In My Day

Way back in my day,
Before the internet,
There was no handheld computer,
Invented, yet.

The screens were as heavy as a breadmaker,
And the printers printed with ribbons and dots,
On paper that you had to tear from each other,
And that was the best that could be bought,

And movies came on big cassette tapes,
And cassette tapes played music,
And if you wanted to know anything,
Paper books are what had it.

And if that's not enough, alright,
Everything took a little more time.
And, yet, I've had no fewer thoughts than you.
I guess no one's actually improved the mind.

The Clock

What is that thing in the corner?
It's round and makes a tic,
And I've seen people very curiously,
Looking at it.

I always thought it just looked nice,
But I learned there is more to it than that.
There is something amazing to those numbers,
That those hands are pointing at.

They tell my dad to put me to sleep,
And sometimes tell mom to take me to class,
And they know how much longer,
My favorite show will last.

And it's alright,
Though I'm very curious,
I know, in time, I will understand how,
It always knows what time it is.

Easing In

When you're up in the morning,
And the power's out,
And all the batteries are drained,
And there's no internet, no doubt,

What is there that you can possibly do?
You can't ask the internet for advice.
Wait! Do you remember there are things called toys,
That once, used to entice?

And there are things that are called words,
That you can use to communicate,
With each other about things,
That your imagination creates.

So wake up, alright?
Stretch your limbs, and get ready to go,
To that part of your brain, waiting for you,
Where there live things that are not yet known.

To Figure Out Your Path

Your life, somehow, annoys me,
The way it takes the path I want.
Your fancy, lazy walk through all,
That daily haunts,

My vision of what I could have been,
And now you overlap into mine,
Making it impossible to even mimic,
All your traits that I find,

Would be the key to my own success,
If I could only figure out how,
To be you, without you not knowing.
I can't do that now.

Oh, it's alright,
Maybe I'll try doing things my way,
Though, I wish I'd have thought about this sooner,
Than, now that I'm more than half way.

The New Socialism

Until there is no money,
Printed anywhere,
And it is never seen in someone's hand,
But only travels through the air,

From the proof of our identity,
Embedded in our very skin,
As much a part of us as our sense of humor,
Or our manic compulsion,

To have what we want, easily,
Just pick it up and walk away.
Isn't that the freedom we talk about,
When we camp out for days and days?

And it's alright,
We just have to make money part of us,
And it needs to be distributed evenly,
By the new government, socialist.

The Capitalist Revolution

What's all this fuss about money?
What good did it do anyone?
The rich spend their days holding onto it,
And the rest want a revolution.

Sometimes, in moments of freedom,
I imagine imagining,
Living my life, in my present condition,
Not thinking about money,

Which is how some people do it,
Though, it catches up to you in the end,
Because banks, unenlightenedly,
Worry about dividends.

But, alright,
What should a modern revolution be?
Maybe the way to topple this system,
Is to just forget about money.

The Guilt of Success in an Unjust World

The world is always unjust,
No matter which one you're in,
If you are not satisfied with where you are,
And have no time for a revolution,

And, yet, are better off than most,
Which makes revolution difficult.
That's the challenge in the world we're in:
Most people are better off than most.

So, you're left with the guilt of success,
Or the hesitation to be all you can be,
And you would join those who are fighting these conditions,
But you don't have the energy.

Here's the truth, alright?
You can only ever do what you do best,
And, if you do, you can be guaranteed,
That you will be a good example for the rest.

Creating

Creating is a privilege,
Open to anyone,
Despite what life you may have been born into,
Regardless of your vocation,

It doesn't matter if you're not all there,
Or if you have nothing with which to build,
Or no one has encouraged you ever,
Or your entire family's been killed.

In fact, creativity is nothing,
That you can even avert,
Unless you hold your breath until you die,
Though, that's the best art I've ever heard.

And it's alright,
Your words don't have to be ornate,
Just take these ones as an example,
Of the driest way to create.

A Hundred Objects Close By

Look at what has happened,
Happiness in your eyes,
Melting into the rest of you,
Despite all the lies,

That perception hands to you,
Beauty, it cannot deny,
The only proof of truth,
And the only knife,

We welcome into ourselves,
Happy to give our life,
Over to the ecstasy,
Of the thoughtless, innocent highs,

Of existence. All is right,
You can't deny this:
That beauty can always be found,
In whatever you're amidst.

to Sheree

How To Make A Difference

I wish I could be everything,
I would like to be,
But this world will not allow it,
And it's not society,

As much as I would like it to be,
It's something to do with,
The physical impossibility of,
Self replication, to wit,

The power to create more time than there is,
Because no accomplishment comes without,
More than half your waking hours,
If you're really devout.

And it's alright,
If you'd rather trudge along with hundreds of dreams,
And get joy from jumping little hurdles,
That lead to nothing.

The Daily Soldier

You can't just decide,
To become a soldier,
You have to be willing to do some things,
In places that are colder,

No matter the climate,
That's not the point.
You have to steel yourself,
Against the point,

Of sympathy,
To a degree.
Have love for your brother,
And deny others dignity.

Alright, I've never been,
So, who am I to say?
I can only think of what it's like,
To divide the world that way.

The Infinite Cage

Why don't you think outside the box,
When you think about how far you've come,
And all the paths you've passed up,
And subsequent delusion,

About the options you have?
You have no less than anyone,
Who has taken chances in their life,
And tackled their vocation.

