Saturday, May 30, 2020

Heart Attack

I felt a sharp pain in my chest, for I’d been overwhelmed with stress.
I got up, then sat back down.
My heart had been broken.
The people I loved had been falling apart...
Disintegrating right before my eyes.
I felt like a failure.
If only I’d shown them the way...
Reached my goals by teaching my children how to lay bricks like me.
When my heart began to slow down, time stood still.
It’s like I’d been connected to something, connected to everyone.
Then something happened, someone touched me.
My heart skipped a beat, they knew my name, I mattered to them.
Out of all of the fighting, protest and rioting, someone grabbed my hand, picked me up and took me to the hospital.
When I saw the doctors and nurses working together to save me, I felt something tingle inside me.
My blood began to flow, I felt alive seeing people working together, I felt some form of hope.
All my life I’d lived in the slums of my country and never knew that this type of teamwork existed.
I’d been blinded by the mean streets I lived in.
I’d been brainwashed to be pessimistic about everything and everyone...
Then I saw the nurses and community workers coming together to help me up out of my coma.
I was wrong.
They cared about me, they showed me love.
This was my language, I understood this, just never knew it existed.
For the jungle life had deceived me.
My heart completely healed when I got up from my bed and saw people building instead of tearing down.
I saw the construction workers working in unison from my hospital room window.
The birds were singing.
I then checked out of the hospital and began to lay bricks with my children.
For I was not made to see people torn apart but United.
I thought I’d died and gone to heaven, was this reality?

Heart Attack

Thursday, May 28, 2020

Feelings

Some days I deceive myself; I see a tall building and I may feel that it’s impossible to climb.
I see an attractive woman and I may feel aroused, same goes for her as well.
Feelings come and go, it may be wise to just move on to the next task.
Some days you may feel threatened or scared, those feeling come and go also.
Some days you may feel paranoid, those feelings don’t last that long either.
You can walk, work and run, then you may feel tired. It may be wise to rest.
You may even feel like you have to fight, but it may be wise to walk away.
 You may feel good at the moment but it too will fade.
Some even feel sick and wish they felt well. Oh how do we stay on track?
Everyone alive has feelings and everyone dead had feelings.
Some grow old and some die young.
One day you may feel pain and one day you may feel pleasure.
There’s one thing that’s certain and that’s feelings come and go.
You may feel peace one moment and rage the next.
You may feel on top of the world and at the bottom of the pit after that.
Don’t fall victim to the lasting deceptions of feelings, because they come and they go.
Feelings.

Saturday, May 23, 2020

A Life without Evil

The devil who?
 I’ve never heard of such a thing.
By god you’ve brainwashed me to only see and do good.
I know no evil.
Is that why the people around me hate me?
Do they hate me because all I do is good?
Look at my life, everything is right, I’ve never cursed or even thrown a fist to fight.
I’ve lived a life seeing, hearing and doing no evil.
The regulars they make fun of me, while they break the laws of the land.
The women joke about me because I’ve never been touched, they think something is wrong with me.
But I tell you nothing is wrong, only right! Only right! You hear?
What has become of my clean ways?
Look at all that I’ve accomplished. Why should I change?
What is evil?
Is it drunkenness?
Is it corruption?
Is it sloth, jealousy or greed?
Is it lust, sex and sin?
What is evil?
Look at the people when I walk by, for I set the standards, I alone raise the bar.
I’m the light in this dark world, for I’ve lived a life without evil.
There’s nothing boring in all the good that I’ve done, for I’ve enjoyed stitching a cloth of good.
I’m proud of it.
Better yet, I’ll continue on and make a quilt for the children in need.
Am I different? Am I sewn from a different cloth?
No, I say.
I’m just good.
Kneel before me, you should be blessed to be in my presence, for I alone have lived a life without evil.
Humbly bow before me, I’m showing you the way.
I shine and rise like the sun, turn night into day.
The planets and the entire universe revolve around me.
For I alone have lived a life without evil.

Thursday, May 21, 2020

No Way Out

It’s them again, they’re here.
First they transformed Bobby, they’re everywhere.
They got Peter too.
I turned on the radio to hear where they would be next.
I called Mom to see if she was okay, she didn’t answer.
They got her.
How do I escape? I’ve got no where to go.
They control everything.
The schools, the water, the food, the money—everything.
There’s no way out.

