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It is one eleven,
Now it’s twelve minutes past,
How much time do these things take me to do,
At fourteen you do ask,

It depends if I have something to say,
Now I am at fifteen,
Or if I’m just writing for writing’s sake,
‘cause when I don’t I feel it’s a failing,

Then seventeen pops up its ugly head,
I’m not against a clock,
But how hard do you have to think sometimes,
To feel that you have talked?

It took a while,
To think of that last one,
Now you know what I’m able to produce,
From one eleven to one twenty-one.

Not Me

What will you learn from me?
The tricks of a canine,
Yes, useful when you want to roll over,
You know, just tow the line,

Leave all your dreams and desires back of mind,
They’re not important,
Do not fight for something so selfishly,
You garble what the opposition meant,

Don’t get angry at my supplication,
Rebel with fortitude,
Look at me with disdain for my weakness,
However you construe,

Your place midst me,
Make me your nemesis,
Better you hate what I have become t’you,
Than become what I’d hate on my conscience.

Numbness

My skin is not ticklish,
Not like it used to be,
There’s been a numbing to the nerves below,
That reward touch with glee,

This lack of feeling can be extended,
To my spiritu’l self,
We only know what we learn from the world,
My joy’s not tied to the physical realm,

Better it wasn’t beaten out of me,
As an innocent child,
Or drubbed due to a life of hard labor,
Or love from pedophiles,

Or self imposed,
It’s just the way I be,
Insensitivity rooted in flesh,
Transposed to my spirituality.

Before The Show

They say time goes by fast,
I think they may be right,
You’ve a small window to know who you are,
Babe, let’s stay out tonight,

Look away into the air thinking hard,
Guilty a thousand times,
If only all your dreams came true right now,
Oh man, if only you could see the signs,

You’re on your knees yelling something ‘bout you,
Your failings and missed boats,
Just lie down and hold onto my hand, love,
For now, that’s all she wrote,

’til the next day,
Lament after lament,
‘nother morning after a wasted night,,
Dreaming of renting a new apartment.

Day 8

Had to get out early,
My life was in danger,
I was in the path of Typhoon Mangkhut,
Just me and no other,

Not three mill Chinese with no place to go,
But flimsy apartments,
Or ex-pats whose flights left three hours past mine,
After the airport shut down in Shenzhen,

Oh, what a story I can tell my kids,
Their dad's near brush with death,
The sixty that died in the Philippines,
Proves that I should have left.

Happy ending!
Now we can laugh about,
How I was back in bed two hours after,
My thirteen hour plane ride had made it out.

Day 7

Know what you don’t see here?
Those figures of fam’lies,
The white stick drawings on the back of cars,
Explaining who they be,

You also don't see many harnesses,
Even fifty feet up,
It's representative of the freedom,
Enjoyed within China's repressive gov,

It is hard to see the ones beaten down,
'til you talk recklessly,
Their eyes widen as they look around them,
For the authorities.

But that's not odd,
Anywhere you might go,
We all try not to live in the margins,
To not bring attention from overlords.

Day 6

Here’s something I’ve noticed,
Real east west difference,
Not the food, the language or traffic norms,
Not even politics,

It’s what the men do on really hot days,
Least Beijing and Shenzhen,
To cool the body they roll up their shirt,
Letting the heat escape through belly skin,

They tie it off somehow or let it sit,
Propped up by a round gut,
Mine is so hairy that would not do much,
Same story with my butt,

Too much info?
‘T’s’in the name of research,
How will we ever bridge our differences,
‘fwe hide things ‘cause they make our egos hurt?

Day 5

It’s hard to remember,
Just what I did, really,
Tired from being up all night previously,
Then passing out early,

Heat so humid,  back of my shorts were wet,
Got tired of Chinese food,
Saying xie xie no longer gives me joy,
Yet I feel saying thank you would be rude,

The PSB keeps demanding changes,
You can’t argue with them,
Government opinion will e’er come first,
Before good opinion,

But that’s not new,
It’s the same where I’m from,
Meeting diff’rent people in foreign lands,
Highlights this common human condition.

Day 4

He is not unhappy,
He loves his two children,
His parents teach them things about the past,
He says did not happen,

But they’re from a diff’rent generation,
They still love Chairman Mao,
They will never accept the new China,
With its freedoms that he says it has now,

Not that the government doesn’t control,
Or at least it tries to,
But he would not give it all up to move,
‘Cause China’s not bad, too,

He’s got his friends,
Family and his work,
He likes the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Trump,
But he’s not missing out on any perks.

Day 3

Wasn’t going to do this,
Got nausea coming on,
Part jet lag, part haze, part Chinese pizza,
Part need television,

Saw a tree today that was a cell tow’r,
A clever invention,
Made, looks, without the proper procedures,
Like most everything else in Shenzhen,

Because here there is a lot of people,
With plenty more to spare,
When you have loads of a commodity,
You can build with no care,

For safety’s sake,
Sure makes for a great scene,
You have to do something, then go ahead,
Of course there’s lots of suffering not seen.

Day 2

The clothes theough the window,
Hang on the balcony,
As if there is no room for a closet,
In this entire country,

I saw the same when I was in Beijing,
Not ev’ry place for sure,
Just enough to make me think ‘bout the folks,
For whom this condition’s become inured,

The same people that I see in the streets,
How small must their lives be,
Shoulder to shoulder e’en out in the world,
A close-knit soci’ty,

Who’m I to say?
Space doesn’t mean a thing,
Certainly not a better living state,
For my own country’s vast majority.

Day 1

Much of the ads are white,
The subway is yellow,
The sky is grey, but I've an umbrella,
Unlike much other folk,

Riding their two-wheelers on the sidewalk,
Some motorized, some not,
The Oct-Loft neighbourhood's waiting for me,
Once I finish the short nitro I bought,

It's three thirty in the morning for me,
That will change in two days,
When my body catches up with my brain,
Then I may find my way,

Like we all want,
Travel broadens the mind,
It shows you things are the same ev'rywhere,
So there's really nothing you need to find.

