on the edge of a knife

as white as ice

and not so nice

filled with dread

moments from dead

a shot in the arm

there's no charm

in the crowded street

there's strangers to meet

decisions to make

is it real or fake

but it's my life

on the edge of a knife

watching the news

trying to choose

which way will it go

but i don't know

wishing upon a star

there's agents in an armored car

and a dark truck

people without luck

holding a big gun

spoiling our fun

running their own show

unable to know

how to stop fights

how to uphold rights

as white as ice

and not as nice

filled with dread 

moments from dead

a shot in the arm

there's no charm

but it's my life

on the edge of a knife.

on a southern horse

i heard Merl sing
after lunch time
on the prison floor
for a red hot dime

he sang real hard
meant everything he wrote
about a hanging judge

and a midnight rope

and a dark man
on a southern horse
underneath the tree
being held by force

long time ago
white as a sheet
in a rural land
with an ominous heat

 

remembering love
smiling at pain
trying to be brave
swinging in the rain

i heard Merl sing
outside his cell
just like Johnny Cash
deep in a wishing well

he sang real hard
meant what he said
that a Jim Crow's life
was how he was bred

long time ago
white as a sheet
in a rural land
with an ominous heat

 

and a dark man

on a southern horse

underneath the tree

being held by force 

Room 41

i'm sitting in Room 41
polishing and cleaning my gun;
i hear the copy cat blokes

as they're scorning my music hall jokes.

with no worries i'm out of their loop,
just spending time eating my soup

of the finest kettle of fish.

i'm framing my painting school dish:

it's a masterpiece of the new
with blue leather instead of a shoe.

 

opening all the heavy doors

look at the light show all around

full of the freshest air

sprouting from the cold hard ground

it's surrounding me on all my fours

and i'm running in place

keeping my own pace 

opening all the heavy doors

feeling fine

like a ripe grape hanging from a famous vine

where we sip and dine

on our dreams

yes, love, it's everything that it seems! 

a touch of my heart beating

realizing all my moments are fleeting

i'm facing ahead where my current steps lead

ignoring any obstacles trying to impede

my smile

yes it's been quite awhile

since i felt abused and poorly used

by some who thought me vulnerable and small

i've answered questions tossed my way across the hall

where monsters roam and spitballs fly

but i no longer wonder why

and i'm running in place

keeping my own pace 

opening all the heavy doors

feeling fine

like a ripe grape hanging from a famous vine 

where we sip and dine

on our dreams 

yes, love, its everything that it seems! 

a humble moment to reconsider

he was senseless in bed

she arranged the pillow around his head

it was a confusing day

no one had much to say

either the easy way or the hard way

was what he had last said

now everyone rejoiced that he was really dead

in this pleasant land

this Greenland land

where the natives danced and sang

and a church bell rang

then millions more began to ring 

globally celebrations under the sheets

happy marchers in the main and side streets

dogs and cats no longer being eaten

immigrants no longer being beaten 

the pillow was stained orange with sweat

and yet

the bands played with such joyful surprise

that all those lies

would be given an urgent moment to reconsider

what they had intended to do

now that truth was shining thru.  

saving the world

i'm looking for feedback and community:

Solidarity, Lech Walesa, Poland

unity

in this terrible hour

in this time when peaceful co-existence is imperiled 

in the face of a terrible menace

don't guess 

which way to turn!  

a group is waiting for you

to add your strength and your courage and hope...

yes, hope is not hopeless.

the saying 'Don't tread on me'

is really saying don't tread on us.

years ago,  i left my fellow Team 95 comrades;

it was simply another hot, dusty day in South Vietnam,

early 1970 and i remember it well...leaving hell

some said, and wished me well

others said don't forget us

tell everyone what you've seen, what you heard 

spread the word

of truth when back in the land of the big PX

in the land of the beautiful round eye

apple pie

and i boarded my freedom bird

heard the relieved cheers

saw tears 

and i went to march in the street

beat

the drums

sound the alarm

i felt that we had done so much harm

here to ourselves and to the people of that foreign land

and so,

and so

i drove to foot march the streets of Washington, DC

near the mall and the monument

where i was surrounded by thousands of American people

protesting as we could the continuation of a faraway

war

and many of our signs said STOP THE WAR

but there was more.

what we were saying was 

listen to the citizen speak,

the voters must have a voice

we deserve a choice!

we will not be shut out 

we will shout

we will persist

we will resist 

and i continually felt the presence of my fellow soldiers 

those left behind in Vietnam 

from where they watched

behind their sandbags and their towers

and their armored vests 

i heard them urge us all to do more

not only to STOP THE WAR,

to stop the insanity. 

a rushing wind blew and i knew 

we needed to find new words,

new messages,

new heralds who will take up the torch

carry it into any looming darkness

with nothing less to do than

saving the world...saving the world.

and so,

we are now here. 

we will resist together. 

visiting Caracas with Absolute Resolve

early one morning

they grabbed him by the balls 

they took his wife along for the ride, too,

shuffling blindfolded down those darkened halls. 

his bodyguards lay scattered on the floor

unable to protect anything anymore. 

a quick and bloody raid

USA made

in the dead of night visiting Caracas

without passports or visas or any intent to party 

uninvited the Delta Force personnel came

hale and hardy

locked and loaded

to kill and then to kidnap

the narco-terrorist fat cat

that the American foxy media said was a threat!

well, who will take that bet? 

the President and his wife, Cilia

both claimed their innocence

which made perfect sense

because that's what Trump always proclaims

as he blusters and babbles and defames.