Caught Up

I can still hear the laughter

Kids enjoying themselves; having fun

Dancing to 70’s R&B

Jermain Jackson singing “Feelin Free”

when “the bump” was the craze

And high school was a rat’s maze
Back when Nixon was a bad joke
And good weed made a vet choke

When “Soul Train” was the show to watch
When every dancer was so top notch
Back when Michael was Prince of Pop
We jammed to the beat, never wanted to stop

Remember when Ali was the champ?
He rejected Vietnam and Army boot camp

Stood his ground; didn’t fall for the trap

Stood strong like a man and took a bad rap

Remember when everything, was smooth like butter?

Didn’t have crime stats, kids dead in the gutter

Used to be about respect, love and fun

Now its street-gangs, violence and the gun

Old-school was solid and so copastetic

What used to be easy, is now rat-race hectic
Now-a-days its hustle and fight your way through
Don’t even have time, to just be…you*

Passover

Across the road there…at
The other side of maybe; we
Believe the grass is greener
And hope breeds enlightened notions

Of dreams here and there
Of aspiring, wishful wants or needs
All left beneath the hollowed ground
Where silence is the wisest sound

Across the road there…
Fallen ones are interred
Legacies embraced and honored
Our cherished never deferred

Over there…the light scribes listen
They do hear time tell
The names of those we know
The sparks we can’t let go*

Scythe And Rifle

Muzzle pointed down range
His target unsuspecting
Shooter’s conscience rejecting
Its kill or be killed, as

Rockets lance the clouds
His prey; still and prone
No remorse; heart like stone
War is, what it takes away

Fighter jets screaming above
Missiles loosed into flight
Buildings crumble beneath their might
Leaving only chaos and ruin

A lone sniper lines up his sights…
He won’t hear the screams
He won’t see the blood streams, but
He knows*