Independent is published by Vizion Books Copyright Š 2006 by Andy Levine Cover design by Andy Levine All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner. Brief quotes used in reviews are permitted for use. This book was written, printed, and published in the United States of America. This book was first published in 2006.
AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE AUTHORÂ As an artist goes through their life, a piece of art created at any given moment, usually stands as a reflection of where they are emotionally. All the moments and experiences before that process of creation, goes into each composition in either a subtle and quiet manner or in a beautifully overt display of creativity. After the initial phase of creating a work of art, the challenge for an artist is to then use their skill to develop those raw ideas and loose fragments of inspiration, and transform them into a lucid expression of the original thought. Independent follows this method of conception and refinement. As I enter the different stages and situations in my life, the art I create transitions accordingly. Each line of poetry not only holds the words to express a theory or notion, but a snapshot of how I react and feel about life around me at that moment.
When working on a poem or a book, I always find that deciding on a title allows me to shape what I want to say more effectively. For this collection, Independent, and the subtitle, self-evolution towards constant life amendment, gave me a direction on how to approach writing, editing, and publishing this effort. Every poem, in either its subject matter or underlying tones, has a hint of that ideal in its lines and style of language. The title and subtitle were essentially the foundation of thought this book was built upon. Independent stands as an accurate description of how I feel as a man, artist, and publisher. The very definition, free from external control, lives as a core value in my belief system. The subtitle is also a theme common to my work. We should always try to evolve on all levels of self, toward a change for the better and the advancement of our own personal existence. It is that driving motive, which should improve and help us gather a stronger understanding of the world that immediately surrounds us. Thank you. - Andy Levine
INDEPENDENT self-evolution towards constant life amendment
SECTION ONE - THEORY & SOCIETY Battle Cry Techspectations Population Contrast System Without Wisdom Old Man Speaking The Biggest, Best Poem Ever Ga la x y o f F a ls e I n t ri g u e Explo-Nation The Detour Theory Rivalry In October Within Gravity
SECTION TWO - LOVE & BEAUTY Beauty Full Smile Request The Intrigue of Promise Land of You Recent Games Love's Led Her You Are Reason Avarice For Love Atlantic Teal Empathy For The Versatile The Day Away Au di o Escape
SECTION THREE - LIFE & LESSONS Limit Tr ee of Do u b t Adversity Lessen Forcing Belief Better Than Yesterday E & E Life is… Metaphor of Family Du e To F a lsity Isn't It Amazing Opinion Division Subconscious Revolution A Meaning of Life SECTION FOUR - WORDS & I The Trigger Three Thank You's For David Independent Comfortable With Me Advice For Writers Falling Steady Price of Admission Saved By Song Naïve Wish List The Watched Boy Hector and His Wife Tiny Triangles The World is Quiet
For you
INDEPENDENT Section One - Theory & Society Battle Cry Techspectations Population Contrast System Without Wisdom Old Man Speaking The Biggest, Best Poem Ever Ga la x y o f F a ls e I n t ri g u e Explo-Nation The Detour Theory Rivalry In October Within Gravity
BATTLE CRY Standing in the center of the world screaming, in vocal opposition and defiance, toward every backwards absurdity of typical life Declaration through piercing sound waves, signaling that awareness will force a once sleeping army into war This howl seems like a spotlight over every ocean, as a beacon stating the world will not walk blind one more uncomfortable step The battle cry calls for the strong to guide the weak, assist each other in understanding the power of one’s self
And with a head tilted back wailing endlessly, each listener turns their attention toward the noise Â
Comprehension may not arrive in that instant, but after reflection will appreciation soon arise The call to arms forces a cease fire of blaming one another, instead, harnessing the fear and heavy burden of consequence A plea of passion announced alouda message pure, righteous, and without deceit
TECHSPECTATIONS The speed of life moves at the speed of light, faster methods arrive and become obsolete overnight Transports of info bit over byte, shiny new packaging but soon out of sight Superhighways are runways for concordes of data, as advancements and upgrades make their wallets grow fatter Each day rushes toward a digital existence, a storm crashing down without a gigahertz of resistance We evolve at a fraction between each innovation, propelled higher still to the next elevation
