Laugh through the tears,
For life is short. Be
Quick to forgive, be
Slow to abort friendships built up
Through the years.
Be quick to forgive, and
Laugh through the tears.

Cry when you must,
For life isn’t fair. Be
Slow to give up, be
Quick to repair broken dreams built up
Through the years,
Cry when you must, but
Laugh through the tears.

Slow down, look around,
Life isn’t a race. Be
The best you can be,
Set your own pace, for life is a journey,
Which spans unknown years,
Slow down, look around, and
Laugh through the tears.

Trust in your faith,
Mortal life has an end. Be
Loving to family, always depend
On your friends; They’ll be with you,
When hope disappears.
Trust in your faith, and
Laugh through the tears.
Phil Lindsey, 3/7/17

All we "writers" "poets"
Walk with a limp
Have a thorn in our side
We're a collective gimp
And in our words, hide
Yet, bare all
Our souls, hearts, scars
Our memories, call
Observationists, we are
Feeling too much,
Feeding on ours, and others, scars
We, are watchers of, life
The good, the bad,
love and strife
We watch the happy, The sad,
All heaven and hell, knows
We're all "mad"
And it shows
Is this bad?
No
It's what we are
We all walk with a limp

Sometimes at night

asleep by the firelight

I dream about them

how they died

some are singing

and others saying what

they no longer see

walking fencelines

limping as if in pain

some of them handsome

and some mysterious

silent but not

for long they tell you

men scarcely know

how beautiful fire is

and old stories

they can't remember

unless you can

still look them in the eye.

she was only ten years old
when he made the video tape
the film shows a horrid crime unfold
that little girl was *****

(the story that remains untold
a past she can never escape
available for an easy download
fuel for a pervert's sake)

they have their way with her over and over

******* eyes watch with bad intent
she is a victim again and again
every time that file is sent
she is ***** by other men