To The Depths

The road's sucked up the rain,
Even though it's asphalt,
Commuters look at me emotionless,
As if it was my fault.

The water's seeking the easiest route,
Just like the rest of us,
Drawn natur'lly to the core of the earth,
Our desire to reach great heights spurious,

We're only seeking release from this earth,
T'arrive at a new low,
The rain has tried that a million times,
To be sucked back below,

What's wrong with that,
To return to one's core?
It's the simplest form of all that there is,
Yet, each and ev'ry one of us wants more.

Another Brick in the Wall

"You've become too dirty,"
I admonished the brick,
It said nothing as it sat midst his friends,
Who flipped birds and held dicks,

He curled up his lips and raised his eyebrows,
Apologetic'lly,
I was in a rush and had to settle,
For staring back at it menacingly,

But from then on, everywhere I looked,
Walls would stand in my way,
Oh the jeers and their immobility,
No matter what I'd say,

Like I'm sorry,
Who am I to be judge?
Until now I was living un observed,
But I just had to point out that brick's smudge.

Time Is Money

It's all about money,
It is everything,
If we didn't need it or had enough,
We would all start living,

We would get up with the sun in our head,
That shines on our desires,
People would come to our lives and they'd go,
Not tied by the system of fiscal wires,

Betrayal would be so much, much simpler,
Hearts unsullied by debt,
We would all be able to see clearly,
We haven't found love, yet,

Then we'd move on,
Loneliness would be fine,
For we'd do the things that we wanted to,
Because it's money that made itself time.

Oh, O.J.

He really had it made,
Charisma out the butt,
A natural athlete across the board,
Good looking and well-cut,

He constantly said he was just O.J.,
He was not black or white,
The movements, the riots, he snubbed them all,
Yet his success was a boost for black rights.

Then his wife and a waiter were slaughtered,
The blood led straight to he,
He then said he was framed for being black,
Then was freed for Rodney.

But he forgot,
Many thought him guilty,
He lost sight midst a new crowd of yes men,
Got thirty years for a crime of conceit.

The White House's Fascist Face

How else can one explain,
Another White House move
Presented as guiltless, but following,
Trump's rumbling of fake news,

The exclusion of certain agencies,
From Spicer's press gaggle,
Which changed from what was to be a briefing,
But as an autocrat's finger-waggle?

Even Fox News joined in the obloquy,
This must be serious,
To achieve complete power, you must repress,
The freedom of the press.

This is no joke,
E'en I'm afraid to write,
This Wath of Investigative Po'try.
What an innocuous act to wrest fright!

That Noise

Can't get that fucking buzzing,
Out of the sound's background,
Sometimes I wonder if its main target,
Is to dirty my sound,

So no one can focus on the message,
There's something just not right,
How can such a meaningless distraction,
Mean the barrier to any real height?

Unless there's a process to work with it,
Herald it, brandish it,
Surrender the message and I might find,
The true message in it.

What could it be?
For me to stay in place?
The next time I see that little buzzer,
I will stand up and ask it to its face.

The Smile Commute

Sitting on the subway,
Seeing all the faces,
Ev'ryone of them completely neutral,
Staring out into spaces,

It's hard to believe one of them smiling,
They think the same of me,
These morning automaton commuters,
Will be turned on at th'end of their journey,

Seems to me it might take less energy,
Once offset by the joy,
To smile and let others' happiness,
Be remotely employed,

That is, sucked up,
Processed and recycled,
What kind of world would then nat'r'ly arise?
If you can't imagine, I bet I could.

My god

Is there really much left?
Should you stay much longer?
Would it make a diff'rence if I promised,
You don't have to wrong her,

That the steps to where you want to end up,
Could take another route,
Longer, harder, with less time at the end,
Less soil and blood and sweat left on your boot,

Less cold, less tears, far lesser solitude,
In which to do your work,
No uncertainty or dangerousness,
No deep laid thoughts to jerk?

Nothing at all,
Or maybe, ev'rything.
My god, in your own sad, darkest moments,
Do you have power over your thinking?

Stand By

If you have woken up,
By sunlight or alarm,
Not quite aware of where you are as yet,
Afraid to not be warm,

Reminding yourself of the place you're in,
Admonishing again,
A daily ritual of self-control,
To protect the position you are in,

It's not your dream, but it's not your nightmare,
Why risk one for th'other?
It takes a special person to chase dreams,
Most of us don't bother,

And are alright,
Like all beasts of the Earth,
We are not special, homo sapiens,
Let those who believe they are do their worst.

Trollump

Trump is now president,
Many are asking how,
Poor, white, disenfranchised voted for him,
Because they need change, now.

But there are not enough to tip the scales,
E'en with th'usual right,
Or the elderly or police state fans,
Or the supremely white,

As Dale Beran writes, there's another group,
Holed up in mom's basement,
Whose first rule is to be anonymous,
Then make trolly comments,

Talking 4chan,
Who may have put Trump in,
As a joke played on the United States,
The pastime of hacking Americans.

The Break

You do not need a break,
You only need you to,
Do things the way you do naturally,
So no one can refute,

That you are what you've been eternally,
That is what people want,
The surety of knowing anything,
Is e'en if they wanted to change they can't,

That translates to the most elusive trait,
Which is changing a lot,
The comfort that where action's coming from,
Is naught to do with thought,

But, instead, life,
You see, that's why we're here,
Thrust into this unknown reality,
As if purpose is obviously clear.

My Keys

The keys used to be there,
That bowl on the counter,
It was the first place I thought would be best,
No rest for the hunter,

There were so many thoughts that haunted me,
About needing the dish,
The room it took on the food area,
Like cross-contamination from the fish,

I moved them to a plastic container,
On my writing desk, now,
But with the loss of the daily routine,
My mind is in a row,

Things have since changed,
They are not always there,
I sometimes leave them in my coat pocket,
Change rules once and they disappear in th'air.

Intro

First there's the explosion,
Aft' the music builds up,
The destruction of one's very own name,
How's that for a wassup?

An existence outside of reality,
Is there e'en such a thing?
If there ain't, then there's a whole bunch of time,
That is being murdered by the living,

Just to play and share learning with others,
Is that really so bad,
To leave this world of deceit and hatred,
According to your dad?