POPULATION CONTRAST There are two types of people; those who think they see it, and those who know it’s there Gender, ethnicity, and religion are not proper forms of division, some see only black and white, while others entire spectrums they can envision People are not either A or B classified and acting on those reasons, some see just a calendar while others see the beauty in each season Thoughts and beliefs create disagreements between opinion, some lust for power, as others comprehend their dominion As the population contrast debates when and where, others stay quietknowing already it’s there
SYSTEM WITHOUT WISDOM There they areproducts of the system, smart by book standards but without any true wisdom Ladders of memorization culminates in calligraphy, an ovation and a congratulations, you’re now one step closer to those adult conversations With all that time spent in chalk anchored rooms, did they learn anything about life, besides how much of the day boredom consumes Most lessons are learned from experience not scholastic, if students were radios forced education’s the static Truth doesn’t reside in the multiple choices of testsno matter the options in confinement, wisdom is at rest
OLD MAN SPEAKING Old man speaking, creating boredom by his preaching, talking to fuel his ego listeners thinking ‘please let me go’ Time-wasting and dream chasing, attention span fades with pointless facts interlacing The victims of lecture listen to clocks ticking, digestion of details rehashed until sickening The man, versed in old ways tires eager minds with irrelevance, obstructing education and mental development
THE BIGGEST, BEST POEM…EVER I hate the hype, the trend, the here one day but not by next week’s end The hot topic on the curve of all lips, that soon stales like exposed potato chips Those shallow waves crash on the mind, but like waves never last over time All those ‘new things’ are actually a recycled old, new faces and places but the same story told Colorful products become faded with dust, guaranteed regret from what once was a must
Remember, great things don’t instantly surface, it takes time to establish a true meaning and purpose So next time you’re tempted by promotion, understand it’s only a temporary devotion
GALAXY OF FALSE INTRIGUE Some are star-struck and fame infatuated, the intrigue of known faces is a curiosity overrated A constant gossip; who they’re with and where they go, why are these things you want to know? These people and their expensive looks are treated as profits in flashy picture books Their common problems become magnified at supermarkets with bold head-lies Double crossings and dating creating marital affairs, the moral following the moral-less and I simply ask ‘Who cares?’
Let me save you the mystery, they are like you and Iyou’re not important to them, so ignore the interest you can’t seem to deny They may not be crippled with debt or work forty-plus, but they desire the same things that everyone lusts People gaze at the stars and become jealous of their style, while ignoring their own beauty in the meanwhile Look in the mirror if you want to see someone amazing, forget all the gossip and the foolish star-gazing
EXPLO-NATION The people of this nation deserve change not exploitation Sickened and nauseous from force-fed greed, given more of the same than what we really need The talent-less receive our attention’s best, while the talented lead paths of hopelessness Capitalized until capsizing, a fresh face exploited with every new day rising Bleeding opportunity from promise to overexposure, driving toward profit as foolish spending comes closer
As advertisement persuades to doubt ourselves, it’s just in effort to empty shelves Standards declining with a dulling of taste, rushing for time just so more we can waste And as we obsess on looks and mobility, the nation consumes everything but humility The pouncing on novelty like a lion to prey, this parody dismissed as just the American way
THE DETOUR THEORY As a population of theorists speaks wild and proud, only a few stop to listen rather than follow who’s loud So tough to avoid submission to accept, their ideas saturate thoughts we don’t choose to elect In a world complicated by floods of greed, too easy to drown to the ideals that it feeds A parade of like-thinkers segregate toward dead ends, biased theories are detours for original thought to descend
