The Two-Headed Monster, 1972

You try to be religious,
 but you're the greatest sinner who ever lived,
You work for peace,
 but your heart is filled with hate,
You put on a show for all to see,
 but inside your show has been cancelled.

You are a saint and a sinner,
You are good and bad,
You are the best writer since Edgar Allan Poe,
You are the best singer since Frank Sinatra,
You are the best liar since the beginning of time,
Your only real truth was the best dramatist in college,
You are an actor, a fake, and a two-headed monster,
And your disease is fatal.

Love is Lost

Not so very long ago--
There was a little man,
He tried to get all he could--
Until there was no more.

One day he realized there was something else,
Something more important than all others,
He didn't have love,
And love didn't have him.

He tried and tried to get it,
He searched far and near,
There was none to be found--
So he cried and cried.

One day, he saw what he had dreamed for,
He saw love,
But love didn't see him,
So he strived for his love.

He did things for his love,
He said things to his love,
He cried out to his love,
But his love didn't hear him.

He didn't know what to do,
He tried his best to show his love,
He just couldn't succeed,
So he died.

Now, his love has heard him,
She knows about his suffering,
She saw what happened to him,
She was so sorry,
But he had lost.

Together

Although they're hardships and strife,
Nice things still exist in life,
Dandelions, tall trees, blue sky,
Every bird flying high,
Rain from heavy clouds of blue,
Sun shining as if to say, "I love you",
Overpowering the rain,
Now, nice things exist again.

Catching the love of a girl,
Only seeing the beautiful things,
Lying on the greenest grass,
Looking up at the bluest sky,
Ever saying to her, "I love you",
Giving all that you have to give,
Elated with her love.

The World, 1972

We are living in a world--
 with crowded highways and polluted skies.

People are living in 70-story apartment houses,
 and the world keeps spinning around.

Birds have no place to go,
 they have one tree to themselves.

We are killing our brothers without cause,
 and we take it for granted that they're dead.

Where are we going to?
Are we destroying ourselves?
We've got no hope unless--
We get something done.

We are living in a world--
 with poverty all around us.

Why do we have no help--
 to live-to live-to live for life?

Live for Tomorrow

Though there are many troubled days
With many troubled ways,
You have to see that you must live,
And give,
To your understanding--
The future, not the present or the past,
You will last longer that way.

Through hardships and doubts,
If you're tossed about,
You don't have to fear,
If this phrase is near--
Live for tomorrow, not today,
In that way,
You are looking forward to something
That is not today--so believe it.

You are alive,
You can survive,
But most of all you must be
With the one that you can see--
You will be with for the future.

So live, live, LIVE for tomorrow,
And maybe you will be able to
Stand it a while longer.

Mr. Sun, 1971

Hey Mr. Sun,
You brighten up my day,
Hey Mr. Sun,
You send me on my way,
I don't seem to know your purpose in life,
But I do know that you end all strife,
Hey Mr. Sun,
We love you.

Hey Mr. Sun,
You're our guiding light,
Hey Mr. Sun,
We miss you when you're away at night,
If you say you'll go away,
Then we hope you'll brighten up today,
Hey Mr. Sun,
We love you.

Hey Mr. Sun,
We cannot find our way,
Hey Mr. Sun,
I don't know what to say,
Please come out now or we will cry,
So don't stop shining, no don't you try,
Hey Mr. Sun,
We love you.

The Inferno Day

We are living in an age of constant change,
Although we used to sing "Home on the Range",
Now we see our polluted skies,
Where planes and sparrows fly,
And water and land is polluted, too.
What ever happened to sky of blue?
Everywhere you look there is war,
Protesters say, "What are we fighting for"?
So if you see what people say,
Then you can call this the inferno day.

The inferno day is all the time,
It is never sublime,
The days come and go,
But the inferno day takes everyone in tow,
It takes you up and puts you down,
It shows you're wrong and flips you around,
And if you think that your problems won't last,
Then you've got a real blast,
So if you want to get something done,
Maybe the inferno day will be number one.

