Sidewalk

Sidewalk 2/26/2014

There is no reason to look

If there is nothing you can do

And there is no reason to survive

If there is nothing left to say.

It is easy to say hello

But it’s hard to say goodbye

As we rise up and fall down

Over another bump in the road.

We have come around the corner

But it is still, just the same

Just like it was yesterday

And the day before that. 

There is nothing unique about today

Even if we are different

Because what lurks in our hearts

Has always been there. 

There are always secrets

And there are always riddles

But the puzzle of life

Endures.

We get closer

And then we fall away

Unable to accept

What was true all along. 

If you can think about thinking

Then you can guess the rest

Because not all things are true

And not all things are good.

We are linked together

Even if we are apart

And I will have

All I have known

And much more than this. 

A fire can burn the body

But it cannot touch the soul

Transduced like information

And recorded somewhere else.

Don’t answer the door

Because it might be a trick

And be careful where you go

Because the beasts are hungry. 

The day you know it

Is the day, you start to learn

As every pore is electrified

And a shiver goes up your spine. 

I have not forgotten

And I have not given up

But instead I ask for something different 

And better than before.  

It may come as a surprise

And it may come as a shock

But not for the humble

And not for the true. 

All things must pass

Yes, even the ugly

And the dumb

But if we only understood

We would still smile. 

No matter what happens

And no matter what is lost

The best will always be yet to come

Even in ten thousand years. 

I see you 

But, there are many things

I just cannot do

Even if, I wanted 

And even if, I dreamed.  

But what I can be

Is only just beginning

As I keep scratching at the surface

And knocking at the door. 

Prime

 Prime  2/25/2014

You can believe a lie

But that doesn’t make it true

And only liars

Should ever fear

Freedom or dissent.  

The world teeters on edge

And collapses in flames

Giving way, one after another

As everything falls into place.

Small men

And arrogant fakes

Get what they want

No matter who it hurts

Or what it costs.

Never accountable

And never questioned

They shove it down our throat

Knowing that they are unopposed

And everything is fixed.

They think they are the greatest

And how they love to boast

But all they do

Is hasten the end

Terrible and complete. 

Throwing their weight around

With made up titles

Never earned

And never just.

Unnecessary, empty

Wasteful and proud

They belittle everyone else

Every chance they get.

While others labor in darkness

And afraid to rock the boat

Unrecognized, mocked

Degraded and dumb.

Blood is everywhere

And no one bats an eye

Willfully asleep

And shockingly dumb.

The truth is dying

For lack of air

Choked off by liars

And sinking to the floor. 

Unable to rise

And unable to speak

The good lie motionless

Crumpled on the ground.

The red light is flashing

And all the lines are crossed

As the secrets spill out

And the dead gasp for air. 

There is nowhere to hide

As all good deeds are punished

Because everything we love

Is evil in their eyes. 

Even the most gentle soul

Should rise and defend their own

Especially the young and defenseless

Entrusted to our care.

But we have sold them out

And their future is bleak

Outnumbered, defenseless

Encircled and attacked. 

The truth was always here

And facts were never hidden

Right in front of our face

Every single day. 

Do not flinch

And do not give in

But relentlessly pursue

What is good

And what is true. 

There is no better time

Than now

To be at the bottom

And there is no better feeling

Than unjust wounding. 

Because every time it has happened

I have grown larger

And every time I am forgotten

I get stronger. 

Some may smirk

At the wounds

And some may kick

At the dying.

But bigger things are coming

For sure and for certain

Coming quick

And coming soon. 

Cut

Cut  2/24/2014

Knock me around

And push me on the floor

Because it doesn't make a difference

Happy or sad

Rich or poor.

Drag me across the rocks

And cut me if you want

Deep, jagged, and ugly

Dumb, dead, and gone.

Anything to wake me up

Because I want to see the end

When all of this is washed away

And never comes back again.

My shoes clopped on the street.
Under the trees,
Ancient and gnarled

As we walk in the velvety darkness

The kind I know so well. 

There is a stillness about the south

A heavy, thick blanket

Of sultry silence

Muffling my voice
And hanging in the air.

You cannot see it

But the feeling is there

A propensity for intrigue

And sudden violence.

Centuries of wear

Has soften the edges

And pitted the finish

Until everything is worn

And beautiful. 

Scream until your voice is strangled

And pour out your guts

Until you cry

Falling down into the river

Green and eternal. 