Did he say that?
No, I don't think he did,
Of course, it was hard to understand him,
Through his sobs for the dearly departed.

Tear

You can't outgrow yourself,
You are just what you are,
I wouldn't waste your time running away,
You just won't get that far,

In case you're wondering, nothing has changed,
You don't live long enough,
Sure, there's no time within eternity,
But it takes time to collect all that stuff,

Which exists 'bout as long as you would think,
As long as a real thought,
That swirls around like it was meant to be,
Then find out it was not,

It was like time,
So heartbreakingly long,
Sometimes you think you can take anything,
Until life's cruelty just proves you wrong.

The Ring

A ring hugs the skin tight,
No give in the metal,
The flesh bulges up around its edges,
In time it will settle,

The fingers on either side avoid it,
However subtly,
It is a force foreign to their purpose,
A reminder of what they're meant to be,

Blood once struggled to push past its pressure,
Until it found a way,
What nature hath made, let humans obstruct,
It will push back, one day,

With force majeure,
The ring to our fingers,
That prod things they don't know just, well, because,
The impressions of which ever linger.

Where The Poor Fight

In the Spanish mountains,
The Leftists hid in caves,
Many had seen their families slaughtered,
Midst the Nationalist wave,

There were not many and few were soldiers,
Many were not Spanish,
Coming from Europe and America,
Drawn into the war to fight Fascists,

What they found on both sides were, of course, poor,
They are e'er those who die,
Prodded by those with power wanting more,
Directing from on high,

Then there is us,
Observing from afar,
Not Spain, the fighting no longer rages,
One need not look hard to find other wars.

Wash Away

Let it all wash away,
Oh god, like summer rain,
Sucked in the earth or evaporated,
Just don't return again,

Take with you all the bad, awful mistakes,
That weigh me down like bricks,
Better a box with no holes for a home,
Than one more feeling of shit I can't fix,

Strip me of clothing, if it means no shame,
May as well take the skin,
Let the blood flow away and crush the bones,
So I can re-begin,

Not say a word,
Assemble my body,
Truly know how it works ere using it,
So poor driving don't make it seem shoddy.

Water Falls

The book was chewed apart,
Like Humpty on the floor,
With time, the words could be pieced together,
Sure, but whatever for?

They stopped existing once pen left paper,
Moments spilled, then gone,
At best, just put the dog in the garage,
Hopefully, it will have learned its lesson,

As will you, never will thoughts lay about,
Or not photocopied,
While you are distracted by life's pleasures.
'Who'll be dog-jacked? Not we!'

At least, not me,
Life is much too precious,
The bull's horns are not that far from your heart,
Never will that happen again, she says.

The Ending

You can lose everything,
That's done by losing you,
It can happen driving your Ferrari,
Painted that flat black hue,

Bought to dally along the seaside road,
Off the Amalfi Coast,
To the villa that you keep for yourself,
Though it's not the one that you adore most,

When you look to your right past your blonde guest,
In the passenger seat,
'Who is this person steering with my hands?
And will we ever meet?'

Just one turn right,
Drive off the ocean cliff,
To prove the real you cannot drive at all,
Nor care you how opulently you live.

:(

It ended too quickly,
Like he had had enough,
There's only so much gold that you can mine,
Before the job's too tough,

Before you start to wonder what it's for,
It is all frivolous,
When you're starving, life is immediate,
That was a quality denied to us,

You need not suffer to know suffering,
In fact, best that you don't,
Better it is spared to everyone,
That is all that he wrote,

There's nothing else,
It's frivolous, I say!
Just lie on the couch and binge watch something,
Or you will be sure to get in the way.

The Dead Line

There're so many windows,
But not one face inside,
My mom said she'd be looking out for me,
Then, I guess, my mom lied,

The door's too far to lean o'er and open,
I'm afraid, anyway,
There are not words enough to fit in here,
To capture the loneliness here, today,

The chair will not move with my weight on it,
Nor will my hands help me,
The hunch of my back has disabled them,
Feels an eternity,

But it is not,
Don't have that luxury,
All these things must eventually work,
There is too much responsibility.

Nixed

Put things in perspective,
The only one you know,
The one sculpted by those who raised you up,
Or ground you under toe,

That was tweaked the first time you kissed a girl,
And your mind went kaboom,
When you defied the rules of your parents,
Then couldn't escape their clutches too soon,

The years of roaming devoid of morals,
Until you looked around,
Witnessed the global inequality,
Just begging to be found,

When 'twas too late,
Your mind's already fixed,
Your progeny will have to save the world,
If that possibility isn't nixed.

That Story

Start with an idea,
Then let it ruminate,
Sleep on it, beat on it, show it the door,
Let it back in and wait,

Sit across from it, but don't talk to it,
It has to explain first,
How it came to be, what it will become,
How its resolution will quench a thirst,

If you feel you've discovered something new,
A start, middle and end,
A truth's been revealed that can't be denied,
Nor can you abandon,

What it's become,
It was waiting for you,
Now you must guide it out into the world,
Don't you want to see what it grows up to?

How To Make Sausage

Get at least half a pig,
Chop it up into chunks,
You can put aside the liver or not,
Then treat the rest as junk,

Add eighteen grams salt per kilo of meat,
Lots of pepper to cure,
Toss it about then grind it into bowls,
Fold it with a spoon to make the mix pure,

Flush the pig intestines with warm water,
'Ere sliding on the spout,
Keep the casing firm and coil the sausage,
As the meat flows out,

Then you hang it,
Someplace dark, cool and dry,
In a few weeks they are ready to eat,
That swine accomplished more dead than alive.

To Be Serious

You must be serious,
To be taken as such,
Which requires you've a lot of discipline,
Sophisticated touch,

A keen eye for the tears in the fabric,
Of what we all accept,
As the way things are 'cause that's how things are,
As if the right way's only where we've stepped,

You must know yourself, because if you don't,
You won't know anything,
You cannot label the things around you,
When the world is spinning,

But most of all,
To be taken as such,
Your grip's to be so tight on what is right,
That no one can ever loosen your clutch.