RIVALRY Not a feud but a war, from the Bronx to Kenmore, from yelling mouths to passionate core, in this pinnacle of rivalry Whether on the field or the stands, among the players or fans, there are infinite strands in this rigid noose of rivalry Taking steps back from statistics and facts, lay larger reasons beyond the warning track in this eternal bitterness of rivalry It’s the arrogant and aggressive versus the critical and obsessive, two regions and its followers so insanely possessive in this scorching drama of rivalry
IN OCTOBER The sweat of summer giants are reliant for a hope in October On diamonds stars shine in a galaxy of skill, glaring rays of fanfare on the seats that they fill Possibility expands between chalk bordered lines, justice invoked by how judgments align Anxiety augments emotion of outcome, with hope sustaining each moment, in order to get to the next one
The taste of cold morning rain is the mist of victory’s champagne in October From anthem to celebration live moments to remember, dwarfing any memory between April and September; It ain’t over, til it’s over in October
WITHIN GRAVITY Deep inside the neighborhoods of confusion lives absolutely everything; a million stories, a thousand dreams, happiness scattered among timeless scenes Within gravity, in the artery of candid lives, grows a gamut of emotion, that through conflict stays alive Between moments shared and connections revived, breathe gasps of life that usually subside Brief droplets of chance somehow unite, a reinforcement of faith felt through the night
INDEPENDENT Section Two - Love & Beauty Beauty Full Smile Request The Intrigue of Promise Land of You Recent Games Love's Led Her You Are Reason Avarice For Love Atlantic Teal Empathy For The Versatile The Day Away Au di o Escape
BEAUTY FULL Do you see it? It’s everywhere, all directions and every dimensionthe world is beauty full To an eye unaware of the surroundings, lost is an infinity of joy To not appreciate the brilliance of life’s details, is ignorance of treasures to be seized With no grasp or sense of complexity, the world is still beauty full, despite the void in your soul
SMILE REQUEST I tell her she should smile more, then after a moment, she produces what I was campaigning for Like Lauryn said, ‘…life is supposed to be a pleasurable experience…’ not filled with a sadness that anchors appearance There’s too much beauty not to smile on a frequent basis, and when she smiles her trouble it erases Filled with drama and tension from her history, usually so quiet her smile sweetens the mystery Easy with emotion without reservation for expression, she should smile morenot at me, but at life with affection
THE INTRIGUE OF PROMISE It’s the promise that is intriguing It’s the combination of chance and destiny crossing roads of opportunity and circumstance It’s the ‘why not’ attitude that drives ambition to consider scenarios where anything seems possible tonight It’s the promise that is intriguing, and the hope of an unwritten future
LAND OF YOU I’m a stranger in the land of you, hoping someday to find my way through Wading in the deepening sea, between who you are and how you choose to be Arrival on shore unsure of land borders, exploration begins of features and corners Gently nomadic amidst ravines of desire, crusading on limits and frontiers to admire Declaration of passion claimed in this place, with instinct acting as an instrument of grace This estate becomes sacred by sacrificing inhibition, powerful and intimate with boundary remission
RECENT GAMES Lately, life and love seem like a deck of cards; a few valuable faces, but mostly meaningless numbers There are clubs held together by diamonds, bold spades, and broken hearts Recent games have turned the deck incomplete, 49 are there; a lonely king a fleeting queen and the two of heartsthey’re gone
LOVE’S LED HER Through bitter winters and confusing springs with the bliss of summer and the fall it brings Love’s led her down this way beforea new location with the same visitor at the door Years apart from what once was graspeda grip on passion, misunderstood in the past Love’s led her to the current turn, she yields in hope of not again being burned Still everyday it’s peace she lust, deciphering motives as deceit or trust With answers soon to materialize, love’s led her back to a road of why
YOU ARE REASON You are reason to do anything and everything You are reason to enhance effort at every angle, desire improvement on ambition’s winding roads You are reason to humble beliefs down to raw elements of love, lust, and the circumstances in between You are reason to appreciate silence and expression, to marinate mesmerized in the face of amazement and beauty You are reason to allow the unspoken; a quiet that would make thunder sound like summer breeze
You are reason, all the reasons, moments advance within love
