Justice

Yesterday, they acquitted murderers,
and our world is now just as safe
as the late Sixties.

Kent State is now nothing,
and the national guard is free.
What's happening to our world?

Back in '68, a dude named
Calley killed 102 Vietnamese
civilians and now he's free.

Why can't we have justice?
Where are we going?
Where will it end, my friend?

Our Love, 1999

Today we laughed
Today we cried
Today is our day forever.

We can't know what the future holds,
We can only live for the present,
Our tomorrow is our love forever,
And we can go on together.

You are the music in my life
The songs I sing are your love.
My love is your love in you.
Can we go on hand in hand together?

I see you in my dreams,
You are always in my heart,
Together we will live forever
With our love to keep us alive.

To Be, 1999

Your love is my love
For you are mine forever,
To live together
To be happy
To be sad
To be singing
To be laughing
To be crying
To be silly
To be me.

Janita and Chris, 1999

Just thinking of
A good way that you
Need to know what
I would like
To say to you
At this occasion.
All of us wish you
Now the best of things whatever you
Do and all the
Challenges of tomorrow,
Helping each other,
Reaching for the stars
In each others' lives,
Searching and finding your love.

July 18, 1986

 This is actually the 19th of July.  I titled this the 18th, because I am too lazy to go back and change it.  From time to time, I write these updates on me and put them in my box of writings.  I guess you could call this my footnote, but anyway I felt I should write something down.
 More years than I'd like to believe, I wrote a poem called "A Little Story".  It was published--one of the few of my works that was.  It was the story of a crippled boy crawling in some wildflowers and of a beautiful girl who happened to run into him.  It was also about butterflies and how pretty and free that they are, compared to the hurt in the world.  It was a simple poem with simple images.  Several people have said it was the best poem that I ever wrote.
 Today, over 13 years later, the image remains.  A lot of water has gone under the bridge or over the dam.  I'm not sure how that analogy goes, but the feelings and moods are returning.  I thought that I could never improve on "A Little Story".  But, old things are meant to be improved upon.  That's why they are old.  "A Little Story II" is coming.  I can feel it working around in my head.  One day, it will come out.
 Feelings change.  People change.  Sequels are never as good as the original.  However, on the eve of the 13th anniversary of the "Day I Became A Man", it is interesting to note that the more people change--the more feelings about the new people stay the same.  That may be profound.  That may be another riddle in the psyche of me.  But, I am probably saying that new people have touched me the same way old people did.  Understand?

Words

Brought forth in the
 winter creates a white
  form of rain called
   precipitation.

Commercial

This poem is brought
 to you by peace,
  which is a sad sight
   it today's world.

June

Once in a while,
You meet a month,
Which happens to be
My birthday month.

It's the same month
That is associated with
Weddings, green grass,
And a lot of flowers.

If you haven't guessed
By now, may I say it
Is also the title poem
Of this collection.

Join Together

People,
fight together for what
we see is right.

People,
bring us together for what
we see is us.

Life can be out
if you don't see,
Life without peace,
is just a step toward disaster.

People,
fight together for freedom,
because if we don't, we'll
find us in our grave.

Because Dick will dig the grave.

