Temple Of The Self # 2
oil wars, earthquakes,
famines rock the earth.
wore down, beat down,
give it all you're worth.
nuclear, eternity,
history ends with a blink.
steal your soul, steal your thoughts,
controlling what you think.
and the sound of the heart
shakes the ground.
hunger burns, the sea churns,
and babies drown.
you pray to God,
but your prayers fall amid the furor.
in the temple of the self,
bowing down to the mirror.
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Other Way Around?
you smell like war,
like gunpowder,
flesh searing screams.
i smell like grieving,
like ashes, and
dirt on the shovel.
you sound like hunger,
and homelessness,
and vomit stained lips.
i sound like the soup
that simmers, like the
blanket wrapped...
you taste like bitterness,
the lonliness of alone.
i taste like the hand that fits,
the shadow of the body near...
or am i wrong?
could it be the other way around?
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Without Looking Back
trees cut down,
without a thought;
rivers fouled,
never looking back.
mountains blown asunder,
and oceans oiled....
nuclear meltdowns,
all captured on facebook.
coal dust fogs,
carbon monoxide clouds....
drilling, pumping, humping
the earth... stealing the skies....
polar ice gone...
fish floating belly up....
pesticides sprayed
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
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As Simple As That!
the bottom line is...
until we realize that
people are just people,
regardless of race, religion,
or sexual orientation...
that one person is worth just
as much as any other...
that money, or the lack of,
does not define a person,
and that we are all responsible
for each other, and to each other...
we will never be able to fix
the world's problems,
and never be able to build a tomorrow!
it's as simple as that!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Bullets
the child that comes to you when
he/she has done something wrong,
admits it, often with tears, and promises
to do better... knows more than we do
most of the time! ...
we are given the gift of life with a responsibility....
to do and be something no other living
being can be... and all living beings depend
on us to do so!
when we fail to realize our true selves, we
have failed the world!
and so, like the child...
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Doesnt Smell Like
blasphemy!
equality, not equal.
dignity, dont qualify!
bill of rights, big brother....
one vote, doesnt count...
spirituality, apathy.
patriots, body count.
liberate, invade!
speak out, shot down.....
educate, imprison.
working pride, beg for food...
land of plenty, homeless.
elite few, faceless numbers.
society, depravity...
humanity, self-indulged....
doesnt smell like,
...doesnt even smell like...
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Fertilizer
an animal shelter
in Caldwell County
took in 5000 animals
last year
and only managed
to adopt out 300!
the rest were euthanized.
pretty soon
(sooner than you think)
if our political machine
continues its current path.
they'll have these shelters
for people
old people, sick people,
poor people, unwanted people
and if they only manage
to adopt out 300
for every 5000 they take in
then, the rest will be
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
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God Doesnt Like Her Name!
god doesnt like her name...
capital letters nonwithstanding!
and the holy scriptures
we've hung around her neck,
nothing but broken shoelaces!
wars fought in her name,
used condoms cast to the side.
tainted morality in her image,
burns like old photos on the fire.
she's not buying it!
bird nests made of straw,
human nests made of concepts.
love itself doesnt wear clothes,
cant be spoken...
it must be lived!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Graven Images
i took off all my clothes,
tore down the graven images
i'd made of myself!
threw away all my pretensions,
and gave away my few belongings.
learned to speak without moving my lips,
laid aside the well conceived lies.
laughed in the face of my fears,
walked to my enemy with an open hand....
only to find my enemy
was just another version of me....
and what i'd been afraid of
was the very truth that set me free!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Redemption, And Such!
black coffee and sweet silence,
echoed by the sounds of the living.
walking, air sharp and cutting,
kicking piles of leaves.
what we've forgotten is the moment,
the tiny flame that flickers just once.
the taste of a kiss without thinking,
stopping to tie a child's shoelaces.
the old dog on the porch knows....
the wind knows, the trees confirm!
nothing need be said or spoken,
just breathe deeply, and be aware!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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