Dude!

My last poem of the year. The song version is called 'Swig of Lisky', swig-a slang term for a person or friend.
DBT chick ready. Sorry M, it had to be.


It had been told the boy was old and wise before his time
his locks they say were peppered gray though he was only nine
he grew to be a prodigy, read every book he could
but played as hard out in the yard this was his childhood.

he made the grade without the aid of study hall Morrone
Lo and behold God broke the mold, he had a funny bone
but rarely let it out, his quiet kind of fun
his friends will vouch he loves the couch, it's where his nappin's done.

CHORUS:
well it's my first cold of the season
and my last poem of the year
and though I sit here sneezin'
there's nothing we should fear
and I know that he will love this
and he may just shed a tear,
so i'll toast, a swig of Lisky
he's a barrelful of cheer!

his skin is fair and freckled, with eyes of grayish green
sometimes they are bespeckled but the clearest ones i've seen
he stared me down the sidewalk and I thought that I would melt
and never told him anything about the thing I felt

i met him then at seventeen h'was just a budding rose
and less the height and weight he is but that's just how it goes
got to know this gentle dude who goes without a sock
the king of conversation he's the baddest on the block

CHORUS:
it's my first cold of the season
and my last poem of the year
and though I sit here sneezin'
there's nothing we should fear
and I know that he will love this
and he may just shed a tear,
so i'll toast, a swig of Lisky
ee's a barrelful of cheer!

Well he's somewhat into music, saw the movie, read the book
periodicals take floorspace while his CDs line the nook,
Lisk ain't into artwork, window treatments, floors or walls,
it's Thanksgiving over Christmas, can't be bothered decking halls

the only one I've ever met who can make me laugh and cry
all in the same moment though I really can't say why
but when I was just seventeen and he turned the big "eight oh"
i wished that I could be around to watch that old man grow.

CHORUS:
it's my first cold of the season
and my last poem of the year
and though I sit here sneezin'
there's nothing we should fear
and I know that he will love this
and he may just shed a tear,
so i'll toast, a swig of Lisky
and God Bless the coming year!

Guy's War Story

He liked to say he had some shrapnel in his head
but I'm afraid that's not the only thing he said...

with his working arm he wheeled his broken body down the hall
pushing buttons of the nurses, you could say the man had gall.

he said, " Hey, you little blond, I don't believe I caught your name,
but I could shoot my AK rifle", then he talked about his aim,

"I'm not kidding, were it fitting, I could take you out right now,
and you'd never see it coming, 'Special Forces'"; I said, "Wow!"

He said " I can tell you stories that would spin your head around,
cause I've seen a lot of action, 'fore the shrapnel took me down".

Then he pointed to the helmet, that sat high upon his head
" I'm an invalid,disordered,yes, but surely not brain dead".

Had I met this man some other way, say walking on the street,
I'd be running for my life, 'cause you know he'd pack some heat.

A better man, though he would say the shell of what he'd been
not to listen to his story, would've truly been a sin.

I believe I caught the glimmer of a hope within his eyes
that I'd ask to hear about it and be shocked beyond surprise.

So I smiled at him and said, "I've got some time to kill here, Guy,
do slay me with your was story and in detail, please, don't lie."

"Army, Special Forces, sent to Nam to guide our men,
I knew the lay of jungleland, believed that we could win.

I taught them what I knew to stay alive and get it done
without a leader they'd be dead before the setting of the sun.

And so I led my troops in battle and I kept them all alive
taught them everything they never learned in boot-camp to survive.

and everything went well until one night it went to hell
when on a mission I was ambushed and this story I will tell:

taken prisoner, beat and blindfolded, then forced to walk for miles
they took their turns at night guard, while they tried to sleep a while.

but all along I waited, for I knew the stupid one
would look away, then turn back looking down the barrel of his gun.

and sure enough it happened, that the Doofus looked away,
and I was there, right on the trigger, and I took their lives that day.

and I broke out of the darkness and ran south for several days
I had learned the landscape well, but then, my head was in a daze.

When suddenly I heard them, distant voices. English speaking,
and I came upon a hedge in which I hid but did some peeking.

And what I saw, believe me, was the best dream of the day
I burst right through and ran to, waiting arms, the USA!

That was not the last time, I came back to Nam again
caught some shrapnel in my head, you know, and here I am, the end".

I do believe this soldier is just one of countless men
who spend their days in nursing homes confined, without a friend.

for years before and years to come, there will be guys like Guy
who need to share their war stories with folks like you and I.

and when we stop to listen, to appreciate the cost
we honor not the killing, but the living and the lost.

we validate the struggle, and the things they've overcome
encouraged in the battle, 'til the final war is won.

