Once again someone writes the word
While others say how absurd!
But I will always remind the world
That one day the freedom flag will be unfurled

Why must this song be heard again and again?
Dylan, Osborne and Bono, a message they send
Beaten down, poets tire of the world's ambivalence
Actions and not words will bring us deliverance

You always have the power and desire to ****
Destroying our world and souls, you never have your fill
You perpetuate your greed and your evil nature
Mankind, once again, weeps and prays for a savior

I don’t want to die anymore for your ambition
We are all chained pathetically to this human condition
You almost succeeded in brainwashing my mind
But in the end you will be surprised to find

That the meek truly have the souls that live
And to the hate makers, the underworld shall give
A flood of fire and pain swelling up from below
And you will suffer for eternity as history will show

I know my judgments are wrong as the book clearly states
But my words are echoed by many as mankind hates
The helplessness that envelops our ultimate destiny
So we sing again and again about your atrocity

You ask who am I to be so angry?
I have not suffered as have many
And I say yes this is quite true
But your lies need to be brought into view

One person with a mind that says “Enough!”
Can spring the world to action and make it tough
On those who lie and hate in the face of our humanity
It is time for all to step away from the cavity

Of fear and bewilderment of men who are wrong
So see the power of truth in another mad song
And let me help you point the finger at my insanity
I’ll save you the trouble of destroying my credibility

For I have the warming machine and drive it for miles
I’m sure this revelation will bring the smiles
To the face of those who say “look at him”
We only **** to protect his need and whim

For living as an American with his right to be free
Why are we wrong to provide him his sanctuary?
But no! I hate what I have become
Soft, detached, spoiled, my mind coming undone

So in my self-loathing I bring judgment with me
I’ll accept unworthiness as a mantle to pillory
But you can no longer contain my mind
I am leaving your ability to intimidate behind

I am no longer impressed by all of your gain
Your power, glory and way of life only causes pain
In the sense that you bring the world no relief
Your consuming and acquiring nature only causes grief

It seems I martyr myself in front of God each day
Judging you and giving comfort to those you slay
I want to delegate it all to someone like Jesus
But it's hard to ignore how you deceive us

Turning the other cheek is for better men than I
It is time for deliverance, we will no longer cry
It is not a message that I reject
It’s just that you do not deserve the respect

Have I given you the moral superiority?
Because I do not speak with God’s purity?
What did you expect from the sheep you control?
Another Gandhi, King or Mandela to foil?

Your inhuman need continues to achieve your aim
I act crazy giving you someone to blame
For deviant behavior that requires your solution
That masks your true self and the evolution

Of your subtle and sophisticated way of survival
Insidiously maintaining your ability to suppress our revival
You see three steps ahead and control the message
You put your arm around me which I know is a presage

Of your plan to gently move me on my way
So you can continue to smile and make us obey
Your message of fear and patriotic chains
The only thing that concerns you is disposing our remains

I am driven by my two children
Of which life awaits to rid them
Of their innocence and wonderful thought
It makes me sick knowing they may be bought

This message has become filled with hate
I must depart before it becomes too late
For me to recapture the joy that is in my heart
So, soon I will begin to start

The recovery of God’s message of love and peace
I will likely allow you to lurk and fleece
Me of my mind, soul and future place
In America, the idea that time cannot erase

Because someone like me will come to the fore
To say “that is wrong,” we will open the door
To a brotherhood of man that respects each human being
And champions freedom, love and is capable of seeing

That those who are too clever for us will always remain
In the world to rule and drive our earthly train
Of money, power and greed for their enjoyment
While we starve and look for gainful employment

So, I say yes, my hate and love is a dichotomy of confusion
But my words have helped me reach a conclusion
I want to be meek and good to all the others
So forgive my glare as I return to my brothers

As I simultaneously judge and forgive
Know that I will never sleep and allow you to live
With impunity in the ways that mankind abhors
My words will always be there to identify the ******

Lest I encourage others to act as you have heard
You must know that I do not reject God’s word
I merely remind that my emotions are weak
I do not invite anyone to hurt as I speak

I have decided in my own arrogant string
That controlling the man in the mirror is one thing
But to allow another to hurt an innocent being
Is just as wrong as the judgment you are reading

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

The common thread,
braided by life,
pain,
suffering,
joy
and love
binds us together as humans;
our differences make it America

