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

I see you out there jogging
Around the block and back
In hopes of keeping healthy
Away from fat attacks

I hear you're eating better
I just hope it's not in vain
When this race is over
And you reach the final end

Have you taken time out
To work on your spiritual heath
Run with the true reason
Of what life's all about

Focus your attention
More on eternity
Make it your ambition
To build up your Godly needs

Then and only then
Will the race you're in be worth it
When in the end you hear God say
Well done good and faithful servant

So while you're staying focused
In your daily run about
Don't forget to be health wise
On both the in as well as out

She loves to puff
On clove cigarettes
The flavor she savors
In-between hacks

All the while chewing
Juicy Fruit gum
The one combination
That helps with doldrums

Daringly dangerous
This life on the edge
Chewing Juicy Fruit gum
While smoking Clove cigarettes

Nothing much good
Happens in the dark
No matter where
You find that you are

Feel the evil squirm
As it's on the rise
Covering up those who succumb
With this mass of cloudy lies

Bless my soul ya'll
I'm afraid
We are living
In Darkened Days

People walk around
With blinders on
So they can't see
All that's going wrong

Clocks on the wall
Say the time is nigh
Too dark for most to see
The good in us wave bye, bye

With the devil on the loose
In his fits of rage
We're here living
In Darkened Days

We've played along
As they've played our hand
As good as gone
Strike up the band

Who can we find these days
To apologize
With this long list
Of I, Me, Mine

There soon enough
Want be a soul around to save
With us living
In these Darkened Days

a shadow within the shadows
in front behind in between
eyes they must dart quickly
if the shadow's to be seen

from doorway to darkened doorway
a path less traveled on
if mortal words were used to describe
mere words they would be wrong

is there gain inside the purpose
are thoughts heard in puddles of rain
can shadows reflect a color
unlike the darkened heart of man

if these questions all intrigue you
if there's a scraping two doors down
your soul may know the answer
before your body hits the ground

you may wonder of the nature
of the shadow void of light
strong advice, avoid darkened doorways
that hold shadows in the night

This I'm sure most of you know
Cause it's so hard to hide
That my beautiful Cell Phone and I
Have been dating quite some time

It all started off innocent enough
First acquaintances, then close friends
But quickly enough it turned into love
When I asked her to move in

You always see us out to dinner
Even late-night movie shows
In line together we stand holding hands
Me being too afraid to let her go

She's wonderful at conversation
No matter talk or text
She can get my heart to racing
When I see her light up where she sits

With others, I can't be bothered
Outside of this relationship
She's like a powerful drug that I can't get enough
And really have no desire to quit

She's now asleep soundly beside me
Soon to wake up raring to go
Life's not been the same since I gave my soul away
When I started dating my Cell Phone

I've dated poets most of my life
So I could talk back and forth in rhyme

Sounds a bit  odd to some I know
But it helps with the conversations flow

That is where my mind is at
Poetry in every breath

Speak to me in hyperbole's
Sure fire way to get what you please

Sweet imagery entices me
Otherwise I may not have seen*

It helps to shine a different light
*When you date poets most of your life

I've dated poets most of my life
So I could talk back and forth in rhyme

Sounds a bit  odd to some I know
But it helps with the conversations flow

That is where my mind is at
Poetry in every breath

Speak to me in hyperbole's
Sure fire way to get what you please

Sweet imagery entices me
Otherwise I may not have seen

It helps to shine a different light
When you date poets most of your life

The sun came down
Kissed the Earth good morning
Huged it with a warming
To help it on its way

Gave a gentle nudge
To guide it in it's spinning
Whispered here's to new beginnings
Calling it a day

You might think I'm sitting here
listening to you dear
But my mind right now is miles
away from here

At night I find I sleep
like a baby tight
Then when the morning hits
my mind takes to flight

I can't help but lean
on my daydreams
Taking me to oddities
I ain't never seen

From far off mountain peaks
to a deserted tropical beach
I might even be hanging at
the bar right down the street

There's no telling where my mind
will find to fly
Or where it knows to go
when the time is right

It might be giving a go on a rainbow
into a *** of gold
Or in a room full of manure
looking for the horse I'm told

