When Earth Rises Again

To some, the thought of the world we've wrought
Brings them no guilt, no shame, it is just what it is
But others, they try sincerely, to reduce our impact
If we are biological organisms, we are part of earth
Humans have impact, as do animals, but ours is greater
Earth offers a bounty, it is glorious green and blue
But to think our selves separated from it, is false
We are not a curse, We are not the masters
We've created a system that wounds earth
What if our world might one day reject us
It might create means of our own extinction
Would we see it as being our punishment
Would we see it as being justice for our acts
Or would we pass from view, with silence
The shame of our own ignorance imposing quiet
I don't know the answer, life on earth will endure
In one form or another, we will be gone
Other kinds of life will flourish, with joy
I do know if our species passes from view
The Earth will rise again

Perfectionism is a disease

As they gladly rip your legs from your body, then
Complain that you can't run fast enough for them
They'll poke your eyes from your skull, screaming
And demand you describe images of your dreams
But they can't demand the perfection of your heart
They can't see inside, due to their own caused scars
So keep your dignity, you deserve that, and more
If you love, if you hope, it resides inside your core
Don't let people neither morally nor factually perfect
Keep you from reaching heights you are meant for

LOSER

I cannot breathe, can't think, can't endure
I can't see, I can't survive, I have no future
The bleeding can't end, dying each second
Life spilling out of me, my sins reckoned
And now I've nothing, but fear inside me
All those things I've done that deride me
I'm condemned, I've finally been damned
Despite every chance to just understand
But I refuse, choosing my path
And cold death's final wrath

One Day it will end

Countless people died on March 28
In war, after living a long life, in joy
In peace, after so little life, in horror
Many born, with a mystery of life to live
We think all those born a miracle, and great
We think those lost a tragedy, to be replaced
But the Machine of existence seems endless
 Time is a construct, it one day will shatter
If we are so arrogant, if we have such hubris
As to believe we are of epic importance
Why do many think our numbers don't matter
Assuming the species is forever but not
The eternal machine has kept count
When it reaches a certain number
Its gears then will grind to full stop
Then every organic machine will end
Our human species will no longer exist
Without sound nor obituary notice
The days will end, run out of tomorrows
Yes, it will come when we no longer exist
But will it be a great day or one of great sorrow
Our actions will speak to the answer
Were we the cure
Or were we the cancer?

The Truth of Beauty

Is beauty a runway model, statuesque and blonde?
Is beauty a child with charm and giggles, so cute?
Or a message burning inside the soul, resonating?
Do we even get close to the reality, the truth of it
Or is it staring in our face, and has never changed
A call from child to mother, a movement of grace
Where the answer is clear, it is in seeing the hand
A hand of a creator, an artist, one who is an expert
And we ignore the creator for the created, idolatry
Lose our path, for shiny baubles of the world?

Marcus Aurelius 'Dwell on the beauty
of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself
                                  running with them.'

To live again

My heart has died many times
My spirit fled my flesh again
And then yet still again
But I see others suffering more
And I realize my privilege
To see another horizon
In my core I long to be truly alive
But my fears hold me down
Pinning me to the ground
I have to find a way to rise anew
With a spirit ready to flourish
But the pain and exhaustion
Make it my prison cell
A pathway to my hell
So I will stand and finally fight
To have a chance to find joy
I will work to make things right
And rescue from the deep
And return them to the shallow
All who wallow in the currents
The rising ocean tide
And the beating of our hearts
To the losing race against time
For we all die in the end, but how few live?

“The world is always dying and always coming back to life.
Tide and pulse, and with the turn of the tide a touch of mystery.”
                                                                            Henry Miller

A new plan, it is called hope

I believe we are a people that need to relearn to be one race
We need to embrace the bright and dull, genius and the less
Because the moment we separate into tiny clans and tribes
We forget our species hinged on 2000 or less breeding pairs
Look at others as family, learn and remember to embrace
Our past is ugly with hate, envy, and violence, just confess
There isn't a formula, we are new at finding reasons to vibe 
Because once we overcome our errors wounds can repair
Love one another, be kind, and think of others as family

