep

For those walking to the far corners of freedom,
where the shadow begins as the sun falls upon
our lives and so too the rainbow when the rain
finally yields to mercy upon those washed upon
the shores of injustice, dreaming their souls may
one day know peace, the strain upon the inelastic
thread of an pretended peace is applied so that
all who believe in its fabric may know how easily
it will unravel with the slightest tug as it was laid
beneath our feet so long ago with forgotten
intentions but now buried under the dust of
unrelenting indifference

Is the outrage of our life over death or respect;
is life so cheap that words and icons are favored
over what happens on our streets; can a man be
so numb that he believes those who perish must
somehow deserve the fate that came to know
them so intimately; the fatalistic view of life is
that God’s will explains everything, yet is it so
simple that evil triumphs over good at the hand
of the moment God looked away or does he
passively observe to see if we choose to beg for
his mercy or curse his name?

Our swords have been drawn; heaven has struck
once again, dividing brother against brother while
the secular army marches forward, likewise as
unmindful to love as they are determined to
****** their gilded steely ideals home in the name
of the mother who bore them as the blood
splatters upon a poor woman begging for food
while her child feeds upon hopeless *******;
neither of whom cares to provide milk for the God
who allows good and evil or those who built the
bridge between two nations casting blame upon
each other

Is there no common purpose no matter our
conviction of creation; must a declaration of
belief in the God of Abraham followed by a
declaration that he rose from the dead or
rose while alive or did not rise at all or is it
that a declaration that no supposed God is
necessary to reign supreme over men trying
to live their lives without dying while silence
continues to disintegrate the love all men
carry for anyone other than their children;
is this the choice, God or no God; this God
or that; this messiah or that; this word or
that; but love is neither this or that, rather it
is that which is this which is that I feel when
I see my love tell me that I am neither this or
that but instead that I am that I am

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 am America
Conqueror
Conquered
Indentured
Old world roots
New world trees

I am America
To overcome
To transform
To dream
To live
To die

I am America
Native
Black
Brown
White
Mulatto

I am America
Soldier
Protestor
Fire
Healer
Flower

I am America
Christian
Jew
Muslim
Agnostic
Atheist

I am America
Master
Slave
Rich
Poor
Divided

I am America
Capitalist
Socialist
Environmentalist
Activist
Survivalis­t

I am America
Weak
Strong
Freedom
Dysfunction
Uncertain

I am America
Diverse
Tolerant
Racist
Hate
Love

I am America
So it is written
Natural born
Inalienable rights
Created equal
I am you

I'm not a person of color
I'm not gay
I'm not rich
I'm not homeless
I'm not religious
I'm not an atheist

I am a whisper

I'm not old
I'm not young
I'm not famous
I'm unknown

I am a whisper

I may be helpless
But I am not numb
I may be shackled
But I will not lie still

I am a whisper

I have an opinion
I have thoughts
I have feelings
I have a voice

I am a whisper

I have a memory
I have hope
I have a fantasy
I have a dream

I am a whisper

I give freedom
I will not judge
I will not control
I will not hurt

I am a whisper

I don't believe you
Why must I listen?
Why do you want my mind?
Why do you want control?

I am a whisper

I see what happens
I know who is suppressed
I know you are buying time for yourself
I know you need to fool me

I am a whisper

I am in your way
I am an impediment
I am a risk
I am to be mitigated

I am a whisper

It needs to be shouted
It needs to be aggressive
It needs to shock
It needs to awaken

I am a whisper

I see the fear tactics
I see the power
I see the judgements
I see the ridicule

I am a whisper

I know you are a liar
I know you are evil
I know you will ****
I know you will destroy

I am a whisper

I know these things
What can I do?
I can only write
I can only feel the anger

I am a whisper

"Who is lying?"
They are
"Who would ****?"
They would
"Who would send your child off to war?"
They would
"Who are they?"
The one's who want your vote

I am a whisper

"What about your children?"
There is still time
"What about my children?"
There is still time

I am a whisper

Would a man **** for God?
What do you think?
Would a man **** for his flag?
What do you think?
Would a man **** for his party?
What do you think?
Would a man **** who has been fooled?
What do you think?
Would a man let you die in his place?
What do you think?

I am a whisper

"Why do you whisper?"
I'm not
"You say you are"
Can anyone hear me?
"I can"
Can anyone else?
"No"

I am a whisper

"Why won't you shout? "
I am afraid
Afraid of what?
Of losing my job
Of losing my children
Of losing my life

I am a whisper

"Who are you afraid of?"
A person
A book
True believers
Non-believers
The enemies are all around

I am a whisper

"Why are they enemies?"
They do not want me
They want me to be them
They want my mind
They want my actions
They want my life

I am a whisper

So I work
So I pray
So I smile
So I agree
So I submit
So I bend
So I die

I am a whisper

Is existence on the other side of a laugh?
Is existence in the void of silence?
Is existence in the breath of a whisper?
Is existence in the quiet of God's spirit?