Where ever my mind decides
at that moment to take me
You can believe I'm far from here
in another daydream

If light is out shining
chances are that I'm dreaming
Isn't that what dreamers do
during the day
My body is here
but my mind is out wandering
Can't stay in one place
in its runaway

It could be the sun
in its daylight of dawning
Chewing on morsels
that keep my mind entertained
Caves and crevices
in its searching and finding
Where no two places it's been
have been the same

Anywhere that I sit
is not where I'm at
You can tell right away
with eyes set a glaze
Just me and my mind
off most the time
Spending that time
dreaming the day away

When I'm all by myself, just me
I like to sit back and conjure up dreams
Dreaming of newly-acquired and past memories
And places that I've never been

Dreams filter through as if they too knew
I'd love to sail away on the calm ocean blue
Where my body stays put as my mind continually moves
Sitting here with nothing better to do

Then in a beat with a wink and a series of nods
I might end up on a high mountain top
Or a desert mirage with no time for time clocks
Without once vacating this spot

When I see I have the need to take me a leave
I sit back, relax, and plant several seeds
From dark forests greens to bright city streets
Is where I often dream and earn this my keep

So if you see me with my eyes all a glaze
Please leave me be in my dream state of awake
I'll be back soon before it's too late
To dream yet another day

daydreams
to me it seems
are the only thing
in which i dream
they bubble up
and take their leave
catching thoughtful waves
by any means

they shoot across
the galaxies
from oceans vast
sea to shinning sea
finding pieces
that they need
to continue on
in their day dreams

from future ventures
to playful pasts
don the spacesuit
raise the mast
take the day
from overcast
bright sunshine
where'er i'm at

with daydreams
i tag along
close my eyes
and i am gone
with these dreams
i'm always on
i've found out
there's no plateau

We're living in times that are broken and bent
Where fragile is the word of the day
More looking to get than ever to give
Not worried at the come what may

There never is rest for the weary head
Or the seam of things come undone
It's no secret kept that what we have left
Is the day of the loaded gun

Battle sides drawn, which side is wrong
Depends on the side you're on
And those that wont play, go their own way
Preferring to be left alone

And alone we'll all be in this society
Of you either need to duck or run
Where losers will weep as the finders keep
In the day of the loaded gun

We fight all the time, the frame of mind
Of selfishness wants its own way
But if it wasn't for self then I ask you who else
Would give you the time of day

Did she pack up and leave because of you and me
Cause I ain't seen hide nor hair of love
Can anyone blame it for calling it quits
In the day of the loaded gun

who will there be to do for me
when i've reached that ripe old age
where holding court is more of a chore
than the promise that it makes

who will show the needed compassion
it takes in the understanding
of the simple things this life brings
layed bare for the asking

who will there be to fill my needs
as the sun is sinking low
and the winter cold chills to the bone
in these days of growing old

I woke up today
to a brand new day
The sun was gone
the moon in its place
They both got bored
and decided to trade
Figured it'd be fun
to do it that way

Before too long
the trade caught on
The East went West
and the West went along
Then they both disappeared
when here traded with gone
Though it all happened slow
because short is now long

Night went to day
and day went to night
Tried to trade back
but day was too dark to find
Decided to stay
when decision changed its mind
Sat back to relax
When it traded with time

The North went South
looking to trade
But who could blame
The South for staying the same
They took it out back
which is now front
Sat down to have dinner
when it traded with lunch

If you ask, yes
it was a tradable day
If you haven't already guessed
in quite a tradable way

I woke up today
to a brand new day
The sun was gone
the moon in its place
They both got bored
and decided to trade
Figured it'd be fun
to do it that way

Before too long
the trade caught on
The East went West
and the West went along
Then they both disappeared
when here traded with gone
Though it all happened slow
because short is now long

Night went to day
and day went to night
Tried to trade back
but day was too dark to find
Decided to stay
when decision changed its mind
Sat back to relax
When it traded with time

The North went South
looking to trade
But who could blame
The South for staying the same
They took it out back
which is now front
Sat down to have dinner
when it traded with lunch

