Time Travel

When you see people,
From long ago in your life,
You have the opportunity to look at yourself,
In a new light.

Do you long for the person you were then,
Or thank god that you have grown?
Do you wish you had stayed in touch,
Or glad you went off on your own?

That life is far, far gone,
Like the burnt-down house where you were raised,
Though, it was there and is there still,
In the wind-blown, ashy haze.

And you can breathe that in,
You can keep it in your blood,
And be at the ready to donate yourself,
When that life gives you the nod.

Reaching Out

Connections are important,
They are really all we have,
That's why solitary confinement's,
The worst punishment to be had,

That's why every success,
Comes not in isolation,
Even poets who die alone,
Find fans after decomposition,

That's why a tree never makes a sound,
When ears are not around,
And you're forever bummed out,
That your friends don't come around.

You're too much in your mind,
Who will never be able to see,
The desperate flailing of your arms,
As you reach for connectivity.

The Stepping Stone

What is a stepping stone?
Does it mean anything?
Doesn't it deserve some recognition,
As reliable and supporting?

It's often stepped on, and never viewed,
Forgotten and discarded,
Yet the places it can take you,
Are often the highlight of your heart,

It's always there, just waiting,
Never complaining, like a doting adorer,
Patient, in case you want to go back,
And see the sights of another shore.

And it don't mind,
If you never say its name,
Though, you might find, if you took the time,
That it's beyond blame.

To Live

Is there enough time,
To do everything you want to do?
Well, if there was you'd die a lot sooner,
Than you die, wouldn't you?

What good is there in a life,
With no ambition or goals?
All movement is directed towards something,
And every actor has his roles.

This is not to say that the world,
Isn't filled with the walking dead,
People devoid of any desire,
Except what is destructive,

But that's alright,
They are not you,
And I know that you need more than that,
Because I need more, too.

What You Believe

Don't think that just because,
There is a certain belief,
Held by someone in a certain place,
That there is something that she needs,

Or something that she lacks,
There are quite a few,
Really intelligent people,
That think different than you,

Who have feelings which they,
Have to deal with,
Just as you do and you have,
The same choices.

Though it's right,
That there are those who should be saved,
From the repression of their beliefs,
And they may be, one day.

When To Go

You can't always move forward,
Even though, when you're still,
Each moment feels like an eternity,
And an example of how you've failed,

And how you're literally going nowhere,
As the world around seems to be,
Filled with busy-bodies working hard,
And accomplishing,

Because if you did not stop for a moment,
And acknowledge all of this movement,
You'd find yourself at the end of your life,
As sad as if you were a lazy pissant.

And it's alright,
To be happy in these quiet times,
The depression's simply your body's way,
Of telling you the time.

The Ideal

You will never be in,
The place you want to be.
That place is in your mind, and your mind,
Is a place of fantasy,

But it can only build its worlds,
With the building blocks you feed to it.
So those experiences you'd rather not have,
You need to remit.

Instead, you must create for yourself,
A world with the right components,
Ever closer to your ideal place,
So your mind can build from them.

And then you'll be alright,
You'll never find your happy place,
But the building blocks that make it up,
Will forever be in front of your face.

Back On The Horse

There's no such thing as doing,
Something over and over again.
It's never the same even if it feels,
Like you are an automaton,

Because each movement needs some thinking,
Don't you think that's so?
Sometimes I don't,
But we both know,

That it's when you stop thinking,
That you die.
It feels like this poem's a product,
Of death, baked in a pie.

But that's alright,
It's been a while, I guess,
And like any act that you leave,
You need some warming upedness.

An Ode to the Seasons

No one should have to deal with,
The changing seasons,
The sudden sound of birds living again,
Makes me think of reincarnation,

And the way those crinkled, colored leaves,
Fall unseen to the chilling ground,
Puts my body on the defensive,
Jumping at every sound,

And a sterile world blanketed in snow,
Does nothing for my piece of mind,
Telling me the treasures of my soul,
Are buried deep, where no one will find,

The true me. No fight.
Not even sunshine lasts long enough,
To penetrate and truly thaw,
My seasonal disgust.

Morrissey

The poor young turd from somewhere,
That only he could truly describe,
He bangs his head against his life,
Trying to get inside,

The letters he sent to New York,
He should have never stopped,
Now the years left dry have left him behind,
And the world will remember him, not.

Oh, funny man, you're over,
Put out before your time,
Without the brashness to get anything done,
True to your insides.

And he wanders now, and might,
Try to relive what he once undid,
With more wisdom, but no more time.
What was it that his father said?

