Honor

we have lost our sense of honor.
honor's not something you win in
battle, not a crown for the victor,
not something you can build or buy.

honor is a way of life... and it begins
with respect.

we no longer respect the many forms
of life around us... hell, we're so busy
just trying to survive that we dont even
see life, much less know it!

every person, good, bad, or ugly, deserves
our respect... for they are merely in all their
glory, and in all their human weakness,
reflections of us... a part of us!

every form of life... dogs, cats, elephants, ants,
whales, turtles, trees, rivers, mountains...

[...] Read more

poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Wind Of The Human Spirit... (Part Three)

i slept in your homeless alleys,
grieved for the baby in the unwanted dumpster.
walked the streets with the pregnant young girl,
just turned away from the clinic.
watched the family that lives in their car,
buying sandwich food with food stamps.
saw the old man pull the plug on his sick wife,
and walk down the hallways to forgotten.
and when each had finished their task,
mine had just begun.

i broke the window with the angry young man,
crawled in and stole what i could.
i felt the junkie inser the needle,
and the whore being beaten to death.
i saw the boy raped by gang members,
down on cellblock C....
while the guard turned his head,
texting on his cellphone.
and when each had finished their task,

[...] Read more

poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Someone Cares....

soft cold early autumn rain....
kept looking for ghosts on the way home.
there is a stillness now, and a waiting,
though i know not for what.
i've always been different,
heard voices in the shadows.
and often i dont know,
whether i'm dreaming, or a dream.
i've seen things that should have been nightmares....
i've seen the hungry child dying in the rose that blooms!
i look at people and feel their sorrow.
i hear what they're saying when they cant speak.
i go with old people into their graves,
and weep with addicts in broken alleys.
i have no color, or nationality....
those with religion spurn my company.
i'm not a patriot for any man,
i follow only the law of my heart.
i feel the guilt of injustice and indifference...
and carry responsibility like a cross.

[...] Read more

poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

America Revisited

put down your crack bowls
and your republican flags...
and let's go walking thru
the streets and alleys of America....

let's walk past the empty houses
with foreclosure signs in the yard...
past the vacant factory buildings
where the homeless break in
at night and sleep...

past the lily white churches
and the dead zone schools...
past the county jails and the courthouses
and the rooms where lawyers
buy and sell justice...

past the housing projects
where babies buy groceries...
down to the tent cities where

[...] Read more

poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

These Are (My Children)

standing in line at the mission,
they're ladeling bowls of steaming soup.
the winter wind whips down
between the buildings like a knife...
pulling tattered coats tight hunching.
and i can hear Shantideva whisper,
his hand on the ladel...
his body the meat of the soup,
his blood the broth...
'these are my children! '....

they walk in long staggered lines,
refugees from the bombing...
hungry scared children clinging,
afarid to lose sight of...
what's left of their families.
nothing behind, and nowhere to go,
not on any side...
and i can hear Jesus whisper,
His life the torch that lights the way,

[...] Read more

poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

In The Image Of Man!

ancient Greek legends,
footprints carved in stone.
and yes the fires of Stonehenge,
and the medieval forests.
wooden ships sailing
on seas mapped by loss,
even Atlantis, but a memory.

Rome burned,
fed by the bodies of pride.
and men cut trees
until there were none.
a simple carpenter
reclaimed love by cost...
and bodhisattvas bore
the suffering of many.

men created god
in the image of man.
with war on his breath,

[...] Read more

poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Work To Do!

i came from a generation
that worked.... was born to
work, daylight to dawn,
for everything we had.
we grew our own food, we
cut firewood, we worked
with our hands.
we were taught to work...
we built houses, bridges,
paved roads... worked on
farms, worked in sawmills,
worked in factories...
whatever it took for food
and shelter...
and if a neighbor got hurt,
or sick, and couldnt work...
we helped him and his family
till he could.

those of us left who can work

[...] Read more

poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Sounds Of The Earth (Part Two)

i hear the sounds of young lovers,
moaning, groaning, and whimpering.
the rush of wind,
that startles the curtains.
the slap of wet bodies,
the sigh of the candle.
low words cooed,
without need for definition.

i feel the tears of the sinner,
hear them hit the floor.
the prayers, and confessions,
the guilt, and the need.
the heavy breathing of redemption,
and the silence that heals...
yes, even the silence
has its own sound!

i hear the bones of the nameless,
rising from their hidden graves.

[...] Read more

poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

I Am (Exploding)

i am, become...
i am the first buds of spring
on the frozen branch,
i am the soft underbelly
of the rabbit just caught.
i am fresh trout in the skillet,
and the song of the water.
i am the lone star
on the blackest of nights.

i am the cry of the woman
giving birth to the child.
i am the cry of the child
coming into the world.
i am the cry of the world
whose children are lost.
i am the foundations of freedom
bought and sold on the square.

i am the dream of liberty

[...] Read more

poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

She Will Tell Me Mine

i walked a thousand miles
before this journey began...
i carried a hundred crosses,
said prayers you cant imagine.
i died death after death,
behind bars and in windows...
before i burned my shoes,
and took off my clothes.
i've seen beauty i cant express,
felt sorrow so deep i drowned.
been both hungry and desperate,
gave away my heart to perfect strangers....
i've named tears and set stars free,
to follow their own desire...
i've held universes in my hands,
and broke the cup countless times.
i looked the devil face to face,
and recognized myself.
i've been to Gethsemene,
Golgatha, and hell....

[...] Read more

poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!