I fell headlong into a poem
And was immediately swept away
As words passed by on paddle boats
They pulled me in their wake

The sweet dew of sonnets glistened on the shore
Lined with allegory trees
Dripping with fruit of poetic glaze
As a rhythmic breeze rustles through the leaves

There was an ode of maidens in a field
Cultivating the finest of verses
With colors of yellows, pinks, blues, and reds
From amongst the rows of stanzas

The cool lapping of the waves
Brought the imagery to its peak
As the metaphoric stream I floated down
Opened up into a sea of dreams

I fell headlong into a poem
And was immediately swept away...

If God let nature pick out its colors
I'm sure the sky would still choose blue
And the deepest depths of the ocean
Would want to stay that color too

If the mountains took to long to decide
Their peaks would turn a snowy white
And the stars in all of their glory
Would still relish the black of the night

The green, green grass of the valleys
Would not want it any other way
Just like the yellow of the morning sun
On any given day

And the leaves on the trees in the cool fall breeze
Would be any color that they like
At any given moment in time
Is when they would decide

If God let nature choose its own colors
I'm sure they would all stay the same
Because God knew what he was doing
When he created it on that special day

if grass were blue
and sky was green
in the oceans open field
i'd float in dreams
to the outer banks
of in between
under a chartreuse sun
in waves of tangerine

as pink dolphins*
come together as one
and sing out loud
to the purple sirens song
near the jagged rock
where the sailors warn
of the changing colors
of the coming storm

i'd still think of you
as if grass were blue
on the changing tide
of the oceans hue
as i live by
what i thought i knew
with sky's of green
*and grass of blue

I don't need happy times
I don't need the sun to shine
All I need are these tears to cry
If I don't have you

I don't need the birds to sing
I don't need diamond rings
Can't think of anything I need
If I don't have you

I don't need a day of bliss
I don't need a moving kiss
I don't need any of this
If I don't have you

I don't need a star filled night
Nor do I need romantic moon light
All I need is a room to hide
If I don't have you

I don't need skies of blue
I don't need my dreams come true
I don't need the earth to move
When all I really need is you

With each day that fly's away
Closer to the end
As each day throws this my way
You can begin again

It all must serve a purpose
In this crazy thing called life
I've heard it will be worth it
If I make it to the day I die

If I live to see tomorrow
Will I have done all I wanted to
If I live to see tomorrow
Will I have learned a thing or two

Model, Make, set in place
Rusty though I seem
What I find inside my mind
Is youth still clings to me

With shades of gray on display
It's no surprise to me
That the hand of death in my hand rests
Soon enough to set me free

If I live to see tomorrow
Will I think it's come too soon
If I live to see tomorrow
Will I have done all I intended to

If I only knew...
This would be my last day
Here on this solid ground
Before I go away

If I only knew...
This was our last kiss
Would this moment be
Any different than this

If I only knew...
What tomorrow brings
Would it change my attitude
On most everything

If I only knew...
Or at least had a clue
Would I try and think twice
On all that I do

If I only knew...
A question so often asked
Would I follow through
Or again let it pass

If I only knew...

if it were up to me
there would be no worries
there would be no problems
to all that's going on

every side of the street
if it were up to me
would be the sunny side
with the grass always green

we would all be free
living life together
if it were up to me
in peace and harmony

everybody's needs
would outweigh all the wants
then we'd have all we need
if it were up to me

If it were up to me
I’d do things differently
For war there’d be no need
We’d all live in peace

We’d learned to love our neighbors
Do each other favors
All change our behavior
Not a one would be a hater

If it were up to me
There’d be no disease
No catastrophes
The air we breath would be clean

We’d go out of our way
To try and make each other‘s day
Give away more than we take
Love each other for heavens sake

If it were up to me
We would all be free
Fill each other’s needs
If it were all up to me

If I were an elephant
I know just what I'd do
I'd pack my trunk with all my junk
And move far from the zoo

I'd bring with me my monkey
Best friend and sidekick Preston
If memory correctly serves me
He's a **** at giving directions

Cause I'd like to move to Timbuktu
Either that or Kathmandu
One thing is clear as long as it's not here
Any old place will do

I'd then open up a doughnut shop
Run by Preston the monkey and me
Where we would toss sprinkles on top
With banana creme in-between

We'd be known far and wide for our doughnut delights
Oh and fancy schmancy eclairs too
Yes if I were an elephant
That's exactly what I would do

Wouldn't you?