And So It Ends

Time flies when there is fun,
That's because you feel it,
There is duration to the setting sun,
Only when you wield it,

Otherwise, it may as well not happen,
Like ground water flowing,
It hasn't happened if it is unseen,
That's why we created the all-knowing,

It was too much for us to take the truth,
A god would take our shame,
Look where that invention led the world to,
What if it never came,

We dealt with life,
Took for real what we saw,
The hungry would be hungry 'cause they are,
Would we then behave per compassion's law?

The Cold Will Beat Me Down

The cold is absolute,
My heart's the same's my skin,
To the point that I am not cold at all,
Like this pain is common,

Like the acceptance of the status quo,
No matter how severe,
Like there is no power outside of god,
That can make the sun shine and the sky clear,

Like the fear of acting in the wrong way,
Lest the police beat you,
If but there was a jacket thick enough,
To cushion what they do,

But oh the cold,
I'll just have to adapt,
Any more would be uncomfortable,
I was just not raised up to be like that.

When Is It Time?

When's the time for protest?
When injustice is done,
And if the screams and chants fall on deaf ears?
Well, then revolution,

But that can't happen without a leader,
So where will you get one?
It must be someone with nothing to lose,
And no fear of the state's retribution,

Who cares for nothing but injustices,
Affecting anyone,
No matter race, sex, faith or politics,
Else, that is fascism,

Which is the crunch,
It e'er has been and will,
Feeding a group's desire for more money,
After being trounced, repressed, loathed and killed.

In The Now

What's the use in trying,
When it all comes for free?
No trying other than to wish it so,
Then forgetting your dreams,

For if you try to grasp for what you want,
The very act, itself,
Puts you in a state of perpetu'l want,
So you're not ready to receive your wealth,

It just floats by like it was never there,
Because you were not, too,
How can you be somewhere looking ahead,
To what's coming to you?

You just cannot,
You must live in the now,
If you want to talk to the universe,
And have the universe show you how.

That Groove

Once you get a good groove,
Stop thinking about it,
You'll ne'er know how you managed to get there,
Nor do you want out'it,

Just keep yourself moving inside that loop,
Then give yourself a pat,
There isn't anyone in the whole world,
Who could have made a beat as dope as that,

Most people won't be able to get it,
It's the same all around,
E'en those who make a living from that shit,
Have those who hate the sound,

Then there are those,
Who will not even roar,
Sit quietly in the cage they were born,
Until they lie dying wishing for more.

Morning Vision

There's a rhythm you get,
Like the rumbling of trains,
The back and forth of intimate moments,
Springtime down-pouring rains,

A thirsty dog's tongue lapping up water,
The silence of the night,
My heart, with its irregular murmur,
The sinking of the moon to let in light,

The pulsing of love when it is certain,
Hate, but you don't want that,
Its is a rhythm that blocks out all else,
So may as well be flat,

What it's you want,
Is perfect harmony,
When every sound is an instrument,
Played in the soundtrack of your life's movie.

What Was That?

With all that's going on,
It is hard to focus,
It's only when the noise is cleared away,
I see the world's for us,

The moments are so far and few between,
It is like existence,
Is only a jumble of distractions,
Woven into a fabric, thick and dense,

But you must massage your hands against it,
Float to every corner,
Be sensitive to the nicks and moth holes,
A space fabric roamer,

What does that mean?
I cannot concentrate,
Maybe I'll know after clearing my head,
Or through the fabric, I may see my fate.

That Little Life

Rumbling sound beside me,
Little teeth, tiny tongue,
Taking a break to drink before the wheel,
Calls to his fiery lungs,

He's drunk so much he must be twice the weight,
Fear pangs me that he's ill,
The body is such a delicate thing,
I wake up surprised that I'm alive, still.

But there will be long stretches that he'll rest,
That doesn't calm my mind,
He's just a hamster, yes, but oh my God,
His soul's as big as mine,

It has to be,
I must believe that or,
That cursed sound is so grating on my nerves,
I would throw the damn thing against the wall!

Out

Clear your mind and wonder,
What things would have been like,
Without your existence on this planet,
With the subsequent mights,

Might this world have run a little better,
With someone with more pow'r,
With fortitude to face what must be done,
At the time of your loved one's direst hour,

Might you never have missed living at all,
It's such a minor thing,
First you are there and then, blip, you are not,
Yet, it seems so crushing,

Well, yes it is,
Feelings are not time bound,
They can stretch moments to infinity,
No way of escaping it will be found.

My Feets

My feet are far away,
They've always been to me,
It's got something to do with how I'm made,
I've just got to be free,

Still, they have stuck with me through thick and thin,
No matter what I do,
Not sure if that says more 'bout them or me,
Or p'haps the influence of my new shoes,

Anyway, the arrangement works for me,
I think they're happy, too,
Whether it's they or me that take the lead,
We e'er end up with you.

You're like all roads,
You lead us both to roam,
To a place where the sun will always shine,
Where you are e'er walking from and to home.

Misunderstandings

The problem with speaking,
It assumes fathoming,
When half of us don't know what we're saying,
The issue's compounding,

When the rest just really don't give a fuck,
Words become dangerous,
For despite the fact that they're meaningless,
They're like a person's soul's book's page for us,

Worse than when there is misunderstanding,
There's mutual capiche,
People embark on barbaric crusades,
What havoc they unleash.

It's not all bad,
I'll have to give you that,
Though the beauty of peace is often smashed,
When those who don't get it overreact.

Second Chance

Everything has been lost,
That I had wrote before,
Still, somehow, though the words are different,
They'll have the same core,

For you can only express what you are,
Even when you pretend,
To express the thoughts of somebody else,
How you do it is just you, in the end,

The more removed you are from you's a lie,
Makes what you say less real,
That's why honesty's what separates greats,
From those with less appeal.

No matter what,
For that we all must strive,
So, forget all I've said before this day,
If what was written did not seem alive.

Women's March on Washington: Toronto

White's End of Protest,
Says marches just don't work,
A new kind of resistance must be found,
To the tyrant that lurks,

There's value in thinking outside the box,
That's where true vision's found,
Micah says activism can't rely,
On public demonstrations in downtown,

We must move to the fringes of cities,
Slowly work our way in,
'Fore the powers that be know what hit them,
We've got revolution!

I hear his words,
Let's also not dismiss,
The unifying power of the scene,
Of thousands marching against unfairness.

