You know what's going to be weird
You know what's going to be strange
When this heart in me takes its final beat
And from this place I pass away

Will it be I know that I've died
Will it be "****" you've arrived
Will I struggle a bit with the jest of it
Or will I take it all in stride

Will there be someone there to meet me
A marching band on hand to greet me
Will St. Peter set me down gently
And show My Good, my Bad, and my Ugly in a movie

Or will I wake up to the burning flames
With the demons all chanting my name
Will I realize I've made a mistake
And when I do will I regret it too late

Or will I spend a few days off in Limbo
With the angels calling out numbers for Bingo
With Heaven above and Hell down below
And me stuck here in the middle

Just a few thoughts the closer I get
To the ledge that is best known as death
Maybe instead of me inkling in all this thinking
I should do something about it instead...

i once wrote a poem
that touched both our hearts
way back when
we were in love

so much so
with the feeling then
that i'd love to have
it all back again

where i pledged my life
to you in rhyme
from the here and now
through eons of time

that's where you said
you loved me back
in your very best
poetic finesse

two lovers caught up
inside of the rhyme
when i wrote a poem that time
of your love and mine

As a child he played
In the woods and in the fields
Army being the game
**** or be killed
All just pretend
Nothing was real
It's how children play
Not a big deal

With a father there
To encourage the son
Enjoy your youth
While you're still young
For a day will come
When it all comes undone
Where you see life as it is
For most if not some

Life pulls at his youth
Tugs at his heart
Needing something to do
For country and God
The Army calls him
He gives them a nod
Where training is tight
As the day is long

The father prays
The son will stay safe
From the folly of youth
To the world of today
For whatever is thrown
Or shot his way
As his son goes
Into the world to save

Orders for him
Afghanistan
Where he'll go to fight
The Taliban
With guns and bombs
No longer a game
Thankful he has
A father that prays

The father in his prayer room
A war room of sorts
Cries out to God
For a righteous course
One that his son
Can walk upon
For safety's sake
And Kingdom come

The battles they wage
Both hand in hand
The son as a soldier
The father a praying man
Until the son
Is safely back home
In the arms of the father
Where he belongs

I have this dream nightly
Of Rubber Chickens chasing me
I try and hide but still they find
Me amid obnoxious screams

With flopping heads that flap right and left
Where sanity is kept I do my best
As Rubber Chickens chase me nightly
Through my dreams on deserted streets

With no weapon in hand with which to fight them
Not even a carving knife
If you do a fact check you'll see they're already dead
So there's no fear for their lives

Sometimes the dream's in sloooow mooootion
Like running through fields of quick sand
Sometime's I'm the Rubber Chicken
Sometime's they're frightened man

If anyone out there interprets dreams
Can you tell me what all of this means
As I'm being chased nightly
By Rubber Chickens through the streets in my sleep

Take a picture of me
And put me in the right frame of mind
Preferably in color
I'm fading in black and white
8x10 would be alright
A wooden border would suit me just fine
Take a picture of me
And put me in the right frame of mind

Can you tell me my friend
How long has it been
At least 30 years or more

I still think of you
Being one in their youth
As I have yet to pull that cord

Pictures inside my mind
Are stuck in that time
Freeze dried yet warm to the soul

Friends from the past
In a die have been cast
Where they never grow old

Those that we see
In our world of daily
Gray with us toe to toe

Though it may be
Done gradually
A fact that we all know

There is never a need
For a mirror to see
The season in life that we comb

But it's the one's that we miss
Still inside of our heads
That never seem to grow old

The good part about this
Is we still exist
In their minds for all that we know

Running footloose and free
Through their memories
The way we were before time took its toll

Where days became years
Turning our age old fears
From our does into our don'ts

If we hold tight to that
With the time we have left
Perhaps like them we'll never grow old

How much can one man bend
Before he breaks
How much can one man take
For heaven's sake

How much can one man do
Do you have a clue
How much can one man take
For the sake of truth

How much can one man see
Of life's tragedy
How much can one man take
Before he breaks free

I'm like a knot
in a hollow tree
With decay and rot
hidden just beneath
Which proves God can use
even the likes of me
One like a knot
in a hollow tree

I still have some branches  
with their share of green
Showing there's a chance
of life left in me
No matter how hard
the knot in the tree
Proof God can use
even the likes of me

