A Prayer of Thanks

Thank you mother

For bearing me in your womb

And fighting to educate me

Loving me, believing in me

I will believe in myself and succeed

That your sacrifice is not in vain

Thank you father

For teaching me

And making me tough

Breaking me down, so that no one else could

I will be strong and protect others

So your honor is not forgotten

Thank you ancestors

For showing me the way

And giving me a rich history

Hard work, faith and sacrifice

I will teach the generations to come

That your legacy shall not pass into shadow

Thank you Lord Jesus

For dying for my sin

And granting me mercy

Bridging the gap between life and death

I will live my faith

So others shall see you in me

Thank you Father God

For giving me life

And shaping me in your image

Bringing forth the divine spark

When they ask who has sent me

I shall say “I Am”

You must do more than say thank you with your lips; you must show it in your life.

Sometimes Alone

I strain my eyes to see

What this world intends

My aspirations, illusions

My friends, sometimes strangers

My love, imagined

I push myself to give

But those gifts lay deserted

My poetry, sand

My song, lost in the wind

My tears, just water

I try to rise above my doubts

And today has been so hard

My soul, exhausted

My head, throbs like a drum

My sadness, sackcloth and ash

I will rise again tomorrow

Despite the fear I will strive

My head, held high

My dreams, persist

My walk, sometimes alone

No matter how low the day has laid me down.  I know that I will get through.  I may stumble, falter, and even fall, but I will rise again and stand on my own two feet.

A Common Cause

If we look around it is apparent

All our fates are intertwined

My life is bound to touch yours

And others blend with mine

Mankind’s best days ahead of us

So many lessons learned

Incorporate the benefits

That other’s struggles earned

This is the day for hope

To win a lasting peace

By now applying justice

From the greatest to the least

Only when everyone is free

Can we have liberty at all

Honor all their sacrifices

Raise the banner should it fall

Know now you do not stand alone

A billion points of light

Here now stand assembled

To aid you in your fight

We will not stand by idle

Our voice shall never still

Whilst people suffer needlessly

By some oppressors will

Freedom is the right of all

To live as God intends

We stand beside you one and all

Neighbors, family, and friends

It is my belief that only when we are all allowed to live free do any of us have freedom.  If any person's rights are being suppressed then those of every other person are in jeopardy.  We are bound together inexorably.  With communication and technology we are all closer than ever before.  We must respect each other and support one-another.  We must find a balance between the individual and the community.  Most importantly we must encourage freedom, kindness, and tolerance.  

The Legacy of Golgotha

When we stray

As oft times we do

Love’s guiding light

Is there to lead us through

Given these gifts

Forgiveness, mercy, and grace

A new Law, Love

Death and fear now replaced

Christ came, suffered, died and rose again

Recognize the cost

For all that was gained

That we may never be lost

The legacy of Golgotha

Proof that love conquers all

And through this sacrifice

We can rise after the fall

He is risen!  Rejoice!  The debt is long since paid.  Love, because this is the new law.  Be gracious and forgive, as you wish to be forgiven. 

Love

The essential emotion

Key to eternity

Unshakable

Undefinable

Unmistakable

How independent and enslaving

The longing, yearning, and craving

Defying Law

Logic

Lust

It's pursuit is often tragic

Creates new rules

Breaks some

Destroys lives

Shapes them

Stealing focus

While lending clarity

Dichotomy

Dulcet

Dilemma

Not known to bow to reason

Death cannot contain it

Words fail to confine

Sweet

Terrible

Love

The Best of Me

Sitting across the table

Caught in conversation

The object of my deepest love

And of my admiration

She is the very core of me

I will ceaseless seek to earn

Her love for all my life

Though my attention she may spurn

Her intellect and imagination 

Stir Deep inside my heart 

Her skill, her spirit, all of these

Are poetry, beauty and art

She is my best friend

No matter how it all turns out

She can count on my support

Of that there is no doubt

Willing slave I am

Bound for life to serve

Foolish hope I hold

Her love someday deserved

She is the very best of me

My soul, and my desire

All I am is her's

In this I shall not tire

'Nuff Said

The Pledge of a Common Man

I am a common man

I love, laugh, work and breathe, all in common ways

I have no political power, no mandate 

I have a common voice, but it shall be strong

I will use that tool in support of common people everywhere 

I will not be silent in the face of injustice

I will not ignore the cries of my brothers and sisters

I will speak on behalf of those with no voice

I am a common man 

I will stand and be counted

To my brothers and sisters world wide, living in what seems like never ending conflict; I recognize that we are oft caught in the gears of the machine.  Guard yourselves, persevere the storm.  For the kings and powers of this world will pass away, and only the common man will remain.

All Too Much

Sometimes its all too much
Feeling oppressed at work
I want to scream out, cry foul, quit
The vice tightens on my brain
I will not succumb to all of this shit

Sometimes its all too much
Said and did so many stupid things
I hurt her and I don't know why
Thought I was better than this
In the end I still made her cry

Sometimes its all too much
Disproportionate, disappointment, dissolving, diluting
My purpose, sending me to despair
Done. Done Damn it! I wept silently
Mirror reflection there's nobody there

Sometimes its all too much
I long for her, yearn for her
She owns every bit of me
I am nothing she needs nor desires
But I'm better dead than free

Sometimes its all too much
I have to regroup, recoup, revive
Remind myself of the rhythm and the rhyme
Rise.  Rise up man! You can't just give up
This same fucking battle fought many times

Sometimes its all too much
Still they come to my rescue
My angels, my family, my friends
Reminders, encouragement, a slap to the head
I see my good fortune, and the crisis finds an end



We all get overwhelmed.  Stress has many names, causes and symptoms.  We all fall short of the mark from time to time.  I am blessed to have these crazy people I love as friends.

Were I to sing of my love

Were I to sing of my love

The tune could not sound as deep

The melody nowhere as sweet

As the sound of her breath as she sleeps

If I were to speak of her beauty

Resulting words could only fail

Though my honor and my duty

Descriptions devised would seem lifeless and pale

If I were to write her a poem

To express my devotion; though rebuked

I would chance to make my feelings known

The very length of it would span the ocean

Were I to sing of my love

The angles would cry, the flood tides arise

A new world be born, if she’d but let me inside

Then I too could be beautiful

She is all.  That which she loves, I love.  That which she hates, is anathema to me.  Though she may never be my woman, I will always be her man. 

Cry Freedom!

It is said that we were created in God's own image

Sometimes, it seems so hard to believe

Other times a warrior leads us in the scrimmage

Challenging all to overcome and achieve

WE have a dream undying and undaunted

Our hearts and minds must remain resolute

There is still a call to which must be responded

A mission still left that none can refute

My brothers and sister still live full of terror

Their children still hunger and cry in the street

The hero you seek stares back in the mirror

This is not the time to shrink back nor sound a retreat

Lift up your head, your heart and your voice

Shout it loud until Kingdom Come

Now's the time, raise the standard, there's no other choice

Cry Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! FREEDOM!

Dedicated to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) and to men and women everywhere who still struggle to live free.