That Gnarled Old Tree
that gnarled old tree,
you thought was dead,
withstood the winter storms.
bare bent limbs reaching,
against odds to bud,
holding the sky
in a lovers embrace.
home to the sparrow,
the worm, and the squirrel...
shade to the weary,
a constant guide to the lost.
without name, without need,
rooted deep in the earth...
that gnarled old tree...
is me!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Then There Was You!
clouds hanging, frozen still,
banging the tool shed door.
sunlight colors the morning
with a hundred things to do.
cars speed by going nowhere,
the railroad tracks are empty.
the old store building creaks,
the windows boarded over.
the ghosts of small town heroes
going to and fro unseen.
a different world, a different me,
and then there was you!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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What Happens To You?
what happens to you when
you're in your late fifties,
forty years of on-the-job experience....
and your job shuts down!
you lose everything you've worked for
in an instant.... no job, no future...
and no degree!
invisible people with hard earned callouses....
dedicated moral earn their way people...
not everyone wants...
to be a Walmart greeter!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Around
race division, bad decisions,
put us where we are.
ignorance, intolerance,
self-imposed bars.
children know, without a doubt,
we're all just the same.
to true to pretend, be a friend,
the heart means more than names.
and the world comes crashing down.
in too deep, the fearful drown.
stand up and be, or just sit down.
what goes around comes around!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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My Conceptions
my conceptions,
a small cardboard box
jammed with reality
till it bursts, and spills over...
open minded?
how could a grain of dust
blowing through infinity
be any other way?
how can a candle
pretend to be a star?
how can the sound
inside the shell call itself
a wave?
how can a blind man
paint the sunset?
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Time Of Need
last prayer tendered,
long veil pulled back;
i take you, without asking,
without caring, where
we've been, or whose dust
i brush from your lips.
my own hands are bruised,
and bloodied... my own demons
locked in their cage...
i am only a man,
you, a woman...
and this love, the only war
worth fighting in a world
of darkness, in this
time of need!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Aint Jesus Calling!
tick tock, growling thunder,
fire falling from the sky....
the ghosts of death
walk among us....
with faces we can
almost remember, almost...
nowhere to hide!
cant wipe the taste
from our lips....
we look in the mirror
at swords drawn
and bitter eyes lost
in the blindness and the fury....
self destroys self...
tick tock... this aint Jesus calling!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Evolving Hurts!
evolving hurts,
shedding
...skin,
soul turning colors,
waiting,
...waiting,
for the long cold stillness.
death by death,
learning
...to
.....live,
blow by blow,
till
...the
......shadows
.........d isappear.
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
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I Dont Do Hate
i don’t do hate
i don’t judge
i don’t give answers
to questions i cant answer
i don’t believe anything
just because it's said
or written
i don’t pretend to
make you more comfortable
i don’t change forms
to fit the situation
i don’t follow, i don’t settle,
i don’t quit
i don’t try to change you
i work on changing me
i don’t do hate
poem by Eric Cockrell
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My Voice!
i can hear the Mother's voice
whispering in my ear....
come dance with Me!
let go of your inhibitions,
let go of the things
you think you must have....
let go of yesterday, today,
and tomorrow....
let go of your pain and suffering....
come dance with Me...
we'll change darkness into dawn,
and name all the small creatures
whose souls are My voice!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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