Pure heart
Unclouded mind
Within and not apart
Together we'll find

From the ashes we rise
On phoenix wings we soar
Above the twisted, seething lies
Down below, souls we abhor

Purest hearts
And clearest skies
Within not forgot
Above evil, buzzing flies

Together we are salvation
Together, glorious and free
With purest hearts, we are a nation
With unclouded minds we'll always be

I met a man once who had a goal
To be more than he was when he started
With a wildfire and tenacity inside him
Hungry for achievement and success

Like all fires
It spread
And lit that same flame within my soul

Humanity is complex
Like dirt
There is much more going on
Than meets the eye

But a fool will say
That dirt is dirt
Plain and simple
At first glance

There are no plain shades of man
No color is absolute
No blues or reds
No primary shades
But hues

Some hurt to protect themselves
Some lie to survive
Some **** to save their loved ones
Some save to help themselves

Humanity is like dirt
Simple looking
Easily written off
But closely inspected, they are much more

The ruthless may be kind hearted
The loving can be deceitful
The foolish can feign cunning natures
The shy can be malicious

We are who we choose to show
But beneath the guise
And the show they perform
Complexity is woven to make each man

We are like dirt
All part of the grand world
Yet complex beneath the surface
But still low and *****

Like Dirt

Memories tinge the places we've been
Embedded and branded on us.
Once yesterday
Now gone by the way
They were there
But now they are dust.

Though locations they stay
Of warm prior days.
We look back with pulsating lusts
If there was a way
To bring us back to that day
I'm sure we would be on that bus.

The places we've been are places we need
Places of times that were real.
We see this unfold the moment we leave
The moment we yearn for that feel.

I was told I needed to grow up.
It cut me down so easily,
I was struck with awe.
Almost offended.
That someone would tell me
To **** the child within my soul

I asked them what that meant.
And they said to stop acting like a child
When I failed to be serious in a somber setting.
I was neither poking fun, nor hurting anyone.
Just brightening the mood.
But I was shunned for it.
And told to grow up.

So I ask you this you nameless lobcock
Who are you to **** my spirit?
Who are you to dull my imagination?
Will you take me out back and shoot it out of me?
Rip it from my spine?
Who are you to tell me to change my color scheme?

I look around and see people just like you
"Grown up" and so mature
But I don't see children lynching men
Or children stoning others
I don't see children being racist
Only when they are taught so by the "grown ups"

So who are we to ****,
That child in our souls?
Maybe we need more adults with inner children
To discuss sharing and treating others well
I look around and see the grown ups rain destruction
But who am I to tell?

Have you ever felt like the yellow light of a traffic stop?
Where you exist but only because you are neither
A failure or success story?

Please stand up my fellow middle men
Women who are average
Those who are there

I want to know there are others
Caught in the middle of existence
Whose efforts are good but not great

I feel like lukewarm water
Not too cold and not too hot
A drink that neither satisfies nor dissatisfies

Where are all the other middle grounders?
Because I'm feeling all alone these days
Where are all those caught in purgatory?

Between glory and foggy haze.