Second World

I wouldn't have to whine
if the sun would only shine.
But I guess that it does
pretty much all of the time.
That lucky old sun
just keeps rolling around,
so I guess it's the clouds
that are getting us down.
We think, "If I were homeless,
I could spend more time outside."
Okay, maybe we don't think that,
but we think along those lines.
If only, if only,
we didn't have to strive
as if it's such a chore
just being here, alive.
We're sick of first world stressors
but we don't want third world strife.
Is there a second world that's just right?
Or do we need a second life?

Still Feeling Young

Last year on my birthday, I was feeling young. This year, since I was still feeling young, I decided to record that poem as a song.

December Rhymes With Remember, songified

Here's the last poem I wrote, "December Rhymes With Remember," turned into a song.

The Worst Feeling Of All

When you feel worse when you thought you'd feel better–
that's the worst feeling of all.
It's when you close your eyes, spread your arms to fly,
that you can't break your own fall.

When I Lose All Hope In Humanity

When I lose all hope in humanity,
I'm glad I'm not a humanist.
Because then I'd be losing my religion,
and that would be a big decision.
When I lose all hope in humanity,
I feel more human and humanitarian.
Humans are stupid and they'll prove that it's true.
But I know who I am and what I've got to do.

If a Few More People Volunteered

There are so many people in this world,
and so many choosing to have hope
that if we got ourselves into this mess
then we can get ourselves out of it.
And they want to believe that
there are plenty of ways out of it.
To each his or her own.
All roads lead home.
And I'd be willing to believe that, too,
if a few more people volunteered
to live a spotless life
and then to die to give it away.

I Hate Nostalgia

Have I ever told you about how I hate nostalgia?
When I was a kid, everyone just focused on what was happening that day,
but right about the time I got to high school, everyone started talking about
how bad everything was getting,
and "this nation" this and "this nation" that.
It made me feel like I was about to enter the world
at the worst it had ever been.
It made me want to not grow up or bring children into this worst-ever world.
Because what would I tell them? About how it used to be better?
That's why I wish it was like when I was a kid,
when everyone just focused on what was happening that day.
I hate nostalgia.

I Will Not Start

I will not start another book
until I've finished this.
I will not blow the candles out
until I think my wish.
I will not cook another meal
with all these half-meals in the fridge.
But I will start another day
no matter what yesterday did.

My Latest Idea

I have about three thousand ideas a day
and only three of them are any good,
and one of them is just "we should go to bed now,"
so it doesn't really count.
But still, that adds up to quite a few good ideas,
and my latest idea is bound to be one of them.

Deep Pockets

I have a friend with deep pockets
full of truth and grace…
pockets so deep in pants so tall,
and sometimes it's hard to see His face.

If

I'll take you to the pool,
and we'll go out on walks
and pluck up blades of grass
and learn to not eat rocks,
and I'll push you in the swing
and we'll watch your dad brew beer
and picnic on the yard
if we have summer this year.

How Do We Know That Spring Will Come

How do we know that spring will come?

It might get colder and colder.

In May we might be shoveling

through snow up to our shoulders.

In August we might start to pack

to move towards the equator,

wondering if we'd ever come back–

if spring were coming later. 

In October we might ask ourselves

what to call this long new season.

At the second Christmas this winter,

we might be un-merry (with reason).

And by next February,

this might be getting old.

But I know that soon the spring will come,

so I won't grump about the cold.