Morning Funk

My heart is filled with sadness
My eyes are filled with tears
From witnessing the madness
I seen through all these years
I’m hardened by the coldness
The human heart can hold
Sickened by their boldness
And quickly growing old
Compassion is a dying art
And no one seems to care
The world has somehow lost its heart
And no one wants to share
So, my heart is slowly breaking
From these thoughts inside my head
It’s a feeling I’m not shaking
I may just give up instead

cn 011110

Later

No one saw it coming

No one had a clue

There behind the smiling face

A sadness no one knew

Everyone was unaware

No one saw inside

Nobody got close enough

Until the day he died

Everything was all he had

Nothing mattered much

All he ever wanted

Was all he couldn’t touch

All that he could count on

Were endless days of pain

Everywhere no one could see

Him buckling from the strain

All he kept inside himself

Had cut him like a knife

But all of that was gone for good

The day he took his life

cn 282011

By A Thread

Looking for a reason

Hoping for a sign

Praying someone's listening

To these thoughts of mine

Living for the moment

Afraid to look ahead

Thinking the best part of me

May already be dead

Seeking my salvation

Drinking from the well

Clinging to an angel

While descending into hell

Tired of the struggle

Weary from the fight

Longing for a resting place

Somewhere in the night

Where will I find refuge

Can there be no hiding place

Other than behind this mask

That covers up my face

Sanity is fragile

Happiness is rare

I just need to feel the touch

Of one that I know cares

cn 05082011

More Rambling

Fifty-four and counting slowly

As the years go by so fast

Losing friends and losing lovers

Seems like nothing’s built to last

With the bulk of it behind me

And not knowing what’s ahead

Like a dime-store mystery novel

That keeps going through my head

Broken dreams and broken windows

Broken hearts along the way

Seems like every broken promise

Had some meaning in its day

Foolish hopes that always faltered

Careless words and restless hearts

Sacrificed upon some altar

All the players knew their parts

Empty rooms all filled with strangers

Hollow feelings running out

Haunted by the ghosts of memories

Driven by my own self doubt

Screaming down an endless highway

Never stopped to read the signs

Throwing caution out the window

Tried to stay between the lines

And I’m running out of reasons

Just like I’m running out of time

Waiting for the changing seasons

And these stories set to rhyme

Looking in the rear-view mirror

At reflections long since gone

Wondering if I’ll wake tomorrow

With the strength to carry on

For I’m weary and I’m lonely

And there’s nothing left to say

Trying hard to find a reason

Just to live another day

cn 7242011

Why I Love My Friends

Sometimes the world seems angry

The sorrow never ends

And I seek the sanctuary

Of music and good friends

My soul cries out for solace

My eyes are filled with tears

From all the sadness they have seen

The pain from all my years

I wipe away the sorrow

And raise my point of view

I focus on the magic

I find in each of you

You lift my aching spirit

With all the love you share

Restoring my own passion

And helping me to care

For all the lost and lonely

Whose sorrow does not cease

You keep the dream alive and well

A dream of love and peace

cn 4022011

Last Laugh

Everything is lining up

The pieces are in place

Armageddon waits to end

A failing human race

Mother Nature’s had enough

And now it is her turn

To shower down her fury

On those who would not learn

And those that fought for nothing

Curse those who spilled their blood

Tyrants, kings and rulers

Are drowned beneath the flood

And pestilence befalls the ones

Who dined and felt no guilt

And now they’ll know the hunger

Undone by all they’ve built

And in that final hour

When it all goes up in smoke

A handful will die laughing

Who understood the joke

cn 6172011

Love Song For Fred Phelps

You say God hates all of us

But that is just your game

I talked with him myself last night

He’d never heard your name

We talked of love thy neighbor

And about the Golden Rule

He’d never heard of old Fred Phelps

He didn’t know the fool

For hatred is a lost man’s way

The pilgrim speaks of love

His witness is his kindness

As peaceful as a dove

No one gains from ignorance

The truth is not a sin

Wisdom brings equality

And everybody wins

cn 2122011

Fallen Comrades

All of them fought
And some of them died
Some came home with wounds
They found were denied
They looked to their leaders
Who turned deaf and blind
Oh, how could we leave
Fallen comrades behind

We sent them to war
Our brightest and best
They answered the call
They passed every test
They should have been heroes
But what did they find
A country that left
Fallen comrades behind

We all know the answer
What’s wrong and what’s right
They fought to defend us
Now, it’s our turn to fight
To uphold their honor
And be faithful and kind
We cannot just leave
Fallen comrades behind

cn 4/26/10

Hidden War

Somebody said there’s a war going on

But I think they must surely be lying

I looked for it on the evening news

There was nothing about soldiers dying

No pictures of flag-covered coffins

No roll call to honor the dead

We’d never abandon these heroes

We must be in peacetime instead

Nowhere do I see yellow ribbons

Except a few magnets on cars

Nobody speaks of the wounded

Nobody points out their scars

It’s as if they enlisted for nothing

To fight in a war over there

That nobody here seems aware of

And nobody here seems to care

But war is a merciless killing machine

And not just a game that we play

We can’t just pretend that it doesn’t exist

By simply just looking away

So, stand up if you find you’re outraged

Someone might be waiting for you

To cry out against this injustice

Remember, it’s your country, too

Alone

I’m still searching for an answer

To the questions that remain

A million tears can’t wash away

The memories or the pain

I’m still looking for a reason

As alone, I pass the time

For all these haunting images

That come to me in rhyme

A photograph of better times

A slowly fading smile

A song that lingers in my ear

If only for awhile

When we were young and fearless

At least, we tried to be

Leaning on each other

But now, there’s only me

We were Doc and Wyatt

Blood brothers ‘til the end

But all these things are gone for good

Like leaves blown by the wind

Bitter cold that chills the air

And turns the heart to stone

To hide from all that’s left behind

Tonight I am alone

cn 8232011

Requiem For The One Percent

There are rules and regulations

Designed to seal our fate

Money legislates it all

And the rulers regulate

Surrounded by their riches

While here in my hometown

The well is quickly running dry

Where is that trickle down

Too blind to see the coming storm

Too deaf to hear the cries

Of a land of angry people

So tired of the lies

Campaigns always promise

And the winners always win

But there will be a reckoning

For your act, now worn so thin

A country is its people

Who are tired of all the greed

Of your endless need for power

So the people have agreed

It is time you must be going

Your time is fading fast

Victims of your arrogance

Who get their due at last

cn 11182011

Trepidation

I spent all day making memories
To replace the ones I’ve got
Trying to outrun the sorrow
And finding I could not
Every face became a picture
Every moment frozen still
Paralyzed by all that haunts me
And strangles all my will

I spent all night killing brain cells
Hoping that I could forget
The dream that never leaves me
And keeps my pillow wet
Waking only to tomorrow
Knowing it’s another day
Where I pay for all my missteps
Looking for the time to play

I spent years inside a numbness
Medicating my own mind
Thinking I was on a journey
Then arriving just to find
That I’m right back where I started
Where the past comes back to call
And I’m trying to start over
So afraid that I will fall

cn 12092011