If you ever had a broken heart
You’d know just what I mean
If you’d walked a mile in my shoes
Or seen the things I’ve seen
You’d never doubt the truth
Or waiver just a bit
You’d know it had to happen
And you wouldn’t give a shit
You’d keep your chin up
Tuck your gut
Say, “Kiss my ass!”
And then, “So what?”
‘Cause how’d I get here –
After all
I had some fun
I had a ball
I ate some crow
So now you know
I say okay
It’s time to go!
HER:
I don’t believe he loves me
I just don’t think he does
If you had only been there
And seen the way it was
The harsh words that were spoken
The tears upon my bed
You say you love someone
And then you kick ‘em in the head?
HIM:
Oh no, she never loved me
I just don’t think she does
If you had only been there
And seen the way it was
The cold words that were spoken
The chill upon my bed
You say you love someone
And then you kick ‘em in the head?
I sing songs of love
Every day in my heart
When my mind will let me
When I’m not feeling too smart
It’s the songs of love
That keep me alive
The banner of love
Under which I survive
If only – and when
I can choose it so
The songs of love
Will let me go
They set me free
So my spirit flies
They keep me safe
From so many lies
I sing songs of love
For you, my dear
Right here where I am
Even though you’re not here
But I sing them also
To hold myself up
To make myself happy
To drink from this cup
A cup that is filled
With joy and peace
Allows an incredible
Sense of release
You only must choose it
In everyway
In all situations
Everyday
Love is my God
And this I know
Whether anyone else
Thinks it is so
Love is so good
I will sing it again
Each day must begin
So each day will end
And you’ll rarely see me
Without a smile
Though tears can be good –
Sometimes for a while
But not for long
My loving friend
Because Love is forever
It has no end
Each new day
Is a new beginning
Life goes on
And I just keep grinning
Because I know a secret
And this much is true
Same for me
As it is for you
It’s not really a secret
Just a little trick
Works like a charm
Works real quick
You only must choose it
That’s all it is
It’s just that simple
Golly gee whiz!
It doesn’t cost you
A dime or a dollar
Not a lot of
Fuss and holler
Just stop thinking so much
And then open your heart
It’s really that easy
You don’t have to be smart
You don’t have to be handsome
Or pretty, or rich
You don’t have to fight
Or complain and bitch
You just turn around
Like flipping a switch
It’s up to you
And no one else
You can’t blame anyone
When you ignore it yourself
Which we all have done –
Fallen short of the glory
We all have our reasons
We all have a story
The condition of man
Is in the pit
Because we forget –
Simply to choose it
Choose to be happy
Chose to have hope
Like climbing a ladder
Or climbing a rope
You lift up your spirit
By an inner light
You’re no longer subject
To dread and fright
Your spirit will soar
Your spirit must fly
And when it comes
Your time to die
Your dust becomes
A part of the earth
Then death becomes
A new kind of birth
Not really a secret
But some folks don’t know it
Or if they do
They’re afraid to show it
But why should they be?
Why should anyone care?
The nerve to be happy!
Why, how could you dare?
But you could also –
If you only wanted
Forget the places
Your memory’s haunted
Choose the moment
Choose the now
And you too can be happy
You’ll see it somehow
Just sing songs of love
Everyday in your heart
When your mind will let you
When you’re not feeling too smart
It gives me courage
To live every new day
No matter what others do or say
So I tell it to you
With my trusty pen
And so I won’t forget it
Ever again.
So you don’t feel lonely when I am there
You can sit all day in your big easy chair
Tell me your tales and the victories you’ve won
Tell ‘em over and over; it’ll be fun
I know you’re good – yes, you’re a dear
I know all your family, all about your career
The stories, the faces and your routine at night
I know all of this to your delight
I pay attention to details, your face and your tone
That’s why when I’m here, you’re not so alone
Memories peppered with lack of recall
Your whims and your fancies, I know them all
But you really know very little of me
Nothing really, but what you see
Little more than just my name
And my appearance, which is always the same
The persona who sits here and shows you such care
Is partly created by what I wear
In my scrub top, I listen, and say, “As you wish”
And go to prepare your favorite dish
About myself I say hardly a word
Very little of me is ever heard
Just a servant here to take care of you
But I could be anybody, any old who
Just put on this top and do what I do –
Think not of yourself while in this role
Tender yourself to another soul
Witness the world taking its toll
I am nothing; I’m no one – just here to serve
Another’s life to enhance and preserve
It’s exhausting! I tell you at the end of my shift
My tired heart needs a lift
My tired body wants to lie down
And sleep like a rock till morning comes ‘round
Another day and I’ll go do it some more
The agency sent me; I’m at your front door.