I can see the girls walk by

But I do not, turn to watch

For what is a ghost good for?

Except for fear and regret. 

Time heals all wounds

But here it lasts forever

Pulling me backwards

Into the grave.

Picture me through a grate

Of black scrolling iron

As a blurry apparition

Or photographic artifact

Out of place and dead.

So long Savannah

I knew leaving would hurt

But if I had never known

I would have been born dead
And never have grown.
 

Losing is winning

And winning is death

Because now I see

What others cannot.

I have made many friends

But my hands are always empty

And my heart is filled with longing

For all the dreams

I have never lived.

My spirit remains

Unable to let go

Always rushing backwards

And gushing tears.

I do love this place

Even though it kills me

Because without it

I would have never felt

Sweet tenderness

Or staggering loss. 

I loved them all

Even those who stung me

And left me for dead

Because how can anyone know light?

Without the dark. 

Remember me

Because I am not sad

Rising higher and higher

Each and every time. 

All that we revere

May lie in ruins

And all that we held sacred

May be abased.

But I swoop down

And see it all

Yours and mine forever

Even better than before. 

Deadstone

Deadstone 2/14/2014

Let me bleed 

But let me live

Without having to explain

What everyone should know.

It doesn’t make me special

That I am wounded

And I am lost

Because I am not the first

And I am not the last.

Others have given more

And walk among the dead

Starved, tortured, and murdered

Long before, I was born.

So they can set me apart

And call me what they want

A one dimensional paper person

That they never knew at all.

They can call me

An addict and a user

A drunk and a fool

But who am I to argue?

With the blind and the deluded.

They have never questioned

And never ventured outside themselves

Long enough to contemplate

All the evil

That they do. 

They have never experienced

A long dark night of the soul

As they plot and fight over the scraps

Dangled in front of their face.

Incapable of understanding

Why some don’t lunge for the carrot

So they judge and disparage

As unmotivated and dumb.

Lies are nothing

If it gets them what they want

And promises can always be broken

Whenever an advantage is found.

But this life is mine

And this life is yours

To live, love and savor

Every detail, nuance,

And flavor.

Give me the truth

And give me freedom

With liberty enough 

To imagine, create, and enjoy.

It might come easy

Or it might come hard

But either way

Without risk

It is not living at all. 

If you live

You will make mistakes

But its better to fail

Than it is to be protected,

Stunted, and wasted.

And empty. 

Once you have lived

There is little left to fear

As the shadows recede

And the monsters

Disappear. 

Let others cower

At let them run

Afraid of the risk

And afraid of the truth.

Reality is better

Even if it hurts

Because what hope

Do can anyone have

If we live in a bubble 

And worship a lie.  

Polar Vortex

White Out  2/10/2014

Stuck out, like a sore thumb

We stand apart

Neither above, nor below

Aberrant personalities

In a world gone insane. 

The first of the last

And the last of the first

I am the odd man out

And guaranteed to offend.

But this is nothing new

And it is, as old as it gets

The same old problems

Others suffered before.

Even ants can take down the mighty

If enough of them swarm

Inflicting death in ten thousand bites

On the foolish and the dull.

A wise man pays attention

But a fool will seek approval

Gladly licking the hand that kills him

Defenseless and dead. 

You can bow down

But it will not,

Another minute buy

Because nothing can save the hated

From genocide and extinction. 

God alone watches

And God alone knows

Just how far

To let it run

And just how much

We can endure. 

Food and water

Will never be enough

And useless entertainment

Can never feed the soul. 

The wise must build

And their minds must create

Free to imagine all possibilities

Unfettered and uncensored.

Money comes and goes

And all I need

I have and more

Even when I am down

And even when,

I am lost. 

If they want to drive the wrong way

Then I say

Just let them

Speeding up the exit ramp

On their way to the end.

I’ll walk alone

If that’s what it means

Because this is my life

Even if it hurts.

This is not a time to worry

And this is not a time to fret

But rather a time for action

In a million small degrees. 

Let it all fester

And let it all rot

Because this is what happens

The stupid way around. 

Let the buildings crumble

Because no one cares

And let the streets become deserted

Because the good stay away.

Empty is the future

And transparent are the lies

Like candy from a car

Forbidden, strange, and deadly. 

Either way, we will survive

As long as we can

Waiting for what is coming

Be it, what it may.