Love Is Strange, 1971

I don't know your name,
And if you came,
I wouldn't be with you,
You are the one
I never saw before,
And so I know that you will be forevermore.

I can't stand the pain,
It seems most strange--
About the life that I live,
And now I have you--
Where I want you now,
But you can't see who I am,
Can you?

You know it can't be seen
Of what life is,
Of what day is,
And night can be,
So what is life,
And what is free?

I love you more than a world,
It is a heaven up above,
And if I saw you,
It would be right now,
So I'll just have to make out somehow,
Without your name.

The River, 1970

I am lying on the river of life,
Watching the ripples go by,
All alone in a great big place,
With the sun shining down on my face,
Wondering where I will go,
I don't know,
But I'll get there soon.

People walk around me,
But they don't speak,
I don't know what got into them,
Because I'm so happy and free.

I can't live alone,
I got to have someone to talk to,
I am lying on the river of life,
Don't know where I'm going,
But I'll be there soon.

People are funny things,
They don't seem to care,
And they see what they want to see,
But I think I'm happy to be
Living on the river of life.

Time

My daughter is coming up on her 2nd birthday tomorrow,
It will be a happy time,
Because she doesn't know what has happened,
She thinks that the would is great.

She doesn't know about King, Kennedy, or Woodstock,
Races, Riots, or Vietnam,
No Nixon, Spiro, or Melvin Laird,
And to top it off--she doesn't know hate.

She doesn't know prejudice or the H-bomb,
Nor does she know about napalm,
No poverty, hunger, and disease,
She just knows love from her Mother and me.

Why?

Blue sky and white clouds
 hanging in the air,
Cornflakes and barley corn
 growing everywhere,
Seeing the beauty of life all around,
And wondering why the world is going down.

Only I See

I hear her sing,
I hear her speak,
I see her face,
But she does not see my love.

I sing to her,
I speak to her,
She sees my face,
But she does not see my love.

Why?  Why?  Why?
I love her so much,
Yes I love her,
Oh, I love her!
But she does not see my love.

Dream

While I'm sitting under this tree,
Watching the green grass grow,
Listening to the birds sing their beautiful songs,
Going into a dream world,
I think about beautiful things--
Blue sky, tall trees, dandelions,
Blue lakes, wheat fields, calico,
Ice cream parlors, yellow balloons, candy canes,
And then I think of you,
And all else is meaningless.

When I saw you for the first time,
My eyes were focused on nothing else,
Your existence was unknown to me,
Until that memorable day.

I had reached the end of my rope,
But you gave me a purpose,
And now I can't leave you,
Because I love you.

I see you in my dreams,
I think about you day and night,
So listen to what I got to say,
Please don't leave me,
'Cause I love you.

Draw, 1978

It's late at night or
maybe not as all things
seem so relative in love
and war and time.
And if he weren't around
would you come with me
or would you go to
meet him again wherever?
Do you love him as a friend
like you may do for me or
has the years been more
of a habit than a dream?
And the games you play
just a feeling of freedom
or maybe it is more
serious than I see it?
When I see you, my life
stops, for a minute, to
reflect and think of the
times I once shared--away.
Let it be for a while
longer as we have fun
together and don't think
of the other guy like me.
And if you find it too
hard for you, one will leave.

The Dr. Winston O'Boogie Memorial Concert, 1980

Father, brother, friend.
Johnny we hardly knew ye.
Many words have been written
 about the Walrus, and these
  are just a few.

He yeah, yeah, yeahed into our hearts,
And brought love and peace to the world.

He gave us dreams of clouds,
And got us through the night.

His life was what dreams are made of,
And then the Magical Mystery Tour--
                  ENDED.

The Walrus was a friend,
who now goes on to a greater freedom--
his spirit will be everywhere
with everybody--forever.

God bless you--John Lennon.
The war is over.
The Dream is beginning.