Sunday, May 17, 2020

Kids

If you hide it, they’ll probably find it.
They’re watching you.
When you’re teaching them, they’re mainly hearing the stuff they’re interested in.
If you don’t guide them, they’ll find a leader, until they can do it themselves.
If it’s glass, there’s a good chance they’ll break it.
When no one is around, they’re  probably doing something they’re not suppose to do.
They crawl, they walk, they run, tangle, play and slide.
They smile, laugh, cry, and scream.
You give them sugar, they’ll want cream.
Some settle for the little things and some want it all.
What else can bring you down to earth more than a kid, put them all together and you got kids.
Get some rest before they wake up.
Make a budget because things add up.
Say no and feel their wrath.
Say yes, but think twice because if you give them an inch they’ll take a yard.
They’re Kids.
Little miniature humans that yearn for love and attention.
I can’t explain everything, but I’m sure a kid will try and figure it out.
Kids

Monday, May 11, 2020

The Possum’s Buffet

Eddie and Lisa would always put the trash out and wakeup to a driveway filled with garbage scattered everywhere.
“What are we going to do Eddie? There’s trash everywhere,” Lisa said standing in the driveway.
“Everything will be fine sweetheart, I promise,” Eddie replied, in assurance to his wife.
Pete was the head possum in charge, he had established a whole food network to feed hungry and poor possums all over the country.
“7057 West Blvd, is where we’re headed tonight gang. Ooh wee, that Miss Randle always cooks ribs on Fridays. I can’t wait to taste that Jack Staples barbecue sauce. It’s possum licking good baby. Do you see me vibrating? I can’t wait!” Pete said at his daily briefing.
After his daily briefing the possums headed to Miss Randle’s and as usual she had leftover ribs in the trash.
“Oh my word, ain’t it good Pee Wee,” Pete said, stuffing his face.
“Damn Pee Wee, save some for Miss Carleen,” Smiter, one of the junior possums said.
Pee Wee got upset, “You need to stop treating me like a baby, if it wasn’t for me, no one would have ever known about Eddie and Lisa’s fried chicken night.”
“He’s got a point there, now come on, we got just enough food for the camp,” Pete told the gang as they headed out.
“Wait, where’s Arcenio?”
“I’ma comin, almost forgot my bag cutter,” Arcenio said as they all headed home.
“I’m doing the cutting next time, you’re too slow. You got to slice in the down direction, it’s much faster,” Pee Wee explained to Arcenio.
The next day was simple, Pete laid out the ultimate plan to get in and out of the new bin that little Pee Wee had discover over Eddie and Lisa’s house.
“Alright gang, we’re headed into Eddie and Lisa’s territory. This is our second time, so I don’t plan on it being easy like it was before, but don’t worry, I got a plan if things don’t go our way. Good luck gang, let’s do it! Happy Meals Baby!” Pete said adjourning the meeting.
They all headed to Lisa and Eddie’s house. Pee Wee grabbed his blade and began to cut the trash bag open.
“Ahh Yeah, we almost in,” Pee Wee said.
Eddie then busted through the door with his gun out.
“Ahh hell nah, he got a gun! Let’s get the hell out of here,” Pee Wee said looking back for a head count.
In the midst of all of the commotion Smiter noticed that Pete was not running with them. Everyone stopped when they realized that Pete was still at the house.
“What is he doing?” Arcenio said as they all watched Pete from a distance.
Pee Wee put his blade away, “It looks like he’s talking Eddie down.”
When Eddie heard the possum talking he couldn’t believe it.
“Look Eddie, I’m sorry, let them go, there’s no need for guns. Lets iron this out like men, me and you,” Pete said as Eddie put down the gun.
“Listen if you want to eat my trash, at least clean up after yourselves. My wife don’t like it when she wakes up and there’s garbage everywhere,” Eddie explained.
“I’ll let everyone know, from now on Eddie, we’ll leave everything spic and span. I promise,” Pete said.
“Good, now go on and catch up with your friends,” Eddie replied waiving Pete off.
Pete now had Pee Wee’s full attention, “So what he say?”
Smiter wanted in too,“Yeah, what did he say?”
“He said we can eat, but we just have to clean up after ourselves. I’m sorry guys, but I couldn’t give that house up. Lisa’s chicken made be break the possum code of never talking to a human,” Pete said to his boys as they headed back home.
After that day, every house the possums hit they cleaned up after themselves. They soon noticed that people were leaving out extra stuff for them to eat. With less trash, it was less work for the garbage man. Possums and humans all around the country started signing contracts. The president even passed the Possum Buffet Act, giving every possum the right to eat trash as long as they cleaned up after themselves. Once raccoons heard about this they got in on the Buffet Act too.
The End.

