I woke up on the other side of the bed
a peculiar story was unraveling in my head.
I felt different than I had a few hours before
I had a very strange feeling as my feet hit the floor.
What’s different now, what can’t I see?
A turmoil was wresting deep inside of me
and I tried very hard not to let it take hold.
The difference, I would soon learn was you, as you began to unfold.
 
My body was rocking, it was streaming through the day
 I wanted to go right, but you wouldn’t show me the way.
You’re antsy as hell and I tried quickly to review
as you stole my slumber from night and the morning sunshine too.
The fingers on my left hand broke away from the crowd of ten.
With a mind of their own, try as I might, they would no longer hold the pen.
What’s this about, I had no answers other than being blind-sided by it all.
I never saw you coming, you threw a blazing hard ball.
You’re shaking a whole lot more today, more than ever before.
This ain’t no picnic, I’m at bloody war!
 
What did I do to deserve my plight of late?
I either came in too quickly or came in too late;
whatever it was I couldn’t get through the gate.
Surely no one deserves this cruel fate.
We all have our crosses to bear,
and we must not forget those who, our suffering, they share.
The ones who support and care for us every day,
It’s a hell of a task, watching us melt away.
 
There’s 1600 plus cases of Parkinson’s on Boston’s north shore, I’m told.
Here’s 1601, with me now in the fold.
We are shaking and our voices are breaking
every day we deal with unpredictability,
but we fight on as we search for a cure to free you and me.
 
Michael J Fox, a hero to me, he’s the man of the hour
he stands tall and erect; he has superstar power.
For thirty-one years he’s fought the great fight,
he leads us through the darkness giving us hope, showing us the light.
It’s a new day and I continue to dance to your song,
no one else may hear it, it’s no sing along.

You have ravaged my body, and I may seem frail,
this disease has seemingly put us in Parkinson’s jail.
My mind and my spirit you will never take hold
I will live each day to the fullest, I will live my life bold.
While the battle is still being fought,
my life will not be strangled by the Parkinson’s knot.
On you bloody Parkinson’s, I declare full on war!

He never thought he’d be an American hero
He was just an average guy,
It wasn’t in his plan to join, to fight, to die.
But duty called and rallied him
To leave it all behind, his job, his wife, his family life.
He traveled towards the sun
In the early years of the war
When the fighting had just begun.

His tour of duty passed slowly.
He learned war is ugly.
He saw things he couldn’t ever imagine.
He had stories that one day would need to be told.
He dreamed through the months
of the day he would go home.
To the country and family he loved
Is where his mind would most often roam.

Our soldier learned quickly
That it wasn’t what he thought it would be,
Fighting with the 172nd Mountain Infantry
And living by its motto, 'Ascend To Victory'.

Steadfast friends were made, forged on the battlefield during their tour;
A 'Band of Brothers' that can only be made in war.
He fought by their side each and every day
And watched many get injured and several 'blown away'.
A soldier’s plight is to fight, not to question why.
Why some who fought with him, had to fall and die.
His angst was more than anybody would ever know,
With each and every death, it took one more piece of his soul.
 
It was a split-second decision, made without hesitation,
To put himself in harm’s way, and save the life of his friend.
In an instant his death made him a hero and his wife a widow.
She can do nothing but cry, as she tries to make sense of it all.
Left with a child alone, every night she falls into bed,
Pulls the covers over her head and dreams that her hero has come home.
But when she wakes, crying a tear, she finds herself still alone.
 
Our American Heroes, we have a duty to them all.
Freedom has a dreadful price.
We can’t let them be vanquished into the darkness of the night.
Let us always remember them, and by them do what is right.

It’s understood
You don’t feel good
I’ve seen it in your eyes
I’ve heard your alibis
And I fully understand
I’m part of the problem
Because I’m your loving man

I’m not leaving
That’s not what I do
I’ll stand here solid as a tree
Because leaving you
Is for a lesser man than me

It hasn’t been a very good year
For me as well
To be honest with you
It’s been a living hell
My job I now know
That’s where I am going to stay
I’ll never be a big shot
I’ll never lead the way
I’ll just be one of those
Who fell between the cracks
Fell between the holes
Sometimes I just want to go away
In fact I think about it each and every day

But I’m not leaving
That’s not what I do
I’ll stand here solid as a tree
Because leaving my job and you
Is for a lesser man than me

To be truthful
The years have worn me thin
I’ve been knocked down a hundred times
But managed to get up again
My body has been bruised
And my mind is frail
Sometimes I feel I don’t have a clue
But I’ve run life’s hard roads
And stuck on them like glue

But I’m not leaving
That’s not what I do
I’ll stand here solid as a tree
Because leaving everything in my life behind
Is for a lesser man than me
 
I’m not leaving
That’s not what I do
I’ll stand here solid as a tree
Because leaving you
And not loving you
Is for a lesser man than me

I wish to find the magic in everything I see,
concoct it into one small morsel,
and bring it back home with me
to give to you as I promised when I went away.
My quest is done, finally won,
I give to you, TODAY.

