A Downer

Two plus two equals four,
Five times three is fifteen,
Add them together and then you can drink,
Except in Tamuning,

Plus other places owned by the U.S.,
But you can buy a gun,
This ain't a critique of America,
I've not the stomach for revolution,

To tell the truth, I'm not even from there,
But, oh boy, I'd be screwed,
If that empire actually died,
I bet that you'd be, too,

But there are those,
Who'd welcome its demise,
Unless it meant nuclear holocaust,
I don't have enough lines to make this nice.

Here’s The Problem

It's best we all hustle,
If we want to survive,
Make sure that we all know every angle,
To keep ourselves alive,

Understanding what will help or hurt us,
Given any human,
Not forgetting that we all are equal,
To hustle you do not have to be mean,

Just like CEOs don't have to either,
Nor does your jealous friend,
We know that if everyone was just nice,
All world conflict would end,

That's de facto,
You cannot pretend,
That government would even be a thing,
If we all just had the best intentions.

Stop Reading

Here's the thing about faith,
In a god or in you,
Assuming there's a diff'rence between them,
That's not in my purview,

In either case you are taking a leap,
Without a guarantee,
That instead of you being rewarded,
When you land you won't crush your hopes and dreams,

The alternative's familiar to all,
You're doing it right now,
Not that reading is a big waste of time,
But we know it's not how,

To make a life,
'Least that's what my dad said,
He was always fearful of what I'd learn,
Absorbing the thoughts from another's head.

Where's My Place

Why've I not been writing?
I'll tell you what it is,
I have been struggling with what use I am,
Midst the circumstances,

Surrounding climate, war, and, yes, my skin,
Shouldn't I keep quiet,
Let those speak with more of it in the game,
Maybe they can fix the broke my kind lit,

Then again what happens if they do not,
But turn the tables 'round,
Take what should have been their rights from the start,
Eye for eye, pound for pound?

Or should my voice,
Quiet down just enough,
'Til there's room for everyone equally?
I am afraid, these days, I'm not that tough.

Losing My Religion

Oh, here we go again,
Depressed for no reason,
Except for all those actions I repressed,
For ethical questions,

Which is the reason for all religion,
Speaking of which, I've none,
Except for my faith in the universe,
Instilled by my catholic reformed mom,

Still, a faith that is tenuous at best,
But don't tell uni that,
I have my slips in those moments of fear,
My life is not exact-

-ly what I want,
Still, what does it owe me?
Perhaps if I became an orthodox,
I'd be free of responsibility.

Three Rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court

Who cares who someone loves?

What, I'm oblivious?
There are people with truth others don't have,
Afraid of god's justice?

What about those who can't afford college,
But still need a degree,
Else they can't get a job to pay school debt,
Which is like a glitch in an R.P.G.?

If they can get into college at all,
Depending on their skin,
For now there's no protection from racists-
I mean, from the system.

But who am I?
Just another white dude,
Feeling nervous writing this down,
Lest my own opinions get me eschewed.