from my brain to my pen
i'm a pretty quiet person. i don't say much, and sometimes i think it makes people feel uncomfortable. but it's all there. in my head. i just have a different way sometimes of expressing the things i'm really passionate about. sometimes, i will have long, incredible conversations that leave my head spinning - but usually, it's through writing. here are some of the first things i wrote that i REALLY felt like came from ME. these all rhyme, because that's how i started out. now i write a lot more free verse, a lot less rhyme scheme type poetry, but i wanted to share my beginnings anyhow. i think i'm going to add all the things i've written more recently, the more free verse and personal poetry, but for now... this is what's here.
CAN YOU HEAR THROUGH THE STATIC
radio and television
newspapers and politicians
get ready for the next election
how will you make your selection?
expensive advertisements on the screen
republicans and democrats pose and preen
a friendly handshake steals the scene
but when we're not looking it's "compete compete compete"
the candidates all smile wide
"vote for us - we've got nothing to hide!"
look at them with their podium pride
white males, middle-aged, wouldn't hurt a fly
slogan - button - distraction distraction
we're instruments in their song of self-satisfaction
"come on fellows, it's lights camera, action!"
(but how do we hear through all the static?)
use your head, hold your convictions tight
because their noise won't quiet without a fight
sort through the trash and get it out of your sight
because it's up to you to determine wrong from right
VIDEOGAMES AND APATHY
a 12-year-old boy sits on the living room floor
unwraps his new toy from the videogame store
the object is killing - he gets points for blood
computerized soldiers fall dead with a thud
he gets into the game, pretends he is there
his fingers move quickly and you can't break his stare
as bullets make contact, his points climb higher
and all he can think is "ready, aim, fire!"
his father cames home, takes control of TV
and the boy grabs a pillow and rests at his feet
Iraq is the subject of the 6 o'clock news
but the boy just yawns - he seems unamused
the father looks worried at his apathetic son
by mastering those games, what had he really won?
our culture's turned killing and bloodshed to sport -
is this how our whole generation sees war?
lately we've gotten densitized
it's time to put down the controllers controlling our lives
i don't mean just x-box, sony, playstation
there are other objects of mass manipulation
if we put down these traps, think for ourselves instead
we'd be the victors of the battles being fought in our heads
just like the 12-year-old boy on the living room floor
who has to decide - just how "fun" is war?
PLASTIC NATION
she pored over yet another magazine
and wished for a different body at the age of fifteen
"if i had less here and a little more there
then maybe i could get somebody to care"
she's not alone in her low self esteem
it's a growing problem among adults and teens
we're given false hope - we're told we can be fixed
by these soldiers endorsed by models like sticks
these "solutions" are as ugly as we're made to feel
the more people give in, the less are left real
we fix our flaws with these plastic parts
hoping to fill the holes in our hearts
left by the mold we must fit in this life
and it seems our only option is to go under the knife
so should we make the cut? should we make the serration?
should we keep adding more to our plastic nation?
no, that can't be the answer - that's just giving in
we've got to learn to see the beauty within
not after these diets or a surgeons touch
the beauty we're born with is beautiful enough
NOT SO CASUAL CASUALTIES
we're so casual about casualties
we're so nonchalant about war
we go to fight at the drop of a pin
but what are we fighting for?
peace or power struggles, hurt or help
is it wrong or is it right?
it's easy to say that war is good
when you're not the one in the fight
an eye for an eye, a man for a man
what's won with a loss for a loss?
is this the only way for good to prevail,
with human lives as the cost?
fight fire with fire, start a war against war
be crusaders for the cause of peace
spread the message of love, help end all wars
from the far west to the east
armor and tanks and guns and fists
aren't the cure to what's plaguing the earth
destruction and battles and killing each other
only serve to bring more hurt
we have to fix our broken planet
and it's now that we have to begin
battle hate with peace and love
it's a war we've got to win.
HANGING OUT WITH MUSIC
the guitar is speaking to you
and a voice begins to sing
you're hanging out with music
and it's affecting how you think
free will often comes up
when the media is blamed
but free will turned on the stereo
that's playing in your brain
you have control over the music
that is the soundtrack of your life
so why pick a soundtrack
that only serves to tell you lies?
maybe you relate to it
so it's what you like to hear
but maybe it resembles your life
because it lives inside your ears
it can be even worse than having friends
who "sing" about things that aren't right
because though you listen to your friends
it's songs you memorize
the soundtrack that you live to
should reflect who you want to be
and the music you spend time with
should be playing in your key
RED DIAMONDS
we like the diamonds on our hands
to be pure and clean
but there's hate, war, and murder
that are left unseen
there are people out there dying
for these precious stones
and there's blood on the diamonds
we bring into our homes
do you want to support
this war of material gain?
