I Too Mourn The Dead!
i too mourn the dead...
the victims of bullets,
preordained by message.
the blown and splintered bodies,
strewn in nameless disarray.
the guilt pills of generals,
swallowed with patriotic vodka.
but too the carcass of the dog,
blindsided by the truck.
and the small bird beneath the tree,
whose wings froze and failed.
the stray cow that fell,
and couldnt get up.
the tree cut and felled,
to widen the road.
the mountain blown asunder,
to make way for progress.
the thousands of fishes,
choking to death on oil.
the river stopped and stagnant,
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
Tis Breath, Then.... (Part Three)
tis breath, then...
that frees both image and form.
that taking hands touches.
that shaping lips kisses.
that barks, howls, groans, and chirps...
that is the lift beneath wings.
that is both scent and journey.
that is the language between us.
defining one inside the other...
tis breath, then....
(that being fire, becomes fire.
that being human, becomes human.
that leaving body, becomes spirit.
that being lonely, takes a body.
that naming god, does not know.
that does not know, but understands.
that being filled, opens and gives.
that giving, somehow remains.
that having left a mark,
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
Equality... (In A Word)
equality...
in a word,
no more talk of
the 'land of the free'.
you founded this country
over the scattered bones
of 100,000,000 Native Americans.
built this country
on the backs of
African-American slaves,
and poor Scotch-Irish refugees,
who turned your earth,
and built your homes.
'give me your tired, your poor...'
more cheap labor?
to build your cities,
your railroads, work your steel.
how many faceless bodies buried
in your cold dark mines?
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
Lost In The Sixties...
forever lost in the sixties...
in the passions, the ideals,
the cries for peace and equality,
for human dignity,
and no more wars.
the music, the poetry,
the communal lifestyle...
but the deaths were many.
assassinations, Hoover style.
and those lost to heroin,
who fell off the edge.
thousands killed in Vietnam,
you'd think we would have learned...
but life went on,
the wheel kept turning.
50 years later,
two more wars,
not to mention invasions.
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
The Poetic Experience (Number Four)
poetry lost itself,
lost it's connection,
and its ability to be
effective when it became
a secluded form, wrapped
in the academic world,
shaped by form and vague
images and intricate patterns.
but there have always been
those who walked a different
path, who dared!
for poetry to again reach
the hearts of the masses, we
have to speak their language!
we have to use images and
experiences that the common
man and woman both understand,
and have felt. we have to be real!
poetry is not a large volume
that sits on a shelf unopened...
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
Male/Female
i find it sad how men,
in their 'infinite wisdom',
throughout the centuries,
have created a male world,
driven by a male ego,
controlled by male wisdom,
under the banner of a male god,
created in the image of man!
and yet the power of creation
has always dwelled in the feminine...
wisdom, passion, eros, beauty,
and even childbirth...
men in their fear of what they
dont understand, and of what they
cant do in themselves...
have always sought to keep the female
down, regulating her to second class
status, keeping her subjugated.
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
Howling
the pregnant lion, the burning bush,
the hammered flute, well gone dry.
without a prayer, the eagle falls
in blackened cinders to the earth.
the food stamp mom, her head down,
children stare with blank milky eyes.
there's another man down in the project,
news at five, news at five.
deserted smokestacks stare at an angry sky,
buildings filled with rats and ghosts.
abandoned cars, abandoned lives,
old gas pumps rusting in the wind....
and the wind blows and howls,
ripping shingles from empty houses, ...
breaking limbs from trees long dead;
drowning out the sound of children's voices....
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
It Begins Right Now!
we live in the most intense time
that the modern world has seen...
governments and economies are
caving from within... the very
air we breathe is polluted, the
water we drink has been defiled.
sea life is being destroyed, and
the world food situation worsens
at an alarming rate... millions
live and die in poverty, millions
are homeless, without medical care...
masses of workers are unemployed,
children grow up on the streets
without hope, and end up in prison.
human rights are being violated,
or just plain taken. and people
are absolutely afraid of each other!
we have closed our eyes, and numbed
our souls for too long. now we stand
on the brink of disaster, and we're
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!
Come!
come...
let us wash our bloody hands
in the river that does not choose.
let us take our veangeful hearts
and lay them at the door.
let us dropp our arrogant poses,
and reveal who we are.
let us forgive, and be forgiven...
for every child that dies of starvation,
for every bomb that's dropped.
for every homeless family,
for every broken home.
for every prisoner, every victim,
every hater, and their hate...
for every man and women beaten down,
living day to day in poverty.
for every winner and every loser,
for every unwanted baby...
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | 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,
[...] Read more
poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!