AVARICE FOR LOVE Still and quiet, I see emotion but deny it Not now, not today, what I think I cannot say Thoughts sleep silent in responsibility’s bed, I want to pour from the heart, but am forced to act with my head I’d do anything to dwell in her thoughts as she does in mine, this avarice for love hopes that two soon align
ATLANTIC TEAL Wide as the spectrum of life, the mix of blues, greens, and whites, coarse tans, and fiery sky tint the amazing space of constant changean Atlantic teal Deep as the array of emotion, crashing seamless as if seconds of the day, finite length for infinite time, never delayed for a moment of reflection Far as the limits of beauty, falling into the eyes and minds unique to each vista and memory that followsand as awesome as the ocean’s colored soul
EMPATHY FOR THE VERSATILE As water drops does it remember? Will water later recollect its purpose in life and what it affects Does water question its ways of change; a constant transition it will engage Changing soon where it fell from, still in the ice, gone in the sun Bodies it fills flesh and land, essence of life in earth or hand Least resists wherever essential, empathy for the versatile and nature’s potential
THE DAY AWAY Hands casually in pockets, arms rotate free within sockets, good vibes as the temperature rockets, walking the day away The loose fitting attire, with an afternoon to admire, in the aftermath of a snowfall fire, relaxing the day away Music dances in wanting ears, recreation shared with cherished peers, from a disappearance of winter’s tears, playing the day away
Trees cast beautiful shadows on grass, others out for time to pass, desiring the moment forever lasts, hoping the day away Life pauses as the mood changes, a burning star makes friends from strangers, all is fine by what the atmosphere arranges, enjoying the day away
AUDIO ESCAPE Music; it sets us all free, chauffeuring our soul where it wants to be Escape into headphones to a world that’s our own, a desire for solitude and the hope to be alone Sensations of hearing in a heaven of plentiful sound, a palace of freedom that speakers surround Audio consuming dancing ears and closed eyes, securely protected by the peace and shelter of HiFi’s Songs are conversations between noise and your soul, how life without music would be prison without parole
The outside goes silent when music’s the pilot, fleeing from fears of terror and violence Darkness of eyelids protect from external, as rhythm and symphony kindle emotions internal Engulfed we become in an ocean of beauty, as the songwriter writes if they saw my life and just knew me When in need of acoustic therapy, music performs miracles the eye cannot see Everything fades as the left and right speakers agree, an escape into headphones is the safest place you can be
CONCERT AT MIDNIGHT Words are the instruments that influence dreams, with their various meanings and themes Tempting the night to suddenly awaken, leaving random fantasy forsaken The grand symphony of the unconscious before dawn’s light, occurring is a concert at midnight Words are the instruments, thought is the conductor, and emotion is the detail in each note
INDEPENDENT Section Three - Life & Lessons Limit T re e of Doubt Adversity Lessen Forcing Belief Better Than Yesterday E & E Life is… Metaphor of Family Du e To F a lsity Isn't It Amazing Opinion Division Subconscious Revolution A Meaning of Life
LIMIT You don’t know your limits until you try and test them, ‘when will I break?’ becomes the first thing that you question From moment one of challenging will, everything fades cautiously still Unknown depths of effort untapped, unravels steady like a coil unwrapped Flares of frustration fade to the distance, tension becomes ally you embrace with resistance Well past where you imagine you’d explore, a serene sanctum protected as if a soul’s reservoir
Near summits achieved lay reality to digest, this zenith is two-sided, with descent now the test Vigilance tames ego of footsteps to advance, what may seem like a sure thing changes by the variance of chance At this point desperation may dominate actionsa mounting awareness of location distractions Fight you must until all effort is spent, though desire’s exhausted, you must never relent From caverns of solitude limits are realized, as strength is so built from every challenge survived
TREE OF DOUBT Roots to grow from past conception, reaching above toward new convention The branching complexity of segment and limb, umbrellas below flush skies to a dim The leaves top the treetop that dance in the breeze, at the edge of anxiety wavering with ease Doubt stales and dies over time, withering away what was born in sunshine In rising above the tree’s in full view, it’s one in a forest we must learn to navigate through
