Letter To My Son

What do you need to believe,
That nothing that you do,
Will ever be able to mitigate,
How much I love you?

Even when you act,
Like I never want you to be-
Wait, maybe your love's not the problem,
Maybe it's me.

Maybe it's my perception,
Of what the world might say,
Seeing who you are.
What an absurd way,

To gauge how you act.
You're the only one on earth,
As far as I'm concerned,
So let's engage in some mirth!

New Morning

Don't stand for what you believe in,
Lest the world disagrees,
And makes the punishment much worse than the choice,
To simply accede.

Think of all the things you still can do,
Even if your instincts are compromised.
Work from within to affect change you want,
But don't let them see it in your eyes.

Influence others,
Both overtly and without warning,
With revolution draped in kindness,
And though there may be no new morning,

You can comfort yourself,
That you were different than all the rest,
While not actually letting them know,
Which is for the best.

Be Peace

What's it going to take,
To revolutionize this world,
And eradicate all forms of injustice,
For every boy and girl?

No more murder, no more restrictions,
On the freedom that's everyone's right,
Just simple respect for each other as humans,
All in the same fight,

Of self-identity and understanding,
Of why we are here at all.
That really is what's at the root of all evil,
Not money, greed or powerful people.

Of course, we don't want to lose,
That fire that helps us create,
That also needs conflict and injustice.
The seeds for everything that we make.

Democracy Now

It has all been said, now,
We only need look back,
And translate the language of before,
To today's tack,

Ensuring the language of Democracy,
Is utilized to display,
The inequalities that it creates,
To transform it the next day,

For no vote is needed to find out,
What the people want,
Their presence on the streets with signs in their hands,
Kind of says enough.

And if what they say,
Seems unreasonable to those who must act,
It's not for them to read the peoples' mind,
But to listen and enact.

Connect

There are only so many people,
Of just the ilk,
To connect with you, so that you can reflect on,
Love and life and fill,

That void that only exists, once you want,
To think more about yourself,
Than as an animal,
In need of help.

Beyond that, we have little choice else,
We can fight, but for others,
A noble calling, to be sure,
And something to make proud mothers,

And frightened, too,
For sacrifice is hard,
Especially of oneself,
That's just how people are.

Morality

What is it you will risk,
For the freedom of your mind,
And your right to remember that where you are,
Is just a world of one kind,

And all it takes to change,
Is an action that needs,
To defy the expectations of those around you.
Such is he nature of morality,

To pit yourself against you,
To distract you from the call,
To understand this place you're born into,
With laws and love and malls.

I suppose we wouldn't get far,
If we couldn't count on each other,
To maintain this world we've created,
Without questions, choice or wonder.

Capitalism's Trap

I just want to find you,
Among the rabble and the waste,
'Cause some will never be on your side,
In thirty-six thousand, five hundred days,

Because I know there's enough of us,
To force the rest of them to see,
That the answer to peace isn't capitalism,
Or even democracy,

What everyone knows is that the root,
Of all evil in the world today,
Is inequality, through color and race,
And economic disparity,

And what's wrong with us,
Those who would rather see no one percent,
Is that if the riches were offered to us,
We would take it, you better bet.

Keep On Trucking

``Just keep on trucking,"

If you think that's good advice,

Then you must have nothing to unload,

Or have to pick up something nice,

Or want to stop anywhere for a bite,

Sit with a friend, and talk about your fears,

It's amazing how you've gotten by,

Without opening up all these years.

You must not need to stop and look around,

Everything you need to know's in your brain,

Placed there before you were even born,

And the world has remained the same.

So keep keeping on,
It's nice seeing you drive by,
Oblivious to things streaming along,
That aren't productions of your own mind.

Sitting on a Porch

Take the world around you,
Everywhere you go,
The birds and breeze, pretty lights you installed,
And the pebbles painted indigo,

The memories of what they all once were,
Before you existed on this earth,
The people who helped you along the way,
Even when you weren't sure,

Of who you were, not a required thing,
Not even common or maybe possible,
Recalling, now, what we all were once,
Our imaginations ten feet tall.

but you must move on,
Neither life nor clocks stand still,
Or your ever-changing opinion,
Of the desires of your will.

Despair's Bright Side

You don't have to have,
Something everyday,
To look at as an accomplishment,
That lets you say,

"All I've done is for this life,
And life has given me what I want."
Strive for more diversity in this journey.
Don't underestimate sadness and strife.

The tree in winter is still beautiful,
And as fulfilled as in full bloom,
Just as the light of utter despair,
Can ominously fill up a room.

Just as my love for you,
Can destroy all my fantasies,
And one word from you can destroy my wold,
And give beauty to all travesties.

Perfection Revisited

You just have to know,
What kind of person you are,
And accept that, I guess,
Because change is just too far,

It's nowhere in site.
The best you can hope for,
Is a rearrangement of your circumstances,
To hide the traits that abhor,

And try to avoid the outbursts,
And  angst about how things are,
They're exactly as your body determines,
From now until ever more.

Try, instead, to let it all go,
That's the only way not to let them interfere,
Your fears and inadequacies,
Existent, only while you hold them dear.

Missed Opportunies

It's not how many opportunities,
That you miss,
It's how many you create, because,
No one achieves perfectness,

Because life does not arm you,
With past experience.
You have to create that, yourself,
And that requires a few misses,

And to get yourself some misses,
You need lots of opportunities,
Which you need to create.
Are you starting to see,

what I'm getting at?
Don't be depressed,
By seeming failures.
You still need a few, yet.

For You

Just because you're feeling,
Like you can handle where you are,
With your dissatisfaction and trepidation,
And knowledge that you're way too far,

From what you should be doing in your life.
Isn't it funny?
That you should have only one chance at it,
And here you are, unhappy.

Which breaks my heart, because you are my life,
I'm intrinsically tied to you.
Your goals and dreams and those fine curves,
And the back of you, which is gloriously cute.

So throw it all away,
You'll always have me to fall on,
Because what I should be doing in MY life,
Is being your automaton.

The Way Things Are

Some things just don't matter,
The problem's knowing which.
There's no book ever written that,
Is blindingly categoric,

'Cause if there was, then we'd all know,
What's important, too,
Which is always up for debate,
Even if blindingly obvious to you,

Which it isn't, even if you think,
You have it all right.
Dig deep enough into your reasoning,
And you'll find your passion's light,

Guiding you,
Which is instinct, not an argument,
Unless you believe that's truth enough,
Which is still only one person's opinion.

To Get Close To You

When you have accomplished,
Something in your life,
And add it to the list and let it go,
Well, that's just what you're like,

Like blossoms that just fall and disappear,
You're as predictable as the seasons,
Your flame is strong, when you're unknown,
And snuffed in the face of recognition,

Which misses the point of most,
Acts of creativity,
I create to communicate,
And bring others closer to me,

Not god, for sure,
Maybe in the act,
But I want to cross the bridge between us,
Not disappear from the facts.

Grab What You Need

Don't take everything,

You can't handle it,

Your eyes pop, and your life explodes,

And it's not all fun, is it?

Choose what you love, like me,

Embrace and nurture it,

Your heart expands and your hands can touch,

Around the back of it,

And those things that you let go,

And leave behind as your heart grows,

Are picked up by those who love them more,

They prop you up, and that's how success goes.

And that's what I want for you,
Because you have so much to give,
And really, doing things you don't want to do.
Is that any way to live?