An Ode to Patreon

This one makes me squirmish,
Self-consciousness burns me,
It's supposed to be about patr'onage,
As opportunity,

But even though this may never be read,
I'm overwhelmed by eyes,
The same as when people watch me walking,
Inevitably, I stop walking right,

The natural rhythm is disrupted,
I'm outside looking in,
There's no honesty when you think like that,
Destroying attraction,

Your art then dies,
So my apologies,
I must proceed as if you don't exist,
The only way to create properly.

The Pain

Let me drown in silence,
Away from ev'ryone,
No feeling something is owed for nothing,
Only oblivion,

The kind where you know you're tot'lly alone,
Ev'ry thought is your own,
Something kind of close to meditation,
Except you are eternally alone,

A touch like solitary confinement,
Not that I'd really know,
But I 'magine to be locked up like that,
Avoids a lot of woe,

Like what to say,
When anything's not good,
While, still, saying nothing is just as bad,
You would disappear if only you could.

4 - The Miser

What do you hold onto,
As if, if you let go,
It will forever be out of your grasp,
Diminishing you so,

Is it the money you stockpile in banks,
Not spent, and so nothing,
Is't the time you can't spare that slips away,
Without doing one thing,

Is it beautiful things that you create,
For which others must pay,
Which they don't, so they stay hidden from all,
Ne'er see the light of day?

You are weighed down,
In a fortress you've made,
Protecting you, sure, from what I don't know,
Making your form ugly along the way.

King - Abundance

Your heart thumps through your skin,
The elements surround,
You couldn't be anymore human now,
'Fno other could be found,

The deepest wisdom is e'er on your mind,
While you sing, dance and drink,
At once in love with spirit and the flesh,
There's no room in this euphor'a to think,

You're beyond diff'rence of man or woman,
Some would say, 'what's the point?',
I must admit without procreation,
There's still reason to boink,

Which you do, too,
It's 'nother dance, really,
If e'er there was a time to say no more,
I'd say it's now 'less it comes natur'lly.

20 - Beyond Illusion

What is inside is real,
Communion with your self,
Let not you believe that what then's outside,
Should be placed on a shelf,

For there would be nothing if not outside,
It's how you see the world,
But that perception is rooted in you,
Though it can be wrinkled as its unfurled,

Use the steam of your heart to smooth it out,
Your soul's hands to raise it,
Survey the new frontier with your mind's eye,
How your spirit lays it,

It is all you,
You rear it from its birth,
Not from your beginning, in each moment,
From your own image your create this earth.

2 - Moment to Moment

Dancing among rainbows,
The city far away,
The marketplace is swirling all around,
Geared towards another day,

His intentions simply do not exist,
What's coming will ne'er be,
Only the footfall upon the next stone,
Leaving the one before in history,

His success cannot be measured in time,
Rather, in its absence,
He is alone, for sure, but not lonely,
He's maintaining balance.

Commune with self,
Then reach out to others,
Only time will tell if ignoring it,
Was wiser than living with its bothers.

Card Laid

How about we play cards,
Some simple game of chance,
So that no matter how many are shown,
We feel exuberance,

At the constancy of human frailties,
The whole deck's never known,
Even card counters are at the mercy,
Of the possibil'ties yet to be thrown,

Each hand is a new opportunity,
For further joy or ire,
Oft times how you've done paints your perception,
Of what's yet to transpire.

When we are done,
That's where the game begins,
Do you play o'er the decisions you made,
Or pick up and shuffle the cards again?

The Heart Gets Broken

Connections can be broke,
Or they wouldn't exist,
Even an offspring's bond with a parent,
Can, with abuse be nixed,

Though less so in the other direction,
Either way, at what cost?
Lacking a relationship with one's blood,
Is your sense of humanity then lost,

Or does that connection of progeny,
Need to be satisfied,
So that if it's replaced with a good heart,
Your soul can still survive?

Or must it be?
What is the endgame, here?
To spend your days in peaceful contentment,
No matter the way which you have been reared.

What They say

There are many of you,
One for ev'ry person,
Building their viewpoint from a few snapshots,
It's not a perversion,

It's all as real as you see yourself,
It is as false, as well,
The admonishment, 'understand thyself',
Is not just meant for ev'rybody else,

You must learn to live with all your demons,
Both within and without,
How you do that is purely up to you,
Of that be of no doubt.

Others may cry,
They have a right to know,
A thousand words couldn't paint the picture,
Though there is no point in telling them so.

Freedom

'Ltell you what freedom is,
As if you didn't know,
It is the holy grail of existence,
Humankind's greatest foe,

'Tsbeen the route of all evil since money,
It was sex before then,
Wait, 't'snever been good to expose yourself,
That's always encouraged revolution,

It's best when not ev'rybody has it,
Less people in your way,
That's true for even those who don't have it,
'Thing to strive for one day,

Still, either way,
Be you have or have-not,
We all think of it as a possession,
Because that is what we have all been taught.

Fuck It

You don't need epiph'nies,
One day after the next,
To return to that place where you realized,
Reality's context,

That of a provider of stimulus,
That our body translates,
Providing the sights and sounds and feelings,
The mater'als we use to cogitate.

For sure it all needs to be clothed for sense,
So's to communicate,
But the point is to return to that place,
Where instincts are innate,

To guide your moves,
In this fucked up cosmos,
Then give it a rinse through your perspective,
So's to translate that for those you hold close.

21 - Completion

There're battles in Yemen,
Should have known this before,
Though it's hard to guess from the media,
Where there's actu'lly war,

It hasn't really been kept a secret,
The opposite, in fact,
It's hard to see the trees for the forest,
When they are blocked by the war in Iraq,

When your own circumstances are not firm,
Due to divisiveness,
Makes you wonder is drama natural,
Or meant to make you less,

Less human, sure,
S'you don't fight for justice,
There's no point in  protesting anymore,
Everyone must change their consciousness.