ADVERSITY LESSEN It seems that so often a conflict meets this certain truth; It is not what the situation has done to you, it is important what you do with the situation Adversity is the architect of character moments, and a sight that needs reflection to admire It is what you do with the elements you control that matters Not what people think, say, or force upon you, but how you swing your sword of resilience
FORCING BELIEF The moment where greatness is recognized in the distance The pledge soon after made to strive and dent history The discovery of given talent slowly uncovered through transition The struggle of rising odds building resistance to adversity The progression found in triumphs creating confidence in one’s ability The chance right here and now where everything lay on narrow lines
The challenge to summon effort for meeting current once distant goals The relief forcing belief, with arms raised from the moment of victory
BETTER THAN YESTERDAY On day one you have a valid excusewithout yesterday’s experience you can use After that expectations will rise, with a decline of those who’ll sympathize From everything something always can be learned, no matter trouble or how many bridges get burned At full capacity potential is set free, to do anything that chooses to be Life is progression while keeping what’s important in sight, if you’re not better than yesterday you’re not doing something right
E & E Mental efficiency toward precision, through courageous thought and bold decision Advance in mind by spiritual enhancement, absorb through the senses artistic enchantment Nurture your nature with cultural selection, choose new beliefs by educational election Battle deterrents of cognitive progression, so acquisition of knowledge becomes a constant obsession Expansion & Evolution; from mind to air to life revolution
LIFE IS‌ Life is learning as the world passes through, adaptation for change letting talents renew Learning evolution to expand every way, from sunrise to set growing stronger each day Life is giving an effort for a trust between two, a bond beyond words kept beautifully true Giving donation but not the loose kind or folding, a reassurance of strength for whatever hand you are holding Life is believing there is more behind eyesa universe to explore and never compromise
Believing relentless hope is free of delusion, a desire for consequence and positive conclusion
METAPHOR OF FAMILY There they stand as a family, unaffected by the attractions drawn to them Impervious to petty trouble, protected by flowing blood, trusting that through all of life’s downpour of numbers, family still come first Together standing as if they were the pillars of the palace where power resides Bold as if a newspaper’s headline font that is held back unless an event is too epic for words
Selfless and dedicated more than misdirected initial love, protective of one another like a safe with a thousand armored guards Family; beautiful as a flawless sunset that lasts forever
DUE TO FALSITY Never thinks of consequence and is crippled by this flaw, seizes foolish moments, with failure often saw Impulse consumes drawn in by lust, attitude influencing words of mistrust Set on paths others create, sleeping through ambition in a fictional state Has trouble with mirrors thinking they display a false image, desperation post-relaxation for the last minute it’s finished
Handcuffed by misjudgment and resulting penalties, has no sense of history, just what’s currently conceived Thinks pride is always winningno acceptance of defeat, will try to please at all cost with morality or deceit Absence of responsibility is the weakness of heart, behind from the beginning, finishing too late to even start
ISN’T IT AMAZING Isn’t it amazing; you can spend years listening and talking constantly to other people, and not truly hear what you are saying yourself Isn’t it amazing; how sometimes truth is believed not by accuracy and relevance, but by who or whatever exhibits the most noise and glamorous half-truths Isn’t it amazing; the depth of complexity in this world, as the quantity of details infinitely outnumbers every moment in history
Isn’t it amazing; the fear of solitude halts any attempt to understand self, instead living in the arms of another too familiar and similar Isn’t it amazing; the sensation of wonder, a belief in philosophy, and the mysteries in every aspect of life
OPINION DIVISION
Holding firm in one’s convictions, through verbal wars and consequential victims Allegations flame on fiery topic, focused in macro or microscopic An issue’s discussed and over-debated until all sides turn aggravated, becoming defensive, then offensive with missiles of misdirected rage This outlook not stubborn just secure in position, aware of each side in this opinion division Anger resurrected from set-ways and old age, ground is held firm intensive and stern, confident that beliefs will hold true
