Non-Stop Train

If this was the last time,
You had to do something,
Because your life was about to change,
Categorically,

So that there was no turning back, unless,
You completely changed who you are,
Would you do that something, even if it meant,
Also changing who you are?

Because, here's the thing, you are never,
Who you were, anyway,
Except in so far that in any circumstance,
You'd act a certain way.

And it's alright,
If you're distracted right now.
You won't be held accountable for what you do,
Unless you cause a row.

Those things which you accomplish,
Which are done in private,
Shed more light on your sence of being,
Than on your accomplishment,

For reaction is completely up to you,
Whether indifference or praise,
Whether from yourself or given to others,
To appraise,

And the satisfaction you get from the task,
May be from the task itself or others' view,
Of the task's benefit to society,
And ultimately its value.

So, it's alright,
To go ahead and try it yourself,
And see whether you keep it to yourself,
Or if its life relies on something else.

Lame

The more that you do,
The more there is to do,
And the more things come up because other people will want you to,
Do things for them, too,

Because it's hard to get people to do,
Anything that has nothing to do,
With what will help only a choice few,
That will probably not include you.

And this is nothing really new,
It is basically the view,
Of the majority of people you knew,
From birth until today around noon.

But now it's alright,
Everybody wants to debut,
Their interest in helping others to,
Start making this world new.

Quagmire

It really never ends,
And society's to blame,
And if you never get out of this mess,
The complaint can be the same,

With no accusations of passing the buck,
For your ambitions only exist,
Within this arena that values money,
And digs you into a pit.

And never mind those who seem to get it,
Because most of them really don't,
And those who do were created specifically so,
There's an iota of hope.

And it's alright,
There's much that society never made,
Like your reflections on it,
And your indignation will never fade.

What You Are

Simply speak what's in your mind,
For there's nowhere else to go,
But know yourself enough to clear out the things,
About which you don't know,

Which are still you, but more the curious side,
Or, perhaps, the side that wants to please,
Yourself by pretending you know a lot,
But really only regurgitates what he sees,

And must hide his discomfort by-
Or maybe you just can't.
There are those who make a living out of bullshitting,
But bull shit's all they havin in their brain pan.

And it's alright,
If that is you,
You're speaking honestly and it doesn't mean,
You don't use what you know for doing good.

Art

There are many ways,
To skin a cat,
With different results as good as another,
Depending on where you're at,

And the value you put upon function or form,
And what pleases you regarding each one,
Which is why two different people can make,
Two works of art, each worthy of recognition,

And why the one can't show the other,
How to make the same thing,
Except to the extent that it will be,
Completely unique to the person making,

As long as she's alright,
And is doing her work honestly,
For that is what separates art from nothing,
And dreaming from reality.

Connection

What do you lose without connection,
To those around you?
What might be a good question to start with,
Is that what anyone can do?

No matter how hard you try, you do not know,
Whether you are dreaming or are awake,
Or whether you are the only one in the world,
So what difference can connection make?

The next time you talk to someone you know,
Imagine how you are being seen,
And feel the emotions being elicited.
Can you do this as a human being?

Oh, it's alright,
Sometimes you just have to go by how you feel,
Whether those feelings reflect connection or not,
They are the only things you can say are real.

Purge

Purge what is harmful,
For you do not want it,
And it takes up space that is better used,
For something that benefits,

And something will step up to fill the space,
You are afraid of leaving by the purge,
For it is not unnoticed that you will not stand,
None but purity to endure,

And if nothing else, simplicity will ensue,
For the absence of that which hurt,
And clouded all the good things. Is this specific?
Only too much reading would yield up that word.

And it's alright,
To think whatever you will,
Even if you are absolutely right,
You're not. It's simply how the space is filled.

Building

How do you do something right?
It's hard to find the criteria,
That satisfies everyone,
With an idea.

You might agree that it shouldn't fall,
And it should do what it was meant to,
And it does no damage to the environment,
Though, that consideration is quite new,

And it probably should be informed by,
Similar tasks done in the past,
And include proven attributes,
To help it last.

And it's alright,
If it does none of these things.
Some accident might come out of it,
That creates a new, useful something.

Permanence Amidst Change

Being convinced by someone,
Has nothing to do with one's head.
"Eloquence, at its highest pitch, leaves little room for reason or reflection, but addresses itself entirely to the desires and affections, captivating the willing hearers, and subduing their understanding",
As David Hume said.

And is it practice or a true belief,
In what is related, that gives it force?
Well, as in all things, including nature or nurture,
It is either or a mix of both.

And happy are those who can both believe,
And have others believe, as well,
For reality is no more than understanding,
Until facts become insurmountable.

And it's alright,
Reality was never meant to remain,
The same from one moment to the next,
Or there'd never be a human brain.