Say That Again

Is this the end of it?
Don’t seem there’s much to say,
There’s no point to it if there is no point,
Time’s cost’s too much to pay,

To say the same thing over and over,
What? That’s already done?
Even repetion’s repetition,
In the human scope of communication,

But is it repeating when in the end,
We’re saying the same thing,
Diversified by the necessity,
That we’re diff’rent beings,

Wh’want to connect,
Why, no one really knows,
Maybe to see that we are all the same,
Something that language will ne’er ever show.

No Pressure

Here's what you have to do,
To be okay with you,
Remind yourself each moment what you love,
As each if moment's new,

But at the same time you must forget it,
You have to think things through,
Weigh each option before you make a choice,
You owe yourself consideration, too,

Then step back and think of the big picture,
What many folk eschew,
Knowing where you're and where you want to be,
Is the talent of few,

That's about it,
'fyou want to take my cue,
It's a lot to get done in a moment,
With no time to appreciate what ensues.

Thé Rollercoaster

Sometimes you must feel lost,
E’en on a well-known path,
When you really stop and think about it,
Your surety could not last,

There is too much you haven’t been told, yet,
Never mind understand,
Far too many contradicting reports,
For you to confidently make a stand,

Everything that you learned growing up,
Might actu’lly be false,
Not a reflection on those who taught you,
It is times changing pulse,

Or something else,
P’haps you’ll figure it out,
I’ll know when I see you walking around,
Despite the facts, as if you have no doubt.

Pink

Pink is in the future,
The color of tickles,
The juicy insides of a tasty steak,
Anxi’ty calming pills,

The color of the flesh of new born babes,
Destined to grow up white,
If there was a hue to the hope I feel,
It would be black as night,

Pink as the clothes that were run with the reds,
God, will I ever cry,
Watered down blood as I sob in the rain,
Knowing I’ll never die?

Don’t bet on it,

Each new day’s a new chance,
Do not ask me why my cheeks have turned pink,
It is what happens when my insides dance.

Get 'Er Done

This is just for content,
Then again, what is not?
Quantity over quality's the way,
The modern world is bought,

Thousands of acres of servers buried,
Sucking tons of gigawatts of power,
Storing internet junk,
'nough to fill thousands of CN Towers,

Or something, I haven't done the math, yet,
Who has the time for that?
While calculating others will produce,
The data bank podcast,

So get to it,
Overwhelm the audyence,
By the time they've the time to judge your work,
You'll make a million dollars off their hits.

What If

Start your life today,
As if it ne’er began,
Enter your body like it’s been given,
T‘accomplish what you can,

Would you keep any of the bad baggage,
Keeping you back right now?
Would you feel you’ve lots of time to plan out,
What you want and then to figure out how?

Maybe you would look around and inside,
Then sit down and give up,
For what you have built for yourself so far,
Looks like an empty cup.

Or would you run,
To someplace wholly new,
Treat the past as lost and nonexistent,
Then see what it is you can act’lly do.

Could Happen

If you had the freedom,
To do what you’d like to,
Time, cash and no responsibilities,
To nobody but you,

An example of what humans could be,
Once robots do it all,
The scarc’ty of resources figured out,
Failure unheard of ‘less you want to fall,

No discrimination of any group,
Plenty to go around,
Luxury a concept none comprehend,
Greed just cannot he found,

It’s not innate,
‘tleast that’s what will be learned,
Impossible to imagine today,
But in a gen’ration may be discerned.

No away Out

What’s really the problem?
Others are e’er worse off,
Simply because we all have diff’rent wants,
Plus enough’s not enough,

Oh, and some people have it really bad,
Like poverty and pain,
While if you are middle class in the west,
You have more than most and a lot to gain,

At least that’s what they want you to believe,
So you ignore the fact,
Your life’s less than ideal while you promote,
What leads to th’other’s lack,

Just your living,
The way they want you to,
If not you’re either put in jail for it,
Or made rich for there e’er needs be a few.

Your Safe Place

Watching the wind blow by,
Without feeling its touch,
Is as tort’rous for me as still windmills,
In gales are for the Dutch,

Were I a deciduous tree on the plains,
Or sailor on the sea,
Enveloped in its cleansing soft caress,
I could be happy for eternity,

It’s something I know without pondering,
‘T’sgood to know one’s safe place,
Let’s make a room for each one of us,
That we can call home base,

To escape to.
What would it be for you?
You must first know what makes you feel secure,
Which is knowledge granted to very few.

The River

Some rivers you can't cross,
No matter how shallow,
Even with a bridge built of strong timber,
You must never e'er go,

For what awaits beyond the entreaties,
Are devious intents,
Woven to ensnare and imprison you,
Then when you look back, you will find a fence,

You will have lost all that you left behind,
With nothing gained ahead,
All you grew will wilt away and decay,
For not having been fed,

For carelessness,
Like so often before,
Your mistakes should not define what you are,
But you should certainly make them no more.

Love Dad

Your head is slightly turned,
Your curved fingers relaxed,
Your brother's silent ten feet to the south,
These are the simple facts,

Just like the joy you get from bugging him,
Memories of my youth :)
It's hard to imagine watching you sleep,
How beautif'lly wild you are when let loose,

Married to the seriousness of him,
You're like the yin and yang,
Sometimes exchanging roles like ping pong balls,
Which you both like to play,

Such blessed kids,
No less a blessed father,
Despite the challenges ev'ry life has,
We will e'er share a bond like no other.

Silly Silly

You know you’re contented,
When you’ve nothing to say,
When you rack your brain for some expression,
To relive inner pain,

When you look around you and want no more,
Than only what you see,
When hopes and dreams that were so dominant,
Are harder to recall than your first pee,

When the silliest ideas seem right,
No matter how silly,
When repetition is a natural,
Expression of your glee,

When you’ve no fears,
Of what is yet to come,
Because you know things will always be good,
When you’re doing nothing while having fun.

Before

How much can you forget,
Before you feel okay,
Before you’re ev’ry move’s not determined,
By what you’ve had to pay,

Before your daily life is affected,
Before people worry?
Before, you used to be so buttoned up,
No one could penetrate your auster’ty,

Before the fresh trama upon your life,
Before which you’re in awe,
Be forewarned, you’ll not enjoy this next truth,
Which you already saw,

Before today,
Before we even met,
Before you can get on with your own life,
You must first truly forgive and forget.