I could draw out and measure my words
Paint them a colorful hue
Capture a couple love birds
Have them whistle a tune

Open and invite into mind
The beautiful essence of spring
But what good is a love poem
If it does not fill a need
What good is a love poem
If it doesn't come free

I could hold and rhyme with a rose
Remove all the pain of its thorn
Speak out loud in a crowd of love's hope
In a world that is lost and forlorn

State all of the facts
Of exactly what love can do
But what good is a love poem
If it doesn't ring ture
What good is a love poem
If it's not inspired by you

I asked this girl if she knew how to swing
She said like a monkey in a tree
I asked her what exactly do you mean
She said here, hold my thingamajing

Before you get wound up accusing of me
This ain't nothing of what you might think
There ain't no ***** inside of this deed
All she has me holding is her thingamajing

Sometimes I get restless and can hardly think
Counting off  more than my share of sheep
Then I remember what's always with me
As I unpack my thingamajing

For those in the know, know what I mean
Both high and low and all points between
They say finders keepers while losers weep
Which makes me glad I have a thingamajing

By a hot sandy beach or a cool mountain stream
Take a wild guess as to what's swinging free
It's not only her but also it's me
We're both hanging out with our thingamajings

From the moment of conception
To along life's wayward path
God knows all the steps you've taken
And all that you have left

With a love that's pure and generous
A promise for your soul to keep
That runs throughout the ages
In His mercy deep

The only thing to keep you away from it
Is to reject the free gift he gives
The Son crucified for all mankind
So all mankind may live

In the presence of his glory
For all eternity
The way life is meant to be
In His mercy deep

We can recieve a taste of Heaven
While here on this earth
Break the bond death has on us
With Jesus as the cure

It's not that complicated
All you need do is believe
Satisfied with true life
In His mercy deep

Every time that I mention
The good times they are missing
These Young Whipper Snappers get bored

You'd think with me talking
That I was speaking Martian
Them thinking me out of my gourd

They can't fathom a time
With T.V. black and white
Where all day only three channels played

And at the days end
They'd play the anthem
With the rest of the night being the ant race

Or of a telephone
Rotary with dial tone
Where the calls were cheaper at night

These Young Whipper Snaps
Have no idea
How good we had it in life

With no microwave
To heat up a plate
It was all done slow on the stove

Like warm milk at night
To help you sleep tight
That's a pleasure that they'll never know

Or going 90 in Dad's car
With kids as wild as we were
Jumping back and forth between seats

The only need for restrant
Was a roll of duct tape
Or a trunk that's at least three kid deep

Where moms kicked us outside
Saying see you at dinner time
And you better stay out of trouble

If I need you before then
And you hear the bell ring
Your **** best be home on the double

With information overload
Today's fads come and go
All in the blink of an eye

Life these day's is in the crapper
For these Young Whipper Snappers
With no idea of what is a good time

I remember when it all went wrong
When the waitress said your order's up
Our fill of love wasn't quite enough
Inside heartbreak resturant

She had handed menus to the both of us
No pictures there and rather sparse
We both knew we both had come
To wine and dine on the best of love

While the cooks in back mentioned the fact
At the appetizers we started with
And that the hunger pangs were built to last
If that's all that we planed to have

As the night went on we more than fought
As the table turned on lessons learned but never taught
Order's up, all for naught
Inside heartbreak resturant

What comes next
For the hedonist
When the pleasures in life are gone

When happiness
On its own behest
Quickly moves south in the pond

When all but your name
In life tends to change
Replaced by the aches and pains

Where what used to be fun
All comes undone
And is barely remembered in dreams

What happens when
They lose the bet
On how long happiness sticks around

When they open the door
On no more than bored
And they are handed a rusty crown

When the pinnacle of pleasure
Is feeling under the weather
No longer on the A-list

Where you thought all was fine
Till the day of your dying
Goodbye fun to the hedonist

In these days
Of protest craze
We sit or stand
When we don't get our way

We scream and shout
**** and pout
Without even knowing
What it's all about

We cry foul
Take a knee
Burn a building
Steal a T.V.