Miko

I hear your whimpering,
You want to come in here,
Even just a hint of my existence,
The knowledge I am near,

Tugs at your heart like a winch on a truck,
Bet you wish it would stop,
But the prospect of getting close to me,
Would lead you to never-ending distraught,

Gladly you would walk across burning rocks,
Pain moments paid for love,
Even if it ends more quickly than that,
Th'euphoria's enough,

To get you by,
Until the next chance comes,
So I silently stalk to the exit,
While you roll about in self-delusion

Ace - Maturity

There're flowers in your hair,
On your body and face,
There's such contentment in your half-closed eyes,
'Syou bask in their embrace,

You're looking in at your outward power,
Grounded in peace and love,
You shall never go back nor need go forth,
You have no fear of below or above,

You are just what you've e'er known you should be,
Everyone can see,
When one has attained their ideal person,
You feel the harmony,

It's palpable,
You want to breath it in,
But until you accept it's possible,
You'll never exper'ence maturation.

Soon, Raccoon

Left to its own device,
Walking alone at night,
Blending in with the shadows and mumblings,
Of creatures out of sight,

As dedicated to its own children,
As any human here,
Enmeshed as 'tis within the habitat,
To which they so religiously adhere,

It will never understand poverty,
Or its adverse effects,
There're no studies on divorce's impact,
It hasn't got there, yet,

'T'sjust a raccoon,
It eats garbage to live,
That's only reserved for the least of us,
To be pitied by those with 'nough to give.

The Round About Way

For what are you grateful?
The evangelist said,
A classic opening in advance of,
Pointing out you'll be dead,

That you should think about what comes between,
The middle and the end,
Not like those other godless hedonists,
Who have no one to whom they can repent,

You have him and he admits he needs you,
For that is his calling,
There must be shepherds and those that he tends,
Stamp out what is appalling,

Which is satan,
None of this will end good,
But there is a way to avoid it all,
Do unto others not just what you should.

Breeze Face

Is there any value,
When experiencing,
Without perception overlaying it,
Like list'ning to birds sing,

Or the sensation of wind 'gainst your face?
You feel it, so it's there,
But I challenge your mind to ask itself,
Are you just sensing yourself or the air?

Ain't the engine's roar a vibrating drum?
You're finding this banal,
The car's existence is not in question,
Nor is the ear canal,

What is the point,
Is not what's real'ty,
But knowing where you end and the world starts,
To understand where your control might be.

The Narcissist

1. Let me change your hist'ry,
To accommodate mine,
2. File away what you shared in confidence,
Then bring it up in time,

3. Point out your faults, then deride when your mad,
4. I'm the victim, you know,
5. But this is all because of your actions,
6. Also your inability to grow,

7. God would surely have struck you down by now,
8. If I didn't hit first,
9. There is so much you just can't understand,
10. While I'm fully immersed,

And one more thing,
11. I'm better looking, too,
If you''d just take better care of yourself,
You might then be the person I once knew.

Looking

Have you ever felt like,
Someone was watching you,
Through the trees with binoculars and time,
Obsessed with what you do,

Writing it down to review it later,
Then review it again,
Like the one life lived is for the other,
Is not even quite worth the attention,

'Cause there's something greater happening there,
No matter the reason,
Whether one's grand or th'other not worth it,
Both are now in prison?

Inauthentic,
They're looking out, not in,
Wait, who can say if there's a purpose here,
Or that it's aught to do with progression?

The Holy Trinity

Body, mind and spirit,
The holy trinity,
There's something in the sermon yesterday,
That really spoke to me,

That what all humans should endeavor for,
Is balance in all three,
A unified goal shared with ev'ryone,
Marked by openness and consistency,

An approach that one would think'd be easy,
And come naturally,
But is only expected from loved ones,
Lawyers and family,

'Cause exper'ence,
Tells us differently,
Everyone will be out for themselves,
'Til good will's valued universally.

Breeze Face

Someone said yesterday,
To my son, 'you're the face!'
An epitaph of true admiration,
I guess, in this new age,

Which makes me think the time is perhaps right,
To resurrect a thought,
Based on a sensation I exper'enced,
Driving along with my mom and my pop,

The wind was pressing hard against my face,
When my mind played a game,
It was as if the wind just disappeared,
But the feeling remained,

Man, what a trip,
Plus a lesson to share,
If not that you force your thoughts on the world,
Then that it exists in your sense of it.

What You Do

Action is a teacher,
By you or someone else,
By learning from mistakes or example,
Taken into yourself,

Mingling with the genetics that you have,
Influ'ncing what you take,
Imagine you had no one in this world,
What are the decisions that you would make?

Now take 'way all responsibility,
For ev'rything you do,
Which one or what combination of both,
Do you call really you?

Or neither one,
You're part of a great plan?
No matter what, only time will tell you,
The consequences of your exertions.

Welcome

No one asked to be here,
Thrust, as't were, into life,
Then you're, if you're lucky, born into privilege,
Odds are, though, into strife,

Luckier, still, you're given liberty,
And opportunity,
Without the fear of personal assault,
Or repression of ideology,

Then may your disposition grow freely,
No matter the flavor,
Morose, optimistic or ornery,
Naught to do with squalor,

But with humor,
No, not the funny kind,
The disposition you cannot escape,
That self-awareness allows you to find.

A Good Death

You must keep on living,
'Til you decide to stop,
Despite the connections that yet bind you,
You've ev'ry right to crop,

Perhaps you've grown tired of society,
Its convoluted ways,
Maybe you are worth more dead than alive,
With unreasonable bills still to pay,

Existence may too be a blip in time,
No beginning or end,
Ev'rything 'round be gone one day,
So who really cares when?

Just be yourself,
You've ev'ry right to be,
If you're the type to leave when you get bored,
Then, by all means go 'head, leave the party.

I Ching

Sometimes when you argue,
Resistance stops your will,
You become tangled in a losing fight,
When instead should be still,

In control of yourself and where you go,
Guided by your silence,
Thoughts passing by, neither correct or wrong,
Dispersed to avoid outside malfeasance,

Like a king strengthens himself by spreading,
Streaming across the land,
May the seeds you scatter find furtile ground,
Tamed by your guiding hand,

So you find growth,
That is what the stacks said,
Fight for your life by surrendering it,
Unless you would rather wish you were dead.

Lion's Head

Sits atop a window,
Porcelain stained with dirt,
Obsfucated by a young saplings leaves,
Inhabitants alert,

Was your body ever contemplated,
Just left as unfinished,
Perhaps too gruesome to make real'ty,
The world's safety leaving you diminished?

