Jimmy Aldaoud was deported
He was American to the bone
He never set foot in Iraq
Arrived here at six months old

Jimmy was born in Greece
And Michigan was his home
He was very good at Chess
His health problems were known

Diabetes and schizophrenia
Is what Jimmy battled most
ICE showed up one day
And took him from his home

Jimmy was sent to Iraq
ICE said he had to go
They threw him on a plane
He landed in Baghdad alone

He was living on the streets
Jimmy didn't know a soul
He couldn't get anything to eat
His insulin was dangerously low

'I don't understand the language.
I don't understand the money.
I don't understand the street.'
Jimmy said in desperate worry

Jimmy couldn't speak Arabic
And he had nowhere to go
Someone found his body
He died in Baghdad all alone

Jimmy Aldaoud was fourty-one
He died in a place he didn't know
ICE just sent him to his death
This administration has no soul

Jimmy didn't have to die
In a far off land he didn't know
Today he would still be alive
America was his only home


'Donald J Trump is responsible for his death.'
- Andy Levin, U.S. congressman


© 2020  Michael Messinger(All rights reserved)

Everything is a memory now
I hope it was worth it
We'll have to carry on somehow
Destroyed all for profit

The waters are undrinkable
Masks cover our brows
The air is unbreathable
Ashes fall from the clouds

Science tried to tell us
Warnings were clear and loud
Politicians wouldn't discuss
No dissension was allowed

They kept up deregulation
All the money made them proud
Releasing all the contagion
Now the sky is falling down

It's hard to have a keepsake
When poison seeps from the ground
They didn't try to keep us safe
From the pollution floating abound

It's so difficult to understand
Why they just ignored the crowd
Corporations polluted the land
Our leaders ignored the sound

Everything is a memory now
There's no turning back
We'll have to carry on somehow
This was a blatant attack

And now the sky is falling down

A cool mist falls
Feeling good on my skin
A lazy breeze calls
Dishevelling my hair in the wind

The phone hangs silently
Clipped sturdy to my hip
She has yet to dial my number
As I get prepared for my trip

The trees stand bare
Stretching in the wet
I just stand tall and stare
No good-byes have been said

The cool mist turns to rain
It trickles down my face
But it does hide the tears
For their's no warm embrace

© 2020  Michael Messinger
(All rights reserved)

The distant mountains are calling me
I need some fresh air
I can't stop fighting for what I believe
It's sad that most don't care

I'm from West By God Virginia
Where the mountains are no longer free
They feed us lies and propaganda
That big coal is just a necessity

It's just profit to those that destroy
The people it affects are just casualties
An acceptable sacrifice to those they employ
It's profit over people that they enjoy

I'm from West By God Virginia
Where big coal rules the roost
They feed us lies and propaganda
The state continues to hide the truth

Mountaineers are always free
The motto of our state
But how can that really be?
When big coal controls our fate?

I'm from West By God Virginia
Where coal slurry enters our lakes
I'm from West By God Virginia
Where our lives are at stake

If's and but's surround us in life
One step either way can change fate
A false move or a reaction to strife
Can make things go another way

One second too fast or too slow
Can shape what happens next
It's a crazy thing to undergo
These life decisions happen quick

'If I could go back' as the saying goes
'I would've done it differently then'
But in this life we'll never really know
The answers to what could have been

We can dwell on things from long ago
And wonder about what if's and when
But it will always still be the unknown
We still have to let the future begin

So make the decisions with no regrets
We must do so again and again
Don't forget that we are all blessed
That we are alive and it's a gift


© 2020  Michael Messinger(All rights reserved)

Standing in the corner
Nowhere to run or hide
My mind deep in wonder
I'm nothing deep inside

I shouldn't be alive
Cheated death countless times
Wandering in circles
I'm nothing on the outside

But I'm not anything
I could've been something
Instead more of the same
Could've been something...Anything

Looking at the Sun
Wish I could fly away
My feet in standing water
Nothing for me to stay

I should've tried harder
I worked hard for all I have
My reflection in the water
Very little is left inside

So I'm not anything
I could've been something
Instead of accepting blame
Should've been something...Anything

They are out to break me
But I'm not broken yet
Standing in the street
Ignoring idle threats

Traffic passing by
Like I'm an invisible man
They will never break me
I will make my final stand

But I'm not anything
I could've been something
Instead of playing this game
Should've been something...Anything



© 2020  Michael Messinger(All rights reserved)