To tell the truth as far as I can see
If I were you I wouldn't want to be me
Far too many issues, way too many needs
To tell the truth as far as I can see

Ask anyone I know intimately
If I were you I wouldn't want to be me
It's a fine line that's drawn with no room to breath
Ask anyone I know intimately

I can only pass mustard to a certain degree
So if I were you I wouldn't want to be me
Do you get the idea or should I repeat
If I were you I wouldn't want to be me

Would you think differently of me
Would your eyes only for him beg you to see
Someone that's as lowly as me

If I wrote for you a poem

Would you dare to steal a glance my way
Would you listen intently to what I had to say
Would the beat of your heart echo my way

If I wrote for you a poem

Would your night and daydreams be only of me
Let me look in your eyes and dive in where it's deep
Would you do all of this simply for me

If I wrote for you a poem

Would you tell that other guy goodbye
Would you explain to him the main reason why
Would you turn around with a sly smile

If I wrote for you a poem

Would it forever change your direction in life
The way I would like it to change mine
If the answer is yes, I'll start now on the rhyme

Cause I'd love to write for you that poem

if you count all the days
from here to there
minus the ones
that you just sit and stare

the haves and have not's
the never got's
on waves have been tossed
forever lost

the good you have done
when not counting some
they say haste makes waste
when diving in love

and on that note
i clear my throat
and proceed to float

in every beginning and end
there's a middle to them
an overgrown path
that life is lived in

standing around
to say the least
the beauty within
is marked by the beast

before we say it's over
then attempt it again
this looks too familiar
where have we been

*and on that note
i clear my throat
and proceed to float

What if love was contagious
Like some sort of disease
Affecting all religions and races
Bringing the world to its knees

Where a cure is never found
Where no one even tries
A disease that for years sticks around
Contaminating all of mankind

From a kind word being said
To a hug when it's needed the most
In hopes it quickly spreads
With everyone being the host

What if love was a disease
And it was highly contagious
No need to put us all in quarantine
Because love is a disease that would save us

I woke up this morning
Looked in the mirror
And thought to myself
If not me then who else
Could change the way I felt

If my life takes a turn
Perhaps for the worst
What's the worst I can say
At least I tried it today
How else could I make my way

From this side of life
To the other side
To get on with the show
Cause you never know
Which way things will go

If not me then who else
Would stare back at myself
Give me a talking to
Tell me the truth
About what I'm going through

As I look deep
Into the reflection of me
Seeing what I need to know
Before I turn to go
Saying, never lose hope

do you think that we'd survive
if we put an end to all the lies
if all we knew to do
was to tell the truth

starting each new day
careful the way we portray
using words that only lift
take the risk and insist on it

make a change for the better
concerned enough to love each other
putting others first
will we let love run its course

stand up for what's right
whether first or last in line
lean on common sense
what little there is left of it

tell me what you think
is there a possibility
all of this could work
if we just laid down our swords

Why does death bring out the best in us
Where we don't speak of ill will
Is the suffering enough from the loss
That we don't dare add to the bill

When it's hard to find words so kind
We might say God rest their soul
Try and smile knowing all the while
The truth is left untold

Makes you wonder why when we're still alive
We let each other be
Reasoning that it's their life to live
And has nothing to do with me

Too late to make a difference
Now that they're not coming back
Knowing the truth it's still what we do
When don't speak ill of the dead

if you don't want my love
i'll find someone else who does
i've about had enough
to the point of giving up

i have offered you my love
more times than i can count
if you won't at least sample it
how will you know what it's about

if you don't want my love
it doesn't make much sense
hanging out here wanting yours
long ago I should have left

they say it takes two to tango
and you don't care to dance
if you don't want my love
i'll give someone else a chance

If you had the chance to do it all again
Which part of it would you pick
Would you take the easy way
with what you know today
If to do it again you had the chance

If you could pick which part to live
Which part to toss which part you kept
If you had the choice
by the raising of voice
Which part of it would you pick to live

