Looking Back and Moving Forward

Regrets and retrospective

Reality and dreams

Illusions and the cold hard truth

Are never what they seem

Memories of failures

Haunt the life that I have built

Wondering what might have been

Living with the guilt

All the fragile ghosts of those

With all the tender hearts

Come to call when darkness falls

And that’s the hardest part

A prisoner of my weakness

Enslaved by my own past

Shackled by the hurt I’ve caused

The light is fading fast

But even in the darkest hour

I know this much is true

The hope that keeps me going

Is the light I see in you

To know you still believe in me

That somehow you still care

Lifts me up like nothing else

These feelings that we share

So, I gather all my doubts and fears

And lock them all away

I draw strength from your loving heart

And face another day

cn 4212012

The Journey

On a road that’s going nowhere

On a sea without a sail

A pilgrim travels blindly

Not sure if he will fail

He has stumbled on his journey

And at times, he’s lost his way

But still he’s moving onward

Embracing each new day

He has cried out to the heavens

And almost sold his soul

For the devil haunts a dreamer

As the journey takes its toll

He looks for something he has lost

He never really owned

Searching for a refuge

Getting by and getting stoned

And now he’s starting over

Like so many times before

A smile adorns his tired face

Not knowing what’s in store

There may be no destination

But the journey drives him on

Hoping that the price paid

Doesn’t turn his heart to stone

Portrait - Ode to Butch

I swear I had it yesterday

A photograph of you

Taken many years ago

When dreams could still come true

You had a childlike innocence

A smile so sweet and pure

Unaware of what would be

And all you would endure

But even in that portrait

Framed there in black and white

Your eyes revealed an emptiness

That nothing could make right

A child without a childhood

Whose wounds could not be healed

Cryptic whispers in the night

Where secrets were revealed

The boy who always felt too much

And kept it all inside

A pilgrim seeking shelter

Finding no place safe to hide

And now I cannot find it

Like it wasn’t here at all

As I look at my reflection

In this mirror on the wall

A childhood spent in hallways

Framed for all the world to see

Exposed the frail human heart

No one should see but me

And now the memory fades away

Lost in the passing years

A vision of what might have been

Obscured by my own tears

cn4152012

Soul Survivors

Some words are never spoken

Some feelings never shared

Not every secret is revealed

Not every soul is bared

Some bonds cannot be broken

Some stand the test of time

Some crumble into lifeless dust

A silent pantomime

Some have a strong foundation

Some sink into quicksand

While others grow with passing time

As if they were so planned

But you and I stand here today

So many miles apart

But distance can’t be measured

Between two common hearts

For all the hours in our days

These minutes that we share

They give my tired soul some hope

And keep me from despair

So, keep your heart and keep your spirit

Keep a smile upon your face

And know that I am with you

Every hour and any place

The Weight of War

I feel it on my shoulders

I feel it in my heart

A painful, heavy burden

I felt right from the start

From the dropping of the first bomb

That began the painful strife

From the tears of the first mother

Whose child had lost their life

And once again, I wonder

What all the killing’s for

I feel the pain from all the strain

Beneath the weight of war

You see it in their faces

You hear it in their cries

In far too many places

Driven by so many lies

Burdened by the weight of war

And paying all the cost

Victims of our senseless greed

So blind to what is lost

And once again, they wonder

What all the killing’s for

They feel the strain from all the pain

Beneath the weight of war

My children and your children

Will never live in peace

Until we set aside this greed

Until these wars all cease

The world that they could live in

Is lost in all we’re fighting for

Smothered by the price they pay

Beneath the weight of war

How long will we still wonder

What all the killing’s for

And feel the strain from all the pain

Beneath the weight of war

Toy Soldiers

Not far removed from childhood days

And soon forgotten carefree ways

Don’t look back, no don’t think twice

Their innocence is sacrified

No time for playing anymore

Toy soldiers marching off to war

Wind them up

They wind up dying

Too many people

Wind up crying

The poor must lose

So the rich can win

And so we

Wind them up again

Young strangers in a foreign land

No home fires burning, only sand

No mother’s touch, no love at all

No one to catch you when you fall

No time to think. No time to feel

This is no game. The risk is real

Wind them up

They wind up dying

Too many people

Wind up crying

The poor must lose

So the rich can win

That’s why we

Wind them up again

Jaded by all they have seen

An innocent turns cold and mean

Survival is a cruel game

It’s victim’s, never quite the same

Pawns, these children in a line

Toy soldiers made from yours and mine

Wind them up

They wind up dying

Too many people

Wind up crying

The poor must lose

So the rich can win

Why must we

Wind them up again