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.

Any Time

You must do everything,
Like the last thing you'll do,
Then you'll know what is truly important,
It may be something new,

Something thought of as inconsequential,
To everybody else,
But really, who is anyone to say,
What should define anyone else's self?

It may be you will open up their eyes,
To their own imper'tive,
Honesty is what we're talking 'bout here,
The only way to live,

'Cause if you don't,
You breed dishonesty,
With no examples for others to know,
The meaning of life 'fore reach forty.

Sitting By The Highway

I sat by the highway,
Constant rumble of cars,
Tried to see the humanity in each,
But they were fast too far,

Hundreds of souls I'll never see again,
Moving within their lives,
Never to know I was looking at them,
Prob'ly not caring if they did realize,

They call it attention economics,
There's too much wanting eyes,
With a limited amount there to see,
Y'know what loneliness buys,

Nothing at all,
Like cars barreling by,
F'only I could be the destination,
Without the drivers understanding why.

Where You Are

When you're at your lowest,
Whatever that may mean,
Do you imagine things will get better,
If you act differently?

Or do you wait for the bad luck to pass,
Then wait for the next wave,
To carry you closer to a safe shore,
Until you try to wade back in again?

Maybe you've known nothing other than falling,
So expect nothing more,
Or got the world on a gold, fucking tray,
Jam-packed with open doors.

The key thing is,
If you don't know which you are,
You won't know what action you need to take,
Although any will take you just as far.

You Can't Have It All

Which do you believe in?
The real'ty you see?
Where things can change at the drop of a hat,
For there's no unity,

One must be prepared for revolution,
The rug could e'er be pulled,
'Less you don't mind jumping, one to th'other,
Then all connections of heart must be dulled,

Or p'haps you have faith in another force,
Those things you cannot see,
Grounded, instead, in the heart's connections,
To face adversity,

Rev'lutions, still,
That's e'er a certainty,
But what's real's only clothed by sensation,
So, you're still dulling a propensity.

Summary Of Trump's RNC Address

I watched Trump's speech last night,
Ok, I watched his hair,
But then, when I closed my eyes and listened,
I saw the rhetoric fly through the air,

He spit random statistics that ain't true,
Then burned his own straw man,
Painting a peaceful and calm middle east,
Unfurled by an incompetent Clinton,

Describing terrorists and murderers,
Flowing o'er the border,
Police under threat by vi'lent someones,
Then bewailed lost order.

He riled up pride,
Fascist nash'nalism,
The world must fear America again,
And the one person to do it is him.

Take It

I shred this document,
As if it never was,
Like the info hanging in its pages,
Is all it ever does,

Like the words weren't spit from a machine,
Fed from a computer,
That saved it as fingers typed in the words,
Copying forms in which I did enter,

Info now owned by a firm I don't know,
With loyalties fleeting,
That could say, if the government wanted,
Here y'go, happy reading,

While here I am,
Wasting my precious time,
On the chance someone will pick through my trash,
To steal info that is not even mine.

Saving Time

There's no time like the now,
'Fact, there's no time at all,
Which is good for those who have wasted it,
If you can take their gall,

For the rest of us, where has it all gone?!
I think that I can guess:
Into worrying about it passing,
Advising others how to waste it less,

Sleeping, working, watching the evening news,
Should I continue on?
The only thing I couldn't add to it,
Would be fornication,

Well, there're others,
Like what I'm doing now,
For this process takes me outside of time,
A gift with which may you all be endowed.

Catching The Wave

The waves come as they come,
You'll never know from shore,
Just the riling surface seeming random,
Clothing a hidden core,

Wading into that mass is something else,
A spec entering space,
Do you stand up against the crushing force,
Or do you dive through it like a blade,

As you make your way in towards that spot,
Where you're pulled from under,
Now privy to the water's full motion,
Releasing that wonder?

Then there's the wave,
The one you're waiting for,
Enveloping you as if you're flying,
It picks you up and brings you back to shore.

No More Conflict

They're divisions all 'round,
Clash of ideol'gies,
Blacks against whites in the United States,
Oppressed 'gainst author'ty,

Women in India of lower castes,
Raped with impunity,
Even with new strict laws to protect them,
Who will help these oppressed 'gainst author'ty?

It won't be those without any money,
Not individ'ally,
Without pow'r of solidar'ty they're just,
Oppressed 'gainst author'ty,

It's frustrating,
You're born into this life,
Brought up to believe we're all different,
That one's comfort should be another's strife.

Slowing Down

I just want this over,
Then get to other things,
Yet, the speed it goes, leaves qual'ty in throes,
So it loses meaning,

Then I think, "Why did I do it at all?"
Which I ne'er want to think.
Ev'ry moment of this life is precious,
You never know when you' re on the cliff's brink,

Oblivious, looking at your phone's screen,
Stepping to your demise,
How can you be sure where you want to go,
If you won't use your eyes?