Joey Temple

 Joey Temple was not a typical boy.  He didn't do typical things for a boy his age.  He had only been around for 12 years, but it seemed like an eternity to him.  In fact, he had lived for an eternity.  Joey had had several identities.  From the well-meaning jailer in 5th Century B.C. Egypt to a waiter in a pub in 17th Century England to Napoleon Bonaparte's valet to the blacksmith from Tombstone, Arizona.  Joey had seen it all, and now he was a kid coming of age in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
 Life in his neighborhood was boring at best.  The houses showed the wear of peeled paint from once-a-year snows and 100-degree summers.  The parents sold insurance, cars, and industrial real estate.  They played doctors, lawyers, and professional Indian chiefs.  Each one tried to outdo the other's pool size.  And they all had 2 1/2 children, a dog, and 2 cats.
 The kids rode bikes and dreamed of drivers' licenses.  Their school work was tedious, but all the boys loved the teacher.  The girls wanted a rock star to visit their houses, but they would settle for hearing their request on the radio.  They all had three lives--school, weekend, and Summer vacation.  They lived for playing.  Playing ball.  Playing dolls.  Playing war.  Playing playing.
 Except for Joey.  He was planning World War III in the den, next to the Atari, but this time it was for real.  Dr. Temple taught Physics at Louisiana State University and was writing a book of Applied Actions from Reactions.  His time was spent on teaching and writing and thought that Joey was still 8 years old.  Mrs. Temple worked at home for an envelope addressing firm, which she had seen advertised in a weekly gossip tabloid.  She cooked all the meals and cleaned the house, but she let Joey share the responsibilities of cleaning up to instill a sense of maturity for later in life.  Joey's sister was in high school and never at home.  Her boyfriend saw to that.  Now what Joey was planning could have bizarre implications for all the Earth, and nobody could stop him.  His world was a box of wires; a TV screen; and a telephone.  He called it a computer.
 Joey had seen a movie about a kid breaking into a government computer and triggering a fake missile attack.  Joey didn't want to do this, because he would be labeled a copycat by his friends.  Instead, he wanted to start World War III by telling the Soviets that a nuclear bomb had been planted somewhere in East Germany, and it was going to explode in 36 minutes, as a retaliation for their dominations of Eastern Europe and Afghanistan.  And, who would the Soviets believe?  Why, the President of the United States, of course.  His computer was going to imitate the President's voice and codes for nuclear war, and as the President, Joey would tell the Soviets that they couldn't do anything about the bomb and would dare them to fire back at us.  It would be a tough speech, but the President was known for his tough talk on the Russians and Communism in general.  The plan was perfect.  The time was right.  The word wasn't ready, but nothing could be done to prevent it.  Joey controlled the buttons.  Humanity was to become extinct by a pre-teen.
 It was time for supper.  Joey left his computer turned on, because he didn't think he would be gone long.  He could eat and return to his work, but the dog got to the box before Joey.  Fluffy didn't know that pressing her nose against the "Command" knob would trigger a chain of events that no one would forget, much less remember.
 Meanwhile, halfway around the world, a Russian corporal was attempting to go through his normal routine.  His job was essentially the same every day.  He had to watch for any news coming over the teletype that would be of importance to the Soviet leadership.  Ivan listened for the little bell, which would signal a message.  He had faithfully handled this job for 2 years, but didn't mind that the Army hadn't promoted him.  He thought that if he got promoted, that he might be sent elsewhere, and he liked it where he was, even though it was a little boring.
 In the two years that Ivan had been working, he received only standard messages such as troop strengths or minor skirmishes as reported by the intelligence operatives.  Usually, he gathered the reports together and had a courier take them twice a day to the Army Chief-of-Staff.
 The sun was just coming up over Lenin's Tomb.  Ivan could see it from his window.  His coffee was getting cold, but he was busy getting the first packet of messages together for the courier to take.  2 more hours to work when his replacement would arrive, and he could go to bed.  2 years of 12-hour shifts would have killed an ordinary man, but Ivan loved Moscow, so he didn't mind.
 Suddenly, the bell went off.  Ivan strolled over to the teletype to get a message that would probably say something about the Afghan War.  What he saw was entirely different.  The words read like a nightmare.  His heart began to pound.  The message was datelined from Washington, DC and by the President of the United States.  Was Ivan to phone the message to the Kremlin or take it personally?  Was it a hoax?  Who would be crazy enough to say nuclear war would begin in less than an hour?
 Joey's peas were okay, but he didn't want the corn.  His sister left.  On her radio, the Emergency Broadcast System came on.  Joey's father hated that sound, because it made the dog bark.  The radio announcer said, "This is NOT a test!"  World War III had begun.  Fluffy howled.
 Ivan never made it to sergeant.  Joey's sister lost her love.  The FBI never brought federal charges against Joey and his computer.  It was all over except for the smoke.  Nobody was left to know who started it, and at this point--nobody cared.

A Jingle of Time, 1973

La-la-la-dee
I got alcohol on my knee,
I got some grass, too,
But most of all I got you,
Boo-boo-boo-boo-boo

And guess what, Mike?
I got life on strike,
What the _____ does that mean?
I don't know, Mr. Green Jeans.

January 4, 1776, 1976

200 years ago today
(or thereabouts), the
forces of the law and
of nature were cracking
down on the unnatural.

In a fit of fate, the
freaks went to a new land,
in search of freedom and
the pursuit of happiness.

The happiness was fulfilled
for some.  The crackdown
was stopped.  Meaning was
restored in the life of one.

The giving of hope by some
to one was enough to sustain
the life and keep the existence
from being so nearly destroyed.

The hope continued through
six years.  The happiness
waivered but did not falter.
A life was spared.

