Moving Forward

On any given day,
Floating around your head,
Are various issues to select from,
To justify your ends,

You might disparage strangers with anger,
For minor infractions,
Call friends in despair for life's cruelty,
Listen to the birds for inspiration,

You've capacity for one at a time,
So you must choose with care,
No one has achieved what they want in life,
By living on a prayer,

You must be bold,
Know what it is you want,
Approach the world with positivity,
Leave gloom to people without hope to haunt.

What You're Owed

Let's talk about problems,
Not manufactured ones,
Like when you feel that you deserve something,
Based on your perception,

Based on the expectations of others,
Or of society,
You don't get it, now you are owed something,
Despite what we have learned from history,

That good fortune is a roll of the dice,
No matter who you are,
The great have fallen, the small risen up,
You don't have to look far,

Yes, there's hard work,
Without that, you're nowhere,
As long as it is put to finding love,
Not convincing ev'ryone it's not fair.

Heart Reader

No, it is not all fake,
There is truth in action,
Smiles, joy and even pride can be honest,
Despite your perception,

Oh, could we all just read each other's heart,
Eliminate guessing.
What risk would there be to human conceit,
If there was no meaning to confessing,

If we just knew what one thought of ourself,
Maybe more than e'en them?
No wasting life pandering to fake love,
Or false encouragement.

Instead we lie,
For lack of knowing truth,
When, if we just let our actions be pure,
We would not need be acceptance's sleuth.

Just Thinking Of You Makes Me Feel Better

Is it wrong I miss you,
When I could see you now,
Laugh, hug, and be silly until we cry,
Extending time somehow,

'til each moment together's an eon,
The same's when we're apart,
Drawn out with these thoughts of being with you,
Until I want to just turn off my heart,

Or turn forward the clock 'til next we meet?
That's when things are alright,
The clouds open up and the sun shines down,
Everything feels light!

You want that, too?
Or are you used to it?
I can show you how to really drag time,
If we one day get to talk about it.

Show Me Going

I need diagnostics,
To get me through this one,
First to test my heart, then onto my mind,
Then my resolution,

They should measure strength and resilience,
Then my capacity,
If I pass this trifecta for each piece,
I will consider my prosperity,

Should the stars align scientific'lly,
By the gods in the sky,
I'll grasp that hilt and proclaim as I pull,
'I declare success mine!'

But, should I fail,
What will I become, then?
Maybe best I let well enough alone,
Than risk these middle-road accomplishments.

Don’t Try

Be ope’ to poss’bil’ties,
Both new and unforeseen,
More for the attitude such risk entails,
Options that ne’er would been,

For nothing exciting ever happens,
Without first openness,
A willingness to maybe not succeed,
While giving the attempt your utmostness,

Yes, often nothing actu’lly happens,
The nature of the beast,
The sure way to not win the lottery,
Is buy the tix the least,

Or not at all,
Don’t believe in your strength,
No chances taken and nothing is lost,
Life is short when you deny it all length.

But It's OK

When you're good at something,
It doesn't matter what,
You find connection with society,
Case open, solved and shut,

If you need always to be in control,
Whether you're wrong or right,
Just reinterpret what is important,
Shoot, then what you hit's what was in your sight,

Sometimes your selfishness makes you lonely,
That's not a big problem,
Soon you realize you have you to yourself,
The best of solutions,

Then, you will die,
You will not make a sound,
Like a tree that falls amidst millions more,
You've made sure that no one will be around.

In Ten Minutes

I just have ten minutes,
Can i do anything?
Compare it to the minutes of your life,
And it seems like nothing,

I may have forty-seven millee-on,
If i live to ninety,
So many meaningless passing moments,
Representing your full mortal'ty,

Sorry to shorten it, but I've no time,
I go minute by each,
Like living forty-seven million lives,
But I have lost my reach,

I have to stop,
It’s now time I lack,
I guess ten minutes isn’t very long,
Would I could get the last two million back.