Your Bliss

There's a sweet spot in life,
Everyone gets a glimpse,
All the powers that be work for you,
P'haps not seen, or not since,

Most of the time, it is just a feeling,
You know it is out there,
You could spend a life trying to reach it,
Or just be in it, breathing it like air,

It could be among others, or alone,
Outside or inside you,
Its form is formed by the form that you are,
The form which you strive to.

That we all do,
I hope that you find yours,
Countries have been formed this goal in mind,
So sought after, it often leads to wars.

The Frustration

What's the use in trying,
When it's out of your hands?
I swear sometimes it's like another world,
Where all of this shit lands.

It's nothing to do with what's in a mind,
But what that mind conspires,
Then what it puts into reality,
Then whether they can find any buyers.

After that, its arena's obvious,
No need to fuck around,
Stick to what you know and let the rest lie,
You are on your own, now.

You always were,
Remember that thing birth?
You started life alone and in the dark,
Now you're avoiding that for all it's worth.

To The Rich

The problem with the rich,
Is how they treat their wealth,
Instead of a comfort against hunger,
They devour to poor health,

Instead of keeping dry under a roof,
Sufficient for the task,
Gargantuan homes beyond any need,
Cast shadows o'er those who daren't e'en ask,

They drive past rusted heaps stopped by police,
For crimes of poverty,
When a slice of their cash would give them life,
Free from all injury,

Ain't that the goal?
A chance for everyone?
All luxury does is keep us apart,
And encourage unfair distribution.

The Man

The music was so loud,
His fucks couldn't be heard,
Or his cunts, shits, mother-fuckers, and clits,
Or wisest of his words,

He strolled from that garage to the basement,
A two-four in each hand,
Manifested from the check he just got,
He is a simple, and yet complex man,

He swigs a beer and then swings a hammer,
Both will be pounded down,
He gets up and the day better watch out,
Darrel's coming to town.

You can't stop him,
You think he'd stop himself,
Some people defy what the man says do,
And builds a pedestal, no fucking shelf.

Reach Her

The good offset the bad,
Though't it's outside the law,
The government did what it always does,
Made it like no one saw,

All the sychophants got their promotions,
Acts being status quo,
But he who tipped the scales will never rise,
There was really nowhere else he could go,

But unlike most who simply disappear,
Some people are too big,
They operate so far outside the norm,
They've ne'er taken a swig,

Of the Kool-Aid,
It'll ne'er make them rich,
They won't even be marked by history,
'Cause they don't live for those by whom it's writ.

To Be You

Don't matter what you do,

There're be consequences,
Maybe good or bad or probably both,
Both side of the fences,

The side you're on may not be where you stood,
Nor may't be where you end,
The question's do you know how you got there?
Do you know your final destination?

That's the only way to stand the salvo,
No matter what you do,
Better people have succumbed to the fire,
More sure of things than you,

So let me help,
I think I know the key,
It has to do with knowing who you are,
And being you with no apologies.

A Way To Live

One must e'er have patience,
To live outside oneself,
The chance to observe what others might do,
While you maintain your stealth,

There then arises opportunities,
Too many to take in,
Don't try to paint the world in your image,
'Stead, traverse the paths others others are raking,

Then you can keep your eyes peeled for a chance,
Of spying something new,
A thing through the trees of great awesomeness,
Made 'specially for you.

Thanks to patience,
And that yourself you know,
Now you can blaze a trail no one foresaw,
That they will follow with their rakes in tow.

Each Day

Each day is a new day,
Still, informed by the last,
One day closer to the one coming up,
Jam-packed with daily tasks,

Each day promises opportunities,
Informed by yesterday,
Possibly conflicting with tomorrow,
Or commitments you can't just sweep away,

Each day is the first day of a new life,
Discarding all before,
Severing bonds and rejecting the past,
An awful, inner war.

Each day must come,
Can pass as nothing new,
Nor pose a threat to what you've built before,
If you actually don't want it to.

Keep Your Eyes Open

I saw four ones, today,
At two different times,
So I noticed my thoughts just preceding,
Like dear old mom of mine.

There is a world, if you are open to't,
(And why wouldn't you be?),
That is speaking to you all of the time,
Judging your thinking and activities,

The best kind of score is multiple ones,
Though, I cannot be sure,
If my internal clock e'er knows the time,
And lo, my thought's deemed pure!

There's always this,
It's ne'er wrong to reflect,
You will then ask if you are living right,
So, bring on every one I can get!

The Way Around It

If the stars would align,
To bring peace to this world,
Would it burst forth from within all of us,
Or from without be curled,

Like a wire wrapped around an iron rod,
With love the battery,
Drawing our selfish hearts to the good pole,
To acknowledge the simple real'ty,

That working together, all benefit,
No one is left behind,
What we've built means no one must live hungry,
The fire of the unkind,

Or could it be,
The good will become bad,
As the stars align, the planets unseat,
So we are left with what we ever had.

The Big Cheese

Let time not rule progress,
Like it is wont to, now,
Preferring gibberish and rhetoric,
And an insincere bow,

Running on like a jaguar eating meat,
Or two children on fire,
Sopping up the mass leavings of the cops,
Hoisting upon their shoulders great liars,

Grinding through its mincer the freshest herbs,
Mixing them with poison,
Slathering the mush on the feet of queens,
As sun does the ocean,

Then calls it art.
Anyone understand?!
There is work to be done on time for pay,
Lest Communism takes over this land.

Your Great Work

How often must you fail,
T'accept it's not your time?
That, p'haps it's better to do what you do,
And let lying dogs lie,

Spend your free hours on this earth at peace,
Expect no more from it,
E'en altruistic goals may be ill-planned,
If prospect's from the summit's to plummet,

If it guarantees one life's not well-lived,
Namely, the one you've got,
And there's no promise for the other ones,
Benefiting or not,

It's all your choice,
To be or not to be,
Ideally, the two goals will correspond,
So you need not claim your morality.

Hope

There're a few kinds of hope,
Fleeting, drowned in despair,
No clear vision what salvation could be,
Hands grasp blindly for air,

Obliterating a different kind,
Born of a calmer mind,
Still not grasping for something possible,
In the real'ty of your daily grind,

Denying still another, more useful,
Acknowledging what's real,
Seeing the potential of given paths,
Choosing by appeal.

