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

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

can't sleep indeed
what do you need
you did this last
and the night past
just let me go
what should I know
I'll have to listen closer
to the universe composer

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

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"

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

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

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

the future is the fog of chaos crashing into us at the speed of life and fading into the blurry past

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

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

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

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

you may not have broken it
but you snuffed out the flame
now im sitting in the dark
cause its really just the same

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

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

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

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

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"

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

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

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

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

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

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

is it just me
or is the red a little brighter
in old glory's stripes today
does it fly a bit higher in some way
is the white more and more pure
to strengthen us to endure
can you feel the Holy Spirit
in the breeze which makes it wave
and pray for the warriors
and leaders, all proven brave
is it just me
or does the sunrise this morn
on a new country
a new country reborn

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

perspective is the taste and smell and feelings of current events seasoned with memories
so
no one eats the same cake

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

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

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

wake up ready to fight evil of mind
work every day against the pain
rest your head knowing that hidden
the Holy Spirit moving good to gain

no leasons are learned from easy

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

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

hide the pain
of my loneliness
smile and hug
in hopes of
someone's attention
in hopes
hopes

the love will unfold
the treasure you hold
the miracle you mold
the future foretold
the blessings behold
the reward pure gold
the gift a thousandfold

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

how much love passes you by...

because you can't see through yourself

no need to find fault to prove you're paying attention, find the good that no one else sees, and be blessed alone

hold an acorn and see the majestic oak
hold a newborn and see a miracle
hold hate and see hell on earth
hold love and forgiveness and see peace
hold money and see greed
hold kindness and see it multiplied
hold a dream and see your future

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

I wash and clean
primp and pluck
and gussy up

I shave and cut
**** in my gut
and smile double

it's a lot of trouble
to be invisible

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

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 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

when I'm gone
no one will remember
            me
I'm certain
when I move on
            my soul
will be free
of yearning
for anyone to need
a simple conversation
                                or advice
                                     or just a memory
I pray
  I can forget
            me too

...indeed

don't spend your life checking boxes right up to the time you're in one

sky renders every hue
autumn trees give wonder
tropical waters bleed blue
irish hills nay chose
their love songs of green
nor desert's soft tune of rose
mountains, heavy with gray
a boy's innocent embarrassed blush
nothing excapes the Creator's brush

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