Or is it hiding in the bricks behind,
Flailing for its freedom?
Whatever the hell you are living with,
My commiserations,

It's not deserved,
All you did was get born,
If I could I would save you from this fate,
May the rain wash away all of your scorn.

Dying

If you dream, then dream big,
Want to be rich? Then be.
You realize that no one that's come before,
Can repudiate these?

It's not to say that you will get results,
Again, no one can know,
But one thing is for certain in this world,
If you never ask, the answer's e'er 'no',

And no one dying wishes they'd worked more,
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,
What you have to do with all you have learned,
Is just use it, don't ya'?

Or ignore it,
Who knows what's the right way,
But on your deathbed would't you rather,
Know you tried your best at th'end of the day?

Back Again

Get as far as you can,
Then stop and look around,
If there's nothing there you want to explore,
Then please be outward bound,

Don't stay if it's just 'cause you got that far,
That's no reason at all,
One point on one path among countless more,
Are you telling me you don't have the gall?

Is it that you don't want to work again,
E'en though you've just one life?
Or you afraid of what the next point brings,
For it may bring you strife?

Well, y'know it will,
That's what it's all about,
It's hope that you are really looking for,
Found only when there's still things to find out.

Waiting

Well, there goes my record,
Of you know what I mean,
Surrounded now by homegrown foreigners,
Nothing like I have seen,

Unable to imagine origins,
To my left or my right,
Luddites staring into oblivion,
Blurry-eyed sleepers after a late night,

Nighttime fumes meant to cover one's odors,
With nothing that's better,
Reminds me that there's a very thin line,
You wish you ne'er met her,

Oh my lord god,
That these things the exist,
Makes it hard to believe in a future,
Not destined to finish in bloody fists.

Never

They all made the same deal,
For immortality,
It's never the same as you imagine,
When gi'en th'opportun'ty,

One will never want for money or luck,
Except for his child's love,
She will kill herself in a thousand ways,
The last, well, he didn't look up above,

Just death and murder and murder and death,
Now look at where they are,
A misfit crew with no real direction,
Yet still traveling far.

There's never time,
To even think it out,
One moment sitting waiting around,
Next, someone's calling your name with a shout.

See You Tomorrow

Your silhouette hunches,
Lasts the life of a smoke,
Soon you will disappear back through the door,
We're probably both broke,

Swallowed up by the roofs over our heads,
Peace only these moments,
You, warmed by the red ember in your hand,
Back-light illuminating my torment,

If this darkness could never go away,
Where we wait life's restart,
Blessed with the freedom to consider it,
Creating our own art,

You with your fire,
High above my sorrows,
Let's promise, should this night last forever,
We'll both fix our wrong-doings tomorrow,

Artivism

Everything is green,
Does that mean a new start?
If ever Nature did teach us something,
It's the nature of art,

That no matter the era that you're in,
Life can be expressed new,
Sure, it's the same message in a fresh skin,
Chronologic'lly relevant to you,

Just like the theory of evolution,
You must take what is best,
Nurture it and use it, but it is not,
An unexpected guest,

It's e'er been known,
There's nothing to bemoan,
Nothing revolutionary in it,
It's only dangerous if left alone.

The Good Ol' Days

I'd like to say step back,
Back to the good old days,
When love and equality were normal,
Before media haze,

When we weren't told what we should think 'bout,
When injustice was clear,
Race, gender, beliefs didn't mean a thing,
Encounter and pet a bear without fear,

When people would go without luxury,
To afford others meals,
Community was 'bout mut'al support,
When we strove for ideals,

That had been, right?
I'm not imag'ning it?
Else we're telling ourselves that's what we want,
While we are striving for something diff'rent,

Time To Go

I don't have much time, now,
None of us really do,
At least, not when you stop to think 'bout it,
It's not all that imbues,

There are also those things that erase time,
Joy, love and excitement,
If you are lucky, they will pay the bills,
Else your mind is osc'llating betwixt them,

A constant distraction from what is real,
Joy, love and excitement,
This ain't a problem, for a moment of one,
Is the whole sentiment,

Of what life is,
You can die after that,
The rest is just striving for it again,
Or forgetting you were ever that glad.

The Tough Questions

Where's the social justice,
When you're traversing beds,
Discovering treasures that are not there,
For hours and hours on end,

When protesters born in another land,
Beaten at the White House,
As a cam'ra shot sent back to Turkey,
To remind the world just who is the mouse?

A useless gesture appropriated,
Yes, that is what I said,
We keep talking about needing to talk,
Everyone's afraid,

Of saying boo,
Well, that's just what they want!
While they manufacture their own consent,
We don't fight back 'cause we're convinced we can't.

Debate

If you are divided,
On what 'tis you should think,
You are at least a step closer to truth,
Than a nudge and wink, wink,

Than a rash response to a discomfort,
An aversion to work,
The kind of time needed to understand,
To stand up to the evil that e'er lurks,

That aims to pit human against human,
So divided we fall,
Stifled as soon as we choose to speak up,
By other made people,

Taught to be small,
Minded being called out,
Confused into thinking about ourselves,
Then paralyzed by subsequent self-doubt.

Reconciliation

You understand others,
By walking in their shoes,
Feeling the pain that's rooted in their past,
A bomb set with a fuse,

Hidden under a thin layer of soil,
Like it's not even there,
It doesn't take much to expose the wick,
With roots exposed, they will now live in fear,

Others can now see how to set them off,
Trust me, there're those who will,
Out of the fear of exposure themselves,
You must kill or be killed,

So don't change shoes,
They tie their own tighter,
Instead of respect they hurl out insults,
Instead of making love, they make fighters.

Indian Horse

There are things that are wrong,
That's what his body knew,
Without his family to tell him so,
His mind hid it, in lieu,

Pushed him instead to the happy actions,
Hockey distracted pain,
But then even that was taken from him,
The prejudice of the whites was insane,

He was forced fight instead of playing,
His only freedom lost,
They told him that he had a chance at life,
But left out at what cost.

What would you do?
Numb the pain with drinking?
Try to escape from this world of abuse,
That called you names as it watched you sinking?