Now, the date was the
same.  The day was the
same.  The time was the
same.  The names had been
slightly changed.

Zero hour was here.  The
hope was still there, waiting
for the deliverer, but they were
not to be found.

The conclusion that one
has to reach, and still survive,
is that the deliverer delivered
and went away, but there's still
the hope which breaks all barriers.

It's A Boy's Night Out

It's cool,
It's mean,
It's wild,
Almost obscene,
It's a boy's night out.

You'll flip,
You'll dance,
You'll sing,
And find romance,
It's a boy's night out.

I Walked Today Where You Walked, 1970

I walked today where you walked,
Along those rocky paths,
I saw the house that you called home,
With its walls falling down,
That little place has not changed,
Everything here's the same,
I walked today where you walked,
Where people come and pray.

I saw today what you saw,
That mountain behind your house,
The one you climbed at night,
When it was very cold,
I ate the food you ate,
And it wasn't very good,
I climbed the hill of Rattlesnake,
I climbed the hill of Rattlesnake,
I climbed the hill of Rattlesnake,
Where on the top--I saw,
The place you were for that week,
And I thank God for it.

I Tried, 1970

There was nothing I could do,
I tried, but I failed to help you,
I've done all that could be done,
I knew that he had a gun.

I wish that you wouldn't die,
I knew that he lied,
About the gun he had,
This makes me very sad.

And now, we'll have to go our ways,
I'll won't see you until the day of days,
I hope you won't be mad with me,
Because I tried, don't you see?

It Don't Matter to Me (part 1), 1973

Why do we major so much
 on peace in Indochina?

Why do we want so much
 to stop air pollution?

Why do we try to get
 blacks and women to be equal?

Well, I tell you that
 it don't matter to me.

It don't matter to me
 if war is fought and thousands die.

It don't matter to me
 if people choke on smog.

It don't matter to me
 if riots and demonstrations happen.

It just don't matter to me,
 whether love exists or not--
 whether there's sunshine or pain--
 whether there's death or life...

Is

Sunshine is freedom
 to the darkness.

Cool air is freedom
 to the desert.

Laughter is freedom
 to the unwanted.

But where is the
 freedom for peace?

Voluntary Army, 1970

 Although our draft system is totally wrong, a voluntary military system would be just as bad.  The army would be a militia.  A country of this size could not function under a militia.  We would be poorly protected, and we could not handle a war.  The army would be a professional army, and it could take over our government.  We cannot possibly have a volunteer army.

Marijuana, 1970

 There is a slogan now, which is "Make Marijuana Legal".  We need to keep strict penalties on marijuana, or else we will have a serious problem.  People between the ages of 14 and 30 will become no use to society, if they use marijuana.  Marijuana is not harmful and not habit forming, but it does lead to harder drugs.  Since alcohol is legal, should pot be legalized?  The answer is a flat and plain--NO!

Television Censors, 1970

 In a Communistic society censorship is imperative, but in the United States censorship is a violation of the Constitution.  If we censor the television, then we will censor the newspapers, the books, and our very life.  It will bring about a dictatorship.  T.V. "tells it like it is".  Are we going to look at the world "through rose-colored glasses"?  Let's not have censors.  The television network should decide what goes into programs, but NOT the government.

Pollution, 1970

 Water pollution is a serious problem.  Lake Erie, in the next ten to twenty years, will be gone because of water pollution.  The bed of the lake was once a protective rock base.  The chemicals that were dumped into the lake dissolved this rock bed causing sand and silt to slowly fill up the lake.  Because so much pollution has been poured into the lake, the process of silt replacing water CANNOT be stopped.  In a few years, Lake Erie will be a large mud hole.  The loss of life will be those people that depend on Lake Erie for water.  Some of the cities affected will be:  Buffalo, N.Y.; Cleveland, Ohio; Akron, Ohio; and Toledo, Ohio.  The cost for the next five years to clean up the water is estimated to be 26 to 28 billion dollars.  This would be about 5 1/2 billion dollars per year or about the same amount as the money appropriated in the 1967 budget for space exploration.  Isn't it worth it?  I think so.  Water pollution messes up the balance of nature.  A Washington, D.C. newspaper said about the Potomac River, "Boating is still o.k. as long as you don't fall overboard--the main peril is not drowning, but gulping in the rich content of decay and disease with which the river is loaded."
 Air pollution is a very serious problem, also.  Here are some facts on air and water pollution.  Smoke and fumes, some of which are poisonous, come from U.S. factories, heating plants, auto exhausts, jet aircraft engines, etc., at a rate of approx. 142 million tons per year or 20 million full-grown elephants.  Air pollution causes things to happen to the weather such as "magnifying storms".  Air pollution causes tracheal bronchitis.  Air pollution also causes asthma, lung cancer, and emphysema.  The Reserve Mining Co. on Lake Superior's north shore dumps 67,000 tons of waste every day.  Food, textiles, paper, chemicals, coal, oil, rubber, metals, machinery, and transportation dump 25 trillion gallons of waste into water each year.
 A lot of people talk about pollution, but you have to have action to stop it.  Although I have cited two problems with pollution, there are many more.  There is moral, economic, social, and political, too.  IF WE DON'T STOP POLLUTION, THE FUTURE WILL BE A THING OF THE PAST.

