What If... (To Be Human)
what if we went to war,
and just stopped?
what if we did what we do best,
and quit worrying about profit?
what if we housed the homeless,
and fed the hungry?
what if we were blinded
to the color of skin?
what if we did away with religions,
and searched the spiritual?
what if we forgave all debts,
and gave away what we owned?
what if we overthrew governments,
and became governments of people...
that chose to work together?
what if we quit drilling oil,
and found another way?
what if we destroyed
every nuclear weapon?
what if we saw each other as equal,
and acted on it?
what if we took the chance,
and dared to be human?
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
The War Machines... (If)
the war machines
of the world,
spend enough money
every eight days,
to feed the hungry
of the world for a year!
what the hell are we thinking?
if we fed the hungry,
housed the homeless,
took care of the sick,
and gave everyone the chance
to work for a fair wage...
what would be left to fight for?
if we taxed the rich,
and brought down the concept
of different classes...
if we learned to consume
only what we really need,
and to put back more
than we take...
if we abolished the strongholds
of religions and nations...
and saw and treated each other
as equals...
if we quit worrying about
outer space, and explored
our inner spaces...
if...
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
What If We...
what if we all stood up,
and laid down our guns?
what if we quit drilling for oil,
quit living for the deal?
what if we built a new world,
for our daughters and our sons?
a world that's honest,
caring, and real...
what if we stopped all invasions,
stopped the bombs and the greed?
what if we laid down religions,
and opened our hearts.
what if we gave our possessions
to those in real need?
what if we stopped pretending,
and made a stand...
what if we looked in the mirror,
with eyes that can see?
what if we walked away from nations,
and found the family of man?
what if we stood for truth,
freedom, and equality?
they say that we cant....
but what if we can?
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
I Quit
i quit trying to save the world...
and just offered my hand,
and walked beside it.
i quit trying to find the truth,
for it was already within me.
i quit trying to tell anyone anything,
and just listened in perfect stillness.
i quit trying to be religious,
and found the sacred in the common.
i quit trying to stop the wars,
and let the wars within me end!
i quit trying to find god,
and just looked in the mirror.
i quit fighting for freedom,
and found a freedom they couldnt take.
i quit shouting out for justice,
and walked in a way that was just.
i quit wanting to own anything,
and so broke the final bonds.
i quit trying to be what they wanted,
and decided to be myself.
i quit blaming, condemning, and accusing,
and took the responsibility on myself.
i quit trying to make myself a name,
and walked in nobody's shoes.
i quit staring from behind the bars,
that were never really there.
i quit seeking to define and hold,
and just let go and lived.
i quit hiding from death, and opened the door,
and found the light from which darkness
is made!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Looking (Meditation)
looking for awakening,
i gave up, and quit looking,
- the petals opened!
i do the wrong thing,
say the wrong thing,
think the wrong thing,
feel the wrong thing...
so many times every day
that it pisses me off!
seems like the harder i try
the worse i become!
maybe i need to quit trying!
looking for freedom,
i gave up, and quit looking,
- my chains fell to the ground!
i walk down this same road
again and again, and
nothing ever changes!
every time i get to the end
it begins again.
this really pisses me off!
seems like the further i walk
the further i have to go!
maybe i need to quit walking!
looking for redemption,
i gave up, and quit looking,
-and found the key within my heart!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The governments of the present day have to deal not merely with other governments, with emperors, kings and ministers, but also with the secret societies which have everywhere their unscrupulous agents, and can at the last moment upset all the governments' plans.
quote by Benjamin Disraeli
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Turkeys Voting For Christmas
party electrical pledges
promises never meant
to be kept
elected politicians
government by the people
for the people?
which people?
products of democracy?
voters vote for party
promising lowest taxes
greater citizen benefits
ignoring previous
broken promises
lies lies lies manifest
democracy is turkeys
voting for Christmas
or Thanksgiving hoping
not to be served
up on a meal plate
governments give
governments take
when governments take
they take
more than they ever gave
poem by Terence George Craddock
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Original Wrapper
The last shot should've killed me
Pour another drink
Let's drink to the last shot
And the blood on the dishes in the sink
Blood inside the coffee cup
Blood on the table top
When you quit, you quit
But you always wish
You knew it was your last shot
But when you quit, you quit
But you always wish
You knew it was your last shot
I shot blood at the fly on the wall
My heart almost stopped
Hardly there at all
I broke the mirror with my fall
With my fall - fall - fall
Fall - fall - fall
Gimme a double
Give yourself one too
Gimme a short beer
One for you too
And a toast to everything that doesn't move
That doesn't move
But when you quit, you quit
But you always wish
You knew it was your last shot
When you quit, you quit
But you always wish
You knew it was your last shot
Whiskey, bourbon, vodka and scotch
I don't care what it is you've got
I just want to know that it's my last shot
My last shot
I remember when I quit pretty good
See this here's where I chipped my tooth
I shot a vein in my neck and I coughed up a quaalude
On my last shot
My last shot
But when you quit, you quit
But you always wish
You knew it was your last shot
When you quit, you quit
But you always wish
You knew it was your last shot
song performed by by Lou Reed
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The history of the last century shows, as we shall see later, that the advice given to governments by bankers, like the advice they gave to industrialists, was consistently good for bankers, but was often disastrous for governments, businessmen, and the people generally.
