You lay upon that ledge of death and grabbed
My hand, I begged you not to let it go,
But saw the razor edge of breath that stabbed
And thus released your fettered soul. I know
I was a fool, distracted by a cloud
That wept above your ledge to frame this scene
In hills of sorrow, graying, heavy browed
Through winds of comfort blowing in between.
But now I understand my fall was best
Toward this grand abyss of life, was shown
You earned your lofty ledge of death, so rest;
And I shall climb to one that is my own.
I see now that the tears of that cloud
Were rains of mercy we were both allowed.
Archives for April 2015
Under The Influence
We can designate a driver
If we know we’re going to speed
In the clutches of a spirit
Or the overdrive of weed,
But there is an old intoxicant
The heart can feed the brain
That can taint our blood without a trace
And make us go insane.
And the only way to keep that drug
From getting in our veins
Is to bring respect, humanity
And patience to our lanes.
Anger injures, anger maims,
Anger kills, anger burns
Like a coal from hell behind the wheel
Negotiating turns.
If we know we’re going to speed
In the clutches of a spirit
Or the overdrive of weed,
But there is an old intoxicant
The heart can feed the brain
That can taint our blood without a trace
And make us go insane.
And the only way to keep that drug
From getting in our veins
Is to bring respect, humanity
And patience to our lanes.
Anger injures, anger maims,
Anger kills, anger burns
Like a coal from hell behind the wheel
Negotiating turns.
You say no to drugs, to alcohol
And even shun your phone
As you rev up all four thousand pounds
Of metal that you own.
And even shun your phone
As you rev up all four thousand pounds
Of metal that you own.
Now it’s time we take a pledge,
Bring our decency along,
Show some spine and wage restraint
Against the influences strong
Of the deadliest impulses
That can ornament the wrong.
Let’s not cast the melody of life
Bring our decency along,
Show some spine and wage restraint
Against the influences strong
Of the deadliest impulses
That can ornament the wrong.
Let’s not cast the melody of life
Into a funeral song,
But defuse this bomb, locate those wires
But defuse this bomb, locate those wires
And cut them off at seethe,
To return where life begins, and learn
To breathe. And let breathe.
Swiping Away My Tears
I have no tears left to shed for you,
No sympathetic words slide off my tongue,
The salty streams of sympathy you’re due
Evaporate upon theĀ setting sun
Upon which I recline in heedless glee
And never long for water once, so tell
Me how a heart as drunk as mine may see
The horror in a face that’s been to hell.
It is ironic when my heart inclines
Toward you in a stand-up comic’s pokes,
And that if all my empathy defines,
Do understand: it’s hard to weep at jokes.
I have no tears left to shed for you;
For now, a mastercard will have to do.