Turn down your violent rhetoric, America, you’re losing your soul.
Wish I could, but the First Amendment has no volume control.
And what if the violent rhetoric gets dangerously loud?
That’s what the Second Amendment is all about.
So you can offer no hope, no guiding instruction?
Just what Mark Twain saw a long time ago:
Every civilization carries the seeds of its own destruction.
I want to hold onto it
as if it were my last gift from you.
It's special,
though it was not meant to serve me.
I wanted you to choose me,
to show me I was enough.
Being enough that was all I could think about when I stared at you.
In your company, I could never fully enjoy-
thoughts flooding me like a hot pan of boiling water, bubbling and spitting,
refusing to be ignored.
The sizzle and pop-
they sting,
they burn.
I put myself back there,
just to feel it once more.
You see, I do have the power
only I can turn down the heat.
But once I do,
I will have to let you go,
say farewell.
You've been gone a while now,
and I am nothing but a fragment of your memory, a decent echo in a distant life.
Yet, you are still here
in my dreams,
in my thoughts
forcing my eyes shut
to catch a glimpse of you and me once more, feeding the fire I keep alight.
Something’s rumbling inside me
pushing, kicking
shoving, shouting
And it won’t let me go, oh no
It just won’t let me go…
I should consider
Why I was selected for this
But I never do
I accept it as if it
were free airline tickets
Something not to turn down
Something to cash in
Oh yeah, almost forgot
The topic is writing
Yes, writing
Its grip on me
is what sets me free
Isn't it ironic?
You sat on my right side when we first met
And you exited my life making a left turn down my street
It was my right hand that comforted you in the beginning
And it was my left hand that tore off something that was supposed to be permanent in the end
How the directions changed as we danced together
Entering on the right leaving on my left
Poetic almost
How my right hand wrote stanzas about you
While my left hand is cursed to remember the words I never got to write
How it wiped away your tears
How both hands would wrap around your waist holding you close
Now we're on opposite sides of the compass
Never to be close to each other again
While I set off in my own direction
My hands itch to write your name once again
But I resist
For that left turn signal is still etched into my mind
Just as all our memories are
But that is all they are
Memories of the past
All I can do now is move onto my own path
And live with the empty space of where someone used to be.
I found myself in a store, you see.
A sign on a box said, "Buy This for Free!"
I thought it so strange, I must confess,
when I saw the label: "EMPTINESS".
Never was I one to turn down a deal,
so, I took it home - my goodness what a steal.
I opened it up and found...nothing there?
In disbelief, I could only stare.
I thought to myself, I think I'll pour it on
some cereal, and wow, it was gone.
Next, I poured it on my family and friends.
I never thought they would meet such ends.
So I emptied the box, which was then full,
and I'm telling you the truth - this ain't no bull.
My family and friends all came back to me,
and my life has returned to normalcy.
The moral of this story might not be clear.
It's simply that if what is not can appear,
what you have, can then soon be gone.
Now, isn't that something to think upon?
I am the rose the night can’t drown,?
A bloom that leans when skies turn down.?
A myriad stars above me glow,?
While serpentine winds around me blow.
The lunar hush, it knows my name,?
A girl of light, a heart of flame.?
Soft, but built of root and thorn,?
A thousand times, I’ve been reborn.
One day, they’ll see what hides in me,?
A queen, unclaimed, yet meant to be.
The sun sinks slow when dreaded dark overflows
giving mere mortals moments to reflect
all that passes in the day these moments take away
and each influence intrinsically inspect
we have known of old the conflict we are told
is the battle between bad and good
what is right, what is wrong, we must make morals strong
gain empathy, love, and brotherhood
if we could just see with our eyes set free,
only hear when wind whispers silent songs
there might be a better you, maybe a kinder me
in the wisdom of these quiet sing-alongs
a mother bird feeds her babies and I hear the words
rhythmic refrains ringing peace into my heart
'His eye is on the sparrows’,and more of you He knows
comfort “every little thing is gonna be all right’ emparts
Turn down the power.. if just for an hour...
sit still and hear nature sing
The parties were in full swing.
The doorbell rang, yet no one knew it.
In that instant, everything changed for the party guests.
Speak softly, lean in closer, and turn down the volume.
A sudden death—another soul has taken its last breath.
Did he pass the test? Sniffing cocaine, he choked,
Dust scattering across his desk.
What a mess!
This was his life; he surrendered to cocaine—
Cocaine was his guilty pleasure.
Have you ever witnessed their souls diving into the sea?
It's too late for cleansing.
The drip, drip, drip of blood dissolves into the sea.
