(“Splendid Isolation Merit Badge”, 2010, original oil)
Not My Battle
It’s not my battle
Not my hill to die on
Or claim as king.
I’d rather just sit peacefully
On some lonely mountain
Enjoying the sounds of silence.
Sure I can see the dust rise
And hear occasional horns blow
Of the little battles raging far below.
But it’s not my battle
Nor hill to die on,
At least not on this fine day…
(8/9/25)
Categories:
social commentary, peace, perspective, political, society,
Form: Free verse
Everyone believes the news
Until it's all disproved
In some dramatic fashion
When the headlines cash in
Everyone tells their family
Their family tells their friends
It doesn't matter what direction
The story comes to in the end
Forge a brand new enemy
Force hatred upon me
Exterminate the likes
We won't have better lives
"Truth" born out of rumors
Rumors borne with fantasy
Taken by the big names
Taken in by you and me
Fact killed by belief
Kills somebody's dream
Why do we let this happen?
Lying here on a mattress
Writing, "Everyone believes the news..."
Categories:
social commentary, political, sad,
Form: Rhyme
In my humble experience I’ve found
The average individual is smarter
Than the average group
But the average group is stronger
Than the average individual
And so the group will always get its way
But the individual can usually figure out
How to stay free
(3/28/24)
Categories:
social commentary, inspiration, perspective, society,
Form: Narrative
Welcome to my Snowflake life
Where I know what's right is right
Children belong with their parents
Not in cages with ICE agents
Welcome to my Libtard life
Where I know whats right is right
If they lived here since childhood
Then here's their home, their "Neighborhood"
Welcome to my human life
Where I know what's right is right
You may feel we owe nothing
I say leastly understanding
Welcome to my 'Merican life
Where I'm taught what's right is right
When I hear HIM, I cringe and say
"He aint right, he cannot stay"
Categories:
social commentary, community, patriotic, political,
Form: Rhyme
The Letter
I sent a letter to
Lady Karma
And that Blind
Lady Justice . . .
Hopefully they
Will wake the "F" up
And do their appointed jobs.
I wrote this letter
With my sharpened quill
Of consciousness,
Compassion,
Empathy,
And need
The ink was a special mixture
Of tears,
And of blood
I expressed the pain
We as a humanity
Are collectively suffering
By the hands of the few
Who think selfishly
Only about and in their
Grand delusions
And from the cortex
Of their
“God Complex”
This letter
Was the hardest write
I have ever done,
For I had fears,
Pain,
Exasperations
And frustrations
Because
I doubt
If anyone would
Read it
But . . .
Just the same
In the name
Of all that is Holy
I penned these words
With an absurd belief
That it would make
A difference
The Letter
© 10 december 2018 : william s. peters, sr.
www.iamjustbill.com
Categories:
social commentary, analogy, introspection, judgement, meaningful,
Form: Free verse
I just heard that Donald Trump
Is making Pink Floyd pay for the wall
They're the ones that built it
Seems only fair after all
Categories:
social commentary, funny, humor,
Form: Free verse
you see, he grabs what he can get
that bearded fellow in the sky
because its the future and we forget
for what once people gave their life
everyone seems to forget
the bible was a book of philosophy
changed in the past for illiterate peasants
but it still carries the same meaning along
remember the cruisades?
i see those who hold their ground despite
the people poking holes in religious logic
i never do so,
because those holes are wounds in a past societys body
take away religion, you take away whole civilizations.
though i am not religious i have come to understand
that people should just get used to it.
Categories:
social commentary, angst, natural disasters, religion,
Form: Free verse