sometimes a fresh coat of paint can cover all the pain from the past

insomnia and hazy skies bloodshot her eyes
sirens of collective fears ring in her ears
the rot of unkempt boroughs stings her nose
graffiti called art is plastered on her heart
tears and slave chains drag through her veins
homelessness and mangy mutt fill her bloated gut
but her clothes finest sold and her crown solid gold

when i die they will need two coffins for the funeral, one for the body and one for all my wrongs

sorrow so popular
getting all the reads
love patient and kind
never on the news feeds
lies shared a million fold
truth often ashamed to be told
hate contagious as sin
compassion sure needs a win

I'm an idiot
so I'm told
I'm stupid
said young and old
I'm dumb
estimate...ten-fold
not concerned
your opinion..oversold

my boss gave me a big compliment today, he said that i could withstand a huge amount of abuse

you could have let me off easy by saying i hate you, but you said you didn't care

before the bullet it bit
before the candle is lit
before the last call
before the curtain falls
before the grave we pray
there is something I must say

before taps is played
before the jazz parade
before 21 guns sound
before the final round
before the fiddler we pay
this I must convey

before the sweet by and by
before the tears we cry
before the bells are rung
before the reaper come
before angels wing
I have to tell you
everything....everything...everything

God is the world's radio station, Jesus is the deejay, and the Holy Spirit is the frequency, tune in and be blessed

I'm the King of wrong
So I'm told
Everyone reminds me
Young and old

They're good odds
50/50, wrong or right
I'll pick wrong every time
Every day and every night

I'd eat a bullet
And end this pain
But I'd get no satisfaction
In you being right again

I went to the life store,
one I've never been before
I wanted a new life
new house, new job, new wife
the Keeper pointed...aisle three
there they were; price...free
they were countless; but no label
I asked the Keeper; how am I able...
He stopped me and said, "here's the deal,
you have to pick....pick by feel"
so I took one up
and held it tight
Oh! the is the one
it's full of love, hope, joy and light
I'll take it, can I open it to see?
The Keeper said "Sure, but no return, no guarantee"
No problem I said....perfectly fine
I looked inside; and it was MINE
"Funny" the Keeper said
"that happens every time"

you enjoyed my advances
and made some yourself
we were the same
and moved as one self
time did not stream
yet only a dream

within perfection
tested and raw
the critic's eye
will find flaw

Most people think of me as comic relief, but deep deep down I know they think of me as comic relief

quantum entanglement i assume
spooky movements in the room
your photons...blazing
your vibrations...amazing
your frequency...tuned
my mind...consumed

if i could lay the lines
the total of my heart
if i could stream the emotions
of the secrets of my thought
if i could tell you the feelings
that give my stomach knot
i would be king of the world
if it was my love you sought

before we met, i was in love with the dream that turned into you

I saw a quick smile today
I hit the deck by the way
A surprise attack you see
It was pointed right at me
I'll return fire but slow
Cause I'm way low on ammo

the complainer's eye is blind to all that is kind and loved and beautiful and delicious, how horrible an affliction...it must be an addiction

i've had a much better life than most, just playing with house money, if i needed to cash in my chips today, im good

it isn't my fault that i get blamed for everything

i must apologize for sharing my thoughts, assuming you give a ****

Began as a ripple
in the puddle of my youth
created by a breeze
from the piney wood
pushed with adolescent fervor
over the wild and careless rapids
crashing over granite oppression
into content waters
warmed by the soft summer sun
stirred by restless independence
to deep blue awareness
cold yet strong and unafraid
force by faith to traverse the abyss
ebb and flow have no meaning
until I reach the blessed shore

i need a new word
for this feeling i have
____ is far to weak
for the job at hand

I did not wake this morn
and I'm the only one who noticed

life's book
begins with
a new book smell
chrisp clean paper
with sharp edges
but soon enough
a few dog ears form
some for good
some bad
and a crease or two
a doodle in the margin
of a first love
pictures
of travels far
first cars
birthday cakes
and love mistakes
pages turn
much easier now
yellowing cracked
and faded
binding weak
the story unfinished
yours....mine
for we realize
only others
can read
"THE END"

I picked up a brush
and 80 bucks worth of paint.
After a few tries, I know
that kind of artist I ain't

So I will paint a picture
in your head
with the words
that I write instead

I'll start with the sky...
use your imagination
blue, blue like
the first day of summer vacation

Next is the grass,
tall and green
The breeze makes it wave
and the sun makes it sheen

