The High Sky
Reply
The Genius of Catch
If Not for Perfection
–
I wish not for perfection
Rather somewhere
At the intersection
Of preparation
And the continuation
Of ones course
–
The readiness is created
By all the time spent
Re-taking
Take after take
Just for one good virtuous shake
The artist prepares with good intent
Content on rehearsal
Frustrated with constraint
Holding the power to change
Is the key to arranging
The true masterpiece that lies within
–
The strokes fall smooth on the page
Many hours have been spent
To create this moment
In this perfect age
The feelings and the artistry dance
Upon the blank canvas
Creating great swaths of golden hues
No reason to overdue
Simple strokes and committed lines
Hours spent caressing this craft
To create a mindless illusion
The genius of catch
–
Illustrious moments turn to intricate delicacy
As the grand swaths revolve to small movement
This is where preparation meets commitment
Where the small lines have the greatest impact
No thought or stroke left un-in-tact
This creation flows from the mind
Through the heart and blood
To the muscles and fingertips
Out onto the canvas
–
So what was once within
Can be seen without
Having to speak or convey
The image left upon the page
The true masterpiece
The Eternal Mindset
The Eternal Mindset
–
The Eternal Mindset
Sounds so beautiful
At the onset
Something I wish to achieve
Not keep tucked beneath my sleeve
A focus for today
With a passion for tomorrow
That is how this mindset will grow
Content is not part of the equation
Through careful and meticulous contemplation
Changing to adapt and create
New opportunities for one to grow
Not asking why or when
But looking for the opportunity
To grasp with both hands
So late you can remember when
Knowing that change is inevitable
Creatable and attainable
I will not be the same me today
That I will become tomorrow
I must push the sludge of life
Into a moldable shape and size
Until it forms a vast creation of hand
This is how my life has to be planned
Not just saying that life is ok
That all will be alright
Rather to stand up to the wrongs
Gather your courage and fight
Fight
Fight
For the Eternal Mindset will not stop
Continuing flowing from the river it must
Flow to some great ocean
Some greater cause
To make the world a better place
Stand silent on the stage
Awaiting the applause
I hope to wake every morning and heed this call
For every day is an opportunity
To become more me
To achieve new highs
To forget old lows
So that one day I can reflect and see that I have grown
From amateur to pro
This mindset will push me beyond contentment
To a place where I can only give my all
Until I fall exhausted from commitment and strain
This is where my mind is laid
Seeking an Eternal Mindset
To make the world better
To reach out to new faces
Recall the old
So that when it is over a good story can be told
This challenge starts now
I shall do all that I can
This is my Eternal Vow
Sandy Blue Pastels
The baby pastel blues
Off the shores of Lake Michigan
Fall crashing coldly
Onto sandy homes
Roaring from the weather
The wind and the snow
Waking me in the morning
Through the pines
Between ice tipped shrubs
Beating on the glass outside my window
Awakened to light brighter
Song lighter
Of the winter birds
The lake reveals a storm overhead
Three feet of snow headed to Michigan
I protect my warmth in the morning
As the heat evades my winter skin
To a cold Michigan morning
Under a snow and ice so thin
Pine needles crackle
Tied together loose with water and cold
Under each foot gives way
To an earth frozen
But only days ago
It was an early rip of storms for this time of year
Creating a palpable uncertainty in the air
Cars wheels fell ungraspable to pavement frozen
Sliding from one side to the other
It was a frigid morning in Michigan
Truly I was not prepared
For winters cold hand
Had laid its awakening on falls back
And now into winter we are fashioned
With waves crashing
Small drops splashing
Higher than the rock walls
Where the drips fall
Creation of some new frozen ice
To tell the story of this transition
Truly is a testament to my position
Tucked in the woods
Staying warm for now
Under the winter sun in Michigan
Musical Supply and Demand
Its very easy to see what is going on
The music world has a case of gluttony
Supply and demand
Has crippled every last musicians hand
–
No more venues to play
There is a new price in town
A way called pay to play
It’s no longer about music friends
–
I must know at least 100+ musicians
Me being included in the big mix
A mix of everyone
Fighting everyone
Pushing anyone
Lower and lower
Until we have reached a new low
Below the impossible line of zero
Now we must pay
Out of our own dusty pockets
To create music for people to enjoy
How did this folly become the one
That I rely on as a means to be employed
–
But the venues enjoy the high chair
Bib wrapped around their necks
With a golden spoon in their mouth
Fuck what music used to be about
–
Its about the bottom line now
And it seems if you commit to this profession
You are bound to lose
Bound by something you did not choose
–
So I ask every musician do not play for free
Do not pay or even a shitty guarantee
Because if one falls for the silly trick
The rest of us will be doomed by silliness
–
In a world that has the x graph pushing us down
Rather than go lower push back and don’t give ground
We have to be an alliance
Of strong resolve
In a desperate attempt
This deficit we can solve
–
The challenge of the modern musician is ever daunting
Full of empty bars and feedback so haunting
We only have each other in the end
So stick it to the man asking you to pay
And this is what you say
–
I am a musician of hard work and dedication
Your cheap bar provides my weary eyes no medication
For what music creates there is no other sensation
So throughout all the nation
We will not play for free
This is just the way it must be
Temporary Community
Pulled off on the side of the road for bad weather
Said there might be a tornado round the bend
Closed and locked the car and headed in for shelter
The smell of cooked meat and raw potatoes
Clung to my skin as I rushed in with the fresh air