And all those ties that bind,
And responsibilities that restrict,
Your desire for a new life,
May be just the kick,

In the pants, (alright?)
That you need to decide,
That no cage is so small,
That you can't explore the inside.

When Will My Love Stop?

You could lose all your senses,
You could have no words to speak,
Your limbs could pop off,
And you could have no more teeth,

All of these things could inflict you,
And, yet, my esteem,
Would not falter a moment,
Because I've seen,

That smile that rests,
Yes, on your lips,
And suffuses your eyes,
And I love it,

But it's elsewhere, alright?
It's nowhere you'll find,
By searching any part of you,
But by looking behind.

What Do You Get?

What passes on to your children?
Is it what you say or what you do?
Or is it something intangible,
Inside of you?

Do they pull out of your essence,
Both the good and the bad,
Regardless of how close you are?
The apple doesn't fall far from dad.

No one really knows,
No matter how much evidence they dig up.
Everyone's in this world alone,
No matter their make-up.

And they're alright,
With or without their parents.
It's whether you want to be there to see,
Their inheritance.

The First From Suggestions

Silence is a wonder,
If you can find it,
Which you can, in the noisiest places,
If you listen for it,

It's in the moments when others' eyes,
Bounce away into contemplation,
Looking at the space between everything,
That eliminates the perceived distance,

Existing between each of us,
Generating conflict.
How many wars would have never been,
If we were all from the same district,

If we were all alright,
With the differences,
That allow us to see each other,
In this world of interconnectedness?

Why You Shouldn't Succeed

Things always look better,
When people convince you,
To look at them a different way,
Meant to skew,

The way you naturally think of things,
Because instinctively,
Your mind does not take into consideration,
Some presumptions that you need,

Like, don't expect that you can have everything,
That your heart calls for,
When there are people with so much less,
Why should you deserve more?

And it's alright,
I know it's a recipe for failure.
How else can fairness be ensured,
Other than to universally empower?

Going Along

Some people won't take no for an answer,
In their daily life,
And though not all of them are successful,
They are geniuses in their own right,

Defying logic, against all odds,
They know that there is no right or wrong,
When making a decision for one's own good,
You must be truthful and strong,

Or inhuman, which is really to say,
Accepting of what you are told,
There is who and what you should be,
Regardless of what your heart knows.

And it's alright,
If you are of the latter bent,
There're so many obstacles to overcome,
It's surprising everyone isn't.

Change Your Self

Change is not an option,
For anyone.
Any attempts to alter who you are,
Just creates a variation,

And confuses your self.
Is that what you want?
I have enough hardship understanding you.
It certainly won't be a jaunt,

For you to know what it is you have to do,
To finally feel one.
Come on, just sit down here and forget all,
Thoughts of evolution.

It's not for you, alright?
We were meant to stay the course,
And change the things around us,
Through kindness or through force.

The Narcissist

I love your narcissism,
It keeps me loving you,
Not like when you were hardly there,
Even in this room,

When anything was good enough for you,
And I didn't know where you were.
I could have held you for an eternity,
And still never be sure,

That you were with me, or anywhere.
Thank god for your new self-worth.
Now I feel closer to you simply patting your back,
From the other side of the world.

And it's alright,
If you never pat mine,
I live for that moment,
And so I live all the time.

Spark

If you are reading this,
What is it you think?
Have you found yourself between the steps,
Or stepping back from the brink?

We all find ourselves,
In places we don't want to be,
Though, that is usually because of fear of moving,
Or the determination to be free.

So, at the very least, leave with this thought,
Either of yourself or reality,
That everything under the sun,
Casts a shadow on something,

That may be alright,
Or may actually not be,
I guess the point is to forever look,
Until you think that you've seen everything.

Your Fame Barometer

If you want to know anything,
You don't have far to look,
Because how you affect the world,
Is your reference book.

You will never be more kind,
Than you are to those closest to you,
And so will the world,
Treat you, too,

And if you want to know how you'd look,
To the world at large,
If it turned its eyes on you,
You don't have to look hard,

To know, alright?
Just put yourself in,
The shoes of those closest to you,
And assess the situation.

The Real You

The dangers surrounding you,
The dusts and trips and knives,
Most unknown to you, while they break down,
The building blocks of your life,

Will never destroy the charms in you,
That make me love you now and then,
And forever, no matter how the world,
Chooses to reconfigure our plans,

No matter if it changes from day to night,
And the darkness never leaves.
With you, the conditions in which I live,
Really has very little meaning.

It's you, alright?
Whether we're together or apart,
That survives the most crushing avalanche,
And shines through to my heart.

Off To Work

It doesn't matter,
How much sleep you get,
If in a day you feel that you have come,
One step closer to eliminating debt,

Until the point when you neither have,
Nor owe anything,
Which is closer to a bum on the street,
Than society's majority,

Who have less than zero but live as though,
They make twice as much as they do.
Slavery, in the modern age,
Looks an awful lot like you.

Alright, alright,
No one is whipping your feet.
But ask yourself, are you free to do what you want,
Sixty hours out of your week?

Ennui

The crisp mist through which you must push,
On the darkened, empty streets,
On your way to the place you'd rather,
Not meet,

In this journey you'd rather not be on,
For the regrets it piles on your mind,
For love, for money and for your heart's desires,
And for someone to be kind,

Invites you to never stop your wheels,
To never stop until you're too far away,
To honor the oaths you swore when the sun was high,
Shining on the fresh leaves, as they swayed.

Alright,
So, now, what are you going to do?
You really can just cast it all away.
It really is just about you.