is the diamond on your finger
worth all the fighting and the pain?
if you don't want your diamonds
to be stained red
when you're out shopping
you have to use your head
don't support this
keep your hands clean
buy safe diamonds
with a "war free" guarantee
CAN YOU HEAR THROUGH THE STATIC
radio and television
newspapers and politicians
get ready for the next election
how will you make your selection?
expensive advertisements on the screen
republicans and democrats pose and preen
a friendly handshake steals the scene
but when we're not looking it's "compete compete compete"
the candidates all smile wide
"vote for us - we've got nothing to hide!"
look at them with their podium pride
white males, middle-aged, wouldn't hurt a fly
slogan - button - distraction distraction
we're instruments in their song of self-satisfaction
"come on fellows, it's lights camera, action!"
(but how do we hear through all the static?)
use your head, hold your convictions tight
because their noise won't quiet without a fight
sort through the trash and get it out of your sight
because it's up to you to determine wrong from right
VIDEOGAMES AND APATHY
a 12-year-old boy sits on the living room floor
unwraps his new toy from the videogame store
the object is killing - he gets points for blood
computerized soldiers fall dead with a thud
he gets into the game, pretends he is there
his fingers move quickly and you can't break his stare
as bullets make contact, his points climb higher
and all he can think is "ready, aim, fire!"
his father cames home, takes control of TV
and the boy grabs a pillow and rests at his feet
Iraq is the subject of the 6 o'clock news
but the boy just yawns - he seems unamused
the father looks worried at his apathetic son
by mastering those games, what had he really won?
our culture's turned killing and bloodshed to sport -
is this how our whole generation sees war?
lately we've gotten densitized
it's time to put down the controllers controlling our lives
i don't mean just x-box, sony, playstation
there are other objects of mass manipulation
if we put down these traps, think for ourselves instead
we'd be the victors of the battles being fought in our heads
just like the 12-year-old boy on the living room floor
who has to decide - just how "fun" is war?
PLASTIC NATION
she pored over yet another magazine
and wished for a different body at the age of fifteen
"if i had less here and a little more there
then maybe i could get somebody to care"
she's not alone in her low self esteem
it's a growing problem among adults and teens
we're given false hope - we're told we can be fixed
by these soldiers endorsed by models like sticks
these "solutions" are as ugly as we're made to feel
the more people give in, the less are left real
we fix our flaws with these plastic parts
hoping to fill the holes in our hearts
left by the mold we must fit in this life
and it seems our only option is to go under the knife
so should we make the cut? should we make the serration?
should we keep adding more to our plastic nation?
no, that can't be the answer - that's just giving in
we've got to learn to see the beauty within
not after these diets or a surgeons touch
the beauty we're born with is beautiful enough
NOT SO CASUAL CASUALTIES
we're so casual about casualties
we're so nonchalant about war
we go to fight at the drop of a pin
but what are we fighting for?
peace or power struggles, hurt or help
is it wrong or is it right?
it's easy to say that war is good
when you're not the one in the fight
an eye for an eye, a man for a man
what's won with a loss for a loss?
is this the only way for good to prevail,
with human lives as the cost?
fight fire with fire, start a war against war
be crusaders for the cause of peace
spread the message of love, help end all wars
from the far west to the east
armor and tanks and guns and fists
aren't the cure to what's plaguing the earth
destruction and battles and killing each other
only serve to bring more hurt
we have to fix our broken planet
and it's now that we have to begin
battle hate with peace and love
it's a war we've got to win.
HANGING OUT WITH MUSIC
the guitar is speaking to you
and a voice begins to sing
you're hanging out with music
and it's affecting how you think
free will often comes up
when the media is blamed
but free will turned on the stereo
that's playing in your brain
you have control over the music
that is the soundtrack of your life
so why pick a soundtrack
that only serves to tell you lies?
maybe you relate to it
so it's what you like to hear
but maybe it resembles your life
because it lives inside your ears
it can be even worse than having friends
who "sing" about things that aren't right
because though you listen to your friends
it's songs you memorize
the soundtrack that you live to
should reflect who you want to be
and the music you spend time with
should be playing in your key
RED DIAMONDS
we like the diamonds on our hands
to be pure and clean
but there's hate, war, and murder
that are left unseen
there are people out there dying
for these precious stones
and there's blood on the diamonds
we bring into our homes
do you want to support
this war of material gain?
is the diamond on your finger
worth all the fighting and the pain?
if you don't want your diamonds
to be stained red
when you're out shopping
you have to use your head
don't support this
keep your hands clean
buy safe diamonds
with a "war free" guarantee