Still no promise,
Life offers no such thing,
But hope for something that is possible,
You open the door for the unforeseen.

Doing

There's something 'bout doing,
Leaves no room for mistakes,
With clear mind and determined objectives,
Regarding what you make,

It requires intimate knowledge of you,
Deepest fears, unnamed dreams,
Limitations of your flesh and spirit,
The root of your idiosyncrasies,

Then your true nature will be free to roam,
No need to monitor,
You have to focus on the task at hand,
'Cause that's what it's all for,

The truth of it,
In face of enemies,
Once you are passed all the indecision,
You may overcome the controversies.

Off The Couch

Imagine, if you will,
Living under pure trust,
In another person's promise to you,
To e'er do what he must,

To face the world's challenges together,
Become stronger than ones,
Who must live with nothing but what they have,
Like an animal, without emotions,

Now then, take that trust and strip it clean,
To what's inside of you,
Did you leave any for your own self-worth?
What if it all fell through?

All around you,
Circumstances just change,
Do you become the emotionless beast,
Has betrayal destroyed all of your range?

Letting Go

I need a new passport,
Got to get out of here,
This country doesn't suit my temperament,
Or my joy de vivre,

Or, let's face it, any desire for change,
And really, why should it?
There's far less killing of its citizens,
Than the lion's share of world governments,

Most people don't really have it that bad,
At least that's what we're told,
Living well don't need to mean living large,
Only not being sold,

And having hope,
Left off the question mark,
We must inspire each other ev'ryday,
Only the dead can survive in the dark.

Early Morning Jump

There's no point in writing,
If not to effect change,
Like all other acts in this goddamn world,
Except we're talking brains,

Brains that decide how to treat the homeless,
Based on how they got there,
You don't have to give change if you don't want,
It's about respect, not making it fair,

Brains that pass on their knowledge to the kids,
No matter how fucked up,
It's not a bad thing until someone's hurt,
And no one gives a fuck.

But, who am I?
Not perfect, that's for sure,
Like I've been saying over twenty years,
What can I do that will make me feel pure?

Lying

You'll never be closer,
To death than you are now,
Fearing it's fearing a part of yourself,
Of all things, this I vow,

So focus on that for a little while,
Does it inform your life?
One moment you're here and the next you're not,
Might give you a new outlook on your strife,

But, you say, such observations are trite,
Life, you must still endure,
The pain, struggle, deceit and oppression,
Of all things, this is sure,

It will not end,
Until the day it does,
It doesn't have to be as bad as that,
Just live, let live and beware of the fuzz.

A New Year Wish

'Most forgot to do this,
And now don't have much time,
The world around will be waking up soon,
Then no longer be mine,

I'm not saying it's a resolution,
Just trying to be me,
No regrets or bitter feelings abound,
We're all trying to authentic'lly be,

For once you are, so might ev'ryone else,
Like cars stopping at once,
On the highway, all of them as one mind,
No one calling anyone else a cunt,

'Cause that's not nice,
In any circumstance.
Can't everybody just get along?
Let's give two thousand, seventeen a chance.

A New Year

A part of my absence,
Despite telling myself,
That I am dedicated to The Fall,
To put Waths on the shelf,

Was more than freeing up the time to write,
Fear was driving me, too,
Well, this is a new year, and fear be damned,
It will no longer tell me what to do,

There's a place for it or it would not be,
I won't deny its use,
But it must spring up from the soul's instinct,
Not in light of abuse,

Or what might be,
No one can answer that,
Only the things one wishes there might be,
Are worthy of affecting how you act.

Given Scenes Like Aleppo

What was the stroke of luck,
That put me in this place?
Complaining it's too hot with ice outside,
Privileged sex and race.

First world woes, like what's the meaning of life,
Though, the question still stands,
When ev'ry hospital and school's been bombed,
Only a Death Road as an escape plan,

It's trite to be grateful for all you have,
Ev'rything's rel'tive, right?
The breath in my lung's a glorious thing,
In a war-torn, bleak blight,

So reject it,
Refuse to live in peace,
Until all people can reject it, too,
With the cool arrogance of the elite.

Is This The End?

I hes'tate to write this,
Got other things to do,
Also, if I am honest with myself,
I am afraid of you,

A fear that was ne'er part of my being,
Nor do I wish it were,
Once, I was accused of being shameless,
My proudest moment living in the world,

But a long life is measured by changes,
Not years that have gone by,
Hoping you end up back where you started,
S'that as born, you will die.

Your truest self,
Ere the Earth friended you,
Gave you life, yes, then the killing began,
That you forget what it is you must do.

Aching Back

Had to sneak this one in,
Just like ev'rything else,
If this mantra does not repair it all,
I just might hurt myself,

Unintentionally! Don't get me wrong,
Just have to find one's groove,
If you're not finding your bliss where you are,
Just pack up your things, close your eyes, and move,

Then you will find yourself in someplace new,
That's existence's gift,
Like panning for gold, you ain't catching none,
Find a new place to sift.

That's all there is,
Unless beating dead horses,
Is what in your heart's what you're meant to do,
Then you're lucky to know what your course is.

Animals

There's no human being,
You could call animal,
Just like no animal's not worth respect,
Ever since man's great fall,

It's a wonder chains were e'er invented,
Who came up with that first?
What need to keep another living thing?
An event born with the notion of cursed,

And all the evil that comes with that view,
Blah, blah, yadda, yadda,
If you want to treat others with respect,
Then, well, you just oughta.

It's that easy,
It's called live and let live</>.
Then you can heal and accept your own fate,
As one with as much freedom as you give.

What You See

Take a look at yourself,
What you see's what you get,
What you get's what you accept in yourself,
What you accept's correct,

The paradox is what you see mayn't be,
What it is that you want,
But what you think others get when they see,
Which they then assume is you, but it's not,

If you'd see what you get, which you do not,
What kind of life is that?
The kind where your eyes see not what there is,
That's illusion, not fact.

That don't feel good,
You know what you're doing,
You're relenting on being your true self,
That's the last thing you should be eschewing.

