left is the new right our reality shocks me not one taught in school

now i’m on their side i rowed to the other shore to find the same thing

engulfed in a rage of destructive proportions can’t find my way back

emotional fool can’t communicate for shit saying the wrong thing

misunderstood knave sits crying in the corner desolate and [...]]]> idealist at heart
clinging to some value
long lost of meaning

left is the new right
our reality shocks me
not one taught in school

now i’m on their side
i rowed to the other shore
to find the same thing

engulfed in a rage
of destructive proportions
can’t find my way back

emotional fool
can’t communicate for shit
saying the wrong thing

misunderstood knave
sits crying in the corner
desolate and lost

stupid idiot
I can’t play the fucking game
or keep my mouth shut

sharing my best thought
coming out convoluted
an attempt gone wrong

it echoes through space
with shrill harshness and anger
affect opposite

what is the truth
its inconvenient and dull
let me be a star

Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books; Or surely you’ll grow double: Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks; Why all this toil and trouble?

The sun above the mountain’s head, A freshening lustre mellow Through all the long green fields has spread, His first sweet evening yellow.

Books! ’tis a dull and endless strife: Come, hear [...]]]> The Tables Turned by William Wordsworth

Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books;
Or surely you’ll grow double:
Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks;
Why all this toil and trouble?

The sun above the mountain’s head,
A freshening lustre mellow
Through all the long green fields has spread,
His first sweet evening yellow.

Books! ’tis a dull and endless strife:
Come, hear the woodland linnet,
How sweet his music! on my life,
There’s more of wisdom in it.

And hark! how blithe the throstle sings!
He, too, is no mean preacher:
Come forth into the light of things,
Let Nature be your teacher.

She has a world of ready wealth,
Our minds and hearts to bless–
Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health,
Truth breathed by cheerfulness.

One impulse from a vernal wood
May teach you more of man,
Of moral evil and of good,
Than all the sages can.

Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;
Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:–
We murder to dissect.

Enough of Science and of Art;
Close up those barren leaves;
Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives.

– William Wordsworth

steam train before me can the engineer see me I wave my arms, stop!

steam train overhead my screams masked by the rumble I lie on tracks

steam train on its way through the dark shadowed valley running off the tracks

steam train far away I tried so hard to stop it But flesh can’t beat [...]]]> steam train is coming
at full spead, clickity clack
on time to nowhere

steam train before me
can the engineer see me
I wave my arms, stop!

steam train overhead
my screams masked by the rumble
I lie on tracks

steam train on its way
through the dark shadowed valley
running off the tracks

steam train far away
I tried so hard to stop it
But flesh can’t beat steel

Arrogance or pride? What makes it so plain for you - That which puzzles me?

Would you stone [...]]]> I wrote this back in the Spring of this year. It is an expression of some deeply personal conflicts, and a plea to those prone to rush to judgment.

safe on the sidelines much too afraid to jump in comfort is a myth

lottery ticket waiting for the phone to ring salvation is late

your ride isn’t mine why do i rent your journey i’ve one of my own

who the hell are you that i should try to fit in true to your standard

I am [...]]]> potential to spare
no catalyst to be found
where am i going

safe on the sidelines
much too afraid to jump in
comfort is a myth

lottery ticket
waiting for the phone to ring
salvation is late

your ride isn’t mine
why do i rent your journey
i’ve one of my own

who the hell are you
that i should try to fit in
true to your standard

I am thinking big
I’ve gathered some grand ideas
Bits of light shine through

Then back to the now
Shiftless, angry, and strung out
Blaming all but me

I’m just a coward
with a dream and a few skills
scared shitless to try

It doesn’t matter One day or a whole lifetime When the vibe is right

I hadn’t seen you - seemed forever and a day. Then I heard you were gone.

Just another day in paradise you told me A place you could be

Free from the sheriff And those who might [...]]]> When can you say this —
that someone is a true friend?
—a day, or a year?

It doesn’t matter
One day or a whole lifetime
When the vibe is right

I hadn’t seen you -
seemed forever and a day.
Then I heard you were gone.

Just another day
in paradise you told me
A place you could be

Free from the sheriff
And those who might seek to harm
Boy against nature

From the day we met
No judgments made between us
You came as you were

Here in this moment
mistakes past, future unknown
See me as I am

You asked nothing that
I accept you as you are
we are both good souls

Dear friends like you
Who just see me as I am
Are precious and rare

– For my friend Ron “Ronda Riviera” Wright

My true place to be lay on the next block over. But I never knew.

I chose to wander too proud to ask directions most could have given.

Living in the now is useless, if not mindful of the guide inside. (who knows when to ask)

In my early years, my course was never [...]]]> As in a city,
lost, walking round in circles -
pacing the same streets.

My true place to be
lay on the next block over.
But I never knew.

I chose to wander
too proud to ask directions
most could have given.

Living in the now
is useless, if not mindful
of the guide inside. (who knows when to ask)

In my early years,
my course was never steady -
to and fro like wind.

Sudden adulthood -
Youth wasted, indecision -
The game now for keeps.

Mistakes everywhere,
bankruptcy ensued, all kinds.
I slashed and I burned.

Illness, poor choices.
The fruit? A cataclysm.
Near death, I lay grim.

Like some mythic man,
I refused to die prostrate.
My mission was clear.

It seems that wisdom
is a sliver of pale light -
Waxing and waning

Be still, be mindful.
The light becomes a beacon -
forget; it grows dim

Age, pain, survival,
can teach important lessons -
If one can let go.

Let go of yourself.
Live for the rest of the world
Find the empathy.

 Park Avenue South, Charles Socci 2003

Mama didnt say But there are bones in this fish Chew it carefully

The air is foul here Yet one must breath to survive Plug your nose and laugh

Once my wine was pure Now its filled with sediment I filter the grit

No more golden haze My light lacks natural color Blue skies a memory

And so I move on I filter, [...]]]> Tiny bitter pills
Another one to swallow
Another day gone

Mama didnt say
But there are bones in this fish
Chew it carefully

The air is foul here
Yet one must breath to survive
Plug your nose and laugh

Once my wine was pure
Now its filled with sediment
I filter the grit

No more golden haze
My light lacks natural color
Blue skies a memory

And so I move on
I filter, endure and laugh
What else can i do?

ideas that aren’t your’s want for a path to follow too frightened to search

accepting it all believing without question never asking why

reject all of it do not accept what they say they hide all that’s true

searching for the truth its not the easiest way but comfort will come

all is in plain view one must simply [...]]]> like a radio
that tunes the strongest station
the loudest one wins

ideas that aren’t your’s
want for a path to follow
too frightened to search

accepting it all
believing without question
never asking why

reject all of it
do not accept what they say
they hide all that’s true

searching for the truth
its not the easiest way
but comfort will come

all is in plain view
one must simply look at it
squarely without fear

patiently waiting as good patients always do where is the doctor?

quite bruised and bloodied he lay still on the gurney a sudden ending

life’s not forever though many pretend it is death will always come