This was written for Lindsey.

Whenever I’m with you,
Gazing deep into your eyes,
I see such a heavenly view,
And all fear within me dies.

As I journey further in,
My heart and soul are pained
By the overwhelming din
Of the joy that I’ve attained.

It feels like an eternity,
Time itself seems to halt.
A wave of peace engulfs me,
And fills my aching heart.

My only wish is to stay,
Gazing deep into your eyes,
For eternity, and a day,
For the rest of our lives.

Originally written January of 2007.

Edited August of 2009.

This one reads more like a story.  Faith has been a huge issue for me lately, with events in my life leading me farther and farther along the path of Agnosticism.  At this point, I’d classify myself as a Strong Agnostic.

When I was young, I was innocent,
And everything seemed so clear.
My faith dicated by my parents,
And I lent an all too willing ear.

I went to all religious gatherings,
I prayed fervently with all my heart.
When the time came to do many things,
I ever so gladly played my part.

As I grew older I saw a great deal
That shook the foundations of my faith.
I saw a world crying out to be healed;
A world that had been right before my face.

I saw so many horrors and such pain
That I could not begin to understand,
And yet so many people refrained
From actively helping their fellow man.

I saw religion asking for money
To build their gluttonous rot,
Instead of helping the needy,
And providing for those who could not.

For one with such wide eyes,
For years I kept them closed,
Staying blind to the myriad lies
And the ways that they were posed.

I see nothing here but Hypocrisy,
Apathy, Greed, Arrogance, and Lies.
I pray to God, quite pointlessly,
For help before this world dies.

My lack of faith has naught but grown,
And nothing since has been the same.
And I know I can never condone
The atrocities done in God’s name.

Originally written March of 2007.

Edited and extended August of 2009.

Hypocrisy has run rampant
Across an apathetic world,
Whose dignity has been spent
By hearts, depressingly cold.

Disregard for our fellow man
In situations dark, and bleak,
Only serves to lend a helping hand
To the havoc which we wreak.

Death, Poverty, and Contention
Permeate our every day lives,
As people give concession
To materialistic greed and strife.

So many unspeakable acts
Perpetrated by all mankind,
Always callously backed
By the leaders who keep us blind.

As our world slowly descends
Into a state of deadly chaos,
Our very survival depends
On the values that once defined us.

We claim empathy and compassion
For those who live in pain.
But when asked to take action,
We have the gall to complain.

“What’s the point?”, we cry aloud.
“They’ll just spend it on booze!”
We merge swiftly into the crowd,
Not knowing what we lose.

Our humanity slowly slips away,
With every wicked, heinous act,
And there will come a painful day
When we can never get it back.

The world will continue rotating,
Becoming increasingly deranged.
If we spend our time only spectating,
We will never have significant change.

Give a shit about your world.
Help someone truly in need.
The smallest gesture,  unfurled,
Can be the most noble of deeds.

If you say something, fucking do it.

Herein lies the lament of the lumberjack.  Before witnessing his woeful wailings, discern his dismal downfall:

Skip a bit to about 3:45 for the tale of the lumberjack, or watch the lovely story about the pet parrot first (a very touching story about a man and his Norwegian Blue).

I’ll give you a few moments to digest.

…

…

…

…

All set?  Lovely.  Now you have seen the ignominious dashing of the lumberjack’s hopes and dreams against the cruel rocks of the Mounties.

I’m a lumberjack, but far from ok;

A lumberjack still, but not the same.

I had a good life, fulfilling and gay*

Until the day when the Mounties came.

The day was rare in its beauty and calm,

the Larch and Scots Pine standing majestic.

If only I had known what was to come,

I would not have cared for the aesthetic.

I burst into song, with joy in my heart,

For my best girl stood lovingly by me.

I was in my element, playing my part

Of the lumberjack that all expected to see.

The Mounties in red supported my song,

Repeating my boasts in lovely chorus.

I sang from my heart, and I sang strong,

For my love of my life and of the forest.

But as I sang my song, the tide did turn,

And all joy and happiness abandoned my soul.

The Mounties repeated my words with scorn,

Casting my heart into an abyssmal hole.

My best girl left, questioning my manhood,

While the Mounties laughed, laughed, laughed.

I saw their eyes through the dark of the woods,

And the judgement within them that I was daft.

The Mounties be damned, the bastard lot,

For destroying my life with their cruelty.

All that is left, which is all that I’ve got,

Is a lonely life of chopping down trees.

The only friends that remain are trees;

The Fir, the Redwood, the Maple and Pine.

Yet I no longer feel joy at what I must be,

As the duty of killing my only friends is mine.

*Happy, not the other one.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course.  Well, maybe a little bit the other one too.

Yet another life destroyed by the cruelty of the Mounties.  Spread the word.  Be on your guard.

-Because I said so

(No offense intended to any Mounties, family of Mounties, Mountie fans/supporters, or lumberjacks.)