tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30974070344979961412024-03-12T17:28:18.021-07:00My VirtualityAlive, Free, HappyRoger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-21001341226692758382020-05-28T06:40:00.001-07:002020-05-28T07:10:14.921-07:00I CAN'T BREATHE<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tweQ4rgGFXM/Xs_Fibv4aAI/AAAAAAAAClU/6YQeNkFELTkmcmKvOAJ5AyeuXVbuwS79QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Justice%2Bfor%2Bgeorge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="540" height="170" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tweQ4rgGFXM/Xs_Fibv4aAI/AAAAAAAAClU/6YQeNkFELTkmcmKvOAJ5AyeuXVbuwS79QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Justice%2Bfor%2Bgeorge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Freedom can never be </div>
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until it is for ALL</div>
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I CAN'T BREATHE!!!</div>
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Liberty is just a word</div>
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until WE can say it together</div>
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I CAN'T Breathe...</div>
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Justice is a phantom</div>
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unless it serves every NEED</div>
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I Can't breathe. . .</div>
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America's ephemeral dream</div>
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IS dying in the streets</div>
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I can't breathe</div>
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People must rise up</div>
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and act in UNITY</div>
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i can't breathe</div>
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There is no them</div>
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only us NOW</div>
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I CAN'T FUCKING BREATHE!!!</div>
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by Roger H. P. Clark (The Necromata)</div>
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Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-69963842717208261702014-06-17T09:59:00.002-07:002014-06-17T10:11:36.987-07:00These Things I Own<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ndiwg5g2CS8/U6Bv2vabIgI/AAAAAAAACL0/PG3ulDg3mNA/s1600/Blooming_and_desolate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ndiwg5g2CS8/U6Bv2vabIgI/AAAAAAAACL0/PG3ulDg3mNA/s1600/Blooming_and_desolate.jpg" height="139" width="200" /></a></div>
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It has been said </div>
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These things you own</div>
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Indeed, instead, own you</div>
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I am unsure </div>
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And wonder still </div>
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Is this completely true</div>
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Most certainly</div>
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They may become </div>
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A woven part of you</div>
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My deepest fear</div>
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This mind's invention</div>
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The darkest lust</div>
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And good intention</div>
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My cruel thought</div>
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Or kindest deed</div>
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Lash out in anger</div>
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Give aid to need</div>
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The broken promises</div>
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The resolved stand</div>
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As I pushed them away</div>
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Or held out my hand</div>
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Oh, bold design</div>
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Life's masterpiece</div>
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My failed attempts</div>
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Like falling leaves</div>
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Intoxicated, brooding form</div>
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Dark, cold, empty soul</div>
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Poor, beating, noble heart</div>
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That burns as hot as coal</div>
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Mocking little vanities</div>
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Cracked mirrored reflections</div>
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Wind blown, seeking bourne</div>
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In damned, earthly condition</div>
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My dirty little lies</div>
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Or bold imposing truths</div>
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Each testify my worth</div>
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When looked at, show the proof</div>
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In deepest, dark sequester</div>
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Searching, running, free</div>
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These things, I own</div>
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And, still I ask</div>
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Do they, infact, own me?</div>
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What do I own? My life. All of it. This place in time or at least, my part in it. I am not victim to any man or circumstance. I am not tennant nor prisoner. This is my life, my doing, my choices. These are my things, all of them. I am bound, only in this frame and to my decisions. What do you own?<br />
<br />Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-82399045996439223262014-05-25T16:29:00.000-07:002014-06-17T08:06:25.316-07:00I'm Not OK<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JuKtSOU_hqI/U4J8dC6NVBI/AAAAAAAACLE/PfNy_uWza0Q/s1600/Terra-Cotta-Warriors-223x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JuKtSOU_hqI/U4J8dC6NVBI/AAAAAAAACLE/PfNy_uWza0Q/s1600/Terra-Cotta-Warriors-223x300.jpg" height="200" width="148" /></a></div>
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I'm not ok</div>
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It's hard to say</div>
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But, yet I know it's true</div>
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The cruel way</div>
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My world can be</div>
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The pains both old and new</div>
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I try to do</div>
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What I believe </div>
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Are all the the proper things</div>
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Amazing still</div>
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How futile now</div>
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So many of them seem</div>
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I'm not ok</div>
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I won't pretend</div>
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To make you comfortable</div>
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Sheltering you</div>
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Is far too much</div>
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I am not indestructible</div>
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Hostility</div>
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And disrespect</div>
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Until I mirrored them</div>
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It took a fall</div>
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Just breaking down</div>
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To be myself again</div>
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I'm not ok</div>
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So please don't ask</div>
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Unless you care to hear</div>
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About the building</div>
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I must do</div>
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To close this gaping tear</div>
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I know that it</div>
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Will be alright</div>
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With time and meditation</div>
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But while I build</div>
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Don't be surprised</div>
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By me and my vexation</div>
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I'm not ok</div>
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I feel alone</div>
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So tired, lost, and stranded</div>
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Like wandering</div>
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A desert road</div>
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Forgotten and abandoned </div>
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Forgive me now</div>
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If it seems harsh</div>
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My blatant honesty</div>
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But while I covered </div>
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All of your wounds</div>
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No one was healing me</div>
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I'm not ok</div>
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But I am strong</div>
