Alz Is Not Well

He sits in the dark,the light turned on
Remembering of days gone by
He thinks of the times that are long since gone
But all that eeks out is a sigh

He was an aspiring man of dreams
His future was neon bright
But now all he has is the midnight screams
And losing his will to fight

Why do so many succumb to the void
With no solutions to this mess
Their minds are putty that can be toyed
That leaves them with a whole lot less

Billions of dollars placed on the table
To remove the poor souls from the mist
Trying to remind them when they were able
To appreciate what it is like to be kissed

There are times I forget on why I got up
And what I was meaning to do
Then I remember to retrieve the cup
To use to heat up my stew

Is that a sign that I’ll be one of those
Who stumble around in the light
Searching for times when I could compose
These poems that I like to write

Oil Of Oy Vay

The storm is to blame for the price going up
Although no fault of its own
We stand around and point at the chump
Only to bitch and moan

He waves Old Glory in our face
And fingers us unpatriotic
But the money pours out at an alarming pace
While the world spins chaotic

Brave children of ours go marching to war
Without a letter that says greetings
While the conductors of greed direct from afar
Postering time in meetings

I never thought in a million years
That I would see such pilfering supported
While we all accept the lies and the fears
Of the cowboy whose favors they courted

So as I watch it rise beyond sight
I can help but wonder
Are we immature moths searching for the light
As the powers that be, loot and plunder

She Did It Right

A life full of dreams and visions of good
She thought of us all, whenever she could
Full of vigor and vim, she was our light
From the beginning, she did it right

Putting us first, as good mothers do
She made time for us all and for you too
With all of life's problems to stop you on site
Unselfishly always, she did it right

When it came time for the road to get tough
She led with courage and a huff and a puff
She seized the moment with unusual might
With a brave face, she did it right

It is often so easy to follow the crowd
To stomp and complain and scream out loud
Instead of leading and risking and taking the fight
She led by example, she did it right

I sometimes believe you pay for your sins
Doing it over from the losses and wins
But in my heart and with all of my might
I am trying to learn how, she did it right

So as she arrives at that holy place
And they choose the ones with special grace
They will let her step lively into the kingdom of light
Because from the beginning, she did it right

March and Madness

Black and White it comes in waves
Blaring death from nuts in caves
See them all as we stuff our face
Watching those who quicken their pace

Calmly sit and scratch my balls
Nothing bites while they lose it all
Thinking about reports I owe
While they bleed to and fro

Day by day the numbers mount
Till there are too many to count
Tears and pain are all they know
Suits in district conduct the show

Three years later here we sit
Men in charge don’t give a shit
Crude and rude they sing their song
Carry the book and do no wrong

Sea of flags flap to the beat
Thousands more who should retreat
Take for granted those who try
Support the message, support the lie

Bring My Baby Back Home

Sniffling noses, torn knees, worried moms
Bring my baby back home
Sporting games, study hall, many proms
Don’t leave me all alone

Growing kids, independent souls, spread their wings
Bring my baby back home
Hurt feelings, dating woes, feel the stings
Scares me to the bone

Fly away, make their mark, charge ahead
Bring my baby back home
Watch the news, in the dark, count the dead
Listen to the screams and moans

Been two years, in the sand, road side bombs
Bring my baby back home
Growing fears, page two plans, more Saddams
Waiting for the ringing phone

Finally home, in the pine, empty rooms
Bring my baby back home
Agonizing, realizing, feeling the wounds
More tombs of the unknown

Friends Like Us

Beginnings of smiles that turn to laughter
Last a lifetime from here till after
Thinking of times we sat and pondered
The loves and the lives of those who wondered

Hard to keep special with life tugging hard
Points of light leaving us charred
As friends we look back and supported each other
Helped us all up, like our mother

But now it is time that the clouds are shifting
And picks us out like flower that’s sifting
We look to the future with a wink and a sigh
Dread hearing those words, so-long and goodbye

I remember those days of you being there
When life tore me up, leaving me bare
I leaned on you without air in my soul
And watched this life, take its toll

I learned to stand tall by the words that you gave
To earn my way and always be brave
I thank you so dearly for your compassionate ways
And will always treasure those special days

So as time runs out and I hope we keep pace
While people keep dragging us into this race
We’ll always think well of the time we spent
Friends like us, one hundred percent

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Simpatico

It is strange that people never seem to learn the lessons of the past. We are quick to shun the old and ignore their experience. To step over the poor and blame the helpless. We value money and denounce integrity. We as humans were born on this planet and have done everything to divide and destroy it. We stand on our soap boxes and shout at the moon that we are the best.

"Blessed are the humble" People like Lincoln, Sadat, Ghandi and many others who gave their lives to benefit others.

The great leaders of the world have been ignored and abused when all they try to do is improve our moral fiber. Ghandi once said "However much I may sympathize with and admire worthy motives, I am an uncompromising opponent of violent methods even to serve the noblest of causes."

As civilized human beings, we have an obligation to lend a hand when we are busy. To focus on the truth when we want to turn our eyes. To humbly respect the ideas of others when we feel the urge to suppress. Emma Lazarus wrote "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

The Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, Stalin's ethnic cleansing, The slaughter of Native Americans, the Holocaust and many other periods in history where man has raised his ugly head to show why our world is in a state of chaos. The U.S., Great Britain, China, Russia, Japan and all other great nations need to teach their children the ways of the meek, the unselfish and the courageous and reject the old imperial ways.

I was born and raised in NYC. I was devastated by the events of 911. Just like all people in other countries who have felt similar pain. Sometimes I think my country is great and sometimes I do not...just like all other countries. Because all countries are run by humans, humans who make mistakes, who are greedy, uncaring, compassionate and beautiful. Let us rejoice in our similarities and not dwell on our differences.