The Comers

When my dad was eighteen,
He came from Italy,
Lived with his Paesan' in St. Catharines,
For moolah liberty,

It wasn't hard to work in construction,
Basic'lly wop country,
Still the foreman yelled you better work hard,
There's a ship coming filled with more of ye,

This was the treatment of the new comers,
By the newly arrived,
Who'd already displaced the existing,
Indigenous one's lives,

Systemat'cly,
Stamped white into their kin,
While ensuring they'll never be equal,
Ident'fied by the color of their skin.

In Bloom

He tore his dress away,
It was ne'er meant to be,
There were too many demons in his brain,
They cloud up what he sees,

Then there's the one sat behind ev'ryone,
Plugged in somewhere unknown,
The connection was made through other ways,
So he could still play completely alone,

The crowd didn't know what they're looking at,
Still couldn't look away,
Felt what was happening was important,
To all their future days.

They still look back,
It doesn't matter who,
Ev'rything was smashed as matter of course,
My god, how this planet could use more youth.

My Eyes!

I can't stand the backlight,
My eyes have revolted,
Thank god I learned to type back in highschool,
S'os to lean back my head,

I close my eyes and the light still pours through,
My brain is now hurting,
If screens were not so integral to life...
But why e'en muse, there is no refuting,

If I could just get away for one day,
Nay, let's make that a year,
To be among what we just call nature,
I could 'gain be a seer,

Of what there is,
Not what is presented,
There's enough to look at without pixels,
Just shut it down if god did not send it.

The Ideal

There'll be the perfect storm,
Of outrage and action,
Incredulity aligned 'cross the world,
And every faction,

A global foot put down 'gainst injustice,
Condemning the rich few,
Supporting a system that needs the poor,
Building the chains with which they are subdued,

Who would probably do the same if let,
E'en just for avengment,
But mostly because when your comfortable,
You think you deserve it,

Not that you don't,
But so does ev'ryone,
So now we ask ourselves, are we ready,
To organize such an equal nation?

Happy Anniversary

Fifty-one years ago,
Or is it fifty-two?
A young man married a younger woman,
Now, what is he to do?

It wasn't long ago he was thinking,
"We can finally live,
Done with this life's responsibilities,
To you, love, your rewards I can now give,

You no longer have to care for others,
Let me take care of you,
The struggle, the toil, your sacrifices,
We can start fresh, anew."

But then, she died,
He is left with his guilt,
Alone, he tries his best to speak to her,
He can almost hear her bright, smiling lilt.

Her Journals

You used to write of birds,
The thoughts that they must spawn,
Free as they are from the human follies,
Of selfish ambition,

There is naught to prove they're any less deep,
A cocky presumption,
That our blundering grope for some meaning,
Shows we possess some greater perception.

"But what," you said, "do we have on the birds?"
Content in their motions,
If any faith at all can be granted,
To our observations,

Which are oft base,
Grounded in aversion,
More than likely we're observed from on high,
An example of nature's perversion.

A Meditation On Hal Niedzviecki

This one is truly tough,
For't speaks to soci'ty,
Not whether the left has become fascist,
Or fears controversy,

Certainly if one wishes no offence,
There's two needs that I see,
First that the speaker has good intentions,
Then, th'list'ner must believe his amity,

Wait, there's more to it than just those factors,
Such a world must exist,
Either as an ideal or what we want,
Where there's no prejudice,

Not one doubter,
T'upset the apple cart,
Either we're all in for the perfect world,
Or we should chalk any such thoughts to art.

Down Below

The bottom of your breath,
Provides you an escape,
A moment where nothing is happening,
Where nothing is too late,

Where you exist 'tween you and you one day,
Like waiting for a plane,
There is all you will do when you arrive,
Not yet real, but existing on a plane,

There is e'er the chance you will not arrive,
Things out of your control,
Fear of alighting where you want to be,
To then answer your soul.

"So, where to now?
You're who you wished to be,
Now that you are no longer traveling,
Do you think you can comfortably breathe?"

Hidden Figures

I sometimes cry at films,
Get caught in spectacle,
Usually the surmounting of odds,
Threat’ning what’s respect’ble,

The allowance of one to live freely,
Why is that my trigger?
Born maybe in the most lib’ral of states,
Plus I am white, also male, go figure,

There is no battle I am forced to fight,
Near the truly oppressed,
Nor would my fights ever lead to bloodshed,
If I e’er chose to press,

Which I have not,
Because, well, I don’t know,
My heart bleeds for those who have overcome,
Surely for it’s a courage I wish show.

The Drop Off

Not sure if this is sketch,
Standing outside this store,
Waiting for someone I have never met,
It is new age rapport,

The last stanza will tell if this was wise,
Digital rendez-vous,
But the sun is out and people around,
There isn't much this guy could really do,

The only real risk is the merchandise,
Will it do what it should,
Am I buying something that is stolen,
From someone who's not good,

Well there you go,
He was such a nice guy!
Though I shouldn't have asked him out for beers,
That is out of the scope of online buys.

Too Much to Do

Will I shower today?
That is a great question,
It's not the default in my daily life,
Has your respect lessened?

For there was a time when bathing was rare,
Yes, and so was long life,
But it's qual'ty not quantity we seek,
Like a metal on the edge of a knife,

Or like paradise by the dashboard light,
Soap will affect your taste,
You will lose the oils that give you your smell,
The time will make you haste,

Yet still you judge,
Bathing's ushered in health,
At what price have we bought this steril'ty?
Hasn't it washed away our sense of self?

Snoozing

Hard to get out of bed,
Though body's not in pain,
Sleep hours were in line with what one should get,
The day's prospect's the same,

But there is something about seclusion,
Like walls are protecting,
You from the inevitable outside,
Still, you're trying to dislodge from time's wing,

To institute a minor hiatus,
A regroup for your brain,
Mixed in with your schedule anxiety,
Making your problem plain,

You are human,
You have human problems,
The universal ones of survival,
Mixed with injustice, thoughts and emotions.