Depressed but Happy, 1977

To bring forth is
 To bring down which
  Is to give away.

To give away is
 To tear down which
  Is to carry out.

To carry out is
 To force in which
  Is to lose control.

To lose control is
 To love me which
  Is to be crazy.

To be crazy is
 To be me.

The Demons, 1997

In the light of my mind,
Stands the darkness called home,
Where the demons live.

They laugh and cry where I work,
And make me feel as if I've been shot,
With a bullet through the eye.

The demons do not show their faces,
For if they did they could be driven out,
But they stay buried in the crevasses.

They show no mercy to the faint-hearted,
And they like it when they surprise me,
With their cunning and endless thoughts.

There is nothing that can stop them,
As they prey upon my mind,
Unless someone notices and asks what's wrong,
But the demons won't let me answer.

They control my mind and speech,
Although my heart is pure,
And once they get my heart,
Then they have me.

Death of Me, 1973

So many times,
 I get mad at
  me, and wish that
   me was dead.

I say, "Drop dead, me",
 But me says, "Go to Hell",
  So I still fight me.

Me once told me that I
 had to shape up or ship
  out, but me was wrong.

I told me to "Get lost", and
 so me dropped out of
  sight by jumping in
   a lake.

Now, I'm sad that me
 is gone, because me was
  the only me I had.

Cry, cry, cry for me,
 But don't pity me,
  Because I hated me,
   And me can't swim.

Let me live forever.
Amen.  Amen.  Amen.
and Strike up the band.

The Days have Come (The End of the World)

The day has come,
The night has gone,
And everybody's happy,
Don't you see?

The wind blows hot and dry,
And everybody is thirsty,
The day of days has finally come.

The people flock to the beaches,
While the beach folk go to the mountains,
There is no water here,
And everybody's dying,
It is the end of the day,
In the desert.

The night has come,
The day has gone,
And everybody's sleeping,
Don't you see?

The end has come,
Everybody is dead,
If it ever comes again,
I won't be here.

A Day in the Life of a Yellow Balloon, 1971

Helium causes stretch of rubber,
Like food coming to a stomach,
Going into expansion of inner nature.

Rising to lofty heights,
Through tall statues,
To worlds unknown.

Drifting to useless heights,
Without reason or rhyme,
Suddenly exploding.

Shreds of rubber floating down,
People staring at the explosion,
A child is crying at the dead pieces.

An ambulance comes to the Chinese house,
The fat boy is carried out,
A yellow balloon has been defeated by a lot of hot air.

Day In, 1971

Day in, day out,
Life flies all about,
Time stands still without a cry,
People are born and die.

All of us are caught up in a spin,
They notify your next of kin,
A eight-hour work day is no fun,
Anyone got a gun?

You'd think this would go away,
But in comes the day,
No matter what you do,
That is what's true.

You-----
Want to go to parties,
Want a color T. V.,
Want a gold Cadillac,
Or maybe a new Rolls-Royce,
You fight for the right to be an individual,
But you're just a little slow,
Cause you're in a great, big spin.

Day Awakes

Sun rises,
Birds sing,
People get out of bed.

Light is here,
Night has gone,
That's the end of my song.

A Daily Experience for a Boy and a Dog, 1974

For the morning
sees the light and
the sunshine sees
the paperboy getting
chased by the dog on
horseback, creating havoc
and wishing it weren't true.

Chomp goes the dog,
Ouch goes the boy,
He says something else
That is too much to write,
Pedaling as hard as he
can, he tried to out-run
this mongrel with fleet feet.

Collapsing breath, harder,
Harder, HARDER, until
muscles can't function
anymore, driving harder,
until the bike starts to
decay, panting deathly while
a dog, never tiring, sees a car
that's more of a challenge
than a writhing youngster on
the road with a swollen foot.

Crystal Ball

For life can only
 be seen in a
looking-glass of time.

Sometimes it is dark
 or just very cloudy
and sometimes the sun
 shines it up.

