Draba
Sitting in the April sun
Feeling the breeze
Laughing in its silent way
In the shade of the bur oak trees
Its roots sink into the sandy soil
Its petals face the sky
A sort of hope and forewarning
Of greater things to spy
Simpler than a cone flower
Smaller than every one
And yet does the purple coneflower
Sit in the April sun
Winds blow toward death
As we sit in a rudderless boat
Fate laughs at us
For we can only float
Rain pours down on us
Steady but still nameless
It comes till we must bail it out
I wish that I was blameless
Pain keeps us together
But loss leaves us alone
Both break your heart
Or turn it into stone
Death comes slowly
Brought on the wings of time
Like a gull over endless water
Which one will be mine?
No boats pass me by
No islands in my sight
The sun burns my face
Such is survival’s fight
We are the boat people
Forced from our homes
We are the boat people
Washed by the waves
We are the boat people
Hardened by time and pain
We are the boat people
Softened by famine and grief
We are the boat people
Who will take us in?
We are the boat people
Deaths doors open wide for us
Away from home and family
Away from danger as well
Away from friendly faces
And away from hell
Leaving comfort and routine
To save my worthless life
Leaving all I love behind
To save my friends from strife
Will I ever see home again
Will I ever see beauty?
The palm trees sway in paradise
But they are lost to me
On a boat I sail away
Sail to the endless ocean
All hope sails away from me
Much like my former notion
The winds fingers in my hair
The waves’ sweet caress
Are all the comfort that I have
Where comforts are quite useless
Shore rejects my little ship
And sends it back to sea
So that we might wander evermore
My little boat and me
Who will save us
We, the human race
From killing each other
With a smile still on our face
“War is necessary for peace”
The people think and say
But if there is war tomorrow
How can it be peace today?
No one will give their guns up
While others have theirs too
Someone must take the first step
Someone, but who
Killing innocent civilians
To kill a single guilty one
Bombing just to make a point
The killing is never done
When will the fighting end
Perhaps when I am dead
Or when the whole world is
What was it they said?
“War is necessary for peace”
Maybe it is true
The dead fight no wars
Because the dead don’t need to
Men with boyish faces
Laugh, swear, and fight
Cry, kill, and die
Never questioning what is right
Never doubting his countries cause
But willing to die for it just the same
His future is an unmarked grave
Who will remember his name?
And if he lives what then
Death at his defeater’s gun
Or living his life in shame
Or living his life on the run
If he wins what will he do
After all he has done and seen
Ruined for most any life
At the age of nineteen
Forgotten all he’s learned in school
Though he knows how to kill
Something’s left empty in his heart
A space that he cannot fill
He fought through winter and spring
But never knew summertime’s joy
And the rain falls ever so softly
On the body of a boy
A young man went to war
Still very new to life
Just out of high School
He did not know strife
He thought he was a man
For putting his name in the list
And his life on the line
Before he had even been kissed
He did not think of death
Though he knew it was there
The promise of glory seduced him
So he rushed in with out care
His mother cried for her little boy
Just out of her loving embrace
The little boy who never came home
The little boy with the once happy face
An argument hurts no one
Unless it is a war
When nations fight each other
Until the other is tore
Generals play toy soldiers
Trying to win each fight
Laughing at the others defeat
Each thinking he is right
Tossing one toy aside
Just to recruit another
That will become a casualty
Fighting beside his brother
Victory is close at hand
The small boy jumps with glee
As his toys slay his rival’s men
Until there are none to see
The dolls weep and morn
For their husbands dead
Others smile and laugh
That it wasn’t theirs instead
But it was just a game
That two children play
Except when one toy falls
He will never walk away
The Good Oak
The Oak, hardened by time
Weathers all things
Over the years
She has earned 80 rings
She stood tall and watched
Wile people came
Not caring when they left
Seeking fortune and fame
Nothing affected her
Not wind or rain
Nothing scared her
Or gave her pain
But nothing is forever
And thunder cried
As if morning the ancient
Tree that had died
A man cut her down
And now she’s a fire
That very same tree
That never did tire
Who is to say
that time time can't tell
that it always must be told
who is to say
that a great man's words
always must be bold
No one says this
it is just a fact
that all will learn in time
Yet realy to say
it is a fact
is a deadly crime
Time can tell
many things
that happen the next day
And everyone
has something simple
that they would like to say
Will they listen
to simple words
that a child might tell
Will they listen to times tale
as long as they have
something to sell
Time will speak
simple words
that all can under stand
It will wisper them
in your ear and
hold your shaking hand