Justice

a heart will beat the strongest in a man hungry for salvation
thirsty for the water of truth
not the cocktail of systems

greed is a blindfold worn by bullies
afraid to open their eyes
afraid of the soul

Extinguished

my fingers covered in fire and she's afraid to get burned

the flames are melting the paint off the walls

and everyone in the room is choking on embers

how can i blame her for not taking my hand?

If The Wool Fits...

straight and narrow is the path that leads down the road
by the house where the children with balloons throw rocks at broken clowns
where mommies pop xanax in the bathroom
wash it down with a glass of cab in the kitchen
and daddies drink bud light with their buddies
over the grill in the backyard

everybody doing what they're told
just like good little boys and girls
mommies and daddies too
obeying all the rules

their lives are not lived
they're tailored

Shuffling The Blame

i talk to the stars
tell them we gotta straighten up
but they don't hear me

i implore the moon
but she is preoccupied
dancing with the clouds

every morning the sun is angry
and he asks me
"what the hell went on here last night?"

"listen,"
i say
"you gotta talk to the night sky, man"

The Grass

i hop the fence
and as soon as i do i see
how green it was there
so i hop back
and it's the same all over again

i keep repeating this
but no matter how often i try
the other side seems to be somewhere i can never get to

Context

in the cold beginnings of December

the mouse shivers at the witch's door

she greets him with a smile

"oh, you poor dear

let me make you dinner"

she says

silly fool mistakes himself for a guest of honor

The Most Important Page

notebooks have been stacked in precarious piles
filled with short stories
bad drawings
and
of course
poems

you have littered desktops and laptops with a near exorbitant amount
of word documents containing the verses you hold so dear
but again i must remind you

he who wrote
was
a poet
he who writes
is

of all the pages you have vandalized with your "art"
the one you ought most cherish is the one yet untouched
the blank page
the most important page

so grab a pen
and get to work
before your destiny escapes