The Next Thing

It's just a slice of time,
What you are going through,
If there was ever a point in your life,
It was better for you,

You can be sure they'll be better again,
For fortune comes in waves,
You're low now, you'll feel all good tomorrow,
Unless you pass away 'fore the next phase,

Which may be many, many years coming,
No one can tell you when,
It's more the sur'ty that it will exist,
That gives you momentum,

To just go on,
Wish I could tell you more,
Would that the future was open to all,
But its unknowingness is what it's for.

Denial's Time

Sometimes you have nothing,
Little hope left to you,
An understanding that you're going down,
No matter what you do,

Because you're looking at things you need not,
Just ignore negative,
Pull your rose-colored glasses off the shelf,
Acknowledge all that the world has to give,

Let the downers drown in unhelpfulness,
Brandish the strength of hope,
Some will say that you are ignoring facts,
They only interlope,

Where they should not,
Denial's good sometimes,
Like negligence of a newborn baby,
There are problems that solve themselves in time.

The Glowing Smile

I see you in the trees,
The ones you said to hug,
Your love of life was equaled by no one,
Despite the pain you lugged,

That's one thing I took into me of yours,
To the dismay of some,
It's a love that that denies others' pain,
For pain's something that must be overcome,

Which entails detachment from the mundane,
To embrace the spirit,
Which if ev'ryone did, pain would just cease,
Nor would be inflicted,

There'd be no point,
But, too, there is a price,
There'd be no excitement for worldly gain,
Which many people find natur'lly nice.

Throes

When you have nothing else,
You’re running on empty,
Having to burn the candle at both ends,
Living in poverty,

Still just keeping your head above water,
With your good attitude,
While objectively you should be screaming,
No matter how your situation’s viewed,

As you keep it inside like compressed gas,
Everything’s alright!
While factors are converging to a point,
That you’re wound up too tight,

Do not despair!
There’re other ways to vent,
That contribute to your situation,
Not leave you ope’ to pity and contempt.

Not Octopi

There is a new theory,
‘bout the Precambrian,
When life appears to have been so complex,
It defies ev’lution,

Thirty scientists have postulated,
That things like octopodes,
Landed on Earth from a space explosion,
Then proceeded to build garden abodes,

There’s no authority to deny this,
Categorically,
With all we know from empirical facts,
We really know nothing,

What do you think?
Even the chance it’s true,
Might put in question ev’rything you know,
And make you rethink ev’rything you do.

Work The Lock

When you’re under pressure,
Debilitating shock,
Think ‘bout Magnum PI when he gets home,
Having to pick his lock,

Higgins recored the door for who knows what,
(You know how he can be),
Zeus and Apollo running straight for Tom,
Ready to attack ‘cause he’s got no key,

He’s got seconds before he feels their teeth,
He chants a soothing phrase,
It’s ‘Don’t look at the dogs, work on the lock,’
Try doing what he says,

Breathe and focus,
It’s all that you can do,
Unless you’d like to watch potential death,
As it is attempting to distract you.

Loungey

A cat will lick its paws,
You know, they’re very clean,
Domesticated, they live just the way,
Everyone should mean,

Silently going ‘bout their business,
You do what you gotta,
But if it’s affection you’re looking for,
Don’t you worry, you can get a lotta,

They can also kill when the moment comes,
With both grace and purpose,
Then return to their life of elegance,
Not even furious.

They were once gods,
Now they just act that way,
When things get rough just hold onto a cat,
Let them purr you gingerly through the day.

Stop Reflecting

There are moments in time,
You don’t want to let go,
But holding onto them makes them diff’rent,
This, you should by now know,

You need never acknowledge the good times,
Self awareness kills them,
Just let them live, as you do polar bears,
‘fore y’only can see them in museums,

Don’t record it for future enjoyment,
You’ll be too glad for that,
If you just let it happen, you might find,
A different format,

For living life,
It’s called letting it be,
Worry less about if you’re having fun,
More ‘bout not worrying eternally.

