I want no more of negativity Life cannot bless those who merely obsess From now on it is only hope for me Whatever I do or do not possess Hope is free and I can still afford it
The train of thought which leads to gloom and doom Can pass right by without me aboard it And anyway there is no longer room Since everyone else is on it but me
I will not settle for a destiny Of fear and darkness narrowness and war Hatched in the brains of idiots today We deserve better! Why not demand more? And I daresay I know a better way:
Before and behind beneath and above The simplest thing of all which we call "Love"
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV
Sep 11, 2005, 7:18 pm
Transcendental Sonnet #1416: Sweet Girl I Promise We Will Be OK
Listening to Dylan dreaming of you My sons came and visited me today I believe in some things as just plain true Like hope and faith and love and being kind Even when the world seems out of its mind My ears are wide open to what you say
And more importantly my heart is too
I have some good strong coffee in my hand My daughter will visit me on Tuesday All three of my kids and you understand Every crazy thing I say come what may We listen to each other we are one Believing in life liberty and fun
Sweet girl I promise we will be OK
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV
Sep 11, 2005, 5:38 pm
Let Hope Be Sparked
thoughts on a 9/11 four years later
Maybe they never read Lincoln's speeches Perhaps they have forgotten Kennedy I guess they are too young for Roosevelt But those who rule today seem like leeches Draining America from you and me
Does anyone remember how it felt To know the deep goodness of this country And to be truly proud of our leaders?
When did we settle for bottom-feeders? We apologize as we realize Our embarrassment with our president
Do you think about this? Do you doubt this?
Something has changed and not for the better Killing the spirit shouting the letter I believe in America: do you?
We can do better we can and we must Let our sweet American dream come true E pluribus unum: in God we trust From many can one future be begun As God above is love so let love be
Let hope be sparked to kindle you and me
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV
Sep 10, 2005, 10:18 pm
Lady Luna
Because I have kissed it Because it has kissed me I cannot resist it And this it is a she
Lady Luna the moon Is calling me tonight I feel her kiss and soon She will love me in light
The best part of my days Comes at the end my friend Once again as always My Lady Luna's love Will drive me mad again Will lift me up above This cruel day of pain
My Lady! Come for me! Lift me to ecstasy!
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV
Sep 10, 2005, 7:44 pm
Transcendental Sonnet #1415: Night Flight
My first three books all might as well be thrown in the sea Written as they were for one who cares nothing for me It hurts now to read of the love I poured inside them I was once so proud of them but now sadly hide them
The last time I talked to her she had them in a box In the attic with the artifacts like broken clocks It took the best tattoo artists here from miles around Working hours and hours on my arm to get her name drowned To make her star fall in terrible beautiful flame And to leave a black hole where no one can see that name
Some seeing now ask me "Were you shot down?" Yes I was But no one ever flew higher than I did because I have a devoted imagination you see And for a thousand nights I imagined she loved me
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV
Sep 10, 2005, 12:25 pm
Why
From a cold and still and dark and silent place I seek As though from a premature grave as it were to speak Those things which are in the end unspeakable yet I Whether through folly or stubbornness seem doomed to try Bearing a burden of a peculiar urgency To share with you the dreams and visions inside of me
I have made some mistakes along the way you might say Wrote a thousand sonnets for a girl who did not care Gave my all and uttermost to someone never there Beautiful dreams burned to ashes by the light of day Looking back now I see it was all an illusion Alone among these ruins now with my confusion
I wonder if anything really means anything
In and out my lungs keep breathing my heart keeps beating Apparently I have not yet run my course of days And the sentence continues more of this mortal span They tell me my consciousness might continue always In that case please remember me as an honest man Who sincerely did his best and please forget the rest
So ultimately what do I want and hope to be? To be a good poet so you will be proud of me
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV
Sep 9, 2005, 5:24 pm
I grew up under the shadow of an abuser. I cannot forget nor will life let me; he is here and there and everywhere, wearing different faces different places.
