|
the devotion
___________
i can't fucking write it all -
i want 9,000 books
by 1,000 different friends
but everyone's chasing disaster
and wondering why they
come up short
these are bad times for all of us...
bad enough for capital-M Men to talk openly
about being afraid
and children to first try shooting off
guns, not their mouths
we all got a little too
wrapped up in our own
shit
...don't you think?
the sex and sects
and bad guys and
bombs and
what's it all really matter?
you should have seen my
daughter
at the park today -
she was smiling and
radiant and happy and
perfect
because she is
still wise enough
to not choose allegiances
while we stand around
her
scowling and
burnt and angry and
flawed
because we choose them from the hip
and far too often
our leaders,
elected or not,
don't listen to nearly enough
coltrane or wolf or
lightnin' hopkins,
and definitely don't
have good herb
sitting next to
old record players
and it makes you wonder
how different life would be
if they did
i am afraid
for america and
i am heartbroken
for humankind
because it seems so often
that we've all stood up and
walked out of the theater
right before everyone on the stage
stops fighting
and reaches a resolution
and we, in our pointless hurry,
have forgotten that it's possible
to leave hopeful, if not happy
life is bigger than you and
your street is bigger than you
and it's okay to not be
the biggest thing around -
it's okay
not to compete,
not to win,
not to conquer -
it's okay
to just live
it takes a lot of
heart
and even more
guts
to concede trivialities
for the sake of the
communities
and someday
we will all
grow up
and find it in ourselves
to live for the future
and not merely exist
for ourselves
but it's bigger than that
and it's bigger than me
and it's bigger than my street
and it's bigger than my words
and no,
i don't have all the answers,
but at least i'm asking enough
questions
to someday end up
with a few.
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