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I will rebound again</div>
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When I can rise</div>
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I hope to find</div>
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That we are all still friends </div>
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I have spent a lifetime trying to be a hero. Trying to fix other people, other things, so that I didn't have to deal with my own pain. The last six years of my life were spent in a very toxic environment. I endured the ridiculous, trying to do the impossible, and found myself trying not to compromise my own ethics in an environment that was very ethically deficient. I broke down. It had to happen; thank God it happened. At the very least, I am addressing these emotions and these circumstances without my normal filters. So, if you are my friend, please stand by while I adjust the vertical and the horizontal. I'm doing some much needed repairs and soon will be fine tuning the man I need to be. <br />
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<br />Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-19060289722990034512014-05-19T12:32:00.002-07:002014-05-22T08:06:06.265-07:00How Long is a Lifetime?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jt-8K5MyAOQ/U3pZuozfDLI/AAAAAAAACKM/e5gYFIwlGEs/s1600/apart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jt-8K5MyAOQ/U3pZuozfDLI/AAAAAAAACKM/e5gYFIwlGEs/s1600/apart.jpg" height="137" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Painting by Robert Ives. <br />
Image used without permission from ivesart.com</td></tr>
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Swinging, playing, in the park<br />
What seems like yesterday<br />
I longed to hold on to your hand<br />
But turned and walked away<br />
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Then once again when our paths crossed<br />
Your smile knocked me off my feet<br />
Too shy, again, the chance was lost<br />
I journeyed lonely and incomplete<br />
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The Springtime, here and gone so quickly<br />
The Summer, came and went<br />
The innocence I once held richly<br />
I fear has all been spent<br />
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At every turn, in retrospect<br />
I'd stumble into you<br />
Never once did I expect<br />
That you could love me too<br />
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I said I'd wait a lifetime<br />
For you, that touch, your kiss<br />
But I wish now, I'd recognized<br />
The chances that I missed<br />
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The Autumn leaves are falling<br />
The Winter closes in<br />
If now I falter and keep stalling<br />
How can I ever win?<br />
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How long is a lifetime<br />
That youth is squandered so?<br />
How many chances will be mine<br />
Before I finally know?<br />
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So, if I act now, somehow hurried<br />
Break some sacred protocol<br />
It's that I feel the seasons blurring<br />
I soon may have no time at all<br />
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The winds of life begin to chill<br />
I see all of the signs<br />
I answer before my heart grows still<br />
This is, my love, life's time<br />
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There is a time for waiting. There is a season for temperance. But, comes the day when inaction is just lost opportunity and sad, lonely regret. Can missed opportunity become a most beautiful future? Carpe Diem<br />
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<br />Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-5637750256200797842014-01-16T13:37:00.000-08:002014-06-17T08:05:48.586-07:00So They Might Know You Better<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r1T4h3yOmnM/U22u23BzNFI/AAAAAAAACJg/ZFipfwbyXfg/s1600/Empty-tomb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r1T4h3yOmnM/U22u23BzNFI/AAAAAAAACJg/ZFipfwbyXfg/s1600/Empty-tomb.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
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Father, I ask for your blessing and Holy Spirit</div>
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As I live my life and as I write these verses</div>
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Help me explain your mercy as I have come to know it</div>
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That it be a true testimony and witness</div>
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You came to us from working class poverty</div>
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To prove that even the lowest of us can be exalted</div>
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Bringing a new law that freed us from slavery</div>
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Proof that a soul can not be walled or vaulted</div>
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Parables not given as lecture but inspiration</div>
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Ideas that shook the earth and caused the skies to open</div>
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Lessons not for one people, instead given for every nation</div>
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Through enlightened teaching, old chains were finally broken</div>
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Judgement turned to kindness and charity</div>
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Now between justice and love</div>
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There would be no disparity</div>
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Here below as promised above</div>
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You came and showed us freedom's cost</div>
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Responsibility for our lives and those we touch</div>
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To hold up a light for those who are lost</div>
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And give up even our lives, if it come to that much</div>
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The Word made flesh, the essence of grace</div>
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Love thy neighbor as thyself</div>
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God's law given a new face</div>
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A source of joy and eternal wealth</div>
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Through our rebellions and failures</div>
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In the darkest hours of despair</div>
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It is your love that endures</div>
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It is that hope that we can share</div>
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Scourged and mocked like a criminal </div>
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Nailed on the Skull Rock to a cross</div>
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Darkened skies and earthquake as the signal</div>
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Signs of impending victory not those of loss</div>
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After three days, risen to walk with us again</div>
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Sin and death defeated for all mankind</div>
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One price, one final sacrifice, born of our pain</div>
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That we would know him better and find our love refined</div>
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There are times in my life when I question everything. My heart has consistently come back to one conclusion. I am free not because I am deserving of freedom but because the cost of my ransom has been paid. I believe that all people receive this gift; just as we were bound to sin, so are we freed from it. I have no judgement, for I have been given reprieve. I have understanding that my imperfect love can be perfected. While my worn and weary heart may falter, the source of my love never fades. God, help me that I always remember to love and forgive, as you have loved and forgiven me through Christ Jesus.</div>
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Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-62631165919556751072013-12-05T16:49:00.000-08:002013-12-05T16:49:45.447-08:00Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela – Madiba<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uGl_v6G0F_M/UqEd5LKKeLI/AAAAAAAACG4/8-uvRc18W8w/s1600/Nelsonmyhero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uGl_v6G0F_M/UqEd5LKKeLI/AAAAAAAACG4/8-uvRc18W8w/s200/Nelsonmyhero.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Good night, dear, wise, Tata</div>
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Rest now and watch us from on high </div>
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Finally, your long walk is ended</div>
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Your legacy will not pass into the night</div>
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As you led your people out of evil</div>
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As you showed the world nobility</div>
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So shall we take up your banner</div>
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So shall we forge a new reality</div>
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Thank you brother Madiba</div>
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We now tread forward in your stead</div>
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As our foot steps cause the ground to tremble</div>
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They will all know you are far from dead</div>
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The voice of dissent is not silenced</div>
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The fight for freedom not ended</div>
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Thus shall we walk the long road to freedom</div>
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Thus shall we labor until the damage is mended</div>
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We've rested long enough</div>
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Still so much left to do</div>
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Our voices join yours in heaven</div>
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<i>Amandla! </i>Awethu! <i> Amandla! </i>Awethu!</div>