Today is all we have, there’s no guarantee
there’ll be another following close behind.
We shouldn’t take each day for granted as we travel through,
rather view everything and everyone as something miraculously new.

Spread your wings and fly with me through this special time;
lose your fears, no more tears, open up your mind.
We have just this day to live out our dreams,
a single day, no such way, an eternity it seems.
Let’s scale the great white Andes,
and sail the rough waters of the Northern Sea.
Let’s fly a zephyr through the clouds
and go on a living spree.

I’ll take the moisture from the air,
the sunlight from the sky,
the magic from everyone’s touch,
the truth from every alibi,
and concoct it into one small morsel
to bring back home to you
as I promised when I went away.
My quest is done, I finally won,
I give to you TODAY.

So let’s run the fastest mile,
jump higher than anyone has ever leaped before,
write magical words that bring peace and deter war
as we knock on every window and open every door.
Today is all we have, there’s no guarantee.
​So, love me like you’ve never dared to love before,
squeeze me till my breath bursts out,
give me every ounce of passion you have,
make me cry and pray for another day.
My quest is done, I finally won,
I give you TODAY.

If you give me a second, I’ll give you a nugget of gold.
Whatever it is, I’ll give you tenfold.
I know that a second is just an inkling of time,
 that can click away without reason or rhyme.
We seldom take notice as they pass by
they don’t warn us of their leaving,
as seconds to minutes, they fly.
 
We sit and wonder how we got this old
as seconds upon seconds continue to unfold.
First seconds, then hours, then days
life can pass us by in a myriad of ways.
I’m here, in the moment, and will guarantee,
it’s going to happen to you and to me.
 
If you give me a grain of sand, I’ll give you a sandy beach.
Where you can feel the sun and the wind just out of reach,
and stretch out to your delight without a worry or care,
the only thing missing is that I’m not there.
 A beach with perfect sand bleached white by the sea,
where you can build a sand castle and dream with me.
With every grain of sand washed up on the shore
I’ll give you another, a million times more.
 
If you give me one cloud, I’ll give you blue sky
so you may walk through your days and never cry.
If you give me a moment of sunshine, I’ll give you a wandering star;
its brilliance will light your path day and night, close or far.
I’ll give you the world and all within my power.
To hold you and love you, I’d climb the highest tower.
My only wish is to be with you and together grow old.
So, give me a second, I’ll give you tenfold.

Another shot and beer, barkeep, if you please.
I need to set my heart at ease.
Then two or perhaps three or four more;
just keep them coming
there’s no reason to keep score.
One beer makes me antsy,
two beers make me brave,
a third with a shot of ‘Jack’
makes me want to cave.

“Get out,” she’d said, “you wear me down.
I want a man with common sense;
who can bring me roses and use a wrench.
One who brings with him a pot of gold,
so I’ll never worry about getting old;
who can make love through the night
and do it again and again at first light;
whose kiss holds true throughout the day.
Damn it, what more can I say?”

“I understand you’re looking for someone other than me,” I’d said.
“You dream of a man you hold in your head.
One who hears your every word and caters to your every wish;
who can ride a bronco and wash a dish.”
The hell with her, I said in my head.
Or should I surrender and crawl back to her bed,
where most times we settle things in a manly-womanly way?

There’s no need to fight ‘cause I’ll never win.
My groveling before her is my even greater sin.
I need to man up and hold my sacred ground;
be the man I know I can be, the one who was so profound.
I traveled the highway and did only manly tasks
from scaling the highest mountain to wielding a Viking’s axe.
Where did he go,
that masculine guy, who was bigger than life
who swore he would never have a wife?

Who am I kidding?
 I am who I am;
a man who can’t live alone,
who needs a woman by his side,
and a place to call home.
 I guess I too am searching for a way;
to be the man she wants me to be,
to face the inner demons I must slay,
and unlock all that’s inside, oh I yearn to be free.

