40,000 people, maybe more, metal coffins headed to work - in places where I can never be myself.
a businessman without his business - but an artist who held his art.
my teeming life wasted in slave labor - and Moses wept.
a coward declare contentment until all who would listen did believe - and then walk away sadly.
lovers holding hands, striding into the grocery store - and I found that hopeful.
a cat scared, lonely and abandoned - but he wouldn't let me get close.
a baby safely secured in its car seat in the back - as pounding rap music streamed out the open windows.
an angry face, red with torment, screaming at a President on TV - because his dreams are broken.
an earnest woman praying her prayer to God - without listening to herself.
a tiny, manic spider lost and running circles on the sidewalk - so I blew him onto the grass before he got stepped on.
a split infinitive in a legal document lying on a desk - and I felt more useless than ever.
a rich man begging to keep the world as it is - arguing against his salvation.
smoke rising from a backyard BBQ - and it smelled of family dreams.
a plastic bottle smashed flat and skipping down the windy street - inside were angel's wings.
thousands cheer a brave, new hope - no one cared if it was a lie.
love bleeding from a soul unknown - because I looked.
a lush, manicured cemetery with a high and ornate gate - where the dead get better care than the living.
a billion dollar stadium gleaming with pride - so we can have a place to worship.
a cheap motel sign of flickering neon - framed by a sunset dripping the colors of life.
a trap door to hell beneath my feet - that no one else can see.
masks parading merrily under street lights - and I wondered their reasons for hiding their face.
my urges surging to live again - but withering on the vine.
a valet handed Maserati keys on a sweet, summer night - as I peered into the life I lost.
my sweaty, nervous hands clinch in fear as I my flesh sat pressed against the hard, cold concrete - and I thought of Debby getting ready for the opera.
anonymous cars driving free now, oblivious to my hiding place - and I feared their freedom.
a soul paralyzed by fear and doubt - and the eyes spoke only of shadows conspiring in the world.
cigarette ashes fall to the oily parking lot tarmac - scattered by the wind, used up by the fire.
my face stuffed into a pillow, muffling screams of horror I can let no one hear but demand a release I cannot deny - just as I silently scream all through the day.
__________________________________________
Looking back on when I
Was a little nappy headed boy
Then my only worry
Was for Christmas what would be my toy
Even though we sometimes
Would not get a thing
We were happy with the
Joy the day would bring
Sneaking out the back door
To hang out with those hoodlum friends of mine
Greeted at the back door
With "Boy thought I told you not to go outside",
Tryin' your best to bring the
Water to your eyes
Thinkin' it might stop her
From whoopin' your behind
I wish those days could come back once more
Why did those days ev-er have to go?
I wish those days could come back once more
Why did those days ev-er have to go?
Cause I love them so
Brother says he’s tellin'
'bout you playin' doctor with that girl
Just don't tell I'll give you
Anything you want in this whole wide world
Mama gives you money for Sunday school
You trade yours for candy after church is through
Smokin’ cigarettes and writing something nasty on the wall (you nasty boy)
Teacher sends you to the principal's office down the wall
You grow up and learn that kinda thing ain’t right
But while you were doin' it-it sure felt outta sight
I wish those days could come back once more
Why did those days ev-er have to go?
I wish those days could come back once more
Why did those days ev-er have to go?
Looking back on when I
Was a little nappy headed boy
Then my only worry
Was for Christmas what would be my toy
Even though we sometimes
Would not get a thing
We were happy with the
Joy the day would bring
Sneaking out the back door
To hang out with those hoodlum friends of mine
Greeted at the back door
With "Boy thought I told you not to go outside",
Tryin' your best to bring the
Water to your eyes
Thinkin' it might stop her
From whoopin' your behind
I wish those days could come back once more
Why did those days ev-er have to go?
I wish those days could come back once more
Why did those days ev-er have to go?
Cause I love them so
Brother says he’s tellin'
'bout you playin' doctor with that girl
Just don't tell I'll give you
Anything you want in this whole wide world
Mama gives you money for Sunday school
You trade yours for candy after church is through
Smokin’ cigarettes and writing something nasty on the wall (you nasty boy)
Teacher sends you to the principal's office down the wall
You grow up and learn that kinda thing ain’t right
But while you were doin' it-it sure felt outta sight
I wish those days could come back once more
Why did those days ev-er have to go?
I wish those days could come back once more
Why did those days ev-er have to go?
__________________________________________
Festus and me:
"Hey, whatcha writin' there?"
"Soulful insights reflecting on who we are and we're headed as a society." And I smiled.
"Ain't no editor gonna pick that!"
"Guess I'll just have to live with that." And I smiled again.
Then his eyes got wise. "OK, smart ass, what you really writin'??"
"A mathematical formula to save all mankind."
"'Bout damn time!"
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