I saw the nice lady
in my dream again.
She read my palm
and frowned.
Closing my hand,
she gave my money back.
Wait, lady,
I never even paid you
One hour of life.
That's all he had,
The only thing the world gave him,
The only thing he knew.
That boy,
innocent, beautiful and clueless
Unwelcomed by the world,
Bombarded with hatred and pain,
Almost as if he absorbed the world's resentment,
But why?…
Why must He do this?…
Why must he bear our mistakes-
Our sins?
One hour,
Each tick
Robbed the boy of his life,
I watched it pass
I saw it wither,
Shriveled.
Despite that fact
the boy smiled-
It wasn’t childlike,
But one that knew more than I,
I felt as if I were a kid.
Although sadness overcame me,
I too smiled,
I felt warm,
safe—
reassured-
Reassured that everything was okay.
His life,
His life, although it was depressing-
His life was beautiful,
It felt longer than just one hour,
It was more than just his time,
It felt as if his life was larger,
His life had meaning,
Despite his small sentence,
I was relieved,
In his death,
selfishly—
I felt peace.
(Inspired by Fortunate Son)
Some folks wave the flag on high,
And shout the reason soldiers die.
They speak of duty, proud and loud,
From marble halls above the crowd.
Some folks dine where power stays,
And praise the war on cable days.
They toast the troops with polished tone,
While none they love will ever go.
They call for courage from the land,
They talk of glory close at hand.
But when the papers list the names,
Their families never join the flames.
I hear the drums across the sand,
Another convoy leaves the land.
Another mother waits alone,
Beside a silent telephone.
The wealthy heirs sleep safe at night,
Their wars are fought on screens of light.
Their boots stay clean, their hands stay dry,
While poorer sons must march and die.
So when they ask who answers call,
Who walks the desert, dust and all,
Look past the mansions standing tall,
You will not find their sons at all.
By Rick McGrath, Ph.D.
March 2026~
"INDEED"
It is MAGIC indeed
When the dove disappears
The thin black cloth
Banished what was revealed.
It is SORCERY indeed
When you're caught by a spell
You believe every sound
Of the mage's bell.
It is UNFORTUNATE indeed
When you're bewitched by words
Blinded by tales
You treat stone as gold.
It is DANGEROUS indeed
When its veiled by tears
Your soul will be confined
In darkness for years.
It is FUNNY indeed
When you got fooled by a clown
He's cheering you up
While bringing you down
It's magic , sorcery,
Unfortunate, dangerous and funny.
For you have the keenest eyes
Yet you fail to see.
Enveloped within the ambiance of night where the moonlight comforts my soul—the absence of anyone else around leaving me at peace.
“Stay for as long as you need to”, a quiet voice whispered, “for no one can hurt you here.”
In that moment, I felt safe and a sense of freedom to be just who I am.
Amongst those stars, I found refuge and a place that I could now call home—the hours of darkness redefining its reputation.
And within that time, I became grateful for the silence of not being ridiculed amongst a population that normalizes cruel intentions.
Leave me here and let society carry on, for when the sun takes its position in the morning, I'll be a memory that daylight was never meant to hold.
No paradigm of peace will ever dwell
Upon the land of evil and the outcasts
Who are not evil, but were born in hell
And this alienates them from the lucky ones
Who despise those unfortunates, believing
They’ve drawn the short straw they deserved for sins
Of their forefathers, which seems merely decieving
To the unfortunates, for they’re not welcomed in
The lands of lucky, and those habitants of hell
Don’t understand the laws of kinship from the Bible
And this exacerbates their fates so well
That makes them feel a bit upset about arrival
And so predictably they hate the lucky ones
And so the lucky hate those people in return
The only option left is to load up the guns
Expanding hell, for reason possibly unknown
The explanations become vaguer, there is no
Plain truth to tell, and every fool looks pensive
Although when killing is the only way to go
Both sides meet hell for being too defensive.
I happened upon the tiniest snail today, it's spiral patterned shell caught my eye.
Not thought of fondly by many,
would turn your legs into jelly,
would make the keenest of plant lovers cry.
An interesting truth, they have many a tooth.
In fact 14,000 of these.
They chew through your berries and flourishing plants.
I'd Most definitely prefer to keep bees.
Now, some people would take a different approach and find them a delicacy.
A hint of garlic and slathering of butter.
Voila! Escargot for tea.
But that powerful snail and it's slimy trail has a weakness that we have been taught.
If you are squeamish,
this may turn you greenish.
All you need is a sprinkle of SALT
Last Monday was a special day for me.
You got that big promotion and the raise!
I pity you, for now your life will be
a rat race through a long, nightmarish maze.
You’re doomed to spend that extra salary
on nerve pills and work late six days a week.
While I breeze through my work days trouble-free,
you’ll wrestle with a future dark and bleak.
And worst~~you’ll have less time with your new man.
I was engaged to him a year ago.
When suddenly he dumped me, I began
to see he’s evil. Soon you too will know!
The lucky ones like me don’t wear a frown.
We’ve no romance or wealth to tie us down.
It could be Frog or maybe Stoner,
first one’s Richard last is *****;
Parents play such twisted games,
such unfortunate last names;
Having just one? So much better.
So close your breath tingles my skin.
A transient kiss, placed on illusive lips.
I so wish, this moment would eternally exist.
Unfortunate souls bounded by love.
Two cold hands, in one glove.
Yet so far it's all a blur, this confusion I must concur.
This moment won't go in vain.
because i know, it will be a while till i dream of you again.
water flowing
i move not
unfortunate that i will have to leave quickly
i think about all that are no longer here
the water's sound eases my mind like it knows
i move not
unfortunate that life and time waits for nobody's nothin'
i think about being late
i think about not showing up
i think about those ugly ole ramifications
water flowing
humbled, i move now
i reluctantly get in my temperamentally mental car and hesitatingly depart
Here lies Hector Amos McSpiel
Slipped on a tossed banana peel
It really was not Hector’s fault
He came down hard upon his heel
We buried him here in a sturdy vault
Written April 8, 2022
Like a marvelous bright lightning bolt
Appeared in the sky
Sparks of colours burst
And shooting across the sky
Against the plain darkness
Ushering in a prosperous new era
While some unfotunate men
Still sunk
In the mud of poverty
Glancing the same sky
Helpless
People say
Life is to be insured by
Insurance
Education and qualifications
Money and treasures
Medicine
We man finally find out that
Nothing can be totally insured
So during our life spans
Why not multiply our happiness
By sharing with others
Who are less fortunate
Why not upgrade our reputation
By doing good and avoid evil
Befiore one climbs the ladder to the heaven
One must fulfill one's promise on earth
Glitter the life on earth
Herald a meaningful life
Attend to the needy
Fair to the unfortunates
Treasures on earth are to be shared fairly
Just like the share of a place in the heaven
When you've paid on earth
Sure you'll be free in the heaven
This is what I believe
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