I sat and watched the storm unfold 15 miles away
Ripping the trees from the dampened fall ground
I turn around to see others standing around
Concerned for the storm that is now heading our way
In a gentle manner I tried to keep everyone calm
I have no idea what I was trying to say
But everyone seemed happy to be going along
As the wind and rain ripped into the building sides
We could no longer see our cars parked just outside
A young girl sat alone on her phone
Shaking and afraid to be out here all on her own
I tried to remind her that she would be just fine
Got to be tough stuck in a burger joint contemplating life
Alone
A wife sat with her husband holding onto her kids
Hoping that the storm would miss us
Another woman on her way to Chicago
Wondering once the storm rolled in which way she should go
I tried to keep everyone’s hopes up a simple gesture
Here I was hoping just to make things a little bit easier
Not quite sure if I helped I could see the storm caused the fear in her
Inside that building business went on as usual
Burgers being flopped from one side to the next
I had no real care for what was going on
Just watching what the storm did next
We all made this our temporary stop
Out of the blasting rain and bustling wind
One of the workers made it over to make sure that we were all alright
Holding our heads and cell phones so very tight
The wind ripped the rain poured
As soon as I turned around I felt like
There was a storm no more
Two tornadoes
One to the north
One to the west
Not our day to fight it out
But it was one hell of a test
As the rain cleared and the sun made its meager reappearance
With the dim lit assurance we could make out way on
Walking out to our cars we said our simple goodbyes
A small community was formed in that joint
Connected we were in a concern for the future
But as that future became our past we made out way out into the evening
Waved our goodbyes
And back to our paths in life we then proceeded
Indiana Winds
The old tree fell in the backyard
All 53 feet laying on the ground
Roots frayed and full
Indiana winds took their toll this time
Whistling over the lightly frosted fields
Stripping trees of the lady autumn winds
Snapping power cables like brittle candy
Cutting off the neighbors from the rest of the world
Rolling gravel and bending stop signs
No remorse the wind blows stronger and stronger
Shutting off the evening lifts with every single burst
Hitting my face as powerful as a cement filled hurse
The system winds through Indiana and in to Ohio
Leaving ravaged fields behind in this autumn blast
Concerted force on trees and forests
Pushing them over and moving on
A winter preview is now laying on the lawn
Time to Reflect
Time to reflect
On decisions
That have been made
Others postponed
And delayed
–
Where I stand today
May not affect tomorrow
So how do I quite know
If this is where I should
Go
–
So many questions
Yielding very few answers
The scenery does not change
If I just choose to
Stand here
–
The past 3 years
Decisions were not bad
But if I could go back
What would I instruct
That poor young lad
–
I might say
Act with confidence
And cause
What you do not gain
Is not quite a loss
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Move quick
And stay nimble
The world will not wait
for your heart delayed
its that simple
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Fear holds you
Hostage at blank point
But behind the gun
Is no ammo
It holds you
Until you let go
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Youth is fleeting
Do not become to attached
From your young wirey hands
This gift will be quickly snatched
–
But do not lose hope
There is no reason
What you lose one year
You will find stronger
In another season
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Patience is key
But do not get complacent
Words striking and true
But you truly have to face them
–
In the end
Know your goal
Or destination
There is no minute hand
When the clock is wasting
–
Finally push back
Word hard
And stay committed
When it is all over
You will be glad you did it
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I hope that in another few years
I can read this back
And have new wisdom
To share
–
But for now
I hope to own these truths
So that I may push on
A time to reflect
Is a time for my heart
To be reset
City Sounds
Chains crash bursting bones beating drums in my ears
Beating with a rhythm brash and clear
Treble collides with effect onto cold reiterations
Horns smack vibrant and violent against city walls
Shouts echo fearless and homeless abound
Asking for any spare change
Or spare parts
Through train windows I see executives
Bustle busy and focused
In trendy parlors filling skyscrapers
Taxis calling out to weary customers urgently making their way home
City lights blare focusing on distracted patrons
Stopping them in cold seclusion
Wind wraps round faces and Elvis bringing chills down weathered bellies
Stares generate muscles forcing bystanders to move over
Pushed over by commercials running constantly in city calamity
Urine run off under busy tunnels shuffling people throughout the city so
Waiting tunnels push wind roaring around corners with trains convexing through dingy scab filled walks
I realize my mind wanders through the overflowing cupboard of experience
Pushing me out into the world
Thickening my skin like train under bellies full of soot and grim
This weather has tested my soul pushing me further to my destination
There is no where in this nation
That can test your tender mind and soul
Like the true city of Chicago
Portal to the Pacific
A rainy night in Seattle
What can I say
That had not been said
All the cliches
Fatigued
And dead
But my eyes rest easy on this
Portal to the pacific
Sea swept
And beautifully terrific
Stores on the bay
Tucked in shanties
To hear what the sailors say
The luminous sunset over the water
Among the mountains
And just a bit farther
Connected to the land
The people live out their days
On a beautiful inlet in the Pacific Northwest
Where brick streets are the standard
And rain drizzle
Upon the cement sizzles
In Seattle we walk the streets
Keeping ourselves dry to keep
On a beautiful city just off the sea