SUBCONSCIOUS REVOLUTION Sometimes struggle strives for solution, with desire for a subconscious revolution So quietly a sea of ambition builds, flooding doorways and crashing through window sills Realization sets in that things need revision, changed by thoughtful discipline and precision It’s now clear situations will be different, not always better, but more emotionally efficient
With time, instinct seeks balance for good reason, an adaptation like the transition through each season A hidden cognition that fights toward serenity, as we live for ourselves to keep pure our identity
A MEANING OF LIFE And then in a moment of clarity, a simple truth became clear Like the snap of two fingers, or the igniting friction of a match, a motive of humanity appeared I could hear the discussion perfectly; not the one between myself and the early morning, but the conversation between instinct and logic It made senseas if it were some complex problem that needed only a moment of distance and reflection to be solved
From this insight a strong sense of serenity put my weary soul at ease Life was no longer as daunting as the ocean deep, but within reach of coherence and happiness The first time this notion was verbally repeated to the bathroom mirror, I imagine it was as pure and strong as a husband telling his bride after fifty years ‘I love you’ The only other set of eyesa reflection in the mirror, saw determination conjure revelation;
The most anyone could ever want is to know what they want True desire knows no moral or social law, only instinct for survival from one moment to the next And a shame it is that some never wish to find what they want, because they are dying each day with restricting fear Â
The fear that things will not work out consumes like that daunting ocean onto the shores of insecurity The most anyone could ever want is to know what they want, and explore what that means to them
INDEPENDENT Section Four– Words & I The Trigger Three Thank You's For David Independent Comfortable With Me Advice For Writers Falling Steady Price of Admission Saved By Song Naïve Wish List The Watched Boy Hector and His Wife Tiny Triangles The World is Quiet
THE TRIGGER Â
Any moment can be a beacon of inspiration A table for twocreation and you, for an exclusive reservation to consume Ordering this and indulging in that, filling up uncontrollably, until with art you are fat Bloated from being devoted, about having emotion promoted Triggered by any moment in time
THREE THANK YOU’S FOR DAVID Thank you David for what you do for meyour gift of language amazes each instance, and has shown me what it is to be a writer For every passing line brings the world closer into focus, from your greatness to achieve my own If one day I’m a fraction of what you are, it will only be a small island in the universe you capture in song Thank you Dave for what you do for methe spirit and emotion put into your work, shows me what it is to be an artist
As time advances your ambition grows, to evolve your natural gift of creation I aspire to create not in your shadow, but in your model of expression, integrity, and beauty Thank you Dad for what you do for methe life you have given is something I cherish every day The ethics you instill makes a man who believes in no boundaries or limits If I do not say ank you’ every day, it’s because you know, we both know, nothing needs ever be said
INDEPENDENT Â
Crossing through borders of false conception, courageous by nature and bold by invention Self-governed spirit without confining limits, true to a soul’s ambition not force fed gimmicks Independentself-evolution towards constant life amendment
COMFORTABLE WITH ME
The outside world is in the outskirts of meaningful opinion, because you do not see I am comfortable with me Let’s see, you don’t like the way I live life, I don’t care let them stare, I am comfortable with me Reality breathes in conversation, not from greedy broadcast stations Why ever try to be similar to another, when you have yourself to continually discover
I found my voice by my own choice, and now I am comfortable with me
ADVICE FOR WRITERS Create from that feeling deep in your chest, as words can be a lover you live to caress Write when inspired no matter where or what time, you never know if those thoughts will later align Forget about rules of language existing, the mind makes hands strong enough to have a whole dictionary you’re twisting Don’t worry about grammar and if two words agree, let thoughts flood the paper, it’s the safest place they can be
