It’s Past

We all have those moments,
Unsure of who we are,
Questioning the decisions we have made,
In our short life, so far,

No one can go back to earlier times,
No need to e’en say that,
Yet, sometimes I think I’m missing something,
Since so many stay living in the past,

It’s the choice between living and dying,
Twixt change and standing still,
Uncertainty and guaranteed sorrow,
For the unfulfilled,

Or great success,
You will get neither back,
Just vague copies ‘f’what will ne’er be again,
While your potential will slip through the cracks.

What Floats Your Boat

You have circumstances,
Everybody does,
Intertwined in society's fabric,
Labeling all of us,

But must that mean there's no equality,
Just celebrate diff'rence?
Ev'ryone does their part for industry,
Based on the strengths to which they do propense,

Then gender or race, religion or sex,
Or any other trait,
Ceases to contribute to what one makes,
Nor's a reason for hate.

Or for debate,
As long as we are kind,
We all need to understand why we're here,
Others need not conform to what we find.

Take What You Can

You can count on people,
To always be the same,
No matter what's actu'lly driving them,
Their heart, despair or fame,

Self-involvement, love for humanity,
Fear failure or success,
The inside's hidden, the outside you know,
It doesn't matter your perceptiveness,

Ultimately, it all comes down to faith,
Plus their consistency,
Even if they change, you will never know,
'fthat's what they e'er would be,

Like a pattern,
You can't possibly see,
Kind of like pi, but completely diff'rent,
People don't live for an eternity.

Evil

When’s someone pure evil,
If there is such a thing,
Must deeds and thoughts be unified in hate,
Against everything,

Does that loathing need to be e’er innate,
No beginning or end,
Not instilled by a reckless guardian,
Then reinforced by an institution,

Also, must it be acknowledged by all,
Accused, tried and condemned,
For riling intolerance in a nation,
That causes destruction?

Or’s’t a moment,
Present in anyone,
Proof that weakness and misunderstanding,
Is in the nature of being human?

Getting To The Other Side

You will never change you,
Why’d you want to do that?
‘T’s’ard enough navigating how you see,
Without changing the map,

You can’t expect others to change either,
The same thing in reverse,
The best hope when trying to find your way,
Is accepting the terrain you traverse,

Then can you appreciate obstacles,
Are not really roadblocks,
When passing people in narrow hallways,
You choose a side to walk,

Opposite them,
Maybe smile as you pass,
Both knowing that to get where you’re going,
You must accommodate the laws of mass.

Ignoring the Anguish

Oh mother, I can feel,
No, this is not a dream,
There is an urgency to existence,
Previously unseen,

It may leave again, never to return,
Who's anyone to know,
One moment you cry to the ruthless sky,
Agonizing in self-inflicted throes,

The next, horizons open up vasty,
Nothing's impossible,
Your fortunes don't change, but you think they have,
Gone from empty to full,

Like George Bailey,
It's a wonderful life,
Start from that premise, make it your default,
My friend, you have just minimized your strife.

What You Think

You can have an impact,
Even after you die,
There is a you that exists outside you,
You don't get to ask why,

It just floats there outside of your control,
Created by others,
A different one for each mind you meet,
Or by those who hear of your adventures,

None of them are any less real than you,
In so far as effect,
No one's been able to create themselves,
As others make them, yet,

So, what to do,
Not care what people see?
If you do that, you destroy the one you,
You wish existed in reality.

After the Fact

There will come a time, soon,
When you look back on life,
To understand how you got where you are,
Love, hate, comfort and strife,

You will consider all your decisions,
How they were influenced,
If one day you took ownership of them,
So that you haven't blamed anyone since,

Then you'll recognize the myriad things,
That formed all the options,
Your upbringing, of course, but also friends,
Music, dreams and notions,

Those things and more,
Dynamic existence,
So much input yet only one human,
To create from it some semblance of sense.

Get To It

There's what it is you do,
Then there's how you do it,
How others see how you do what you do,
And why you pursue it,

Coupled with what you see others doing,
Reconciling with it,
Recognizing amidst all the doing,
How the others are affected by it,

Then doing the doing despite it all,
'Cause you have to do it,
Then others will have to do what they do,
In some response to it.

So what to do?
Here's a way to view it,
Nothing is done until the cows come home,
That's when everyone says that they knew it.

Clear The Way

Have you heard of kismet?
How about destiny?
Lady luck, karma, predestination,
They're all the same to me,

The idea that there is something more,
Than what it is you see,
Informed by what you believe, anyway,
None of which is based on reality,

But sometimes, if you let yourself go free,
Things shake up diff'rently,
Like the letters in a boggle game tray,
It's all a mystery,

Until you look,
Then it all becomes clear,
There's so much more than you can know of first,
That reveals itself when you discard fear.

The Story

Putting yourself out there,
Is easy if you don't,
But instead put up a facade that works,
Because you think yours won't,

Besides, it's easier for ev'ryone,
Not to expand their brain,
When nothing's new there is no work to do,
Despite that means ev'rything stays the same,

Which is okay if there are no problems,
Though we know there e'er are,
As if it's a part of human nature,
So we've lowered the bar,

We've given up,
Well, there's those who have not,
Who believe there's value in honesty,
Who put themselves out there no matter what.

Old Man

What's left to laugh about,
When you're ninety years old?
There can't be jokes you've not already heard,
Then most probably told,

The structure of your days can't differ much,
What more you have to learn?
If you've not done something you could have, yet,
I'm sure you've not just been waiting your turn,

But there you sit, as happy as a clam,
Enjoying the high tide,
Your mind amused by some new idea,
Still enjoying the ride.

Well, good for you,
Twas sure you'd seen it all,
If there e'er was a reason to keep on,
It is watching you being comical.