My Back Pages

Crimson flames tied through my ears, throwing high and mighty traps
Countless fire and flaming road, using ideas as my maps.
"We'll meet on edges, soon," said I, proud ‘neath heated brow.

Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.

Half-wracked prejudice leaped forth, "Rip down all hate," I screamed.
Lies that life is black and white spoke from my skull, I dreamed.
Romantic flanks of musketeers, foundation deep, somehow.

Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.

In a soldier's stance, I aimed my hand at the mongrel dogs who teach,
fearing not I'd become my enemy in the instant that I preach.
My pathway led by confusion boats, mutiny from stern to bow.

Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.

My guard stood hard when abstract threats, too noble to neglect,
deceived me into thinking I had something to protect.
Good and bad, I define these terms, quite clear, no doubt, somehow.

Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.

Bob Dylan

Hero or Zero

How do you reckon a king who lied
Who tosses away the many who died
Erases the tape and sweats in your face
And dissenters who disappear without a trace

How do you believe the powers that be
Who send you greetings in a grand decree
Spend your money without haste
Bitter reminders are all you taste

In the dark, we see the men
Breaking and stealing with the stroke of a pen
Reporters dodge evil and doers of pain
Announcing the truth and ending the reign

Some call them patriots some call them traitors
Trying to reveal the great dictators
The man comes forward to finally admit
All the Red states will not permit

Thirty years later, we still argue
Bout the many differing points of view
Two hundred years and still no closer
To the dream created by the great composer

The Romans, Greeks and all before them
Thought they had the precious gem
They all fell on the same great knife
And set the stage for the unending strife

Here we are, the latest in line
To lead the way and help us shine
Supposed symbols of honor and truth
With an arrogant legacy left for the youth

The Loner

He's a perfect stranger,
Like a cross
of himself and a fox.
He's a feeling arranger
And a changer
of the ways he talks.

He's the unforeseen danger
The keeper ofthe key to the locks.
Know when you see him,
Nothing can free him.
Step aside, open wide,
It's the loner.

If you see him in the subway,
He'll be down
at the end of the car.
Watching you move
Until he know
she knows who you are.

When you get offat your station alone,
He'll know that you are.
Know when you see him,
Nothing can free him.
Step aside, open wide,It's the loner.

There was a woman he knew
About a year or so ago.
She had something
that he needed
And he pleaded
with her not to go.

On the day that she left,
He died,but it did not show.
Know when you see him,
Nothing can free him.
Step aside, open wide,
It's the loner.

Neil Young

Dumbing Down of America

It is amazing how much has changed in this country in a small amount of time. Our lives and expectations have altered to the point where we no longer strive to be the best, the brightest and the most talented minds. We have accepted mediocrity and have followed what I like to call "The Dumbing Down of America."

This process would normally take generations to plant itself into our collective psyches, but in only a relatively short time have we transformed our nation into a C student. Now let me preface this by saying there is nothing wrong with being a C student. Many talented people have achieved this level after hard work and raw talent. But it seems to me as if we have accepted being an average achiever rather than attempting to reach loftier goals.

In my younger days, there seemed to be a genuine urge for continuing education. Graduating high school was not the litmus test for success, college was. Advanced degrees, Masters and Doctors of specific fields of study guaranteed a bright future for the youth of the day. Presidents were scholars, thinkers and award winners. They took pride in their extensive knowledge of history, science and economics. Parents demanded effort and improvement from their children. Never settle, never be complacent. Always put forth your best effort.

Even in corporate America, I see many occasions where the complexity of a process is reduced to enable users to adapt to their environment. In athletics, we push and prod our young to be the best and to achieve at all costs, even to the risk of their health. We need to take a similar stance and apply it to our academics. We are a society that would rather give our child a performance enhancing drug to succeed in football than give them a tutor to succeed in Calculus.Before the advent of electronics, children played outside and used the most important tool they would ever own, their minds. They used those brains to entertain and test their abilities in the social dance of life. Now our kids are force fed digital entertainment rather than letting their own creativity shine through without the mental steroid.

occasionally an opportunity for all children stirs the passion in a child and feels compelled to read a book. The Harry Potter series did more for child development than all the Playstations on earth. We need to bring up the level of intelligence and accept no excuses. Create a sense of wonder and achievement from learning and exploring with the mind. Reward those who put down the game controller and pick up a book.

Let's brighten up America. Reverse the dumbing of the country and use the other 75 percent of the brain. Creativity, imagination and cognitive thought will help the youth of tomorrow battle the hurdles of life. Sometimes I think that Alzheimers Disease was discovered at the same time that video games and reality TV.

Read, explore and wonder. Look at the stars and let your mind do what it was meant to do. Think.

5 Minutes Late

I sat on the couch in my Sunday best
Waiting to leave and be with the rest
Stared at the clock, counting it down
In the hopes of leaving this old town

They sat in their robes and puffed a drag
In no damn hurry, reading a mag
I squirmed and complained as most kids do
Lack of effort, slow motion zoo

As I now prepare for work everyday
I think of those days and start to sway
For the lessons I learned have shaped my thought
Being 5 minutes late was what I was taught

An urge in me that cannot be mastered
Without plenty of spirits that leave me plastered
Like the March Hare, I stare at the clock
Trying to keep from going in shock

I know this is not a very big deal
Those days are gone like a well cooked meal
But it’s hard to unlearn the lessons of the past
When you need to be early, first and fast

So while she dresses and beauties her face
I resist the urge to quicken her pace
I shed those feelings and don’t fall for the bait
Of thinking I am going to be 5 minutes late

Greetings and Salutations

Welcome to my second blog. Taking some lessons learned from my previous attempt and hoping to improve.