quote by Carroll Quigley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
In all history there is no war which was not hatched by the governments, the governments alone, independent of the interests of the people, to whom war is always pernicious even when successful.
quote by Leo Tolstoy
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Aya
Why should there be rich people in my country and,
The government still go begging?
Why should many people put on gold chain and,
Still say that they are hungry?
I do not understand it because,
I am Aya in the land of the poor.
Ten years of love and ten years after,
And of the governments begging left and right;
But if it looks like an apple and tastes like an apple then,
It is an apple!
Twenty years of love and twenty years after,
And my people are still hungry with gold chains around their necks!
I still do not understand it.
How long will you stay in poverty with these gold chains around you?
How long will you keep on begging with all these rich people around?
I still do not get it;
For many people are still sleeping under the bridges!
And their governments clam to have rule over them.
If it looks like a woman and performs like a woman then,
It is a woman!
For the blood has stopped and the soldiers are advancing in;
And i need a cover to safegard myself in this world.
I cannot count the stars in the heavens above,
But do give me some water to quench my thirst;
For i am from Ur with love and,
I am prepared to visit my people in the village of love.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Forgotten Hungry And Homeless
The forgotten hungry and homeless nowadays to be found everywhere
There are millions of them close to a billion in the bigger World out there
The refugees of drought stricken Lands and of warlords and the homeless of Poverty Street
Basic human rights of them are denied shelter from the weather and enough for to eat
In a Human World where everyone is supposed to be equal after all we breathe in the same air
But the poor and the homeless and the hungry cannot feel that life is very fair
The minority those who are too wealthy people with too much of everything
Are people that many look up to though their praises I cannot sing,
In an egalatarian Human World everyone would have a home to live in
And nobody would be without food and well dressed and not ragged and thin
The poor by the day growing poorer and that does seem a sad thing to say
And the refugee camps of the World are all overcrowded today,
'Tis sad to think that from the poverty of many that a minority does stand to gain
And I with enough of food and shelter have no reason for to complain.
poem by Francis Duggan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Class Warfare,2011
class warfare?
you've hidden this one
well for years!
black and white,
red and brown,
northern, southern,
immigrants, prisoners....
male and female,
Baptist or Muslim,
old and young....
all human!
all hearts beating!
all have red blood.
there are only two
classes of people!
the 10 per cent
that own everything,
that own us...
and the 90 per cent
of us that are in bondage.
guess what! we've opened
our eyes! we're gonna
quit fighting each other!
now we're gonna turn our
anger on you!
every human being,
every single one,
should have equal rights
to work and eat and take
care of his/her family.
there shouldnt be hungry
children in the 21st century!
we shouldnt have to settle
for handouts and homeless shelters.
there is no reason to invade
other countries, to bomb them
and 'liberate' them at gunpoint!
war is a lie, and we're not
buying it anymore.
it is time for the human family
to be a family.... we wont accept less!
share the wealth, share responsibility!
NOW!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Last Shot
Last shot sure killed me
Pour another drink
Lets drink to the last shot
And the blood on the dishes in the sink
Blood inside the coffee cup
Blood on the table top
But when you quit, you quit, but you always wish
That you knew it was your last shot
When you quit, you quit, but you always wish
That you knew it was your last shot
I shot blood at the fly on the wall
My heart almost stopped hardly there at all
I broke the mirror with my fall, with my -
- fall-fall-fall
Fall-fall-fall
Gimme a double, give yourself one two
Gimme a short beer, one for you too
And a toast to everything that doesnt move
That doesnt move
But when you quit, you quit, but you always wish
That you knew it was your last shot
When you quit, you quit, but you always wish
That you knew it was your last shot
Whiskey, bourbon, vodka and scotch
I dont care what it is youve got
I just want to know that its my last shot
My last shot
I remember when I quit pretty good
See this here, this is where I chipped my tooth
Shot of vein in my neck and I coughed up a quaalude
On my last shot
My last shot
Heres a toast to all thats good
And heres a toast to hate
And heres a toast to toasting and Im not boasting
When I say Im getting straight
When I say Im getting straight
But when you quit, you quit, but you always wish
That you knew it was your last shot
When you quit, you quit, but you always wish
That you knew it was your last shot
song performed by by Lou Reed
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The Art Of My Poetry
Listen to the art of my poetry,
Listen oh mankind!