No Win

Are you out there thinking,
About what I’m doing,
With all the knowledge I have collected,
While you’re continuing,

Maintaining rule over a dead domain;
Made stale by possession?
If you love something you must let it free,
So you can witness its evolution,

If it comes back to you, you are lucky,
But still do not own it,
If it moves on, it hasn’t quite left you,
But it hurts you, don’t it?

’cause you’re selfish,
Plus unhappy, to boot,
You tried to hold on to what wasn’t yours,
Now you’re surprised that you’re being rebuked.

Which Way

Each day when you wake up,
You have a choice to make,
Do you struggle with what's given to you,
Or do you choose to take,

Collect what's at hand to combine for more?
Devices that did not exist before,
Bad for Mother Nature,
If you believe she has a goal at core,

Or care's a wit about where we end up,
It's crucial for your day,
You don't want to make choices not knowing,
But then again, you may.

Who's to say?
None of this has made sense,
'specially if your god has given you rules,
That demand that this poem makes you tense.

The Waves

E'vry wave is special,
Like snowflakes and babies,
Lie the first, they can be soft and gentle,
Th'other, like they've rabies,

Or like the first landing on th'other's tongue,
It always makes you smile,
But leave the latter in a pile of the first,
You'll maybe find yourself on the Green Mile,

Or, say, name the second after the first,
Then throw it to the wolves,
Children can be as cruel as the water,
Or trampling horse's hooves,

Gently rhythmic,
Nature's soothing heartbeat,
Oh waves, may one of you wash me away,
I'm getting delirious from this heat.

Speechless

This can't be happening,
I have nothing to say,
No thoughts of prescription of description,
Or any shun, today!

No musing about life's obviousness,
Packaged as a hidden,
To justify a vague proclamation,
Born of some self-absorbed contemplation,

The end of which congratulate myself,
That is not a bad deal,
Because if you don't elevate yourself,
Just who do you think will?

You bet not me,
'specially with these lines,
It's hard enough between work and fam'ly,
For me to find some kind of semblance of fine.

Nothing In Your Way

When there are distractions,
From what you want to do,
You've not recognized the diff'rent layers,
Available to you,

If you were placed upon this Earth right now,
With no experience,
The overwhelming influx of senses,
Would leave you in a state of impotence,

But you, right now, are blocking out so much,
Try letting it all in,
Stop counting them when you reach five thousand,
Which is the distraction?

Do you e'en know?
You have so much control,
Yet let the smallest matter derail you,
As if your brain is a wide open hole.

This New Hammock

I've got a new hammock,
My last one tore apart,
I wasn't even there to see it die,
Though felt it in my heart,

It was cloth suspended by two batons,
When dry, it cradled me like a baby,
Fifteen years together,
I've been thinking a lot 'bout it lately,

Times of loneliness surrounded by hate,
The sough through trees o'erhead,
Waiting for the kids to be done with it,
Back when I was still wed,

Well, times have changed,
As they e'er promise to,
This nylon sling will hold happyer mem'ries,
It's ne'er too late to make life something new.

Who You Know

Seven point six billion,
The Earth’s population,
Chances are you know six hundred of them,
According to Tian Zheng,

Assuming you live in North Amer’ca,
‘bout six hundred million,
That’s point zero zero zero zero,
Zero per cent of folks you’ve hit upon,

Of which maybe five are close friends of yours,
Point zero zero eight,
A small sampling based on geography,
Income, beliefs and race,

Plus what you do,
Minus what’s in your heart,
Is it a miracle that we find love,
Or are we connected right from the start?

The Wind

First, it opened my mind,
Pressing against my skin,
Closing the gap between me and nature,
As if it had ne’er been,

Then it pushed right through my physical self,
Showed me my fears and hopes,
How the first kept me clear of the last,
Then it untangled the intricate ropes,

It carried me in a cradle of air,
The fear enveloped me,
I wanted so much to succumb once more,
To find security,

But I refrained,
Still, hope I have not found,
Until the wind puts me back on my feet,
A vague sense of purpose will be my ground.

No Other Way

We are the champeeons,
There’s no time for losing,
We win by strong-arming the things we want,
Yelling and accusing,

Our point is made when you come to us,
There is just no half way,
Relinquish all of the things that you want,
Even after we win, we will not play,

For how you gain is also how you live,
The two are the same thing,
Don’t wait for the fun, it will never come,
If you’re always fighting.

Then ‘gain, who knows,
You may be born of hate,
In which case, how could life be different?
Your attitude is conditioned by fate.

Not Now

How kind's the universe?
That's what Albert asked us,
If we relinquish ourselves to its fate,
What havoc would that cause?

There is too much spinning around my brain,
To answer this questions,
I fear tears would be my only response,
Perhaps I am short a couple sessions,

Or just remind myself of my own powers,
To own my decisions,
Not in light of those I've already made,
But the future vision.

It is all bunk,
In the end there's just now,
If it feels like the universe hates you,
Then you have just answered the question, 'how?'.

Getting There

Life does not stop moving,
It’s relentless as time,
Carrying some along as if a ride,
Leaving others behind,

Disconnecting many, despite their tears,
No one is owed a thing,
It don't respect hard work or condemn slack,
Despite what you have heard many preaching,

There are all kinds that provide proof for this,
They're just hidden away,
But it takes all kinds to make up the world,
Whether blessed or in pain.

So how to live?
One moment at a time,
With an awareness of what came before,
Knowing what you will want to leave behind.

That Noise

A noise like no other,
Not the mew of a cat,
The sough of the wind rustling through the trees,
The scurry of a rat,

Gushing water pushed white over the rocks,
Owls hooting in the day,
Air full of rain, the water in your ears,
Mingled with the words you could never say,

The silence of the moment the world sleeps,
All these sounds reverb’rate,
But the rumble of a fridge compressor,
Proclaims our final fate,

At once jarring,
Consuming energy,
Pumping to protect your food’s envir’ment,
Against the forces born naturally.