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I will celebrate the life of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. His voice inspired me as a child and his legacy remains an intricate part of my being. To call him a hero is inadequate. Any words I have will fail. I will continue to fight for freedom though my meager efforts are laughable. In some small way, maybe as part of a larger voice, I can play my part. Thank you brother for your life and your inspiration. <br />
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<br />Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-48083203982705729862013-11-26T17:28:00.001-08:002014-05-25T14:54:20.992-07:00Hi, My Name is Roger<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4IbFhAiqWYg/UpVKW186q7I/AAAAAAAACGo/AscInaKbQB8/s1600/MirrorMirror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4IbFhAiqWYg/UpVKW186q7I/AAAAAAAACGo/AscInaKbQB8/s200/MirrorMirror.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a><br />
Hi, my name is Roger<br />
I 'm much more than what you see<br />
These withered hands, and broken form<br />
Not who I used to be<br />
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As little boy I dreamed of space<br />
And knights on brilliant steeds<br />
I knew that I would change the world<br />
With all my noble deeds<br />
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As young man, fought to reconcile<br />
The unjust pain I saw<br />
With all the things my parents said<br />
About a loving God<br />
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I tried to be a soldier once<br />
But couldn't understand<br />
How force of arms could ever bring<br />
Freedom to every man<br />
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I married twice and failed them both<br />
Perhaps we failed each other<br />
It was hard for me, the balancing<br />
Of husband, friend and lover<br />
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I always strove through out my life<br />
To speak for what was right<br />
Champion the cause of liberty<br />
To which I cling with all my might<br />
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I wrote some prose, a vanity<br />
I hope they will endure<br />
A testament to who I was<br />
Before my thoughts obscured<br />
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You did not know the man I was<br />
But, we were once the same<br />
The joy of life once pulsed in me<br />
And passion filled my veins<br />
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I lay here now and this one thing<br />
I ask of you young friend<br />
Treat me kindly; as you yourself<br />
Will someday reach your end<br />
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I know I may appear to be<br />
A burden in your eyes<br />
But understand trapped in this frame<br />
That little boy resides<br />
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I dedicate this poem to my mother Margy Clark who has been bedridden and in a convalescent home for nearly a year. My sister and I have gone to her side nearly everyday. Although we know we cannot care for her needs ourselves, we recognize our responsibility to the woman who gave us life. I have gotten to know a number of the residents at the home and I am saddened by how infrequently their families visit. I am also shocked by how they are treated at times. Thanks be to God, my mother's home is a good one. She has good food, and lives in a clean facility. But, I know that this is far from true for so many others. Men and women who built this country and the world often lay in horrid conditions, forgotten and alone. I wrote this piece to remind everyone that we will all succumb to the great equalizer at some point in our lives. May you all be treated with the love, regard, and care that you provide your elders today.<br />
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<br />Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-8459716213702452552013-10-23T13:48:00.000-07:002013-11-07T08:55:28.650-08:00The Rose and the Flame<div>
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Sit comfortably</div>
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In a quiet room, alone</div>
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Enjoy the silence</div>
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Breathe in through your nose</div>
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Exhale slowly from your mouth</div>
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Slow, steady, rhythm</div>
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Picture a rose bud</div>
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Hold the flower in your mind</div>
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Push out distractions</div>
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See the soft petals</div>
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Focus on every detail</div>
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Cells pulsing with life</div>
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Simple true beauty</div>
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Dew drop caressed perfection</div>
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Full of energy</div>
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Envision a flame</div>
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Light, warmth, and vital essence</div>
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Touching everything</div>
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Powerful nature</div>
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Creation, destruction, strength</div>
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Boundless potential </div>
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Watch it dance and sway</div>
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Chasing away the darkness</div>
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The aura of hope</div>
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Joining images</div>
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Place the flame below the rose</div>
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See the flower blooms</div>
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Tender sails unfurl</div>
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Sweet aroma rises forth</div>
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Forms crystalline sphere </div>
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Imagine yourself</div>
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Entering the chrysalis</div>
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Feel the warmth</div>
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Seek out areas</div>
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In yourself that cause you pain</div>
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Visualize them</div>
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Gather them, form them</div>
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Becoming Spirit Steel bars</div>
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Re-enforce your sphere</div>
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Feel yourself growing</div>
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The chrysalis molds to you</div>
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Rose flame fuels your heart</div>
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Breathe in slow and deep</div>
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Let cool life water rain down</div>
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Drink, wash away care</div>
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Emerge clean and new</div>
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Armored in experience</div>
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Strong in conviction</div>
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Meditation is an opportunity to slow down and breathe. The practice of meditative exercises and breathing techniques is found in one form or another in every culture. I wanted to mimic the 5 - 7 - 5 meter of Haiku. I hope you find healing and renewal as you envision these images and seek center. Namaste. Peace be with you and with your spirit.</div>
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Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-65041821587022192432013-10-16T11:01:00.002-07:002013-10-16T12:07:13.742-07:00The Truth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There are no walls for the soul</div>
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There is no cage for the heart</div>
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When you’re searching for your freedom</div>
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Knowing this is the crucial part</div>
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You can overcome any trial</div>
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Use your mind’s eye to see</div>
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Set your spirit forward in motion</div>
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Then claim your victory</div>
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Focus every desire of your heart</div>
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Through daily meditation </div>
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Manifest your destiny</div>
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Practice positive confession</div>
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Hone in on an action plan</div>
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Inscribe it in your being</div>
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Remind yourself everyday</div>
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There is no limit, no upper ceiling</div>
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Your hands are there to shape and mold</div>
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The things that caused you pain</div>
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Become your weapons and armor</div>
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Forged and formed by flame</div>
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Only you can make this change</div>
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The power of your spirit</div>
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Allow yourself to realize</div>
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The truth now that you hear it</div>
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This is truth. No
matter what you have been led to believe.