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Never force rhetoric, because you think it sounds right, it is simply unnatural, and the wrong way to write Never allow initial impressions to fool you with perfection, first drafts are as smooth as teenage complexion Become a risk taker, it’s just pattern shaped ink, the pen may best swords, but they’re still just thoughts that you think This advice passed along follows its preaching, for writing is an extension of your soul and its thinking
FALLING STEADY Â
Walls collapsing, pressure mounting, tasks increasing, body exhausting Want to scream, want to liein a peaceful state, where consuming details don’t aggravate Facing resistance, and now needing assistance, falling steady and bracing for the crash
PRICE OF ADMISSION I have committed an artistic sin, abusing what was pure and limitless Six months of struggle forced me, to forcefully take control of my love As beautiful youthful passion taunted me with its inspirational emptiness, it is me who would no longer feel bare I bruised my victim in anger and spite, with a fury that only comes from frustration
Patience and logic were ignored on my prey, harsh words were poured without restraint Â
In the end, I realized the fault of my action I was quick to react for this page was the victim, but apparently I was the one calling for help
SAVED BY SONG His message, he meant it, he saved me from insanity ‘Fight ‘til the fight is over’ So simplistic and logic-filled, a revival from mental well-being killed
Leaders are born from adversity to brilliance, as a passionate voice incites resilience Toward a goal with forces driving, through pressure and stress; a tension undying A moment of clarity with the words he preached, drew balance closer and control within reach
‘Fight ‘til the fight is over’ become a general, not just a soldier, refine your passion as you grow older
NAÏVE WISH LIST I wish money wasn’t instinct, and usually the first step in reasoning I wish impatience didn’t poison understanding, and more steps back were danced in reflection I wish love was never romanticized in any way, so those who seek it wouldn’t chase illusions of falsity I wish obsession didn’t feed anxiety, being too self-conscious is being perceptively unconscious I wish war was still a last resort, not a power play for a country’s tainted motives
I wish numbers didn’t stand as truth, life’s not an equation to be solved, but a question that can’t be answered in just one voice I wish dreams weren’t the ultimate of hope, instead goals should be aspiration, dreams are fleeting images of insanity I wish time was more realized in its splendor, for in the grand plan of life it is the only thing that is wished to be spent well I wish…
THE WATCHED BOY (Inspired by Orison Swett Marden) You cannot win if you’ve never lost, one must have liberty no matter the cost Constant surveillance smothers with ease, curbing the freedom to shape one’s beliefs The scrutinized lives life with a counterfeit shame, deterring the chance self-government will reign Enforcing limits prevents innovation, little hope for symphony with a rousing ovation
HECTOR AND HIS NEW WIFE
‘Keep working the way you do’ Hector says to me as we part This, after helping make his life with new wife that much smoother Off to the next city, sharing new experiences with his bride Out of my way with warmth out of the box, into their memory as the one who helped them escape From one place to the next, like the train they’ll soon ride, but not before delivering one of the greatest compliments of my life
TINY TRIANGLES Â
I have spent time in admiration of these tiny triangles How funny it is that someone will claim familiarity, but not realize the intricacy of their own form Only in reflection of these diminutive forms, do I realize, what they protect is what truly matters It’s as if their existence is a constant reminder, of the asymmetry in natural life I let them be, as I admire the brilliance of such things, and the beauty of these tiny triangles
THE WORLD IS QUIET Â
It’s 2 a.m. and the world is quiet Somewhere someone is screaming, either in horror, ecstasy, or pain, but through all drama, and all the noise, a quiet still remain In some location war is raging, over freedom, greed, or land, but amidst all the chaos, and all the struggle, a quiet is still at hand In some closed space music thrives, serving time, emotion, or thought, but past the rhythm, and all the mood, a quiet still burns hot In front of at least one, ink attacks a page, recording theory, beauty, or song, but throughout the night, and at 2 a.m., a quiet still lives on
Thank you, to my family, friends, and inspirations for their effort, love, and patience.