Why won’t you fall in love with me again
Forget about the past and the pain
The way it ended was not because of love
It was because I doubted you
Now I know you’re the only one for me

Why are you saying you won’t be my friend
I promise it won’t be the same
The nights we shared are what I’m thinking of
I know you remember them too
Tell me it’s the way I made you feel that you see

Why do you avoid all the places we’ve been
Is it because you can only think of blame
Come down from what you think you’re above
What you found in me is still true
How it was and if you believe, the way it will be

Why would I
cry away my tears when my burning heart begs to be cooled
Why would I
close my eyes to the past when my mind keeps looking
Why would I
pretend I never loved you when you know I'm lying
Why would I
keep tomorrow waiting when yesterday didn't wait for me
Why would I
go to sleep when the dream I once had will never wake-up
Why would I
write songs that mean anything when love stopped caring

We're glad we're the kissing kind
Whether son or daughter
We are the one's who wait
Walking deserts, believing in water

A blue storm builds inside us
We feel it's fight and fury
But we are the one's who can
It is faith that slays our worry

Wherever we are in the knowing
Of what tomorrow may bring
We will continue to live with love
Holding hands at dinner's bell ring

We summon every happy moment
Christmas morning in June
Singing our song of joy and love
Our smiles, the Lord's harvest moon

It is our kind that just as soon believe
There is every miracle under the sun
What another man cannot understand
We see in the glory of our rising son

Rising to meet the day once again
To light our life without grief or malice
The wick of every melting candle, and
Gathering wax inside God's chalice

I'm crossing an ocean of faith
Riding upon the secrets I hide from man
For the vessel is what grace is made of
It is not sea worthy
Nor navigable by sight
I am only drawn towards the other side
I watch wondering of the hold
Will it fill with water?
Will the holes in my spoken words
Reveal themselves to me once again
And though the mariner knows my haste
The waterline draws near
But I see the shoreline before me
Will forgiveness reach for my bow too late?
Will unworthiness drop its anchor too soon?
Spare me this quest
Relieve me of my fears
Will I sink
Or will I land leaving behind my confessions
For they are of no use to me now
You are not moved
And God already knew

In my time of dying
Will I remember love
Or will I remember you?
I wanted to walk with you
Not knowing our fate
I wanted to kiss you
Hoping your lips would wait
Saving themselves
Not for loves sake
But for a mate
Who was as afraid of forever
As he was of never
Knowing the peril that lay before him
When loves fire becomes distant
Revealing the natural light of friendship
And the truth of our life together
The choice to accept our flaws
And our blind emotions
No matter how small
And no matter how great

Will there ever be peace
Or is it only what I am able to ignore?
Is it peace in my world only
Or peace for those too who are poor?
Is it peace for my family
Or peace for suffering in times before?
Will there ever be peace
I don’t know Lord what you have in store

Will there ever be peace
Or is it only when I close my door?
Is it peace for an empty wallet
Or only for those who have more?
Is it peace for a full closet
Or for those with an empty drawer?
Will there ever be peace
I don’t know Lord who you saved it for

I met her somewhere in the cold
We were there for the same reason
Why else would we be there
She approached me expectantly
Did she just want a way home
Or a road to my heart
She was frozen
But I could see all her colors inside
She would melt soon enough
Would there be anything left
Or just a puddle for me to wade in?

She said I made her think deeply
She didn’t like it very much
Still, I would convince her
Then I’d laugh it off
It made her upset
Why did I toy with her like that
She said you’re not serious
Even though you act like it too many times

I told her to stay humble
Let me be your ego
It’s not that difficult for me
I  have enjoyed my own immeasurably
But I can thaw out your doubts
And nobody will know my strength has become yours

But she didn’t like that
She didn’t want that
She refused to consider that
Because that was relying upon a man
And she swore it would never happen again

But as the cold made her teeth chatter
My arms flowed all around her
The thin blood thickened with desire
It was a matter of survival
Use me if you want to live
We can settle up tomorrow
If it was only a moment then I have plenty
I don’t need another one
I don’t have to be the only one
People don’t live like that anyway
Freezing
Thawing
Freezing
Vowing never again
I don’t like that
I won’t consider that
I will refuse that

Still I want to help you
Don’t ask me why
It will only seem to be about me
For what pleases the eye is never selfless
Only possessive
But yes you are beautiful
Why would I want it any other way?