The Gap After The Down Breath

Didn't know where you were,
But hoped that you were near,
It is strange, but if I thought you were gone,
I'd have no strength 'gainst fear,

I know that's what you lived with all your life,
You wrote enough 'bout that,
But would you have changed your life 'nother,
Or spend any time of life looking back?

Well, you would and you did 'cause you told me,
I read your diary,
Both personal and a guide to living,
If that you act'lly be,

I'll never know,
Nor do you want me to,
True joy rests in finding your pers'nal path,
Maybe it's enough I fin'lly found you.

What You Are

It is day three of four,
The rain's supposed to fall,
It will be a sign for some of cleansing,
For the guilt in her soul,

She will walk into the past to the times,
She has cringed to think of,
Take herself by the hand, pointing forward,
To see the future self that she will love,

That the moment from which they now view her,
A step along the path,
Was maybe not necessary, but was,
Is what the future hath.

It cannot change,
But would you if you could,
Risk changing the person that you are now?
Then you've bigger problems than all your shoulds.

Accept You

Look at your future self,
Walking along ahead,
You may not catch up to him, but you can,
Follow in his footsteps,

Just make sure he's someone you want to be,
The future's not one path,
But if you are, summon him back to you,
For, my friend, there are questions you must ask,

Or rather, an assessment you must make,
How does he make you feel?
It is time that you confess to yourself,
That who you are is real,

You're no one else,
There is no way to be,
Like molecules of water seem the same,
There is only one of each in the sea.

Mind Palace

The warehouse was massive,
Curiosities stacked,
Why I thought to go was a good notion,
Is still an unknown fact,

Surrounded by an angry, confused mob,
I soon feared for my life,
Until it was clear they'd no direction,
I picked out one to represent my strife,

We agreed we should all sit down to talk,
Soon their tumult was clear,
They refocused themselves to reorganize,
I helped myself to beer,

It was a mind,
If the metaphor's lost,
Whether it was mine or someone else's,
Is a thought that shows that the meaning was lost.

Correspondence

It's not the quantity,
Of the minutes you spend,
How many have you wasted just thinking,
'bout what's going to happen,

A future that's truly unknowable?
C'mon, you know what I mean,
Trying hard thinking you know what you want,
Leaving ev'rything around you unseen,

Looking back to understand the present,
The two do not relate,
'cept so far as the former defines you,
Orchestrating your fate,

You never know,
Mostly, it is just you,
You choose what it is that you focus on,
Which defines where it is you're heading to.

The Toxic Rupture

It's not the destruction,
That's unavoidable,
The death and pandemonium just are,
And irreversible,

It's who is around when the dust settles,
To then clean up the mess,
How they treat those with lost and broken parts,
Are they dismissive or use tenderness?

Do they show that despite life's cruelty,
There's still love to be found,
That what it does is unpredictable,
But on you they can count?

Y'know, like a rock,
Virt'ly unbreakable,
Not moved by the whims of the sky or sea,
Refuge when factors are unbearable.

A Regrouping

These moments are not fair,
Some choose not to see them,
For fear it pulls them into depression,
As slow as teeth ease in,

Others embrace them like that's all there is,
Which is impossible,
They paint all good times like feeling the wind,
Like an insurmountable obstacle,

Not to say that life's a bowl of cherries,
Y'can't be a thing you make,
It's a dichotomy of good and bad,
Both of them claim a stake,

Not ev'rywhere,
There's e'er ambivalence,
The place from which you see them coexisting,
Despite a wholly lack of evidence.

Dashed Dreams

Live in expectation,
P'haps you'll get what you want,
Many a mogul first visualized,
What most of us cannot,

The accumulation of untold wealth,
Why would you want to say?
Buy cars worth more than a house when you could,
Feed thousands of poor for pennies a day.

Or forget possessions, what about love?
Some say they are the same,
A lucky few will get just what they want,
Without heartbreak or pain,

Then there is you,
Ever disappointed,
Wanting but going by it the wrong way,
You refuse to go where you are pointed.

Ascending Down

It's not so much the heat,
It's the humidity,
It's not so much that I'm a hated man,
As how it affects me,

Live and let live is the rich man's motto,
It's simple to afford,
Altruism's inversely related,
To how much life's horrid,

You must scrape together what you can,
For the necessities,
Talcom powder, shorts and very thick skin,
For the hatred one sees,

By those hated,
That is the irony,
Of course, spread the wealth evenly to all,
There will still be reason for jealousy.

Jorge Lime Seed

Ever get a tree seed,
Bestowed by a poet,
On tarmac midst an heavenly garden?
If you haven't, do it,

No need to wonder what you'll do with them,
They will find their way home,
Like us all, they are drawn down to the ground,
Unlike us, they've naught for which to atone,

You will find your way back from whence you came,
Not from whence you were born,
Alone in a bed, where else should you be,
When you're feeling forlorn?

You take the seeds,
Wish they'd grow in your palm,
Branches to take you high up to the sky,
With naught but A Hawke's limes for consumption.

Miami Beach Conventions

The least of our problems,
Were wet patches of mud,
If you looked down to try to avoid them,
You'd be squashed with a thud,

We stayed close, following the ones who knew,
Vests bright so to be seen,
If I hadn't passed the dinner tables,
I would have assumed they couldn't have been,

Each step uncovered a new obstacle,
Ne'er mind the acrid dust,
The only way out was to just accept,
Accept we knew we must,

So must you all,
Or, you know, I guess don't,
There are diff'rent ways to navigate life,
But if you expect it to bend, it won't.

On Stage

These words spoken to you,
In weak, quavering voice,
Do not quite understand their existence,
Don't know they have a choice,

As do the eardrums they manipulate,
To be there completely,
If ev'rbody simply lived this way,
All the world would be filled with poetry,

But more is the case we speak for ourselves,
Then that is all we hear,
A habit not born of solipsism,
But debil'tating fear,

Of what we know,
That there's no difference,
Between what any of us are saying,
We're trying to describe the same presence.

Finding Your Self

The day is so sunny,
The earth's awash with light,
Light is the nourisher of honesty,
Precursor of delight,

Delight may also be born of revenge,
Begot of broken heart,
Sister of unfulfilled expectations,
Whose spouse meticulously tore apart,

Casting darkness across the whole affair,
Alas, there goes the sun,
Blocked by clouds of distrustful, darkened thoughts,
In need of rev'lution,

Which is coming,
This fascism can't last,
Feel in your bones the sun deficiency,
You will fight for your own truth pretty fast.