I am a whisper

When God is silent
Even a whisper can be too loud
Silence is the empty room
No color
No artifact
No sound

I am a whisper

Listen to the whisper
Then listen to God
Then you will know
Because you dared to speak
You forgot to think

I am a whisper

Blessed are the peacemakers
Did you remember this?
Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone
Did you remember this?
Turn the other cheek
Did you remember this?
Love thy neighbor
Did you remember this?
Judge not lest you be judged
Did you remember this?

I am a whisper


Copyright 2010. All Rights Reserved. Mark Lecuona

I am but a grain of sand
Trying to be the beach
I am but a falling leaf
Trying to be the season
I am but a blade of grass
Trying to be a meadow
I am but a drop of water
Trying to be the ocean
I am but a bird
Trying to be the wind
I am but a cloud
Trying to be the sky
I am but a rock
Trying to be a mountain
I am but a human being
Trying to be worthy of heaven

I am emotion
No matter my wisdom
No matter my age

A tear in every moment
As I have lost my voice
Where once I thought of joy
Now I have a choice
To laugh or cry
In the face of pain
To see the sun
When all I have is rain

I am emotion
No matter my education
No matter my wage

A laugh in every moment
As I find my voice
Where once I thought of sadness
Now I’ve made my choice
To laugh
In the face of pain
To see hope
In the drops of rain

I am emotion
No matter my freedom
No matter my cage

A poem in every moment
As I hear my voice
Where once I thought of nothing
Now I accept my choice
To express my fears
In the face of pain
To see my heart
Dancing in the rain

The pulpit is in my heart
My passion rings its own bell
There is no need to dip into your water
For my cup never strays far from my own well
You wonder about my time
And how it is spent
With things unseen but heard
And you wonder where they went
But where does laughter go
Or sadness
Into our souls
Or into forgetfulness?
It is no matter
For what is worth
In things we measure
If we cannot take them from earth?
You see a dreamer
And his faraway eyes
You become restless
With his constant goodbyes
To where he must go
To things you cannot see
For his hold on life
Are on what he has set free
And each night
When the song ends
And the still air is silent
He will sleep with invisible friends

To contend with me now
Is to confront yourself
There is no emotion that I fear
Nothing can change what I am
A human being
I will be sad
I will be in despair
And I know that I will not fall apart
The moments you avoid
Are the ones that make me the strongest
I can lose your love
Know you are with someone else
And my heart will be a forest consumed by fire
But I am also the green grass that returns
I know that now
And it is because I love you like that
That I can lose you and still survive
Because though you are beauty
I am the song written for you
I am the overwhelming love you crave
And I am stronger than you will ever know
You cannot destroy me

It is our consciousness that lives alone
That is why I stare into your eyes
I wonder about you and if you are the same as I
Beyond our chanting
And our place between Kings and beggars

Is my mission to avoid death
Or just the mere thought of it

So I begin where delusion has led me to a new world
And yet I do not risk my life
I am no mariner crossing vast oceans
That would be remind me too much of death
And yet acquiring breadfruit is enough to circumnavigate my fate

The pleasantness of why we are here is the story we write
Our purpose must be believed
Whether we find it or not
What is good and evil are equal in the sight of a mortal man
He cannot conquer one or the other
He can only hope to find solace and joy in humility
In the building of a home
Or the love of a child
For honor beyond that only becomes tinder for his own glory

Am I so far evolved from lions
Dignity
Strength
Courage
Unquestioned worth
I see it in their pride
I am only able to reason the things they do not care to ponder

But there was a man
His greatness unquestioned
He was unafraid to die
So much that he risked his life everyday
Each new day a blessing
A chance to save mankind
To remind them that the path is peace
Not power
Every bone was broken
But not his soul
That was their mistake
For every blow sounded the drum
And God heard it well
And though the dove could not find him
Still he knew
In him he was well pleased

There were many men
But so too were there women
Waiting for freedom
Waiting in line
For the men came first
And they admired them
They knew who must accept the blows
And though they lived apart
A warrior loves unconditionally
And she knew he would die for her
As he would die for his people
It was enough to know these things

That is how they lived

That is how they lived

That is how they lived

That is how they lived

In mourning always
They knew they were part of a funeral procession
They took turns as pall bearers for their past
They learned to laugh with honor
And cry long enough to live again
For as no storm lives forever
No heart can be broken that is willing to heal itself

If only I knew how

When the moon doesn’t move fast enough for love
I look at its reflection in the ocean
I never let the moment forget whose life it is
And it's not about stillness but instead motion

I opened my eyes too soon
Only in dreams do I take the time to ask questions
Whoever sent it to me said take my time
But in my haste I forgot to remember his suggestions

A mariner across the sand needs no arc
It is the same with a camel as a wooden ship
The life you leave behind is not enough for fear
What matters is the courage to make the trip

Have my virtues changes as I’ve aged?
I cannot believe in what no longer tempts me
And I cannot pretend I have grown stronger
What is easy to resist is not living free