Guess it's easier
To protest
When we don't ***** our hands
In the real mess

If there's something there
That we don't like
Why not try
To change hearts and minds

Instead of running around
Pitching a fit
Which never made
Much sense to it

I've got an idea
That we could try
Not sure how well
This will fly

Instead of beating our chests
In protest
Why don't we do
Something bout it

Have you ever stood on the edge of night
And wondered at the Milky-way
Gapping at it wide eyed
Without a word to say

Does it make you feel small
And insignificant
Out amongst the stars
Where the universe is kept

The vastness of it all
Clearly on display
Have you ever stood at night
And wondered at the Milky-way

She leaves a trail of salty tears
From over here to over there
Crying out like a work of art
In the shape of a broken heart

Before she drifts off into sleep
She prays the Lord her soul to keep
As her thoughts wander off
In the shape of a broken heart

The decisions that she makes
Has a lot to do with how she breaks
Full course meal or a la carte
In the shape of a broken heart

In one hand she holds count
But refuses to hold it out
Tender life that's lost its spark
In the shape of a broken heart

She tries her best to bring a change
The hand that bites and darkens days
She's left with less while given more
In the shape of a broken heart

I am just an echo that
You sometimes holler at
Expect from me a response you see
I sometimes holler back

There's a chasm that's between
Where you and I are meant to be
Though all we know is the echo
That you have made of me

A bright new future on display
At the start of each new day
In the spoken word of yes I can
With the name of Gunner Van

Bringing hope to us all
This precious gift wrapped so small
A heart beating thunder he's sure to have
This child of wonder, Gunner Van

He'll grow up strong he'll grow up tall
Hand him the world he'll take it all
There's not a word that can not be said
About the love we have for Gunner Van

Allow me the pleasure
Of all you go through
Beyond all measure
Of giving to you

If you're hidden in darkness
I'll be the light
If your dreams become hopeless
I'll come to mind

If you're ever caught
Without something to say
I'll be the thought
That takes you away

Whenever you're lonely
I'll be the one
You'll feel like you know me
As you do your home

If ever in life  
You make a mistake
I'll be the pencil
That helps you erase

On the days that you lose
All of your hope
I'll be the knot
At the end of your rope

If you ever wonder
Or feel like questioning why
On the days that it thunders
I'll inquire of the sky

When life gets to hetic
And it gets hard to breathe
When all that you're left with
Is all of your needs

I'll be the need...

Life is an adventure
Brand new every day
If you take with you that attitude
As you are on your way
You never know the comes and goes
As you step foot outside
Life is an adventure
Relish the surprise

Life is and adventure
You take at every turn
Where you find around the corner there hides
Lessons to be learned
In every situation
In every give and take
Life is an adventure
You make along the way

Life is an adventure
Pull the curtain to the side
Let the darkness escape or get out of the way
Either or, let in the light
From all that you see to the farthest of reach
You need to make up your mind
Life is an adventure
Let you adventure shine

Have you ever committed a sin
Again and again and again

Where it becomes a part of who you are
Scar upon scar upon scar

You started out asking forgiveness
Feeling sorry like nobody's business  

Until it knocked on your door once again
And you let it come waltzing back in

Hating the time that you give it
Wondering why you can't quit it

You battle it so many times
Is this fast forward or is it rewind

Like a comfortable recliner set up in the den
You start to relax around the same sin

Thank goodness there's no film at six
Showing the shame of this over used sin

Like a cancer that clings to the bone
A sin that won't leave you alone

Wretched man that I am
Who can save me from this over used sin

Thanks be to God, who delivers me
Through Jesus Christ who sets me free

it's just another day on the road
just like yesterday and the day before
if you stop to think a minute
you might live to regret it
just another day don't you know

just another day in the wake
of this day being like any other day
if you are the first to greet it
or the very last to meet it
don't you know it's just another day

just another day of do's and don'ts
where you say you will but in the end you won't
with this all set aside
you find not on your life
just another day don't you know

just another day on parade
as all the clowns around try and make their way
one way or another
up one side and down the other
don't you know it's just another day

I'm thinking more often these days
Of childhood memories
Days spent at home with a wonderful mom
Ones that I will always cherish and keep

Days unafraid with you here to save
This child at the first sign of trouble
Never to condemn with the ever loving hands
That could only be held by a mother

There to play games the best in playmates
From hide and seek to peek-a-boo
Training me right to be the man you now find
Nothing for me that you wouldn't do

Now in a home you and your thoughts alone
Unclear of the secrets they keep
As I bend near, whisper into your ear
Mom do you remember me