No matter what fools have tried to convince you of, nor what you allowed
yourself to believe, you are the author of your story. The armies arrayed against you are made of
paper and you hold the flame to burn them down.
Rise up be the person you want to be.</div>
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Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-55153252044825497832013-10-10T14:21:00.000-07:002013-10-11T14:51:51.024-07:00The Butterfly Effect<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8NErX2eTmWY/UlcYSxI8nuI/AAAAAAAACFo/XTibiHrvYLM/s1600/butterfly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8NErX2eTmWY/UlcYSxI8nuI/AAAAAAAACFo/XTibiHrvYLM/s200/butterfly.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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In the space of my mind's eye</div>
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It's clear and well defined</div>
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The moment locked in history</div>
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When you, almost, were mine</div>
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Awkward and uncomfortable</div>
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Expressions I could not find</div>
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A stutter step cost me, I know </div>
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Your love for all of time</div>
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Sometimes alone, I close my eyes</div>
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Envisioning that night</div>
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To travel back imagining</div>
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And try to make things right</div>
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If I could use my words and deeds</div>
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Why surely, then you'd see</div>
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The love I know that we still share</div>
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Would finally set us free</div>
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Some call the Universe limitless</div>
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With parallel possibilities</div>
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I'd like to think in one of them</div>
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We're together happily</div>
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I do accept the way we are</div>
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I see life rationally</div>
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Somehow the way things are today</div>
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Is how it's meant to be</div>
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Just know that thoughts of you remain</div>
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Among my precious things</div>
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My love, these dreams I now release</div>
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Take flight on butterfly's wings</div>
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I think we all have a lover in our past that haunts our dreams. The one who didn't work out. "The one that got away." It's healthy and natural to reminisce and wonder what could have been. In the end though, growth comes through acknowledgement and moving forward. You never know where life will take you but, you can't remain stagnant if you want to find out.<br />
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<br />Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-73004466460451271422013-09-27T15:23:00.000-07:002013-09-27T15:23:18.127-07:00Steve<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LzD-W7oyieY/UkYFFu0ZJ9I/AAAAAAAACFQ/6YP3IpS59PY/s1600/out+of+darkness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LzD-W7oyieY/UkYFFu0ZJ9I/AAAAAAAACFQ/6YP3IpS59PY/s200/out+of+darkness.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
My thoughts are so disjointed<br />
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How could you take your life?</div>
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I'm angry, frustrated and disappointed </div>
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Look at all this damage, hurt and strife</div>
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Brother, I am sorry you were in so much pain</div>
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I feel guilty that you felt you couldn't call</div>
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Knowing that I won't speak to you again</div>
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Is the most painful thing of all</div>
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No fucking answers just questions now</div>
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We were the same Goddamn age</div>
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Wondering if we failed you and how</div>
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Feeling emptiness and rage</div>
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These fatal steps can't be retraced</div>
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Why Steve? Man, why?</div>
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What was the problem that you faced</div>
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That made you want to die?<br />
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I guess there's no point asking<br />
There's not much left that we can do</div>
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Console each other's mourning<br />
Just know this bro; we miss you.<br />
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I got the call last night from Steve's brother and one of my best friends, Larry. I am still in shock these words are anemic at best. This is how I deal with loss. I don't know or care if my prose are any good. I just needed to do something with all this angry energy. My condolences go out to Steve's family. <br />
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Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-30206788534607605642013-09-16T11:53:00.000-07:002013-09-19T08:49:41.062-07:00I'm Already Here<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XKY9RTSHZzw/UjdSEdT7GZI/AAAAAAAACEo/yVMfjxTTTo4/s1600/PerkinsPalace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="141" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XKY9RTSHZzw/UjdSEdT7GZI/AAAAAAAACEo/yVMfjxTTTo4/s200/PerkinsPalace.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Late, Great, Perkin's Palace</td></tr>
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This weekend I went to a Heavy Metal show to see Anthrax, Megadeth, and Iron Maiden. There's an old saying in English "You can never go home again." This show gave me great pause to consider this adage. The bands sounded great, and they proved to be truly top notch entertainers but, something was very different. We are all obviously older but that wasn't it. As I tried to figure out what I was feeling, it came to me. I am different.<br />
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Years ago I did the "club thing". I would go to the Troubadour, The Roxy, Gazzari's, Perkin's Palace, name a dive where the music was live and loud; I would be there. I even worked as a roadie for bands that would later become enduring parts of the Heavy Metal scene. In those days sex, drugs, and rock and roll wasn't a catch phrase, it was reality. I lived life hard and fast and told myself I was having fun. Then one day I woke up and it was all over. </div>
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Most former addicts or "recovering addicts" will be able to tell you exactly what happened to make them quit or what the "turning point" in their life was. It was different for me. I never felt comfortable in my role as a Hesher/ Stoner. Some might say I was a "Poser", a title that would have infuriated me at the time, but I think I am good with it now. Whatever the case may be, I awoke from my Rock and Roll coma and decided to take a different path.</div>
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I am not going to try and tell the whole story at this point but, today I work closely with Law Enforcement and my life is in a very different place. Maybe not so oddly, I romanticized the "Heavy Metal 80's" in my own head. My memories were of a time when the battle cry was "Die Young!" and I was poisoning myself just to the brink of making it come true. I'm glad I didn't; I still lament the loss of friends who did not make the switch in time.</div>
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As I said earlier, the show this weekend was great and a great "eye opener". I am not the confused kid I was then. Beyond that, I no longer feel the need to be that kid anymore. The music and the videos from the 80's will always be enshrined in my heart and I would not change those memories for any others. That said, I am happier and more at peace with my life than ever before. Nothing is perfect but it can be good, even great if you choose to let it be. </div>
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This is not a story of "Paradise Lost", it is the story of satisfaction realized. I will not lament the passing of yesterday's youth. Rather, I will celebrate my today and the wisdom of time. I will allow the temples and shrines of my past to stand. I will walk in the gardens of my memories but, I will never again live there. The best days of my life are ahead of me, not behind. If someone says to me "You can never go home again" I will smile and know in my heart, I'm already here.</div>
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Roger H. P. Clark</div>