Serenity Now

Things are e'er what they are,
Despite how you may hope,
Yes, they may change, but in a thousand ways,
The way which you want? Nope,

Or rather, it is not impossible,
That's life's magicalness,
But no alterations can ever pass,
'Less you practice radical acceptance,

Not talking 'bout the Serenity Prayer,
'Least, I hadn't planned to,
But, really, if God were alive today,
He'd probably slap you,

And say, "wake up!
"Do you think you're dreaming?
Stop dying, wishing things were different,
And live facing the way they are seeming."

Running

If this is putting off,
I don't want to be right,
The movement of ev'ry limb that I see,
'Skey to locks out of sight,

Existing in another dimension,
Just theoretical,
Putting into question your sensations,
Whether it is there need not be settled,

You must take that taste with a grain of salt,
Feelings, too, are suspect,
They'll only help you with the chimera,
Of all that you expect,

But it's not there,
It's on the horizon,
A backdrop, for sure, sunlight on your dreams,
But it is not in the world your eye's in.

Off The Freight Train

In the nineteen fifties,
Entered into New York,
A young man wishing just to play guitar,
That music they called folk,

Because it told stories and captured hearts,
So what, it didn't sell?
You sing your soul, get paid if you're lucky,
Happy if you play well,

E'er in front of people or not at all,
Else there was no feelin',
He'd meet his idols and they'd ask his name,
He'd reply, 'Bob Dylan',

The song was his,
They'd always ask to hear,
It was obvious to all he had it,
That's his reward for conquering his fear.

The Music

You are music to me,
Carrying me through time,
Your calm tempo replacing the seconds,
Mundane becomes sublime,

The sounds of the street organize themselves,
Like they were meant to be,
Oh, would that all the world just understood,
That in the cacophony's harmony,

But the melody comes from in not out,
The peace must be in you,
Only then you see the dance of others,
And so, too, their world view,

Is it the same?
But it don't mean a thing,
Once everyone's dancing to their own beat,
All your body will wish to do is sing.

A Heart's Test

The single stage pump drones,
'Til its work's met by flesh,
A membrane layered on a blood jet stream,
Packaged in the man, Pietch,

If the world were diff'rent, so'd the readings,
So, too, expectations,
Three hundred years, now, this force has been known,
The heart's not just the source of affections,

The machine stops now, the retreat's slow hiss,
The reading's what it is,
A moment in time, 'mongst infinite more,
Each a correlative,

But, yet, alone,
Is ev'rything function?
What 'bout those ev'nings side-by-side in bed,
When our blood feels like they're beating as one?

Blacksmith Hands

I don't know these people,
Eyes wide, skin clean and fresh,
Not constrained by their lack of cash in hand,
They face a diff'rent test,

Minds focus all day on unhuman things,
In that, we are the same,
Put them in a tower and knock it down,
It wouldn't alter the rules of the game,

Maybe it is just their colorful socks,
A whimsy I don't know,
That despite there is no point to it all,
We're still in one big show,

That's the secret,
You can't control outside,
But create your own world to exist in,
And what's out's in's what's there until you've died.

Advice

How else can you react,
Than how it is you've learned,
From those that came before and should have known,
The risks around the turns?

The disappointments and let-downs in life,
As if they didn't know,
They weren't taught to deal with them, too,
For that, d'you know how far back you must go?

The kicker is there is no point in time,
That knowledge don't exist,
Sure there are books with an answer of sorts,
Brandished by fanatics,

You don't need that,
The answer's inside you,
You're as fresh as the first daisy, ever,
And that one learned how to live as it grew.

Say Anything

Speaking implies notion,
Like you mean what you say,
But until you get out your dying words,
Your thoughts are not betrayed,

Even then, unless you are not alive,
There's e'er another side,
If you were able to call from the dead,
You'd have some new message from the inside,

Imagine you could have said everything,
Just paste it on your head,
Ne'er a syllable needed afterward,
Except please pass the bread,

P'haps I love you,
Just 'cause it's nice to hear,
Just be careful, for the more that you say,
The more you'll have to say to be made clear.

UP

I just did a chin-up,
It's something about health,
An elusive state of body and mind,
Nigh important as wealth,

With chin-ups it's all about quantity,
Just like money, in fact,
Could it be that if I get big enough,
I will gain what I ever felt I lacked?

If I pump to the size of a mammoth,
My woes could go away,
Forget working hard for good day's wage,
Muscles will forge the way,

Just need practice,
More than five at a time,
Then I will have ev'rything that I want,
All the comfort without spending a dime.

He's Been Through Worse

Sitting on a bench,
A man in peach shorts,
Masked for a moment by a police car,
Neck not slightly torqued,

His hand raises his smoke while his eyes on phone,
Did he work any less,
Wake up later, follow a diff'rent code,
Than the guy who just passed in the Lexus?

Will he sit there all day, thinking the same?
We all just do our best,
With what we have been given and e'er have,
We're not living a test,

It is called life,
Mysterious and grand,
I'll stop musing on the one on the bench,
One's own is hard enough to understand.

Night Visions

There is a light o'er there,
Like a computer screen,
Backlit by millions diode pixels,
Like nothing I've e'er seen,

It's a glow so faint, it is only clear,
If I turn my phone off,
Yet the black break in between tells me that,
There's a true glow and one that's a knock-off,

It's only 'cause I know I'm on a lake,
I see it for its truth,
The ev'ning moon's reflection off the lake,
Memories of my youth,

In simpler times,
When I couldn't write this,
In situ, with the screen brightness turned low,
So my eyes can report back on this bliss.

No Sound

When it's quiet like this,
Crickets the only sound,
I then hear the constant buzz in my ears,
Like some white noise rebound,

So loud I almost miss the splash of fish,
Eating a midnight snack,
What noise my daily life must be filled with,
That my ears reverberate with its lack,

How long it will take to recalibrate,
To what nature had planned,
Is not something that I can calculate,
But surely I'll be damned,

If I find out,
For then I'd have to flee,
The only world I've known my entire life,
Where I'm surrounded by my family.