There's an ocean of thoughts that we float on
A sea as wide as it's deep
Where age takes its toll on the weariest of souls
Along with lifes memories

From early age on to now fully grown
Those memories are what I cling to
In my heart they are kept where no words need be said
But if they did it would be I love you

I do not strive
Nor wonder why
At what point in life
I'll be remembered by

Just in my quest
Of daily steps
I do my best
God does the rest

There's a battle that some people fight
When old age hits rock hard the pavement
It's weapon of choice you will find
Is that of sleep deprivation

You lay awake in the middle of night
Tossing and turning on the edge of your dreams
Insomnia being its battle cry
As your white flag is torn apart at the seams  

With your mind like a kite in the breeze
Flying this way and that in your lack of sleep
Too far behind the enemy's lines
To find the help you seek for your wandering thoughts need

While you'd love to sneak back over the border
Into the comfort of a soft feather bed
You trudge through the fields of disorder
Stepping on mines blowing up in your head

A battle that rages on nightly
The enemy ever so sneaky and sly
In whose grip you will stay as you lay awake
With insomnia as its battle cry

Don't Blame God...
For the troubles you go through
He has a love more than enough
For the likes of me and you

Don't blame God...
For the shedding of your tears
He's here to wipe each sorrowful eye
And quietly calm the fears

Don't blame God...
Every time the wind blows South
You might be the breeze that causes these
Catastrophe's to mount

Don't blame God...
When others do and you still don't
Seem to have their needs met
Remember a need is not a want

Don't blame God...
When it's clearly not his fault
To set the blame simply state your name
More often times than not

Don't blame God...
For the lack of what you have
When you tend grab more than you give
You can only blame yourself

If everything was perfect
And life was but a breeze
I'm not sure exactly
How that would feel to me

If life was but a song
That we all could hum along
I'm not sure how right that'd feel
If something was not wrong

If everything was right side up
And not a thing was upside down
Would we ever really know
When the good times roll around

Can we take this opportunity
To realize what we should know
How things would not feel right
If something was not wrong

If you're late coming to this party
In the perfection that you seek
How on earth can you be happy
If you never have a need

I believe they both go hand in hand
Never travel far alone
Because right would not feel right
If something was not wrong

Do you find yourself playing church
More often these days than not
Going through the motions
Only shaking hands with God

Working on your salvation
With religious bolts and stripped out screws
Saying I love you neighbor
But leaving out the Golden Rule

Climbing Jacob's ladder
In your multi-colored worldly coat
Holding tight to your possesions
As you hate to let them go

First in line on Sunday
Dutifully religiously
While every other day of the week
You fail to bend the knee

Your Bible always with you
On the dash or in the back
You hear Jesus loves you somewhere in there
But you're not sure of where that's at

You sing out loud in the crowd
Sometimes even raise your hands
But when they ask for volunteers
You struggle with the yes I can

You have a ton of secrets
At home hidden in a box
Letting them out when you're alone
Because you don't dare keep it locked
Afraid to give that one sin up

Do you find yourself playing church
More often these days than not
Going through the motions
Only shaking hands with God

If you look close enough
There's nothing up my sleeve
As I pull out this poem
For all of you to read

Appearing here in front of you
Your eyes do not decieve
This magic poem of wonder
If you only will believe

It's here for your entertainment
To wow and to amaze
A poem containing magic
Who's secret I'll take to the grave

You may not see but my writing hand
Is quicker than the eye
As it pulls ideas from out the air
And sets them down in rhyme

It's in the grandest of illusions
If the truth be known
If you blink then you'll miss it in
The magic of the poem

Memphis heat in April
3 days past the fool
If  you ask me the fool would be
In what this man would do

He would grab hold of a nation
This man without a clue
That every color's equal
In the land of Red, White, and Blue

From what I see it seems to me
We lost something in-between
This nation full of sorrow
Needs another Martin Luther King

There will always be that someone
Who doesn't understand
That takes the measure of our worth
Into their own blood soaked hands

You can cry foul if you want to
But it won't do you much good
When peace, love, and understanding
Are never understood

From what I see it seems to me
We lost something in-between
This nation full of hatred
Needs another Martin Luther King

When you have those who force themselves
On the innocent among
Who take more than they're given
Violence does not make one strong

