By the Lake

By the Lake

By the Lake I write
By the Lake out of sight out of mind
By the Lake I don’t fight
Just relax
I listen to the waves crash against the rocks
Like its a test
By the Lake its so nice
Especially at night
By the Lake I finish my poem
Lake Erie and Cleveland, Ohio is home
-Te’erra

By the Lake I hear nothing
By the Lake I see nothing
By the Lake it’s just me and my pad
By the Lake sometimes I get sad
By the Lake I get mad
By the Lake I like to see the sun set
When I’m at the Lake I feel ok
By the Lake I think
By the Lake I share a kiss with her
By the Lake I hope it’s her next time
-Patrick

Sitting by the Lake letting it all go
By the Lake I get renewed like cutting the fro
I take notes from the waves
Brilliant as I gaze
They're receptive yet strong
They'll embrace you or swallow you if you're wrong
Golden waves of Lake Erie
And sitting by the Lake constantly changes my theory
-Dennis

By the Lake I never have fear
Being by the Lake reminds me home is right here
By the Lake where the weather is so cold
It is where I gained the courage to be so bold
By the Lake I gained the strength and wisdom to write
Scribing things to help you grow and not out of spite
Sitting by the Lake watching the seagulls eat
Reminds me that you have to hustle hard on Cleveland streets
By the Lake I always find peace
The only thing that calms like a pen and pad release
-Dave


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The Struggle - Never Hurt Again

I promised I'd never hurt again, I felt that pain
And I never wanted to feel the same
So I locked it all up, my feelings my dreams my heart
If there's no wall to crumble how can things fall apart?
Right?
I'll never feel that hurt
So I'm a zombie, yea that'll work
Living for just the basic needs in life
When a problem arises I don't need to fight
Because the outcome doesn't matter
I don't want to fall so I stay off the ladder
I promised myself, so I make no long turn commitments
Losing out on a relationship, that pain is expensive
So if you need a care, sorry I aint got it
I'm all out of it
My expenses are greater than my revenue and that equals no profit
If life is about risks, well I'm out that game
I'm taking no risk that'll hurt me, that's my aim
Hey I don't hide it so I apologize if the feelings are one way
After he passed I made a promise to myself that day
I'll never feel that pain again

The Struggle - Arctic

Arctic

I don’t love you any more, it’s over…

Those words still surface on the beach of my mind

Like a dead fish fighting time

Slowly dying and eating away deep memories from the flesh

Memories of me at my best

Now when the moment gets deep, I turn heartless

Not totally thoughtless

…but close

The avoidance of pain and hurt is the excuse

The avoidance of suffering and abuse

From knowing the outcome and hanging my own noose

So I’m Davy Jones with my heart locked up tight

But not buried on an island, sunny and bright

It’s in an ice cold fortress

Frozen and voiceless

Buried under, it’s over…

Buried under, I don’t love you…

Buried under, cold feelings

Buried under the arctic

My Back is Strong

I was reading a book of Langston Hughes' poems I just picked up and came across "American Heartbreak" and it instantly stuck with me. I read a few more after that but I had to come back to it. In only a few lines his words were powerful:

American Heartbreak

I am the American heartbreak-
Rock on which Freedom
Stumps its toe-
The great mistake
That Jamestown
Made long ago.

Right away I started writing and words from a Lupe Fiasco song (Put You on Game - The Cool) came to mind. I tried to blend or merge the times and have my take on it. We'll see how it turns out...

My Back is Strong

I am the American heartbreak
The back freedom stands on
It pees on my head and calls it rain
Its suppose to represent hard times and growth
To get a glimpse I have to look at its reflection in the puddle
My back is strong
But to really see freedom I have to turnover
In doing so I shake up the status quo
Then I'm called a thief, a criminal, a ni**er
When I'm only trying to be as free as the next
I am the rape of my Motherland to a murderous regime
I am the next generation, its offspring
I am American heartbreak
But songs of my broken heart are what America rocks too
"And for that paper look how low we'll stoop/
Even if you in a Benz, you still a ni**a in a coupe"
Dear America, my back is strong


- quote by Kanye West - All Falls Down, College Dropout

In the Mist (By Way of Cleveland)

This poem is one featured in my section of the collaboration poetry project called By Way of Cleveland. I'm sure you heard about it... www.wix.com/C_Town/BWofC-Town

In the Mist

Swords clashing and fists flying

Some won’t return and family will be crying

This battle is hard, it’s my first

And my breath is taken away, I thirst

I call to the Lord, protect me

As men are falling all around me

These men are huge and I’m afraid

In one position I stayed

Until I was found and I had to defend

At that moment I felt a brisk wind

The mist came over the area

I hear screams and hysteria

The man would tare me apart like a toy

But in that mist I saw the figure of a man

And he reached out his hand

Be not afraid my son

The battle is already won

He began to fade away into the mist

I grabbed my sword and made a fist

I felt the mist come inside

And I no longer wanted to hide

The man came at me and I laid him to rest

And in that moment I realized it was all a test

Though you may want to cease and desist

In your struggles and battles, God is there in the mist

Alone

Why do I feel so alone, for instance
Everyone is passing through my life or standing at a distance
They all come and go, take and leave
They hand me the tissue after they sneeze
They want something, everything but me
I mean they want me
But not for me
What I can do for them
They get mad when I tilt my brim
Turn my back and walk alone into the sunrise
Its like a costume party and everyone is in disguise
Did I create this ambience?
Or was it caused in the past by another presence?
Am I pushing them away in my defense
Scared to open up as the plot thickens with suspense
Surprised when love gives me a glimpse
But what's so great about me, a flawed man?
A man sometimes scared to look passed his own hand?
I struggle to keep balance and when I practice what I preach...
I then hear, "I think I'm big meech.."
And then I change like clear skies to snow
But you haven't known me long enough to say so
What if I never showed you the real me, how would you know?
This feeling of being alone is eating away at me but its my comfort zone
Its fully furnished with all my amenities, my home
To please everyone I think I'd need a clone
My actions may say other wise, but I'm tired of feeling alone

Rhythm of My Dreams

Lay my head down and close my eyes
I'm hoping for dreams
My mind is then lifted to the skies
I squint at flashing light beams
I'm now in a place to beautiful to describe
Waves crashing, sun shining, God has a smile
I'm suddenly pick up on another's vibe
Sounds like a live band, I'll sit here a while
It gets closer and I'm gripping with anticipation
The earth takes a moment to breathe, there is no sound
There's almost a feeling of intimidation
The rhythm shakes the ground
Up over the horizon and down the hill
I sense its "her," the lady in my smile
The rhythm gets me up on my feet, what a thrill
Glad I waited here a while
She stands at my back and says, "hey papi"
The hairs of my neck stand
No movement is wasted, nothing is sloppy
I dare not gaze upon her for she'll slip away like sand thru my hand
I just smile and respond with a hey beautiful, I missed you
I think she smiles, she lets out a sigh
She missed me too
She leans in and whispers bye
As she walks away leaves with her is the rhythm
And I realize something watching her depart
I gain a little wisdom
The rhythm of my dreams is the beat of her heart