What to believe?

"All the world is my country and all mankind are my brethren, and to
do good is my religion." ~ Thomas Paine

“I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever in religion, in philosophy, in politics, or in anything else where I was capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and moral agent.” ~ Thomas Jefferson

Drivin' Down the Berm

miles of road strewn with shoes
not daring to be worn
night upon night sirens flood
for the children never born
and the light upon the moon
a reflection, that's all
of the embers as they burn
in the furnace of your mind
encirclin' these thoughts
you go drivin' down the berm

rear view mirrors double vision
it's all the same to me
day by day landmarks fall
every way that you can see
and the dance of the sun
a reflection, that's all
of the embers as they burn
on the pavement of your heart
swirlin' now like ash
you go drivin' down the berm

(chorus)
head upon the highway
distant rollin' thunder
old songs how they simmer
heels to be awanderin'
like an old tambourine
day breaks on a dime
everyone's up and gone
suitcases packed with time
and here I stand alone
_____

some words will set you free
hope's a rig breath an engine
but page after page after page
each fades in locomotion
and the light upon the moon
a reflection, that's all
of the ride that we once shared
on the edge of a dream
encircling these thoughts
you go drivin' down the berm

==repeat chorus==

Angel of Darkness (in the circus of light)

woe cried the muse,
my tears started at the sound,
woe cried the muse,
grief perched upon my brow
and thought embraced her

what does this mean, I cried
what does this mean, I cried

woe cried the muse,
when summer spread her plumes,
woe cried the muse,
she turned her notes around me,
joy fanned its wings
and golden pleasures beamed
about my head

what does this mean, I cried
what does this mean, I cried

til mute attention struck my ear,
it spoke as if to bid farewell,
the winds their sad complainings bore
and love, in infant bud,
vanished

is this the heart of hearts
all disappeared?

woe cried the muse,
then struck her deepest string,
woe cried the muse,
with sympathy up my nerves,
trembling,
every face of doubt burst out
to sing
round the darkening sky

what does this mean, I cried
what does this mean, I cried

woe cried the muse,
then a rude thunder closed my eyes,
woe cried the muse,
laid the lilied beauties at my green,
the dance was broke,
a flower plucked, but not far blown

what does this mean, I cried
what does this mean, I cried

til mute attention struck my ear,
it spoke as if to bid farewell,
the winds their sad complainings bore
and love in infant bud, vanished

is this the heart of hearts
all disappeared?

ever from my sight
an angel of darkness
in the circus of light

The Kitten's Coat

Dusk was passing, and while admiring the colors,
those variations of green in the banana leaves
through the philodendron and amidst the jasmine's
blossoms, an old man became so engrossed
that he missed the moment sharp
when Darkness arrived.

Darkness -- the kitten's coat was endless sheen,
its pitch eclipsing rainbow hues with a brilliance
everlasting -- and through her love for this old man
she'd sponged and glossed her every hair, up
from front paws to phantom tail just for
that evening's meeting, and when her friend
leaned to his cane, she stole along the garden
wall as if to know one sound might break
on either leaf ot twig or snail
the strongest concentration.

And so the kitten crept and climbed, from ground
to rock to empty pot, onto a shelf of money plants
and through a maze of vines and string
until she reached like stairs past stars
the stone wall's top, her world's rough edge,
and with a leap of faith she then found shoulder
she'd been aiming for, she found the nape
and licked it dear, as old man slumped, as cane
fell clear, and through the night she held him there

That coat in all its brilliance ....