More instagator than peace maker
All vying for the top
With no care for a solution
In helping this to stop

From what I see it seems to me
We lost something in-between
A nation now without a clue
Needs another Martin Luther King

With hair wind swept
Look straight ahead
If you blink you miss
What you just left

You try your best to find
That elusive time
As it all slides by
At the speed of life

With all you know
You shoulder on
Be it others there
Or on your own

With all your might
You try and try
To slow it down
This speed of life

Look right, look left
Look internet
The pages lept
As you speed read

Soon enough you find
How hard time bites
As it all slides by
At the speed of life

Can't you tell I'm just a shell
Of the man I used to be
Once a lover not a fighter
Till the world kept punching me

Upper cut or in the gut
It's pretty much the same
With swinging fists at every step
It's hard to get out of the way

I still think that peacefully
Is the way things ought to be
But at best guess there's few of us left
That hold tight to this belief

Backed into a corner
No telling what a man will do
I just know that it's in his nature
To never want to lose

I'm here to tell that this shell
Has gained back the confidence it lacks
Once a lover now a fighter
As I'll soon start punching back

I'll bring you silver
I'll bring you gold
Along with the promise
To never let go

I'll buy you diamonds
To compliment rings
I'll give you all this
And many more things

I'll give you my life
I'll give you my love
I'll give you it all
Till you say that's enough

I'll hold onto your hand
For the comfort it brings
Plus everything else
That you'll ever need

I'll hand you my heart
Along with the key
Let you have my eyes
So your beauty you'll see

I'll give you my thoughts
With the secrets they tell
And if there's anything left
I'll give you all that as well

This is where I'm happy
This is where I'm sad
This is where I find I can
And here is where I can't

This is where I stumble
And this is where I fall
This is my darkest hour
Right before the dawn

This is where I pick myself up
In the light of day
This is me grinning
With not much to say

This is me in peaceful times
This is me about to scream
Random photos of my past
But you get the jest of what I mean

This is me hoping on the future
And reflecting on the past
This is me when I was here
This is when I left

This one shows ambition
And this my laziness
This is unrealistic
And this reality at its best

This is me happy and in love
This is me all by myself
This is life in a ray of sunshine
This is where it started to melt

This is me in memories
All done in a flash
If you like to keep it all in mind
Take a picture of this

everyday

a lesson learned

some bring pleasure

others hurt

to be sure

the ones that hurt

more valuable

the lesson learned

I'm a gun in hand

Feel the power in me
When all is done and said
Maker of mother's grief
Here to protect
When on the beat
Harbourer of death
If rises the need

I'm a gun in hand

**** or be killed
The problem where I stand
Is that of man's free will
With no conscience in
The way I was built
Hard cold demands
In cold blue steel

I'm a gun in hand

Open gate to your fears
Dreams up and left
Free flowing tears
The end of all bets
A quick way out of here
I'm a gun in hand
How many have there been this year

Broken dreams and empty bottles
To match the promises I've made
Set out as a reminder
Along the tracks that I have laid

If I could dance to the chance
To do it all again
It's with certainty, stupidity
Would again raise the winning hand

Cause when it comes to lessons
Needing to be learned
I'm pretty sure that Scout badge
I have never earned

I came into this world with nothing
And that's about how much I've kept
And I'll keep holding on to it
Until there's nothing of it left

Broken dreams and empty bottles
To match the promises I've made
Set out as a reminder
Along the tracks that I have laid

Any good judge and jury would convict me
Slam the door shut, toss out the key
High crimes and misdemeanors in the first degree
Caught in cahoots with poetry

Armed with pen and paper in hand
Stealing from me all that I have
Until my muse says there's nothing left
Empty's the till inside my pounding head

I'll sing like a stool pigeon in the hot seat
In a police line up I'll point out the poetry
Say that's the one that did this to me
The one with the sly smile and rhyme in his teeth

I'll throw myself on the mercy of the court
Plead insanity as I cackle and cough
To tell the truth if you only knew
That last statement is not too far off

Don't bother yourself with what's behind the curtain
As you can see there's nothing up our sleeves
Just take this check from behind our back
Oh, did we mention the hidden fee

We're here to help so don't you worry
Let's not distract this with the facts
Big Brother will lend a hand to your demands
As long as you keep paying the tax