I’m glad for when we talk
And remember what was good
I guess we would have stayed
If we both thought that we could
You must have felt it too
A longing to be free
To unloose the wretched shackles
That kept you tied to me
Dear Love, for your forgiveness
For the road that we both took
I’ve written many songs
Enough to fill a book
But I wouldn’t trade a minute
Of that life that was so full
And deep within my heart
You’ve always had that pull
Some say our love was tainted
With a few unsavory deeds
And neither one is sainted
Each one with their own needs
But no one else will ever be
The greatest love you were to me
In that place within my heart
Where you and I shall never part
That’s a treasure that can not rust
I store my treasures where I must
And no decay or rot shall get
The good of us…I won’t forget…
There are times when I simply must
Stay home all day and cry
When sadness washes over me
And my eyes will not be dry
When the world is such a weary place
Though nothing’s really wrong
I haven’t any way to go
I hear a heavy song
Most days I can move past it
Or set it aside for a while
But there are times when I can not
Muster up a smile
Not only for the past
But for the future too
I cry out all my tears
For myself and yes, for you
For all the silly people
For the condition of mankind
For all the busy people
No solution they will find
There seems to be no answer
To the problems of this life
It’s such a troubled world
A struggle full of strife
On a day when such a sadness
Has somehow claimed her rule
I simply can’t go anywhere
I feel like a stupid fool
My mental state in question
I must cry to find relief
By the end of so much sobbing
I’ve cried out all my grief
At the end, I’m quite exhausted
And it hasn’t helped a thing
Except drained out the heavy song
That my heart will sometimes sing
And then if I am lucky
I’ll hear a happier tune
And if I listen carefully
I’ll be singing that way soon
It’s such a wicked world
All full of pain and sorrow
But there’s a rainbow somewhere
And there’s still hope for tomorrow
Today I will not worry
I’m okay for a while
Tomorrow may be different
But today I have a smile.
Should I do all those things
That I should have done then
Or sit here and think about
If-and-or-when
Should I get up and around
And be moving about
Should I sit here quietly
Or get up and shout
Should I keep to myself
The dark tales of the past
Or tell it all
Tell it all at last
Should I listen to reason
Or throw caution aside
Should I keep my secrets
Or have nothing to hide
Why would anyone
Ever want to tell
The way they lived
In a self-made hell
No rather to tell
A tale to uplift
Than give the truth
As a rotten gift
So I write in poems
Then no one knows
How the true story
Actually goes
Sometimes I feel like
I’m about to explode
I have to put down
My heavy load
So I tell a tale
Of all colors and hues
If only for myself
To amuse –
A ticking bomb
Thereby to diffuse
Gather ‘round, come one, come all
Step up to the fountain of bitter gall
We haven’t room for the pragmatic realist
Step aside for the romantic idealist
There’s plenty to drink for all of those fools
Step around the tears, puddled up there in pools
Make room for those souls to drink their fill
As they cough and choke on that bitter pill
As they think of those words their dear one said
And they lie alone at night in their bed
While their loved one lies in another’s arms
And another partakes of those desirable charms
If you believed in those songs that rang so true
Step up to the fountain; this drink is for you
If your hopes and dreams have been verily crushed
If your words of love must now be hushed
If your fire’s grown dim; you’re the walking dead
But you still hear the promises swirl in your head
Jump in with both feet – linger, abide
The fountain is big; it’s deep and wide
Drink it up, let no sip be small
Step into the fountain of bitter gall.
I am that Old She
That I feared I’d become
That same Old She
Who can’t say where she’s from
I am that Old She
Cast aside like a toy
That same Old She
Who still somehow found joy
I am that Old She
Who was so hard to tame
That same Old She
Although with a new name
I am that Old She
She’s no longer a youth
That same Old She
Now embracing the truth
I am that Old She
For whom love songs were sung
That same Old She
Who does not wish to be young
I am that Old She
She whose heart has been split
That same Old She
Who is still mending it
I am that Old She
Who has struggled and fought
That same Old She
Who is now what she thought
I am that Old She
Who has tempted the fates
That same Old She
For her destiny waits
I am that Old She
With her excellent goals
That same Old She
She for whom the bell tolls
All I ever wanted
Was your affection
All I ever really was
Was your reflection
You didn’t seem to know
What you really meant to me
I didn’t seem to know
What I was really sent to be
Your wife, your lover, your friend
Through thick and thin to the very end
To receive in return, your sweet affection
To be in the end, your own reflection
In your arms, under your protection
My hands, my heart, my eternal devotion
Whatever gave me the silly notion
That you too would see, you were meant for me
As I knew I was meant for you
But I didn’t know what to do
I felt like that, more times that a few
Oh, but we tried, in our goofy ways
Really we had some very good days
We had some fun and some full bellied laughter
Things to remember ever after
But I let you down and I know I did
I ran to hide, just ran and hid
Afraid of your anger, quacking in fear
Justifiably so, I’m afraid, my dear
At least in God’s eyes, mercy is shown
And there is the peace I would not have known
You made my life full, you made it rich
You also made me feel like a bitch
But I regret it not for all we’ve been through
‘Cause you were for me and I was for you
But now I can tell, that’s no longer true