On The Shore

Trees are growing from rocks,
Butt up against the shore,
The water bugs play some mass game of tag,
Fish ain't biting no more,

This land's scarce changed in a millennia,
'Cept for the odd cottage,
It would take a city's with of humans,
To make nature get the fuck out of Dodge,

But that's just 'cause it's a provincial park,
Only 'cause it's no worth,
It is the same with hireability,
And the city of Perth,

You're in the wake,
Or you are moved by it,
Either way you have to be in water,
If you say you are not I won't buy it.

Uhm, I'm Still Here

Just because I'm a ghost,
Doesn't mean I read minds,
If you don't tell me you're thinking of me,
I will think you unkind,

Won't show you the path to a better life,
You better bet I could,
Telepathy, no, fortune telling, yes,
We see in four dimensions pretty good,

Other than that, things are mostly the same,
Old mind different suit,
It's against the rules to communicate,
But so was stealing loot,

And I did that,
Many other things, too,
So give me a sign you miss me a bit,
I'll break an ethereal law for you.

Love (the imperative)

May love never leave you,
No matter where it goes,
Attached to things that are not worth your time,
Blinded by fleeting throes,

Or clinging to someone who's not worthy,
At least the feeling's there,
Not roaming outside you with all hope lost,
Chasing dreams long disappeared in thin air,

Better you love TV or, worse, a dog,
Go spend it on handbags,
Shower your adoration on false gods,
Rather you live in rags,

Than lose all love,
Instead, destroy coffee,
Just trying to think of the most absurd,
So you apprec'ate love's necessity.

Welcome to the World

Why you need two handbags,
I'd love to understand,
Perhaps you fill them with what's fallen out,
When your front door is slammed,

Like a closet that's bursting to the seams,
With everything you need,
A water bottle thirteen months half full,
Old cassette tapes and books you'll never read,

Things you couldn't sell when the system dies,
When you need to leave home,
Your world becomes oh such a diff'rent place,
Unwanted and unknown,

But yet, it's there,
Like you were born that day,
Just handed to you, like that's how it is,
And it couldn't be any other way.

The Stripper

It's about the moment,

Just unpredictable,

Influenced by so many unknown facts,

Couldn't count if able,

But there is ne'er a doubt when I'm with you,

Is't a trick of the mind?

You can make yourself believe something, y'know?

Ref'rence Jesus' last words when he died,

Think about your faith in the weatherman,

Where percentage is truth,

You think you will wake up in the morning,

For real'lty stays aloof,

But not right here,

Looking into your eyes,

The moment's only the realization,

That we should fear naught hellos or good-byes.

Too Tired

There is too much to do,
To think of what you love,
Food won't knock on your door, jump on your plate,
What are you thinking of?

That which inspires you can only exist,
With unoccupied minds,
That is why art has basically been dead,
Since the ancient Egyptians have all died,

It is not so much the need to survive,
That's just a piddly thing,
Hunger begs you to shout out to the world,
What your heart is singing,

It's other stuff,
Beyond the fork and knife,
Work begets cash, begets shopping, then what?
We're so removed from living, where is life?

You're Still Alive

Life's a series of change,
Like the growth of children,
If you see them ev'ryday, they're the same,
Ultimate ends hidden,

But wake up one morning and years have passed,
Oh, where did the time go?
No chance to amend the path they'd taken,
Bigger than you or the life that you've known.

Did they watch themselves transform to grown-ups?
Else, time travel's their trip,
Time all wasted by letting it pass by,
Shooting it from the hip,

No questions first,
Like, what the fuck is this?
If asked to recreate the world from scratch,
Do you even know what it is you'd wish?

In Exile

You feeling your body,
From the inside or out?
Do you feel the breeze caressing your skin,
Washing away all doubt,

Or is it slightly quenching the furnace,
Burning hot in your heart,
Screaming to be moved to a safer place,
Whether in its current body or not?

Do your eyes see the beauty all around,
Aching to ease your pain?
Just close them now and tell me what you see,
Isn't the problem plain?

You are burnt out,
The reason ain't no thing,
You must return to your natural state,
When your actions came before your knowing.

Good Night

Meet you at the castle,
The one made out of clouds,
At the drawbridge, you all dressed in purple,
My sweet, go to sleep, now,

We can always close our eyes and meet there,
If nowhere else there is,
With its soft moat and big fluffy turrets,
It will always be a safe place for us,

But its doors are closed when we are awake,
Until then we must live,
Facing the harshness of stone and mortar,
You have all I can give,

Up 'til I die,
Then beyond that sure day,
Queen of intoxication, I love you,
I will e'er be there, wherever you lay.

Find Yourself

Fear makes you do strange things,
Like turn into a child,
Throw away the years meant to make you strong,
When tame overcomes wild,

Except the adult doesn't leave your skin,
He's left to deal with it,
Now, you only have yourself to turn to,
Frozen to your place in a panicked  fit.

'Fore you know it, you have lost all control,
Seeking it around you,
But those eyes wouldn't recognize reason,
If it was all they viewed.

Look at yourself,
From both sides of the frame,
The child will tell you what your heart desires,
But wanting and having are not the same.

City Crickets

Listen, do you hear that?
Do not utter a peep,
Just the whisper of the AC unit,
The city is asleep,

The glow of office buildings through the blinds,
Replace the stars behind,
Constellations if I choose to read them,
Guiding the actions of all human kind,

It is the witching hour, before the rush,
After the night owl's flight,
Nary a car treading the downtown streets,
Twixt drunken and work fights,

And dark and light,
Though really, which is which?
Drunk on living, sober until work comes,
The poor forever the prey of the rich.

Finally

The sun is now shining,
And, oh, what it reveals,
Sandy beaches lapped by cool, salty waves,
Pierced by a hundred keels,

A breeze cleaned by miles of ocean water,
Breathed in, clearing the mind,
To rest on questions best considered when,
Sitting in clothes long hardened by the brine,

Encroaching on no one, feet in the sand,
Plenty for everyone,
If greed could only be given its place,
That's the realization,

That we're all here,
Whatever the system,
Surely amidst the vastness of this Earth,
There is a place for ev'ryone's passion.

Meteor Shower

We weren't sure we saw't,
The light plays tricks on you,
Sometimes you want something so very bad,
You see what you want to,

A subtle streak across the nighttime sky,
Perhaps a star imprint,
Million-old light traveling to our eyes,
Reflected back, now a meteor's glint,

Reinforced by the cries of my partners,
I've seen one if you did,
Without the ben'fit of instant replay,
It's a runaway bid,

We want to win,
Even before we do,
Suddenly the sky is filled with comets,
And I'm flying in among them with you.

