"Watch that lady. She has been standing there for as long as I remember. Still waters hold no treasure that's why ocean flows with unwavering current. Watch her closely she's obsessed with her phone; changing display pictures forever...  smart girls change fortune"
-Matthias Pantaleon, [Act Like A Champion]

Seven men gunned down
Two taken captive at the foot of the hills
One cooling off in the belly of the beast
Seven more buried in unmarked graves

Alpha tango, alpha tango
Black hawk is down
Do you read me
Black hawk is down

We are neck deep in enemy's line
Chances of survival are slim
More men will be bury unceremoniously
To retreat is not an option

Alpha tango, alpha tango
This is the last man standing
In the pool of his own blood
Confirm you read me

Enemy forces are advancing fast
There are few choices to make
Except to do the unthinkable
And die with the enemies

Alpha tango, alpha tango
My daughter will be one in two weeks
I wouldn't be there to buy her gifts
Grant me but this wish to give her a bundle of flowers

Tell my wife I'll die
Thinking warmly of her
Send roses to my mother
Tell her I love her till the end

Alpha tango, alpha tango
This soldier is asking your permission
To die for a just cause
Over and out!

they want to strip me of my selfhood
They want me to talk like them,
write like them and even snore like them

It may be the norm for some folks,
no disrespect but not me
I cannot accept the script they wrote for me
I write my own story and despite what they
may think of me; I owe them no apology

And whether they like it or not,
I will still be like this tomorrow
and if I die, at least I have given them
something peculiar to remember me with

© Matthias Pantaleon

Let's build a world
of laughters
and choral singing
against a realm
of malice
and suicide bombing

© Matthias Pantaleon

I did not beg to be loved by you
Your affection itch every ounce of me
I'll do well knowing that I'm not yours
Gracious omen it would spell for me

You will do well to keep your distance
I do not wish to come across your footprints
Even if it's the only way in the world
I rather stay here and burn cold like ghost

I don't see us sharing the same fate
There is nothing in the future you propose
I see me standing alone, there is no you, no us
Just the distance between us and the fog ahead

I
know it
from the start
you were looking
for a reason to leave me
now, you find one - take it

I was born at night tall like swagger cane
A Friday's child - delivered with muse
That was fortunate enough for my parents
Oral poetry poured plentiful in the morning

That's what Saturdays are good for
Teachers worn their loincloth lose
As wine and fish soup flowed at ease
While farmers set out to burn in the sun

Now you'll understand why I chose not to be
a Saturday's child, I dread to be a farmer
Heavy drinking may not be my fate as well
It sure sets the mood right for what's right

I took sides with either of the two vices
I pitched my tent where grace and virtues lies