Just like every
teenage girl
hating her mother
adoring her father
(knock knock–run and hide)
confounded by her
changing body
as her clothing shrank
(keep quiet–voices down)
With her big voice
and own ideas
all alone and feeling
unloved
(thump thump–what was that?)
Just a girl
with a yellow star
who said what she felt
(Move that there!)
So the world would
live the truth
(Come with us!)
Forever
In a billion years
the sun will burn hot bright
Giant red star
from afar
A pinpoint light
yet earth so near
Its searing heat
shall render cinders
the planet blue
once so sweet
And waters now dry
long before life will flash
The living planet
will blacken and die
A star was born
and so is cursed
The question is
will man kill earth first
One more sick
abandoned child
take Lucifer’s hand
and go Heaven up
to rain down wild
with hate no heart
Your Mother left dark
Father a hole
nothing you took
would fill your soul
The world now turns
17 lighter
Shattered and sadness
killing the gladness
Add to the countless
that suffer their fate
The spirits gather round
holy disquieting gate
for they wait
in bloodless shock
as the next enter
their flock
Home
Warm safety soft sweet
quiet click door
snap lock complete
stone wall fortress
round belly womb
float free
peace security
Outside world
harsh human walk
shout stab lie stalk
pass eyes blind
crowd crazy
torn mind
man sick sad
gone bad
Run home
hide dance dream
dark night no light
tuck head lay low
sleep silent deep
inside under away
out there no way
Stop stay
here dear abode
far far
alone
dead end road
Years a slave
finally walking free
mud-caked down dirty shoes
dragging home
Will the soul ever sing on key
after bent down beat work
freedom is loaded
heavy with ropes
pulling on out
but ever tying
things tight low hopes
Forty years in Penitentiary
then hitting the street
smelling the air of
humanity
Bars and walls now left behind
the etching of punish
carved carefully through time
The binding gavels
final thud to close
the pathways forward
And words and words
to wound and cut
much bloodier than what
a gun can shoot
Inside the body disappears
until it seems to be
just hollow fears
Fly away or gather others
yet sounds still linger close
will any time
seem anew
and recapture the ghost
Slave, prisoner and abused
can liberate some day
and wanna walk hard away
from hellish past
with head up and
chains left in a rusting mass
Humans have so many peculiar traits. There are a myriad of cultural, ethnic and race oddities we humans have adopted that allude me. How far in the centuries do they go back and from where do they stem?
For instance: where does royalty come from? Watching The Crown last night, it struck me as, well, silly (no offense to anyone reading), that we as humans actually regard other humans as somehow superior. That their blood is somehow ‘royal’ and to be treated specially; that we should bow down and kiss their hands etc. It struck me as funny.
And then there is the black vs. white situation. We all know the horrors of that situation, not only in this country, but in South Africa too. How do humans come to a place that one race is more deserving than another? Where does this feeling begin?
In Germany, we have an idea where to trace the hatred of the Jews and subsequent extermination of them. But was it really just one man’s idea or is there an underlying theme among humans that somehow we are not all equal? I see a trend.
There are so many examples we can look to in history where one people feels different and better or somehow higher. In some cases, like with royalty, maybe these people are held in high esteem. But in most cases, it causes bad blood among the groups.
I’m no scientist, but I do know that at our cellular level, and when you cut us all open, we all bleed them same. We all look the same on the inside. We all have a heart, two lungs, two kidneys and a brain, although some don’t use it as well as others. That’s why when you get right down to it, it’s all so foolish that we fight and kill, destroy and bomb, displace and denigrate folks we feel are others. Because really they are not.
They are really us, maybe with a different color paint, but filled with the same parts.
I do
bear the burden
of sin
When you
enslaved
destroyed
and
displaced
impoverished
and
murdered
robbed
and
lied
cheated
It is the
shame
of my skin
and
duty
of my soul
to
rectify
Today is different for me than most. A day to reflect on the inhumane treatment of animals and the continual sacrifices they must make to feed humans. I hope someday it stops.
And the centuries old disrespect and disregard of Americas Native people. It is one of our truly disgraceful periods in history.
Sure, I have plenty to be thankful about–but on this particular day, I would rather reflect on these two topics since they tie into this ‘holiday’. It has been a hard day for me for many years; today I am saying so.
May the future bring more comfort and peace to lives of those we take for granted.
Life is in session
she said to me
while her husband is laboring
to breathe
in some ICU
None of get out of this alive
Our neighbor upstairs
sure didn’t
He is gone
missing
just like the person who hit him
when he crossed the street
The movers made more noise
than he did
when they hauled his
stuff away
And blew smoke
in my windows
reminding me
Life is in session
Howling thoughts in my head
lying awake in my bed
my soul is filled with silent dread
Walking in the night alone
the trees can’t speak but can only moan
it seems the world is stripped to bone
Figures hide behind every door
and seeing kindness is no more
times of love have turned to lore
Where has all the beauty gone
the lovely eve and blazing dawn
humans now are all just pawns
They had the chance to save the earth
to clean their mess and show their worth
and instead of killing choose re-birth
But time slipped on and they lost their way
most figured it would happen on another day
so in the end sweet home was left to pay
***
In my mind I know this is not yet true
yet slight is the chance to make it new
bring back life to this planet blue
As time is running out for you and me
for every animal, bird and tree
It’s all our jobs to set us free