Sunday, May 10, 2020

All I have are my Words on Paper

Some fight, some play sports, some use drugs, some cry and some move on...
Some have an instrument to play for the world...
Some sing and rap too...
Some kill and chase their enemies to the death...
What’s a poor soul to do until his last breath,
I’ll write it all down in a story,
I’m sure it’ll fulfill someone’s glory...
All I’ve every really had were my words on paper.
A lot of people fall in love, I’ve written that story too,
Some fail, some try again, and stick to one person like glue...
Some people find faults in their search for perfection,
In that search they often end up with a fault collection...
Many of us are in places where we don’t belong,
and many of us will do anything to get where we want to be.
No shame, no glory, just me with my pen and pad writing with glee...
All I’ve ever really had were my words on paper.
When my time here is over and the boss calls me home,
The last sentence I’ll probably write, I promise won’t be long.
It’ll be brief, with a map to a buried treasure deep underneath a tree;
With a mountain of books to set the world free.
In it you’ll also find bird feathers and some ink with instructions telling you what to do;
It’ll be a design to stitch wings custom made by a draper,
So you can learn to fly and spray paint one of my poems on the top of a sky scraper;
Oh no, that sky scraper never belonged to me, I’m as helpless as a grain of salt with no shaker,
I told you, all I’ve ever really had were my words on paper.




Friday, May 8, 2020

Lion Heart

Some say a man should be judged by his accomplishments, but this is a different story. It’s a story that puts choices on the minds of those forced to fight. David was a businessman in a small country searching for a stable form of government. He was just a bricklayer who specialized in building brick walls. The other business leaders never understood how and why people would work for a man like David because his mentality was a little different. A student of ethics, no one ever saw David as a threat and no man wanted much to do with an independent thinker. While David enjoyed the comfort of his wife and daughter, a particular mouth shooter soon rose to power and dragged every nation into a war. David saw no reason to leave his family to fight for a mouth shooting leader who put fear in his enemies by telling them he heard from the Gods. Once word got out that one man stood down and dwelled in the presence of poor and left for dead people, David became a target.
“Who is brave enough to challenge the rule of law? If no man wants to fight, he is a coward in the eyes of the Gods,” Julius the Great said as one of his concubines fed him grapes.
“David, the bricklayer has locked him and his family in their home, they refuse to fight, Sir,” John said, trembling in the presence of Julius the Great.
“David, the bricklayer, he has no army, bring him to his knees,” Julius the Great declared.
“Yes, I will do that Sir. I will bring David to his knees.”
John went to gather his men, but word soon got to David that the ruling party now had it out for him. David had nothing to fight with, he didn’t own a gun and he wasn’t very skilled outside of his trade, but he was brave and had the heart of a lion. He and his family hid in a shelter underneath his home until John and his men went away.
David’s wife was now concerned, “They’re challenging you, because you refuse to fight. We will go stay with grandma Edith, but I want you to listen to me. Follow your heart David, it’s the gift that our God gave you to survive. No one will fight for us David, our people are all lost in the ways of the rich and powerful. Run and hide in the woods until the dust settles,” David’s wife Lilly said.
David spent three days hiding and dodging Julius’s men until the day he found out they had captured his family. Arriving to find a broken entrance at grandma Edith’s, David became furious. He picked up his daughter’s toy slingshot off of the floor.
 “I have no choice but to fight,” he said to himself, looking at a painting of him and his family on the wall.
The heat from the sun scorched his family as they were set to kneel at the feet of Julius the Great.
“I assemble my men to fight Lilly and your husband refuses. Am I not honorable by giving them a choice? The Gods have called for war, it is written that we must fight,” Julius the Great says, looking down at David’s family.
“We have served you great leader. Why do you torment us? David sees no need for war, the world is tired,” Lilly says, sweating and exhausted from running and hiding before being captured then brought to kneel before Julius.
“The Gods speak to me Lilly, do they speak to David also? I alone have been sent to revive the hearts of men. We were made for war, we were made to fight,” Julius says kicking dust in the face of David’s daughter Lillian.
In the search for his family, David’s heart led him to them, he listened to his wife and followed his heart. Reaching down to grab his canteen from his belt, he heard his daughter screaming from afar. He then ran through a bunch of high bushes in the direction of the scream only to be blocked by a huge wooden gate. Peeking through the wooden gate, David saw his family kneeling and being whipped while Julius watched. He did everything he could to get over the gate but it was to high, so he followed it to the guarded entrance.
“I submit myself to Julius,” David said to one of the guards.
“David, you have nothing to fight with, you’re trash, our people have become weak, Julius has made us strong, he will crush you. We see justice in the mouth shooter. You fight for poor stupid people who  have nothing left, do you see them bearing arms to help you? Julius has our entire government under his thumb. Save yourself and get out of here,” the guard says.
“He has my family, I have to save them,” David said.
“David, if I let you through and you lose, then I will die. Julius hears the voices of the Gods. What voice do you hear that tells you not to fight with us?” the guard asked.
“I don’t know, I can just feel when something is right and wrong, I don’t know where the feeling comes from. Maybe it’s my God,” David says, hearing his wife screaming.
The guards began laughing, “He is fooled by the voices in his head, go ahead and be killed by Julius the Great. I’ll make sure they write ‘Lion Heart’ on your grave,” the other guard says.
David then rushes past the guards into Julius’s courtyard to save his family.
“Daddy, no!” David’s daughter Lillian screams watching her father standing there with only a rock and a slingshot.
“Little David, you come to challenge me, Julius the Great? You, of all men. You should be kneeling when in my presence, after all I’ve provided for our people, but you challenged me. You’re only a bricklayer, you have no skills, don’t be a fool. I alone possess the power from the Gods, by what authority do you have to defy my orders? Now, enough talk, let the smashing begin,” Julius says charging David.
David grips his daughter’s slingshot, and quickly places his sharp rock on the sling, he pulls back then let’s go and as Julius got closer and closer his head was slightly tilted then bam, the rock punched right through the temple of his head. Julius staggers and falls to his death. At the sight of this, word soon spread like wildfire that David had defeated Julius the Great. At this moment the course of time had changed dramatically, people all over the world had found a new story to believe in, a new vision was born. David had introduced the people to a strength that came from within, he introduced them to a strength that came from the heart. At the end of his journey when he died, the coroner noticed that his heart was the size of three fist put together. Til this day David’s story lives on. His daughter published it in a book called: “Lion Heart.” God dealt the world the king of hearts.
The End.