Inside Words, 1975

Short but to the point
 is what I've been trying to be
  in expressing myself over
   the years on paper.

Pat myself on the back
 and all that, but don't
  pass-up the fact of
   loneliness and despair.

And also don't forget
 that all these words
  of mine don't mean anything
   unless you know the writer.

And don't be surprised
 when someone steps up
  to you and says,
   "Smile, you're you".

Why?

Because I'm me.  A
 shell of a person with
  love in his heart and hate
   all around him including himself.

Images, 1976

A broken man with broken
 dreams stumbling along the
  street, decked out in his
   Sunday-best of dark green
    work pants, a heavy faded
     brown jacket, and matching cap,
      with at least a two-day beard.

A group of men walking
 briskly down the street
  as if late for an
   appointment, and dressed
    in carefully coordinated colors,
     as if they were doing a
      lay-out for Esquire.

The broken man has the face
 of a town drunk and expresses
  that be putting his hand on
   a coin return lever at a public
    phone and pushes down in rapid
     succession with the hope
      that a dime would drop.

The young men pass the old
 man and look over their
  shoulders at him to see what
   he was doing, and the old man
    breaks his concentration to look
     up at the people from the
      other-side-of-the-tracks.

They laugh.  He shrugs without
 responding to them and turns
  to search for another phone.
   They continue to laugh and
     ridicule him amongst themselves,
      when one turns to the man and
       says, "Get a Job"!

The man walks away as if
 he didn't hear, while the
  young men continue laughing
   as they go back to work,
    but the old man did hear
     and wishes that he hadn't
      heard, but off he goes stumbling.

I Dream

I dream about photography,
 and what it involves,
  but pictures are for
   freezing people with fronts.

I dream about large cokes,
 with that ice bubbling
  at the top, but it doesn't
   quench your thirst like Gator-Ade.

I dream about pizza
 and the hot mouths
  that result, so let me
   have another Canadian Bacon.

I dream about lasagna,
 but the school never
  cooked it right, so
   where is somebody's specialty?

I dream about people,
 and how I wish it were different,
  but it's like
   the pictures taken.

I dream that people
 wouldn't have fronts
  to put-up for other
   people to see.

I still dream that
 it will come true
  that I will be able
   to try somebody's specialty.

I dream of that day
 that might not come.

 

Identity Craziness, 1975

And I wish my life
 would be this way or
  that way.

And I wish I wasn't
 always in a one-to-one
  dream world.

And I wish I was
 some super-human
  muscle-man.

And I wish I was
 a genius and a
  brain doc.

But I'm not,
because I'm me.
And I'm unique.
Because I'm me.

And I wish that
 I was me, or
  not at all.

Kibbutz, 1970

 Education has always been an important goal of the United States, but there are some children in the slums of our cities that do not have a chance for an education.  The early years of a child's life is the most critical.  It has been proven by child psychologists that most of a child's learning takes place when he is young.  The pattern of poverty begins a new cycle every time a child is born in a depressed area.  Normally, a person born in a poverty stricken level, will work and die in that same area, thereby keeping the same poverty level.  A kibbutz is a collective farm or settlement in Israel.  The kibbutz provides primary education that is compulsory to the children, free of charge, for those ages 5 to 14.  The literacy rate of the people in Israel is 85%.  This proves that the compulsory education for its people is successful.  There is no difference between an Israeli kibbutz and an American slum.  If these people in the slums could be educated, they would get good jobs and good salaries.