Life's Unnexpected Joys

As things die,
New things take their place,
As if some law of Nature demands,
There be no unoccupied space,

And what is new may be anything,
As far as your awareness can comprehend,
But like anyone knows, who's seen a baby develop,
Some traits are simply predestined,

And how you nurture them both affects their growth,
And the health of who you are, yourself,
And also offers you a second chance,
To learn, again, you must not think, or else,

You won't be alright,
For only instinct can tell you what's right,
And thought can only help you navigate,
Once you've determined your line of flight.

Meaning

The only way that words can tell you,
Exactly what they mean,
Is through an exhaustive review of the life,
From which they are coming,

Which also requires that one step into,
A life completely foreign,
And impossible to experience, even if it is,
For such a task requires giving,

Up who you are, which is both impossible,
And negates the purpose of stepping in,
For then the perspective needed to understand,
Is lost. Do you understand the problem?

And it's alright,
If you don't,
It probably means the meaning of your words,
Also won't.

Me Again

You can only eat an elephant,
One bite at a time,
And even if it takes one thousand bites,
I will finish mine,

Even if it takes destroying myself,
For a little while.
To think of all the steps taken since that moment,
It's almost be one thousand miles,

With not much to show for it except the negative,
Proof of my accomplishments,
And even then the breadth of my thickest morsels,
Are without my existence's benefit.

And it's alright,
I will disappear again.
I always knew this would happen one day,
And I would have a bout of indigestion.

Keeping Up

Many people say life is short,
And many people say life is long,
Just as many say it's not worth a thing,
Depending on where you're from,

And depending on how you were raised,
Life might have never given you a chance,
To make it any more than a catch-up game,
Without the opportunity to dance,

Or shout with any intent other than anger,
Because true happiness requires that,
You have some leisure, outside of survival,
Isn't that a fact?

And it's alright,
If you don't agree.
Life may just be a survival game,
And happiness is winning.

Almost Famous

Here's what you need for success:
It's about five things packed into one,
Including an ability to connect,
With just about everyone,

And then a capacity to understand,
Just about anything,
Which requires an honesty second to none,
That, as well, is generally appealing,

And your ideas need to correlate,
Exactly with the times,
Like an FDR before the war,
And then you must be in peoples' minds.

And it's alright,
If you're not successful right now,
All you need are all five to meet for a moment,
For a taste of it, anyhow.

Connecting

Don't go all out,
With who you really are,
For part of being human's holding back,
From going to far,

Into the world, for the more you do,
The more it tends to want to be like you,
And rob others of the right of being,
Proportionately real, too.

Even those who seem to dominate,
And achieve fortune and fame,
Could never had succeeded without intimacy,
With those who helped promote their name.

And it's alright,
To expand your world anyway,
It just means you'll be a psychopath,
And will be put in jail one day.

Peaks

The peaks often get the spotlight,
And define the moments of your life,
And present the most horrifying combinations of,
Desires and unrequite,

And the importance of the moments that lead up to them,
Are belied by that word 'up',
When in truth every moment's equal,
And blah, blah and yadda, yadda.

What does one live for, if not the future?
Even ecstacy's loved for how it goes on,
And missed the moment it runs out of gas,
And is gone.

Oh, it's alright,
There are also those moments you contemplate,
On how no moment's more intense than another,
If you can recalculate.

Why Things Happen

When things come to a head,
It doesn't mean there's any fate,
That has grouped all these ends at the same time,
Unless you contemplate,

That, then, every circumstance ever created,
Is choreographed by fate, too,
Which is really to say nothing until you start talking,
Of the person who,

Makes that acknowledgment, because she is the one,
Who has any identity in this scenario.
She could decide that it is fate today,
And chaos tomorrow.

Which is alright,
Because neither view affects how things will be,
For to know that would require also having,
ESP.

Truthfulness

There is no way to test the truth,
Behind the civilities of life,
Without some kind of sledge hammer,
With which to create strife,

And then to see the reaction of those,
Whose truthfulness you suspect,
Because, of course, if they have nothing to hide,
Their reaction will be quite direct,

Without the threat of disbanding all that came,
Before your interuption to the norm,
But if, all of a sudden, they pull the plug,
On your whole relationship, then be warned,

That it's alright,
To walk away from them at that moment,
In fact it's suggested unless truthfulness,
To you, is of no importance.

The Point

The whole point really is this,
And the intention is to not get too simple,
For far too often the answer's left for you,
To have a whole bunch of blanks to fill,

And it is also not going to be hard,
To get the nugget of the truth in it,
Because so many people try to answer it all,
Which is a task that is infinite,

And there will be no ingoring of the fact,
That the point is unique to each unique person,
Because circumstances certainly affect the route,
Each person takes to absolution.

And it's alright,
If it's not even arrived at here,
There's really not much else to say,
That would make the point any more clear.