Respite

When my journey’s finally over

I’m not looking for a crown

Just a place beyond the sorrow

A place to lay my tired head down

I’m not looking for redemption

Or a place at judgment day

Just an end to all life’s sadness

Where all suffering’s gone to stay

I don’t need to open pearly gates

Or walk the streets of gold

I’m more comfortable with sinners

Than with the saints of old

I’ve tried to live a good life

One free of most regrets

Not many fences left to mend

Before the last sun sets

But I’m weary from the journey

And it’s taken quite a toll

All the pain that etched my face

Has also scarred my soul

So, come and play a song for me

A verse of Drift Away

Tell a joke and laugh with me

It’s much too late to pray

It’s hard to find the tears

Behind the blank eyes of the clown

So help me find a quiet place

To lay my tired head down

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Jesus Was A Socialist

The modern Christian church and the conservative right has lost sight of the foundations of their faith as set forth by the words of Jesus. Compassion has been replaced by self-righteousness and the belief that faith will bring wealth and success. I can’t find any scripture to support this belief, but I can find plenty to dispute it:


“For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in”

Matthew 25:35

The Sermon on the Mount (The Beatitudes)

Matthew 5 (As Kurt Vonnegut noted "not exactly planks of the republican party platform".)

Matthew 5:1 When 1 he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain.  After he sat down his disciples came to him.
5:2 Then  he began to teach them by saying:
5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.
5:10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
5:11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely  on account of me.
5:12 Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.

Matthew 22:34 Now when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees they assembled together.
22:35 And one of them, an expert in religious law, asked him a question to test  him:
22:36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
22:37 Jesus  said to him, “‘Love  the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
22:38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
22:39 The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.
22:40 All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”



Do you practice what he preached, or are you just talking the talk?

Dream

You came to me again last night

And found me in the dark

In a dreamworld built for two

Walking in a park

All around was beauty

But I only saw your smile

All my tired heart wanted 

Was to be with you awhile

We shared some secrets in our hearts

While some were left untold

 Waiting for the coming years

Their stories to unfold

So, walk with me inside this place

Where nothing's as it seems

Until we walk togther

I'll be with you in my dreams

 

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I'll Be Alright

I'm not looking for an answer

All the questions disappeared

I'm not looking for a hiding place

For the things that I once feared

All my rhymes ran out of reasons

Nothing's as it really seems

Stuck inside of this reality

I purchased with my dreams

I've been listening for your footsteps

I've been waiting for that call

But I never hear it ringing 

And there's no one in the hall

Just the evening shadows falling

On a light that's fading fast

Wondering if there's ever anything

That's truly built to last

Time to bury the sad memories

And use the ones that shine

To resurrect the laughter

That once was yours and mine

I don't know if you can hear me

But I'm going to be alright

With your love here deep inside me

I'll be walking in your light

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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

If I Had To (No Regrets)

If I had to walk a thousand miles

I’d gladly make that choice

To just be in your presence

To only hear your voice

I would give all my tomorrows

To revisit yesterday

To sit and talk with you awhile

That price I’d gladly pay

If I had to give up all I own

To see your sweet, sweet face

I’d do it in a heartbeat

Any time or any place

But, if I had to do it all again

Before my life’s sun sets

I wouldn’t change a single thing

And die with no regrets

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Fifty Years

Fifty years and much has changed

Yet much remains the same

We stayed locked inside these classes

As the masters rule the game

A shadow of a nation

That could have been the best

Until that dream is realized

My soul will never rest

Until everyone is equal

Until everyone is free

Where no child lives with hunger

As it was meant to be

Until no one’s life is valued

By the color of their skin

When greed gives way to kindness

And what matters lies within

Until we learn that love is love

Until we live in peace

Until we’ve learned these lessons

The struggle cannot cease

Until we live in harmony

And set aside our fears

I only hope it doesn’t take

Another fifty years

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She Lives

In every act of kindness

In every heart that’s pure

In everyone who overcomes

The hardships they endure

In the faces of the pilgrims

Who travel every mile

And lift another spirit

With kind words or a smile

In every waking moment

In everything I do

In the lessons that she taught me

Her love comes shining through

Leading by example

As she has from the start

Forever an immortal

She lives inside my heart

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For Liz

Sticks and stones can break some bones

And we both tried our best

But time reveals what matters most

When love’s put to the test

The past that held our battles

Is the history we now share

And life is so much easier

Just knowing you are there

The loss we feel inside us

The pain that seals the bond

Will keep us close together

In this life and beyond

So, childhood sibling rivals

Become something so much more

Two souls standing together

Facing what life has in store

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