Given The Choice

Just to be an echo,
Of the softest whisper,
Blowing through the leaves of the tallest trees,
Past the widest desert,

Barely captured by the deadest of ears,
Upon a windswept plain,
Amidst the screams of a million people,
Hammering beside a moving freight train,

In a thunderstorm of epic expanse,
In unfamiliar words,
Speaking a truth denied for centuries,
Even when it was heard.

That’s what I want,
If given the option,
Of being lauded for the sweetest voice,
Fueled by the fear of persecution.

The Classics

Take a group of people,
Ere they are of one mind,
Ere edifices are built around them,
Th'universal defined,

Faced directly with the dichotomy,
Of the inside and out,
Knowing their own universality,
Straining 'gainst what the physical's about,

No erected god to take care of them,
To focus on themselves,
Using that backdrop as the solution,
To not having to delve,

Deeper than them,
Instead be romantic,
Build you a palace to keep you in place,
To keep you from knowing you're fantastic.

It’s Time

You can’t change the future,
It is what it will be,
The past can be a millyon diff’rent things,
If you just wait and see,

There’s not much to say about the moment,
Oops, it just passed you by,
Was it everything you imagined?
You can always give it another try.

Where does that leave all this contemplation?
Perhaps you’re out of time,
Best focus on fixing what you’ve ere broke,
Unless ev’rything’s fine.

I’ll tell you what,
Sit on it for a bit,
There’s no guarantee when you’ll leave this world,
So you best be sure you understand it.

Fishing for Fate

You must put your lines out,
As many as you can,
Finding the right time and place for who you are,
Is just a game of chance,

Some folk are born with horseshoes up their ass,
All they need do is breathe,
Others spend life doing nothing but try,
Never knowing what it’s like to be free,

If you’re somewhere in the middle of both,
Nothing easy or hard,
You must cherish the nibbles that you get,
Not bewail the bad cards,

And ne’er give up,
That’s what it means to die,
As long as you’re alive, you still have hope,
Live dogs are better off than dead lions.

Being Fished

It is a waiting game,
A game of chance for them,
Makes you wonder what bait you’ve avoided,
Aimed at pulling you in,

There are only two ends when you are caught,
That’s injury or death,
You may be seen for possessing a soul,
A worthless trade for what has been bequeathed,

You’re judged by the meat you can surrender,
If you are worth the time,
Puts wishing for death in a whole new light,
The apex of confined,

Of defined, too,
But naming comes after,
If you can’t avoid living in duress,
‘tleast you should learn the name of your captor.

The Next Step

There's a very fine line,
For ev'rything you do,
Will you give yourself uncondition'lly,
Or think only of you,

Fear the unknown until you are inert,
Or live without a thought,
Make yourself invisible to the grid,
Or have no idea what you just bought,

Reject ev'rything as unnatural,
Or live in the future,
Make each step like there could be no other,
Or be always unsure?

Here is the trick,
Not that you really asked,
Each moment demands, 'do you know or not?'
Answer, 'not until this moment has passed.'

Follow the Light

Do you see the light now?
It has never been hid,
Just close your eyes and turn your head until,
You see it through eyelids,

You'll never reach it, but the path it lights,
'sperfect in ev'ry way,
Though unless you keep your eye on the flame,
There are long stretches of pain and dismay,

It's the glow that paints the world with purpose,
Not god, more myster'ous,
Fueled by faith and tested by your death,
Without it, you are lost,

With it as well,
There is no map to see,
Just the hand of whatever gave you birth,
You must blindly follow religiously.

The Spider

Crawling across the sky,
On invisible thread,
Born of your body, given to the Earth,
S’that others may be dead,

Caught in your snare then left to sit for days,
Contemplating your fate,
Until you’re led into eternal sleep,
Would you have never fallen for the bait,

Of faith in your indestructabil’ty,
A flaw in most of us,
Else preoccupied with mortality,
A state most injur’ous.

Which will you be,
The spider or its meal?
Or perhaps you refuse to see that way,
Opting ‘stead for the free spirit ideal.

Train Of Thought

It’s not your perception,
That informs what you see,
Nor does the world impose itself on you,
By its activity,

 Ev'rything is there for you to notice,
It is what you look at,
How meaning connects each to the other,
What you ignore’s still an existing fact,

 No need to dismiss those who are diff’rent,
‘less you want solitude,
There’s the same gap twixt you and all people,
The human mind’s imbued,

With uniqueness,
You may find those you like,
That does not mean you see th’exact same world,
If you did, you’d want to major in psych.

Everything Is Perfect

Ev'rything is perfect,
Just the way it should be,
Embedded with all the imperfections,
That are necessary,

The dis'ppointments that undermine your goals,
'fyou e'en know what they are,
The reinforcement that what you're doing,
Is taking self-exploration too far,

The hours of doubt alone in your own thoughts,
Wondering what to do,
All this despair is just a component,
Of where you're going to,

Which is perfect.
'fyou knew you'd be okay,
Would you spend so much time contemplating,
Or just enjoy each and every day?

Next Step's On You

What risks have you taken,
That follow your own heart,
With an ends that wasn't written for you,
So you're playing a part,

Reinforcing not just the role you have,
But those others are cast,
You might say your soul aligns with them both,
But you are speaking from behind a mask,

Not that any of us can avoid that,
We are all out and in,
Living 'mongst other individuals,
With certain assumptions,

That have to be,
Else we could never share?
But there's sharing and then there's following,
Doing one without the other is rare.

No More

There's no time for po'try,
Takes too much energy,
Think of all the things you could accomplish,
If you just let it be,

The scads of money that could flow your way,
Distracted not by heeds,
Couched in soci'ty's lazy river flow,
Claimed by those with uncomplicated needs,

With the luck of being of the right sort,
Most are simply repressed,
Who must fight for the chance meander,
'long that disfunct'nal mess,

But go ahead,
To each their own, for sure,
Better a rhyme is never put to pen,
Than risk the ways we have learned to endure.

