Keeping Us Down

Some people have it good,
Though they didn't always,
Most had some advantage to get them there,
Of course, they'll never say,

Instead they will pass on words of wisdom,
From their experience,
As if the doors open for them ain't closed,
For the vast majority of humans,

We cannot all be living the good life,
The world could not sustain,
It might seem all but you have succeeded,
But that's part of the game,

To keep us down,
There, I've said it out loud,
The government and oligarchs all know,
Hope is the opium that calms the crowd.

Live and Learn

You must temper yourself,
Do not come in so hot,
Excitement is no excuse for rudeness,
Good intentions or not,

You must not now be tortured by regret,
The past is for learning,
You've never done what you're about to do,
Even each breath is a unique journey,

As is the witnessing it by others,
Each everything is new,
There's ne'er been a moment in history,
You are about to do,

So, please take care,
Art's not a mindless thing,
It's informed by everything that you've done,
What you've learned, and the hope for harmony.

Mode

You must be complacent,
Some proportion of time,
To not deny you a spectrum of modes,
Possible for your mind,

"Wait, that's going down a slippery slope!
Why not, too, be obscene?
You want to experience all there is,
Try making promises you'll never mean."

I understand the point you are making,
My devil's advocate,
'Let's abstain from anything that may hurt,
Another's complacence.'

I'm feeling mean,
Maybe solipsistic,
A mode that allows me to ignore you,
Not a path I would naturally pick.

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

I've been reading Greenlights,
Want to write one as well,
Describing experience as the past,
But constantly unveiled.

McConaughey has a different concept,
With more prescriptive views,
Though he says it is not a self-help book,
He certainly believes what you should do,

Which some may claim is based on his privilege,
We all come from somewhere,
This isn't a review, but if you ask,
His options were unfair.

Compared to who?
Why, the ones behind him,
The ones in front, well, we each all have both,
It's our choice which is our motivation.

I Never Know

There must be other ways,
To express what I feel,
Odd thing is I think I have tried them all,
Lest there's any concealed,

Either I don't know where to start or end,
Like the world's closed to me,
I do not know what I want to express,
Until I place my fingers on these keys,

That sentiment does not quite hit the nail,
For if you were to ask,
Where these thoughts are going to lead me to,
I would just straight up laugh,

'Cause that's the fun,
It's a journey for me,
Until I write the last word of a Wath,
The ending is always a mystery.

Be Bold

Sometimes you must be bold,
The rest of the time, too,
Even when you are being cowering,
You must have attitude,

People will say that you must know your place,
Well, that's completely true,
How else will you know where to thrust your sword?
You must be bold, but recognize the cues,

That's why living well is the best revenge,
Lost on all but a few,
The last laugh's the one that lasts the longest,
Let it not be for you,

Let it be yours,
That drops the other shoe,
Now you have everything you need to win,
You cannot complain that you never knew.

The Drag Race

You have to throw the net,
In pools shallow and deep,
Opportunity comes to those willing,
To take uncertain leaps,

You know the trodden path will grow no grass,
It's never greener there,
But roll the dice enough times you're ensured,
That you'll eventually roll a pair,

Isn't it more fulfilling to do that,
Than following the path,
Mixed metaphors do not erase the fact,
The chances that you hath,

As do us all,
You've just to find your drag,
Be yourself to your most flamboyant self,
Again, I have given that dog a wag.

What Is a Wath?

If you are not anxious,
At least some of the time,
It is like the equivalent of,
Living without enzymes,

There are perceptions you need to break down,
That build up in your brain,
Taking up room, like fat under your skin,
Your body will never use to sustain,

They're puzzles to what makes you who you are,
Created to be solved,
The pieces then there to be rearranged,
Or you could say, resolved.

Did you get that?
I almost didn't, too,
I hope I don't have to also point out,
How this Wath's also a puzzle for you.

Remember

If you think back a year,
On this here very day,
Do you remember what you were doing,
I wonder what you'd say,

If you knew I knew the answer to that,
I'm not talking 'bout you,
I have documentation of my life,
All the way back to two thousand and two,

Even farther, if I don't want to rhyme,
That's the value of truth,
I can't say I've changed much over twelve months,
Except for fading youth,

I know, I know,
That was gone long ago,
The point is my memory's not that good,
So these Waths help me remember my woes.

Musk Dreams

Oh mother, I can feel,
But nowhere like I should,
I used to think the world was there to take,
With the right attitude,

What I forgot's I'm not the only one,
With dreams worth fighting for,
Not that I really tried to fight at all,
If I had known, sure, I would have tried more,

Instead, I put faith in the universe,
(I hope it's not list'ning),
Truth be told, I can't say life's that bad,
So, I'm not complaining,

You, hear that world?!
Yes, I am satisfied,
I want for not and have love all around,
Consider all future dreams duly tried.