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Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-48973520040945254772013-09-12T19:59:00.000-07:002013-09-17T13:20:52.120-07:00Someday You Will Remember<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L8MZoqRtaB4/UjJ7WtIg7wI/AAAAAAAACEU/XrECqXI5Cwg/s1600/pink-abstract-lotus_1280x800_1298.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="125" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L8MZoqRtaB4/UjJ7WtIg7wI/AAAAAAAACEU/XrECqXI5Cwg/s200/pink-abstract-lotus_1280x800_1298.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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You hide yourself dear<br />
Someday you will remember<br />
I always see you<br />
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I know your true heart</div>
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This much I know is certain</div>
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Love resides in you</div>
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Fighting for control</div>
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Someday you will remember</div>
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You were always free</div>
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Running Far Away</div>
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Escape is just illusion</div>
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Face your deepest fears</div>
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Go now if you must</div>
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Someday you will remember</div>
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My heart will follow</div>
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Spring time through Winter</div>
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The seasons of man are short</div>
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Time forgives little</div>
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<span style="text-align: right;">One thing will endure </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: right;">S</span><span style="text-align: right;">omeday you will remember </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: right;">I </span><span style="text-align: right;">adore you Still</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: right;">I have been experimenting with an English interpretation of Japanese Haiku. I have a deep respect for Japanese culture. I admire the simplicity, strength and beauty it embodies. Haiku is one verse with three lines. Five sounds (In English we adapt this as syllables) in the first line, seven in the second, and five again, in the final line. I wanted to emulate the style but as I do not speak or write Japanese. I thought to add my own flavor to its beauty. I have written seven Haiku that I believe stand alone and yet share a common theme. I hope I have done honor to the tradition and the spirit of the style. (RM)</span></div>
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Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-77116154215046263512013-09-09T13:22:00.001-07:002013-09-19T11:34:32.657-07:00Getting It Right<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So many time in my life</div>
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I would cling too tight</div>
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To ideas, places and people</div>
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Holding on with all my might</div>
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Soon those things would tear away</div>
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Rending bits of soul and heart</div>
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Crushing those things that I loved</div>
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Until they fell apart</div>
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For a time I was misguided</div>
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Patron Saint of the rejected</div>
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Blinded by my selfishness </div>
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Sitting brokenhearted and dejected</div>
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A subtle change emerged in me</div>
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A better new perspective</div>
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People sometimes have to leave</div>
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So love may return perfected</div>
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Everyone needs space to grow</div>
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Some room to breath and thrive</div>
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Being strong enough to let them go</div>
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Can keep love's spark alive</div>
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It's possible the road may turn</div>
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That they could walk away</div>
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Wiser, recognize their freedom</div>
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Than to try and make them stay</div>
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It seems I've finally grown up </div>
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Don't feel the need to fight</div>
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The things in life I cannot change</div>
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This time I've got it right</div>
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Letting go always seemed scary. Irrational fears of being alone, insecurity, all gone. I stand a better man. Life: "You scared bro.?" Me: "Nah, I ain't even scared." (RM)</div>
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Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-40269219663575769082013-08-31T10:37:00.000-07:002013-08-31T10:38:40.562-07:00The Change<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XpCJmhKFKkk/UiInmPexvjI/AAAAAAAACCY/_Z7lJA4fAbM/s1600/good-change-butterfly-lifecycle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="138" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XpCJmhKFKkk/UiInmPexvjI/AAAAAAAACCY/_Z7lJA4fAbM/s200/good-change-butterfly-lifecycle.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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When the law is seen protecting only some</div>
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If the blessing of liberty is denied to anyone</div>
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While my color or gender dictates the fields where I may run</div>
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A change has got to come, A change has got to come.</div>
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When in bounty's bosom children hunger when they sleep</div>
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If our defenders don't believe in laws they keep</div>
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While the wealthy rise only to make the masses weep</div>
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A change is bound to come, A change is bound to come</div>
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When a generation struggles to find identity</div>
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If we all grow tired of avarice and enmity</div>
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While we still can find the strength to save democracy</div>
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A change will surely come, A change will surely come</div>
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When I call you brother, sister, family and friend</div>
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If I vow to change my heart to finally feel again</div>
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While my voice can lift a song of hope and love's refrain</div>
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I'll know the change has finally come, Dear Lord that change has finally come</div>
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The past few years have been radical for me. I have adopted personal change that has set me free spiritually. I have gone from being a victim of my circumstance to being a victor and the author of my own story. The reshaping of this world beings with one person changing and with each subsequent change we move closer to paradise regained.</div>
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"Be the change that you wish to see in the world." ~<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi</span></span></div>
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Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-25542458206776620532013-08-28T13:17:00.002-07:002013-08-29T06:27:36.477-07:00Three Sisters<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t-KA0gBAovA/Uh5OsCyzEmI/AAAAAAAACCI/vZ-2B_wtsq8/s1600/three_sisters_young_girls_at_the_shore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t-KA0gBAovA/Uh5OsCyzEmI/AAAAAAAACCI/vZ-2B_wtsq8/s200/three_sisters_young_girls_at_the_shore.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: start;">Three Sisters-young girls at the shore </span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: start;">painting by artist Kay Crain </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: start;">(used temporarily and without permission)</span></span></td></tr>
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Three sisters, all on different shores</div>
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Separated and yet, bound by a common history</div>
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At times demon pursued and always God blessed</div>
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Even their own families could not believe the stories</div>
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Miner's daughters</div>