No Matter

No matter who you are,
No matter  where you're from,
No matter what society tells you,
No matter your vision,

No matter that you've had a harder life,
No matter your priv'lege,
No matter the luck you have been handed,
No matter how you have lost your edge,

No matter how many people hate you,
No matter how you try,
No matter your colour or culture, 'fcourse,
No matter that you cry,

No matter what,
No matter how you grew,
No matter too big or soc'ally fixed,
No matter should be too big to stop you,

That Crumb

That crumb will never know,
The anguish that you feel,
The whispers obsessed with what you're doing,
That facts cannot repeal,

The leers you imagine, it will ne'er see,
Though, who is it to say?
There will e'er be vindictiveness to fight,
Though you did not want things to be this way,

Then it's swept along with the rest of them,
Thrown into the garbage,
Thank god it cannot feel the way you do,
The bullet it did dodge,

The lucky ones,
That have no choice to make,
That care not for the doings of others,
Throughout time, that's the origin of hate.

Shooter

When you’ve no direction,
Heart only beating blood,
You’ve no connection with those around you,
There’s just the voice of god,

Acts of vi’lence swirl around in your brain,
Not yet acted upon,
You’re a male, no doubt, who cares how I know,
Whether genetics or institution,

The fantasies should be enough for you,
If you’ve grasped real’ty,
It don’t matter if this world’s illusion,
It’s still lived in by me,

I want to live!
Sure, life is always hard,
We're thrust in here with no true direction,
Why should you decide that I should be barred.

Chin Up

There’s nothing left to say,
The battle has ended,
Your body’s broken and your mind gave up,
We all just pretended,

Of course there were people who propped you up,
They wished for you to do the same for them,
Things were fine, then were not,
You didn’t support equilibrium,

But they are not the keepers of knowledge,
Nor can they see in you,
The world is a fickle and thoughtless place,
There’s nothing you can do,

Except p’haps pray,
You know, you never know,
No matter what, don’t stop searching for truth,
Though you might withstand a salvo of blows.

You Have It Hard

Do you have it so bad,
That you can’t sleep at night?
You owe money to people you don’t know,
With no recourse to fight,

There is no one close to you anymore,
Nor was there e’er any,
You had to rely on your inner strength,
When perusing connection or money,

Your home, what there was of it, was destroyed,
By the military,
Trama from watching your parents murdered,
That was your legacy?

All or just some?
Does it really matter?
Your life is one to be envied by some,
While you lament things your chasing after.

Upon Reflection

Sometimes you can be tired,
Curl up into yourself,
No thoughts encroach upon your peacefulness,
About anything else,

These are the moments to re-energize,
Before you start again,
Maybe, also, to re-evaluate,
Your curr'nt occupation,

To reflect on the fleatingness of life,
No matter how it feels,
Even the most excruciating pain,
Is long only while real,

Then there is you,
One day you'll not exist,
In your final moment will you smile or,
Will you only think of what you have missed?

Until You Know

Where is it that you live?
In or outside your head,
Obsessed with what you have and what you want,
Kept awake in your bed,

Or detached from the material world?
There is no right answer,
It's a complex dance anchored in fortune,
You may find it's sometimes one then th'other.

Then there are other people around you,
No matter what you think,
If you know yourself, you will attract those,
With whom you share a link,

Or you'll be cast,
Like human detritus,
No home, family, friends or direction,
Like your selfness, life will be nebulous.

My Brows

If you had no eyebrows,
Or nose upon your face,
Long, bulbous protuberances instead,
Stuck all over the place,

A hunched back scaled with overlapping nails,
Exposed organs ‘round front,
A voice that projects directly to space,
Shuffling on puss bags soft and corpulent,

In a world populated by the same,
Ruling over the land,
All conveniences geared toward your form,
No help for human hands,

Would we be friends?
Bushy brows and thin frame,
A soul that, if bared, you would understand,
If you would only just ask me my name.

Tired

Have you ever been tired?
Doesn’t matter of what,
Long, hard days doing work you don’t want to,
Wanting things you ain’t got,

Relying on people who let you down,
The hot sun ev’ry day,
Having to eat ev’rytime you’re hungry,
Seeing only black and white when it’s gray,

Having a body you don’t really like,
Maybe doesn’t work well,
Chasing the meaning that never appears,
Now you know why Eve fell.

You don’t have to,
Though, there’s no reason not,
Lie down, take a rest, take stock of who you’re,
You will never get what you have not sought. <\blockquote>

What's There

Sometimes you will forget,
The miracle that's you,
Your ability to look at the sky,
And recognize the moon,

Then reflect on its distance from the Earth,
If it really exists,
Or if it's perhaps, maybe all a dream,
Which ain't the primary question, is it?

It's that you can ask the question at all,
Like, who else can do that?
Even reading this you cannot be sure,
If you don't smell a rat.

The rat is you,
Who knows what is out there,
It's all a backdrop for your amusement,
Or for your complete and utter despair.

The Manual

You may have many flaws,
Chronic halitosis,
A shoulder that causes you extreme pain,
Family awkwardness,

An obsession with irrelevant things,
Time could be better spent,
Unless they give you such satisfaction,
It’s worth the subsequent impoverishment,

The alienation of those you love,
Who can’t help loving by you,
You make situations so hard you die,
Not getting what’s your due,

But that’s your choice,
It’s so easy to see,
Features that could have just made you unique,
You’ve made the excuse for being ugly.<\blockquote>

What Did You Say?

What is it you're saying,
When you say anything,
The words you speak and the gestures you use,
In what you're relaying,

Invested with all of your intentions,
You recognize or not,
Spoken to self-actuating humans,
Who have their own struggles that they have fought,

Who might not care for what you say at all,
Strictly 'cause who you are,
Offends their own intentions in this world?
You understand so far?

Watch what you say,
'tleast listen as you do,
Treat words as precious as you do yourself,
Because they are an extension of you.

The Dip

You want to end it all,
You're so tired of the war,
If everything you are told is true,
You don't know you no more,

You want to start it all over again,
Not for pity or shame,
As the only way to make yourself heard,
With no chance for a derisive refrain,

It's not an uncommon situation,
Nor to be dissuaded,
Life is over in the blink of an eye,
Whether fresh or faded,

Of course, then what?
There are no guarantees,
You could come back to try it all again,
Or never find out other destinies.

In A Great Country

Is your country the best?
What does that even mean?
People should be free to do what they want,
While keeping the Earth clean,

While not infringing on others’ rights,
Or expecting too much,
Though not having to work all day and night,
Just to have a half hour off to eat lunch.

