I Can Feel..... (The Change Coming)

i can feel the change coming,
the dark swell of the clouds.
the rumble that shakes the streets,
i can smell buildings on fire.
can hear the planes,
the sound the bombs make falling,
the pulsing hate of the oil rigs,
the shuffle of money behind closed doors.
the wail of prayers in desperate churches,
the street dealer selling a loaf of bread.
the metallic sound of shovels digging graves,
the ignorant drone of great leaders.
the sound of boots on pavement,
breath shuddering through broken windows.
the silent stare of the angry and hungry,
the thunderous clenching of fists.
the haunted sound of chains and cell doors,
and riot squad bullhorns.
the tongues of truth cut from bodies,
the last cigarette lit.

[...] Read more

poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Building Bridges

the human heart builds bridges...
that the ego seeks to destroy.
whether you strike a match,
and light a candle,
light a fire in the stove,
or light a lantern...
you are creating light....
light by any other name is light.
we are all born seeking the same thing,
in that way we are the same.
the paths we take, the choices we make,
the battles we fight, the society we live in...
make us different.
the real journey is in seeing through
the differences...
whether you call your father daddy,
father, pops, the old man, or Bill...
he is still your father!
whatever color your skin, whatever language you speak,
whatever your sexual orientation or your religion...

[...] Read more

poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Albums Of Loving

he walked ten miles
through the winter night,
then laid in a ditch

for over an hour....
waiting on her husband
to leave.....

Farina, Hesse, and
talking naked... vodka,
and enough passion

to almost save the world.....

2
he came home from work,
dog-tired, took off his
boots at the door....

he could hear the sound of music....

[...] Read more

poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Cry Of The Lonely...

i have heard the cry of the lonely,
the tree bent with grief for the ocean.
the squirrel who dreams of wings,
the mountain melting with need to wander.
the child orphaned by war or poverty,
the monk on fire for a world that's blind...
the beaten body in the prison cell,
the door opened, no one there.
the naked body weeping on an empty bed,
the voice calling without echo.
the tongue that walks the rainy night...
the moon hidden by clouds cold and distant.
the lonesome sound of the faraway train,
the lover who walks the garden...
the empty streets, the hollowed houses,
where not even the scent of memory lingers.
the bruised hand stuck in the pocket,
the letter never addressed.
the flower that bloomed, and no one saw,
the bent nail on the back of the shed....

[...] Read more

poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Man In The Mirror

sometimes i laugh
at the man in the mirror,
the miles written in lines
carved in the stone of experience.
save the world?
hard to do when
you spend all your time
picking yourself up!
years working with my hands,
my back bent and determined.
now i walk with the pain,
well deserved and well earned.
passionate to madness,
been there and back.
now i'm happy with stillness,
when i can steal a moment.
a lover, a fool, a warrior,
a loser... a spiritual walker,
a heretic, a demon...
i paint pictures on dollar store canvases,

[...] Read more

poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Thoughts On Revolution....

you speak angrily of revolution,
yet you're in such a hurry, that
you havent sat down and thought
about what it is you want...
so many issues you're mad about,
but you dont have answers to the
problems... you're not even sure
about what you think caused the
problems.
it's easy to want change, it's hard
to do the work of change... it begins
with knowing who you are as a human being,
seeing your strengths and weaknesses,
and acknowledging, accepting...
in order to change the world we have
to first be willing to change ourselves...
what we have to change in ourselves
begins with our excuses... we have to
turn from our old selfish images of
ourselves, to a real and honest knowing...

[...] Read more

poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

They Are Our Future!

when a child is born
in a slum area, whether
it be assisted apartments,
trailer parks, low income
housing, or homelessness...
and he grows up amid hunger,
poverty, need, gunfire, drugs,
and street crime...
and the world he becomes an
adult in offers him little
chance for employment, or
education...
what do we expect?
what we often get is an angry
young man just looking for a way
to survive!

our young people most often become
the opportunity we leave for them.
we are responsible for their future.

[...] Read more

poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Hard Questions (Change)

standing at the crossroads
what i've been, what i've done,
where i've won, where i've lost
staring at myself and my life
stark naked in the mirror

questions

what really matters the most to me?
at 57 i dont have as much time left,
as much time to waste as i've had
have i done or said anything
of lasting value?
have i done more good than bad?
(and i've done both!)

it's too easy to get trapped
in a low income job,
barely surviving week to week,
often day to day

[...] Read more

poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Modern Christian Thought...

it is both the absurdity and the convenience
of modern Christian thought that bewilders me...
the idea that one can place all his/her mistakes
and wrong doings on the shoulders of one man
crucified 2000 years ago, and be totally absolved
of any responsibility...
that with a few prayers and an offering, we are
absolved from the responsibility for feeding the hungry,
housing the homeless, healing t...he sick...
have we not missed the point of the teaching?
does 'Follow Me' not denote just that?
follow, do as he did, live as he lived.
feed the hungry, house the homeless, heal the sick!
get down in the ditches with the common and poor.
do we not each have our own cross to carry?
our own Golgotha... our own crucifixion?
for our sins, and for humanity's sins... the greatest of
which is indifference!
not condemnation, but compassion!
not being set apart, but part of!

[...] Read more

poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Sir, What Is Revolution?

a child,
having overheard our conversation,
came to me, and asked,

'sir, what is revolution? '

i thought about it for a moment,
and sitting him on my knee, replied,
'you know when you're outside,
running and playing in the sun,
and you get too hot...
and you go down to the creek
and get a drink of water?
and you stand there enjoying
the shade of the trees,
and the coolness of the wind? '

he nodded his head.

'well, revolution is making sure

[...] Read more

poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!