Would you take out the hardest route
Which more than helps with character built
Knowing when you go against the grain
you're never the same
Would you take the hardest route if this you found out

How would you act if you had the chance
Would you pass it all off with a laugh
Or would you buckle down
this time around
If you had the chance how would you act

Me and Mary Lou
Were married right out high school
Her soon to have a baby
Me with nothing much to do

Didn't get much of an education
From the high school social scene
Life is now one big social frustration
If you know what I mean

Got a job on the dead shift
Down at the Jiffy mart
When Mary Lou went to labor
Emptying out her shopping cart

Got the call at 2am
Telling me I had a boy
I went straight to isle 3
And bought him his first of many broken toys

Cause broken toys prepare us
For the book of broken dreams
That most of us later in life
Tend to sit and read

Got the call not that much later
Telling me Mary Lou had died
Pretty shortly after that
My boy let out his first of many cry's

I wish I could have been there
Though not much I could have done
Except to give last minute comfort
To the mother of my son

Still down at the Jiffy mart
Whats a man to do
With a now 2 year old by your side
Sitting on a stool

He loves to hear the stories
Of when his mom and I were young
But he always adds the saddest end
When he asks why she is gone

I tell him she's still living
Only now she's in our hearts
I'm not sure that he believes me
As that's when the tear drops start

But life goes on as always
Like the purchases that I ring
With both us boys missing Mary Lou
If you know what I mean

Me and Mary Lou
Were married right out high school
Her soon to have a baby
Me with nothing much to do

Didn't get much of an education
From the high school social scene
Life is now one big social frustration
If you know what I mean

Got a job on the dead shift
Down at the Jiffy mart
When Mary Lou went to labor
Emptying out her shopping cart

Got the call at 2am
Telling me I had a boy
I went straight to isle 3
And bought him his first of many broken toys

Cause broken toys prepare us
For the book of broken dreams
That most of us later in life
Tend to sit and read

Got the call not that much later
Telling me Mary Lou had died
Pretty shortly after that
My boy let out his first of many cry's

I wish I could have been there
Though not much I could have done
Except to give last minute comfort
To the mother of my son

Still down at the Jiffy mart
What's a man to do
With a now 2 year old by your side
Sitting on a stool

He loves to hear the stories
Of when his mom and I were young
But he always adds the saddest end
When he asks why she is gone

I tell him she's still living
Only now she's in our hearts
I'm not sure that he believes me
As that's when the tear drops start

But life goes on as always
Like the purchases that I ring
With both us boys missing Mary Lou
If you know what I mean

If you'll be the knife that helps out my fork
I'll be the South that holds up your North
If you'll be the teeth that bite my tongue
Then perhaps I won't say anything dumb

If you'll be the branch where I hang my leaf
I'll be the wave that stirs your wanting sea
If you'll be the want and I'll be the need
We'll both be the love on which we both feed

If you'll be the light that takes over my dark
I'll be the beat inside of your heart
If you'll be the end to my fresh start
Then we'll both be the now to where ever we are

This I know for sure
That there ain't no cure
But to run out of men
When it comes to fighting wars

If you're asking me
There ain't no mistaking
To fight our way out of this
We need to stop misbehaving

Can't we come together
And do ourselves some talking
Try on another mans shoes
Get to some serious walking

If you're asking me
Our world leaders are acting childish
Put them all in time out
Before they go and **** us

If we don't do it soon
I'm afraid they'll drop the big one
Blow us to the Moon
Even taking along the innocent

If you're asking me
The world is still worth saving
Though the river mostly flows
At this time it's coagulating

We fight our wars for peace
Who's crazy idea is that
How can this we achieve
If you're asking me

If you see her will you tell her I said hello
And that things haven't changed that much
I'm still alone down here in Jacksonville
And yes I'm still in love

Will you tell her I cry most every night
Because things haven't been the same
Since the wind blew her into my life
And that same wind blew her out again

If you see her will you tell her how hard I tried
To move beyond what it was we had
Perhaps I would not have given my all
If I had known it wouldn't last

You can tell her if she tries to look me up
I went and changed my name
I'm no longer Mr. Happy Go Lucky
I'm now Down In The Dumps Again

You Know What...