As I Wait

'Tsnot as cold as could be,
The chill's just in my skin,
Besides, my home is cosy and toasty,
When I'm let in again,

But this beaded seat cover's a boon, too,
The coffee's strong and warm,
There's little risk of vi'lence on this street,
No last night's syringes scattered this morn,

The odd car drowns out the chirping of birds,
Both with places to go,
I flit 'tween varied messaging forums,
Alas, there's naught to show,

Though, I've a phone,
Reaching out's in my pow'r,
'Til the batt'ry dies, and I fall asleep,
Entering dreams e'en more lonely and dour.

In Case We Care

Is this where we're heading,
In line at Tim Horton's,
A conduit for the money we 'make',
For further consumption,

But not the kind that gives you sustenance,
It spawns anemia,
Until your heart's used to blood, thin and weak,
Waiting for the intelligentsia,

As the keepers of our morality,
Left stale and forgotten?
If it was my responsibility,
It wouldn't be rotten,

Not that we're bad,
We've just no direction,
It is time to reclaim independence,
If just to remember we are human.

Three Day Road

Let's forget he's a fake,
Co-opted a culture,
Won awards meant for a cheated people,
That his spirit animal's a vulture,

He may have reasons that are not selfish,
He might just be insane,
Whatever it is we've ere cleared our minds,
Because there is nothing we have to gain,

So then we focus only on his words,
Boy, what a tale he weaves,
Makes me wish there were even more awards,
To counteract the thieves,

To wit, us all,
Though we make no pretense,
It's bad enough we ignore the problem,
We punish those who come to their defense.

Daddy?

It was her voice, for sure,
As clear as the real thing,
Calling me, my vaudevillian daughter,
Rousing me from sleeping,

By the time I realized it was a dream,
It already woke me,
But in the dark I did not check the time,
It was a matter of self-perfidy,

For my body already knew the hour,
Too late to not be up,
Did I choose to ignore my dear girl's call,
So's not to interrupt,

My precious time?
I hope she understands,
I reserve my strength and spend no effort,
Except to bequeath her the upper hand.

Passed It

Mmm, it will all happen,
You can't stop it at all,
You have time, mass and karma against you,
Trust me, greater will fall,

You will die, too, that is an absolute,
Can't chalk that to theory,
Absorb all these facts, sit and meditate,
Only then will you no longer fear me,

You will wander the earth, but not be lost,
You'll e'er e'er arrive,
Not be distracted by the petty few,
Who are barely alive,

They don't matter,
Only those you love do,
The ones who don't need to hear what you say,
To once and completely understand you.

Little Brother

As a little brother,
I do appreciate,
The treasured joy reserved for just our ilk,
Almost considered fate,

Or p'haps a calling, futilely ignored,
Resting deep in our hearts,
Male or female, outside of race bound'ries,
Religion aside, something close to art,

The hidden hand hovering o'er a thigh,
Met with a harried cry,
"If you don't stop that I'm telling mother!"
"But dear mom, 'tis not I."

So innocent,
Yet devious, as well,
A childhood of practicing joy in pain,
A wonder more of us aren't in jail.

The Black Stallion

They had been through so much,
Each saved the other's life,
The one carried him to a distant shore,
A dark and stormy night,

The other, before, as the ship went down,
Untied him from his binds,
One a young boy now without a father,
Th'other a horse leaving freedom behind,

Neither of them will ever find the joy,
Shared alone on the beach,
Fin'lly steed and rider almost flying,
But for it they'll e'er reach,

Living moments,
That's what it's all about,
You can spend your time recapturing them,
Or forever trying to find them out.

Kids' Poetry Judge

How to judge poetry!
Oh, let me count the ways,
But before that, let it be understood,
It’s a treacherous maze,

First I took Beauty, Power, Thought and Fun,
Those, I weighed equally,
Then Message, Technique, Meter, Impact, Form,
Lastly, not least, Originality,

Scoring all these, I achieved some order,
But poems ain’t numbers,
So I wrapped my heart softly with your words,
Verse must rouse one’s slumber.

But they all did!
See the difficulty?
Keep on expressing yourself to the world,
Those that won represent you all to me.

To Date

Try to leave this shadow,
The movement into light,
If you think it may open horizons,
Well, you know, it just might,

May, too, expose you to all sorts of harm,
It's not safe to be seen,
It means your obscene opinion of things,
Can then be judged by all human beings,

You're not a silverback destined to rule,
To defend to the death,
When you die it will be on a soft bed,
With regret on your breath,

For what wasn't,
Also, for what there was,
Close your eyes, imagine you face it now,
That is what every fearless one does.

Public Speaking Fundamentals

The key to public speech,
Has been cast by science,
A recipe of various techniques,
On it we've reliance,

Just follow the steps and you've first built trust,
Then wowed with confidence,
Soon they will be like putty in your hand,
You'll even sway those who were on the fence,

Anyone can be taught how to do this,
Everybody should,
Then, maybe, we wouldn't always be duped,
By evil playing good,

We'd think for us,
And think of others, too,
Sure, charisma would be in short supply,
But p'haps the world won't be run by the few.

Be Safe

Let's talk about safety,
And what it means to you,
The thought that living long is important,
Sticks with all but a few,

But even Alfalfa was shot dead young,
With so much to live for,
What was he thinking in those final breaths,
That would have been wiser with ten years more?

Or is it that his encounter with death,
Shot in the groin o'er scratch,
Might have led to some change in perspective,
What plans might he have hatched?

Like living well,
The last of all regrets,
When there's nothing to risk, we play our cards,
Which is much too late to make any bets.

The Painting

After hours of painting,
Meticulous detail,
Stepping into and out of the picture,
Just your mind to avail,

It's not reality you're creating,
It's perception at best,
So, as eternal as all our minds are,
How do you judge if you need more or less?

I mean, you have to walk away sometime,
Decide you are all done,
Say, "not one more brush stroke will be needed,
To cap this expression."

Where is that line?
How to recognize.
To pinpoint where imagination ends,
is to understand the point where it dies.