Humanity's Evil Enemy

Some cancers are widowmakers, killing you in weeks after diagnosis
Other kinds linger, back time after time, like an unwelcome bully
But unlike bullies, cancer has no regrets, it has an anger ferocious
So that whatever good you do, whoever will miss your flesh's being
It celebrates, not knowing, surrounding family grow strength seeing
The fight encourages, strengthens the fight of others, now believing
All suffer, some more, some less, but cancer is a villain and cruel
To fight it, is an act of vigilance and heroic grace
If you suffer, or have fought cancer, you have my awe
Cancer has tried twice here, also took beloved friends
If you have fought or fight, you are a vet of a holy war
You are in my highest esteem, and I pray you mend
May you be blessed, and given hope

(AI created image)

We Hunger

I do not fear the future
I fear for those who must live in it
What is there for any future generation
Upon a planet of emotional starvation
We find a purpose within immorality
And celebrate all lost goals and dreams
Demanding the utter betrayal of hope
In the end, we will enter a cycle of despair
Where there are no reasons to strive
Only to hunger
For vengeance or even for food
To be bitter
With anger and even more envy
We live in a world that says one love
We don't even spell the word with compassion
In a world of starvation and poverty
There are people obese from greed
We can't find hope in a world of beauty
We feel alienated by the natural glory
We defile the planet of resources
From water to permanent chemicals
From clear cut forests, emptied of trees
Why do we insist upon destroying our home
We've nowhere else to flee to, or harvest
The universe is not at all like Earth
All roads do not lead to Rome
Those cosmic streets littered
With our spent wages of death
We cannot impose our will upon space
What is there for us to do
If we can't see the path ahead
In the murk of our littered past

Until that Day

I've always wondered why this world works as it does
Why do violence and lurid details outweigh pure love
Who'd desire to be defiled, or wish to not have enough
If it is perfect why do we suffer, on the day of the dove
Is it there are no answers, at least none that make sense
Are we meant to suffer, so life beyond will make sense
Or am I just stupid, a fool, enslaved to dreams so cruel
What is wrong with wanting hope, what is wanting joy
Is it that we're meant to fail, why must this fear prevail
Unless there's a reason, unless we need it to understand
I refuse to trust in darkness, here I'll hold my ground
And suffer until it arrives, the joyous day of the dove

Mom

I miss you so much, I cry at the sound of your name
I remember all I should have done, burning in shame
You were every moment my mind, spent in thought
You're always with me, rather than alone in silent rot
At the sound of your voice, the warmth of your laugh
I keep your memory alive, as the epitome of class
You made me experience life, whether I liked it or not
You showed me the way home, to the holy son of God
Now all alone, missing you like missing air to breathe
But you gave me life, and taught me to believe

DANCING

A woman who had taught me to survive, was stubborn and loving
She fought off two terminal diagnoses, when cancer had no cure
I had cancer, twice, and nearly died from a broken neck and more
But unlike her, I stared blankly, as death came, rushing, rushing
I had to learn to endure, to be willing to survive down to my core
And I found that in her example, so in memory and celebration
I will dance, without fear, with no shyness, in final exultation
For you found me my little lady, stubborn, determined mother

The Youth Suffer

From my youth I remember everything
The popping, guns sounds and screams
The bullets firing and hitting the ground
We recognized the violence around us
With every dead kid there is no justice
The modern world filled with a silence
As the innocent die there becomes quiet
Blood covers a playground and school
In years society forgets, but never repents
The world won't know what happened
Only something cold and deeply cruel

Too many things

I've so many things to do, so much to make right
So many breaths to take, before I fall to the night
The outside calls my name as I stop there and wait
As a world screams my name while filled with hate
I will become calm, wait for the dawn and breathe
Nothing more to do, nor more to say, but believe
I have nothing to offer, so I pray for grace

Desert Planet

There's a silence now here but at one time was sound
With the many voices of life, activities, and events
But this quiet isn't one of solitude or inward thoughts
The planet no longer supports life, none of any kind
It used to have intelligent life, witness the monuments
What is now exposed rock, was once a sacred ground
The bleak terrain holds secrets washed away by time
And the winds sweeping across the surface, relentless
Dust storms are ongoing, but barely make any sound
Lost are the millennia, civilizations that lived and died

