Fall asleep to the sound
Of the fresh ocean
Inland bound
The Southern shore of Lake Michigan
Eyelids flutter a bit slower and softer
Mind easing into a simple place
No place on the face of this earth
As still and quiet as the southern shores
It’s a magical sleeping potion
On the shores of the fresh ocean
The dawning of the fall jacket
An awning of warmth
Feeling the fall creeping in
One evening it’s summer
Throughout the night
Falls moment seizes
It makes its presence swift
Moving in with the new revolving moon
It’s a time of year defined by a subtle change
A change that shifts
Then sets in
And out comes the jacket
The big purses and backpacks
Dawning falls on us softly
And with a blink of an eye
Summers gone
To yet come again
Consume me fast
Consume me wild
Consume me across the miracle mile
Consume the waters
Along the east
Consume the land
For one big feast
Set your table
Pour your wine
Consume the world Devine
Heed no call for retention
In not one conversation
We will mention
That consumption is not the pinnacle
Why on earth
Would we be so cynical
Slaughter the cows and steal the berries
Worry not
The burden future generations now carry
Drill the oil and pull the gold
Wealth only goes to the strong and bold
Capitalize on every detail
Pack the ship
Set the sail
For we worry not of what we do today
We focus only on the day to day
For only a small minority would say
Is not our ground to conquer
The point of life is not the margin
We have more than humanity in common
We share what is now
And what is future
It is our commonplace
Our gathering table
For our generation and those that proceed
So let us be aware of every deed
There is more to life than capital pay
For some will have children
On this earth some day
That cause is greater than or equal to
The sum of us: me and you
The pale pastels of the lake
Freshened breath with no mistake
On the horizon a rusted thorn
On the Northwest tip is worn
My home state moves
No chance to hesitate
Offering big tax breaks
For the industrial rake
Tearing up the land
I have yet to ever understand
How we can destroy such beauty
Beauty of our land
The water and the sand
Taken for granted our homeland
I will look out to the lake and wonder
If there is a beauty of fresh water
Upon this earth so mild
It is both mother and child
We must honor the world so
Unless mistakenly
We let it go
A run in
With the old hood
Unkept feelings brushing in
Like they should
Faces familiar and strange
Somehow the world spins
And the hood stays the same
The coffee is still sweet
With aroma swept out on the streets
I miss and fear this place
Staying in place
Erase time with a new perspective
With my heart strings
All interconnected
We left years ago
To leave behind
The fields of northeast Indiana
Without a plan
We left our lives here
Unchanged and untouched
By the hands of time
Cecil the Lion was slain
By nothing more than a human stain
Utmost disrespect paid
In each US dollar
Held all the locals
By the fabric of their collar
To get his intended target
He came prepared with padded pocket
I could barely stand to hear it
While he enjoyed to watch it
It is an unfortunate play
A game of intended consequence
Now we have one more reckless action
To answer for
It makes the honor of being American
Feel more destined to sicken me
Than free me
We now wear another badge of recklessness
Story of money paid for another nations trophy
Coldly executed
Lured out and destroyed
This making a living plucking plaque
Pleases himself with the attack
Of a icon
A symbol
Go ahead and cash it in your criminal
Let the fluorescent lights of your office
Offer a scathing reminder
That no bleach can undue
Hang your trophy on the shelf
But please never forgive yourself
A Burgeon of Beauty
Holding hands on a Friday night
Been a long time
But time has not stop us
From feeling alright
Long nights away
From each others side
Dark highways have no way
Of holding you tight
Then comes sickness
Challenges ensue
Conversations float from silly
To the serious
And seriously overdue
In life there is always exchanges
Love and time
For money and statue
Little do we see the hard earned love
Behind the golden statues
The giving hands
Can only give so may gifts
Tonight we hold each other
Closer than before
Loneliness melts
Falling off
Feeling grief no more
It’s a silent seed of love
That we maintain
In a life of give and take
Under the weight and strain
The long sweat drips down my face
Leaving a trace
A vibrant jet stream
Cooling attempts being made
The sun spares no shade
On a New York City day
People walk carelessly
Trying not to perspire
None at all is desired
The subways bellow a thick
Steam as you enter in
Blowing the summer wind
Not much you can do
To evade
Or catch any shade from the heat
It is a element of highest rank
Infiltrating the smallest space
Under the heat of summer
With a sweltering embrace
To hold or let go
To live
Or grow old
We shoulder these decisions
In what I learn
What I know
The sensitivity of progress
Can be held up
Reset
Regress
If proper attention is not paid
To forward motion
And progress
I obsess
About the shape my mind
Creates
The inner monologue
That projects my final epilogue
“My journey will never get easier”
To a stranger I said
He quickly replied with no fetter
“True, but we only get better”
Oh the joy of redemption
To give life a exultant expression
When it pushes you to the end
Past the point of a simple bend
To the breaking convex
Not easy but rather complex
It gives back
One small ounce
To help push the mind
From the weathered mounds
The joy that can be felt
When life tries to help you out
Picks you up a bit
After seeing you almost drown
I am happy for these days
To be enjoyed and endured
To see a light in the woods
When all of life seemed unsure
A Cup of Songwriting 