Why do some folk always smile
While others only frown
One of the great mysteries
We never may find out

Is it a run on circumstances
Or differences of heart
Taken from what life hands us
That denotes who we are

The one that's happy with surroundings
Or the one that groans and gripes
Have you ever stopped to wonder
Which one you are in life

They say the happy ones live longer
Is it because the sad don't care
Instead of on life's bus they're under
Waiting to be dragged away from here

With me being one of the happy ones
I have yet to figure out
Why some are always smiling
While others only frown

...makes me sad to think about

Mother Nature ran a want ad
In this year's Farmers Almanac

Seems these days she's wearing thin
With the progress made by modern man

She needs a little extra help
With the here and there and there about

The whole earth needs a good sweeping
From the ocean floors to the river streams

From high above to down below
All of the trash that has been thrown

With all the extra mess around
She can't keep up with the dusting down

That is why she placed the ad
In hopes of getting help with that

Resumes started pouring fast
From North to South, East to West

So many from around the globe
Who would have guessed, who could have known

There were so many that were keen
In wanting to keep the Planet clean

Right then and there on the spot
She hired them all, the entire lot

She gave them brooms, their own dust pans
Sent them all throughout the land

To every crevice, every crook
To give the world a spit shine look

So many helpers worked that day
Into the yawning wee hours late

Until the earth was **** and span
Every water splash, every grain of sand

From underneath to over top
Everyone had cleaned it up

Bi-weekly now she runs the ad
Inside the Farmers Almanac

You might not be an astronaut
Never be a king or queen
Never meant to be the president
Or walk the red carpet scene

Won't win the Noble Peace Prize
In science or literature
May never find that mountain to climb
Or discover the colds elusive cure

You may never make it famous
In the circles that you move
But you can always count on the one thing
You are good at being you

You may not step into a room
To the roaring of applause
Or have the Paparazzi follow you
Taking pictures of all they saw

You may not be a rock star
Filling stadiums at night
Among these and other things
You may never do in life

While the above for others
May all soundly come true
You can always rely on the best part in life
And that is in being you

You may take some things for granted
Seeing green on the other side
Wish that you had made it
Much further in this life

You can take it all to the bank
With holdings firm in your belief
That where your ship has landed
Isn't at all where you should be

But when your lot is filled with haven't got
All you can do in life is lose
Just stick with the plan that is at hand
And do the best at being you

I'd like to know...
How far we'll go
In the selling off
Of our souls

With lives at play
Everyday
How much more
Will we give away

I'd like to know...
Before I give up hope
How far down
The rabbit hole we'll go

As life's ladder
Loses it rungs
Where greed is equal
To the sum

I'd like to know...
How far we'll go
Before we reap
The seeds we've sown

From trying to do
It all on our own
Then again maybe
I don't want to know

When a notion crosses your mind
Bringing memories back to a time
Do you at that moment let yourself unwind

Could it be when you think of me

As a smile makes its way across your face
Does it bring you back to a place
One that you and I both made

Could it be when you think of me

How about that glimmer in your eye
That twinkles from time to time
Am I the cause of your light shine

Could it be when you think of me

Or when you get that far off gaze
Thinking back to the days of late
And the words you wish you now could say

Could it be when you think of me

If the times your in get to be too much
And the tightened grasp you have is not enough
What you really need is someone to love

Feel free to think of me

With rod and reel and bait in hand
They set out from dry dusty land
Six pretend pirate wanna be's
To terrorize fish repeatedly

Three each, port and starboard side
Anticipating the coming tide
Far away from safety's shore
These men of action, these men of lore

Swinging wide they toss their lines
As seconds tick off fishes bites
What's meant to be has come to be
From this scourge of the high seas

They came they saw they conquered all
As waves pound hard upon the bow
Call it a hunch, the weakest of the bunch
Didn't miss the chance to toss his lunch

After the score these troubadours
Made their way back to distant shores
Six pretend pirate wanna be's
Where legends are made on the high seas

What do you do when the night lets loose
With the splattering of its stars
Watching the colors go through light to dark blue
Happy with where you are

As you gently go out nature stays for count
Ready to fill up the night
With its thousands of sounds drowning the silence out
In this the desert life