P’haps if robots did ev’rything for us,
Paid by the government,
So we could all ben’fit from society,
Not just the one percent,

Yeah, maybe then,
You’d call a country great,
Which assumes the citizens are great, too,
Sometimes people’s desires are hard to sate.

Things Change

Know when you know something,
Like it’s reality?
Ev’rything you do presupposes it,
Coloring all you see,

It’s a piece in the structure that makes you,
A solid amidst gas,
‘less you prescribe to my friend David Hume,
Who said we’re a bundled perception mass,

Then something pulls the rug from under you,
A truth of yours debunked,
You must reevaluate history,
Plus deal with present junk,

Then you might think,
‘What good is truth, at all?’
Rather, you must know each of yours well ‘nough,
Should you lose any, that you do not fall.

Switching Sides

The sun will rise morrow,
Or at least, if it does,
If you're not already up through the night,
Your life's not what it was,

You've had adventures in dreams you mayn't know,
Your body's been reset,
Ev'ryone around you's thought 'bout themselves,
Re'valuated their assets and debt,

Do not try too hard to adjust either,
They are out of your hands,
Focus on what brings peace to mind and heart,
Causing your soul to dance,

The rest will come,
Or it may never be,
There are two lives that you live in this life,
Don't let what is be marred by what may be.

Programming LIfe

Computers teach us things,
Beyond fast computing,
They have a brain that you can partition,
Which really might suit me,

To put a wall twixt work and other things,
To focus on the first,
Let not life's fears or the heart's obstacles,
Conjure a mind's fog that you must traverse,

Take a deep breath and visualize it,
Program away the hurt,
There is no need to deal with who you are,
Can't spare the gigahertz,

Or p'haps you can,
The brain is powerful,
Could be, while you're creating that spreadsheet,
You, too, can solve the problems of your world,

Three Parts

Try to make your mind blank,
Or maybe it's not hard,
One or the other, you have to decide,
The desires of your heart,

But you must also listen to that heart,
What is it telling you?
If you follow it, it won't steer you wrong,
Letting your soul do what it needs to do,

Putting out ethereal vibrations,
Searching for spir't'al life,
Until you balance all three of these parts,
You'll always be in strife,

No matter what,
Don't blame your circumstance,
Live dogs are better off than dead lions,
You can't feel sad if you get up and dance.

Work With What You've Got

Think 'bout what you're thinking,
What you think makes you say,
What what it makes you says, says about you,
Until your dying days,

Think 'bout it, what you think comes from your brain,
At least that's what we think,
No matter, your physicality has,
Constant continuous genetic links,

Meaning the paths your thoughts will e'er traverse,
Will e'er remain the same,
Think about this or that, you can be sure,
You'll be of the same brain,

That's who you are,
You best get used to it,
Fighting it is like not starting the race,
'cause you don't like how your running shorts fit.

When I'm Rich Enough

Oops, I did it again,
I guess I'll never stop,
I'll get so good I'll go professional,
Then open my own shop,

Invent a doodad to do it better,
Imprint my name on it,
Mass produce and ship it from overseas,
Hope the sweatshops install suicide nets,

Mark them up over one thousand percent,
Sell them for five bucks each,
Still not 'nough of the market to feel bad,
Less a king, more a leach,

Buy my own house,
Don't I deserve one, too?
The system paying me's already there,
When I'm rich 'nough I'll figure what to do.

Time To Uproot

Things are never easy,
If you're doing them right,
Though doing things wrong can be hard as well,
So you must have insight,

You might have unlimited energy,
But certainly not time,
Stop and breathe, assess what you are doing,
Focus on the things that will make you sublime,

It's not selfish if you are kind and fair,
Others should strive for it,
Delusion yourself and p'haps it will spread,
There's no need to force it,

Follow your heart,
It cannot lie to you,
It might overturn the life you have built,
But, it's not living if it's not your view.

Happy Solstice

Say what you will 'bout change,
You can't deny it's there,
It's part of what it means to be alive,
From chilling to warm air,

You may think you have been the same person,
From birth to you today,
You have, but for all you have seen and done,
Which is ev'rything of which you are made,

That's why it's a mistake to let time pass,
Without acknowl'dging it,
Everyday can be your own solstice,
Of renewed improvement,

Just like the Earth,
From which we all are born,
Change is the only mark of time's passing,
Between that is what makes you so forlorn.

No Matter What

You will get used to it,
No matter what it be,
Thrust amongst aliens in a forest,
Evading the police,

Down and out with no money to your name,
Pretending like you’re rich,
Living ‘mong those who’d not think ‘fyou before,
Even put in a box you’d find your niche,

That’s what it means to be a living thing,
Adaptability,
Your feet would grow roots if you needed to,
Commune with earth fungi,

Then there’re humans,
Changing environments,
Disrupting the world like Mother Earth,
Even those who think they’re not important.<\blockquote>

There’s Always Hope

Can you will good fortune?
Well, only time will tell,
Even then you can’t really know for sure,
If all will turn to hell,

As one said with whom I do not agree,
That will be known as Cusk,
One must live in abs’lute pessimism,
That is the safest route open to us,

So we’re not living in self-delusion,
What does that really mean?
It presupposes the world is one way,
Opposite to what we think we’re seeing.

But reject that,
Own the world you live in,
It may be the only one you e’er have,
So why worry that it’s an illusion?

Since You Asked

Y’ask me how I’m doing,
The smile will tell it all,
It is not sad with a sardonic twinge,
Foretelling of my fall,

The pupils are not wider than should be,
From drugs or nervous shock,
You’ll see my skin is smooth with a slight sheen,
From my mental health but also sunblock,

You will not be assailed with tales of woe,
But hope for the future,
I’ll ask you how you are genuinely,
I’m healthy good and pure,

Because of you,
For you helped me to see,
We’re all responsible for who we are,
No matter the views of society.

Flush

I do not want to wait,
For this life to be o’er,
If this sounds familiar, chances are,
I don’t need to say more,

You’ve already faced the fears we all do,
When you look ‘round and say,
Society was to take care of me,
So I could then be free to seize the day,

But you misunderstood what it is for,
It cares only for it,
Like many of us, it will ignore pain,
Before it ever quits,

Give up on it,
Look to those around you,
Ignore the shell in which we all exist,
Despite it all, do what you need to do.