I want to give you flowers
Red lilies from the window atop a windmill
Where your fantasies are made real
If only you would go there with me
The vase though is not what I want
I want the moment in your eyes
The instant when you believe in me

And there they are
Alone by the window, longing for Holland
Is it possible that you have forgotten
It is hard to live life as a movie
To know that this really means that
But  flowers in a darkened room know
They knew because the water was cold

I want to live my life with yours
I would sleep in the other room, a year or more
Flowers have nothing in common with obligation
But only what you believe is what matters
The rest of my life is open
The soil awaits the seeds you hold in your hand
I thought the flowers might remind you

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?

They say no man is happy who is not dead
I say where pain does not exist life will then end
For what is remembered are the scars we wear
Even as our joy is preserved in the faces of our children
I wonder of all the moments spent waiting for a moment
A moment of joy in order to bear the moments that sting
We sleep, wait and relieve ourselves constantly
If but for these times to gather what would it bring?

You ask life to come closer but why can you not approach first?
What eyes of blindness can see without opening to face your fears?
What ill will towards those who hurt you can transform your bitterness
When believing in the unseen is felt in the promise of never-ending years?

What is buried and silent cannot bring wisdom or joy, only wistfulness
The dream said their voices are screaming the answers yet I hear only the wind
Within fantasy’s martyrdom I watch as her beauty strips itself before me
While an awakening rooster crows once more as I deny what reality did send
There is no time except in the instant neither recorded or upon which we wait
Who can deny the courage of a man who finds room for another blemish?
There is no life without pain and no pain without love
Whether it happens as imagined is no matter except what happens before it is finished

Riding on a tank

I saw a dream walking on the sand
Or it could have been a hedgerow road
Wearing a hijab or a Sunday dress
Or a naked body covered in screams
The images laced with the faces,
Of the waiting ones, who for them,
Life is about nature walks
And laughing with their children
But now they only know shock
Nobody told them how to cope
With bombs
And the dreams of despots

I saw them
Their blank faces unable to reach me
Was I their savior
Or the reality of true power
I love my family
They believed in me
But to a stranger, I am a machine
A soldier ready to die
But it wasn’t that way
It’s not that simple
I don’t want to die
And yes, I am afraid

Yes, they do
The memory of a sacred ceremony
Do you have one?
They do
The defeated ones
They have a God
They have blood planted where you stand
You cannot erase a memory
Unless you **** a man
And his family
All of them
Then you can pretend it didn’t happen

We were sent with visions of glory
It is the way of war
But we cannot imagine it
For glory does not provide details
Only parades and salutes
And tears
It does not speak of panic
Of equipment failure
Of battle fatigue
Of another man willing to die for his God
Or his Fuhrer
You didn’t read it in the manual

Void and formless
Light
Oceans
Continents
Life
Vanity
Race
Predominance
Op­pression
Death
Did he set it in motion
Or is he trying to turn it around?

I don’t want to die
But I am about to lose everything I have
My life now is like crossing a freeway
It can be done
You just have to know how to do it
Or just be lucky
Am I wearing the right clothes?
The women are dressed for their God
The Sunday dress
The hijab
They were ready
Except the screams of burning flesh is not a dress

I lost a fight once in school
Now I'm an assassin
A dangerous man
That’s all I need to think about
Killing another man
And I can **** another man
With a gun
Or a knife
They are supposed to fear me
They need to fear me
But I am afraid of myself
Violence is all that matters now
That’s what everyone wants

I walked out on the field
The  crowd was cheering for me
Then my eyes met those of a kneeling man
A brave man playing a violent sport
I nodded to him
But he didn’t stand up
He watched me honored for surviving
For surviving something greater than myself
Right or wrong
And he knew that people hated him
They hated him for not honoring me
But I wasn’t angry
I could only think about those women

It’s more than I could see
I had to trust you were really there
I tried to find something for you
Something to help you find me too

You are hanging onto the wind
Spending time looking at a birds wing
Wondering how it could be so easy
When life for you never was

You lie in bed wondering when
The young girl that had her choices
Would at least be noticed again
I'm telling you I did

Getting older is like musical chairs
Running around for one last love
There’s no time to make them wait
But if I must then my life is for you

I can’t change your past
I can’t, I just can’t my love
But I can tell you it's not you

You lie in bed wondering when
The young girl who grew up
Will find her last true friend
I'm telling you I am

I’m not from that part of the world
But I know a few things about them
They love their children
They mourn their dead
Isn’t that enough to know them well?

