How Hard the Heart

How hard the heart
That sees a child
But doesn’t say hello,
How impervious
Can one become?
I hope I never know

How adamantine
Cells can be
When walls are thick and stout.
How hard the heart?
Expressing love, it’s my intent
To not find out.

*chirp*

People say it’s really bad
When crickets is all you hear
But that sweet song makes me glad
Because the country is near.

Dreamless

I never dream anymore
Not like I did before
Just wake up in the morn
It seems my connection is shorn
I miss that ethereal plane
Where maybe has free-rein
I used to dream a lot
But never took my shot.

Remediation

It’s all my fault
But streaming salt
Will never make it better
It’s time this ends
I’ll make amends
Before I’m any wetter

Misgrammered

I identify as a poet
But I guess I’m out of luck
The traffic numbers show it
My stuff must really suck

Perhaps I should start screaming
That I’ve been marginalized
Then my site would be teaming
With those who are hypnotized.

Table

A quarter of an orange rind
That someone messy left behind
Went from a feast on which ants dined
To a tomb where they’re enshrined.
How did dinner turn so grim?
A downpour filled it to the brim.
The lesson learned for those who read
Be cognizant of where you feed.

Questionable

The price of goods is too high
But when it comes to the lie
We buy, buy, buy

With expectations this low
Those that back this show
Say so? So? SO!?!

If in the dragon's den
You pray for what has been
Plead when, when, WHEN?

Recital

Where the wildflowers grow
The grasshopper guild
Will leap to and fro
Their passion fulfilled
For staging a show
Never seen

We went to the park
To get some fresh air
Not to embark
On a trip past compare
But each graceful arc
Was so keen.

Implanted

When curled up for the night it seems a bit blue
But stretched towards the sun a more purple hue
The little cornflower deserves it’s due

From the crayon box to every kid's heart
This ubiquitous blossom does it’s part
Transforming open fields to works of art.

Distended

When will Man stop worshipping the Beast
When a stale crust of bread becomes a feast
When stumbling over corpses in the street
Or when we finally face how much deceit
We have believed?

How much more can this world endure
How long will we cry before seeking a cure
How can we accept all the homeless and poor
How many lies will we swallow before
A new way's conceived?

Gods Will

How often do you think God’s will
Is cited, though He sent no aid
Remaining upbeat is a skill
For gods will play with toys they made.

Playing on a Saturday Night

There’s nothing like the feeling
When you’re singing a song
And you see everybody
Just a dancing along

Feels real good (Feels real good)
Feels so right (Feels so right)
That’s why we’re here again
Playing on a Saturday night

I love the guitar
When it starts to twang
That driving bass
And the drums that BANG

Feels real good (Feels real good)
Feels so right (Feels so right)
That’s why we’re here again
Playing on a Saturday night

Everybody has to work hard all week
Get so tired that we can't even speak
But when it comes to Saturday
Everyone wants to play

We love the crazy crowd
At the honky-tonk
Dancing and singing
And getting zonked

Feels real good (Feels real good)
Feels so right (Feels so right)
That’s why we’re here again
Playing on a Saturday night

Frankly

This pink gelatinous treat
(supposedly composed of meat)
Is something I occasionally eat

It’s long tubular shape
Is perfect over which to drape
Those condiments that keep agape

Any mouth that loves to munch
These yummy munchies by the bunch—
‘scuse me, now it’s time for lunch!

Burrowed

Wally the woodchuck was a grump
That lived in an old locust stump
He'd say with a snarl
“My cousin Carl
Says to move outta this dump.”

His fur was all mangy and gray
And he never had nice things to say
His perpetual scowl
Made even the owl
Scram to get out of his way

Sometimes I see Wally and wave
But he doesn’t know how to behave
He just turns his head
As though I were dead
Then lumbers back into his cave.

Termination

Prep and chop
Chop and prep
I long to step
With every rep

Chop and prep
Prep and chop
Will it ever stop?
Yeah, when I drop.

Deliberate

Could you walk alone
Without a hand to hold
Can you be the stone
Refusing to be rolled
Will you seek the truth
Whatever it reveals
Or clamor for their youth
Ignoring dirty deals
Should you be detached
And not participate?
Once Freedom’s snatched
Too late!

Tactics

A doer simply does
There is no big ‘because’
He wishes to say finished
When describing work that was

A dreamer tends to see
The best way things can be
His hope is not diminished
Despite reality.

Stipulation

It was the war of twenty three
And they had us on the ropes
There was an awful scarcity
Of food, and we were losing hope

And I was never more confused
Than when that flash destroyed the sky
I laid there lonely, cut and bruised
And screamed WHY GOD WHY?

But all I heard was sounds of pain
And not a peep from up above
Attempts at peace are all in vain
Unless inspired by love.

Detachment

I watched two seagulls soar over my head
And three that were farther away
Bemused why they’d choose to be here instead
Of somewhere out over a bay

But if you can fly, who’s to say
What your location should be
Riding the wind never causes dismay
When wherever you are you’re free.

Spotless?

If you’re having trouble trying to see
So certain yours is the only way to be
That despite new facts you haven’t budged
How long before you know the lens is smudged?

Supplication

You can say that everything runs it's course
and that there is no benevolent force
that helps us when we diligently pray
but I shall continue to show respect
when I reverently genuflect
as I will humbly plead for you today.

Routine

Whenever I fully commit
Everything just turns to shit
And that is the reason (I guess)
Why I never have had much success

I’ve come to accept this is why
I’m happy enough to get by
It’s pointless to ever feel stressed
Time to get up and get dressed.

Mature

To garden is to sow
a small uncertain seed
to crouch down low
water and weed
let no critters feed
and nurture each row
you’ll find (guaranteed)
to garden is to grow.

Sylvan Lady

In the valley where the sunlight takes the longest to touch ground
There stands a shady tree
Beneath it’s emerald canopy another world is found
Where I am completely free

Sylvan Lady can I dance with you a while
With your flowing hair and nurturing smile
The day is almost done and I have much to do
But Sylvan Lady I would rather pass my time with you.

Nipped

A mustache so fake
Will never quite make
You a man so behave
Or you’ll have a close shave.

Nourishment

The sustenance we savor
Has more than juicy flavor
It’s rich in many nutrients as well
While junk is satisfying
Don’t be relying
On it, or your hunger won’t dispel.

Piercing

There’s so much more to life
Than all this pointless strife
As they give another twist
To the ideological knife

That’s sunk in to the hilt
A tarnished blade of guilt
The puppet makers now enlist
Protecting what they’ve built

But if your armor is tough
You can just deflect this stuff
Until the programmed folks get pissed
And scream “Enough’s Enough!”

Informed

Do you feel free today?
Remember how quickly it went away;
Believe what the experts say
And tyranny is here to stay.
You can choose to yield without a fight
Or obey in your heart what you know is right.

Durability

A maple and a cypress were growing side by side
One was sweet and tender, one much tougher inside
That must be the reason centurions relied

Upon this wood to suspend someone
For simply being God’s only Son
Through strength redemption is won.

Hit and Run

The beginning of the end
Of the trust my friend
Was when you began
What you can’t defend

A vicious attack
Where the front was my back
Until you just ran
For it’s honor you lack.

Common

He always was a good citizen
And did whatever they said
A dedicated denizen
Full of whatever they fed

He paid his taxes religiously
Delighted his duty was done
They pilfered quite prodigiously
He shrugged “That’s how things run.”

He always was a good citizen
When they said bleed, he bled
“He always was a good citizen!”
They said once he was dead.