If you ask yes
it was a tradable day
If you haven't already guessed
in quite a tradable way

find me on dead end road
that is where i make my home
a cul-de-sac all alone
that is where i'll be

with the shades drawn down tight
in the yard a broke down bike
not another soul in sight
that is all you'll see

weeds are growing in the ditch
only thing that seems to live
don't ask cause there ain't much sense to it
along with not much need

cracks and holes line the street
much like the asphalt heart in me
something else to make you want to leave
the insecurity

if you'll look ******* dead end road
that wretched place i call my home
a cul-de-sac where nothing grows
that's where you'll find me

Tickling of the fancy
Tainting of the tongue
They'll have you 100 proof
Before the day is done
Fill your mind with hatred
All in the name of love

Deadman
When will you wake up

Hail for you a taxi
Giving you a ride
Windows black front and back
So you can't see outside
Yes, Virginia, there is a clause
A case of do or die

Deadman
When will you open up your eyes

They have you follow orders
Marching to the beat
Zombiefied look in your eyes
Shuffling of the feet
It's hard to see the truth
When you don't see the need

Deadman
When will you believe

I'm wearing dead man's underwear
I ask what's wrong with that
Something you see they no longer need
Where they now are at

From Jockey's whitey tighties
To boxers by the score
Don't much matter to me
What this dead man wore

With the right amount of detergent
The proper amount of bleach
Like I said four lines back
Don't matter much to me

Now please don't rush to judgement
Or my life preconceive
We all have our different ways
Of carrying on their memories

Me...I just do it in dead man's briefs

We may all appear
To be perfect in health
But there's something about ourselves
We don't show and tell

With a spring in our steps
On our lips a song
We all move along
In a dead man's walk

Back and forth being torn
On the day that we're born
From the growing of up
To the growing of old

It's a trip that we take
On life's glamor runway
Modeling at the cost
Of this dead man's walk

Some take it slow
With others, good to go
All it in keeping
With this daily death row

Where comes the time
We walk down to a fault
Talking the talk
In this dead man's walk

when time rolls around
and i'm all but toast
pour out the gravy
give up the ghost
cashing my chips in
sunny side up
kicking the can
eating of dust
pushing up daisies
kicking the bucket
dearly departed
fall into nothing
kiss it goodbye
buying the farm
pulling the curtains
laying the lawn
numb, neutralized
saying goodnight
on my last leg
waving bye, bye
passing away
popping my clogs
resetting my character
going belly up
with my boots on
dearly departed
fall off the path
away i am carted
glue factory
davy jones locker
stuck in a box
called by the barker
pulling the plug
put to the sword
sent to belize
ride the pale horse
turn up the toes
pine overcoat
food for the worms
clearing my throat
take a last bow
step off of the path
being struck down
take a dirt nap
breathe my last breath
let out a sigh
then and only then
will i know that i've died

As I walked into the room
I saw two dead roaches side by side
I don't know why it is this made me sad
I've never known a good roach that's alive

Deep within I wondered how they succumbed
Was it ****** suicide?
What did a roach have to live for anyways?
If not to make miserable my life

Then I turned my thoughts to...
Was that a Mom and Dad?
Would all the little roachies back home miss them?
And how does a roach look when they're sad?

But then out of the corner of my eye
I saw a little twitching of the legs
So I took the boot off that I wore
And smashed their little heads!

do we not see that we are blind
hear how deaf we are
no patience or time to sign on the dotted line
yet still reaching for the golden star

can we not take the things we see
off of the spinning wheel
set the colors in need this side of free
giving them time to heal

let the character of a man
speak up for itself
where the blind and deaf can completely understand
the cost of what this is all about

needing to break down societies boxes
that over the years they've put us in
dearly has that cost us
where not a soul can be who they're meant

we need to take a moment
step back from the edge and breathe
where the deaf can hear the crying
and the blind can finally see

Dear Friend...
At times I am afraid for you
That your hiding from the truth
In the words you constantly use

Dear friend...
You dig deep in your soul in what you say
Instead of giving the pain a home
You need to give the pain away

Dear Friend...
If you'll permit me here to say
Your worth so much more than "the you"
That your poetry portrays

Dear Friend...
Hold up to the light the words you wrote
Try and shine a line or two
With a tiny ray of hope

