Passion 2 – Football

The crowds gather

A faceless throng

Of colours, hats and scarfs

Singing and chanting

Their only desire and hope

Is what will take place

In the stadium they’re entering

As their team goes to battle

As gladiators of old

Representing the masses

As well as every individual present

Nothing else matters

Except to win and die

On what happens on the pitch below.

The passion rises to a feverish level

The passion is strong

The rich and poor,

Black and white,

Male and female

Come together in one voice

Their lives beyond the game,

Their team

Is nothing.

This is life!!

2nd January 2003, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America.

-Richard

Passion 1 – The Beginning

“In the beginning God created the world”

For one brief moment

Man’s passion was Him

That had brought life into being

Then a look away that passion was changed

To evil and sin and not to Him

Man was passionate in lust,

In greed and power.

It makes me think about our world today,

A modern, sophisticated and self-centered time.

What are my passions?

What make my soul rock?

God created my passion

So where is it now?

Does it focus in Him

Or the world we live in?

Questions are answered

But, where does it lead?

I guess we need to go 

All the way to the end

To find what is encapsulated 

In the one little work

That can be so evil

And yet so pure

The word I’m talking about

Is the word PASSION.

-Richard

2nd January 2003, Cary, North Carolina, United States of America.

Beaten Down

I feel like a nail

Constantly being hit

Knocking me down

Into the ground

Blow after blow

Pushes me further

Until I disappear completely

Or the force causes me

To snap in two.

2nd January 2003, Cary, North Carolina, United States of America.

Disappearance

Where did you go?

I miss you!

Six months

Changed

Fun has gone

Mind has 

Become a clone

I don’t know

Who you are

Or what you were.

All I do

And say, 

Believe

To you and

In you

Has gone

Has disappeared.

I miss you!

Who are you?

3rd August 2002, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America

-Richard

It’s Friday

It’s Friday night,

Home from work

Two days off

Spent at home with you.

Going to McDonalds

Or Burger King

And seeing you excited

For your Friday present.

Tomorrow is soccer Saturday

Staying in bed late

Precious moments together

That can’t be beat.

It’s Friday night,

Home from work

Two whole days 

To be spent with you.

12th July 2002, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America.

-Richard

World War III

World war three

Around us wages

Although no declaration to see

It’s in all the pages

No Maginot line 

Or redcoats shining bright

Giving a clear sign

That obviously is a fight.

A guerrilla engagement

All around, hidden 

Emotions ferment

Lifestyle forbidden 

To acknowledge or talk

Silent battles

Not walking the walk 

As society rattles 

As seismic waves

Battles in the street

Forefather rolling in graves

Not a traditional war

Or even Stalingrad

Feelings so raw

Is it a modern fad?

Social media not 

Face to face

An around bot

Invades every space

Leads just to hate

And growing fear

Just to be great 

Yet all we hear 

Is you don’t count 

You don’t belong 

Even climbing the mount

You hear the song

America the Great 

Brexit is all

Hate

Leading to one big fall!

Modern war

Unseen around

See hypocrisy soar

As drumbeats sound

World War Three

World War Three

WORLD WAR THREE!!!

October 8th 2019,  The Woodlands. TX

-Richard

There is so much noise going on in the world.   It sometimes feels like a constant stream of images and anger with so little positivity.  This is the current America we live in.  The loud and the bullies get heard and win. 

It got me thinking about how "free" we really are.   In the America we are supposed to be in the freest Country and yet look around us.   So many tied down without options just scrambling by, hanging on.  As a Christian, or Jesus follower we are supposed to be free, but, the church just wants to put more and more rules on to us. 

I have had major writers block for a long time, but, with all this whizzing through my brain something finally clicked.   This is supposed by read with a desperation with a the thought of a constant drum beat behind constantly driving.   It is not the final version, but, I wanted to write it down as is:

Land of the Free

Free verse

No meter

No rules

No stanza

No grammer

No punctuation

No from

Free

The rhythm of Glass

The verse of Ginsberg

The art of Dali

I remember the day

Freddy died

And understood

Loneliness

Love

Series over time

Until a mental block

A writers block

Free will

Free choice

Peace

Lennon and McCartney

Free as a bird

Life

In the Land of the Free

Liberty

In the Land of the Free

Happiness

In the Land of the Free

Tata tata tata

Drumming of Reich

Of Ak47

Destroying

Freedom

No big government

Unless

<Silence>

You can't control

Woman

Refugees

Gays and Lesbians

Poor

Sick

And on and on

But shit

Guns are FREE

Free verse

Yeah right

In the Gulag we stay

Ask Alexander

About baggage

Free (fortissimo)

Rules (diminuendo)

Free (forte)

On our terms (diminuendo)

Free (piano)

Old white men (pianissimo)

TRUMP

War

Murder

Violence

Guns

Trapped

TRUMP

John Cage four minutes

<Silence>

Jesus teaching

<Silence>

Hate

<Silence>

Justice

<Whisper>

Equality

<Whisper Louder>

Peace

<Louder Still>

LOVE
<Shout>

Remove the chains

FREE

<Scream it>

FREE

Verse

Expression

In America

Land of the Free

Is it?

Wham sings!

-Richard