Alleviate

The ash gathers upon the tip of my cigarette
Clinging, protecting the embers within
The tallest pine shooting the moon out its tip
Soaking all in a dim, pale glow

Nearby sprinklers perform their nightly rounds
Spreading damp love to drowning lawns
Thoughts swirl about in similar patterns
The glowing tip draws from its depths

No longer inside me, I release the smoke
And exhale the unbearable burden
The lightness, it calms me
Who says depth is sturdy?
And proceed to sort through it all

Keep Going

It takes different strokes to understand the world

And no one can salvage the one pearl

Its gonna take a few more years for you my boy

That’s what he said and then he left me to my toys

That’s the day he walked right out and never returned

And now some days I start to shout, forever perturbed

So we keep going…

The worlds a scary place, there’s demons all around

Many we rarely face when we seek that higher ground

But when you got a slick rap and the beats fat, the demons leave you for the death cuties on tenth ave

They’re walking up and down, not knowing what’s around, caught in the furnace without a sound

No one’s got nothing to say to them save for those that condemn

Only they hold the ticket to heaven

So we keep going…

Let me hold your hair and beat back the tears honey,

we gonna pull through, gonna get some money

And then we gonna purchase the dream, the only way life’s supposed to be,

See the gleam in my eyes as I feel immense pride

The weight is lifting from my shoulders, stronger thighs

Brighter skies, no more cries, just fruitful ties, lovin life, you and I

So we keep going…

Just a few more years of this and we’ll move on

Toward a better place and know what’s beyond

They got beds and baths across oblivion

You’ll see in due time the riches and stored mines

Of soft beds, rest your head and think beautiful things instead

So we keep going…

Gotta Have It!

Beyonce had a baby
Baldwin punched a bro
Garfield found a lady
Lohan stubbed her toe

Cruise had a split
Levine got AIDS
Sandler took a shit
Beiber got laid

Could I function
Without this info
What could I aspire to?
It's my life though!

J-Lo's booty is fake!
Tebow said a swear?!
Trump owns a lake!
Its just not fair!

Radcliffe is nude
Portman is prego
Richie eats food?
Leggo my eggo

It's my life!
Let me enjoy it!
No you can't
I haven't read it!

Romney's retarded
Arnold is back
Gaga is guarded
Ferrell's on crack

Its written here!
It must be true
Ssshhh I can't hear
The Smith's are through!?

Oh that poor lady
her life must be rough
Why's he so shady?
Always acts tough

Did you hear?
Did you hear?
The world's gonna end!
I heard it here!
They never pretend

Unexplaneable

The woman on the plane screamed like a baby
Her actions farthest from a dignified lady
In fact when the plane took of the ground
She gasped for air until it touched back down

As the wheels left the finely paved runway
She spoke loudly to herself like a castaway
Twas quite bothersome and rather annoying
It kept the child behind her from game-boying

"I've never been on a plane!" she exclaimed
A man to my right whispered something profane
"Are we off the ground yet?" she screamed
Everyone within ears reach started to squeam

But when one takes a second to think about it
Her fear is no longer hard to interpret
We fly through the sky in a hunk of metal
Crammed in our seats like dogs in a kennel

The giant winged penis creeps from its terminal
Once the old pilot has checked all the variables
Weather, machinery, fuel and adequate engines
Proper capacity, direction, thrusters, rear fins

The flight attendant shares useless information
While no one even pretends to pay attention
"Use the seat cushion during an emergency"
When headless chickens will beg God for mercy

She wears a plastic smile with excessive elation
So if the plane plummets, we'll know the formation
to make adjacent to the inflatable ballon slide
That will probably get punctured during the ride

When those wheels fold back into their shaft
Everyone onboard will pretend to relax
Pushing the thought of plummeting 30,000 feet
And incinerating like a piece of vaporized meat

But when that small voice in everyone's head
Refuses to comply and go back to bed
A lady who finally yells the unthinkable
Ensures that small voice is forever untamable

So instead of mocking her for reasonable fear
Why not be helpful, lend a friendly ear
Bring out your small voice and attempt to console
But who is bold enough to take on this role?

So nobody says anything for the full six hours
The blood trickling from ears must now be scoured
The man in front of me has lost hair on his head
As wife to his left drank herself to sleep instead

And when the plane's wheels touch the land
The seatbelts come off and everyone stands
Some call their relatives whom they will soon meet
But the lady sits still, she has fallen asleep

Tech-no-longer-free

A battle rages here: man and machine
One master over the other, reigns supreme
But take a look closer, I'll make you squeam
Notice the fabric of our humanness ripping at the seam?

