The Train to Mars

Tucked away In a familiar place
There is a ruby key
And if you know which words to say
You’ll hear the symphony
A time for love or time for hate
Injected from above
And if the hate has gone too far
Then it’s too late for love
Floating clouds of blue and orange
Swirling round your head
Stirring memories from the past
Of drifters in your bed
Don’t wake the jaded monkey
In the corner of your womb
He’s only your reality
Wrapped in a red cocoon
Nonsense makes perfect sense
As it did when you were young
Youth and beauty on the fence
The church bells all have rung
The train has come to take you home
But which one will you take
Find the one that goes to Mars
the other is a fake
And if you can’t find either one
You’ll have no company
And if you don’t find either one
You’ll have my sympathy

sc2012

Hit the Breaks

sacred temple high on hill

frantic freeway frenzy below

so many harried buried people

too busy to see

too angry to pray

 

 

 

 

sc2012

The Hole

She disappears for weeks at a time
No one knows where she goes
But if you peek carefully into her backyard
You’ll find a nondescript hole

She climbs down into it
When it’s too hard to cope
With life’s overwhelming demands
With her pillow and blanket
She drifts off to sleep
To wait until she mends

Sometimes you think you won’t see her again
Cause it seemed so long ago
Since you talked and laughed and shared some fun
Her memory, a washed out shadow

And then one day the sun comes out
And she crawls out from the hole
Ready to face the world again
A diamond transformed from coal

But the diamond is fragile (cause it’s only glass)
And one day it will inevitably crack
Then she’ll crawl back into her deep dark hole
Til she feels it’s time to come back

Most of the time she fights it
Every once in a while she wins
But the victory is never forever
And she battles again and again and again and again

sc2012

Madness

I’ve got to get out of this asylum
Before I go completely mad
Everyday I stumble through
the same labyrinth
Desperate for a way out
But it seems I just walk in circles
Around and around and around

Madness is waiting
With abundant patience
Waiting to pounce
Waiting for one slip
One fall
One moment of lapse
To devour its prey
Namely me

I have spent many years contemplating madness
And to this conclusion I have come
It’s not the madness you have to fear
It’s the getting there that’s the torture
Because once you’re mad
You’ve no clue that you’re mad
So there’s no more madness
In the madness

Which leads me to this dilemma
Do I give into the madness
To stop the torture
Or live with the torture
Rather than to give in to the madness
And is it madness
to live with the torture?

sc2011

Jane’s Addictions

Jane’s addicted to drama
Jane’s addicted to pain
Jane’s addicted to losing her kids
Over and over again

Jane’s addicted to suffering
Jane’s addicted to abuse
Jane’s addicted to mean, cruel men
Love is her excuse

Jane’s addicted to pills
The ones the doc prescribes
Jane’s addicted to “woe is me”
And attempting suicide

Jane’s addiction to illness
Jane’s addicted to need
Jane’s addicted to depression
And drowning in her disease

Jane’s addicted to addiction
She lives it everyday
Jane’s addictions have driven
Everyone away

So I ran away fast as I could
And my sister, she ran too
But my little brother hung around
Hoping for anew

But he couldn’t deal with the pain
Of Jane’s insanity
And one day we found my brother Ron
Hanging in a tree

Jane blamed us for the tragedy
She didn’t understand
That her addictions did him in
And her too — in the end.

sc2011
In memory of Ron

brothers

Two little boys left to fend for themselves
Snuck into the happiest place on earth
A great adventure was the plan for the two
An escape from a dismal reality

Pretending a castle their very own home
Their parents, a prince and princess
Loving and doting fulfilling their needs
They reveled in their implausible fantasy

Free to be free among the unaware crowd
Playing out their wildest dreams
Like Pan in Neverland chasing Captain Hook
In a tale where you never grow up

A glimmer of hope when a treasure they spied
Shimmering in a pool of blue water
Hoping to gather a pocketful of coins
To redeem for a belly full of food

They plotted themselves an incredible scheme
A good plan they thought they’d thought out
They’d stake their claim on the unclaimed bounty
(which in a child’s mind made perfectly good sense)

So they took off their shoes and waded in
Never to imagine they’d ever get caught
But indeed they did — by a big scary guard
Who hastily herded them off

A call to mom abruptly ended their game
As she stumbled in to take them away
They walked back to the park to their broken down car
Cause their car, was in fact, where they stayed

Climbing into the backseat they lay down their heads
While they shivered from the hunger and cold
That night their dreams filled with fantastic adventures
Only to awake the next day to reality

And the boys spent their days in one car to the next
In a reality of un-dreamable dreams
Out of gas, out of food, out of luck and ideas
Two brothers taking care of each other

sc 2011
Inspired by events in the life of a friend I am blessed to know.

