1. THE ESTATE

I’ve stared these walls down for hours
I’ve watched cracks in the plaster as they crawl the wall Encouraged by the stirring, in foundations
Brought by the changes of the elements

I hung the paintings oh so strategically
Trying to mask the imperfections from the naked eye
Like makeup to mask the signature of time
I beg my conscious not to speak of what it has seen
Or what it knows

Erase the past behind these walls, erase the past
But the rafters weep at the rain
Floorboards bend like a crooked spine
Muttering gossips at each step they die to tell
A stench of mold permeates out from its hiding place now

Walls insulated with spite, abuse, addictions
Problems I’m too afraid to face alone
Bodies I’ve locked in with bitterness
The ones that hurt
The ones that said that I couldn’t be what I want to be
Doors open I can never close
Everything is swayed I’ll keep a fresh coat on the outer skin
A set of wax plants on the front porch

Those who pass by this old estate
Well they will never know Well isn’t that the name of this old game
A fraud, mislead by false by appearance

Loved ones, drifters wait outside
Forgotten are the times I welcomed people in through these doors
How much longer will the monotonous words hold their ground
Everything is just fine

But now my world is shaking
And out of the cracks the snakes creep out
Exposing my rot I’m not as strong as I make you believe
As a matter of fact, beneath the skin I am crumbling

Like the incision to separate the infection from tissue
Oh carpenter, renovate the old so what’s old can become new


2. DRIVING OUT

We search for peace to flood the streets Flicker of light to drive out the night Abundance of love to dissolve disgust But I’m still searching for what that looks like for us Love, it will not cease Even when breath no longer passes through our teeth Love, like the clouds over our heads Showering droughts and nurturing what’s left for dead Yet the only light that I can see The burning eyes from this monster marching the streets Picket signs for scales, discourse for teeth We are fighting fire with fire And leaving devastation in our wake Overcoming darkness with twilight And the night tides immerse us in their waves We are waging wrath against hatred And we battle each war after war Our nation drowning in it’s own tears A body with a virus but we ignore the cure How is it that we are too ignorant to know That this hate that we cling to, it will get us nowhere And still we rise against our very own brother Lighting candles, we’re burning bridges Breaking bread, we’re breaking skin Take this cup, we’re spilling blood This one body has separated Gluttony, debauchery, outside these walls torsos empty Hypocrites, rash judgments Are we the salt, are we sulfur Where is the compassion, from pulpits that we preach We cannot abide by these patterns anymore So retract your claws, let’s put anguish to rest Because I swear we’re called for something more Oh generation, no house can stand divided It’s time that we take on a new lead of love We are the letters not written by pen or ink But transcribed by the spirit of the I Am We search for peace to flood the streets Flicker of light to drive out the night Abundance of love to dissolve disgust And all of this has been written on our hearts since day one Live by the love that is written on your hearts


3. PRICE TAG

The artist oh the artist, behold perfection in his masterpiece
He opens up his mind and spreads it across canvas
An expression of who he is

He opens up his heart and spreads it across canvas
This perfect creation, it is a part of him

Corner to corner and detail to detail
From out of nothing
Sewing together the creativity

Each and every work he treasures
And weighs them all equally
This is the workmanship of his fingertips
And resonates his legacy
The critics will heave their detest
But he will not be dismayed

The artist is confident in what his work is worth
His assessment will not be swayed by any mortal man
They build significance
All of their life's blueprints on top of faulty foundations
Their malice tongues are all wrapped in lies
Like the way the fire encompasses the red embers

So who is the one to name the worth of this art
Can it be the breeze as it whispers by
Is it man or beast, does the art have words to speak
Nothing comes for free, what is the price to be paid
What's the worth, who’s to say its worth

The value it cannot be earned
But the creator alone is the only one to determine
What his craft is worth

"What if I told you that you are a reflection of a king
I breathed forth galaxies
But I swear that you still mean so much more to me
I purchased you with sacrifice
You are my art
You are my prized
So I purchased you with my life
I paid the highest price, but you were worth it


4. PROPAGANDA

Power up all circuits go
The flickering of lights
It’s so captivating now
And my mind’s sucked in

A box in the corner of the room
I reside my mind behind the glass
The matters of my life will have to wait
Entrapped, I sink into my own escape

My exit from this reality
A better life, easier at least
Examining, hoping for guidance in our life
It feeds us lies, but I guess we don’t mind

So welcome to the prison of our intellect
Only serving propaganda at feeding time
And we eat it like it’s meat
And now wash it down with some marketing

Biasing their opinions to the masses
All in all to get their numbers up
Training the dogs to attack and crucify
The ones they want to mark for dead

Taking our self worth for hostage
If you’re not “this” then you’re nothing they advertise
Planting the obscene in young eyes
Spreading roots, infiltrates their growing minds

And it feeds and feeds and it still needs
Filling up the greedy pockets
Behind the screen

We the people have turned into drones
Reacting to the cues, blind
We cannot be just pawns at fingertips
Take back your mind

Pocket full of poems and endless chivalry
She can’t wait for her prince charming to come
And sweep her from her feet
He wants his goddess with ageless skin and burning passion

We yield false expectations from Hollywood seeds
Yet we turn back to the screens

Reigns We have to take back the reigns
We won’t become the cultural mechanisms
That will turn their gears of greed
And fashion our innocence for gain

It’s time we unplug
Don’t let them displace your convictions
Anymore

Now is the time to sever the ties
This is where we take back our minds


5. ECLIPSE

Death claimed this day for its own
The life I had planned is now gone
The world around me fell
Even the air around me has become my own fiend

I fought, altercations I’ve spat
Till my body had grown weak

Cursed were the things my hands built
Barren was the ground I planted my seed
Everything meant nothing, and in nothingness
I found my new home
Loneliness and seclusion are my only company now
They are the only ones that will walk this path with me

My tears, all I have for food
Woe and sorrow is my only song now
Has my faith slipped through the floor
What’s left of my life, shambles in a dry well

Oh God
When did my own strides take precedent over your sovereignty
When did my sights flip the scales
When did I become more and you became less
This mess I made is a product of self-reliance

As I try to stand on these trembling legs I lean on you
You are the only constant in this wavering world

You are the only hope that I have in my darkest of days
You are my strength, my peace, when I have none
You are the satisfaction, for my emptiness, for this emptiness

Take away everything, revive this contrite heart
When the wind blows dig your roots deep

Dig your roots deep
The light breeze that once entertained these leaves
Are now vices gusting me into a heap

Now I know I created an eclipse
All these days I’ve been so blind

Now I know I cannot live with out the Son
My own desires blocking out the light

Now I know
The life I had planned is now gone
Nothing compares your presence is worth more

Now I know
Strip it away
Nothing compares I’d lose it all to gain everything