His mother’s spirit rose through the box and soil
It once provided shelter and their annual harvest
Every child knows this
Because from where they come
The world is never lied about, only endured

They know no politics, but long for justice
Still a violin sounds sweet as their mother
And they know how to dance
Lightness all around their feet
The air is not as cruel as a man can be

To be common is not a poor man’s burden
To speak the truth plainly is his gift
But he is also high-minded
He has no fear of society
And though he is a slave his mind is not

How many generations must suffer purification
To become a people they must first bleed together
They are the chosen people
The ones their tormentors will curse
Because the past will remind them of who they are

But how will we come learn of our tangled roots
We bury ourselves but fail to see what we share
The soil upon which we walk
Is for life and for death
But what God can raise a man can only bury

the right words
are not a painting
or a picture
though you can hear
what the silence of a picture cannot say
still my breath is not enough
leaving is what was real
and loving you
are what only actions can do
while words
only remind of a lost man who could not stay

Sadness
Weapons of mass destruction
Witness protection program
Mutually assured destruction
Plausible deniability
Too big to fail
Pre-emptive strike
The final solution
Master race
Total Spectrum Dominance
Untouchables
Genocide
Greed
Racism
Sexism
Homophobia
Ca­ncer
Hate

Hope
Blessed are the peacemakers
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
Turn the other cheek
Judge not lest ye be judged
Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone
Sacrifice
Non-violence
Integration
Pacifism
Environmentalis­m
Empathy
Understanding
Tolerance
Equality
Cure
Love

I can’t say how long I’ve been searching
Sometimes I thought I finally found myself
I had a vision of where I might be someday
But to be that person I have to stop looking

I need to know who I am before I go
Every time I relax something happens
The story is never over before it ends
I can’t assume I’m right even if I think so

We spent one night together
Only one night,
like lovers, watching
The heart that melts
And the river that’s made
But it was so long ago
So you tried to fall in love with someone else

I don’t think about being a butterfly
I don’t think about love like a child
So many things happen in the middle of a performance
The curtain came down early but I kept singing anyway

The way you said goodbye sounded like forever
But it’s not an echo that makes a memory
It’s the sound you thought you’d never hear again
Until I whispered the love you thought would never be

I walked so far
And who I was, I left behind
Then I found something new
And now that I’ve lived this life
The time has come to stop
The direction has become a circle

Is there a God in my midst
Is it what I have already met
Or what has already left?

Who could expect more
To walk inside a dream
And then another
To know what you want
To become the dream

But to wake up
Not wondering what you saw
Or if it made sense
But instead knowing
All the pieces were there
Is it time for a new dream
Or to try to live it after it is over?

Can I really cross the sea
When it won't let me be?
The revolution is the dream
But peace makes my soul free
I can't tell time anymore
What was so far has become today
The eagles I once saw
Are no longer leading the way
Hovering over the waters
The spirit still silently waits
The promise is still being kept
But this time it may be too late

What can be said
An entire religion has answered the question
It has been said
It has been lived
But I have not lived it
And I have not said it
What is left is gripped tightly
Held together by life
By responsibility
But is it unhealthy fight for every goal
Is it when it is not who you are anymore
When the challenge is not achievement
But instead sanity in the midst of someone else’s dream
A dream that is no longer worthy of your own
A dream from which you have awaken
A dream that cannot exist within your own

What is real is love
What is real is love
What is real is love

Where is the plan for this
Is it to walk the streets of a crowded city
To meet someone either as scared as you
Or someone who is not scared at all
Do you tell them who you are
What you have said
What has happened to you
But to which face in which you see do you speak
I could smile at buildings
And at a poor woman cleaning the building
Ask her how she feels
But what if she cries
Should I begin where her tears dry?
Should I begin where her problems lie?
Is it her problems that is love?

Where in the night is the woman who lives in another city
Where in the night is the woman who has heard me speak
Where in the night is the woman who loves but cannot trust

I made her that way

And now there is something else
Is it love?
Is it art?
Is it just to live
With memories
Or with hope?