What goes around comes around,
And like the things seen in and around us;
But not all the governments are doing well on this earth.
Why are many people suffering ans starving?
Listen to the art of my poetry;
Why are there many bombs in our backyards?
Listen to the art of my poetry;
Why should there be many people sleeping on the streets while,
There are governments ruling over them?
I have seen people drinking from dirty water,
I have seen people eating from the garbage dump,
Yet still there are governments ruling over them;
Listen oh mankind!
Listen to the art of my poetry.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Human Race!
to overthrow the yoke
of oppression, we have to
first come to an honest
assessment of where we are!
not only where we are,
but how we got here...
we cannot put off the blame
on other people, governments,
or even corporations! where
we are is where we've allowed
ourselves to be!
when we sit silently by and
watch our human rights be taken;
when we allow profit at the expense
of people to become the norm....
when we allow the rape of the
environment to pad the pockets
of convenience... when we go to
war, blindly following, with our
heads stuck in the sand... we are
responsible.
apathy is the unpardonable sin!
to be free, to fully realize freedom,
we have to work at it... both as
individuals, and in community!
we are one family, often dysfunctional,
but always one family... one family,
one race, THE HUMAN RACE!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Looking For The Promised Land
we march together....
the homeless, jobless,
the sick and the hungry.
the victims of poverty,
racism, discrimination, and abuse.
black skin, white skin, brown skin all...
people of all nationalities and languages,
male and female, straight and gay.
people of all religions, doubters and atheists.
those who've been imprisoned,
or who've been used up and spit out
by the system.
young and old, with families and alone,
angry, honest, forgiving, demanding...
the chosen people, looking for the promised land
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Many Must Grow Poorer
Millions will go to bed hungry tonight that does seem sad to say
And many of them will not wake again for to see another day
The sad fact that many die of malnutrition is sad cause for lament
Whilst billions in war by Governments are spent
Even in the World's wealthiest Nations people live in abject poverty
And the unequal distribution of wealth does seem all wrong to me
The wealthy getting wealthier whilst the homeless of poverty street
Are searching in the rubbish for thrown out food to eat
To have enough of food and shelter should be a basic human right
But millions must try to sleep hungry without shelter tonight
And many cannot feed their families on their meagre take home pay
In an egalatarian World things would never be this way
And many must grow poorer for every new millionaire
And for the hungry millions doesn't life seem so unfair.
poem by Francis Duggan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Posting Pictures
i'm going to quit writing poetry,
and start taking pictures...
pictures of the homeless,
the jobless, the hungry,
the war victims, drug victims,
crime victims, victims of oppressive
regimes, beaten, imprisoned, threatened...
starting right here!
the elderly left to die in want,
those left to live on the street,
families sleeping in cars,
parents burying their children...
smoke stacks smoking,
nuclear disasters, oil spills,
mountains being mined,
timber being cut...
lonely people walking alone!
small children crying...
lovers left in the cold...
empty churches full of people.
i'm going to post these pictures in color
for all the world to see,
post them in dead silence...
maybe then someone will hear,
hear, and offer a hand!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Capitalism Battles Freedom
when capitalism battles freedom,
you get what we've become...
profit begats slavery,
the many become enslaved.
founded on freedom?
we took this land from
the Native Americans,
took their way of life,
their rights, their dreams...
in the name of God?
of progress?
we brought over the slaves
from the African shores...
to work, to use, to abuse...
we took their lives, their way of life,
their hopes and dreams...
in the name of free enterprise?
of profit?
we treated our women like possessions,
second class citizens at best.
they were expected to be silent,
to obey, to bear our children,
to cook and wash...
they had to fight for years
to get the right to vote...
even longer for equal wages...
in the name of righteous judgement?
of divine directive?
and now, we the poor,
of all colors and creeds,
are corporate owned.
held under the thumb
of the elite, put down
and trampled on...
our way of life taken,
our hopes for the future dashed...
faceless numbers that stink of poverty!
in the name of wealth and power?
in the name of apathetic profit?
profit at all costs!
capitalism... or something else,
fair, equal, with hope and chance
and dreams...
the way of freedom,
when dignity overcomes profit!
when the human being is worth more
than the dollar and the deal!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The New American Way
quit banging the drums of war!
war was never meant to be
a means of economic survival...
much less profitable....
human lives mean nothing!
freedom and democracy
are a hoax... a drug
administered through the
late night tv news....
we're not trying to liberate anyone,
it's all profit and loss....
profit to the War Machine...
loss... of lives, any sense of morality
and/or human decency.
it's easy to sell....
just tell the people they're
our enemies... that they're
out to get us.
you dont have to prove
anything...
no weapons of mass destruction
needed... just the fear
created by implanting the thought!
profit justifies anything...
the new American Way!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!