Words!
it has been said
that God spoke worlds
into being...
and that Jesus
was the word of God.
that we are created
in the image of God...
that we are the dreams
of God made flesh...
yet we open our mouths,
and nothing happens!
bats hang from the rafters
of our souls.
we speak, windows rattle,
and wars begat wars.
we write with invisible ink!
no cosmos, no stars,
only hunger and despair.
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
Jail Cells, And Poverty!
do jail cells demand certain colors?
do they smell like poverty?
are they the colleges of the hopeless?
or just a place to hide the fire
till the flame goes out?
does anybody want to be poor?
does anyone deserve to be poor?
who picks the judge?
who enforces the law...
the law passed by filthy rich politicians?
is God white?
how about Jesus or Buddha?
does He live in the suburbs?
what kind of car does He drive?
does He have servants of different colors?
and what is the final price of freedom?
not to mention equality,
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
Between My Teeth!
it is in the darkened hallways
of the mind that has no boundaries,
in the silent moment between sin and glory,
when there really is no difference....
in the pause between thunder and lightning,
when mountains are oceans,
and oceans are acorns.
in the infinity between breaths,
and the illusion between death and life.
in the cardboard box that holds lifetimes,
in the universe beneath tiny wings.
in snowflakes, and tiny crumbs of starlight,
on the wet lips of the hungry wolf.
in the droppings of a thousand bats,
and the swinging trunks of elephants.
in the drunken stagger from the grave,
and the space between notes where music is born.
in the sound of waves a hundred miles from the shore,
in the cleft beneath the tongue where god sleeps.
in the frozen wasteland between our bodies,
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
What If? What If?
you are convinced...
that i am a socialist,
a deviant, a rebel,
a lost cause....
what if your mother
lived in Iran,
Afghanistan, Syria,
or even North Korea?
would you want to drop
the bombs then?
what if your father
was on Death Row?
convicted of a crime
you knew he didnt commit?
would you still vote
for the death penalty?
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
I Am Only As Old...
i am only as old
as the memory of childbirth.
dollar signs in dimestore windows,
milkshakes for a quarter.
non-filter cigarettes and broken Trojans,
long hair ironed with loving hands.
when revolution smelled like sex,
and god reeked of napalm.
when young girls with hard nipples
passed doobies to wide eyed poets.
and the streets convulsed with anger,
that sat at the back of the bus.
while religious M-16's jammed,
and radical students were beaten
with patriotic pride....
as young bodhisattvas with thumbs extended,
rediscovered the land of the free.
and for a time not owned by owning,
we heard the beat of a distant drum!
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
Ghost Of JFK
the ghost of JFK
walked through my dreams....
and i could see and feel
the heartbeat of America
before the disease took us....
the voice of freedom and moral
conviction.... taking issues,
examining our own souls...
repenting of past prejudices,
searching for a way
for peace and freedom.....
but the shots rang out,
the hope of a generation murdered...
the Pentagon rolled, defense contracts,
smoke filled rooms....
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
Wind Of The Human Spirit... (Part Two)
i came to America on a slave ship,
to work their fields in the sun.
and the earth i plowed gave up the bones,
of the ones they'd killed to make their home.
i hung from their trees in the moonlight,
as they drank with chests that swelled.
i signed the Emancipation Proclamation,
with the blood of the Civil War...
and when each had finished their task,
mine had just begun.
i felt the bomb at Hiroshima,
and became a nuclear ghost.
i swallowed napalm in Viet Nam,
while they protested on Kennedy's grave.
i was with Martin on the balcony,
and with Bobby on the floor...
and when each had finished their task,
mine had just begun.
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
Spirit Revealed (Number Two)
in every touch almost in passing,
every word spoken without thought.
in every thought that no one can see,
in every darkened corner.
in every sign held up in protest.
in every picket line that
shuts down traffic.
in every stolen car,
every empty house broke into.
in the bag of groceries that will not last.
in the gun put down,
in honest revelations.
in the prayer prayed beneath the bridge,
in the pair of boots worn and wise.
in the job walked away from,
in every stranger helped.
in the fugitive hidden,
and in the hiding place!
in every family on the road,
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | 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
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
Pepper Spray
would you pepper spray your children?
you've fouled the air they will breathe
for the rest of their lives.....
you've fouled their drinking water,
or sold away the rights.
you've cut down their forests,
driven their animal friends to extinction....
carbon, smoke filled, oil spilled,
coal dust, radiation leaked.....
you've taken away their chances for education....
taken back the aid... left them on the streets,
or worse, sent them off to fight your greed wars...
let them get strung out on dope,
sent them to prison... let them fall
between the cracks....
you taught them your morality....
but your actions have taught them hatred,
fear, prejudice, take what you can get....
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!