You wake in the morn as the darkness slows down
Which sleeps in the heat of the day
The secrets it holds are never once told
As the desert gives nothing away

Then it's back on the horse staying the course
With the destination hard to say
As you wrangle it in from beginning to end
In this the cowboy way

You know what they say about home on the range
Always in the back of your mind
There's a certain heat that nothing can beat
In this desert and cowboy way of life

Whenever I have random thoughts
That pop into my head
A little bubble magically appears
Like those in comic strips

Where you can see exactly
What it is that I'm thinking
From the moment of Zen that comes at the end
To the bubbles humble beginnings

As punctuation marks add to my art
If you could call it that
I call it thoughts inside a bubble
Like those in comic stripes

The older that I get
The more in life I see
That I am much like you
And you are much like me
If we could only pull back the blinds
And make the past history
Try our best to get along
In turn, set each other free

Life for all its purpose
Life in all its sake
Runs much smoother when we love
Sputters when we hate
With our inner selves we all
Need to set a date
To see the candle our souls each hold
Flickers much the same

It's not that I condone
The life style that you choose
Nor do you agree
With what I also do
Can't we accept when it comes down to it
In all that we go through
That you are much like me
And I am much like you

She mainlined the drug of love
Till it eventually collapsed her veins
Burning a trail from one love deal to another
Never able to find that feeling again


                    Walking life's lonely streets
                     Just waiting for the man
                    Who will help her to find that burning need
                    The best way that he can


That's the ally in which she sleeps
When she could not buy love at home
Back then the same as it is of late
She's still out here all alone on her on


                    She is the worst of her only friends
                    The only prize she's ever won
                    Is that of being a ******
                    All for the drug of love


She craves the pounding in her veins
After years of heartfelt neglect
There's no way to be free of the hunger and need
Of all that she has left

I only bring this up
Cause of what all's going down
All the nasty rumors
That are floating here about
Up and down the sidewalk
That and this side of town
All pointing to what the world's been doing

I seen it in the papers
Even watched it on T.V.
Keep thinking of the saying
All that you see you can't believe
This time I think they're making
A bigger fool of you and me
With all the things that the world's been doing

Yes a fool of us their making
But it's time that we weren't bought
Take it the way they gave it
With a grain of salt
Lift the latch on top our heads
And pour out all those thoughts
To what they tell us that the world's been doing

I may have arrived here early
But I ain't staying late
It's going to take no time at all
Saying what I gotta say
I know the right direction
And I'm not heading in the way
To any part of what the world's been doing

I searched around
all over town
and in the country too

All that's allowed
as I roamed about
in a gentle sweeping move

I scanned the crowds
and spoke out loud
as to what I was trying to do

And that is how
I left them now
with this simple binding truth

That what I found
as I ventured out
that beautiful is you...

what are the colors of your dreams
are they bright, are they bold
beyond colorful
of anything you've ever seen

what is the length of the night
as you lay down your head
what is the measurement
that you find that you go by

what is the first thing that you see
when you open your eyes
is it the length of the night
in mid-flight of your colorful dreams

You catch them hanging out
Pretty much on the edge
Of the cranium
Where they like to lay their eggs

They keep you remembering
All that you should know
If you need to have a name
They go by the mindful

Once the eggs have hatched
You'll be mindful of this and that
Keeping you on your guard
Of what should be done and said

Into your brain they will burn
All in life we need to learn
Keeping an eye on those around
Is mostly the mindful's concern

They take it to task amongst themselves
To be mindful of everyone else
For after all isn't that
What a mindful life is all about

So don't be scared, don't be afraid
When you feel an itching of the brain
It's just the mindful laying ground
Soon enough to be paved

Making sure the road ahead's
Not too bumpy or too rough
As you're on your way to what
You should be mindful of

It was certainly not surprising
There was something going on
You could feel the heat was rising
Faster than we could have known

That something in between us
In the striking of the match
One I thought was made in heaven
But things that burn aren't meant to last

When things got hot you put it out
Quickly extinguishing the heart
When love showed up to investigate
What it found was a false alarm

This wasn't what I had envisioned
When we set off that tiny spark
With sirens off in the distance
Far from where we both now are