Vietnam, 1970

 According to the Geneva Convention of 1954, there should have been an election for president of Vietnam.  The free South Vietnamese did not want a communistic man to run the country, as Ho Chi Minh would have done, since he would have won the election.  Now, because South Vietnam was going to be taken over by Communism, the United States, under the direction of President Eisenhower, stepped in.  First we said we were going to give economic aid to South Vietnam.  Seeing that the problem had gotten worse, we sent military advisors to South Vietnam to advise the armies how to fight.  President Johnson ordered more men to fight and now we have close to 400,000 to 500,000 men in Vietnam.  In other words, the United States is an imperialistic nation.  We stepped in, and we are fighting somebody else's war.  This war is technically a civil war, that is a war between two sections of one country.  Vietnam IS one country.  The division, made by the Geneva Convention of 1954, was supposed to be temporary, and end after the national election.  The Hanoi government does not regard the division, since they had an election.  The Saigon government recognizes the line as a division between two countries, thus violating the Geneva Convention of 1954.  If Vietnam were to go Communist, that does not mean all of Southeast Asia would go under, too.  We can never win this war.  We have spent billions of dollars and thousands of lives in this war.  The war has been partially responsible for inflation and our industries are primarily concerned with putting out war machines.  When our country of 200,000,000 people and 3,615,211 square miles is put up against North Vietnam with 15,903,000 people and 61,293 square miles, it makes our country look pretty bad.  The only reason we got into Vietnam was, because we made a bargain with the South Vietnamese, that if they got into trouble, we would help them out.  I quote from Barry Goldwater, Republican Senator from Arizona, talking about the United States foreign policy, "We have 17 treaties with other countries that state that we will go to war if any country declares war on them, and we have 47 other treaties stating or implying something about war in them."  This is what we went to Vietnam about and we should get out now before more money, lives, and prices go up.  Some people may call me Communist for my attitudes, but I am a realist.  There is nothing wrong with true Communism, but there is no such thing in our world today.

Love, 1970

 In the last few days I have been thinking about love in relation to the world.  In the Bible the thought is given that you should love one another.  Seeing that I can love everybody, I made a list under which everyone comes under and some come in more than one category.  There are five categories.  These are love thy neighbor, brotherly love, the twelve-point-Boy Scout law-oath of love, an undefined love-emotion, and Godly love.  Let's look at each one separately.
 The first section is love thy neighbor.  Everyone comes under this first part.  You are to "love thy neighbor as thyself", so the Bible says.  This is the hardest to do.  You must love your enemies, just like your friends.
 The second section is brotherly love.  This includes your relatives, friends, father and mother, brothers and sisters, and all those that you feel closer to than just people.  This isn't quite as hard as the first, because you have eliminated your enemies.
 The third section is the twelve-point-Boy Scout law-oath of love.  This may be the most detailed of them all.  This includes your good friends, parents, and those individuals who are closer than brothers.  The twelve points are trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.  These people may not live up to your expectations, but they should try.
 The fourth section is the undefined love or emotion.  You may limit this to one or two people.  This takes out your parents, and your closer friends.  The emotions are brought out be actions.  If one is sad, they you are sad.  If one is happy, then you are happy.  If one is embarrassed, then you are embarrassed, etc.  There is care, affection, want, and need.
 The fifth section is the Godly love.  You are to love God most of all.  He made you and me, and we should thank Him with our love.  In the Bible it says, "God is love".  Without God you cannot have the other four points.  If people would love one another, there would be no more wars, hunger, poverty, and hardships.  We would have peace.  Peace within yourself, and Peace with the world.

Ice Queen, 2002

You're the ice queen,
You send shivers up my spine,
You're the ice queen,
You really blow my mind.

I try to talk to you,
But you just walk away,
I call out to you,
But you don't hear what I say.

You're the ice queen,
You don't seem to care,
You're the ice queen,
With your long blonde hair.

If we go out,
What do you do?
You talk about others,
Or meeting someone new.

You're the ice queen,
You lie to my face,
You're the ice queen,
I just want to leave this place,
And go home.

Ice Queen!

I am Me, 1974

The sun is shining
all along the grass,
Boys and girls playing tag,
running through the park,
and all that I could see
is how that I am me.

I walked past the kids,
who were having their fun,
and looking up at the clouds,
and the wind pushing them
across the sky, and I wished
that I could know if I am me.

I am me, yes I am me,
and I am just unique,
I am me, can't you see?,
that I am known all over the world.

What to say, when they say,
you're famous, how to tell all
those folks that you're just you,
I don't mind that I'm famous, but
please let me be free, because
I am me.