This evokes a different philosophy—
The devil’s philosophy.
I want to climb mountains high.
Before they start falling from the sky.
I will pray for every hater.
And be like my creator.
I don’t want to live in regret.
I want to accomplish the goals I set.
And soar beyond the streams.
Where pain is a distant dream.
I want to be one with my creator.
And live like my savior.
Turn down every temptation of sin.
Following Jesus is the only way I win.
Why is Life so hard? Chewing you up and spitting you out.
Searching for meaning, and what life’s all about.
Why do hearts have to be broken?
Why can’t people keep their word that they’ve spoken?
I want to stop asking about so many things.
Be thankful for what I have and just follow my dreams.
Love everyone and look past the things they do.
Be good to myself and others, because that is the only truth.
The pain increases every day
bit by bit, I have no say
I do what I can to ease it all
but it’s been a real long-haul
from cramping feet to head in a vice
swollen fingers, no paradise
aching hips, joints all stiff
inner workings gone skew-whiff
pins & needles, exhaustion too
I get no help, so I push through
muscles ache, it’s hard to heal
feel like perhaps I got a raw deal
Insomnia, brain fog, twitches & more
just some of the symptoms I endure
no two days are ever the same
Its wretched Fibro’s twisted game
The invisible illness no one sees
a chronic condition considered a disease
widespread pain & yet I smile
but some days wish I could turn down the dial.
Is it silence that the mind concieves a formulation for all that has been seen
Or could it be in the cauous where one manipulates the scene
Could you turn down the grandeur and pick up a piece
Can you lift up the curtain and sweep up the seeds
Climb a stair to the attic to see what's been missed
Paint a daring picture from your favorite list
Lose yourself for a moment and finally confess
Weld all the pieces and present your true self
Is she a prattler or a tattler?
I was unsure
My ears had stopped listening to her long ago
She was perpetually speaking
Her mouth probably talked in her sleep
When I saw her coming, I put in my earbuds
For not only was she annoying
You could not turn down her volume
The Domain of Fear
The Devil and hell, all Christians would agree,
Are the fate awaiting non believers like me.
But if you search the Scriptures you’d see,
Both Satan and hell are nowhere to be
Found in the Writings of the Jews,
And to Christians, this is real news.
All dead people went to the place of the dead.
Sheol was the name and there was no dread,
Of modern heaven or hell.
Good or bad, that’s where you’d dwell.
But Christians came up with this permanent abode,
So as to keep the believers cowed.
And the Devil? Nowhere in the Jewish Scripture.
Of The Satan, we have a different picture.
A vassal of God, no power to harm.
He only does God’s bidding, (turn down your alarm).
Look at Job with God and the Adversary.
There is no dissent, God need not parry.
Both concepts are fiction, made up to cause fear
So that followers would obey, listen and adhere.
We’ve exhausted conversation so you stare out at the night.
And I just hold the wheel and follow the headlights.
The signs are speeding past us but the time goes by so slow
And we sit close yet far away as down the road we go…
A hotel room waits ahead, we just left one behind.
You wonder where we’re looking for. I wonder what we’ll find.
Finaly, you pretend to sleep, I turn down the radio
And we sit close yet far away as down the road we go…
Down the road is something new.
Something I want to see.
And you look back at where we’ve been
And wonder why you follow me.
We keep driving onward,
Neither ending nor making a start.
Down the road that keeps us together
Even as it drives us apart…
There’s clouds on the horizon and the sun’s about to rise.
A smile fills my face but you don’t open up your eyes.
You’re thinking where is yesterday, I’m thinking where’s tommorow
And we sit close yet far away as down the road we go...
We sit close yet far away as down the road we go…
Have you ever thought to sit down and just think?
Have you ever thought to just lay down and let the wind blow to you, kiss you, hug you and be with you?
Have you ever heard the thought to just let the sun shine unto you with his brightest light?
Have you ever thought to just look at the trees? See how beautiful the trees are? The ones with leaves and the ones with no leaves?
Have you ever thought to sit still and let your body speak to you? To let you heal and let the process process?
Turn down the noise of your television
Turn down the noise of the social media
Get off your phone. Get off from your certain environment. Get off from your noisy friends and family.
Get off. Get more off.
Turn down the noise of the news.
Turn down the noise of the echo chambers.
Turn it off. Turn it off.
Turn off your anger
Turn off your madness.
But instead, feel emotions first and calm down.
Just let the silence speak to you.
Just let nature speak to you.
They're waiting for you to counsel you.
Just…shhh….shhh…shhh
Turn off the noise.
And let peace and love reign.
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