Red is for the blood you shed for me and for your sacred heart
Brown is for the wood of the cross: the bridge from heaven to earth
Purple is for your kingship. In honor of your power and majesty
Gold for the richness of knowing you and a reminder of the value of our souls
Blue for sadness and the water that flowed from your side
White for the veil that was torn, for holiness and purity
Yellow is for the sun bursting forth on Easter morning
Green is for new life and for good pastures

Asking the Congress to rewrite laws
That benefit and enrich themselves
Is asking the wolf not to eat the lamb.
The wolf will eat the lamb.
The lamb cannot avoid this fate
By pretending it is not worth eating.

The wealthy are well rewarded
For not caring about the poor.
To make them care the only way
Is to offer them  tributes.

The rich want you to buy
Their trinkets and toys
And leave the lawmaking to them.

As long as we let the rich
Write the laws and control
Enforcement, the law
Will be slanted in their favor.

Nothing fuels fascism like poor people,
So the rich will raise prices and
Thus keep the people poor.

Dishonest people will always
Blame someone else for their crimes.
In government, they will blame
Honest people trying to do the job
They were elected to do.

If a person fails to be outraged
At the actions of criminals,
He is either criminal himself
Or a defense attorney,
And that person may be
Both at the same time.

Among the biggest mistakes
One can ever make
Is believing campaign promises
Where no evidence exists
Of any plan to keep them.

As long as politics are run
Like a beauty contest,
Nothing like democracy
Ever has a chance to succeed.

In a democratic country,
The common people must
Expect to participate
To make it work.
That means they must work
Within the system to ensure
All nefarious people and laws
Be discovered and thrown out.

Undefended rights are only
Privileges grudgingly by government
Dispensed as alms to beggars.

In a representative government,
Everyone must be a representative.

Yesterday is a terrible day
To plan to fix things.
Today and tomorrow
Are the only time we have to do it.

If a representative
Does not walk his talk,
Stop listening to his talk
And watch his walk.

Do not expect industry or military
To protect your rights.
They are both monetary institutions
Addicted to power.

If Congresspeople earn fortunes
By serving the people,
There can be no equity
In representation.
Corruption will rule the land.

Lobbyists should be imprisoned
if they are indistinguishable
From extortionists.

Voting districts need to be
Based on the needs of the people,
Not the needs of the bank accounts
Of our leadership.

Offshore bank accounts should be
As illegal as they are immoral.

Democracy is a funny thing
It works for some, but not for all

Lovely when it works for you
When your voice that matters

But a **** shame, when it doesn't
To be at the whim of a majority

A majority who had to vote
Against owning another human being

A majority that said well
Unless you're in prison, then its alright

A majority who said
Being black without a job is a criminal offense

A majority who refused to hire
And who paid next to nothing

A majority who finally agreed for women to vote
Finally an opportunity for them to speak

A majority who said sure minorites you too
But that voice doesn't matter

A majority that makes a the rules
And a minority that has to wait

Wait for a time when its okay
For the majority to give up power

Wait for a time when enough is enough
But until then I'll scream my silent scream

The voiceless will topple towers
And remember it was you who
Silenced them.

I am a rose.
Delicate to touch;
Innocent to the core.

You crushed my head;
My sweet, soft petals;
You left me no choice;
But to stab you with daggers.

You unleashed the demon inside of me,
You removed my sugar-coat and left me naked -
Bare.
It's your fault alone that you are now hurt;
Your thick, red sin oozing all over.

It's a taste of your own medicine.

I am a rose.
Delicate head;
Innocent from the neck up.

can I replace the new with old and call it new, or is that false representation?

will you sue me if I throw in a few past words and sell them to you as newer and better, more reliable, even though they might not be?

what about if I offer to steal a few glances to keep your thoughts scrambling for more?

can I seal a few letters with my Amsterdam red lipstick, to prove that there isn't a word I wrote to you that didn't come straight from my mouth, even though a few, ok all of them probably didn't?

after all, it is real, right?

-Julia Aubrey Rhodes-

Always working for more
Really earnest, but know what life has in store
Never giving up no matter the cost
Ever so patient while lost
Sincerely cool and care free
Happiness means everything to me
Audaciously blessed to know what life is meant to be

by the glare
in the sky he couldn't bare
to look;
he couldn't do it
to cut the string
The stare took his life
As fast as a sting
So it hangs
The dreadful eye
Watching him branch
Out towards the sky
And many came
All to see
The hand that tried to cut the string

As I stood in front of critical eyes, I had to convey myself today.
In my mind, I have designed the whole system as requested,
in my eyes, I have emitted my internal confidence of myself,
But when on stage, I feel compelled to watch my words,
My words sometimes have a way to stray, searching for the best combination.
The fear is not within my abilities of my craft, but my ability to sell myself, as a representation of the system I momentarily created. The anxiety of proposing my logic mixed with the doubt of being over-pretentious became me.
      As I look into their eyes, I take a mental breath, and proposed my system within layers as suggested in my mind. I felt compelled, yet nervous to present my thoughts and ideas. I am confident, yet thoughtful of every instance that could make or break my deal.
     That said, believing in yourself and knowing your facts to prove your bases, is the key to the eyes of inception that we call cultural matching to the masses.