Walls

There in the darkness
Behind facades bright
In the shadows and spaces
That hide behind white

Is a fortress of evil
Walled in to the max
By the teachings of Christians
It's the children they tax

They make them pay penance
For the laws they attend
Brick upon brick
It's the light they hem in

They scold and they swat
And they beat the child down
At the end of the day
No more smiles, only frowns

"It's love!,"  they proclaim
for a child to self-hate
As they turn to a book
As a means of escape

What seems to be void
In the plot they've devised
Is the tiny reminder
From a man who was wise

"Love God and your neighbor
The rest is all poo
It's the end of the days
Eating pie made of doo!"

But the bakers and vintners
Would have none of that
So they cooked up a plan
And the man was laid flat

On a cross they suspended
His bare body, nude
They poked in his side
Saying "Wake up, Dude!"

But the man didn't move
His light was snuffed out
They took his dead corpse
To a tomb, I've no doubt

But the story goes on
From this point fore
The message the man
Came to give became lore

They put on his head
A crown and a wreath
They proclaimed he was king
That his death was God-breathed

They killed him, it's simple
Not to justify hate
But for power and money
All the rest is just bait

It's the message of the man
Cut down in his prime
That brings me today
To deliver this rhyme

All the stuff you've been sold
Like his crown and his jewels
Is not worth a cent
It's the message that rules

It's love that's the ruler
Of all of the lands
From this one on Earth
To the kingdom that's grand

So next time you're feeling
All the walls closing in
Remember this rhyme
It's love that will win

And if you believe
Taking sides is your right
Choose the side of the wall
In the darkness of light

It's that side you'll find
Where the demons exist
Where the man said to tend
To the poor and the sick

It's those who are imprisoned
Behind walls their light goes
They cage up their freedom
By ignoring their woes

They surrender to their lord
As they mortar their wall
They snuff out their light
They can't handle it all

Or so they've been taught
By those who serve swill
"I'll take away your pain
Here's some wine and a bill"

So they drink 'til they're fattened
And laughing with glee
As they pay for their penance
Every brick has it's fee

They seem to have forgotten
The man gave them a key
There's a door in the wall
Just knock and you'll see

The door will appear
It will open for thee
But when you go in
Just remember love's free

You don't need a book
To find light in the dark
You've got to have faith
And know love has no marks

It's perfectly polished
Imperfection free
Like a diamond it sparkles
Behind dark walls in thee

When love sends an angel
To open your heart
It's painful and tearful
But just at the start

In the end it will open
And joy will abound
But first there's the darkness
And remembrance of frowns

The wall will be scary
Too tall to scale high
There's nowhere to grip
You've done well with your pie

Inside is where beauty
And love's all around
But only in the dark
Behind walls made of frowns

In The End

Oh, what a tangled
web we unweave
When we unmask
a love that deceives

They speak with a grin
and a wink in their eye
They tell me they love me

but it reeks of shit pie

It's a stench I smell often
In the churches and pews
Of the Christian religion
With it's rules and it's dues

I find fresh air in a meadow
By a stream or a lake view
Or deep within the forest
Where the sounds of life subdue

It's here, alone, in the lone time
Just me and my infinite heart
Where the whiffs and aromas of goodness
And the light of love fills my pot

There's a great deal of difference
'tween the love stew within
and the hate-filled concoction
that claims love is "sin"

So I'll take the meal within me
Not that swill that's laced with pain
I know I won't go hungry
True love does call my name

It's the sinners and the wicked
Who divvy out the pain
They lap it up like sheepdogs
Never separating grain

"Where are you, Lord? I miss you."
They seek, but they don't find.
He calls them from their shadows
"I'm right here, with love, just fine."

But they scurry when they hear it
For the darkness, they've been told
Is where lies the evil demon
That will take away their soul

So they eat and gorge their bellies
On the slop they've placed their faith
But little do they realize
After grace, they eat a wraith

It's just an apparition
A shadow of the real
They stuff it in their bellies
As they raise their squeaky squeals

"I've a book that gives me power
to possess the mind of God
I've determined that I love you
But your love is shit!," they prod

To the ones who stuff their faces
with their egos full of pride
there's nothing you could tell me
I would possibly abide

I've been drunk and sick on disdain
for my Self, my Soul, my Love
But those days are now over
All the clouds are gone above

Now the light shines on me brightly
while you wrestle with your gut
My life of death is over
I'm beyond the Christian rut

It's love that is my journey
It takes me to and fro
I've yet to find it packaged
with a ribbon and a bow

It's love I'll always follow
Even when the crowd goes right
when love is all that's left
I'll be there within the light

Fairy Wings in the Sunlight

Listen to them giggle

Their whispery little meme

Watch them as they twirl

On a dance floor made of green
Their shadows you will find there
As they spring from leaf to leaf
But you will never catch them there
Their time spent there too brief
The trick to spotting fairies
Is to look where you don't see
For once you've found them dancing
All the leaves will cease to be

a la carte

Pick a dark one
A lighter spare
Soak your first choice
If you dare

If goblins, ghosts, and ghouls you reap
Bring forth distaste from letting steep
Revert to the other
Just pick up the spare
Leave the dark in the shadows
A first strike is rare

Let it brew 'til it's ready
Infusion takes time
Let the ghosts of the past
Gather words to make rhyme

When the past has been prepped
Set alight on the tee
Come down to The Tea House
Be prepared for black Tea.

In the green,
There is mellow
Like the park
And the meadow
In the dark,
Is the magic
Hidden gems
Often tragic.

In the end
It's all Tea
Emitting light
Illuming Me.

Love, Michael

In the circle in the round
The voice of heaven can be found
If you listen, if you hear
Silent echoes loud and clear
In this circle, in this light
A newborn faith, a newborn sight
The serpent lingers down below
Beneath this wondrous Wisdom glow

It breathes within, it plucks the wings
It's fire burns, it's tongue, it stings
It rises up and takes ahold
It whispers neat, it makes the cold
Within the lair of darkened sea
It plunges down to set souls free
But not until we struggle hard
Or pull the Get Out of Jail Free card
The time has come to break these chains
Release the birds and peaceless pain
To battle now, with sharpened blade
The Word to wield, pretension staid
In this circle now and here
The hope to conquer all the fear
To slay the dragon and his breath
And leave resentment laid to rest.

Love,

Michael

Insight

Hope

Grief

for

Tyler Clementi, age 18

Billy Lucas, age 15

Asher Brown, age 13

Seth Walsh, age 13

Raymond Chase, age 19

Justin Aaberg, age 15

Jamey Rodemeyer, age 14

Michael

Magic Bean

I got this friend whose got some problems with some junk
Her life's a trial and weighs her down or so she's thunk
A magic bean is what she needs to change her luck
Or solitary understanding of the muck

The bean would grow into a vine into the sky
To empty out those piles of junk and say "bye bye"
But so the same is true for me and all I play
Is sort the piles and break them down from day to day

One day at a time.