Redemption

It’s a glorious day,
So shortly aft the rain,
The breeze reminds me that each day is new,
No matter former pain,

No matter what others may think of you,
Yes, you know who I mean,
Try to fathom the moves of all the leaves,
You’ll soon understand all you’ve never been,

Or what you have yet to make of yourself,
It is never too late,
E’en those on death row can let go their sins,
When they ponder their fate,

Then let it go,
Your life’s not what you’ve done,
It’s what you’ve learned try’ng to figure it out,
Just like ev’ry other goddamn human.

Outside In

She really did like him,
More than just a project,
Though saving him from the life he was in,
Was the starting object,

You may say she confused love for the work,
With her feelings for him,
That it is just an infatuation,
With saving men from incarceration,

But she is aware of wht she’s doing,
Do not deny her heart,
Those twenty years were the best she e’er had,
‘cept for the marriage part,

That was not good,
Her daughter could e’en see,
Comfort should only be your life’s choice,
If that’s always what you were meant to be.

Maybe Then

It's too late for someone,
To jump in your body,
Make all just the right moves to accomplish,
Everything you dreamed,

Use the powers you have naturally,
You failed to maximize,
E'en if it was a possibility,
No one but you now can see through your eyes,

Maybe it is not too late to succeed,
Unless you've given up,
Think about George Burns in Eighteen Again,
Then ask yourself wassup?

Then take a breath,
Then forget all you know,
Then step forward with the strength to reveal,
What no one else in all history can show.

Don't Change

Can you be consistent,
Through the good times and bad,
No matter the fortunes, trials, judgements,
Unreas'nable demands,

The changes of heart (for that's just a thing,
In a world made of things),
Respecting the changes all around you,
As things locate their best positioning,

Amidst the doubts that plague each one of us,
(How do we live at all?)
In the face of the pain you inflicted,
For not changing at all?

You have no choice,
Forget 'bout who you are,
Focus on what makes up those around you,
Otherwise you will never get that far.

Ode to Vine Park

With the breeze blowing soft,
Smatterings of dog poo,
Grass green among the many dirt patches,
The joy strong, but not new,

Walking towards you, your back's all I see,
Feet dangling o'er rubber,
At these times I'm more than my bank account,
Or the rent and bills I cannot cover,

For here is the place of filming cartwheels,
Play rock, scissors, paper,
Saying funny words during under dogs,
Counting the freight train's cars,

There is just us,
No life's anxieties,
These moments are brief 'mongst the outside world,
Would we could all just e'er hide behind trees.

Because I Love

Down the rabbit hole,
Fast as a subway train,
Tears are held because people can see,
Though they don’t know your name,

What right do you have  even to complain?
There were no guarantees,
Naked you’re born and you might be again,
Once again you will get up from your knees,

Unless you wish to deny all you know,
Which is not very much,
But of such import you’d claw your way up,
Just to know that you could touch,

The ones you love,
So they know you’re alive,
Only because you want the best for them,
Though what you did for yourself’s not enough.

What Carlin Said

Let the wind blow me 'way,
Upon a gentle wave,
Cradle me for five hundred thousand years,
So'sto see what's been saved,

Will't be humanity's propensity,
For mass self-destruction,
Preoccupation with getting its due,
Regardless of any repercussion?

Or will we somehow rise above ourselves?
That seems unnatural,
Twixt God and desire for the biggest truck,
We'll ever be feral,

The problem is,
Even as I write this,
I soar above looking for my own chance,
To obtain my own material bliss.

The Point of the Argument

We all make assumptions,
It's life's requirement,
You'd never take a step acknowledging,
You could step in a pit,

Even though it's not in front of you now,
It could always appear,
With no contradicting of innate laws,
That is the real world we live in, my dear,

That is why there is so, so much conflict,
For whatever we need,
We can create pits within arguments,
To satisfy our greed,

So, please beware,
Of all that you assume,
Not to petrify your every step,
To know the evilness you must exhume.

Paper Cutter

Despair can trump feeling,
The physical pain kind,
'magine losing ev'rything you worked for,
Why'nt also lose your mind?

Neglect the things that were precious to you,
They're from another life,
Not that you have chosen another one,
You've forgotten how to life in your strife,

Not e'en bloody gouges call you back,
Your body will decay,
Those in this world will find you and declare,
How'd she end up this way?

She'd not let go,
To false reality,
It sucked her out of common expeeryence,
Forgetting how t'operate a door key.

Lost Your Way

Crawling through a tunnel,
Belly down on gravel,
Lost your way, trying to find the right path,
Out of a living hell,

Okay, maybe it is not all that bad,
Until you look ahead,
To get where you need to go there's danger,
Behind you's now lurking the walking dead,

May that you find the courage to break through,
Then, you'll be safe again,
Not stuck in this purgatory of fear,
Fed by isolation,

Confusion, too,
How did you end up here?
Not until you get to the other side,
Will your destiny truly become clear.

Moving Forward

On any given day,
Floating around your head,
Are various issues to select from,
To justify your ends,

You might disparage strangers with anger,
For minor infractions,
Call friends in despair for life's cruelty,
Listen to the birds for inspiration,

You've capacity for one at a time,
So you must choose with care,
No one has achieved what they want in life,
By living on a prayer,

You must be bold,
Know what it is you want,
Approach the world with positivity,
Leave gloom to people without hope to haunt.

What You're Owed

Let's talk about problems,
Not manufactured ones,
Like when you feel that you deserve something,
Based on your perception,

Based on the expectations of others,
Or of society,
You don't get it, now you are owed something,
Despite what we have learned from history,

That good fortune is a roll of the dice,
No matter who you are,
The great have fallen, the small risen up,
You don't have to look far,

Yes, there's hard work,
Without that, you're nowhere,
As long as it is put to finding love,
Not convincing ev'ryone it's not fair.

Heart Reader

No, it is not all fake,
There is truth in action,
Smiles, joy and even pride can be honest,
Despite your perception,

Oh, could we all just read each other's heart,
Eliminate guessing.
What risk would there be to human conceit,
If there was no meaning to confessing,

If we just knew what one thought of ourself,
Maybe more than e'en them?
No wasting life pandering to fake love,
Or false encouragement.