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Loving mothers and wives</div>
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Angels of mercy and terrible vengeance</div>
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Sisters, mothers and aunts who've shared so much of their lives</div>
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Three sisters, suffered and toiled</div>
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Robbed of health by a common vice</div>
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Suffering children and spouses that never understood</div>
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The span of those lives, the burden, and the price</div>
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Their unfailing devotion</div>
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Their indomitable spirits</div>
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Voices that could make you smile or weep</div>
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Call you down low or raise you up, extol your merits</div>
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Three sisters, passed through shadow</div>
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Forged by the fires of violence and revolution</div>
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Cooled by internal, eternal waters of life</div>
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Honed like razors for their family's protection</div>
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Stalwart guardians and teachers</div>
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Never given your full credit due</div>
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Your children are here now</div>
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Finally understanding, we appreciate you</div>
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Three sisters, one now gone home</div>
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Two sisters, separated but not alone</div>
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One sister my oath to defend</div>
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Three sisters loved by children now grown</div>
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This poem is dedicated to my Aunts Barbara, Goiky, and my mother Margy. Three sisters who have given all and have raised families that love them. Aunt Barb, I know you are interceding for us, smiling down from heaven. We miss you and await the day when we are all reunited as a family in a reunion that will shake the heavens. <br />
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Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-60947628412769402342013-08-14T16:31:00.001-07:002013-08-14T16:31:26.710-07:00Hon Seusi se haiku - 혼 초밥 세 하이쿠 - Three Haiku for Hon Sushi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-71NAj2lYIvY/UgwPx7YYSvI/AAAAAAAACBs/q-Zgz_uT2uo/s1600/Hon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-71NAj2lYIvY/UgwPx7YYSvI/AAAAAAAACBs/q-Zgz_uT2uo/s200/Hon.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Good friends sit around</div>
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Sashimi and Nigiri</div>
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Laughter fills the room</div>
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The Taste of Salmon,</div>
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Creamy Nigorizake,</div>
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Friday's Salvation</div>
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Last call for sake</div>
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Tonight has been wonderful</div>
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Kamsahamnida </div>
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Hon Sushi is owned by "My brother from another mother" Chris. He and his family serve great food and the place is always packed on the weekends. If you are ever in Morovia, CA you have to give them a try. By the way I'm not being paid to endorse them. Just practicing with Haiku and this place always inspires a smile. </div>
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Hon Sushi - 144 W Foothill Blvd, Monrovia, California 91016</div>
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<br />Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-59159694509602066492013-08-08T14:56:00.001-07:002013-08-09T09:14:27.969-07:00If God Should Lose Faith In Me<div>
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A passing thought occurred to me</div>
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When hearing someone say</div>
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That they had lost their faith in God</div>
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How it got in their way</div>
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I asked myself how life would be</div>
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If God lost faith in me?</div>
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Would the blessings I perceive</div>
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Just simply cease to be?</div>
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If she lost her faith in me </div>
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Would that mercy fade away?</div>
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And in my darkest hours </div>
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Could I find the light of day?</div>
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If the Cosmic Hosts denied my name</div>
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Ignored my very being</div>
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Should I then cease to exist</div>
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My life lose all its meaning?</div>
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I believe in my eternal soul</div>
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However it came to be</div>
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I believe that there is God somehow</div>
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Whether they or he or she</div>
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In life we may not see or measure</div>
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Everything around</div>
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The Cosmos filled with mysteries</div>
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That for a time confound</div>
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We think we know things solidly</div>
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And then perceptions change</div>
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The truths we once were so sure of</div>
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Transform and rearrange</div>
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It must be hard for even God</div>
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To lose the faith of men</div>
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When circumstances shake their lives</div>
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To win it once again</div>
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God, however you exist</div>
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You know I still believe</div>
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I only ask that when I fail</div>
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Please don't lose faith in me</div>
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Life has been a test and affirmation of faith countless times. I do not suppose to have the answers; I try to ask the right questions. I try to emulate Christ in the way I love. I seek peace and enlightenment. I respect the teachings of all faiths and seek how those pieces fit together in the human puzzle. I do not believe in God the way many people do, but I do believe. </div>
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Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-65302633571253018732013-08-07T15:46:00.000-07:002013-08-08T09:40:37.898-07:00Different Yet The Same<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LKdQ0_g2ovo/UgLKAfQffdI/AAAAAAAACAQ/h4f6XLZUXwk/s1600/yin_yang_by_fallen_eye-d2ycmp8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LKdQ0_g2ovo/UgLKAfQffdI/AAAAAAAACAQ/h4f6XLZUXwk/s200/yin_yang_by_fallen_eye-d2ycmp8.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
In retrospect</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
I sit and review</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
The faces that </div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
I've shown to you</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
The angry boy</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
I used to be</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Replaced by man</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Contemplatively</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
The anger swells</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Inside me still</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Like tempest storms</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
That test my will</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
As time has passed</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
I chose to learn</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
That different fires</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Inside us burn</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Spirit, energy, intellect</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Resolve, positivism, and vision</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Replace the hopelessness and rage</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
