It’s a hand grenade of high frequencies Placed right between your eyes. Easy to guess now where it came from; Years of rock and roll caught you by surprise.
So much harder just to sit and talk these days In a thin blue funk of purple haze. Forcing the rhyme within tired rhythms Simple technologies each a new craze.
You’re in it. You’re on it. But can’t admit that you want it. You buy it. You waste it. Much more than a phase. It’s the New Craze.
It used to take talent and a lot of hours People loved you for who you are. Now it’s the beautiful, the extreme Making a grab for your last dollar.
You need a law degree, and some Marketing Even web design or sound engineer. Craft miraculous songs but it won’t matter Without looks and cash there is no career.
You’re in it. You’re on it. But can’t admit that you want it. You buy it. You waste it. It’s just the New Craze.
When my wife and I purchased our first, and only home about thirty years ago, the adjacent property included irregular strips, pieces, an access road and a very old overgrown field. Over the years we cleared some of the vacant land next to our house. We built fire pits further and further out in the ‘wilderness’. It was mostly brush , grapevine and honeysuckle.
We didn’t use any equipment other than hand tools more sophisticated than pick ax and shovel. Each year we cleared more land to the side of our house of the brush and undergrowth. We had been doing this for a couple of years and noticed a huge tree we had not even seen before. It had towered over everything but through past decades the brush and small trees had provided a path for the insidious grapevine. As it does to anything above ground, the grapevine climbs anything it can and then covers it with a blanket of leaves. Each year the plants and trees try to grow new sprouts and shoots but are caught in a strangle-hold by the vines. Eventually the trees can’t bend down enough and break into pieces and soon die looking like a rounded skeleton. The smaller trees were already dead or damaged beyond hope. We managed to save more than we thought possible and we were determined to save the huge cotton-wood tree that was already entangled in vines spreading through the lower branches.
The neighbors thought we were nuts. Then a company came and bought the land we had cleared of debris and undergrowth and the rest of the surrounding wooded area. Years and years went by and they did nothing with the land. We spoke with the owners and told them that if they ever sell the land we would like to be the first offer. We also mentioned our clearing and using of the property and they were fine with that. We continued.
Over the course of our time here we have purchased all the pieces of what used to be abandoned property. Not much total, but a jig-saw of ‘odds and ends’ surrounding the neighborhood we made it our home! My posts often refer to feeding wildlife animals and birds in our tiny sanctuary. A number of neighbors share in the maintenance and care of this land now.
We have owned all the property pieces for a few years and have been trying to get it surveyed. It took them two years after signing the contract but finally the surveyors came out and tagged all the properties including our original house and land. When I came home from work there were orange flags everywhere along our side of the street and throughout the woods. We even discovered one neighbor’s fence was actually in our yard.
I was so thrilled and for the first time I walked every inch of land knowing what was our property. With that lengthy introduction I want to share a poem I wrote after that walk. Thanks again for your visits, and I hope this will be a great New Year for all!
“The Border” (C) MSK 1-22-2020
Orange flags everywhere but only where We are They disappear through the ages and few Return
Moving, shifting, season upon season upon Buried No concerns no doubting they never change Waiting
I’ve just walked every inch of our border Cut or cured, with muscle and bone We laughed loud and worked harder But we didn’t have to do it alone
Standing for generations before we embraced it Mighty Ruins become playgrounds, wilderness a haven Our home
I’ve just walked every inch of our border Cut or cured, with muscle and bone We laughed loud and worked harder But we didn’t have to do it alone
What’s yours is yours thanks for giving back what Is mine Fires burned, pumpkins were carved by many Good night
Moving, shifting, season upon season upon Buried No concerns no doubting they never change Waiting
I’ve been thinking all day of when I get you home After everyone has gone and we’re finally alone. Like a good dog I’m gonn’a give you a bone.
I hear his mouth running all over town Talking shit and calling me a clown. I am headed over there now to put him down.
But I’m feeling rather tired And it’s time for a nap. It’s been years since I retired And it’s time for a nap.
Rewarded or punished for decisions we make Climbing this mountain is a piece of cake. Just another day or so beyond the lake.
Dream what you remember Remember what you dream. After all these years I found out It’s just about the same thing.
I bought three books and can’t wait to start Two of them are very close to my heart. I’ll read them all tonight, then put more in my cart.