If you see her tell her I said hello
And that everything is fine
That I've been living life so care free
She's not even crossed my mind

If that appears to make her saddened
It might just break my heart
Because my friend you and I both know the truth
I've not been the same since we've been apart

If you want to write a poem about the Sun
Make your way to the horizon before the morning comes
On a day that is clearly not a cloudy one
Pick yourself a rhyme before he comes along
That to me is the best way to get it done
If you want to write a poem about the Sun

If you want to write a poem about the Moon
Try these simple steps to help you through
All it is that you have got to do
Is throw yourself into a midnight attitude
And watch in the sky for the moon to wink at you
If you want to write a poem about the Moon

If you want to write a poem about the Stars
Find an open field where the sky is dark
Away from the city lights and the running cars
Lay upon your back for the view of Godly art
Enjoying as they make their way spark by tiny spark
If you want to write a poem about the Stars

If you want to write a poem about Love
Then you'd better know about it well enough
All the in's and out's with the down's and up's
Still you'll barely scratch the surface of
But never in your life should you give it up
If you want to write a poem about *Love

I'm waving the flag
A bitter off white
The color you choose
When you give up the fight
Throw in the towel
Calling it quits
I've had enough
Of the meaningless
Calling a truce
Ready to yield
Raising both hands
Out in left field
Not mock surrender
But the real thing
Along with the fat lady
I'm ready to sing
From here ever after
My tongue's gonna stop
Box up the chatter
Sweep up spilled guts
I'll nod along
As I'm read my writes
I'm now more than ready
To give up the fight

I'll bring you silver
I'll bring you gold
Along with the promise
To never let go

I'll buy you diamonds
To compliment rings
I'll give you all this
And many more things

I'll give you my life
I'll give you my love
I'll give you it all
Till you say that's enough

I'll hold onto your hand
For the comfort it brings
Plus everything else
That you'll ever need

I'll hand you my heart
Along with the key
Let you have my eyes
So your beauty you'll see

I'll give you my thoughts
With the secrets they tell
And if there's anything left
I'll give you all that as well

Strike a match to heart and head
Set my soul on fire
Use me as your kindling
Burning with desire

For your Holy Spirit
To help set this world ablaze
Loud enough for those to hear it
Bring on the Glory Days

Strike a match to ignite the fire
Of a people in desperate need
No purpose here could be higher
In setting lost souls free
For whom the Son sets free
Free they are indeed

In the fanning of the flames
Hearts and souls will change
One after another
Bring on the Glory Days

Strike a match to hearts and heads
Set our souls on fire
Use us as your kindling
Burning with desire

By: Madison Coleman / m. hauser

No need to show me anything
Especially if it's true
Ignorance is bliss
Here without a clue
Certainly don't need a different point
When it comes to views
No idea of where we're heading
When letting others choose

Point the way whom to hate
And who's rear end to kiss
Blindly doing what they say
Ignorance is bliss
Horses led to water
Chomping at the bit
All but drawn and quartered
In the way we live

Whispering, deceiving
The best secret kept
No one needs convincing
Ignorance is bliss
No need to show me anything
To get this cart upset
Oranges to apple's
Happily ignorant

I once had an Elephant
That kept all his junk inside of his trunk

From colorful maps of the Far East
To recipes of food, he loved to eat

His collection of Roller Derby star cards
A hot pink Leisure suit from the 70's he wore

A hamster wheel he feels he may one day need
If he happens to run into a hampster family

A Checker flag in case he makes it to the races
A bottle of water, if in the Desert without an Oasis

Plans for building the worlds tallest skyscraper
Peanut butter and a box of Vanilla wafers

At least 2 colorful metal Kazoos  
Cause when you Kazoo, you need a friend with you

And last but not least believe you me
A picture of the herd he calls family

The only problem that he keeps repeating
Are his bouts of constant sneezing

Which blows all the junk from out of his trunk
And he spends most his time picking it up

Which really isn't all that much fun
Which is why I say I had an Elephant once

Don't get me wrong I do love myself
It's my selfies that give me hell
When I think I've clicked the perfect pic
20 shots later that's still not it

I take the filter remove the lines
How many lines can one man find
It's an age-old problem I've been told
Why does the camera make me look old

I've got the angle I've got the smile
The perfect lighting set on the dial
Hold my phone back to where I can snap
As my phone once again makes me look like crap