Tea with Me

When life gives you lemons…bake a scone.

~*~

I baked myself a lemon scone

and brewed and cup of tea

went out into my garden

enjoyed some time with me.

The warm sun was relaxing

the breeze played with my hair

my bare feet wriggled in the grass

I chilled without a care.

I relished every single sip

of chamomile tea

lingered over the last bite

of scone — so lemony.

Next time when life gets crazy

I know just where I’ll be

chilling in my garden

enjoying a cup of tea… with me.

©sc 2011

My Shoes

My shoes sit patiently by the door
Waiting for the day
I dust them off
And slip them on
And quietly run away

©sc 2011

The Healing Place

They shed their disease

as they enter the room

they fall to their knees

leave their blood on the floor

they taste of His flesh

as He offers forgiveness

tears from the masses

cleanse their wounds and their sores.

Miracles abundant cannot be refuted

crutches unused left next to the door

the spirit of healing permeates the zephyr

thousands of testimonies whisper from the walls.

The dirt many say

is the harbor of miracles

for the pilgrims of faith

who journey each year

the Santuario de Chimayo

hears the cry of the people

offers hope, rest and healing

to all who come near.

©sc 2011

Time

She never thought she’d grow so old

to feel her body ache

but time made haste

as time soon does

April became a memory

She used to be so full of life

she danced and sang and laughed and loved

wrote beautiful stories and beautiful songs

of dancing and singing and laughing and loving

Greatness she fancied would be her design

but greatness forgot and left her behind

promises made were never fulfilled

disappointments abundant,

lost lives

lost loves

When December came around

she forgot the words to all her songs

she forgot how to dance and laugh and love

time had betrayed her—

Cause time lacks regard

One day she wearied and closed her eyes

catching a glimpse of yesterday

and the blink of time’s cruel eye

time slipped in and stole her away

©sc 2011

The Golden Tree

“…and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”  The Beatles

I traveled to a far off land

across a cotton sea

it was there I saw a lonely man

living in a tree

His wishes hung on every leaf

they shimmered in the sun

their beauty incomparable

unique was everyone

He marveled at his glorious tree

and coveted each wish

he knew someday they’d all come true

because he was “so blessed”

Friends would come in need of hope

for one wish from his tree

he wouldn’t share a single one

“They’re only here for me.”

One day a tempest barreled in

and shook his golden tree

the man held on for his dear life

frightened as could be

The storm blew all the leaves away

his future gravely grim

his tree of wishes was destroyed

as he hung on from a limb

The limb broke off

the man then fell and he began to cry

”How could you let this happen?”

he yelled up at the sky

“My wishes have been carried off

the storm blew them away

my life is damned” he screamed aloud

“I curse this blasted day”

“Don’t you know who I am

I am loved world-wide

I’m special, I’m rich, I’m wonderful

A talent bon-a-fide”

“Someone come fix this mess

and do it right away

I have no time to fool around

I need this done today”

But no one came cause no one cared

he’d alienated all

he never even realized

he’d no one he could call

His arrogant behavior

had lost him all his friends

now he had nothing left

too late to make amends

“This is a lesson you must learn”

A voice boomed from above

“You lost it all my dear boy

cause you refused  to love”

©sc 2011

We’re Already Dead

dead souls
dead brains
dead bodies
dead dreams
dead hopes
dead fears
dead lives
dead tears
dead love
dead care
dead help
dead prayer
dead earth
dead air
dead trust
dead fair
dead you
dead me
dead all
dead we
and
the sun will rise
as if we’re alive
we’ll go to work
get home at five
sit down to eat
share our day
watch TV
pretend to pray
kiss our children goodnight
get into our beds
pull the covers
over our heads
feeling secure
in the life we lead
not knowing, in fact
we’ve all been deceived
and evil is dancing
cause we don’t realize
that we’re already dead
we’re not “one of the guys”
the nukes have been launched
they’re heading our way
no stopping them now
this is our last day
they’ve accomplished their goal
to get rid of us all
the powerful will feast
and mankind will fall
the wicked will triumph
it was all in their plan
dead nation
dead world
dead man
dead man