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Achilles

 

Although he cannot stand

Defiance still remains

Hot lava in his veins

His eyes burn like black fire

 

With spirit like a storm

They could not make him tame

Each time he broke the gate

He ran like he was wild

 

Achilles! 

 

Soft velvet nostrils breathe

The freedom in the hills

Beyond the gamble thrills

Beyond the blood-red clay 

 

Beyond the sting of whips

Where fences do not dare

A cool breeze and a mare

The choice to go which way

 

Achilles!

 

They pushed him to the brink

Three years spent chasing gold

Although his heart is strong

His body became old

The dam just could not hold 

 

A crack in one small bone

And his career was done

Retired by a gun

His name not etched in stone

 

Achilles!

 

 

If America Had a Soundtrack

 

If America had a soundtrack

It would be the open range

Where fear is not an option

Unless it’s of a cage

 

The snort of V-twin engines

The laughter of the wind

The sizzle of cracked asphalt

The ramble of a fence

 

The sob of a coyote

The yawn of turquoise sky

The creak of jagged mountains

The buzz of power lines

 

The shout of hollow canyons

The whisper of the sand

The taunt of sun-bleached bones

The prayer of thirsty plants

 

If God gave me the power

The music wouldn't change

If America had a soundtrack

It would be the open range

 

 

Make It Burn

 

Downtown late in the city watching all the people out

Boys lust for plastic women and girls hustle for a crown

They lean heavy on the bottle and jump off bridges for a rush

Sometimes they think of dying but try not to think too much

 

An old man in an alley with his nose in the trash

The stench and shame are so strong but his belly brings him back

A young mom in a night club dancing up on the stage

They fill up her coffers but somehow she never gets paid

 

Feel the pulse start to pound as the red sun sinks down

Every road is like a vein carrying life through this town

Through the glass of my car watching people walking by

Catching tiny glimpses of myself reflected in their eyes

 

Hungry for affection and then we get a taste

And we treat it like garbage and throw it away in the waste

We’re looking for lovers around every turn

Like we’re striking a match but can’t find the spark to make it burn

 

 

Pulled into the Wild

 

The road is a rope drawn taut

Pulling me into the wild

The earth climbs slowly up and up

Still downhill I slide

 

The mesas form a funnel

Like the long neck of a beer

West is where I'm going

And I don't have to steer

 

 

BROWSE BY STYLE

poetry

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