Tiding

I do not mind waiting,
That's the thing about me,
Leave me sitting someplace for days on end,
I'll have made lemon tea,

Then while I drank it I'd think how lucky,
It was I had lemons,
Plus, apparently, a water kettle,
Talk about making peace from battlements,

I've never been one to just sit around,
Have I told you 'bout me?
You can step all over my heart and soul,
I'd repair them tout suite,

I'm not heartless,
Or there'd be naught to fix,
Nor is my soul stronger than the next guy's,
It's just any challenge gives me kicks.

Animals Are Beautiful People

Who is the animal,
Us humans or the beasts?
There appears to be less complication,
In the latter, at least,

Which is what all humans strive for, I think,
Some peace, simplicity,
We get complicated striving for it,
Then Stevie sings Living in the City,

Truth is, we are all cut from the same cloth,
Circumstances rule us,
Evolution is about adjusting,
Sometimes one's just callous,

Or else she dies,
No one wants to do that,
The key is acknowledging your actions,
As the best response to all the known facts.

Hold On To It

This is just amazing,
Really, what could beat it?
The last time I felt this good about things,
I was then defeated,

Staying on top is riding a fine line,
It's easy to fall down,
For you have to maintain what got you there,
Because success is a series of rounds,

To stay strong, in shape, you need to focus,
When you just want to play,
But the only thing you can act'lly enjoy,
Is how you feel today,

Still amazing,
Which could change in a beat,
Whether a meteor falls on your house,
Or she you trust turns out to be a cheat.

The Bombs

Bombs flying in the air,
It happens ev'ryday,
So much, we don't even hear about it,
Unless they choose to say,

Which they do for a specific reason,
Fill the news with one thing,
That way you can either do another,
Without the population noticing,

Or so they can control the perspective,
Guide the people's thinking,
Then before you know it they've done something,
'Fwhich you have no inkling,

For, say, money,
Or to spark a world war,
Though those are not mutu'lly exclusive,
What do you think the one was e'en made for?

The Day Before

Trying to get it right,
Like everybody else,
But my god, aren't we all just human,
Who can love just one self?

We all do our best to love everyone,
Because we want it, too,
Miscommunication of our desires,
Can put the wrong people in front of you,

Like, say you're a salesman dying to sell,
Just for the commission,
You don't believe in the product, s'of course,
You're dealing in fiction,

Then are found out,
For the fraud that you are,
When the reason you took the job at all,
Was the interiour of the new car.

The Step Back

Jeeze, I almost forgot,
'Mongst the self-absorption,
Flinging shit with the hope that it will stick,
Chip another portion,

Of the armor around Custer's last stand,
Bent to fare the same fate,
If the abuse has anything to say.
Its goal is to turn all hope into hate,

But its intentions are ill-directed,
There's no victory there,
It may succeed in wreaking its revenge,
But will leave itself bare,

Naked and chill,
Alone and left to rot,
My god the power of a once scarred heart,
Blind to the damage it also has fraught

The Invisible Enemy

This man had lived his life,
Like most understand it,
Got an education then worked for years,
Like soci'ty planned it,

But then something inside him begged for more,
He lived once more again,
Doing something different at sixty,
Like there're no rules about being human,

Everyone close to him told him stop,
That's not how things are done,
Not the most supportive community,
But lots of affection.

You're prob'ly like,
"I don't have those problems",
So if there're no obstacles in your life,
Why do you lack any motivation?

U.S. Senate Votes To Repeal Obama-Era Internet Privacy Rules

The internet was once free,
I will tell my children,
You could navigate it like a tourist,
Confident that your movements were hidden,

I think the government let it mature,
To see what it became,
Knowing it only took legislation,
To step in and change the rules of the game,

Then we were all caught in the tangled web,
No living without it,
Ev'ry one of our movements could be tracked,
That's when we were outed,

Our lives stolen,
Freedom, only in name,
Knowing we could be reined in any time,
If the system felt we need to be tamed.

Linchpin

This gift I give to you,
Made from what's in my heart,
As unique as the lines on my fingers,
Technology turned art,

Existing because it just won't stay in,
Hold on, that is not right,
It would not exist if it stayed inside,
If it is not shared, it is out of sight,

If it is out of sight, then so am I,
Hidden in the machine,
We are evolved only when we're conscious,
Otherwise, we're unseen,

Nay, not e'en there,
Alive, but not living,
Our purpose is to express who we are.
That can only be achieved by giving.

While You're Reading This

There's not much more to do,
Than what you've been doing,
Because what you've been doing's what you do,
'Less there's more ensuing,

In which case, when will that be coming out?
You have a date in mind?
Will the time be ripe at a certain age?
D'you know what it is and are you behind?

Maybe you shouldn't be reading this now,
You've got too much to do,
To catch up to the person you should be,
And finally be you,

But who is that?
Yes, another question,
Asked by me, while I'm sitting writing this,
P'haps my own block to self-realization.

Missing

There is a way I am,
What I show to the world,
No time for the thing that I am doing,
Still half mast. Yet unfurled.

There is the next thing on the horizon,
What this here had once been,
That since shown itself to be something else,
It was different than what I had seen,

Then there is what I hope I'll never lose,
As it just slips away,
Thank god we don't know what tomorrow brings,
I'd not get through the day!

But I'm still here,
Hope doth spring eternal,
That's what I say in the face of the guilt,
Born of the thought I've made life personal.

Cisco

There is someone out there,
Who knows everything,
Who's given the responsibility,
Of the monitoring,

Of knowing who is watching who and when,
Where that info's going,
What is being done with it and by whom,
Making sure it's their own lawns they're mowing,

Knowing who else is out there pushing in,
To steal identities,
Whoever it is will throw arms in th'air,
With great humility,

It is too late,
'Less you're e'er off the grid,
Or who you're isn't married to the cloud,
There is no control that can be undid.

Holding It In

Trying to keep it in,
Ain't all that difficult,
Your body has a natural spigot,
Controlled by shame and guilt,

Reluctant to display what is common,
Ne'er mind the stinky mess,
The looks of disdain and disparagement,
As if there's something wrong with humaness,

Because we are all, already, removed,
Due to technology,
A new world with new possibilities,
Unthink'ble formerly,

Yet, here we are,
Dealing with all this shit,
There is no valve that is yet invented,
It's our nature to make 'fore planning it.

