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
The ridiculous news to report
Healthcare says it wants to hike rates
It was ill prepared
For how ‘sick’ the new customers are
This made my stomach turn
A giant corporate entity
Does not even know the US people
That it serves
Serving up new rates is what
They want to do
They don’t care to care for anyone
Other than themselves
No soft word can put this injustice down
We pay companies
That don’t want to care for anyone
That doesn’t foster the bottom line
Mother Theresa said she saw
The worst of poverty in the US
And we try to make changes
With corporate billions that don’t want to care
For the sick and elderly
Surely they have capitalized on our culture
With no intent to give back
Rather sneak a little more
We must understand that people are sick
Sick and tired
And it is our calling to care
So that we in turn can be cared for
It makes me sick
To see the headlines
That healthcare officials
Had no idea how sick people really are
They should cut a vacation and do something for once
Take care of the US people
There is no final dance
No significant closing chance
Understated
Undermined
Love and Passion
Just takes a bit of time
No looking toward the sky
For a fulfilling sign
I stretch the curtains
Of my wandering mind
I refuse to let go
Claiming there is a closing time
In my mind the scene changes
Arranges the lines around me
I hear that the weary word
From the wings of a low flying bird
Flapping wings unheard
We bend at the knee
To touch the ground cold
As I maintain my posture
But am getting old
There is no final dance
No closing notes
I will not hang my life work
On that whimsical hope
The city Monopoly on top of me
Run me over
Push and topple me
The middle class is
High under siege
Who owns these buildings
I see
In front of me
Behind me
Who’s pieces touch the sky
Down to the ground
All around
The goal of surviving
Is miles short of thriving
On the ground struggling to breathe
Can feel like I am dying
Not on my death bed I am lying
To my soul
The energy it is supplying
Paycheck to paycheck
Account balance recheck
Food and meal not set
In a city with a finger
Lingering
On my reset
Surely the uncertainty
Will certainly
Wear perfectly on
The real worthy
Feelings
Confirming me
Consciously
Putting me feet in front of me
Supposedly
There is a 1 out of 3
Chance
That whether we sing
Or dance
We will not have enough
Cash
To stash away
For the future
So we must take utmost precaution
With scalpel and suture
Sow our future
To know it can grow
And go where we hope it goes
Our future together
Must be stronger
Then when the wind blows
But truly
Who knows
I am no controlled spirit
Untamed and overgrown
My emotions can be so
Easily swung
Not the words that I am
Proud of
Not in pride am I congested
When I am over zealous
My heart can be to little
Protected
How is it that the same tricks
With new names
Can catch a heart beat
All the same
If I could only go under cover
Into my own deepest detections
Pull out the weakest of
Sympathetic
Inflections
So rather than pick up
The pieces from hopes unmet
I could let my heart down easy
Lay it to rest gentle
While it’s quiet on the set
However my heart will wrestle me
At every turn
Up and down
It’s always involved
Every choice
All around
The elusive ghost
Chased through streets
Competing with our hands
Feet
Mouths open and close
Drifting words hung
Before the evening repose
This unattainable drifting ghost
My soul collapses on Wednesday
To only renew the next day
The brittleness of surviving
Well below the standards of
Living well and thriving
Conniving thoughts land soft
When arriving
Then dismissed in the thought abyss
Of carrying on
This day I just long for easy nights
Well rested then feeling alright
Keeping the feelings down
In my mind
In time
I will find
A rhyme of words
To keep me ahead
Instead of walking
Flying
In moments of desperation
It’s feet ahead
Eyes wide open
To just keep on trying
Manhattan means of hustle
Cannot be outdone
The city’s soul
Worn and wrung
The pace of growth
So fast and known
The life investment
Can build or take your home
So we jump in
Head first
Awaiting new phone calls
The hunger and thirst
The tall heights of towers
Lingering over industrialized edges
Waterfront
West of the city
Graffiti rich in depth and texture
From the skies to my feet
Greenpoint on the edge of the East River
Stirring up dust
Unsettled
Tell the tale
Of a big town
On the banks of the Hudson
