Category Archives: lyrical

it’s a shame

©

i didn’t use to be afraid of the dark
but living in the city has made it’s mark on me
now when i take a walk alone downtown
got to keep on looking around and ’round
never know when some brain damaged, deranged creep
‘ll sneak up and send me to my final sleep

it’s a shame to walk in a hurry
it’s a shame . instead of shuffling i have to scurry
it’s a doggone shame, but that’s the way it goes
even the nicest looking kids could be a gang of foes
so don’t go strolling down the sidewalk with your eyes in a cast
but take the middle of the lane, and keep on looking fast

it used to be a family spent the night at home
all the kids could play outside when it was safe to roam
we sneaked out in the moonlight leaving truth for dare
used to make up lies and stories for a good night scare
now our ghosts and all our goblins seem like pastel hues
compared to what’s in living color on the evening news

it’s a shame to walk in a hurry
it’s a shame . instead of shuffling i have to scurry
it’s a doggone shame, but that’s the way it goes
even the nicest looking kids could be a gang of foes
so don’t go strolling down the sidewalk with your eyes in a cast
but take the middle of the lane, and keep on looking fast

bicycle song

©

i am a member of the human race
i donate my blood for any medical case
i don’t mind to give it up if you’ll use it carefully
but when you shoot me it squirts all over the place

i don’t wanna go to war
don’t wanna fight no more
you can have your oil, i’ll keep my grain
i’d rather ride my bicycle with my own energy
than a wheelchair with a bullet in my brain

i don’t wanna go to war
don’t wanna fight no more
i’d rather throw baseballs than grenades
my hands were made for holding, not for pulling pins
my fingers were made for rings and not band-aids

i am a member of the human race
i donate my blood for any medical case
i don’t mind to give it up if you’ll use it carefully
but when you shoot me it squirts all over the place

i don’t wanna go to war
don’t wanna fight no more
my head’s just the right size for my ears
and if it gets blown off, they won’t have no place to go
and then i won’t be able to hear

i don’t wanna go to war
don’t wanna fight no more
you can have your oil, i’ll keep my grain
i’d rather ride my bicycle with my own energy
than a wheelchair with a bullet in my brain

flood zone

©

another river flooding … rain come down

another river flooding . water rising high
‘nother river flooding, raindrops diving from the sky
earth can drink her pleasure while we face destiny
beachcliff houses fall into the sea

rain come down

stormy winds are blowing, skyscrapers won’t last
stormy winds are blowing, mother’s trees are holding fast
seems it should be summer . we’ all waiting for the sun
looks like winter never will be done

rain come down

snow falls on the mountain . it’s springtime’s second moon
rain falls in the desert . now we’re coming into june
mountain flowers freezing while the desert turning green
come on down rain . come and wash us clean

rain come down

remote control

©

you think she had it so easy the way she holds her head up high
but no one hears the song she doesn’t sing or the tears she won’t let cry
she dresses so clean from head to toe for hangin’ out on the street
but inside her heart’s in a shambles, it gets weaker with every beat

her heart’s in her mind
her mind’s on remote control

it seems like there’s not alot of worry behind that smile on her face
but when the game’s up and payment’s due, she can’t keep the pace
her money’s spent, her pockets are empty . she still wants to write a tune
her ink’s all gone but her memory’s sharp, like a shadow from a harvest moon

her heart’s in her mind
her mind’s on remote control

she wakes up some mornings with the sun in her eyes . she wants to fal back to sleep
sometimes it seems too much to be alive . weariness is running deep
when she thinks it might be nice to give it up, she knows that she should stay
but this time it all just seems too much . she can’t live another day

her heart’s in her mind
her mind’s on remote control

another sunset

©

another sunset, my friend
i hope you like it
all those colors drifting by
reflecting on the sea
blazing yellow fades to amber
red tail is soaring
across a blue cloudy sky
wind makes her free

clouds rolling slowly
while waves crash on the sand
i’m walking beside me
with a song in my hand
i find myself wondering
was the day worth it’s light
better hang on to the night

another moon on my shoulder
making shadows
all the colors have aligned
day comes to an end
melodies all around me
come in focus
did the right notes cross my mind?
did i let ’em out again?

spiders

©

you might think that we can take things in stride
walkin’ through the day, our heads full of pride
but this life ain’t no easy train ride
there’s work to be done
just look inside
the path that we walk, like the one in my brain
gets too hard and rocky without enough rain
your thoughts get tangled, so you cut off your mane
let the river run through you
clean out your drain
when we can feel like a fresh spring instead of a well
the residue has found a new place to dwell
been chased through the system, kicked out with a yell
the soul’s on a mission
under a spell
precision . contraction . abbreviate
leave ourselves time to experience our fate
or just enough passion to begin to create
time’s runnin’ out
might be too late
better not wait
before you know it somebody else floats off the seam
leaving wishes and memories like out of a dream
the spirit departs with a low muffled scream
it might hover
or shine like a beam
if we follow each light, every sparkle and flare
peek around corners, look in if we dare
keep our senses in focus, no brain damage stare
don’t let the spiders
camp in your hair
we might witness a change in our future or past
rearrange data, explain things at last
you can’t go dancing in a full body cast
but you can stumble from thinkin’
don’t go too fast

