VI, VI, VI #2 - A Candle In the WInd [For Afghanistan] (November 2009)

“Candle in the Wind, Soldiers Resting in Pieces”

Cynical maybe, psychotic possibly- theoretically speaking
Awful cycles of vile vicious violence may eventually end
Natural evolution of a revolution- a final end to 'tweaking'
Death, destruction, doom- doors open... slowly.. as i append
Letters of feeling to lesson lunacy of illegal wars, wary
Even though i know i can do nothing but wait, wonder, carry
Into the open the lies they've told- for oil, power, control
Nonsensical possibly but potentially provocative- a killing toll
Toiling teenagers commanded to conquer- taking hearts, they come
Hurling hellish habits- bombs, missiles, drones- i’m only hoping to unwind
Every last wrong turn we, the U.S., ever took- tearing down our home
While the few left holding together here are destroyed by their own ‘kind’
Iridescent, glowing night-vision goggles on- now lying entombed
Nervous before, children, now suffering needlessly and finally. they know...
Destination: Death- far from home with brothers, maybe, but doomed
Singled out for service by lack of opportunity- now your sons are in tow
Owing nothing, volunteers (virtually)- the voracious appetite of military
Leaders longing to colonize in an un-winnable war- so... to the cemetery
Donned with their posthumous medals post-mortem- post traumatic stress
In dependence on someone only succeeding in making a mess
Everywhere sent they seem to die for no cause- this time hunting bin Laden
Resting in 'peace' now six feet under- heroes unto their very ends
Sorties, missions, operations, strategies- stories- violating others' borders
Respectful, dutiful, duped into serving a lost cause- whoever sends or orders
Into battle their own children to carry out a false war EVER again
Personally, pointedly, purposeFULLY - I WILL MAKE YOU END.



"Seventeen (Old Enough To Serve) / Lost Limbs, Left to Decay"

Losing touch, fading fast- tears- as i go under
On whatever it is they're giving me- i can't feel
Sh** as i lie here- propped up, pain- limbs torn asunder
Turning- everything around; sinking- down; the reel
Life plays on crooked, darker- dozing now; waiting
I can't feel it, so i must be dying- i don't know- i'm trying
My leveled best to come to terms with this- debating
Bashfulness- is it worse to ask or for them to laugh? i'm lying
Sleeplessly, in a bed of my own but not- hospital's irritating, too
Less so, though, than loss of limb, but i can't think about that
Even at my best it puts me at my worst to consider what i can't do
Forgetting feels impossible, time moves on, i'm stuck, strapped- fact?
Trapped now in my own head, body in shambles; from your war(s)
Total annihilation of self sought- seared by an explosion
Opened up, operated on, put down- sewn together no more
Demoralized, misunderstood as i miss out- the feeling after implosion
Eats away at me every day as i lie here, weighting, wait-less
Caught by a fragment; fractured, forgotten- see my wound?
Ah, but you can't see how deep it really is or how you've been careless.
Yearning.. see? i lost touch because of you- responsibility.. resum3d???



“Resting- In Pieces Forever”

Rolling out on my way to set it alight
Embers burning- trailing off... curling
Smoke blurring lines... lips grasping tight
Tension easing- inhaling, exhaling- swirling
Immunizing myself against worldly anxiety
Nice Dreams as i let your vapors soak into me
Gentle release as i begin to let go
Immediately relaxed as i’m lost in the flow
Now intensely attentive, but to nothing specific
Parsing sparsely- distracted, distant- the red-eye
Infected, irritated, imitating before- now global, prolific
Easy, but fleeting- feeling found momentarily- high
Cruising along, letting time pass right on by
Elevated- for tonight- far, far above the fray
Sure i can feel you but i’m not sure what to say
Forging on- baked halfway- you’re nowhere around
Opening, opened- open- finally seeing my way down
Realistically speaking i never really had a choice
Every memory of you- your smile, eyes & voice
Vying for you patiently- pouring my heart- praying
Expecting nothing but still dreaming of everything
Running in circles- desperately writing, wanting & waiting