On This Truck

Want to understand strength?
Look at that truck's backside,
Chassis built like a metal I-beam house,
Four thick monstrous wheels wide,

We could stand on it together, hands clasped,
The springs wouldn't feel us,
Turn faces up to the sun as it rolls,
Noses never touch the choking exhaust,

If we are hit, we would never know it,
We would just plow on through,
To wherever that behemoth takes us,
Earth on Earth, me and you,

Until we stop,
To top it up again,
We'd deign to place our feet back on the ground,
Risking this world's inevitable pain.

Your Deep Web

I want to penetrate,
Through into your deep web,
Under the the words I get back with queries,
That you've easily said,

Past connections you've made to memories,
Simple enough to find,
Silumacra forever changing form,
Masking undigested conflicts behind,

Further past, to things only you can name,
Though you never yet have,
The undercurrent shaping your surface,
Trickiest to get at,

Because it's you,
A site wholly unique,
Bringing to light what truly turns your crank,
If I was but such a capable geek.

What Get's You Down

In your darkest moments,
What is it that you fear?
Could it be the future's uncertainty,
Things loved that disappear,

Or p'haps lack of confidence in yourself-
It's a big scary world-
Intimidated by what others think,
E'en if their actual thoughts are unfurled,

Or'you concerned 'bout the fate of loved ones,
(You've got to let them go),
Or's it that things haven't gone as they should,
Despite having thought so?

Ha, well guess what?
Welcome ye to the club,
There's not a king that hasn't felt the same,
Nor a lioness protecting her cub.

Love The Wind

There's happy in the breeze,
Gentle, soothing caress,
A fluttering sound soft against your ear,
Contours pressed 'gainst your dress,

The cool is refreshing, but not too cold,
Just enough to be woke,
The kind of wind, if it goes long enough,
Will make you believe it's all just a joke

As you lie there with sun against your face,
Heat of sadness far 'way,
If air could cleanse you of anxiety,
There'd be piles where you lay,

Then it would go,
Picked up by the odd gust,
That is, if this breeze could last long enough,
For you've a patina of anxious rust.

To Write A Song's Not Easy

Don't try to write a song,
If you are serious,
You'll just want to say everything at once,
Which will sound obnoxious,

But don't treat it as if it means nothing,
Your words must have meaning,
A babe can tell when you're not invested,
Like being fed sawdust after weaning,

You have to find the song waiting inside,
Knowing it's important,
Should flow out of you as if from somewhere,
Delivered, but not sent,

It simply is,
A slice outside of time,
Maybe it's praising a beautiful day,
Yet, revealing inner beauty, sublime.

Gotta Fly

There is no time for this,
The story of my life,
A plane is waiting to take me away,
Back to heartbreak and strife,

Into the sky and far above the clouds,
Oh the photos I've took,
I've jumped into them so many times now,
I can point out to you my fav'rite nooks,

If I could take you there to breathe them in,
I know you'd fine'ly see,
Why of all of the things that I desire,
The most is to be free,

'Cause that is me,
That's what I want to leave,
You can fly so high that when you look down,
To see your goal, all you need do's believe

On The shelf

It's a little vessel,
Would be a good child's thing,
A canopic jar the size of your thumb,
Engraved with birds flying,

The top spins off and it's very well made,
The metal's cold to touch,
If you smoke weed it'd be perfect for that,
You'd hardly see it sitting in a hutch,

But mom didn't smoke, and she's in there too,
At least a part of her,
Not that I cannot be apart from her,
She'd certainly concur,

It's just for now,
Until she's in a tree,
Sucked up by roots from the soil she's mixed in,
Then that jar could be used to hold your weed.

Into You

You've been gone for so long,
Still, you have never left,
How can someone who has such influence,
Yet still be so bereft?

May you, too, never leave the planet earth,
Even after you've died,
Your scent will never leave my memory,
Nor may your love for life e'er be belied,

May it wipe away any hint of pain,
Life is too short for that,
Rather the comfort of your sweet embrace,
More than words can redact,

More than all things,
If you were but the world,
I'd dig into you 'til I've reached your core,
A joy in which I'd forever be curled.

Outlook

How far away's success?
Only you can know that,
For, like the theory of relativ'ty,
You create your own facts,

You bend them like light in the universe,
Then it is really bent,
That is how you can live in a palace,
When it is really a cramped tenement,

Or use the coffee shop's bathroom to bathe,
Smile while you brush your teeth,
Because anyone who feels successful,
Is successful to me,

But if you don't,
Well, you may never be,
Success needs parameters to exist.
The perception precedes reality.

The Force

These fingers obey me,
Or wait, that's not quite true,
They're a part of me, whoever that is,
Doing as I would do,

It's the difference between sending signals,
From a boss to a slave,
The one using the other for a task,
Unthoughtful until the one misbehaves,

Versus the instantaneous actions,
Expressed without a thought,
The signal originating nowhere,
Always already sought,

That's you and me,
Yes, your fingers right there,
The whole world should run without needing think,
But our preoccupied minds wouldn't dare.

A Little Rain

The rain fell, yesterday,
Not as hard as on you,
My clothes hardly even got wet at all,
Despite what I did do,

Laying on my back in an open space,
I felt the wetness, sure,
But it only lasted a few minutes,
And I was dry again in e'en fewer,

But you, you looked like you had been swimming,
Drenched from noggin to toe,
Even though we were out there together,
Still, you refused to go,

You said, that's life,
A little rain must fall,
It is not it's fault that for some humans,
It's a drizzle and for others a squall.

Good Bye

This one will not be sad,
I've a leaning towards that,
Which perhaps has an influence on me,
And those I interact,

So, please rejoice in the cold, humid day,
The clouds a deep, blue-grey,
So much to be thankfully not dreading,
May the universe keep all threats at bay,

There's lots to do other than existing,
Not twenty-four hours worth,
Oh, the freedom in the hours that are left,
The absence of a curse.

That doesn't rhyme,
No need to in this one,
'Sides, it's time to leave this moment behind,
There is no time for this circumlocution.