Thursday, May 7, 2020

R&B Andy

On every last Saturday of the month during the school year, 80808 West Blvd Rd, Route 1 East was the spot. Andy was his name, he was named after his uncle Andy Brown who died running from a speeding ticket. R&B was Andy’s game. He was an odd ball and everyone thought he was crazy but they knew whom to call when they needed Rhythm & Blues. New styles can start in some strange places, Andy’s journey started out in his parent’s garage in the rural area of Briansville Ohio.
“Frank, Andy’s in the garage again,” Gina, Andy’s mother said to his father while looking out of her bedroom window.
After about two hours she decided to go check on him. From afar, she heard some amazing sounds. The garage was jumpin, and the windows were all fogged up. When she opened up the garage side door, Andy was standing on a big wide crate at the other end of the garage with his juicy jerry curl, singing his heart out in some glitter gold slacks with his band playing by his side. The garage was packed, girls from all around the area came to hear his music. They all came to listen to the new king of R&B, “R&B Andy Love.” Andy’s mother pushed through the crowd of girls in her huge garage to get to her son.
“Andy, what is all this? What are you doing with no shirt on?”
“It’s the music Ma. Don’t you feel it? The ladies love the sounds, it makes them feel alive and loved. The music has power, don’t you feel Larry’s cords, if you want something a bit more up tempo let me know. I have to produce so the world will make more babies. That’s my duty,” Andy explained to his mother with his microphone away from his face while the rest of his body gyrated to the music.
She took a second look at what her son had been accomplishing all this time,
“Did you charge at the door?”
“Oh yeah, you passed up Big Steve, he’s collecting at the door, CDs on sale too.”
Gina gave her son a thumbs-up and eased her way out of the session.
On Mother’s Day he bought her a new car with his savings and asked her to be his manager.
She accepted and Momma was always there, she didn’t miss a beat, and when people needed rhythm and blues they knew whom to call. Just think, everyone thought Andy was crazy until he found a band and a microphone.
And that’s the story of R&B Andy, A.K.A Andy Love.

Monday, May 4, 2020

Let G.O...D

I’m about to get inside my car and I see a black cat hobbling in a parking lot that sells funeral tombstones. Apparently the cat must’ve hurt his leg and had no one to turn to. There was something revealing about this situation. I get in the car and the image of the black cat hurting stays in my head. I can’t let go. Driving and trembling, it’s like I could feel the cat’s pain. He’s just an animal. To clear my mind, I decide to go clean out my car. There used to be a free vacuum cleaner in a nearby town that I’d been going to quite often, I guess the owner took my advice because it now cost a dollar. One of my favorite quotes is: “Nothing is free.” I keep thinking about that black cat. My mom tells me all the time that my grandfather used to tell her that it’s bad luck if a black cat crosses your path, but that’s superstitious, I don’t believe that. On my way to the vacuum, another black cat runs across the street; I just keep driving. I could save on gas if I go to a vacuum that’s closer, I keep thinking, so I turn around and the closest place doesn’t have a vacuum. What’s the odds of that? I just give-in. Why change-up now? I just drive to the one I’m used to driving to. When I arrive, I notice a sign on the building, the sign reads: “God is talking, are we listening?” I pause for a second and reflect on the things I often forget. I take a moment and think of the black cat that I could’ve helped. I take a moment and think about all of the people lost. The hardest part about life sometimes is accepting the things you can’t fix. The black cat will heal because G.O.D. made him that way. G.O.D. gave him a healing system just like every other creature. The smartest person in the world figured that some things we can’t control and some things we can’t get to in time to save. I’m sure that’s when the person wrote G.O.D. in the equation. Some things are just out of our control. On your journey through life when this phenomenon takes place, you’ll have to accept it and let G.O...D.