We Are All Animals

We are all animals,
Despite what we believe,
There are just so many so far removed,
Our minds cannot conceive,

But surely you can relate to an ape,
Lying by their loved one,
No thoughts but comfort and intimacy,
All threats safely a distant conclusion,

Now be the ape and relate to lions,
Basking in the hot sun,
The lion relates to another beast,
And so on, and so on.

You see my point,
But you do not agree?
I think I have said all that I can say,
I guess you just cannot relate to me.

Who Do You Live For?

You have to keep the faith,
It will not be easy,
Every moment provides another test,
To your resiliency,

And you will not always be rewarded,
Or so it may not seem,
Disappointment today may be a step,
To an unbelievable victory,

It may also be a step off a cliff,
I'm not a soothsayer,
The question is how do you want to live,
And what is living for?

Is it for you,
Or for those that you love?
That last question's not a non sequitor,
What will your choice of life make them think of?

Who

Try On Your Own Shoes

Life has its ups and downs,
We have all heard that said,
Whether you're me fighting no confidence,
Despite being ahead,

Or someone else, well, you would have to be,
You cannot wear my shoes,
No matter the wisdom of vast cultures,
You paint every experience with you,

But that doesn't mean that your shoes are on,
Not left in the closet,
So many lives are lived without a clue,
Of who really owns it,

So take a look,
Investigate each stitch,
Once you realize how unique your shoes are,
You'll understand why we could never switch.

Try or Not

Don't back off on your dreams,
Not that you will succeed,
You will not know which way things might have gone,
If you just let life lead,

Which isn't really a terrible thing,
Gosh, you have got this far,
Which is to say you've been carried along,
Without the bother of raising the bar,

So who cares what else you might want to do,
That requires will and strength,
Resulting in a feeling you can't get,
On the lazy stream's length?

You answer that,
I'll take chances again,
I may have not got far the first time round,
But I want to know what it's like to win.

Where We Will Be

Fingers tapping the keys,
My eyes are telling me,
As are the nerve endings in my digits,
And the words on the screen,

My right thumb's sore from the iphone home key,
Hence, they changed the design,
Woe we with the older generation,
We're both sooner to die,

Not getting to finally link our brains,
Like digital fingers,
We'll have to seek for consciousness elswhere,
Maybe in the liver,

Or in the cloud,
Where our mind-drones will be,
Taking selfies from hundreds of feet up,
Circumventing my eyes so I can see.

Change And Living

You can't just get bigger,
Without expecting change,
Pains in your bones, clothes no longer fitting,
Perspectives rearranged,

The world gets a little smaller as well,
So there's less room to move,
At the same time it sees you differently,
So now you have something different to prove,

But how do you manage this and still live?
You've other things to do,
What you are missing is that change is life,
Dealing with it is you,

Nothing changes,
No matter what your size,
Each moment's a birth into something new,
Living is your place in it recognized.

Here's What You Do

Sometimes there is so much,
It really overwhelms,
You try to make a list, but that takes time,
There's no one at the helm,

So you attempt to eat that elephant,
There's too many bites left,
The fire hose is real, turned on full blast,
Now you're not only stressed but very wet,

The time you're taking thinking about it,
Has now increased your tasks,
If asking for help wouldn't add more time,
You certainly would ask,

Then the day's gone,
There's nothing you have done,
While all around you people shake their heads.
Sorry, I'm offering no solution.

Listen

The universe whispers,
Clues to what you should do,
It speaks through the mouths of those around you,
Residing in their zoo,

On the screens in your hand and in your bed,
Even in nighttime dreams,
You'll know you've heard them when your stomach says,
"Nothing around me is quite what it seems,"

Like they are all talking to each other,
But, for your benefit,
Repeating the same things in their language,
Until you notice it,

Then you must act,
Do honour to the call,
Or the universe may stop whispering,
Which is the heart-breaking start of the fall.

Time's a Cheater

The furnace is soughing,
Lights blink on the router,
My eyes are gummy from night's adhesive,
As I lie beside her,

My fingeres glowing, though the brightness low,
My bowl empty beside,
There are still ten sips left inside my mug,
Though much heat's left the black liquid inside,

The day will go as fast as yesterday,
As it will go as slow,
Never giving back any of the time,
Unless my mind does so,

With memory,
But that's simply a cheat,
Something's always happened when I come back,
Some could have memory I'll never meet.

History's Past

Just because time has passed,
Doesn't mean that it died,
It exists in the form of consequence,
In everybody's mind,

It may be different for different people,
Some happy and some sad,
Some visiting its grave every day,
Obsessed not with what they have but they had,

While for others nothing's ever happened,
They've to worry about,
Which is better really depends on what,
Better's for them, no doubt.

What about you,
Do you embrace your past?
That question's already your history,
So, you can forget that I even asked.