The Love Within

In the name of love and charity
in rising solidarity
I wish now for the clarity
to see beyond disparity

In the name of sisters and of brothers
with the strength of fathers and of mothers
remove the hate that wants to smother
the joy of loving one another

In the name of wishes and of dreams
and the kindness sewing up the seams
we must listen to the haunting screams
if we wish to know what all this means

In the name of hands and hearts and heads
the laughs we've had and the tears we've shed
we must rebuke the lies we're fed
and seek the love within instead

Solace

Crawl into my arms
Safe from all the others
Hidden from the harm
Just forget how life can smother
Bring me all your tears
I'll wipe them from your eyes
The guilt, regret, and fear
that leaves you paralyzed
I'll hold you close to me
til all the tears have cried
and search then for the you
that has languished deep inside

Words

We toil over words like we toil over clothes and hair and how we smell and if others will approve but words much like those other things really don't mean anything. Life makes sure of that. Think of all the "I wish you were dead" stories you've heard in your life. That wasn't what it meant when they said it, not really, but life made sure that the wish was granted nonetheless. Think of all the praise or compliments you get through the day that is dismantled in a back room out of earshot, or just the people you know hate you that always greet you warmly and gush about your look of the day. Then later you hear the truth from your coworker who had lunch with them. Words work for functionality and are pretty necessary for your day to day dealings but, when a tribal vocalist can bring you to tears with guttural sounds and a driving drum beat, it makes you realize that words really are only so important. Don't listen to the woman bitching at you, listen to the pain in her voice that punctuates the words and try to picture where it comes from. Next time you talk to a curmudgeonly senior citizen try to hear the wisdom in their voice. Next time someone spews hate try to see if you can tell if it's actual hate. It could be fear, it could be pain from one bad experience, or it could just be what their support system in life has always told them and maybe they just don't know yet what the truth really is.  More on words later...