I’ve been thinking all day of when I get you home After everyone has gone and we’re finally alone. Like a good dog I’m gonn’a give you a bone.
But I’m feeling rather tired And it’s time for a nap. It’s been years since I retired Sleepy from my morning snack. You can see I’m rather tired And it’s time for my nap!
(C) MSK 4-28-2019 I listen to your words Over and over as if I had not heard. Why am I hypnotized? What holds me finally realized.
Your voice gives them meaning Half way through the day I realize I’m dreaming. Can’t say I understand Things don’t usually end the way they’re planned.
Listening to your words In the dark of silence it all sounds absurd. Lost without the story? Turns so clear so deep so true to me.
There’s no other way to say it. It is in the sound In the melody The voice as it carries. There’s no other way to say it. Opens the heart Pounds the soul The heart as it buries.
There is no denying the power As it overwhelms and begins to devour. The dreams I’ve known forever Lie in the softness of light and strength of a feather
There’s no other way to say it. It is in the sound In the melody The voice as it carries. There’s no other way to say it. Opens the heart Pounds the soul The heart as it buries.
Metaphors and analogies Comic plays and tragedies Miracle cures and man-made disease Sealed with handshakes and apologies.
You couldn’t tell an ancient shaman From a clown selling snake oil remedies Observing you see much in common Debating the pain as you burn or freeze.
You chose the wrong path long before today Fame and fortune have gotten you this far Felt you deserved the status and glory somehow But no amount of luck is going to help you now.
Family and friends give you all you ask Generations of wealth demand compliance Doors opened easily for a wink and a bow But no amount of luck is going to help you now.
Miracle cures and man-made disease Debating the pain as you burn or freeze Sealed with handshakes and apologies From a clown selling snake oil remedies.
You chose the wrong path long before today Fame and fortune have gotten you this far Felt you deserved the status and glory somehow But no amount of luck is going to help you now.
Doors opened easily with a wink and a bow But no amount of luck is going to help you now. You took all that your power would allow But no amount of luck is going to help you now.
Metaphors and analogies Comic plays and tragedies Miracle cures and man-made disease Sealed with handshakes and apologies.
It’s been months since we left shore Nothing looks familiar any more. The tropics and fair weather long past How did it get so dark and cold that fast?
The seas blended into the sky As the waves are frozen in ice. A sun this bright feels bitter cold The heart burns darker if the truth be told
I’ve seen the bottom of the iceberg; I know how deep it goes. You can’t judge distance by its tip; This, every captain knows.
Compass guides us toward nothing Spinning, bouncing but never pointing. There’s no one trusted at the helm Of a sudden lost far beyond the realm.
Never lived under clouds this weird Sweat instantly frozen in my beard. Your cries are lost behind a smile Deeper still with each swallowed mile.
I’ve seen the bottom of the iceberg; I know how deep it goes. You can’t judge distance by its tip; This, every captain knows.
It’s been months since we left shore Nothing looks familiar any more. The tropics and fair weather long past How did it get so dark and cold that fast?
Here we are and I love you still. No strength; no hope; no will. Here we are and you can’t let go Never see; never believe; never know.
I just realized what a dipshit I am. Don’t know exactly when it began But it certainly wasn’t part of my plan.
I understand how condescending I’ve become. Thinking I’m the only one that gets things done.You can’t be productive if you are having fun.
Step Outside yourself for just five minutes. That’s all it takes to know who you are. Step Outside yourself: I can show you how. You really don’t have to go very far.
I know, ’cause I can hear what you’re thinking. Everyone loves me so why all the cursing? I hate the thought of endless reversing.
Step Outside yourself for just five minutes That’s all it takes to know who you are. Step Outside yourself: I can show you how, You really don’t have to go very far.
Step Outside and pay attention. It’s not like the rest of the world needs your attention. It takes a little effort and not much time. Come on out, the answer is in the rhyme.
Give me a minute And if you look at youThe way I look at me We can Step Outside together.
Step Outside yourself for just five minutes. That’s all it takes to know who you are. Step Outside yourself: I can show you how. You really don’t have to go very far.
I just realized what a dipshit I am. Don’t know exactly when it began But it certainly wasn’t part of my plan.
MidiMike 