I have to find a way
Find a way to be in my head with a new dream
But the last one was so perfect
And it ended the way it was written

I feel like apologizing all the time
It's mainly 'cause how I am
I get pretty excited
It wears me out
I like to sleep it off
What's the use of staying calm anyway;
from what I can tell life don't care;
Why should I?

It's as if ignoring the worst
is the right thing to do;
I'm not worried what you think
If it's horrible I'm gonna' say it
Pretending I can handle it is just that;
pretending

It's like being in love
and trying to not act like it
How horrible;
to let them know,
no matter what they might say
I wonder if someone will laugh
even though I took it seriously
It's ok
I love you
So what, right?
Ok...
you don't love me
I'm not going to say something
about what you're missing;
how would you ever know anyway?

But,
I know you noticed me
That's what I want to apologize about
You see I came across so confident
And I was
That's the thing
I was
And I am

Every conversation we have;
it's like we're passengers
I want to take you away from that moment;
the one before I walked in
I'm gonna' love you in mine

I'll see you again;
sometime anyway
Yes,
my smile means something;
it's not an obligation,
just take it from me,
it's yours even if I never come back
and it is;
yes,
it is

You can change your life
You just have to begin
Today
Of course, it will take time
Do not dwell on failure
Or mediocrity
It's not a contest
Think instead of today
Then tomorrow
When it becomes today
Do not ask why there is dirt inside a coffee ***
Or how long the drought will last
Don't shout at a cactus because it's not a rose
These things do not matter
And they won't stop you if you will only begin
It is not a matter of comparison
For though what one man can do so can another
But to what degree
And under what condition?
It is only for you to choose to be who you can be
Not what they can be or were
For though we know who was once great
The also knew who was greater than them
And yet they continued on
For they had to live in that way
The way you wish to live
But you must have the courage to begin
To call yourself an artist
Or an athlete
Or a cook
Or a connoisseur
Or a lover of life
And you are
Because you have made that decision
So now go
And learn about your new life
Wake up thinking about it
From now on
But not talking about it
Not right away
Wait until you know you have the will to change your life
And you will know when you are involved
When you want to be a part of it everyday
When the challenge of it means something to you
When you no longer care about failure
But instead you care about creativity
And the love of your new life
And the love of being simple in your new life
Because it need not be sophisticated
Or complex
Or flashy
Or justified
Except to your own heart
For who you have become
Is who you were always meant to be

You should just walk up to the door now
Go ahead, it’s the only way you can know
They will look at you and see stained surfaces
Only the imagination knows what lies below
You cannot convince a stranger of your past
They nod, wondering how much could be true
Everyone knows we have shaped ourselves
A real friend lets you become someone new
Experience is not how we wish to be judged
Our mistakes prefer the silence of blue deep
There is nothing to see if you forget yourself
Or remember if you see what you can’t keep
A life devoted to becoming duty and toil
You are now where birds gather not fallen
Swaying on swells, limbs and suns setting
And legs swollen with life giving pollen

No puedo hablar su idioma, pero
Es fuerte en mi corazón;
Vi a un niño
Y supe entonces que mi corazón era el mismo;
Cruzar la arena o un río es hacer una vida mejor;
Pero ¿es para cambiar la historia o para reclamarla?
¿No hay remedio?
El movimiento del pueblo siempre ha sido así,
Pero lo único que no haremos es el pecado
Y esperan ser perdonados;
Es nuestra decisión y su vida;
Él no pidió ir,
Ahora no puede quedarse;
El río no sabe quién sufre más;
Aún se eleva y cae en el corazón de los indefensos;
La única cultura que tenemos es la que cambia;
Eso es libertad;
El único amor o el odio que es honesto,
Es lo que digo a sus hijos
Para un niño, la vida;
Para su padre, el orgullo;
No soy la ley, en cambio
Soy ligero
Porque elijo la luz;
Pero también soy oscuridad,
Porque me escondo detrás del miedo de estar equivocado,
En vez del valor de la compasión;
La lucha está en nuestro corazón y mente;
Es la forma en que elegimos vivir y morir
Estas personas que cruzan;
¿Por qué están ellos aquí?
Sabemos por qué;
Hay alguien tan fuerte
¿Quién viviría donde no se quieren?
Hay alguien tan débil
¿Quién tendría miedo de sus hijos?