Inspiration in Reverse
You are an inspiration in reverse As you do the wrong thing at the right time Make me bloom better as you wizen worse Grist for a counterintuitive mill Train-wreck careenings refracted to rhyme
Your freefall continues and so I will Never lack negative inspiration A cautionary tale as one might say An embodiment and evocation Of how bitterness eats the soul away
With your example of what not to do Seen in a spotlight as you fall apart I wince at your pain as you fail again Here in the audience mind my own heart And pray God I never end up like you
As with a shudder I pull the rudder Away from the scene of the accident I leave you to rant in your stinking stew You inspired me whatever your intent
You thought if you made a big enough noise If you could prove yourself a bully too Then they would let you play with the big boys But too late: here comes fate to bully you
May God have mercy on what is left of You and those who will now be bereft of You who doubtless wish you had not left love Back there behind out of sight out of mind
You are an inspiration in reverse Make me bloom better as you wizen worse
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV
Sep 8, 2005, 1:24 pm
Red Apple
This seems a good day in which not to talk A day in which to rise above the noise One in which to think to wonder to walk To ruminate to celebrate small joys Of solitude in quiet gratitude Reflecting clearly free of attitude
An inventory day of taking stock People argue nature acts: just the facts While armchair quarterbacks grope and grapple While irrelevant idiots natter
I am going to eat a red apple
What those talking heads say does not matter Nor are their minds functional anyway All I would say on this beautiful day Is they should struggle less and snuggle more I wonder if they know what life is for It is to be enjoyed and not destroyed
Lighten up shut up get on with it go Our life will be over before we know
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV
Sep 7, 2005, 9:34 am
September Song
In the misty-moisty morning shady Hours before the sun breaks through My thoughts my dreams are of one sweet lady Fantasies of loving you
The first leaves turning on the maple tree Here on my quiet old street Remind me how much I wish I could be Wrapped within your hair so sweet
Here or there where you are or wherever Our hearts could ever soar to Just to be with you and there forever To cherish to adore you
The world grows smaller every day Someday soon we will be together And you are not so far away Especially in autumn weather
When the wind whispers soft above you Listen and hear it sigh "I love you"
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV
Sep 6, 2005, 11:52 am
Tomorrow Today Will Be Yesterday
a frisky frolic
Sweet girl where have you been? I have missed you! Thoughts of you warm me like sunshine each day It is impossible to resist you None could nor would I try to anyway I will not rest until I have kissed you But I think you might kiss me back daresay
We feel the first breath of autumn weather And wonder if we are going under If so let us go in style as they say We might as well be going together And since we go the same way come what may Let going be going on holiday
We only get one chance and ours is now This life which we enjoy some would destroy But here we are today one girl one boy Who might as well have a good time somehow And live all we can while we can today Tomorrow today will be yesterday
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV
Sep 5, 2005, 9:51 pm
After One Before Another
Here between the hurricane And 9 / 11 again We wait for fate beneath Our sword of Damocles Hanging high hanging by The skin of broken teeth Confused brought to our knees Where some pray where all say
An ill wind blows today
Anger shakes its iron rod Waiting in the dark tonight We look up and question God Searching shattered dreams for light Brother at the throat of brother All against all back to the wall So steep the height so deep the fall After one before another
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV
Sep 5, 2005, 6:40 am
Transcendental Sonnet #1414: The Racist "But"
Whenever people say "I am not racist 'but'" Then they go on to prove they are no matter what They say since having prefaced their remarks that way Apparently they think those are the magic words
And then what comes after the "but" is for the birds
If you have a bullshit detector as I do Listen closely after the "but" and you will hear The self-alleged non-racist pontificator Motivated by insecurity and fear Is made insecure by and is afraid of you And will get to all of us sooner or later
Just remember it is what comes after the "but"
First they flatter then they natter then people die Above all else keep your bullshit detector dry
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV
Sep 4, 2005, 9:40 pm
Cock-a-Doodle You
past poultry
To all of those cocksure cockscombed roosters out there:
For my sake go on and take her as if I care Or as if she would be with me in any case I find your cock-a-doodling to be out of place And if she is that shallow as to be with you Then there is simply nothing anyone could do (How I wish that I could be gay but I cannot Abused that way as a child I never forgot)
The crowing is slowing but still I can hear it I want no part of poultry nor to be near it If you have money though you can go buy hair plugs Impress your honey with penile potency drugs A thorough waxing and a little nip-and-tuck An eyelid lift some botox and a fancy f**k Is what you get for your effort and energy
Just keep your cock and your doodle away from me
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV
Sep 3, 2005, 5:13 pm
Freedom of Speech for All and Each
All hail the conservatives Pickled with preservatives Of stupid superstitions Mistaken for traditions
Hate is a tradition too
They dislike the likes of me And will dislike your likes too When we frolic friskily Through their mythic misery
I will not be enslaved by The narrow and depraved I Am not here to live in fear
So conservatives: screw you
You will never catch the best And may you fail as you do Your worst to enslave the rest
But I am wrong! But you are right! I hope that gets you through the night For the truth is something better More of spirit less of letter
Go have your fun play with your gun Stay well the hell away from me Your way is right for everyone Except for me: we disagree
Now very slowly back away From me go have a righteous day Smugly snuggling with ignorance Go rule the world at my expense
But you will fall someday and I Will have the last laugh as you die When late you learn and understand You were supposed to share this land
With me
Freedom of speech for all and each Keep your hands off my liberty
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV
Sep 2, 2005, 8:15 pm
Of House Dust and Nattering Nutters
fiat justitia ruat mundus
House dust bales itself into sundry shapes Making it easier for harvesting Dust bunnies and kittens up to great apes Which handily drift by in offering A small convenience for the householder Distracted or drunk or getting older
Cleaning becomes evolutionary Humble house dust rising to the very Tip-top of the tree of society Where it is finally captured by me The nutters natter but does it matter What they are saying and spraying today?
Just tell them to shut up and go away
Or like house dust bale their bile into shapes Make themselves handy for their disposal Scared bunnies cross kittens not-so-great apes Quick with a quip or crackpot proposal Heaven forbid we ask them a question
So here is my fist and my suggestion:
The confraternity of the confused Has blamed and bullied us and has abused Us long enough now rough times make us tough Real people overcome real disasters And after that overcome our masters
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV
Sep 2, 2005, 8:58 am
The Lifting
In a world of insanity Anger the order of the day Futility and vanity Where nobody knows what to say
And it would seem to you and me That it would be better if they Could channel their hostility Into something more constructive
Come my friend let us turn away From the bitter and destructive Dogma and ideology Which would create hell here on earth
Today let us be born anew
Rejecting death let us choose birth And this shall be the rise of me And this shall be the rise of you The lifting of us gloriously
Come transcend death to rise above Our fear to hope our hate to love
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV
Sep 1, 2005, 10:47 pm
Stars in My Eyes
Uncertain as to what to do While my world seems to spin away I write these lines for readers who Might never read them anyway Finding rhyme to be amusing Measured time made less confusing As out of place in time and space I simply do the best I can As a thoroughly mixed-up man
Yet
Fundamentalist hobbyists If that is what they are As they would seem to be Archconservative lobbyists If only from afar Who take things out on me
Get
On my nerves as one deserves Who roots for truffles such as I Snout to earth and heart to sky The wistful twinkle in my eye Blinks blind as I am going Into this cloud of unknowing Into a crowd which is showing Curiosity with hostility But with stars in my eyes I need not see
Let
There still be hope in sorrow here tonight Somehow someway someday let there be light
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV
Aug 31, 2005, 4:27 pm
Dancing by Moonlight
It occurs to me I am fortunate And no matter what I might as well be Enjoying this ride
Here on which I find Myself alongside You now as we share Heart and soul and mind
Whether we know it Whether we show it Or not since we bear Burden and blessing The challenges of This life which we love
Triumphs tragedies We are made of these We pay by the day It is all we know
No second-guessing When down here below Of what is up there Just wonder tonight Dancing by moonlight
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV
Aug 30, 2005, 2:02 pm
Transcendental Sonnet #1413: Sung in the Stillness