Some are numbly overcome
Standing too close to the flame
I tried not to become one of them
Although I feel I am too late

To me all along it was a raging fire
In which I was severely burned
But to you all it ever was my dear
Was another false alarm

The shooting of stars
That fall from the sky
The mixing of words
To questions of why
The beginning of something
Makes its demands
To help it along
As much as it can
The dreaming of places
That to few have seen
The look of sad faces
In search of a friend
The hopes of tomorrow
Shipped off in a box
The feeling of sorrow
No longer a thought
The taste of sweet freedom
Given away
Steps that are taken
The path that is laid
More than a notion
Of where you have been
The poem will live on
Well beyond its end

The first rule is, there are no rules
How else can you have any fun

The second rule is feel free to break them
If any new rules come along

The third is much like the second and first
All in its structure and making

Go out and have a boat load of fun
Just make sure to add some misbehaving

Every time I try to write a love poem
I think back to the time it all went wrong
And how it is I try to deny
You as the best part of my life
Every time I try to write a love poem

Every time it is I hear our song
I find myself trying to sing along
But my singing days are through
With no more me and no more you
Every time it is I hear our song

Every time it is I pass that spot
Where we found out we were both in love
I blink back the tears I cry
Finding it hard to drive by
Every time it is I pass that spot

Every time I try to write a love poem
You now see all that goes wrong
As I sit back and reminisce
On that first and the last kiss
Every time I try to write a love poem

What do you see when you look at life
A world filled with pain, strain, and daily strife?

Do you feel the need to stop and help
Take the time to step outside of yourself

Or do you think it would be too hard
To place yourself where the hurting are

To step outside your comfort zone
Take ahold the hand of the unknown

Walk with those that have been thrown a curve
Hold them tight for all they are worth  

Let them know they're not alone
Give them comfort in the form of hope

What do you see when you look at life
A world to help with pain, strain, and daily strife?

normal like me, crazy like you

       belong together

normal like me, crazy like you

       not knowing whether

normal like me, crazy like you

       who now is who

normal like me, crazy like you

You're the one who parts the waters

Lights up the darkened sky

My God above all others

No need to question why

You love the mild and meek

You see through the heart of man

My recesses dark and deep

You are the Great I Am

You move the mighty mountains

Faith of a mustard seed

You are the living fountain

And you're in love with me

You are the roaring lion

You are the gentle lamb

From you there is no hiding

You are the Great I Am

You are the reason given

The very breath of life

Glory in the seasons

The closest friend of mine

You know the number of my days

This  life of sifting sand

Count me important in my ways

You are the Great I Am

You wrote the note upon the wall
Hoping for permanent but all you have is chalk
Could that have been a Freudian slip
Knowing sooner or later that you'd be back

You set your bags out by the walk
Thankful chalk is the only time these walls talked
For there's no telling what they would say
Keeping more secrets than they give away

You wipe your life and chalk dust from off your hands
With both being blue, was that also the plan
Yet still looking for something more permanent
But in your life chalk is all you have

walking amongst the crash site
we made it here just in time
search hard enough and we may find
where it is that our hearts lie

the spot where we went up in flames
spiraling out of control along the way
thought for a minute we could be saved
then found out it was much too late

mark the spot with a simple cross
so the memory will not be forever lost
desiring freedom but paying the cost
another relationship crashing where it ought not

which brings us back to the crash site
where we both have arrived at the same time
searching through the rubble not sure this time we'll find
where it is that our hearts lie

mary never looks me in the eye
she's a tiny drop of rain
mixed in a river filled with pain

mary never asks the question why
why it all went down like this
looking for the goodbye kiss

mary is content with poetry
says it helps her to unwind
cleansing the pallet of the mind

mary is the height of mystery
always standing for a cause
her plight is one for the lost

mary ties her laces tight
so her feet don't run away
like they did the other day

mary used to own a dozen kites
till the day  down by the sea
cut the strings seting each one free

mary never shows her other side
if she ever made a list
it would include that goodbye kiss

Before you go complaining
About how your feet are aching
And about how it is you've paid your dues

I guess you'd best be knowing
Exactly where you're going
And when you get there what you plan to do