when the pain is so great
they will say anything
how can you know what is true
when the pain is so great
he will say he loves you more than life
or that he planned the operation
because torture is not about truth
but only to relieve the pain
it is not who they are
what they have done
or how they wish to live on after the pain
neither is quiet loneliness God’s blessing
your job becomes who you are
going home a curse
especially if you do not live alone
you cannot understand
why everyone seems to be happy
but do you learn how to live with two choices
to not say anything you wish to say
to feel nothing when you do
without pain or loneliness
or do you instead
say everything
about anything at all
to the one you love
without remorse
not because of pain
or loneliness
but because you are alive
unafraid to be who you are
as you are now at home
at peace
you

I don’t want to learn to live without loving you
Maybe there will come a day when I forget
But that’s not a day I want to regret

I can’t make it happen all the time
I can’t be involved with anyone on stage with me
I need somebody who doesn’t know who I am

Don’t worry about how they look at me
I see it too but waiting is all that seems to matter
It’s my past but do you know how to be tomorrow?

Until I touch you again I can only tell you how it feels
A half full bathtub is how I seem to live
Drowning, breathing, clean, *****… it’s my mind you know?

I’m going to do it; I’m going to make you think about love
But it’s not how it makes you lonely without it
It’s about how it’s not comfortable and how you forgot that

I’m going to draw you in with small talk
Then before I stop the storm will blow the swings from the set
We're not playing the game we played before my love

You're like a rainbow
It seems I never see you
But first the rain must fall
Bowing before your beauty
Reminding it why the sky blue
It's not a *** of gold
Or a place to find
It's what you try to hide
Until your tears are dry
Then you show me a sign
It is more than I can bear
To be apart for so long
Parched without love
Until you finally open up
And show me that you care
You wondered why I look
But I wonder about each cloud
Will it be you I finally see
Or will it be another night
Where whispers cry out loud?

What flaw exists
In the presence of your incredible smile?
What blemish exists
In the presence of your creations?
What loneliness exists
In the presence of your children's love?
What fear exists
In the presence of God's revelations?
You know the answer
Breathe
You are beautiful

When I hear your voice
I start to climb the mountain
I can see the breath I lose
It gathers in valleys below
Green meadows of cool air

I will never hold you back
You will be as free as alone
You won’t notice me at all
But if you ever need me
I will waiting for you

I’m not everything
There is more to life
And if you find it
Then you can share it
So I may learn from you

Sometimes you worry
You think I don’t love you
Why would I let you fly away
The window was always open
I never closed it behind you

We are all wise
You are no different
But you are not confident
Do you think your experience is not real?
You can help someone

We all need a friend
You are no different
But you cannot be alone
Do you think a new person is who you are?
You should find yourself first

We are all sad
You are no different
But you won't tell anyone
Do you think they do not care?
Give them a chance to help you

We are all the same
You are no different
But you try to be like everyone else
How is it that you are the same but still different?
That is the riddle you must solve

He was everything you want
Naked sincerity
Raw honesty
The vulnerability of a baby bird in its nest
And it unnerved you
There must be something wrong
That's what you thought
But you never loved an artist before
And it made you realize
You aren't ready for what you want

The tree of life
We search for it
But first we must find the garden

What we seek
Is not a myth
Except in hearts that can only harden

Stripped of bark
By my own hand
My roots dig deep seeking their pardon

Birds find a branch
But it is only time passing
They always leave when skies darken

The wind blows
It chooses my direction
There is no reason in my life’s burden

Though the rain pours
The soil softens below
As you remember how to grow once again

Poetry
The voice of the human heart
When we cannot paint
or sing
The words bring us together
Though we are apart
The confessions of a sinner
and a saint
Silently staring at you
But you can hear the bells ring
For what I say this day
You already know to be true

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

No further words are necessary
What our eyes say will be enough
The harvested past sustains us
Insatiable to our appetites
How we react is experience
How we feel is knowledge
How we live is what we choose

I want you to know how I feel
In the silence of the same dream
Like seeing your child again
In the laughter of a grandchild
Going back in time
That is why they cry
This is what we know

It’s what I thought anyway
There was a time when I knew
You loved me like no other
I didn’t know about the gift
The gift of someone who could love
But that someone was in a movie
And I’m here reading the credits

