First off my friend
Let me begin
By saying I ain't no poet
Just a fool with a pen

Now with those pleasantries
Out of the way
Let me proceed to say
What I need to say

I've written different poems
On different subjects, different matters
Some soft as a kitten
Others mad as a hatter

Every now and then
I stand on the serious ledge
But more often than not
I fall right off of the edge

Like I said before
I'm just a fool with a pen
Drooling from my smile
Cross eyed in my grin

Separating in rhyme
All the boys from the men
Cackling in crazy
From the beginning to the end

Thanking my lucky stars
Rhyming comes so easy
Like a trip to Venus or Mars
Half baked brain and over queasy

Like I said before
When all of this began
I really ain't no poet
Just a fool with a pen

I swear I'm not a Zombie
As some of you might think
I'm just a man without a plan
Surviving on too little sleep

I stumble along as if nothing's wrong
Through my daily day to day
Exhausted by the fact that I
Spend most my nights awake

Without much thought my pillow talks
Loudly in my ear
Discussing demands and other plans
Daring me to persevere

Where in that state I lie awake
Mostly from concern
Of what is next to fill my head
As the world around me turns

Making me as some might think
One of the walking dead
But I swear I'm not a Zombie
Just a man in need of rest

My Father would have a fit
If I didn't treat others with respect
If I thought myself, better than them
Or didn't have a good hand to lend

He taught me about the dangers of wrong
And how in a crowd not to follow along
The difference between, needs and wants
Showed me how to be, truthful up front

My Father would have a fit
If I did anything less than this
When it comes to what I said I would do
Or what, I really meant to

Did his best to raise me upright
Knowing what it takes today to be kind
Not to turn tail and run
But when evil comes, face it head on

My Father would have a fit
If I knew what was right and didn't do it
If I lost out on lessons learned
Or took advantage of what I didn't earn

He wasn't just here to be a friend
But a conduit, a means to an end
And all that I was taught
Like his dad before him, I too would pass along

If I had to guess
Your T.D.S.
Has gotten the best of you

The orange and gold
Has twisted your soul
And knocked a few screws loose

It seems that good reason
Is now out of season
And sanity laid to rest

That little blind spot
Is now all that you've got
Filling your empty head

Where you can't see the lies
Coming from every side
Pulling desperation in its wake

Not knowing you are
In this game with no cards
And the powers that be hold the ace

With all of this said
If I had to guess
T.D.S. is barreling through

There won't be anything left
When all is done and said
And that my friend is the truth

So far away
From where we used to be
What can you say about the good old days
That we've put out to sea

In their own wake, there they'll stay
Drifting haphazardly
Our yesterdays, pounded by waves
Of fading memories

We made the best of it
Both port and starboard sides
In our youth, well-equipped
For those, the best of times

The ship we once anchored to
Gave way with rusted chains
Now out at sea in waters deep
The long gone good old days

You say to yourself you lack courage
But what is courage all about
Getting up every day and making your way
Through life's troubling sights and sounds

Or standing up for the less fortunate
Turning and calling them friend
It takes a lot of the courage you've got
Every time you make amends

It takes courage to live your convictions
To everyday do what is right
Whether or not you're put on the spot
Be it in or out of sight

Courage when you stand up for the truth
In times filled with lies
Courage to do what you need to do
Courage to be a light

Never say that you lack courage
Even the brave are sometimes afraid
Take what you have and move past that
Facing yet another day
With courage along the way