The Way of Peace, The Way of War

Over years preparing for the rest of my life
Learning calligraphy, haiku, ink paintings
Practicing sword craft, focus of my blade
As days go by swiftly pass without strife
On my heart is branded, without pain
The branded lessons become engravings
Thus the mindful warrior controls rage
Our world offers chaos, I desire order
To exist I create conditions to thrive
I train my mind, practice for a reason
And whatever I face, I will be ready
My mind makes my sword sharper
And practice sharpens my mind
Training and calm, peace and war
I'm prepared for whatever beckons
To serve my Emperor, to be worthy
My sword, bone, flesh and blood
Will be given fully, for his service

Days of Darkness

The sky had turned black despite it being the day
Three days of darkness begun, start of our decay
We should have been aware, long before the time
But we lingered in pleasure, fantasies of the mind
The sun was missing and we'd forgotten the truth
Had we tried, we'd heard approaching horse hooves
War, Famine, Plague, and Death were on their way
We were more concerned with sex, bread, and circus

iam pridem, ex quo suffragia nulli /
vendimus, effudit curas; nam qui dabat olim /
imperium, fasces, legiones, omnia, nunc se /
continet atque duas tantum res anxius optat, /
panem et circenses.
                                                           Juvenal

Winter Raid

Into the darkness, into the frozen black
Our ships long ago been drawn ashore
We'd marched for days in deep Winter
Before we'd unleash our surprise attack
During a quiet dawn, unaware sleepers
Now the foes approached nevermore
Moved swiftly, blowing horns of victory
We then showed the enemy no mercy
For they had long practice acts of terror
As our people called for vengeance
Responded with axes, arrows, swords
With no thought to pillage and looting
Intentions were to prevent further acts

"If through storms I need to protect my boat at sea, I calm
the wind on the wave and put all the sea to sleep.” Hávamál

The Angel of Death?

This world has been in existence for billions of years
Arrival of a new species or noted appearance of one
Wasn't an unusual thing, specifically great or notable
But the human species, in many forms, changed that
By evolution or creation, mistake or miracle of time
These humans could speak, coordinate behavior, act
The rest of nature hadn't yet shown the same ability
But are humans a blessing or a curse to this planet?
Have we destroyed it, as we scoured it for resources
I've wondered why we exist, and yet, does it matter
Because if we are a curse, we should then wonder
Why were we the chosen as agents of destruction

The Promise of the Morning

a bleeding inside that no one saw
the screaming silent worst dream
my flesh decays, I'm made of flaw
I've no memory, for I never sleep
I'll will stand one day, stare in awe
for in the new morning, fear flees
And hope comes with every dawn
to stop bleeding, I need to believe
every single day begins with trust
the night will always fall to day
fulfillment of the promise
of forgiveness to receive

I will survive the final storm

It is different to do a thing than to know about doing
And it is a different thing entirely, than to long to be
In my life I want to live by my righteous actions
But there is only one way to learn, it is by asking
The task before us all, is to understand our purpose
Our future is burning now, it should concern us
As we live in a world of cynicism and apathy
We suffer from a lack of any hope or empathy
Death of my flesh offers me no fear, or entropy
So I will endure
A heart of honor,  my spirit is my fire and breath
I will rise up, live to find a way that is finally pure
For I am ready to die, I do not fear death
For in spirit I will live and find my life

The Cycle

In this cynical age, where innocence is seen as false
A form of cyclical rage, expressed for the failed cause
We are alive, but we aren't living, we watch spectacle
All voyeurs, well unforgiven, it's time to be skeptical
Modernity chokes upon the decay, there is no escape
As our existence fades, as our life we now just chase
The hope that we can do more than simply just exist

Entropy Is Forever

The end had come but missed my presence
I was swallowed up soon by the entropy
As I now stare into the endless darkness
There is so little worth this time leprosy
Waiting to die without a hope to survive
I crawl and scream but still, I am alive
The world to be restored but I'm a ghost
Forever meant to be host of a new world
One where I wasn't meant to experience joy