Always thinking I have the perfect pic
20 shots later that's still not it
Oh, don't get me wrong I do love myself
It's just my selfies that are giving me hell

I have met my quota today
On how much crazy I can take
It didn't take too long
Before I was worn down
I have met my quota today

Held out as long as I could
Before my senses tried to book
Running fast so they could keep
What little bit of sanity
Held out as long as I could

I deserve some kind of prize
That I didn't blacken someone's eyes
As I wanted to swing
All kinds of lethal things
I deserve some kind of prize

There should be some sort of law
Some people should not be let outdoors
Either that or a safe place
The rest of us could stay
There should be some sort of law

As I have met my quota today
On how much crazy I can take
Lucky for the world
I'm now locked away safe at home
As I have met my quota today

i might look naive
                  but i have seen life
          from the position i'm in
                  from the dawn of the day
         *to the edge of the night
sitting on the head of a pin

             i may look to be
                       new to the scene
                  but believe me i've always been here
         you talk of the past
                   like it's history
                           blink and disappear

        i have seen life
                  in the face of a child
                         life in the crook of the old
                 at the edge of the hurt
        at the end of the smile
                   life for all that it's worth

                      i have seen life
            on it's darker side
   seen it on the left and the right
               seen it places never thought that i would
          from the middle
                    from the front
                            *from behind

If I could ever count the cost
If ever I was at a Croc loss
Oh the inhumanity
If there were no Crocs upon my feet

No comfort for them to saddle in
No soft rubber sponge in which to grin
Whether Chinese made or Mexican
If you have not Crocked you have not lived

At the sight of Crocs it brings to mind
Who is the king of the foot line
When the rubber hits the hardened road
It is the Croc that's in the know

So take a ride and slip and slide
Inside the Croc you'll feel you died
And landed straight at heaven's gate
Where angels have Crocs on their feet

Do you still feel the need to ask
If Crocs are just a passing fad
You can ask my feet and my ten toes
They're the ones that are in the know

But their reply will be a muffled sound
As they're both inside my Crocs right now

i may go to pieces
i may fall apart
i may  lose direction
and miss out on the mark

i may wander off the path
take a completely different road
end up further than i have
from what it is i know

i may look behind me
more often than i should
in a last ditch effort to find me
if i only could

i may give this a bit more thought
as it all comes into play
give awe and wonder to the four way stop
then choose another way

I just puked another poem today
There was a queasiness so my brain felt the need
To up chuck all of its contents
All over you fine peoples feet

It was a colorful array of symbolism
That I hurled across the room
It must have been something I'd seen or read
That made me ***** this poem out for you

Don't worry I'll personally clean up the mess
Before anymore of this I let loose
But this close to a sick poet you should have guessed
That eventually my works would splatter on you

I just puked another poem today
There was a queasiness so my brain felt the need
To up chuck all of its contents
All over you fine peoples feet

It was a colorful array of symbolism
That I hurled across the room
It must have been something I'd seen or read
That made me ***** this poem out for you

Don't worry I'll personally clean up the mess
Before anymore of this I let loose
But this close to a sick poet you should have guessed
That eventually my works would splatter on you

I just want to be...

The promise that you keep
The moment that you need
Your thought that's gone to seed

I just want to be...

What it is that you most crave
The one decision that you make
The perfect ending to your day

I just want to be...

Where your vast ocean meets the land
The treasure held in your hand
The moment you come to understand

I just want to be...

The one name that you drop
There when you pull out all the stops
All it is that you have got

I just want to be...

The answer when you ask
The love that you unmask
But most of all,
I just want to be your yes*...

Hello Mom, I'm lost here in IKEA
It's been fun but I may never see you again
They say the arrows point the way
but they've been pointing the way for days
Swedish Meatballs, the only saving grace there is

In the linen section, I've been circling for hours
Waiting for landing instructions from the tower
As big as this place there has to be a runway
In a fog, quickly running  out of power

At a later date, I finally make my way
At the seventh gate, I see Dante wave
As he's pouring over plans assembling a pair of white nightstands
I'll come back and check on him in a few days

In housewares, there are too many cooks in the kitchen
I look around and see something here is missing
The main ingredient, food...still waiting for those meatballs dude
In that special sauce that does more for a man than just glisten

I should have known the way the front door ****** me in
I'd never see my family and friends again
As I wander through the halls of prefab furniture at low cost
My days of sanity are quickly drawing to an end
And even with IKEA's plans, I'll never be put back together again

I killed a man...