daily corporate contusion on the body of the people

©

we are subsidizing terrorism by paying taxes

u.s. military is terrorizing people all over the world . bankers and ‘investors’ are terrorizing us here at home . bankers purchase protection . militarized police aka private security of the chamber of commerce aka pscc respond to the call of duty

we are subsidizing terrorism by allowing our dollars to be consumed by a for profit prison and war machine to antagonize, assault, and assassinate … brutalize and bury people at home and abroad

we are subsidizing terrorism by paying for a war on people (ourselves) thinly veiled as a war on drugs . for job security d.e. agents lobby congress for the cycle to repeat in which people are incarcerated for smoking nature’s herbs while the rights of pharmaceutical companies to bribe doctors to overprescribe unneeded ‘medicine’ is heartily defended by storm trooper skirmish lines

we are subsidizing terrorism by giving free reign to corporate government corruption, collusion in the quest for more at anyone’s and anything’s expense, including the air we breath and water we all drink

daily corporate contusion on the body of the people

terrorize . subsidize . terrorize . subsidize . terrorize

we are subsidizing terrorism, drop by drop, as thick, oozing or gushing tar sands or suboceanic gluttons’ glory oil suffocates the life force from every living cell

hell brought on by cellular suffocation
slow strangulation

border song

©

the sun is falling it’s over the hill
you should be running but you’re standing still
the guard is searching, night time will hide you from pain
but in the morning the spotlight reveals you again
they will find that your path leads to open terrain

they have accused you of breaking a law
you read the book and that’s not what you saw
it spells out clearly, you have a right to be free
that asylum is granted to those who must flee
and tomorrow is making tonight full with strain of the knowledge
your path leads to open terrain

you think you might have escaped in the night
but in the morning the guard has taken flight
now those agents are looking for you from the sky
they will hunt you until you are found or you die
and tomorrow delivers you into the hands of the guard
you are walking in open terrain

there was a time when the land stretched for miles
no fences or borders, gates or turnstiles . no checkpoint
your ancestors lived here, fought all their lives to be free
now their children’s grandchildren have nowhere to be
and we wonder why people see nothing to gain by compliance
our path leads to open terrain

kin

©

for decades i walk this meandering trail

ears and eyes open as my ship sets sail
in dangerous waters

tiptoeing, dancing, stomping through rain
sunshine, hail, sleet and snow. the strain
of raising daughters

the lines deepening, a sneer, a scowl
evidence of loss and pleasure, i howl
in unbearable pain

raise my fist against illegitimate power
raise my voice against despicable, sour
government stain

for decades i study a history only to find
truth is a mystery, my studies remind
me to patiently wait

while somebody else’s ancestors moan
those words unwritten, i proceed not alone
with my aging gait

but move assuredly forward toward peace
brought by justice, sealed with intentional release
of degrading inflection

move assuredly forward with hope
the support of my comrades to cope
with continued deception

we look through the window of knowledge
for clues to the mystery no college
can begin to surmise

we travel together as one, on a mission
defining ourselves, refusing to fish in
an ocean of lies

we’ll remember, some day, it is love
not from ‘somewhere out there’ or above
but from deep within

that knowledge will free us, that earth rumbling calm
will release us. we finally apply the balm
of knowing we’re kin

whisper of spirit

©

in only a moment
hot turns to cold
what once was a body
harboring a soul
now empty, depleted
all energy drains
whisper of spirit
is all that remains

hovering remnants
of energy pure
as a wish for tomorrow
bringing no cure
wish turns to vapor
body to dust
crumbling emotion
like metal to rust

where once were ideas
plans, hopes, and dreams
departed in panic
no fabric, no seams
no binding or glue
puts the body back whole
what’s left, only memories
of each stolen soul

the reaper rejoices
consuming its prey
no worry for consequence
no one will pay

lies entered on paper
“suspect had a knife”
reported as duty
grand theft of a life
“suspect had a phone
which looked like a gun.
i feared for my safety”
this can’t be undone

lies entered on paper
excuse the offense
“he refused to obey me”
the usual pretense
“he fired a weapon”
no residue found
lies entered on paper
no one was around

reported as duty
grand theft of a life
lies written on paper
“suspect” had a wife
a mom and a dad
sister and brother
“suspect” was a father
and friend to another

in the reaper’s assessment
“suspect was black”
a good enough reason
to shoot in the back

reported as duty
murder becomes plain
the job of the reaper
becoming mundane
lies written on paper
“suspect had a gun”
reported as duty
this can’t be undone

breath has escaped him
along with his blood
he’s left there for hours
displayed in the mud
while reaper reports
“suspect did a crime”
maybe a witness
will show up this time

spirit surrounds
as mere humans lament
particles left after
final breath spent
a sparkle in darkness
star in black night
a dream in the morning
fresh air in daylight

the reaper on duty
reporting all lies
to the reaper in charge
choosing who dies

where once were ideas
plans, hopes, and dreams
departed in panic
no fabric, no seams
no binding or glue
puts the body back whole
what’s left, only memories
of each stolen soul

hovering remnants
of energy pure
as a wish for tomorrow
bringing no cure
wish turns to vapor
body to dust
crumbling emotion
like metal to rust

in only a moment
hot turns to cold
what once was a body
harboring a soul
now empty, depleted
all energy drains
whisper of spirit
is all that remains

 

seventeen police victims
derek williams
derrick gaines
alan blueford
oscar grant
raheim brown
kenneth harding jr
trayvon martin
james rivera jr