He liked to say he had some shrapnel in his head
but I'm afraid that's not the only thing he said...

Man with a Hammer

your hammer's good, it's headed south
it keeps your secret, without a mouth

the ground is hard, the ground is cold
tells many stories, as I am told

where you've walked, how much you weigh
you'll cover your tracks, but still, one day

the smallest fragment, the tiniest hair
well get you life, to this I'll swear

you make your bed, you dig your grave
and to your guilt,you'll be a slave

Think this out while you sit in the slammer
He carried the cross, but you bore the hammer.

He took the nails you pounded in
"Forgive them Father, they know not their sin"

Three days later the ground will attest
The man was seen walking along with the rest.

A carpenter by trade, he knew about hammers
He knows about you. his lost little lamber.

He stands at the door, speaks truth and won't stammer
Be the best friend to the man with the hammer.



"He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening [of the prison] to them that are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Isa.61:1,2)

Jesus once said to the Pharisees (who demanded that Jesus silence His followers), "I tell you if they (His followers) keep quiet, even the stones would cry out!" (Luke 19:40) In a culture that seems to stifle and discourage any type of Christian faith expression, we as living stones cry out, seeking to give Jesus the glory that is due Him! - Rod Minaker

Happy Birthday

when I was a child
heard many a thing
about God in His Heaven
and angels who sing

and streets paved of gold
and the one at the gate
whose keeping a record
of me on a slate

the things that I do
and the things that I say
It scared me to think that
I'd sin anyway

and I wanted to know
how the God of great love
could measure our worth
by the things we think of

not knowing Him then
well I listened to men
who knew less about God
than they did their own end

so I prayed to the One
asking right from my heart
tell me true, are you there
have you been from the start?

can you please help me sort
through the myth and the magic
the lies of religion
the hopeless and tragic?

can you meet me right here
just where i am
in my darkness and failures
are you really I AM?

and what of the others
who labor for nothing
who have not and hunger for
turkey and stuffing?

on the streets, in the cold
stumbling drunk in the alleys
red-handed, white lies, and deep blues
in the valleys?

at our weakest, and numb
from the heartache of losing
the ones that we love,
left behind with a bruising

will we find you in throne rooms
in the back of our mind
some Wizard of Oz
that we're seeking to find?

A whisper, an answer
a thought I just had
was it me...was it you
could it be, that I'm mad?

But wait, there again,
yes, it's something inside
saying " open the door
and I'll come without pride."

"Ask Me, I'll tell you
I'll lead you along
NOT ONE WORD WAS WRITTEN
disproven or wrong"

"And as for the poor
and the weak and your past
Your sins are forgotten
and the first shall be last."

"I've chosen the weak things
to confound the wise
I turn it around
for the greatest surprise"

"The ONE that I loved
the dearest of all
the babe in the manger
with the horse in the stall"

He grew to a man
and we know him as Jesus
fulfilled the great plan
and wow, how he sees us...

He bore all our burdens
and gave us the ring,
we are his bride
and HE is our King

and the more that I trust him
the more I debate
I need to ask questions
regarding our fate

is God all around us
is heaven for real
does He care for our flesh
and the way that we feel?

is one day like a thousand
as thousands are lost
in the floods and the fires
and the wars and the frost?

I'll wait for the answers
and try to be still
like the child in the manger
and the cow on the hill

I will study to find myself
well in your sight
while we sit by the fire
and chat through the night

and when Christmas has finally
dawned on our days
and we celebrate giving
in so many ways

I must keep in mind
how you wiped clean the slate
for once and for all
you reopened that gate

and I must not forget
though I'm often at fault
that you want me to shine
to be light, to be salt

and always remember
that You are the reason
I celebrate Christmas
no matter the season.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

the one thing

the one thing that I've wanted
eludes me to this day
I drive around just looking
with nothing much to say
the ones that have it, earned it
while the others, we just pray
for the one thing that we wanted
but eludes us to this day~

Aye, the one thing that we wanted, but eludes us to this day!

well you take the road to riches
and bloody well you may
find the path that intersects it
when your greed gets in the way
and blindly turn aside
when all the beggars plead, "Oi Vey'!
you've got the one thing that they've wanted
but eludes them to this day~

Aye,the one thing that they've wanted but eludes them to this day!

while I wait around just hoping
that my wages serve me well
and try to keep the heat down
while the gas bill goes to hell
not the thing I really needed
but the one that keeps me warm
it's my thermal underwear~
and all that's clinging to my form~

Aye, her thermal underwear is all that's clingin' to her form!

