The New You

You can have a death wish,
Or you can wish for life,
Neither existence is less than th'other,
For suffering or strife,

Both can be struck with a fatality,
Or selflessness extreme,
As far as consciousness goes, let 'er rip,
You are as unique as what's ever been,

You have flavor that's never been tasted,
Do not water it down,
Purify it by shedding what is false,
You may be shocked what's found,

Something not new,
But buried way deep down,
Masking your real scent unnaturally,
So that the true you may never be found.

The Grind

You work hard all your life,
No matter who you are,
For money, love, self-gratification,
Making yourself a star,

Getting revenge on those who have wronged you,
A disgusting calling,
Born of an unfortunate upbringing,
The selfishness required appalling,

P’haps you’re helping those with less in their life,
Feeling like Sisyphus,
Or chasing one dream after another,
Never victorious,

No matter what,
It is you choose to do,
Ever try to project to your deathbed,
To be certain it is okay with you.

Figure It Out

This is an intense time,
No pretending it’s not,
Best open flood gates bursting at the seams,
Than leave an unsaid thought,

To unleash emotions, why chain them down,
When they’re only tamed free?
To spare the feelings of those around you,
From what’s really your true identity?

Or is it? You know you can never know.
Some try and live that way,
Proportionally they’re no happier,
Than living for the day.

So who’s to know?
You, you clueless human,
Maybe you’d have figured it out by now,
If you went out every once and again.

Be Heard

The engine is revving,
You have to go somewhere,
Foot to the floor until you’re far away,
The speed is beyond dare,

You fill the space around you with your screams,
Like anyone would heed,
It’s so futile trying to make your mark,
You want to pull a Thelma and Louise,

Not that that would make any difference,
Who e’en remembers them?
The best you can do to define yourself,
Is laughing in the end.

Make sure they hear!
Don’t be on the lone road,
Make donuts in the parking lot all day,
Keeping the trunk popped so they see your load.

What You Are

Wake up in the morning,
Survey all that you have,
Which is nothing except what you perceive,
And then not even that,

Some people mistake possessions as theirs,
And things as possessions,
Confusing what they own as who they are,
Things, pets, kids, dreams, ideas, emotions,

But you are less than all these perceptions,
You’re imperceptible,
Yet, larger than any life you could think,
Impossible to fill.

Impossible.
Sit on that for a while,
Now put on your clothes and face a new day,
Trying to absorb this truth all the while.

What

The what is the answer,
What ev'rybody knows,
Forget finding out what you're meant to be,
For what it's worth, it blows,

What really matter's what's not talked about,
Until it's much too late,
When what you are is just waiting to die,
What what you've not done can be blamed on fate,

But what about what you are doing now?
There is too much at stake,
To ask what the what, what is a what to do,
To avoid the mistake,

What not to do,
What's the point of it all?
You're so preoccupied with hows and whys,
You mistook what it is, for what it's called.

The Question

Can you keep up with it?
The changing of the times,
The fickle perception of your colleagues,
They can turn on a dime,

World views and the opinions of your friends,
Like the weather they change,
All that much harder for you to detect,
As your own understandings rearrange,

While leaders change as fast as the weather,
The weather changes, too,
What is it in these endless rough waters
You have to hold onto?

Well, truthfully,
That's not the right question,
Do not ask how the world can support you,
But how you find your equilibrium.

This Life

Oh, what you can get done,
Rid of some obsessions,
Freed of internet TV binge-watching,
Hugged by the couch cushions,

Supplemented by a bottle of wine,
Interrupted by chips,
Between scrolling through the updates and posts,
Of those you miss and those you’d like to hit,

After a day of hard correspondence,
Even while your driving,
A new system that leaves no room for you,
Just social surviving,

But all’s not lost,
The power’s within you,
Each moment offers a choice to succumb,
Or improve something that you like to do.

32 Chews

I did put the whole thing,
In my mouth in one go,
Not sure if that is any different,
Than biting nice and slow,

There are those who say the stomach suffers,
When mastication’s weak,
So I thoughtfully chew ‘til all I feel’s,
A warm, oatmeally sludge within my cheeks.

So what is there now to argue against?
Perception of excess,
When by the end I have eaten no more,
Than those who give bad press?

Just let it be,
There’s much more to fret ‘bout,
Just make sure what you have to say’s louder,
And that you don’t say it with a full mouth.