Last Night

We played and danced

The stars our witness

Fog settled on the field

But we broke through

As we ran in chaos

We drank in deep the night air

Our only narcotic

Except for the beat

That ran and lifted, lifted us

What is foolish?

What is fun?

We made fools of ourselves

Whatever the meaning of the word

Like only kids can

The curse of adulthood

Might one day end

But not today

We looked up at the stars and spun

Our world finally one beautiful kaleidoscope carousel

The Greater Joy

The want me to roll in the mud

They say its fun

To be encompassed in dirt

Then we can all look the same

But greener pastures call

A cushion for my bare feet

Higher hills for me to dance

Sweeter waters cool on my tongue 

Enough

Thirsty souls are at war
They need objects of their hate
Even though they are killing people
That are just like themselves

People fight for many things
For resources
An idea
A belief

But when the mother gets news
Of her four dead sons
She cries

"Enough!" she cries, she screams
Enough boys dead
Enough friends gone

But the grave is never satisfied

A young girl gets married
Waiting for this day her whole life
Anxious to start a family
Children of her own flesh and bone

She hopes and hopes
For a pure and holy object
Of her love
She waits.

They never come.

But a young girl
Kills her precious child
Growing inside of her
It would be bad for her career

"Enough!" Cries the barren womb
Enough children without a chance to live
Enough good families who can't raise a child

But it is never satisfied

A preacher sits
Preparing a sermon
No one will hear

A young man he once was
Just a hope and a dream
Is all that he had
But it died

He got out of college
His church went from fifty to none
He sells cars for a living
He is plagued with a thirsty soul

When looking out the window
He yearns to tell people
Of the hope that lays dormant
Desperately built up inside him

"Enough!" He cries, at the desert within
But he has responsibility now
His children he can effect

To do what he couldn't
This is his hope

But he is never satisfied

A fire burns somewhere
A fit of rage and passion
Which is a young man's life
A confusion and chaos

Hate, Lust,
Greed, Pride,
Adventure, Passion
All beheld in his eyes

But a blazing fire must consume
Or it is snuffed out forever
So have your fun

Homework takes up time
So do sports and school
Friends to fill up space in between that

But you cant escape your thoughts
No matter how hard you try
At night before you fall asleep
At two in the morning

The fire of your life blazes
It consumes who you are
Morals are compromised
Choices are made
To feed it

Until you go up in smoke
Any dream you had is gone
Because you went too far

"Enough!" I scream at the all-consuming fire of my sin

It is never satisfied

Harmony

One day we'll live together, and work together
A man and his son
No mad bashing, evil cursing
We'll be together as one

We can see what we've accomplished
Stand atop it proud
Nothing we'll see anywhere can be more beautiful
Then the fresh tilled ground

We'll be tired but satisfied, you and me
At the end of the day.
I know what it means
Love and harmony

But not today-
Your stuck where you are

Sun in the Rain

Have you ridden a bus

Full of your friends

The windows down

The wind blowing through everyone’s hair?

Have you ever seen snow?

Lightly falling

Burying an old rusty car in the woods

A car frozen in time when deemed unusable

Sitting as the young forest grew around it

The land renewing itself, after it was also deemed unusable

It was all so beautiful

A tear fell down my cheek

I woke in the morning

Well rested

After welcomed home

From a long time away

The sun shone through my window

Shadows green and white

The light reflecting through the leaves

Onto my wall

I was gently awoken by the light

And birds

Particles I saw, in the beam of light

Floating there

Only visible with the help of light

They floated in the vast nothingness

Just like us

And it was all so beautiful

Out of Control

I was in my bed when I heard our alarm system go off. I jumped up and ran downstairs. I found the control box to the security system. I pressed it on. The security system question my mom designated a few years ago popped up.

“WHAT DO THEY CALL THE BOUNTY HUNTER CLONES IN STAR WARS?”

I typed in “Storm Troopers.”

It blinked red then the statement, “MUST BE FEMALE TO OPERATE” popped up.

I proceeded to try and tell the machine I was female so I could disable the alarm. The fuse suddenly blew. The lights in the house turned off and it was complete black. At least the alarm was off.

Then, wait, I could hear the T.V. on in the other room. I saw the dull light glowing against the walls. I slowly walked over to it.

The man on the T.V. reported, “Alien invasion plagues Western United States. National Guard and all military forces have been mobilized…” I was so confused.

It was suddenly daylight outside. Lights shone in the window and I squinted at the bright rays. I sprinted up the stairs to get to my attic. The attic had the highest window in my house where I could overlook the neighborhood and see what was going on. My hands were sweating and my heart was pounding. When I crested at the top of my stairs I saw a small toddler at the single window in my dusty, wooden attic. He held a television remote out toward the window. Tears were running down his face.

“Who is this kid?” I thought.

“Why won’t the channel change?” he cried.

I took him in my arms and looked out the window.

Out on my suburban street stood what looked like a man, but eight feet tall. It was pale. Ghostly pale. It had short white hair, a little whiter than its skin. And its eyes. Its eyes…

The alien stood still; so still that the earth seemed to sway underneath it. Neighbors stood on the edge of their lawns, staring at it.

The toddler suddenly jumped out of my arms. It ran across the attic and down the stairs. I followed after him. The toddler burst out my front door.

“WAIT!” I cried.

He was running straight for the alien! The “thing” turned toward the toddler. Before the toddler reached the alien, two of my neighbors ran and tackled the eight foot beast. Both my neighbors and the creature lay on the ground, motionless. The toddler stood over them, crying. I was shocked. My feet felt like led. I tried to scream but my throat was stuck. Finally, I was able to slowly walk toward the bodies. I rolled over the bodies to see which of my neighbors had saved this young boy. It was my mom and my dad.

“NOOOO!” I yelled. I fell on my knees crying bitterly. Then I took up a stick and struck the beast. Then I hit it again. I beat it until all my strength was gone. Nothing on the creature changed no matter how hard I hit it. It facial expression was the same as it was alive, but its eyes were closed. It suddenly looked beautiful, even intoxicating. I was still afraid, but a type of wonder rose in me. I bent in close to its face. The eyes opened.

I awoke with a gasp in my fox hole, and drew my knife. I sorted through my brain what was dream and what was reality. I leaned back again and closed my eyes. I knew I wouldn’t sleep again that night. I heard the sounds of the jungle around me. The rain poured on me and there was no escape. The thunder rumbled in the distance; or was that mortar rounds? I couldn’t help but feel the chaos and fear of my dream felt a lot like reality.

Idols

Ashtoreths
That were raised by my friend
Innocent at age thirteen
Her hand felt good in his
Love was foreign
Since a child he has known none
Hysteria led him to the slaughter
I'm with you in the city
Roaming the streets on lonely nights
The only company the man on the moon
One lonelier than him
Moloch
Lain beautifully by the hands of the innocent
The blood ran pure till the days of dark
Your eyes still sparkle
Through the security of the mask
But dark places you control
The blade brings comfort
I'm with you in the corner
Where words can't pierce the night
To cry would be joy
Because I feel once again
Baal
He was planted and grew
Socially, with a friend you grew up with
Confidence returned with a sip of the bottle
Your warm chest numbed the pain
It was easier to sleep with your past forgotten
Guilt was only real if felt
I'm with you on your deathbed, alone
Your children gone
Etching lives out of the pieces you created
gods,gods,gods
Built tirelessly
Our calloused hands build, build, build
We're trying to reach the floor of heaven
Only to find we're digging instead