Dear Friend...
After that is done I think you'll see
That what you thought was lost
*You only set it free

Dear Heart,*
          In the past you've suffered pain
          I know that you are there again
          Wish there was something I could do
          To make it all okay

Dear Heart,
           I know that you rely on love
           And that you never have enough
           But like most everything in life
           It's easier said than done

Dear Heart,
           Want you slow down and take a breath
           If there is any of it left
           There's someone out there for everyone
           You just haven't met them yet

Dear Heart,
           I know how easily you are moved
           Over what people say and do
           Please take these simple words from me
           And hold them up as true

P.S. Dear Heart...
        *I still believe in you

You packed your bags
You wrote the note
Keys to the car
Fur to the coat
You didn't laugh
You didn't chock
You turned your back
That's all she wrote

When did our home
Become Dear John
And what is this
That's going on
The plans we made
When we were young
We never saved
And now they're gone

Car in the drive
You turn the key
On no more you
On no more me
You release the brake
On my greatest need
As you drive on
Off down the street

Dear Kathy Griffin,
I love you I do
But you're the only one
That did this to you

You can hem and you can haw
Place blame on them all
But your foot in your mouth
Is the cause of your fall

That flaming red hair
Along with the face of blue
And those crocodile tears
That you keep letting loose

Are turning us off
More than you ever thought
You might want to try and sell
This farm you have bought

You say womanhood is your victim
Of that I have doubts
And do you really kiss your mother
With that filthy mouth

A word of advice
To the not so glamorous wise
And that ain't no lie
Quit blaming the old white guy

One day this may blow over
And you'll count your lucky stars
But not before this galaxy
Does its best to forget who you are

Sincerely, Mike

Have pity on me
all I ask is one day without poetry
Between you and the heart
do you think you could find
Some type of reprieve
from this constant rhyme

From the very moment
it is you wake up
You start churning out ideas
like you can't get enough
From your constant
metaphoric playing of words
Mind aren't you listening,
haven't you heard

I honestly feel
I need a break from the rhyme
Before madness sets in
and sanity takes a hike
If you'd use your eyes
I'm sure you would see
That all you think of
these days is poetry

PS.
Dear Mind,
could you see things my way
is that to much to ask
just for one day...

Dear Mr. President,
    The reason for this letter
    Are you as sick as the country is
    If so I hope you soon fell better

Dear Mr. President,
    At the end of the month is all your
    money  spent
    And if it is like all mine is
    Do you sit and wonder where it went

Dear Mr.President,
    Do you often think about your kids
    How they'll survive in this world we
    have
    Do you ever worry like a Dad

Dear Mr. President,
    Are you soon to be in the unemployment
    line
    If you are you can stand next to me
    I'll save a place if you like

Dear Mr. President,*
    This letter that I send
    My hope is that you'll read into it
    what I meant

             Signed,
                 a concerned citizen

it's strange to think
my friends will die
and stranger yet
so will i

leaping to
the great beyond
will i leave
with a smile on

and will that smile
say goodbye
when i reach
the other side

waking to
the sweet by and by
is that when
i'll know i've died

will there be
room for me
when i reach
eternity

and what will i do
with all that time
when all my friends
and i both die

death is ******* the living
as so many times
when death comes a-knocking
death leaves someone behind
to do all the grieving
in an unmade bed
death in life is deceiving
to those who are left

death never quits
as death keeps tugging the cord
taking all it can with it
all that you can afford
death is not for the living
though you'd never know
nor is death forgiving
when it's your time to go

death is good at surprises
in perfecting the boo
too late you realize that
death scared the mess out of you
with no one to turn to
with no way to compare
what you just went through
when death grabs you by the short hairs
and takes you outta here

Comes out rolling slow
Or in a swirling wind
You can try and guess but you won't
About the hand of death

A mystery to most
But always true to self
We all will eventually raise a toast
To the very last hand dealt

Some might see it coming
This slap in the face
But never ready the moment
Death carts you away

Never known to care
Or show the least respect
Could be a millionaire
Or someone with nothing left

By rugged land or the high sea
Flying through the air
Death does not care where it meets
Shows up anywhere

