Forget (I Was A Man)

if i turn away,
and close the window.
if i close my eyes,
and close my heart.
if i choose to believe
that nothing leaves nothing.
if i walk into
the darkness of the night.

if i give away,
everything i clung to.
if i break the glass,
and burn down the candle.
if i quit praying,
quit looking for answers.
if i turn the key,
and bolt the door.

and if i deny
what i know to be true.

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poem by Eric Cockrell
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Immoral Scars...

i am the broken watch,
on the underpaid desk.
the eyes grown dim,
the hair turned grey.
the endless chapters,
each named, then forgotten.
the wings of the bird,
killed by the cat.
the shoebox of letters,
the paint peeled wall.
the taste of old whiskey,
the fireplace full of ghosts.
swallows in the chimney,
snake skins on the ground.
the song of autumn,
waiting beyond the moment.
the sprinkle of rain,
the silence of the trees.
the brush of the hand,
so intimate it startles.

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poem by Eric Cockrell
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Laughs In Silence!

sometimes we drink fire,
sometimes we drink the night.
and yet we seem surprised,
when the fire scorches our feet,
and the night drinks us.

it is but a journey,
from season to season.
from the eyes of the owl,
to cracked nutshells on brown grass...
and we call it life.

is the spoke the wheel?
is stillness ever stagnant?
clouds disappear,
then fall like rain...
who are we to judge?

is the shell the ocean?
the echo the truth?

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poem by Eric Cockrell
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Military Corporate Rule!

the elite,
govern by profit,
illusions, propaganda....

are circling their wagons....
declaring war on the common,
average work-a-day people...

taking away rights,
free speech and dissent,
now passing laws

that allow police state tactics....
detain without charging
anyone deemed to differ

in the name of security...
to silence the voices,
and subjugate the masses, ...

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poem by Eric Cockrell
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Perhaps We Are Then.... (Part Two)

or...
perhaps we are then,
old green glass marbles,
in a metal bucket.
the old worn bra,
drawing disability on the shelf.
imaginary cowboys,
and cardboard saviours.
moondust sold at a county fair!
oil dripping from a broke down car.
spiders living in boxes
full of old photographs.
the guitar that needs strings,
and the half written letter.
the coffee turned cold,
and the spicket turned grey!
words never quite born,
the face wrinkled with age.
black things hidden in shadows,
that have both names and memories!

poem by Eric Cockrell
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Two Kinds Of People

i was thinking about
Martin Luther King...
and the tobacco road south...

old men in overalls chewing
toothpicks down at the depot.
furniture factory ghosts,

cheap gasoline, old trucks...
fried squash and okra,
and the smell of cornbread cooking.

and the right of every child
to have an equal education...
the right of every man, and woman,

to be free.... free, and proud...

they cut down them old trees...
hell, we always thought there

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poem by Eric Cockrell
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Dare We Call This Love?

dare we call this love?
the iris courts the wolf.
the handmaiden of the night,
sews stars into the emptiness.
and water drawn from the deepest well,
runs amuck down our chins.
eyes turn inward, light breathes forth,
the hand beats with longing.

i cry out,
and the moon catches my breath...
the willow reaches out to touch.
the perfume of the scented glove,
turns pine needles into brandy.
the tongue strips and takes the want,
nothing else remains...
be there eternity let it be this,
be it hungry and never filled!

poem by Eric Cockrell
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Having Lived

i wish i could tell you
things are going to get better,
that the world will right itself,
and that the day will be won.
i wish i could mend every bridge that's broken,
and turn back the clock to a better time.
i wish i could heal those that are suffering,
i wish i could stop the seasons....
i wish i could answer every question,
and touch every broken heart.
ah, but the wind is just the wind,
and prayers are the deepest love.
sometimes the greatest miracle,
lies in having touched, having cared,
and having lived!

poem by Eric Cockrell
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I Want To Feel Alive!

i dont want to be around people just like me,
that agree with me, look like me, smell like me,
and believe what i believe....
that make me feel safe.

i want to be around people,
with different color, different thoughts,
different beliefs....
people that question,
and make me question!

i want to be around passionate people,
people who dream, people who dance,
people who run naked in the night,
people who cry and feel,
who touch and hold...
people who let go!

i dont want to feel safe,
i want to feel alive!

poem by Eric Cockrell
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Late Night Thoughts...

one more thought tonite... if we cannot grow the balls
to stand up for human dignity, to treat each other with
respect, to protect our environment, to stop these damn
wars, and to learn to see people and accept them as they
are.... we dont deserve to be here!
we are not the holy grail... we are human beings... we,
whether we admit it or not, are connected to and responsible
for all living beings....
our concepts are not who we are... but our hearts in action
define us...
and most of all, we owe it to our children!

poem by Eric Cockrell
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