american tragic

I was there when the waters receded

I was there when the city was homeless
it's streets empty like FEMA's promises
houses smashed like the dreams of their owners
into a million razor edged pieces, shards

of a broken mirror that we'd all peered into
hoping to find our slice of the american pie but
now that it was broken
we avoided our reflections

we bowed our heads
and prayed for divine intervention
for fear that love thy neighbor
might become a call to action

I was there when the waters receded

and I cried
the only way
a grown man can
silently and alone

my tears sprung from a well
deeper than my experience
and flowed backward through time
where they were salted with centuries of despair

I was there when the waters receded

and I cursed God
for turning a blind eye
toward his children
and in my condemnation
I became blind

not realizing
that if I picked up the pieces
of that broken dream mirror
and peered into it with eyes wide open

I'd find an entire city
looking back at me
and
that if I gazed long enough
I'd find the sacred

right where it's always been

this much is true

Compromising your integrity
is as easy as saying yes
when the answer is no.

The only way to deal with a problem
is to deal with the problem.

If you're drinking about it
you're not thinking about it.
Self-medicating
will make you sick.

Love hurts.

You can study for a lifetime
and never learn common sense.

Decency
is one of those things
that you either use or lose.

If you have never given yourself
truly and completely
to someone or something
without the expectation of something in return
you're doing it wrong.

Love heals.

alice doesnt live there anymore

pull yourself up by your bootstraps
they like to say
self determination is all you need

be sure to tell alice

she has two sons
her husband walked out three months ago
she lost her job
just before christmas

her eviction is scheduled for 5 pm
tonight alice and her boys will be homeless

so what do you do
when your bootstraps are out on the sidewalk
alongside everything else you own

go ask alice

the masses are asses

the two most powerful words
in the American language
are abortion and guns

they polarize, chastise, politicize
and galvanize
like no two other words can

they manipulate, segregate,
and all but eliminate
civil discourse

they are wielded to divide
and to conquer

as yelling fire in a theater
will drive a panicked public
to clamor for the exits

the mere suggestion
that the opposition
opposes your position
will drive a panicked public
to clamor for the polls

has it ever occured to you
that the arguments involving gun rights
and the debates surrounding abortion
are meant to never be resolved

the Republican party
needs the country's poor white trash
terrified of isms and stocking up on ammo
so they can continue
to do favors for Big Business
while nobodys looking

the Democratic party
needs the educated activists
thinking theyll save the planet
by recycling their plastic bottles by the millions
so they can continue
to do favors for Big Business
while no ones looking

the masses are asses
and your elected officials
are counting on it

America is for sale
the American military is for hire
and American politicians
can be rented by the issue

but dont let these little things
concern you
you need to remain hypervigilant
because lurking around every corner
is someone
who wants to take your gun or your choice

on the other hand
if youve been considering
doing some of your own thinking
now might be a good time