Given the slightest encouragement I find All of the vinegar washed out from my mind And I wonder then where the bitterness goes But only the moon and nobody else knows
The moon is not talking but we are walking Together
And whether Or not I ever understand anything
I can be grateful for the present you bring In that moment when the breath is suspended Before the next begins the last is ended The moon always knows what to say anyway
The greatest poem is silence after all Sung in the stillness between the rise and fall
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV
Aug 30, 2005, 3:08 am
Moon Walk
I enjoy as I have said Making coffee at midnight Waking up stark in the dark Proving life is not yet dead Moving to shadow from sight Straying away from the day Which misunderstands so much
On nocturnal holiday I reach out as if to touch The cool white face of the moon We speak but we never say A word yet silence is heard And no sound is more profound I will be hearing it soon
Beautiful friend come with me I will show you: you will see
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV
Aug 29, 2005, 11:50 pm
My Monday Makeover
A team of dental experts toiled all day To purge the imperfections from my smile Thence I went direct to my physician
My Monday makeover made more worthwhile Because it placed me in the position Of encountering an old friend from school
A lady now to whom I seemed no fool At all and we felt like when we were small Too young back then but here we are all grown And all this time I thought I was alone
It only seemed that way but now to play Again to pray again to thank God for Today again just what I need no more No less in fact today is all I need
Life loves me and I love it back indeed (My new tattoo is healing nicely too) Today I live I love and I succeed
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV
Aug 28, 2005, 7:14 pm
Two of a Kind
I have decided to live and give you fits Life is worth all your crap to give you the shits Why should a good poet commit suicide When a target like you beckons far and wide For some sharp ridicule? I would be a fool To pass up an opportunity like this I am puckering up my sarcasm's kiss If revenge is sweet your ignorance is bliss
Of course there are a lot of other reasons To shuffle back into this mortal coil The beautiful the true the changing seasons But I really love to make your blood boil I vow you will only feel the burn you earn In spite of this I know you never learn But never mind that as the blind lead the blind Despite our means and ends let us be friends
Do you remember? We are two of a kind!
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV
Aug 28, 2005, 1:06 pm
Congratulations
If you can grab hold of a wealthy man Well then hop to it go ahead do it But get to him while you are young enough And still have your looks before things get rough What the hell might as well get all you can
The rich just seem to get richer each day But they have to pay if they want to play So swivel those hips now cash in your chips You can always divorce him tomorrow But be sure to get the cash in writing Before things go sour and you start fighting
Live large and in charge in the USA And get it all before it gets away Be wary of ex-children and ex-wives As you start your honeyed new-moneyed lives Later there will come a time for sorrow And until then some will think you are scum
What the hell might as well get all you can If you can grab hold of a wealthy man
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV
Aug 27, 2005, 10:00 pm
Better Not Read This
Most are only in it for the tax-cuts At least around here in my neighborhood Some distant others though seem to be nuts
Their apocalypse of evil and good Can become confusing in this twilight It gets hard to tell when they speak of hell So merrily with their eyes burning bright Do they like their toast to be dark or light?
But should you disagree they shout: "Treason! Give me my tax-cut get out of my way Full-serve my Hummer and have a nice day!"
So we must behave since the souls they save Might well be our own in the known unknown Just pray today they will leave us alone
They have those prison-camps for a reason
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMV - Greetings from Gitmo!
Aug 27, 2005, 8:51 pm
All in the Family
My son the rock star is going to play Las Vegas where all of the secrets stay
But he likes secrets knowing he has come From family with more secrets than some Pezzo novante up there on the screen: Family business (you know what I mean) Bobbing and weaving making a living
We have a little problem forgiving
Not always pretty it can get gritty But it is understood we must look good Just mind your manners in the neighborhood Eyes open mouth shut where night spends its days No one knows anything (maybe crime pays)
I am the white sheep of my family Fredo... the poet... this misfit you see But still I remember never forget And are my children of the blood (you bet)?
So I will write my poetry (just never mess with me) And if you like it or do not we are polite: agree?