A bird sitting on the end of an arrow
When it fell your wings knew what to do
You liked being carried along for the ride
You learned to fly when your courage grew

But was that really you?
Riding the wave
Whatever its direction
You needed to feel the floor drop
Before you finally felt brave

You can do it now
You can know what was forever true
You used to watch it happen to someone else you knew

You can learn what matters now
You can find out before the day gets too late
But you have to you fly in skies that aren’t always blue

The sword is covered with all our blood
The folks who swing it don’t worry about their aim
We spend our times frying eggs and looking down
But we don’t have to lose our pride or take the blame

A bird sitting on a freight train
When it set out you didn’t care where it went
You only believed in man-made things that never die
But when it stopped you knew which message had been sent

You can do it now
You can remember what they told you
Or you can decide if you want to be someone new

You can learn what matters now
You can find out before the night becomes early
But you have to fly in skies that are sometimes cloudy

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

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

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

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

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

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

I want to give you something
that you cannot give back
A walk in the park wondering
if you love me enough to try
You will remember and that is why
Something to compare is what I am

You can’t give back you and I
A moment that only we know
Things we said and felt
You cannot take off and return
Chains and rings are golden
But a man cannot forge love that way

Where you saw me standing alone
Do you remember where it was
Yes you do because you were there too
It was not a church or a celebration
It was on a street where people wonder
if you see them or your reflection in a window

The door to this prayer is out of reach
I spoke to you many times as I thought about it
To every possible thing you could say I listened
But what I thought of wouldn’t be you
I tried to build a sand castle made of fantasy
Instead you were a wave answering to the moon

To be proud of survival drowning in regret
It’s the way a loner thinks of the night
Watching others who seem to be happy
But the stars are so different to me
Neither is my heart when it thinks of you
Something for you to always keep of mine

I'm not the answer
I'll always be the question
I'm not the reason
I'll always be the act
I'm not love
I'll always be heartbreak

As you take shelter
In a world of fantasy
Admire the rhyme
And the alchemy
But if you must know
Like the spoken word
It is empty
You cannot see what you heard
An uninhabitable furnace
Of blistering truth
And beauty
Neither to comfort or soothe
A cross of pain
The nails are hammered
Into each painting
As reflection is fractured
A dream
Or deep meaning
Is not a home
Or place for living
It exists
At the dreamer’s behest
For experience
And if you choose to be blessed
Then take a picture
From the nail
But as it is removed
It reappears to avail
Another seeker
Of love
Of common ground
To be free of
Isolated pain
In order to know
That like them
I sleep in the rain
Yet it is no way to live
Each day my mind returns to me
But when we meet again
You will know what I set free

It’s so hard to see you now
I finally know what to say
If only I knew it then
But my heart was so wary

The end of the road
Is not where I want to live
The way it all began
Is the memory I carry

I would have said kiss me now
But the battle in my mind
Wouldn’t tell my heart how
I built the wall I finally climbed

Now I want to say I want you
But you can’t see me
You have your own life
There’s no one else to marry

But you’re still my girl
And if you didn’t know
You do now
You do now

I would have said love me now
But the battle in my heart
Was not enough to win
There’s only regret I can find

Crying for yesterday
And if I didn't know
I do now
I do now

Deep inside your darkness
A match flickers in love with itself, creating
moon glow halos around every heart beat

Does light matter to you once you swallow it whole?
What lives on the inside reveals itself only by sound
Except silent tears are louder than even joyful screams

Emotional tracked mirrors melting into your eyes
Haunted hallways blackened phosphorus faded to memories
But without my light your darkness finally set itself on fire

You decided nobody should find comfort in a lost soul
There are traces of love but you had to find them yourself
You don't need me my love so I will find my own way home

The love we gave to you
The more you gave back
That’s why you didn’t leave any for you

The smiles we gave to you
The more you gave back
That’s why you didn’t leave one for you

You always tried to save us from ourselves
You emptied your heart until it was dry
But when it was time to save yourself
We were the ones with tears left to cry

The life we gave to you
The more you gave back
That’s why you didn’t have any left for you

You always tried to save us from ourselves
You emptied your heart until it was dry
But when it was time to save yourself
We were the ones with tears left to cry

What are tears
What is anger
What is joy
What is it

Dare we make the trade
From one feeling to another
Dare we take a break
From horror to happiness

Everything is fleeting

Take time to care
Take time to share
Take time to smile

You have that right

You have to be willing
To have your heart broken
You have to be willing
To hate me someday
If you want my love today

You already know I’m willing
To have my heart broken
You saw that in my smile
But why wait until someday
When we can find love today

I want all of you
That’s why I say these things
If you hold back
I’ll know it
And then someday
Will be today

You can’t love a man halfway
You can’t just wait and see
Do you want to ride your fears?
Or do you want to ride with me?