Have you tried this freshly made Kool-Aid
We insist you take a few sips
You'd be amazed with what we get away
Pulling off our Politricks

You know that the hand is quicker
Do yourself a favor and don't blink the eye
If it's not all together true yet no one has a clue
Would that be considered a lie

It may be nonsense but to us it's good business
After all we know better than you
Whenever we can preform our slight of hand
When it comes to dealing with you

So just sit back, relax, enjoy the show
Here's to hoping you can't read lips
It's best you never know just what's going on
As we pull off our Politricks

Today was a slow day on the news wire
Nothing at all going on
The people and things that cause trouble in life
Must have decided to call it quits and stay home

No earthquakes or tornado's to speak of
No mudslides or fires to ravage the land
All the people who bring us the bad news
Stood around just scratching their heads

Not a person was murdered or robbed
No kidnapping or spousal abuse
Nothing much exciting to speak of
That we've grown to expect in our news

No bombs in the Middle East went off
No politicians were caught in a lie
No Hollywood Star said something stupid
No one famous or not even died

Yes today was a slow day on the news wire
Nothing at all going on
Which has the rest of us wondering
If this is the calm before the storm

You can scream and demand it
Come in open handed
In all your daily affairs

You can swoon to the moon
Or reach for the stars
Ones that are not even there

You can take all you're given for granted
Count all your blessings in place
But if it's peace that you seek you'll never reap
Until you see love show its face

You can calculate, count
Turn inside out
Breath in the fresh morning air

You can cry you can laugh
Over what little is left
When after all it's only you that cares

You can take this and that all for granted
Lay all your blessings face up
But if it's peace that you seek you'll never reap
Until you see the face of love

Have you got time for another story
Of life lessons and of love lost
Of fighting a war where no one keeps score
Being afraid of counting the cost

With men sitting around in a board room
Pin striped suits mixed with power ties
With no conscience in the stroke of a pen
Changing many young lives

At 18 years old what's your hurry
In killing for what you're told to believe
When a bunch of old men take you by the hand
Helping to plant hates deceitful seed

You've watched your buddies die in the jungle
Seen body parts fly off in the sand
Where tempers once flared now you don't even care
You'll just keep shooting till nobody's left

Back home is where you keep the memories
Of your girl but who's keeping her
As you battle for freedom cause you still believed them
When they told you, you could save the world

This has gone on for years now too long
When will we stand up and let go of the hand
Of the men at the top who want more than they've got
And will strive to get it till there's not a one of us left

Is it too late to trade my kids in?
They don't do a thing I ask of them
All they do is eat and ****
They need a change in their attitude

Is it too late to sell my kids out right?
To some unsuspecting couple out of their minds
With no idea of what they can do
Once the Duct tape and Super glue is removed

Is it too late to take them someplace ?
Drop them off then drive away
Hoping against hope they won't find their way back
Pack up and move before they get the chance

Is it too late to give my kids back?
Before I lose what little sanity's left
If I could somehow loosen these chains
As their domestic slave I'd run away

Is it too late too rethink this again?
Open the womb, shove them back in
Call it a day on this mistake
What do you think...is it too late?

She paints freely
Whenever she is around
Then draws briefly
Either a smile or frown

She's good at building texture
Less is more where it counts
She paints by numbers
When she's out and about

She wears a smock
So there's less of a mess
But when it comes to abstract hearts
No promises are kept

Mistakes are hard to erase
When using an angry oil base
She paints by numbers
Helping to cut to the chase

She makes you feel
Life is but surreal
With you as her medium
Nailed to her easel

Using you as her landscape
In her brushstrokes of give and take
She paints by numbers
The only way she can keep life straight

Life is like a boat
In the middle of the sea
Riding high the waves
Trying to catch a breeze
Doing all you know
Just to stay afloat
Keep the pail ready to bail
Life is like a boat

Life is like a car
Trying to get you there
Before you find you're nowhere
And that you do not care
Ready set get on your mark
Hoping that it starts
To get you beyond where you are
Life is like a car

Life is like a plane
Turbulence and all
Voice out your complaints
Just make sure that you hold on
Not for the heart that's faint
Across the not so friendly skies
As you quickly make your way
Life is like a plane

One thing you can count for sure
Death is the only cure
To this thing that we call life
The rest is just a metaphor