Let your guard down, bro

Fresh Fruit

I’m going to pick from the tree
Of glee! And misery. Waiting for thee
To maintain the disdain of pain
The game is lame. Same brain
Drain…
Free winds of sea scents spent
On bedridden knee
She weaves new lies, despise
My disguise. I’m surprised
I’ve felt this good before
The door is blocked
Can’t you see?

Measure

Discuss KPIs and TTIs
As we launch into 2022
Our metrics are the yard stick
Designed to measure you
Our organization blossoms
Under executive leadership direction
Segmented actions and countermeasures
Distributed at our discretion
Last year’s delivery was high
A commendable percentile at 92
Set your target higher this year
That is what we expect of you
Revenue last year was abysmal
It landed below forecast and plan
We will realign our functional groups
And roll out a new program
Strategic initiatives are in process
We will see things improve
As long as we measure everything
The company will never lose

Melted Iris

My eyes on fire tonight
Iris screams in delight
Your fright is my insight
Beyond light
A spirit might
Help light the way
If I ask you to stay
Will you listen to me
This time
Or will you scare away
In daylight
Become something other
In one night
A past life
Another soul lost
To ride alone tonight

Stop Searching. Start Living.

What is happiness?
I’ll tell you man
It’s staring at a woman’s breasts
While sippin’ on a beer
It’s getting high at night
Watching the meteor shower
It’s eating a greasy burger
Fully loaded man!
With chili cheese fries
It’s watching your enemy suffer
When you suffered at their hands
It’s jamming out
With your best friend’s guitar
It’s taking a long pee
After holding it on the plane
It’s seeing a child laugh
After grandma breaks wind
It’s walking in the woods
And seeing a baby squirrel
It’s driving a classic car
On a lone Arkansas highway
It’s a pill the doctor gave you
Makes you feel alive sir!

Happiness eludes me
Like a far reaching fruit tree
Can I buy some of yours?
Wait, you’re all used up
You should have learned to ration

Whirlwind of Skulls

There is a path to find
In the back of my mind
Barricaded, most of the time

Why does it torment me?

A fantasy noticed in the clear
Stifled bogs and trails bring fear
A creature unknown draws near

Peeled skin exposed to see

Patriotic ghouls with rabid hounds
Worshiped ancients carry no sound
Situation agitated – do not compound

Spinning ’round to set us free

My head exploded
It’s twirlin’!
Cuz I got loaded
I start to think of you
The shit you put me through
No I’m not perfect
But I don’t fake it
I’m out of stasis
Movin’ through space dust

Sparkling Service

It had been several months since I saw here face
She said it’s been a while and she’s glad I’m alive
She smiles as I smile
I rarely smile, yet I do in her presence
I notice the stars shining in her eyes
And the shimmer of her wedding ring
We banter, as bartender and patron often do
Two kindred spirits catching up on life
Never a forced moment; an easy conversational flow
She hustles to please thirsty patrons
But always makes the time to converse
We know a few secrets about each other
I think she knows what hurts me the most
My appetite is satiated, but I’m slowly dying
From a never-ending thirst
I ask her when she is working again
She replies every Thursday and Friday
I tell her I enjoy our talks as I take my leave
I think she may be my only friend

Convenience and Karma

She waits in line
Waiting. Is that convenient?
I try to make out her tattoo
But my vision is blurry
She bends her body
To pick up a denomination
And hands it to the clerk
Returning something that wasn’t hers
A rare feat by today’s standards
She says she was waiting
For me to say something
I tell her a story
She talks about karma
I pay for my cigar
And drive away
Fantasizing of her glory

Gratitude

Or Lack Thereof

I woke up today
With the rain coming down
And the Sun rising from the East…
The commute was pleasant
My mind was present
But my body ached to be free
I arrived at work
Seemingly a jerk
My displeasure an oral decree
A list of plans and demands
Have soured my disposition
I initiate a covert mission
The facility malfunctions
While the sun breaks through the sky
The rain has stopped for now…
Now I will eat in peace
All conversations cease
I turn to my loathsome assignments
I cry inside and I wonder why
How did I became so ungrateful?
When did I become so hateful?
Why does life feel so wasteful?
My attitude toward lack of gratitude
Is disgraceful
I’ll repeat a similar feat on Monday

Your Mission, Soldier

I’ll wait for you there
With daggers in disguise
To kill the courier
We have to stop the message
Before then rain down fire

They started this war
Trying to rule our lives
When will they learn
To welcome different kinds
There is no going back

My dream was to
Build a new world
For me and you
I’ll see them run through
Absent of guilt
Blood to the hilt

It’s been eight long years
Since I’ve been at peace
When the stars come out
I close my eyes and wish
For silence and relief

Peace is a lie
What happened to our words
When we could come to terms
Point the gun and shoot
Now all our points are moot

My dream was to
Build a new world
For me and you
I’ll see them run through
Absent of guilt
Blood to the hilt

The hounds have my scent
I have to keep moving
My mind is still strong
But my body falls apart
The sadness in my heart

Bones of the fallen
Littered throughout our lands
This was not God’s plan
It was the hand of man
I see his horse and torchlight

My dream was to
Build a new world
For me and you
I’ll see them run through
Absent of guilt
Blood to the hilt

Who will watch over our kin
When we are all slain
The King is deranged
I see eyes and fangs
Time to make the leap

My feet have one last trip
I know I will not slip
To train all my life
And end this war tonight
This is my destiny

A bright side to a dark mind

You give too much of yourself
I put my heart on a shelf
You try to pry into my lies
I misdirect with covert spies
You ask for me to be real
I mask the way I feel
You claim no hidden agenda
I have contracted love’s influenza
You say I am a difficult man
I suggest you have a backup plan
You want me to talk more
I want to run for the door
You actually give a shit
I need to take another hit
You say you cannot do this again
I turn inward and allow my demons to win