That once held those positions</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
I seek to ride positive streams</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Engage my inner light</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
At times the world around me seeks</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
To goad me back to fight</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Perhaps a balance still I need</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Between the flesh and soul</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Acknowledge frail humanity</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
And evolution of the soul</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Not every battle can be won</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
With prayer or good intention</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
At times the warrior must rise</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
And enter to contention</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
I know that I desire to lead</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
With harmony and peace</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
And slow to rile the baser side</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Unleashing primal beast</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
So warrior and poet</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Both exist inside this frame</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Each support the way I feel</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
So different yet, the same</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I'm still seeking. I'm still growing; everyday a little stronger than the one before.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-45231922367877672342013-07-19T07:17:00.000-07:002013-08-07T13:38:11.915-07:00Sanford Come Golgotha<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Just another Jew?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Just another Nigger?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Just another innocent<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">A kid going home to get his dinner<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">You denied him thrice; before the cock crowed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">You hid behind excuses for murder, playing
Sadducees and Pharisees<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">You justify a homicide and now your true self showed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Afraid of a fucking kid no, you should be afraid of me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Angry, riotous<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Indignant , incensed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Resolved, righteous<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Prayerful, fasting, mournful and intense<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Just another casualty<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Pinned on society's cross<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Just a bag of silver<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">The heart and soul of a system lost<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">It really doesn't matter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">What the verdict reads<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Your hands and face smeared and </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">blood </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">spattered</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">We see the crown, don't we?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sanford come Golgotha the innocent pays the
price<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now cowards, hear the sound, boots on the ground.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">We bring injustice <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">to light</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Past time for us all to Stand Our Ground<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dear friends, I used language in this work I do not normally use nor condone. I apologize to anyone offended. I tried to give voice to my anger and disbelief. I wanted to report honestly what I see, the only way I know how. </span></div>
Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-73295235193567770742013-07-17T14:42:00.002-07:002013-07-17T14:50:27.559-07:00It's All About Your Attitude<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xxkcHRUUawU/UecRgXZzdAI/AAAAAAAAB68/sedjcgOm_Ls/s1600/positive-attitude.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xxkcHRUUawU/UecRgXZzdAI/AAAAAAAAB68/sedjcgOm_Ls/s200/positive-attitude.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
It's all about your attitude<br />
You have to live your joy<br />
The days will come that test resolve<br />
How you weather them is up to you<br />
<br />
This is neither condescension nor platitude<br />
Embrace each day as a child with a beloved toy<br />
Do not let your determination dissolve<br />
Awaken every morn and see it bright, alive and new<br />
<br />
Charge your love battery with gratitude<br />
Share it with others; the secret is yours to employ<br />
Let your soul and your mind evolve<br />
Let you soul's light shine straight through<br />
<br />
See the blessings come in multitude<br />
Live life and you'll begin to enjoy<br />
See all good things around you revolve<br />
Now awakened realizing that all your dreams have come true<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-21972478609638216662013-07-17T14:08:00.003-07:002013-07-17T14:18:32.333-07:00On Bigotry and Moving Forward<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t8Ks-Hf8aPE/UecHw-tP52I/AAAAAAAAB6s/NhhoPNqO65w/s1600/moving-forward.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t8Ks-Hf8aPE/UecHw-tP52I/AAAAAAAAB6s/NhhoPNqO65w/s200/moving-forward.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;">I am a person of Germanic blood, born in Latin America and
raised in an Afro-Cuban household. I
have traveled extensively domestically and abroad. These factors have afforded me a rather
unique perspective on the issue of race and the dynamic surrounding it. I am not implying nor stating that my
perspective is any more important or valid that that of other people. I submit my viewpoint and you can draw your
own conclusions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Miriam Webster defines A <b>Bigot</b> as<b>: </b><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">a person who is<span class="apple-converted-space"> obstinately </span></span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and
prejudices;<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">especially</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space">: </span>one who regards or treats the members of a
group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance. </span><b>Racism</b>
is defined as: 1 <b>:</b> a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race 2 :
racial prejudice or discrimination. <span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">I bring up those definitions because I think it is
necessary to define terms when trying to identify and or resolve a problem.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: black; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: white;">I am of the personal
opinion that Bigotry is one of the most base and common practices on
earth. Most people do not in fact, even
recognize Bigotry as they engage in it.
It is a part of every culture to some extent or another. I have also seen that it is a learned
behavior. Some would call it a defense
mechanism left over from a time of territorial disputes over basic resources
like land, food, and water. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: black; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: white;">A certain degree of
Bigotry is accepted and seemingly encouraged by most societies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: black; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: white;">Bigotry is the basis for
racial “humor”, stereotypes and attitudes that we see on T. V. and movies. It is however, the seed that allows Racism to
sprout, grow and thrive in a culture. I
have even seen Bigotry turn on itself and become self-loathing. This creates “collaborators” and
“corroborators”. People that either go
out of their way to prove the negative stereotypes or distance themselves from
the group and say “I’m not like them; they are…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: black; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: white;">Regardless of its origins,
we should address the fact that Bigotry is a learned behavior, not a natural
one. The problem is its institutional
acceptance and it existence on a global scale.
If the tide of Racism is ever to be stemmed we have to educate it out of
existence. Sweeping programs, mandates,
and regulations have masked the symptoms but in the end, only education and
developing new habits will ever reverse this social disease.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;">There must be a spiritual transformation of the
individual. We must learn how to see
ourselves honestly and take ownership of our lives. We have to come to peace with our past;
forgive those who have harmed us, offer amends to those we have harmed and give
thanks for the tests that have shaped us into the people we are. We must acknowledge the commonalities shared
by all people. We have to treat each
other with respect and dignity. Most of
all we have to learn to be grateful, truly grateful, for the gift of life and
all of this experience.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;">The law must also evolve.
