I never realized we were a thing
My guess is it wasn't clear
Till what we had up and left
On that fateful day you disappeared

There's not a thing that's worth repeating
Out here now on my own
And if you don't mind me telling you something
I don't much like being all alone

Everything thing we had together
Now doesn't mean a thing to me
What really seems to matter
Is in how we used to be

There are things in life you can't control
Still, you do your best to make it through
I only wish at the time that I had known
I had a thing or two for you

...and apparently still do

You can be a man of peace
But there will come a time
When you find the least of these
Must stand up and fight

If you let a world of bullies
Continue to beat you down
You have the right to stand and fight
Pick yourself up off the ground

For far too long with time drawn
Taken advantage of
It's your turn now to win a round
******* tight the boxing gloves

Backed into a corner
Up against the wall
When you find no options left
That's when you make the call

To come out of this swinging
Who can really blame
You for any reason
When you up and loudly proclaim

That you're a man of peace
And hold tight the right
When you find that there's a need
To stand up and fight

Went out early morning
Hit the road and stuck out my thumb
A passerby gave me a ride
From that moment on, I was gone

Tripping across the great divide
From one point to the next
I'd call those to say adios
But do they know I've even left

Up and down the side of mountains
Back and forth along the coast
When you've no idea of where you're going
There's the slimmest chance that you'll get lost

Keep in mind I find no hurry
As I watch the world scurry about
Caught up in their plans and worries
Out of control in the fast lane of doubt

Not really sure how long it's been
Could be weeks, months, or years
Since the day I found my way
To make it away from all life's cares

There's so much to find when peace of mind
Decides to make a run
As day after day, out of the gate
From here to there, sticking out my thumb

if we only could see
each other's needs
then maybe we'd have
a bit more sympathy

if we focused on those
who feel all alone
love them and hug them
giving them hope

then we could start
in the softening of hearts
i'm sure it would work
if we all played our part

focus our help
on somebody else
seek others needs
more than ourselves

we really should know this
giving hope to the hopeless
stand up for what's right
make it our fight

open our hearts
to each other's needs
then maybe we'd have
a bit more sympathy

I take my words
And write them down
A desperate need to be heard
But too afraid, to say them out loud

My inner thoughts
My deep desires
Are displayed on page
Like a modern-day town crier

I hide behind
This shaky pen
That seems to have a willingness
At times to do me in

Giving away my thoughts
My hopes and desires
Writing what I ought not
Setting page on fire

In which said words
This pen delights
Desperately needing to be heard
While laying them all out in rhyme

Growing up in the back woods
Not a single one of us knowed
That we were in any way dirt poor
All because we hadn't been told

A family that survived on shared love
In tattered clothes outworn
Us kids lived for adventure
While Mama was living on hope

Never once were we burdened
By the constant pull of T.V.
There was no way for that to happen
Without electricity

Surviving day and night on the light
From both the Sun and the Moon
Relying on the family shared fiddle
When we needed to hear some of our favorite tunes

A family that survived on shared love
In tattered clothes outworn
Us kids lived for adventure
While Mama was living on hope

With no time in life to be caught bored
Living off the blessings we got
You might think we were dirt poor
...I'm thinking not

I watched my Daddy drink
Until he drank himself to death
Now my children look at me
And wonder if I'm next

Some people learn from others
In the mistakes that they have made
Some pull back the covers
And choose the same tired way

Could it be that it is easier
To follow the well-worn path
Less stress yet a lot more dirt
To talk about in the end

I saw it all but never listened
To my own heart felt advice
No matter how often it was given
Paid no attention to the signs

Some call it out as a curse
Passed from one generation to the next
The only thing that could be worse
Is to have this dropped in my children's laps

As they watch their Daddy drink
Until I drink myself to death
Can't stand the way they look at me
Wondering how much time I have left