The gun went off in my hand
I didn't mean to
It was an accident

I killed a man...

He had a family
A loving wife and kids
I wish it had been me

I killed a man...

He served a purpose
His death was worthless
He served a purpose

I killed a man...

I threw the gun away
Into the river
It's still there to this day

I killed a man...

And have been haunted
By the ghost of what I done
It's not what I wanted

I killed a man..

He wants revenge I fear
I see him every night
Inside of my nightmares

I killed a man...

The gun went off in my hand
I didn't mean to
It was an accident, when it was I killed a man

I know...
            The secrets that you've kept
I know...
            The hurt in which you hide
I know...
            What it is you did
I know...
            The fear deep down inside
I know...
            The hope on which you hold
I know...
            The future has a past
I know...
            The heat inside the cold
I know...
            The questions never asked
I know...
            What you thought you knew
I know...
            What it is you don't
I know...
            The deep dark unguarded truth
I know...
            The very start of woe
I know...
            Beginnings have an end
I know...
            The truth as it's foretold
I know...
            All the lies of youth
I know...*
            What it is I know

I know a man
Who could sell cheese to the moon
A book of riddles to a monkey
A lonely sound to a loon

This same man
Could sell colored flames to a fire
Broken wings to an angel
Salty tears to a Town Crier

I know a man
Who could sell green to a leaf
Bark to a dog
If it's up the wrong tree

This same man
Could sell a shadow to the night
Sassafras honey to a bee
Maybe to a might

I know a man
Who could sell gravity to the earth
To help hold it down
For all that it's worth

This same man
Took all that he could
From what little he had
And left it for good

I know a man
Who knows a man
If I said anymore
You would know that I am

This same man
Who could do all of this
Would gladly give it away
If it was sealed with a kiss

I know love is the answer
But what is the question
In the world of today
I can't help but keep asking

Is it comforting a crying child
Or giving a homeless man a hand
Is it telling your brother no matter your color
We can still be friends

Is it helping out the widow
When loneliness is all she sees
Or nothing more than a simple smile
When you pass someone on the streets

Is it valuing that someone
When they feel no need to live
Or giving the last of what you've got
When it's the last you've got to give

Is it stepping out of your comfort zone
To speak the loving truth
All with the full knowledge
That the world will turn it's back on you

Is it proclaiming the name of Jesus
That puts heads in a spin
When he is love and he is the answer
To all of life's questions

I know somebody
That has a crush on you
They may not say it
But I know that it's true
Cause all they do all-day
Is think of you
You being the galaxy
That around them moves

I know somebody
That you fill their dreams
During the day
And at night when they sleep
They never do mind
That you won't leave them be
As they really would hate
To see you ever leave

I know somebody
That you cross their mind
From this very moment
And every other time
It's been that way since the day
You came to light
Now the thought of you
Is all they can find

I know somebody
That has eyes for you
That become glued
When you enter the room
No force of nature
Could tear them loose
When this somebody's eyes
Are stuck on you

I know somebody
That you're the air that they breathe
Which must make you
Their greatest need
I know all of this
Believe you me
Down to a T
Because that somebody is me

I will lay out for you life's riches
Afford you my last name
Fulfill you all your wishes
Then do more of the same

I'll treat you to golden slumbers
Give to you, a child eyes of blue
Not holding back the joy and wonder
In all I give to you

Lay out the path to the ever after
Holding hands we'll walk it new
Where the days are filled laughter
As we both stand on the truth

I will blanket all your troubles
Cover all your fears
What you desire I'll give you double
But most of all I will be here

Promises made
Are promises kept
On the alter of I do

From the time we have
To the time that's left
I'll be here for you

From this very day
To come whatever may
You can stand on that truth

My love will remain
Even when time grows late
I'll be here for you

I'll be the path
The guiding hand
To hold and help you through

With a love that's the same
Never to change
I'll be here for you

It is my hope
That we both grow
Old together and as we do

Above everything else
Until the lights shut out
I'll be here for you