The institutions of governance must follow the same course as their
constituency. The United States
Constitution is a beautiful poetic document but, it is long past time that it
become more than poetry. Its high minded
ideals and promises must give way to social and spiritual rebirth and reform. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;">All of these things require work. But with hard work comes great satisfaction. We can build a different nation. We can build a better world; we owe it to
ourselves and our children.</span></div>
Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-28158592216492464032013-04-04T13:03:00.001-07:002013-04-04T13:27:12.882-07:00Ask Yourself<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kPlzXvW3lBs/UV3cIzONUaI/AAAAAAAAAzA/L64svhRrVHU/s1600/Jesus_Drawing_Cast_First_Stone_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kPlzXvW3lBs/UV3cIzONUaI/AAAAAAAAAzA/L64svhRrVHU/s200/Jesus_Drawing_Cast_First_Stone_.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
What is it about your beliefs </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
That make you think you have
the right or the responsibility to tell others how to live? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Have you been given a mandate to ignore your
own short comings </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
In order to point someone else’s out? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Have you been told that your actions are so
beyond reproach</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
That you have the right to convict, condemn or penalize another? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
You claim to worship the same God I do </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Yet
your understanding of his golden rule is vastly different than my own. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
I say you have been listening to gossips and
liars. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
I say you have allowed someone to
pervert the gospel of love and forgiveness</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Turning it into one of judgment and hatred. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
I say you need to repent and rediscover the
love of the Christ in your heart. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The
time is short; if we do not find love,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
we
will surely loose our lives.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-50713963378612639622013-03-16T22:23:00.000-07:002013-03-21T07:19:36.736-07:00Mother<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2d_gKHtr_YE/UUVSmaY5JCI/AAAAAAAAAsk/4JQcVmxFxn4/s1600/Family~1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2d_gKHtr_YE/UUVSmaY5JCI/AAAAAAAAAsk/4JQcVmxFxn4/s200/Family~1.jpg" width="200" /></a>Life such an unkind blessing at times<br />
Tortured by demons pursued by curses<br />
Given children who did not understand<br />
Sacrifices punctuated by blasphemies and unuttered verses<br />
<br />
A voice that longed to sing<br />
Silenced by shame and fear<br />
A soul that longs to soar<br />
Fettered by those who will not even shed a tear<br />
<br />
Mother I forgive all<br />
Mamma I ask forgiveness in return<br />
Dear God, what would I be<br />
Without the lessons, from you, I've learned<br />
<br />
I will champion your freedom<br />
Where I failed you before<br />
If I showed disrespect<br />
I will err no more<br />
<br />
Your bravery, valor, never again in question<br />
Your music running through my veins<br />
Your imagination, your joy, will live<br />
Your family will not fail you again<br />
<br />
Life, was not wasted<br />
Lessons, great teacher, have been learned<br />
Liberation, brave soul, you shall find<br />
Love, dear mother, has been earned<br />
<br />
The ghouls will not have you<br />
To poke and prod nor dissect you as you languish<br />
For once mom, I will not fail<br />
I will allow you to see the finish<br />
<br />
Heaven will open unto you<br />
If such a place exist for anyone<br />
If there is justice, honor, or strength in me<br />
So help me, I will do my duty as your son<br />
<br />
Tomorrow mother, your children will come<br />
In your defense, we will fight<br />
Give you peace and dignity<br />
Those things you earned by right<br />
<br />
Mamma, I love you<br />
The tears I cry, are tears of shame<br />
For every time, no matter why<br />
I ever cursed your name<br />
<br />
I know the value<br />
Of you above all others<br />
She who gave me life<br />
My dear sweet loving Mother<br />
<br />
<br />
Margy Clark Born to miners, lived as a teacher and nurse care giver, fighting for her children who'll never forget. Sacrificing for babes that have grown fierce. Mother, teacher, nurse, friend, human, sweet spirit who deserves peace. Gladys and I will fight for you mom. So help me God.<br />
<br />
<br />Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3097407034497996141.post-63033729470893968902013-03-09T16:06:00.000-08:002013-09-14T08:38:06.213-07:00And Still<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VYH3fj08g0w/UTvOB72Co4I/AAAAAAAAAsU/1EXGtsUFeH4/s1600/unrequited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VYH3fj08g0w/UTvOB72Co4I/AAAAAAAAAsU/1EXGtsUFeH4/s200/unrequited.jpg" width="200" /></a>At the first glance</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
I was done, I knew</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
I had no chance</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
It has always been you</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Battered dreams</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Feeble hopes, false starts</div>
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Advances, retreats, all tearing at the seams</div>
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Alone, a glass, a hotel room and Makers Mark</div>
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Stranded in paradise</div>
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Etta swings and I sing mournful and out of key </div>
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Salted water hiding in my eye</div>
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What would you think, if you could see</div>
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Night and day, baby it's you</div>
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No matter who I'm with </div>
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Regardless of what I do</div>
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Memories passing through bring me bliss</div>
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Pour another plastic cup</div>
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In my solitude, Billie surely knew</div>
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Perhaps, I should just give up</div>
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Hold no dream to get me through</div>
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Damn the thoughts that keep me sparkin'</div>
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Cursed hunger yearning to taste those lips</div>
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Purgatory, torturous hell, lovely voice to which I hearken</div>
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Longing for pleasures between those hips</div>
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O' divine vision, obsession, since first impression</div>
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Sate me, release me, kill me a thousand times</div>
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Lift me from this fool's deception</div>
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Release me Lord from passion's crimes</div>
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But prisoner I will ever be</div>
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A sweet and bitter pill</div>
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Forever locked and chained by she</div>
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Love's prisoner, laying here, quiet, and still</div>
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Roger H. P. Clark</div>
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The Necromata<br />
(RM)</div>
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Roger Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00720621544259705033noreply@blogger.com0