Instead we lie,
For lack of knowing truth,
When, if we just let our actions be pure,
We would not need be acceptance's sleuth.

Just Thinking Of You Makes Me Feel Better

Is it wrong I miss you,
When I could see you now,
Laugh, hug, and be silly until we cry,
Extending time somehow,

'til each moment together's an eon,
The same's when we're apart,
Drawn out with these thoughts of being with you,
Until I want to just turn off my heart,

Or turn forward the clock 'til next we meet?
That's when things are alright,
The clouds open up and the sun shines down,
Everything feels light!

You want that, too?
Or are you used to it?
I can show you how to really drag time,
If we one day get to talk about it.

Show Me Going

I need diagnostics,
To get me through this one,
First to test my heart, then onto my mind,
Then my resolution,

They should measure strength and resilience,
Then my capacity,
If I pass this trifecta for each piece,
I will consider my prosperity,

Should the stars align scientific'lly,
By the gods in the sky,
I'll grasp that hilt and proclaim as I pull,
'I declare success mine!'

But, should I fail,
What will I become, then?
Maybe best I let well enough alone,
Than risk these middle-road accomplishments.

Don’t Try

Be ope’ to poss’bil’ties,
Both new and unforeseen,
More for the attitude such risk entails,
Options that ne’er would been,

For nothing exciting ever happens,
Without first openness,
A willingness to maybe not succeed,
While giving the attempt your utmostness,

Yes, often nothing actu’lly happens,
The nature of the beast,
The sure way to not win the lottery,
Is buy the tix the least,

Or not at all,
Don’t believe in your strength,
No chances taken and nothing is lost,
Life is short when you deny it all length.

But It's OK

When you're good at something,
It doesn't matter what,
You find connection with society,
Case open, solved and shut,

If you need always to be in control,
Whether you're wrong or right,
Just reinterpret what is important,
Shoot, then what you hit's what was in your sight,

Sometimes your selfishness makes you lonely,
That's not a big problem,
Soon you realize you have you to yourself,
The best of solutions,

Then, you will die,
You will not make a sound,
Like a tree that falls amidst millions more,
You've made sure that no one will be around.

In Ten Minutes

I just have ten minutes,
Can i do anything?
Compare it to the minutes of your life,
And it seems like nothing,

I may have forty-seven millee-on,
If i live to ninety,
So many meaningless passing moments,
Representing your full mortal'ty,

Sorry to shorten it, but I've no time,
I go minute by each,
Like living forty-seven million lives,
But I have lost my reach,

I have to stop,
It’s now time I lack,
I guess ten minutes isn’t very long,
Would I could get the last two million back.

The Next Thing

It's just a slice of time,
What you are going through,
If there was ever a point in your life,
It was better for you,

You can be sure they'll be better again,
For fortune comes in waves,
You're low now, you'll feel all good tomorrow,
Unless you pass away 'fore the next phase,

Which may be many, many years coming,
No one can tell you when,
It's more the sur'ty that it will exist,
That gives you momentum,

To just go on,
Wish I could tell you more,
Would that the future was open to all,
But its unknowingness is what it's for.

Denial's Time

Sometimes you have nothing,
Little hope left to you,
An understanding that you're going down,
No matter what you do,

Because you're looking at things you need not,
Just ignore negative,
Pull your rose-colored glasses off the shelf,
Acknowledge all that the world has to give,

Let the downers drown in unhelpfulness,
Brandish the strength of hope,
Some will say that you are ignoring facts,
They only interlope,

Where they should not,
Denial's good sometimes,
Like negligence of a newborn baby,
There are problems that solve themselves in time.

The Glowing Smile

I see you in the trees,
The ones you said to hug,
Your love of life was equaled by no one,
Despite the pain you lugged,

That's one thing I took into me of yours,
To the dismay of some,
It's a love that that denies others' pain,
For pain's something that must be overcome,

Which entails detachment from the mundane,
To embrace the spirit,
Which if ev'ryone did, pain would just cease,
Nor would be inflicted,

There'd be no point,
But, too, there is a price,
There'd be no excitement for worldly gain,
Which many people find natur'lly nice.

Throes

When you have nothing else,
You’re running on empty,
Having to burn the candle at both ends,
Living in poverty,

Still just keeping your head above water,
With your good attitude,
While objectively you should be screaming,
No matter how your situation’s viewed,

As you keep it inside like compressed gas,
Everything’s alright!
While factors are converging to a point,
That you’re wound up too tight,

Do not despair!
There’re other ways to vent,
That contribute to your situation,
Not leave you ope’ to pity and contempt.

Not Octopi

There is a new theory,
‘bout the Precambrian,
When life appears to have been so complex,
It defies ev’lution,

Thirty scientists have postulated,
That things like octopodes,
Landed on Earth from a space explosion,
Then proceeded to build garden abodes,

There’s no authority to deny this,
Categorically,
With all we know from empirical facts,
We really know nothing,

What do you think?
Even the chance it’s true,
Might put in question ev’rything you know,
And make you rethink ev’rything you do.

Work The Lock

When you’re under pressure,
Debilitating shock,
Think ‘bout Magnum PI when he gets home,
Having to pick his lock,

Higgins recored the door for who knows what,
(You know how he can be),
Zeus and Apollo running straight for Tom,
Ready to attack ‘cause he’s got no key,

He’s got seconds before he feels their teeth,
He chants a soothing phrase,
It’s ‘Don’t look at the dogs, work on the lock,’
Try doing what he says,

Breathe and focus,
It’s all that you can do,
Unless you’d like to watch potential death,
As it is attempting to distract you.

Loungey

A cat will lick its paws,
You know, they’re very clean,
Domesticated, they live just the way,
Everyone should mean,

Silently going ‘bout their business,
You do what you gotta,
But if it’s affection you’re looking for,
Don’t you worry, you can get a lotta,

They can also kill when the moment comes,
With both grace and purpose,
Then return to their life of elegance,
Not even furious.

They were once gods,
Now they just act that way,
When things get rough just hold onto a cat,
Let them purr you gingerly through the day.