SECTION ONE
DAYLIGHT
Freedom One
The free rise up
with liberty
on their side,
seizing every opportunity
this world can provide
With no ties
to be cut
or longing for wealth,
there’s nothing to risk
except freedom
and health
As incident transpires
independence is prey,
to forces suppressing
civil truths
they could say
This injustice
leaves the virtuous
with no voice,
as wounded spirits
are left
with one choice
Splintered strength
must unite
in alliance,
as peaceful accents
are imposed
into silence
Collected minds
need to merge
in this riot,
free from control,
so their rivals
can't deny it
Though caged notions
of will
are imprisoned,
they still scale barriers
initially envisioned
Glory seemed imminent
until the horizon
then shattered,
darkness
drowned daylight
and nearly everything
that mattered
Stolen was the ability
to see the day
as it passed,
now left with
just one thing
of which
was owned last
It is something
that no one
could take away
or could see-
a soul that’s aware
and knows
it is free
Today Then Tomorrow
The daily sequence
can sway motion
for submission,
unless the pride
fueling essence
fights that vision
Power is confidence
and knowing
who you are,
an admission of limits,
and what distance
is too far
The awareness of faults
and regard
for good traits,
guides intuition
to where grace
congregates
In a journey for identity
wisdom ascends,
today then tomorrow,
until life’s calendar
ends
Until Never Met When
Suddenly eyes open,
and you see a new day,
you’ve been here before
and in a similar way
A time already
this anthem was sung,
you moved so foolish
because you were young
There was no way
you'd arrive again,
or so you thought,
until never met when
So here it is-
a stage to perform,
an event to rewrite
regret once born
This moment and place,
features spotlights beaming,
a focus that still
barely highlights meaning
In dark crowds
those close turn bright,
until legions fuse
and you become
the light
In this room
lay the juncture
of legend,
captured swift
with two hands
before the coincidence
is mentioned
Win From Within
Circumstance
brings with it
certain things
When castle walls
without notice
by frustration
are breached,
it brings a relapse
of poor habits
as crossroads
are reached
With attention divided
by diversions of process,
it forces
even the driven
to reassess
what the cost is
The problem is local,
needing a restart
to begin,
with a course to accept-
you need to win
from within
Don’t chase seductions
that tempt
with their promise,
see yourself
through the struggle,
not in conditions dishonest
Embrace the moment
toward a righteous
conclusion,
with strength
from the victory
over doubt and delusion
Patient Fee
In a resistance
to what others
will do,
lay the price
of a struggle
to wage through
Strict discipline
amid towers
of dishonor,
detour paths
toward journeys
often longer
Tough travel
on trails
unpaved but required,
is a triumph
rarely recognized
but quietly admired
While the impatient
settle in safe patterns,
the prudent
chart purpose
in crucial matters
Those decisions
merge fractions
of pure meaning-
a patient fee
that is needed
for believing
Still Summer
In the summer,
at this table,
serenity shines,
as the wind
flutters slow
in a mood
carefully designed
Energy in the air
as birds
dive on through,
while neighbors
mull around
just doing what they do
Worn pavement
provides contrast
for beauty to grow,
as patterns emerge
with still chaos in tow
Composure prevails
while the world
breezes by,
as this peace
authors moments
a busy life will deny
Sad Axis
From a yellow
at midnight,
came daylight
In this center
of greatness
and tremendous flaw,
they slow
among commerce
in a state of awe
A synthetic rush
has senses shifting,
as the more
that’s explored
corrupts each
merging victim
At a time in the world
when most
are at rest,
intersections
confide secrets
these corners confess
It's a polar paradox
to cold urban blocks,
with walkways
of mobs
and doors
without locks
There are mountains,
not here,
crushing slogans
and clichés,
real places
of true beauty,
unlike this
flamboyant maze
How can this
be an axis
where society spins,
as neon glows
mask a sadness
lurking shallow within
Please explain
why this idea
holds attraction,
as it's just a circus
that survives
for distraction
New Rules
This is what you do
in a given position,
as rising status
bears standards
and a suggested vision
At first unsure
of steps to pursue,
past tendency yields
on new passages
to pass through
Now stumbling
with discretion
to win a part
in this play,
you lean on walls
and on others
just to find
the next day
Old rules
become altered
in stage shows ahead,
as risk dances
to melodies
of whatever is said
With ascension higher
humility is essential,
small success
should give way
to a next time’s
potential
Broader concepts
develop
with firm repetition,
as flat scenarios
assemble
into tangible non-fiction
Chances ahead
corralled raw yesterday,
become today’s moves
in new games
that are played
The Plan
I sat down
to try
and write a plan,
in an attempt
to be
a businessman
I find it’s not
a quality in me,
maybe I’m filled
with too much
honesty
But there’s the catch,
I’m selling
a part of myself,
some thoughts
and theories
to collect dust
on some shelf
And typical me,
instead of a plan
I write a poem,
stocking void spaces
in my mind
and my home
Vanilla, Chocolate and a Thousand Doors
It’s a process,
constantly adapting
every day
We are witness
to a maturing filter,
with tendency translated
by varied strokes
This winding,
waffle-cut canal,
guides the ego
through vast cavities
of the mind
Early views
are ample
and in random order,
as youthful thoughts
spill scattered
like loose change
on a kitchen table
Adolescents converse
without concern,
naive to context
and the weight
of spoken language
Older now,
concepts swell
like injured limbs-
a result of society's
jagged flow
During this stage
we still carelessly
emote,
as quick bolts
strike sharp notes
in changing scenes
We learn by failure
where success
may truly lie,
still lacking
the perspective
for convictions
to compel belief
As years mount
poise permits
refined feelings
to flow through,
forging intellect
now elaborate
in form
In simpler times
it was vanilla
or chocolate,
but now
you’re in a room
with a thousand doors
From lengthy trials
of testing attractions,
values mature
and sustain
for survival
Complex issues
launch gauntlets
for sound verdict,
a digestion method
from open eyes
to a tempered heart
Gaping pathways
are now pinholes
in the mind’s fabric,
shielding essentials
from disruptions
of progress
At faint points
our movement
changes course,
as impulse
drives strides
for longevity
New circles merge
as others
break apart,
while the reality
of circumstance
calls for resilience
to arise
Strength shown
declines slow
but persistent,
leaving only pride
and past actions
to repel collisions
ahead
Once again
our options
are limited,
now bypassing rooms
with a thousand doors,
to decide between
vanilla or chocolate