I never want to think we’ve met before
To be reminded of so many others
It only means I’m looking over your shoulder
I can’t paint with everybody else’s colors

Am I myself or what life says I must be?
I know the answer but it depends on the time
Drawing a road in the desert is how we do it
What seems the same to you is not in my mind

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

once my body was on fire
i could burn down anything in my way
the way through the forest was not my concern
only that what I burned down you would never forget
i looked at the hair on my arms
and where they once stood on end because of you
they now lay quietly asking why I set fire to your pride
everything that ran away begged you to come
but still you stood your ground
you thought the way to live was to die like that
at least you knew that what I wanted was worth it
you were too beautiful to live without pain
it was the only way to know you were real
and it was me who decided to tell you

I cannot judge anyone

I cannot say,
you are right,
you are wrong

Unless you hurt someone

The mirror of life
shows me my failings,
as there is no safe harbor;
I no longer wish upon it;
I only ask for forgiveness

I will not tell you how to be a man,
or what it is to be a woman;
these things are not why I live;

I will not tell you how to worship,
or what to believe
these things I do not know

I read the words about peace
and love
and planks in my own eye
and then I know

For whatever man may be different,
and whatever woman may be different,
is no longer my concern

What would you say,
when the one you thought was evil,
weeps and cannot sleep at night;
and the one you thought was good,
smiles and sleeps even during war?

Would you ask them what made them that way?

I do not know who was sent to us

I do not know who confuses us

But when a man kneels,
and is kind,
and is a peacemaker,
and is a lover of all that we are,
then I want to know that man

No matter who he is

No matter his race

No matter his belief

No matter who he loves

Because that man is a better man than me

I can only imagine
Where we all live together
In a world where our eyes see the truth
Instead of the lies we conceive
Where a family loves for love
Instead of shutting doors on one another
Because of perceptions they believe

I can only imagine
The bitterness that dries our eyes
Replaced by tears of joy
Because we no longer grieve
Where the blessings of the wicked
Are not the prayers of the meek
Lying in wait hoping we will receive

Like a rock
Watching the water fall
I can only lay
Like the sand
Watching the ocean surge
I can only erode
Like an island
Watching a hurricane approach
I can only survive
Like a building
Watching the earth move
I can only hope
Like a tree
Waiting for the gale
I can only bend
Like a bank
Watching the river overflow
I can only stand
Like a forest
Watching the fire
I can only burn
Like a deer
Watching a tiger run
I can only die
Like a slave
Watching the whip
I can only bleed
Like a problem
With only bad choices
I can only lose
Like a baby
Without a mother
I can only cry
Like a Father
Without his children
I can only wait

I have more than one life
Instead of all of it being the same
I won’t regret what’s to come
I’ve decided to tell you how much I love you
But first I need sleep on the bottom of a pool

Everything is organized
Every problem, every gift I have
Always together but waiting its turn
I’ve decided to tell you more than you tell me
But first I need to jump out of a boat for a swim

I can do it
I can set the sun
I can draw the tide
I can do it
I can conquer my pride
I don’t care if I say it first
I don’t care if I say it first

Something simple is easy
A kiss a smile some flowers for you
Put them all together and it’s a song
I know it’s true it’s the one I played for you

I’m not going to ask you why
I know why because it’s the same for me
I forgot what it was like to be nervous
I’ve decided that it’s good to not be so sure
But first I need to wring a towel out on my head

I can do it
I can set the sun
I can draw the tide
I can do it
I can conquer my pride
I don’t care if I say it first
I don’t care if I say it first

My dreams can’t imagine anything more than you
And I can’t wait to sleep with you on my mind tonight
If I can’t have you now I’ll wait for another day
But you are always my girl when I turn out the light

I thought about missing you so much
My dreams aren’t really about anything new
But that’s why they are better than a fantasy
Because what I dream about is what I know about you

I can’t imagine anything more real than you
That’s why a dream can never be a memory
The only thing that matters is the way you are
And now I can only dream to forget my misery

I wanted to turn you into a song that made someone cry
It is the only way to make my way to another day
But the melody is only something that I can hear
And the way it makes me feel is the way you make it play

I can give you peace of mind
For a day, maybe a little longer
I’ll be standing right here
I won’t be that hard to find

I know all about your darkness
Why is your sorrow so much stronger
Than the heart that I can hear
How can I make you believe this

It’s only a matter of time before you’ll know
You need more than me to make the sadness go
I didn’t hang the moon I didn’t make the sun rise
But I’ll try to bring back the life in your sad eyes

You haven’t been abandoned by love
It’s just that you can’t feel anything
Like a desert flower without rain
Your beauty a bird without a wing

I saw you smile the other day
You didn’t know I was watching
I wanted to take your picture, but you said
Your heart wasn’t wearing any clothing

Everybody says we shouldn't judge
That's not what I'm doing
It's just I'm not understanding
How I'm loving what believes in nothing