Final Statement
i have reached the age where
i dont care what anyone says
or thinks about what i do, what
i believe, and what i think and
say... i'm going to do it anyway!
and, damn, it's a liberating feeling.
i do however respect other people's
rights to opinions, thoughts, and beliefs,
and their right to be who they are.
i have no use for ignorance, prejudice,
and judgemental attitudes... i follow
no one, and ask no one to follow me!
my only goal in what time i have left
is to enhance understanding, and spread
the hand of compassion. i dont want
anything from anybody but the truth!
i believe in people!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Crime, And Justice...
crime, and justice,
how do we decide?
the crime committed,
but what caused the crime?
poverty, need,
addiction, hopelessness.
the anger of the owned,
lashing out indiscriminately.
but the choice is still there.
in the final it is!
but violence breeds violence,
and greed breeds violence.
we bury the victim,
listening for footsteps down the hall.
the executioner closes his eyes
as if to absolve.
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
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I Dont Think Jesus Died For This!
wars, wars, and rumors of wars...
1 in 5 children go to bed hungry.
people still cringe at the color of skin,
and religious people crucify
anyone who thinks different.
unemployment lines not moving,
soup lines getting longer.
shutting down the battered women's shelter,
funding cut off....
food stamps dont pay light bills,
and lovers face discrimination.
the clothes you got at Goodwill,
made in an Asian sweat shop....
dumping oil in the oceans,
the price of gas rising...
and vacant houses arent for vacant people.
everyone talking, nobody listening....
somehow i dont think Jesus died for this!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Sacred Listening....
the human heart is the
rarest of gems, and the
most misunderstood mystery
we're faced with....
what we seek for in the stars
is already there within us.
what we long for we already have!
what we long to hold in our hands
is that which we must give.
the human heart is more than emotions.
emotions are the feet of the ego.
beneath our egos the real 'us' resides.
we are more rivers than bones!
the silence we fear is the language of the heart.
the god we seek for tugs at our souls.
our conscience whispers what our spirit knows.
we are both individual, and a part of the whole.
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Waiting For Lightning...
what if i loved you,
and you didnt know my name.
is the distance between us real?
what if the barriers were just concepts,
and the concepts fear?
what if my lips moved,
and you only felt thunder?
what if i wanted you,
would the shadows freeze?
the snow on your lips tastes of death!
what if the wind moaned,
and the whole house shook?
what if you stood on the ledge,
with no way to return!
what if i needed you,
would i turn to find you there?
not merely waiting for death!
do i have to set the fire,
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
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With Dignity, In Stillness...
if the time has come,
then let it be done,
with dignity, in stillness.
that rare moment
when the bird flies from the cage,
is not the time for weeping.
does the river mourn
when it breaks through the dam?
does the storm apologize for passion?
then who are we to cling to dust,
to darkness as dawn approaches?
the leaf turns
in a fury of color..
for just a moment,
then brown, and falls.
the tree stands still in respect,
and begins the time of waiting.
the first snow comes,
the winds howl, never grieving...
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
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A Guinness, And A Book!
gonna curl up
with a Guinness, and a book,
blow smoke rings and think,
back over time and time....
songs sung, battles fought,
scars that never fade....
love won, love lost,
the feel and the curve
of the lover's body pressed...
the sounds she made,
talking in passion....
small children, thunderstorms,
good dogs, and good fires....
sun coming up over mountains eternal...
big mistakes, and small victories...
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Among The Shadows
i need you now more than ever,
yet your name has a hollow ring.
i stay up all night praying for you,
soon there will be time for sleep.
and all the wars of history
come to nothing;
as creation's lamp grows dim!
i have walked through the ruins
of a hundred times,
now each one bears your scent!
the ancient oak reaches
to embrace the sky,
as the sky walks through the final door!
the moon no longer has a face,
as mountains prepare for the journey.
and the birds left today in frantic haste,
the windowpane cracked by the storm!
i need you now more than ever....
my body lives among the shadows!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Growing Up In America!
you turned your children loose,
out in the streets of poverty....
only a few given a chance,
the rest left to fend for theirselves!
no jobs, unless you wanna soldier,
kill or be killed for oil....
then no jobs when you return,
and no house to return to!
food stamps and government aid,
till that eventually runs out....
then back on the streets where you started,
kill or be killed to survive....
dealing dope, dealing flesh, stealing cars,
no hope of anything more!
get caught and go to prison,
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poem by Eric Cockrell
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More Than Anything!
more than anything....
i want people to be free!
everybody, everywhere....
joined together as one,
feeling the tide come and go,
on sands that do not grasp!
more than anything,
i want to be the rain
that falls after the drought....
the snow that wraps the beaten earth
in the blanket of newness, and hope.
more than anything...
i want to be the cup...
the hammer and the nails,
the bowl of rice, the tent,
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poem by Eric Cockrell
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