Dangerous times

 Driving while you were writing,
 Who knew could be done?
First you would need a car,then voice to text,
 Oh,  and a concussion,

Or some other kind of head injury,
'Cause  you're on the highway,
e'en  10 years ago it couldn't be done, you,
Without your friend writing down what you say,

But I don't have any to help me now,
That well's almost run dry,
Now at 130 clicks per hour,
This bed is where I live,

The one I made,
From scratch, with my own hands,
Perhaps it will lead me to find my dreams,
Still more innovation in this new.

The Old Box

Things that were so precious,
Kept in boxes for years,
With words so earnest, forthright, and naive,
Paper crinkled from tears,

Hardly able to recall how it was,
Or was it really you?
But if it wasn't then who are you now,
And will you someday be somebody new?

So you put it all back into the box,
Burn it in the fire,
If you can't replicate who you had been,
Then you are on that pyre,

Ash on your heart,
Spread there more than one time,
You keep on changing, yet you never do,
'Cause you keep feeding yourself the same line.

The Wariers

Who is the artist, here,
Grabbing shoulders with glee,
Reflecting on all that's already done,
By contemporaries,

In a language I've always understood,
Wond'ring, is that enough?
Have they found each other through the labyrinth,
Or are they woven together by love,

Part of a fabric that need not be cut,
To make your way through it,
Rather, there is room to attach yourself,
S'hot you melt like suet?

You become one,
The more the merrier,
May all living in the world be artists,
Then may there no longer be wariers.

The Implications Of The Uncertainty Of Life

Have you ever been safe?
Among those on the street,
Eyeing you for what you have, who you are,
That might make them complete,

In malls, coffee shops, and public buildings,
Open to bombs and trucks,
Sitting down in front of your computer,
No one is watching you, with any luck,

As a child, at the mercy of your dad,
Some people have no hope,
The flutter of your heart from plaque, not love,
Tragedy you can't cope,

All of these things,
Only you know what more,
One minute you're here and the next you're gone,
Never mind not knowing what it's all for.

Moot

For real, it is no joke,
Feel like screaming out loud,
If it didn't make me look like a dick,
Given all life's allowed,

Relative safety of country and skin,
Let's not forget my sex,
Relative wealth, though like most I'm in debt,
Relatives who will support what comes next,

For now, I have got all my limbs working,
Not bad looking, to boot,
No major illnesses I'm aware of,
Just sent a tweet to Moot,

But tomorrow,
I'm afraid what it brings,
Like every other dick in the world,
Who cannot just count his fucking blessings.

Happy Where You Are

'Less you're moving forward,
You are going no place,
'Course, if you are happy with where that is,
Then turn away your face,

Why would you be reading this anyway?
'Cept, that this gives you joy!
Now my mind is blown, is it possible,
Poetry's not just for the sad and coy,

That a life well-lived can self-reflect, too,
Step out its reverie?
Or is it more that the mind can't avoid,
One's own lack of money?

And there it is,
Though some say it's needed,
I wouldn't miss that dirty currency,
That leaves all forms of freedom impeded.

Happy Belated

Oh god, the irony,
When will things go my way?
I write one of these near ev'ry morning,
But miss World Po'try day,

Don't e'en know what it was I would've wrote,
Life's been such a bollocks,
A car teetering on its two side wheels,
'Twixt a wide avenue and jagged rocks,

Towards a horizon of untold wealth,
'Bout the size of thin air,
Likely to bring me no greater comfort,
E'en if I make it there,

You're who you are,
Even if you should change,
That's only adaption to surroundings,
To cope with shit the best you can arrange.

Penning It

If you do one thing right,
In a consistent way,
Love it, care for it and make it your dreams,
For as long as you play,

Plunge yourself in it like it's all there is,
Compartmentalize,
Then, when you must leave it for other things,
There will be a diff'rent sheen to your eyes,

Everything else will appear brighter,
Isn't that all our goal?
That then leads to a transference of light,
That resides in the soul,

Then the mundane,
That which you don't care for,
Becomes the best version of what it is,
Until there's no room for fear, anymore.

Advice

There is a pattern, here,
Don't matter how it came,
It can remain a mystery of life,
As long as it's not named,

For then we are dealing with other things,
Like where did it come from,
Much different from how can it teach us,
How to determine the right direction,

Like the two tattoos on that cashier's arms,
Love the life that you live,
Then, live the life that you love on th'other,
That's good advice to give.

Don't get me wrong,
Very hard to follow,
A constant effort forever challenged,
Makes it hard not to give up and wallow.

Underground

Smell's a little different,
Musty cold, underground,
Still it is far more decent of a sight,
Than nothing at all found,

The bitterness of true frigidity,
Without no protection,
You're passed by as if you do not exist,
Actu'lly a fair determination,

It's better that this six feet underground,
Hasn't been filled with dirt,
There is so much that I have yet to do,
Death cannot even flirt,

It's stay or go,
There is no in between,
Not that things couldn't go on anyway,
Or that once gone you would miss anything.

Always

You're who you want to be,
E'en if you don't act so,
E'en if you're far from the best you can be,
With no hint that you'll go,

The leaves of the trees may fall to the ground,
You shouldn't be surprised,
No one will pick them, put them away,
Nor sweep away winter's coldness and ice,

Hate will not leave the world this next decade,
Hope good always prevails,
There are two people in everyone,
May the bad one e'er fail,

Like you and I,
Ev'ryone of our ilk,
Success does not always mean succeeding,
Tears need not always come after spilled milk.

The Haze

In the final minutes,
Before all light is gone,
The chill spreading slowly throughout your bones,
You're ready for so long,

Death is upon you, you're body is weak,
Systems not working right,
You want to lie down 'til this life passes,
But you fail to even with all your might,

Words escape you, there is nothing to say,
Except, please, please help me,
Rather you starve in your spot on your bed,
Than strive for victory,

Better you die,
Let nature take its course,
The world was not meant for the likes of you,
Your existence will fill it with remorse.