Straight and Tall

I built a life with hardened brick

My hopes and dreams made them stick

This barricade should give relief 

From wolves that blow and every thief

My soul and I play behind 

We paint graffiti on our side 

These works of art are memories 

Emotions only I can see 

Many know the outside wall 

Where I'm straight and tall 

Occasionally a close friend comes  

Steps behind and brings the sun 

My heart alas thinks we are free 

To display new art for all to see

But then a brick comes flying through 

For safety's sake our brushes move 

What found its way from hand to stone 

Must now endure alone 

But all can see the outside wall

Where I'm straight and tall 

Heart and Soul

I look upon this changing land 

And think about the dreams of man 

They toil to earn a piece of ground

To the land their hearts are bound

They raise their families and then 

The ground returns to where it's been

All that's left are ghosts and trees

Whispering winds and rustling leaves

I feel it too in iron beams 

They built it all to fill their dreams 

Suffered cold for those they loved

Their testiment towers above

I've had my dreams and seen them pass

Built my homes and planted grass 

The day will come when I'll be gone

And leave my love within these songs

Heart and soul is all that lasts 

Time moves on much too fast

The things we build will see decay 

We plant our love and hope it stays

 

Light and Dark

Through the rocks and forest

Light and dark mingle together

Primordial partners in a dance 

Sunlight playfully tumbles through the leaves 

Splashing color on everything it touches 

Darkness, once leading, steps aside

And comes back as larger than life silhouettes

The scene becomes indescribable through water. 

Waves shower shimmering crystals into the air

Light remnants pass the water's surface

Illuminating rocks and fish underneath 

Darkness still hides around the rock edges 

Waiting to partner with shy fish 

Why confine this celebration to one mind?
She must share through the strokes of her brush.

Echoes on the Road

The echo of voices I hear

As I walk on this old dirt road 

My best friend and I 

The mystery of girls 

I would sing country songs 

He would play an air trumpet

Jazz band practice 

I had to sing a rock song 

So he could laugh at my country twist

At least I tried 

I was no Led Zeppelin or Elvis

Yet I knew most songs

We would steal cigars

And stop at the bakery 

For bismarks from beautiful girls 

Ten miles round trip on foot was

Nothing for a couple of adolescents 

We had won the lotto of time

And were burning through hours

His time ran out a few years ago

But I still smile at our antics 

And the secrets we found out

That aren't so secret now 

What an exciting time 

Strange how those years 

Press so hard on one's memory

And I feel like the same person 

While everything else has changed 

As I walk down that old road

The Distance

They met in the sunrise 

When hearts first see 

New passions demanding

Hoping to please

Their innocence wrestled

With the need to explore

The future before them  

Few tools for the war

He thought it took honor

She just wanted admired 

To remove the restraints

That childhood required 

Ideals are confusing 

Desires are the same

They knew it was love

But just couldn't explain

 

Time tries to teach us

Through this haze of existence

Discoveries come  

And love will travel the distance

What are memories?

We are in a constant pursuit of making good memories. What is a memory? The original and natural way to preserve them is by recording them in our minds. An experience passes while our mind picks up the sensory information such as sight and sound as they pass. Our feelings at that time are also recorded. We use words as markers for our feelings as a way to produce a river of expression flowing from our minds into the present moments. 

It is claimed that we should live in the present and leave the past behind when technically there isn't a present. Time rolls on past like a train and we only catch glimpses of moments as they pass by.  It may sound strange to say it, but to say we are living in the present, we can only be referring to the recent past. Having a good present is the act of guiding the passing of time to certain good outcomes we enjoy as it slips by. 

Our mind's responses to our body's senses are really the good we are seeking. Memories are simply a way to bring those the feelings of awe and inspiration back. The present consists of the most immediate and fresh memories of immediate responses. 

Cameras and videos can record a portion of  light reflections during immediate moments, so in addition to the dim picture our mind produces of a memory, we have a vivid color picture of the memory to run through our sight and hearing again. We want to get the good feelings back from that moment again and again. As the current moment slips by, through media, we can insert these past moments into it again and again. 

With poetry and art, a person can put more of these feelings into images of words and paintings for people to view. Theaters give ways to enact what a playwright or a writer put in words to do invoke certain feelings. Sight and sound are combined and steered to produce the feelings the particular writer wanted produced. Our own videos exist to bring back feelings we had when enjoying our friends and family. Paintings can preserve the feelings of an artist in an image. With poetry, the river of words that describe how we feel are preserved to make those passions available to enjoy in the present any time someone reads them. 

 

Questions

Did I choose love 

Did it choose me

Am I a prisoner 

Am I free 

Is this pleasure 

Or lack of pain 

Is it real 

Is it feigned

Do I treat it well

Or do I fail

Will it lose

Can it prevail

I'll keep it close 

Despite my fears

Stand in awe

While love is here 

Knowledge

I wish to know 

Your childhood dreams

Memories held dear

What made you sad 

Who you want to be 

Your favorite haunts 

Your best experiences

People you miss

The things you regret 

Your proudest moments 

I wish to know 

What gives you pleasure

The things you enjoy 

The things you hate 

The smallest things 

I want to hear

Your fondest memories 

Every interest

The things you avoid

Things that inspire 

Every idiosyncrasy

 

I wish to know 

If time would allow 

If duty would step aside 

I wish to know 

You. 

I wish to share 

Smile about differences 

Be amazed at commonalities

Conquer fears  

Give each other hope

Gaze at the clouds 

Attack life together

Listen to crickets 

Admire the flames 

I wish to share 

Us