An untold Viking story

We had moved across the Northern passage
Long centuries before Europeans could see
We discovered a lush, fertile green continent
Long before Columbus had come to ravage
But we chose to go back to our Greenland
Although it was less fertile, we'd felt safe
And then with the downturn in temperatures
Colonies died, never adapted to other ways
Despite the indigenous surviving we did not
We refused to do what they did, foolish pride
It was never about racism, but a belief, hubris
We'd tamed Iceland and our home in Europe
As the world called us the Scourge of the sea
We were called the Vikings, but raid no more
Tamed by the Europeans, defeated elsewhere
We were no longer feared, but were admired
For what we discovered, accomplished
And had carved from history
A legacy

No One Knows

Armageddon by Joseph Paul Pettitt, 1852

At first they focused upon 2012, it seemed to bode ill
Then they said a exo planet called Nibiru would strike
Then Isis, an Islamic End Times militia had appeared
As if to become a catalyst for the last days of humans
Yet the time, place, date and any events are unknown
Only the creator knows, just when plans were begun
And presently, when his plans will be made complete
We wonder how such things could happen, but instead
We should prepare for emergency, even if not the end
For centuries people read prophets, like Nostradamus
Or Left Behind, followed people who said they knew
No one knows the date of return, of the end, terminus
But no one knows a thing, other than to say, it is bad
So instead of worry, prepare, instead of panic, trust
For those who fear and panic, miss out upon the good
They lose sight of the life we have, for the one ahead
It is as if these people just can't wait to be dead
When there is a life going on all around them

Nibiru, exo-planet, public domain image

Meaningless Seconds

Time is a construct of our mind to contextualize existence
It doesn't exist, it isn't tangible, our minds use it as a tool
To live or die and place into order the events of one's life
The sands of time are felt as a child is born or an elder lost
With nothing inside our mind like a clock, no resistance
To a concept that we gain wisdom, in ways good or cruel
On occasion we rise or fall, hopelessly seeking the divine
All without one great clock hanging in the hall of eternity
Ticking forever, without end, each second making its case
Eternity is ambrosia but as flesh beings we can never taste
The fruits of the land of Elysium, or the Garden of Eden
They are out of reach, far beyond our mind's reflection

The Dragon Prows

The winter sea ice was thick, deeply cold and moved slow
Only a tidal wave or a whale swimming through the floe
Forge a path through to open water from a frozen surface
But our ships are dragons, powerful, swift, with purpose
Storied beasts and leviathans of the seas cannot stop them
For we own the surface, from the depths to each horizon
Our way is truth, we fear no other men, only ocean's cold
Lands for our people, fulfill our prophecies once foretold

Haunting Thoughts

My heart bleeds for all of the innocent
As they have all suffered for the world
Wounds never heal, they live in regret
As the world watches, guilt that burns
We never ask them for any permission
And we take from them all they have
Due to them, I've become an apparition
I am a ghost inside, I now only haunt
For the life they lost, few would want
All they know but deserve much more
They are wounded at their core
The world we've made
Has no survivors
But some suffer more
Than the rest

In a Realm of Dream

There in the realm of sleep, of nightmare, of dream

The land of the Mung so very different than our own

The dead are kept busy, feeding the beasts and fires

They are unbothered by things, like fear or even time

The flesh has fallen off, their hands, skull and feet

It is difficult to know their being, they keep on being

Beware when visiting Mung, frightful and dangerous

Everything has its place, even nightmares and dreams
I am unaware how to get there, except by sleep 

Orphaned

They sent my father to the mines, to dig coal, to serve a sentence
We were told he'd spoken wrongly about the Czar, and punished
Sent to Siberia, to suffer, to work until he was no longer able
And then would no longer live, nor ever come back
Mother and Babushka tried to raise us, but they got sick
We were told that they had TB, and quickly died
No one bothered to check upon us, we were just orphans
Never understood why some eat well, but we were worthless
And the worthless bury their own parents, hoping to beg scraps
We knew winter took no pleas for mercy, and was coming soon
So we chose to face it with no hope, and pray for some miracles
Accepting our fate, whatever it might become

As Time Ticks

I waited for so long, I thought I might break
Because forever takes a so long and so does fate
I watched as a universe collapsed, upon its self
I was aware there was nothing real, nothing left
In the moments I counted and left without time
For forever is innumerable, eternity is sublime
A prisoner of expectations is a form of torture
I close my eyes, if existence requires departure
I am ready, and prepared as best as possible