What this three-stanza
 poem means is that you
must see peace
 in life or die.

The Creation with God, 1974

I see my hands
rushing through the
clouds called Earth.

I feel my breath
causing the winds
to blow in all directions.

I hear my voice
speak through the
mouths of the animals.

But I do not touch
what I have made for
fear it will crumble.

Crayton, 1976

 Today is a Black Day in the hearts of many people.  It was announced today that Crayton Elementary School would be closed, due to racial unbalances in the city.  Sure, there were jokes made about Crayton Elementary Public Penitentiary, but memories are more than jokes.  I spent my first six years there at Crayton.  Grades 1-6.  Many people that I grew to know went there, too.  Some people that I grew to love went to Crayton.  The memories are too many to recount here, but I will tell a memory from each grade.
 The First Grade--Mrs. Lanier--find out that murder and suicide were two different things.
 The Second Grade--Miss Barrett--the crayon-presidents' book trade.
 The Third Grade--Mrs. Southern--eating Frosted Flakes in class.
 The Fourth Grade--Mrs. McCuen--"O Ye Jigs and Juleps"
 The Fifth Grade--Mrs. Kirk--poetry recital
 The Sixth Grade--Mrs. Ellsworth--the pre-Watergate Watergate controversy.
 Memories are many.  People revolve around each other.  Destinies are shaped.  Tears are wept.  Questions are asked.  Why?  Why has it come to this?  Why?

Crashed

You let me down when you said goodbye,
I couldn't speak to ask you why,
All I could think was I would die,
'Cause you were gone and now I cry.

I've crashed my heart into a wall,
I watch the phone, but you won't call,
Why have you done this to me,
Now, I've crashed and you don't see.

The times we had were really good,
I thought at least you had understood,
About my love and wanting you,
And how I thought you'd want me too.

I'm crashed and no one's there,
I really thought that you cared,
But what I feel is you're not fair,
We really made a great pair.

So now you walked out the door,
I really wish you loved me more,
But now I see I can't have you,
And I don't know what I will do.

I've crashed my life for all to see,
All you said was you had to be free,
I guess it's true that you're gone,
But I wish you won't be away too long.

I'm Crashed.

Couplets

War is wrong,
 Peace is impossible.

Hate is bad,
 Love is unreachable.

Time is now,
 The future is never.

People don't realize
 that life can't be touched.

Touch is awareness,
 of someone else.

A hermit finds no
 touch, just people.

How can he be
 a hermit?

Anybody is a hermit,
 who can't touch.

Try to find the
 impossible and reach out.

Could it Be, 1971

Could it be that we're together?
Could it be?
Could it be that we can see?
Could it be?
Could it be that we're leaving
Or just could be losing out?
Could it be that life's a hazard or a ball?
Could it be?

Could it be that time is over?
Could it be?
Could it be that people care?
Could it be?
Could it be that we can make a life that's worthwhile?
Could it be that we know all the answers?
It could be--it could be,
Could it be that we're in trouble?
Could it be?
It could be.

Continued To Be, 1975

 The tide of turned was boomed and bammed but mostly burst in the hide of heaven.  The boy cried wolf but no one heard the sight and sound of freedom.  The party lasted until two or three or passed out long before.  They wished the sky happened before instead of now as was predicted.  And we sent cards and letters.  And Christmas came again.  And babies cried.  And old ladies puttered around the house.  And we asked for a raise.  Bam.

Contemplation

Well, here we are,
And the question is Why?

Why has life been exploding?
Why do I want to stop living?
Even if the beautiful things
Won't exist after death.

The beautiful things like trees,
Maybe the greenest grass,
Sometimes even the chirping of birds,
So missing would be much.

If I were to stop living,
How would it be done?
Knife, gun, poison,
A car, a pillow, or something else,
But that wouldn't satisfy me.

No matter what I do,
I know that my mind
Will not be relieved from
Its burden that it bears.

So, I try to keep living and
trying to survive a little longer,
but death is here.