I pull myself together
in the early morning light
and layer on and layer up
'cause this has been my plight
the news guy says it's snowing and
Long Island's in a freeze, Geez
the last thing that I needed
and it's right up to my knees~

Aye, the LAST thing that she needed and it's right up to her knees!

So I'll boil a pot of water
and I'll fill me up a tub
and I'll soak my father's daughter
till there's nothin' left to scrub
and when I'm toasty warm and ready
then I'll climb back in the bed
close my eyes and dream of summer
and the one thing in my head~

Close her eyes and dream of summer and the one thing in her head!

It's the one thing that I've wanted, but forever left unsaid.

bad gas

Take it out
on someone else
better, yourself.

I can not see the reason for your blame
though it strikes me odd, you tend to think the same
your reasoning does not much good for me
and it's time I set you free
throw out the key.

Well it does no good to rummage through the past
these things will only give us back our gas
well it's better just to let bygones be gone
and we'll meet back here again
out on the lawn.

I know you liked me best. I loved you most
but it's useless now to chase that lover's ghost
and it's getting late and we are getting tired
distance turns these things around
that's how we're wired.

So take it out on someone else and see
no they won't be puttin' up with misery
and then you'll come back draggin' on your knee
but I will not be around
I'm leaving town.

I do believe I see a lonesome tear
have I touched the nerve which makes my heart to fear
that you'll always be the one I call my friend
ain't it just like you and me
in the end.

cRaZy TrAiN oF tHoUgHt

I hopped the train last night
to where you used hide~
shaded my windows
so they couldn't see inside~
I came alone this time, told no one
of my plan~
knew you'd be waiting there
and hoped you'd understand.

I keep my GPS
I knew they'd switch the signs
the rail was bumpy
but I read between the lines
and medication helps
or so I like to say
pills redirect my thoughts
but I still know the way

tell me what I'm after
fits of laughter
bitter tears~
on this train called 'Schizophrafter'
thoughts keep messin' with my gears
tell me what I'm after
fits of laughter
bitter tears
Perfect love forever after
stills the lonely train of fears.

It's getting late and
wait, you call me on my phone
You left the office and you're
more than halfway home
I think they're watching me
a beep-light on their screen
too much TV, you say,
the sound waves made me mean.

The noise inside my head
is growing to a pitch
awakened now, I guess the doorbell's
got an itch,
that train was scary, guess I'll always hold the torch
rolled out of bed and found you standing on my porch.

Tell me what I'm after
fits of laughter
bitter tears~
clinging to the rafter
on this crazy train of fears
tell me what I'm after
fits of laughter
bitter tears
Perfect love forever after~
still the lonely train of fears.

tribute to Roy Orbison- nothing is better

Five years away from a half century
not that I care but it's gettin' to me
Wanted for nothing, but that's not quite true
hey, not for nothing, but I wanted you

and it's okay
I am okay with nothing
nothing is better than something sometimes
and it's okay that I'm needin' nothing
'cuz nothing is better sometimes~

Five years since forty and not wrinkled yet
so maybe my forehead was feeling regret
listened to Kelly who soon got me down
went in for Botox
and now I can't frown

and it's okay
I am okay with nothing
nothing is better than something sometimes
and it's okay that I'm feelin' nothing
'cuz nothing is better sometimes~

Bridge.......(wah wah wah owie owie wah wah)

Somedays are better though I am alone
I eat at the diner and chat on the phone
nobody knows that nobody's there
nobody's lookin', so what do I care!

and it's okay
I am okay with nothing
nothing is better than something sometimes
and it's okay that I'm wantin' for nothing
for nothing is better sometimes~


Rarely.

pms gallery

you have the look they say could kill
well i'm not dead, though sufferin' still.

i have a mind to tell your mother
the way you smile when you're with the other.

she'd say she warned me at the start
not to burp and hold the fart.

whatever, no matter, i really don't care
im not even bothered, just gimme some air.

let me rip this old rug up
it stinks of old poop de la pup.

i had a gripe to air today
so I let it out and blew you away.

n'er the mare before the cart
show me your money and then your heart.

gimme a kiss, and make it quick
I can't take pleasure, it gets me sick.

a house that smells of fresh cut flowers
can't numb heartache, but sweetens the sours.

drop kick me out to the farthest field
I'll roll back home when all has healed.