My Scutigera

You know Scutigeras,
The ones in your bathtub,
Twenty-eight legs and quite long antennae,
On its head and its butt,

I found my first when I was twenty-one,
In my one bedroom flat,
I was very curious what it was,
So I asked an entomologist that,

I brought it in one of my mom's sauce jars,
To my univers'ty,
Learned it ate bugs that I would like much less,
Went home and set it free,

Many years gone,
It's still with me, today,
A life-long companyon whee'er I live,
Keeping unwanted intruders at bay.

Making Room

How much room do you need,
To make yourself a life?
Room enough for all of the things you own,
Which most of us are rife,

Room for the ones you love and what they own,
From what you put them through,
Room for the thoughts that haunt you ev'ry night,
Because of all of the things that you do,

Room for the outside expectations,
Crammed in with those inside,
Room for the uncertainty we all have,
For no one has a guide,

Room to be glad,
Yes, that takes up space, too,
There are laws of physics we must obey,
How you work around them is up to you.

Absolute Time

Try to take a breather,
Time only goes one speed,
'spite the feeling it's encroaching on you,
Demanding you concede,

Forget Einstein, sure time is relative,
Let us all give him that,
But Newton had something going for him,
More than a theory now not held as fact,

All you need to do is fill up your lungs,
Then begin counting slow,
This calibrates you to Absolute Time,
Hid by the need to go.

But it's not gone,
It cannot ever be,
We've all just agreed to let time rule us,
One of our Absolute Abilities.

Nothing

If you got nothing done,
No tasks you had today,
No attention to personal hygiene,
No settling bills to pay,

No reaching out to those who you must love,
No replies to emails,
No thoughts for those things that cause you dismay,
No smug smirks for your wins or tears for fails,

No believing what the world says ‘bout you,
No blaming of the past,
No alms for the poor or wishing for more,
No sitting on your ass,

No shame, either,
Nowhere you need to go,
No one knows what is inside of your heart,
No matter how often they tell you so.

Life Maintenance

When things don’t go your way,
Yes, you should cry it out,
Surrender to your body’s need to vent,
That’s what it’s all about,

It is a machine like anything else,
It needs maintenance,
Not only will it last a lot longer,
You can repair those emotional dents,

Start your journey fresh in each new moment,
Spreading cheer and good will,
Encouraging others to do the same,
Should I take a chill pill?

Lay off the sweets?
See things for how they are?
The question is can you get anywhere,
If you refuse to take care of your car?

Good Art

At each stage you must grow,
Or there’d be no stage,
Just constant awe at each experience,
From in a gilded cage,

Opened through awareness ‘fwhat came before,
Reconciled with your mind,
So you are always seeing something new,
E’en when you see it for a second time,

First you will raise your eyebrows in disdain,
How unoriginal!
But we builders all have a common thread,
The same material,

That’s how we talk,
There is no other way,
Sort symbols that are famil’ar to all,
To express what only your heart could say.

What If

What would you be doing,
With no care for money,
No one concerning themselves with your life,
Or what your thoughts might be,

Except in so far as what you show them,
Expressions of who you're,
That they then laud as valu'ble to all,
Like it was nothing that has come before,

With no reason to worry 'bout others,
E'en in the Middle East,
For poverty and discrimination,
Have been replaced with peace?

What would you do?
Anything different?
Is there value considering whether,
You should live so the answer's not consent?

Your Oyster

The world is your oyster,
In that it’s restricted,
To what those around you will let you do,
Once you have shucked the lid,

Which is hard enough to do on its own,
For fear battles instinct,
As do the fears and desires of others,
Will most likely contradict what you think,

For they all have just part of the picture,
Just the same as you do,
With all the factors needed for success,
What chance is there for you?

That’s all there is,
Einsteins die ev’ryday,
Whose oysters were mired so deep under sea,
Only luck would have given them a way.