Just look around,
Stop looking inside you,
Recognize all the places you can go,
Before you decide what you want to do.

On Our Way Down The Alley

I told my kids today,
I took our neighborhood,
Raised it and placed it in a garbage can,
As th'ree of us walked through't,

You can see the sky 'cause the lid is off,
Tunnels go through the walls,
Which you can't see because they are painted,
Why I did it, I just couldn't recall,

Yes, we have garbage trucks picking up trash,
Ironic, sure I know,
Some of it falls from the sky up above,
That giant people throw,

Because we're trash,
At least we are to them,
But, my children, you are treasures to me.
How is that for one of life's hard lessons?

Must Flee

Even with the comforts,
Of this warm, empty bed,
The protection of these walls around me,
Showered from toes to head,

This body still working as bodies should,
No abnormal defects,
The complaints all due to improper care,
That the mind occasionally deflects,

With the safety I get as a white male,
The king of this jungle,
There's still a fear of what l might incur,
With one little bungle,

But such is life,
There's no guarantee,
E'en if things aren't going as planned,
Or they are, you must be ready to flee.

My Safe Space

The television's on,
Commercials run, so mute,
I see a plea to stop throwing out food,
Then girls of ill-repute,

I'm rushing, for what if I miss a scene?
So the sound is back on,
I prefer to be fed entertainment,
As opposed to mental stimulation,

E'en now I've abs'lutely nothing to say,
Wait, the show is back on,
Someone was shamed for not feeding the poor,
South Park is really fun.

Now he's freaking!
Sorry, I have to go,
I'm actually feeling anxiety,
E'en though I hardly ever watch this show.

Is It Cold In Here?

There's coldness all around,
But, where's it coming from?
I've already reset the thermostat,
Up to Thermal Fusion,

People are melting on all sides of me,
All's left's bubbling puddles,
Still, I'm unfazed as I watch it happen,
Their looks of surprise I'm standing, subtle.

They may be scared of the power I yield,
The way I stand the heat,
Or've I become in their eyes less human?
A soulless piece of meat.

Do I care which?
I like the temperature,
But would I prefer not to be so cold?
Being who I am, I am not too sure.

Time To Go

W'all want to be happy,
To find that magic switch,
With drugs, love, charity, sport, even pain,
But then, there's just one hitch,

The key is different for everyone,
Shit, it might even change,
So, you could figure out your joy one day,
Then the same technique could leave you with mange,

And don't tell me eternal happiness,
Means nothing without woe,
Like the drug user who overdoses,
You'll be happy to go,

Fuck, you'll die glad!
Isn't that the secret?
So what if you're twenty or ninety-three?
Let it go when you no longer seek it.

Anxiety In The Pit Of Your Stomach

No one cares what you do,
When it don't touch their life,
For then, you may as well not e'en exist,
A survival device,

The world is too large to take it all in,
Unless it is reduced,
To simply a projection of your mind,
Lest personal intentions get confused,

Lest you start thinking what it would be like,
In someone else's shoes,
That's a Pandora's box you'll never close,
With very much to lose,

Like who you are,
Or, who you are right now,
With the risk that you'll ope' up all new worlds,
Become depressed and not even know how.

The Cage

You're not defined by me,
Nor by anyone else,
That is a power that doesn't exist,
Except within yourself,

It feels kind of silly to e'en say it,
Maybe that's not the point,
What else can you be except what you are?
A convict in the joint,

In so long, you wouldn't know how to live,
If someone set you free,
Which they cannot for your cage is your own,
And cannot be opened with any key,

You can't get out,
But you can stretch it out,
Hopefully enough to suck others in,
To then show them what you are all about.

Lucky You

There's something to be said,
'Bout sticking to your guns,
E'en in the face of the miraculous,
Brilliant like the sun,

When nothing will change who it is you are,
'Cept thankful you're alive,
To continue the way you've been living,
Thankful for all of the bees in your hive,

Who all support the way that you're living,
Like you support their's too,
And everyone gets to stay just the same,
So therefore so do you.

Yes you lose things,
Doesn't everyone?
Them, the comfort of not having to change,
You, the chance to expand your horizons,

Calm Down

You have to let it go,

T'see what it really is,

As if it is not any part of you,

Nor very serious,

Like its outcome won't determine your path,

For then you'll understand,

It's in the same class as the butterfly,

Now flapping its wings in a distant land,

The actions of others will be relit,

You'll settle in their shoes,

Understand how they ended up where they're,

Extinguishing your fuse,

Then you'll have peace,

For it will be all 'round,

It's not 'bout holding on to what you have,

It's seeing what you need's already found.