You're spouting off your stories
All your pain and glories
And how nobody has it as hard as you

Before you go and lose your sight
I think you might just want to try
And walk a mile in another mans shoes

I'm not here to cause you trouble
Don't mean to burst your bubble
But you're not the only one around that moves

Not the only one who's life is hectic
Are you starting yet to get it
There is nothing new you need to prove

When you start to walk this way
In your day by day by day by day
Not thinking as you set your course on cruise

There are other people around you know
Check your pace and take it slow
And try walking a mile in another mans shoes

This poem is out looking for a song
With a desperate need to be sung
To dive in deep with a melody
Taping out in rhyme to a 3/4 beat

This poem can barely keep
Itself from a three part harmony
Knows it would never tire if it made the choir
Letting the bass go low to its alto

Doing what it can to be in the band
If you've never rhymed you wouldn't understand
As far as a mile is long
Is the need for this poem to be sung

We all come out screaming
And fighting back the tears
Is this the hidden message
That will haunt our lives for years

Being slapped around by "The Man"
Right outside the womb
Picture this, the government
Doing the same to you

Like the bully in the playground
At such a tender age
Life will keep on slapping you
Until the day you cave

Pressures of the teenage years
Pounds you like a fist
Preparing for adulthood
So you best get used to it

Until the day that you bow out
You'll be slapped around
Comes the day they close the lid
And slap you in the ground

Puts his pen to paper
For one last goodbye
Will try his best to say it all
In this his final write

He'll address it to his loved ones
And those that know him well
In hopes they'll take it all with ease
Though there's no way to really tell

He's written about the ups and downs
The ins and outs of life
So what is written on this lonely page
Should come as no surprise

He's always felt so out of place
Even in this poets world
At one time was his saving grace
That no writings now can cure

So he puts his pen to paper
His beginning and his end
Never doing him any favors
Both as enemy and friend

All he can think to write
Is I've simply had enough
As his very last line for the very last time
Is written out in poets blood

I've jotted the oblique
Scribbled the sublime
Communed with Mother Nature
While holding hands with Father Time

Dipped my toes in the poetic pool
Swam in the extreme
Question is does this make me out a fool
Or genius with a dream

I've taken my pen to absurd heights
And to the very depths of low
I've written what I fantasize
And that which I do not know

I've peeked around some corners
That set my minds eye free
Taking up the meaning
Of treasures hidden in the means

I've placed my writers kiss on all of this
As I've moved slowly through the rhyme
Tasting tiny morsels of oddity
In the words I've wined and dined

What this all boils down to
Is I've about covered it all
But before it is I give up on this
Think I'll squeeze out a couple more

have all the poems been written
have all the words been said
have all the rhymes been used over time
until there's nothing left

have all the ideas faded
nearly impossible now to find
with no way for them to say it
leaving all the poets in a poetic bind

have all the chances been given
to display the perfect line
years of insisting now one of the missing
hidden in broad daylight

have all the poems been written
in one form or another
now a no show giving little hope
there's more to be discovered

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 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 beginning to 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 used to love you
When you were in your darkened mood
When you were down right depressed
Never giving the day a rest
Can't tell you how you blessed
When you were in your darkened mood

When you wrote of suicide
How it seemed to bring you life
Your written feelings brought me to tears
As you recounted your lost lonely years
Although I'm thankful that your still here
When you wrote of suicide

Now that you seem to have found someone
It appears your darkened days are all but gone
I'm wondering would it be that bad
If I secretly hope he treats you like crap
So the dark side of poetry can have you back
Before the day you found someone

You can tell a lot
about the heart of a man
By the way he holds
a crying child's hand
By the way he feels
the need to keep peace
With those less deserving
him being the highest of these

You can tell a lot
about the soul of a man
By the way he works out
inside of his plans
By the does he once did
he never kept hid
By the courage he has
when he has nothing left

You can tell a lot
about the mind of a man
By the way that he minds
the peace being kept
By the thoughts that he has
in the things that he says
You can certainly tell
a lot about a man

My life it is so busy these days
I need to save time where I can
So to shave off a few minutes here and there
I've come up with a master plan

Astronaut underwear
That's just a given
How much time that's going to save
I need not even mention