We tell ourselves these are just tools for our gain
When we can't recall a location or remember a name
A medium that can take anybody and bring them to fame
And dream of a new life where everything will change

But look around, feel the absence of compassion
As we no longer value face to face interaction
You'll notice there's something peculiar happening
Humankind is losing its essence, and theres no reaction

The new product that will make life that much easier
Is the same that will promote a life of sheer leisure
Instead of helping eachother we sit on our keesters
A light inside of all of us, we just have to release her

But before we can shine, we have to stop being dependent
In the constitution of humanity there must be an ammendment
We must stop wearing thoughts on our sleeve like a pendant
To do this we must take responsibility, stop being defendants

So put away your smartphone or you'll become too stupid
To understand simple concepts that used to be lucid
Our connectivity to everything has undoubtedly boosted
But here we are, feathers in the wind, anything but rooted

Looking back, nobody will care if your Facebook posts teem
Technology is not an end unto itself but a means
To carry out communication without presence of being
But our generation has lost its way , or so it would seem

So instead of staring down at your convenient backlight
Notice instead modern man's unrealized plight
To turn a blind eye to this is to relinquish our divine right
To regain ourselves and our relationships, we must fight.

Syria

A shot in the fog, a yelp in the wind
How many bodies must be strewn
Across the tattered crimson streets
For them to notice our despair?

Each act of violence a simple plea
To distance from your gadgets
And reacquaint with torn humanity
We cannot do this on our own

An infant dragged from the spill
His bright future swiftly denied
At least let him be an example
Instead of an object among many

Hands outstretched toward the heavens
A gentle reminder of some distant place
Only conjured by the imagination
A vehicle for those restless souls

(Summoned in response to the Syrian conflict)

Zen and Jerry's

There are times when life is tough
You're feeling down, it is rough
You could go home and rest your head
Or eat some Ben and Jerry's instead

The instant cure for life's troubles
When all existence feels like rubble
A savory blend of B&J's delight
Is sure to make things alright

Five bucks a pint may seem steep
You contemplate your money keep
But then you cast hesitation aside
And climb aboard the ice cream ride

First you wipe away the condensation
Evidence of your restrained elation
Beads of water that touched the surface
Unable to reach the flavorful furnace

Next is that goddamn plastic seal
That keeps me from my vital meal
Tell us its to keep the food fresh
But really just to cause us stress

Finally I break free of the final tether
Remove the cap, it comes together
A can of desire has been released
My soul's craving now unleashed

Take my spoon and despite the hardness
Plunge it in, forming a creamy crevice
Lift it up as if time for communion
And to my mouth, the spoon enters in

Right away the soul departs its shell
Flies away from this earthly hell
And settles in the realm of the divine
All glory, power and flavor now mine

Extravagant bursts of chocolatey passion
Coupled with perfect pops of caramel rations
Immersed in creamy blends of battered beauty
A pirate has stumbled upon his quested booty

With each stroke of the spoon a revelation
As to the grandeur of this precious creation
I'm forever a slave to this exquisite creature
In humble submission, as if a preacher

Before I have begun to wrap my mind around
My spoon touches the pint's loathsome ground
Which marks the end of this stay in paradise
A wish to one day return and experience it twice

I toss to the trash the empty container
Which shant serve as a mocking remainder
Of a truth so evident, an experience so real
That I ate Ben and Jerry's for my whole meal

Dear Children

Fuck the wealthy man in his ivory tower
Who forgets the common man's plight
Enforces laws to boost personal profit
Thinks its his American, God-given right

Without need to justify his action or cause
He exerts his power over the lesser man
Until he has squashed his soul to shards
Beneath the force of his relentless hand

"A fine for you!" the lawman slaps the wrist
No consideration given to the situation
"Take it up with the man upstairs!"
Drunk with his own authoritative exhortation

The common man mills about the earth
Enjoying what he can of his precious days
In the artificial confines of the bureacracy
Simply guided along, forgets innovative ways

The child imbued with a spark of curiosity
Questions the suppression whenever he can
Not knowing that when he chooses to abide
He is lost to himself, cast into a subservient land

So run about! Frolick in the fields, dear children
They cannot dumb you down to a cog as you play
And retain your resilience, you're the last hope
For the rest of us thoughtless lemmings, without say

Remember the Dream

What is a memory
but a distant wisp of a former life
A truth that once bore the weight of the world

What is a memory
in the bowels of the soul
Lies dormant until brought forth to existence

What is a memory
But a moment gone by, no longer productive
A nagging cough that lingers despite ill repute

What is a dream
but vague expectation
A reminder of inadequacy
Nature's sick sister

What is a dream
if not reassurance
bound by hope's fruitful ties
to a future delight

What is a dream
if not aspiration
To always grow steady
along the vineyard of time