It's All Relative

Things always get better,
That's a law of reality,
Things can't get worse forever,
Or you would not be living,

Unless, of course, everyone else was doing better,
And you had that to compare yourself to.
Everything is relative,
Like you're not fast to a kangaroo,

And you're not smart to a genius,
Or rich to a millionaire.
The assumptions I am making about you,
Might be making you pull your hair,

Like you did last night,
When I refused to take a stand,
And told you everything would be alright,
As you held your failures in your hand.

Words

You can say anything,
And anything will go,
But will it undo your life,
Or melt the falling snow?

Will your words bring upon you,
The changes that you seek,
Or bring peace upon the world?
Will they call those you should meet?

Can your words really bring to you,
Your now and future loves?
Wouldn't words be such wonderful things,
If they could do what a fist does?

And it's alright,
There are many ways to skin a cat,
Like telling someone else to do it.
Are your words strong enough for that?

Live More

There are always firsts,
You can't avoid that,
Though, you can certainly choose not to see them,
Or find a bad way to react,

For, each moment is a first,
Not to sound trite.
But, really, if you had to do it all again,
You'd do it differently, right?

Just a nuance, just a touch,
Experience doesn't teach,
How to deal with each new moment.
It doesn't have that reach.

So be aware, alright?
Live in the moment, I guess,
Before you get to the end of your life,
And realize you've lived less.

The Secret Universe

If you are looking,
For life to be what,
You want more than it is,
Here's what I was taught:

Tell the universe what you'd like,
Silly, but it's true,
Then let it float out there, in the air,
But then find something to do,

Don't sit on the couch, waiting for it,
That's not how the universe works,
Whatever that means, but it was my mom who said it,
And I have to believe her.

And it's alright,
If this gets me nowhere,
I'd rather die having listened to my mom,
Than live on thinking life's not fair.

Straw Man Hanging from a Lighting Rod

Sometimes I am amazed,
By the choices that I make,
Doing things despite knowing,
How others will take,

What I said or what I did.
Is it a masochistic move?
If I sometimes think not thinking,
Is a route by which to improve.

Well, that is something, yes,
How you act in a situation,
You'd rather not be in,
Speaks to your constitution.

So, alright,
Do what you have to do.
But have no shame in doing it,
In the face of those attacking you.

Truth

You have to express yourself,
There's no avoiding that,
Even if you're covering you,
With a substitute man,

But when you do that, think of what,
You will be when you die,
You'll be you, for sure,
No matter what the world buys,

And if you've sold something that isn't you,
You've messed up your one and only chance,
To see if you could maybe might have been,
The one to make the world dance.

So, it's not alright,
To misrepresent yourself,
That's unfair to no one but you,
And only you can be your own help.

Trying to Find You

If you've ever wondered,
Why I don't talk about,
Specific things, like the dew on the grass,
Or the smell of laundry, when it just comes out,

That's not what I think of when I think of you,
You're much too much an ethereal thing.
Each time I try to liken you to gossamer,
I simply lose my meaning.

You're like a googol of fireflies,
Swallowed up by the infinity of space,
The richest quadruple chocolate fudge cake ever made,
With unfathomable taste.

So I hope it's alright,
If I simply say,
That you are an impossible being,
That I search for everyday.

The Pattern

I find you in a pattern,
With a very simple repeat:
One, two, one, two, and do it again.
I think you're really neat,

Until you want to shake up things,
And add a layer on top,
With no real thought about it, other than,
To make it something it's not.

Not to say that it can't be something,
To make me think and wonder at,
The majesty and mystery of your mind,
Though it goes no further than that,

Which is alright,
Though it has nothing to do with you.
God, why can't you just stick with the simple,
That makes you so beautiful?

Change

Change is always happening,
You can't stop that,
You do have some control over, though,
If it is good or bad,

More than just a state of mind,
You can pick and choose,
Embracing some, and leaving others behind,
For now, you can win or lose,

Now you can take a part in your own fate,
You can put thought into who you are,
And who you want to be, because change,
Is how you go near or far.

Alright,
Now we come to the part,
Where there are still questions about how this works,
And there are no more answers to impart.

Perspective

You must stop complaining,
And get over yourself,
Put things into perspective,
Like your mental and physical health,

Like your children and your marginally paid house,
Like your job and your scads of free time,
The choices you have and freedom you enjoy,
And the friends you have waiting in line.

Think of all the places around the world,
You can visit at the drop of a hat,
With no hassle or fear or thought about money.
When you're depressed, think of that.

Now, are you alright?
Do you feel the stress washing away?
Sometimes you have to put things into perspective,
To get through the day.