Disturbed

The nights of my life

that morphed into days

tired body and mind

in so many ways

to rise from the bed

not rested at all

seemed to promise me daily

an additional fall

my spirit now broken

my energy gone

these sleepless nights

they've gone on too long

I don't want to work

it's become a struggle to live

the hungry faces keep coming

and I have no more to give

across this world children starving

and I don't understand why

with the government's riches

hungry kids have to die

Being My Own Man

Am I not my own man

secure in my own beliefs

there are those who try and enter my life

having the sole purpose of changing me

why do people let others tell them

who they are supposed to be

how they're supposed to act

and who their friends can be

somebody once said

to impersonate is the sincerest form of flattery

but should I surrender who I am

for their need to feel noticed

to feed their ego

these people are like pictures of insecurity

they've not grown into their own individualism

they've become carbon copies

of others from their past

people they consider to be their heroes

rather than becoming their own person

they now wish to be the hero of another

no, I will walk my road

there may be many different paths through life

but for me the one I'm on

is the one I must travel

it will be the influence of this road that will mold me

I've grown to really like who I've become

I think I'll continue to be my own man

My Eyes Should Have Been Open

Encompassed in darkness

the light of day unseen

the years passed in a hole of lies

this faith is not my own

if it were

I could find joy

but there is only darkness

a spirit that has no life

birthed by false hope

The negativity of those men

the ones who seek power

to hold control over others

their words were so inviting at first

those words are no longer so

today they bring a loneliness

a longing

for the days of innocence

I ask myself why

why have I slept so long

why have I walked through life

with my eyes wide shut

The Hole that Cannot be Filled In

The inadvertent excavation left a hole

it seemed large enough to swallow the world

people said not to worry

it can be filled in again later

with the loss of a child

later never comes  

The Color of Morning

Those wonderful colors

almost black on the edges

the transition to a rich chocolate brown

becoming transparent as it moves toward gold

then yellow

that beautiful morning beverage

being poured from carafe to cup

I hear the voice of Joe Cocker

“You are so beautiful to me”

“You're everything I'd hoped for”

“Everything I need”

Good Morning World

How The Loss of My Eye Became A Blessing

My right eye

lost to glaucoma

self pity took my heart

the days were long

the question was always

why

why me

a constant mood of darkness

my attitude was sour

it's strange how a person can change

totally change for such a small disability

so small compared to those who have lost both legs

so small compared to those who become paralyzed

so small compared to if I had lost both eyes

it was those thoughts that brought me back

losing one eye was little

a minor inconvenience

mostly just a loss of peripheral vision

that and my depth perception leaving me

within that six to eight foot distance it was strange

life was changing for me again

it was night and day

from sour to sweet

the self pity was gone

what I had was far greater than what I had lost

I was immediately able to appreciate what I still had

no more did I rue the loss

I began to realize

there was beauty in the world

that I had never seen before

'nuff said

Congress acts so stupidly

with a lack of common sense

no longer working for the people

money grabbing for two more pence

Once they've been elected

treat voters as who cares

let them eat cake is what they speak

after all, they've been given theirs

The Danger of Flowers

Some speak with words reminiscent of flowers

while others blunt with bare naked truth

the one tends to tickle the ears of the people

while the other is deemed quite uncouth

these words they offer when spoken so soft

lull the people to sleep

the speakers pretend to act like they're shepherds

treating the people like sheep

with the smell of their flowers that's hiding what's real

leading the listener to a false comfortable feel

carefully protecting what it is they conceal

what they really do offer is just a raw deal

wake up people

all they want is more power

if you don't read twixt the lines

there's a danger to flowers

Will the Pain End on The Other Side

Awake

on the right side of the dirt

what could it hurt

to open my eyes

before me a picture

one of sadness

the homeless

the working poor

the children with dirt upon their faces

in tattered clothing

I see distended bellies

malnutrition taking its toll

this is supposed to be

the worlds greatest nation

we see those who will not work

and there are those who can not help themselves

but it is the children who suffer most

they deserve better

I often wonder

and I know I wouldn't change things

could I stop the hurt inside

if I were to awaken on the other side

Clouded Views

my opinion was questioned

my view then became clouded

are my beliefs now that of another

no longer do I have an understanding

nothing of this life path that has been set before me

can be seen

I feel as if I am now blind

my direction lost

there is no moving on from where I find myself

no longer do I know which way is forward

why is it some wish to mold everyone they meet

into a clone of themselves

There is a Cost

The people heard

but they wouldn't listen

their eyes were open

but couldn't see

the killing fields

this war at home

was never something

that should ever be

our children gone

forever lost

the right to bear

it has cost

when a crazy man

can still get a gun

and in his mind

it's for his fun

death will follow

excuses spun

the NRA

again has won

Salt

Salt trails upon cheeks

speak of sorrow

and also joy

joy and sorrow

they are yin and yang

the two sides of the emotional coin

so odd

two totally opposite emotions

yet they release in the same manner

my salt tested twice in three days

that which was lost to us

returned

how is it a pet can mean so much

Murder For Hire

Death and dismemberment

that's what they bring

while songs sung of heroes

are the tunes that we sing

Soldier on soldier

a body count is the score

but it's the folks who build weapons

who are winning the wars

It's all about money

satisfying their greed

the rich filling their storehouse

while they haven't the need

Today's wars they're for profit

of money, of land

and the worlds children keep dying

as we strike up the band

When will we stop

will it ever end

war, murder for hire

was not meant as a friend

Empty

love

meant for the heart

denied

for lack of trust

The Killing Fields

The killing fields

right here at home

are somehow different

from those that we've known

no longer war

on foreign fields

but there's a body count

this new war yields

students and teachers

professors and preachers

murders committed

by horrible creatures

are there no answers

to the question why

these monsters keep killing

causing mothers to cry

life is not ours to take

nor a game that we play

when will this madness end

will there come such a day

a day of beautiful peace

love shared man to man

the tools of killing laid down

would be a wonderful plan

but I know it's a dream

one that can never come true

and that thought and the stress

leaves me ever so blue