I can see it’s what you want
You’re tired of being afraid
You don’t know where to start
Why don’t we begin today?

I want all of you
That’s why I say these things
If you hold back
I’ll know it
And then someday
Will be today


Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved. Mark Lecuona

Whatever burden to be borne has been met
And passed along under an assumed name
But one that we all know
For those whom Christ declared to always be with us
Must live in shallow graves where gardens can never grow

It was only his promise that was kept
But the history of man must come first

Whatever suffering to be endured has been felt
And passed along by dignity that faces the wind
But the curse is the silence
For those whose bones line the tombs of Kings
Must never know who gained glory from violence

It was only as it was known all along
All that must pass is to wait our turn

Whatever peaceful moment has been granted
And squandered by the guiltless scribes of history
Lives inside stillborn dreams
For those who would never be known to you
Once walked as you do in heartless migrant streams

It was only for the weary that it was kept
What could be more worthy than hope lost?

I want to open the door
I want to see you standing there
I have a pocket full of keys and a mouth full of please
But they're not working like before

You seem better when we're apart
I don't know where to start
I don't want to open the door if you're gonna leave
Am I on the right or wrong side of your heart?

I want to talk about trust
I want to talk about forgiveness
I have a dream full of tomorrow and a heart full of sorrow
But you said it's not about us

You seem better when you're with him
I don't know where he's been
He doesn't know what I know about your life
Will I be a lost or found memory as a friend?

I know my anger
But it is not the same as yours
How I bleed on the inside
Is the weakness that I must endure
But what of another eye?
Is this the vision which you must purify?
To accept another blow
Is to see beyond the storm that is the sky
To what end is love
And who scoffs at this except justified rage?
What will history record
In a book that begs not for another page?
It is in your hands
What choices were spoken of the means?
The strength to die for love
Was the path he chose for softened dreams

The expanse of sand in the desert
Like mortar between bricks
Except the bricks are the people
Desolate but vital
The evolution of understanding
But for a man whose life changed without warning
It is the distance between meaning
And existence that is now most clear to him
Within every grain of sand is a reminder
Of a happier time
When sleep was meant for rejuvenation
And not for despairing
When a new day was for happiness
And not desperation
There is no turning back as every direction is now the same
The crossing is only about movement
For lessons have already been learned
It is now a time for steel to be bent
For our nature is always the same
And if we must live with it then we must suffer because of it
But would you wait to feel the peace you have now
Would you wait until it is gone
For the relief you would feel is upon you
It is inside you
Now
Enough to dance upon the roof of a car
Or quietly read with your child
Sweet relief
Sweet blessings
Unless you must cross the expanse to find it again
And while you remember that you once had it
It will not be until you walk on glass
Glass that does not cut but instead marks time
From here to there
Sand that becomes a liquid
Liquid that becomes glass
Glass that reflects the past
And reveals the future
And upon it you must walk
And through it you must pass
Until the time comes that your nature has changed
And your own forgiveness has been accepted
By you

Your calling
Is not mine
What unseen force
Controls your mind?
Is it you
Or something else?
You live in certainty
But what if it’s false?
Whose will
Shall be done?
Yours?
Or the one?
From what revelation?
From what language?
From what prophet?
Can truth assuage
A free man?
Even if you are right
I cannot walk as you do
I am bathed in my own light
There are many paths to God
To each his own way
The glory is grace
And not how we obey
You cannot know
What I receive
You cannot know
What I believe
For in a quiet moment
Where my heart beats alone
The message is heard
And to it I will atone
My conscience speaks to me
There is no confusion
The insistence of a charlatan
Is an unwelcome intrusion
You have spoken
And I have heard
Depart from me now
You may leave the word
It will become part of me
To what end I do not know
I thank you for your concern
But now you must go

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