Standing at the gate
Never running late
Could be on the docket tomorrow
Or in triplicate forms filled out today
Either way...it's your fate

I remember well the day
My daddy went to war
Place called Vietnam
Still don't know what for

Still don't know what for
Haunts me to this day
Never got a chance
To put flowers on his grave

Flowers on his grave
May not mean a lot
But he'd be there to listen
To the questions that I've got

Questions that I've got
Answers that I don't
Why'd he have to die
And leave me all alone

Leave me all alone
Here all by myself
In a world that doesn't care
About nobody else

About nobody else
That walks upon this land
Especially for my daddy
Who died in a place called Vietnam

Death it shows no mercy
On this side or that
Leave those left behind wondering
Just where it is your at
Are you over yonder
Knocking on the gates Hell
Eternity is a living
Brought on by yourself
Death it shows no mercy
On this side or that

Death it shows no mercy
On this side or beyond
As the roses drop on your grave box
Last kindly act from those in line
Your memory is a gravestone
Polished a shiny shade of gray
Reminder of the bitter truth
Chiseled on your dying day
Death it shows no mercy
On this side or beyond

Death it shows no mercy
Over ruling life
Eternity is forever
In which you now abide
Along the wide winding path you drove
Crashing at a tender age
To late now you know
To late to be saved
Death it shows no mercy
Over ruling life

Growing up I always had
Some very special friends
Where we shared in everything
Even our love for Heavy Death Metal Bands

But every time one of us
Pick up an instrument
Whether banging, blowing, or strumming
We never made a lick of sense

That is until we found the jewel
That we all could play
Which turned around our tender lives
And tenderized us all that day

Now we travel the country side
With our own road crew
In a Heavy Death Metal Band
Where we all play Kazoo's

The very first Kazoo's we purchased
Came from the Five & Dime
But were able to throw down for the better stuff
Once our careers all started to climb

Now when we step out into the lights
Taking center stage
It's worth the pain in our vibrating lips
To see adoration on a groupies face

And playing lead Kazoo
Isn't as easy as it looks
You've got to hold your lips just right
To come up with those major hooks

We used to open up for other Metal Bands
Like AC/DC and Metallica
Pretty soon though our style passed them by
Leaving those sissies in top 40 dust

Because next to us they played soft rock
And when your "Axe" is a killer Kazoo
The others stand around dumb founded
With no clue of what to do

Don't get me wrong this rock and roll road
Isn't always paved in gold
Day in and day out in a Kazoo Death Metal Band
Can take away your very soul...

Thinking back to yesterday
The haves, have-nots, the giveaways
The hope we had I'd hoped to face
Looking back on happy days
And how they took a sudden change
Bitter now the way we taste

When you killed the clown in me
****** the joy right out of me
Took pleasure in the first degree
When you killed the clown in me

No evidence was left behind
Of the time we had a life
Your sharpened tools cut like a knife
You bent the rules you spent your dime
You changed my fate with your change of mind

When you killed the clown in me
****** the joy right out of me
Took pleasure in the first degree
When you killed the clown in me

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

Do you ever think to yourself
Today's the day I'm taken me out

A premonition some may say
Where death takes your hand and skips away

From a let loose clue to an urgent need
To watch your back, to pay it heed

Where you feel you're in the firing line
Crossed haired in deaths deadly sight

What little hair that you have left
Stands up straight on the back of your neck

So that it will come as no surprise
You're at the end of your demise

Which is why I ask of you
Could this be the day all this comes true...

If you want to get some reads
Include Deborah in your write
Poets will be stopping in
Like the dropping in of flies
The place will be all abuzz
With the clicking of the likes
If you want to get some reads
Include Deborah in your write

If your wanting to be known
Throw Deborah into the poem
Doesn't much matter what you say
It'll still have it going on
Whether you feel that this is right
Or know that it is wrong
If your wanting to be known
Throw Deborah into the poem

Sir, have you no shame
In the use of Deborah's name
This is supposed to be serious poetry
Not some popularity game
So think about this truthfully
As I ask you once again
Sir, have you no shame
In the use of Deborah's name

Mmmmmmm......not really.