Just beyond the grass
are the sand dunes
and just above that
a seagull looms

The air is sweet
with the scent of the ocean
and the coconut
in my suntan lotion

The sun is warm
and bright
I have to squint to see
that little boy's kite

I crest the dune,
and there is the sea
The waves crash and foam
and softly roar at me

I wade in; it is quite cold
Now let's sign this in the sand
where the waves hit the shore
and sea meets the air and the land

Now step back and look
What a wonderful view!
And the canvas can go wherever
because it is in you

no leasons are learned from easy

I go by my given initials...M.T.
some say cause of my head...EMPTY
do not we all start this way
and then fill it, day-by-day
but what goes in is up to us
some fill with love and light
some with hate and spite
some with only self
some with only wealth
some with dreams alone
some with things unknown
mine is now full of care and grace
and spills over from my small space
dripping words that end up here
to fill yours through eye or ear

this poem was so much better over on the 502 error side of the universe

The most important part of giving is to expect nothing in return and sometimes the hardest part

If you stand in front of your ego, you can see things way better

you never see it coming when those feelings lock on and hit your heart like a love missile and blast the pain away, at least for a little while

Where do things unsaid go, are they part of the ether, if so, probably the largest part for sure

the house door shutting
coins in my pocket as i run
shoes on the gravel drive
buzz of the powerline
silence of the sunrise
the calm before the
the grind of the brakes
click click click
            of the bus lights
the squeak
            of the folding door
bullies insults and names
             insults and names
my heart in my ears
             thump thump thump

silence is never wrong yet
truth should never be silenced

i write
what is me
me is me
you is you
if you read me
even a little
hate to say
a little of me
is in you now
don't waste it
like i did

a new approach
for the thousandth time
no more mister nice guy
i tell myself with confidence
and then my love of people
washes over the emotions
and my goofy self returns
like an old familiar friend

you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them say thank you

unloved and ridiculed you must have a huge store of hate arrows in your quiver, aim them at me if it will ease your load, and we can hope you run out of ammo

I'm weightless, because gravity is baseless, I'm endless, because time is timeless, I'm love, because I choose to be hateless

some people can spot a flaw at a 1000 yards but wouldn't see a blessing if it kissed them on the cheek

4 pounds
4 legs
4 seventeen years
4 the kisses
4 the best boy ever
4 being there always
4 all the **** walks
4 all the accidents
4 all the num nums
4 constant protection
4 pure pure love
4 ever in our heart
4 we will meet again

the sun rises
slow and steady
warm and bright
even for the dead
and again tomorrow
the sun sets
slow and steady
cold and dark
even for the living
and again tomorrow

how can it be
no one remembers me
my name is
we've met before this
I speak and make sound
I stand and feel ground
I smile and frown
just let me down
and forget
no regret

I will have
  no worries
    no pains
      no mistrusts
        no anxieties
          no problems
        the day after
      I die

some ears listen for need
some listen out of greed
some only to find fault
some to issue verbal assault
some to form negative reply
some to pass the time by
some with loving care
some only to find the err

today i walk on grass
soft and clean
damp and green
i hope it is still here
tomorrow is near
what act of God
how will i trod
if the grass is not there

Get a shovel and the potato ***
Dig some worms, to the pond we'll go

With a rusty can full of crawlers and grubs,
a grasshopper or cricket I'd catch near the scrubs

"That's what that old bass wants" he'd say
and with a cane pole and bucket we're on our way

"Gettin close don't make a sound,
the fish here are timid"
as he put the bucket softly on the ground

"Get a worm and sneak over next to that stump,
yesterday that's were I saw the big one jump"

"Sling it out there easy....and about this deep,
watch that cork and don't make a peep"

"If it bobs then let him nibble a bit,
If it goes under then you've got a hit"

I want to catch a five pound-er, boy I wish!
Pop says you have to have patience to fish

Now, he has two big fish and I had one "almost" keeper
Maybe I need to set the hook a little deeper.

I've tried the worm, the grub, and the grasshopper,
and the cricket was taken by the bass grand pap-pa

I aint caught nothin and it's nearly night
Dad says it cause I'm not holding my mouth right

We pick up the stuff and head up under the big pine,
I've got two fish to clean and they aren't even mine

That's alright with me, because I've learned a great deal
Fishing with Dad is for the soul...not for the meal

When I pass, they will need two coffins for me, one for the body and the other for all these feelings....