Question of Color

Well, it wasn’t the hoodie

And it wasn’t the weed

There’s just no justifying

What led to the deed

It was a question of color

That seemed out of place

With people still dying

Because of their race

It’s a question of color

The color of hate

A stain on the canvas

Painted by fate

It’s a question of color

And there’s no answer yet

We’ve come a long distance

But we cannot forget

There’s a darkness among us

Come and stand in the light

Where it’s all shades of gray

Where there’s no black or white

The Promise Unfulfilled

These United States of Madness

Are wearing hard on me

Oppression never goes away

In this land that we call free

All are created equal

But just don’t count the cash

There’s nothing you can count on

When there’s nothing you can stash

And the rich keep getting richer

As they profit from the poor

Kids are going hungry

And the wolf is at the door

I’m a man without a country

In a land that isn’t free

And the best of what we could have been

Has got the best of me

cn 2262011

Rambling

Looking back and looking forward

Looking lost in every way

Looking in an empty mirror

Wondering if I’m here to stay

There’s a ghost in my reflection

There’s a shadow over me

And the clouds on the horizon

Make it difficult to see

There’s an echo of a haunting voice

Resounding in my head

And a memory of something

Or someone long since dead

There’s a highway in the desert

And a sea bird in the sky

There’s a dark chord cutting through me

And there’s sadness in my eye

Today is such an empty place

Alone is how I live

Paralyzed by what I feel

With so much left to give

Drowning in my own regrets

My soul cries out for air

And dreams of words unspoken

Are muted by despair

Struggling to convince myself

The present moves so fast

Tomorrow is another day

And yesterday has passed

Maybe each day brings me closer

To where I need to be

And farther from these memories

That get the best of me

cn 7162011

Another Children's Crusade

See the children lining up
Like graduation day
Dressed up in their BDU’s
Like little ones at play
Watch them get on cargo planes
See them disappear
Lambs all marching blindly
Too naïve for fear
Witness as they grow up fast
Watching children die
See them breathe their last breath
Does it make you cry
Do you know what’s happening
This apocalypse at hand
Can you see their suffering
Do you understand
Will you simply look away
Pretending it’s not real
So wrapped up in your own life
Are you too numb to feel
Other families’ children
Are dying over there
Are you immune to other’s pain
Too self-absorbed to care

You see, wars are fought by children
Who will never be the same
And if you sit there silent
You will have to share the blame
So, if you think the cause is just
Please, don’t sit idly by
Have the strength of your convictions
And volunteer to die
Put your money where your mouth is
If you think the cause is right
Don’t sacrifice the children
Stand up brave and join the fight
Then and only then you have
The right to state your case
In support of all the killing
And destruction taking place
Stand up for your beliefs
Speak loudly, don’t think twice
But only if you’ll give your child
Beware the sacrifice

cn - 1/29/2010

Thirty Days And A Wake Up

Thirty days and a wake up

Until my unit heads back home

Back there to my family

And never more to roam

No more stinging desert sand

No more I.E.D’s

No more burning images

To drop me to my knees

No more dying children

No more crying Moms

No more errant tragedies

From our misguided bombs

Thirty days and a wake up

That fine young soldier wrote

I’ll be home before you know it

Were the last words in his note

In thirty days, he will be home

Never to awake

And when I pray I ask you, God

That soldier’s soul to take

cn92210

The Poet

Writing words that search for meaning

For the things I feel inside

I expose the secret part of me

I tried too long to hide

Behind the smile that’s always there

Inside these walls of stone

Sheltered from the winds and rain

That cut me to the bone

An actor in the play I wrote

Who cannot play the part

Undone by my own weaknesses

Afraid to show my heart

A restless heart and lonely soul

Defenseless on this road

Revealing all the scars and pain

So weakened from the load

But if the words I give in rhyme

Help make another whole

It makes the journey all worthwhile

And lifts my weary soul

Alone

With trembling hands and glistening eyes

Staring somewhere off in space

A place where memories never die

Far from this empty place

She clutches a silk handkerchief

And blinks away the tears

So afraid to see the future

The lonely coming years

A preacher tries to comfort

With tired words from an old book

But no one sees what lies behind

Her haunting, empty look

Ashes back to ashes

And dust returns to dust

With no one left to lean on

We do the things we must

All things on this earth will pass

Like leaves blown by the wind

So far from the beginning

Much closer to the end

And now the final song is sung

The cold chills to the bone

All that matters fades away

And leaves us so alone

The Flock

Count all your blessings

Don’t number the losses

Ignore the green meadows

With rows of white crosses

Revere all your leaders

And all you are told

Accept what they tell you

And give them your gold

We are the great nation

We’re living the dream

Things really can’t be

Quite as bad as they seem

Pay no attention

To who has the controls

Counting the bodies

And selling their souls

Drunk on the power

We readily gave

Blind to the madness

We dig our own grave

Follow like sheep

Every son, every daughter

Sweet, smiling lambs

Heading to our own slaughter

Reason

I have locked away those feelings

I have hidden from the pain

Trying hard to just feel nothing

Waiting for the coming rain

Looking out and looking inward

Feeling lonely, feeling lost

Looking back at bad decisions

Thinking only of the cost

Trapped inside these walls around me

Through these years that I have built

Sentenced to regrets and sorrow

Paralyzed by endless guilt

Searching for a ray of sunshine

Through these clouds surrounding me

Undone by my own foolishness

For all the world to see

Wondering how it all got started

Wondering how I lost my friends

Tracing steps from the beginning

So much closer to the end

Yet still I find a reason

To believe there is some way

That there is some hidden meaning

As I face another day

cn5062012

Dance

Worry, worry, worry

As the hours slip away

Hung up on the details

You lose another day

Days turn into weeks

Which quickly become years

All the joy along the way

Has been obscured by fears

Enjoy the time you’re given

Take time to celebrate

Spend time with those who make you smile

And let the details wait

For this is no rehearsal

There may be no other chance

So, listen to life’s symphony

And take the time to dance

cn 11/13/10

Epitaph for a Friend

Too many questions

Too little time

So many mountains

So hard to climb

The tears and the laughter

Forever live on

No one can replace you

Twenty years gone

Nobody knows

All the things you went through

Nobody knew me

Better than you

Time may have passed

But the memories are strong

I miss you tonight

Twenty years gone

I’ve built my defenses

I’ve put up a wall

The summer’s behind me

I welcome the fall

I’ve had a good life

But tonight I’m alone

I love you, my friend

Twenty years gone

cn 6/11/09