I'm going to wear my glasses below my nose
That way my nose for itself can see
Whether it needs picking or not
That's going to save my finger and me a lot of grief

Soap on a rope will go around my neck
I'll bathe in sinks as I get ripe
To save on minutes and energy
I'll do one pit at a time

I'll pull out my agua blue polyester leisure suit
That I've saved from the 70's
I'll wear it all the time, even to bed at night
Those suckers stay wrinkle free

My toothbrush I'll paste up and place in my mouth
When I hop into bed for a good nights sleep
In the morning I'll be all freshened and brushed
From a night of grinding teeth

I even got the brilliant idea
One night while watching my dog
A device on his rear so he can mop
While he scratches his **** across the floor

These are just a few good ideas
I'm sure I'll think of more
Once I have all this spare time
Sitting around bored outta my gourd

Do you ever think back to the time
And gaze out in wonder
Does it ever come cross your mind
Every now and then or another

Does it cause you to break into smile
At the passing memory
Even though it's been quite awhile
Since it is we've seen

Does a bit of laughter escape your mouth
Thinking of the times we had
Memories you can't speak out loud
Does that sometimes make you sad

When you close your eyes at night
Who is it that you dream
You may think I ask these questions of you
But I really ask them of me

As fast as the poems pour in
He pours them right back out again
Spilling their contents all over the page
It's either madness or wisdom that controls this Sage

While some may spill out on the floor
It's carefully swept into piles later for
When this young poets heart starts to bleed
He's never quite sure what rhymes he will need

So as fast as the poems pour in
He takes what they say and pours them back out again
In the spilling of contents all over the page
This time knowing though it's madness that controls the pen of this Sage

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

In the middle of the night
With sleep still in my eyes
I stepped into my kitchen
And received quite a surprise

As I reached out my hand
And flicked the light on
There were balloons, confetti, party hats
With a banner that read -WELCOME HOME-

I'd caught thousands of roaches
In the middle of song
They all turned and looked at me strange
As if I'd done something wrong

I heard a scream from the crowd
A foreign language to me
The next thing I know
I'm knocked down to my knees

As I'm being dragged
Across the linoleum floor
I see a little red button
That opens up a trap door

I started getting real nervous
The deeper we went
If I was a cat with nine lives
I think eight I just spent

They took me before the king
King Ralph Roach was his name
I only knew that
Cause that's what his name tag displayed

I was assigned a public defender
But that did me no good
He spoke Roach, I spoke Human
Each other we never quite understood

"GUILTY!"  Came the verdict
I hollered what was my crime!
"Interrupting a roach in the middle of having a good time"
Came the judges reply

Squishing to be my death
The day after tomorrows last night
I said that doesn't make any sense?!
Hey, we're roaches....we're not known for our timely insight

So here I sit in my cell
Wishing I could take it all back
If I had just not gotten up
For that late midnight snack

Wait....is that a tap, tap, tap
(You didn't think this was the end did you?)
As my hours getting late
A roach we'll call Chester
For anonymity sake

Told me to stop all that blubbering
I've come to break you out of here
I stood and we hugged
Which would be strange if it wasn't so weird

We slipped past room after room
With all kinds of parties inside
One thing you can say about roaches
They know how to have a good time

When we reached the surface
All I saw was blessed heavenly light
I went straight in and packed my bags
And gave the house to my Ex-Wife
(Okay, now it's the end!)

Where is that little girl of innocence
The one that grabbed the reigns
and learned to dance
That laughed out loud
every chanced she had
Where is that little girl of innocence

Where is that little girl who used to pray
For the less fortunate
in hopes they would be saved
From the heavy hand of sorrow
that too often gives itself away
Where is that little girl who used to pray

Where is that little girl who used to smile
Has her world grown weary
with every passing mile
You can speculate all you want
yet still wonder after awhile
Where is that little girl who used to smile

Where is that little girl who used to dream
Did she find out what life's about
and woke up with a scream
Where reality so it seems
justifies all the means
Where is that little girl who used to dream

Where is that little girl I used to know
Did she lose her innocence
along the dirt road
I pray the day I see
her smile once again shown
As I dream of the little girl I used to know