I’ve all the time I need to put another drink in me
Another shot and beer, barkeep, if you please.
I need to set my heart at ease.
Then two or perhaps three or four more;
just keep them coming
there’s no reason to keep score.
This was my final plea.

The barkeep turned and looked at me.
“I’m shutting you down, you’re a man, you’ll not drown.
You had enough, you’re two drinks over the limit
​and that’s just crazy stuff.
It’s time for you to go home.
So put your tail between your legs
and maybe she’ll throw you a bone.
You can’t stay here,
the bar’s about to close.
You’ve run out of time;
I’ve run out of beer.”

Red, black, white, woman, man, all ~
stood in awe and watched them fall;
thirteen hundred sixty-eight feet tall.
“What’s going on?” They spoke as one
as the ground began to roar
and the building fell floor by floor.
 
Within seconds another plane flew
into the second Tower too.
Bodies now jumping from the sky;
what a horrific way to die
 
The American Tribe sucked the soot
deep into its lungs.
As they approached the Towers
a wall of fire engulfed them on the way in,
many of them were not seen again.
They made a choice today
to save those that they could
and not simply walk away.
The ultimate price to pay.
 
Red, black, white, woman, man, all ~
came together as one.
Americans, rising with the morning sun.
The American Tribe is at its best
when its patriotism is put to the test.
No pigment of skin drives them apart,
because to their core they remain of one heart.
 
America Free, American Brave
Her enemies should run and hide
In times of struggle there is no divide.
America comes alive.
It’s just the nature of the American Tribe.

I stood off from the crowd as lonely as I’ve ever been
alone in my thoughts, like a single, lost bookend.
It’s useless I thought, just walk away, call it a day;
lonely is who I am, lonely I will stay.
"You will not" she seemed to have said.
The words rang in my head as I glanced across the room
while the others danced around us, totally consumed.
We were bit players in the theatre of their lives
easily dismissed as playing no great role.
We were the odd people out and it wrestled with my soul.
 
She had big green eyes, like jewels of emerald stone.
She was so beautiful but still, she sat alone.
I hunkered on the other side of the room, staring like a fool.
My thoughts awhirl, oh what should I do?
Approach her, quickly…now…no more alibis,
or the moment would disappear right before my eyes.
It was now or never; it was meant to be my day.
I approached her cautiously, so as not to frighten her away.

She looked at me and peeled off these words,
they circled me in a whirlwind like frightened little birds.
“You think I'm real but I’m not;
an imaginary girl enticing you to walk across the room.
I'm not here, I'm in your mind, there's nothing to assume.
You’re a lonely boy, you have to find your way,
break into the crowds, or alone you will stay.
Now, ask a girl to dance, no it can’t be me.
I’ve come only to talk to you and set your spirits free.
So forever remember me, when you're no longer alone,
the girl with big green eyes, like jewels of emerald stone.”
 
Where did she come from, I haven't a clue,
she just appeared and fell into my view.
I tried to play it cool with my practiced frozen stare,
no way to escape, to get to the door,
it was if I was nailed to the gymnasium floor.
And just like that she was gone, and I was left, I couldn’t tag along.
But that very night, she took away my fear, she took away my fright.
She with the big green eyes, like jewels of emerald stone.

Could I catch the drops of rain
and make from them a pond
to swim in during the summer months
and in the winter skate upon?

Could I take a single grain of wheat
and spread it across the great plains
to make the hungry full again
and take care of all their pains?

Could I take a small seedling
that seems to have no purpose at all
and plant it and make a great tree
that bears fruit as it grows tall?

Could I capture a single lightning bug
and hold it in my hand
to light a path along the way
of even just one blind man brightening up his day?

Could I take a single thought and empower it with who I am
and not be bothered by what other people see
or cater to who they want me to be
but stand fearlessly and be authentically me? 

Could I take a leap of faith
and boldly carry on
reinvent for me a brand-new life
now that the old one has gone?

Could I put forth endless smiles
in place of sorrowful frowns
lighten up a single heart this dreary night
to take away the darkness take away the fright?

Could I take you in my thoughts
just this one last time
and remind the world that although you're gone
you'll remain forever mine?
 
Could I…?

There are somethings that I shouldn’t know;
things that bring no nourishment,
no ‘chicken soup for the soul’.
Things that come with age and with age, also go.
They are the roundness in my life, the square corners too,
They’re fading with the twilight and are now long overdue.
 
Often times, I say, “Yes, I’ll take care of it my dear”
yet three months later, without explanation, it again reappears.
That bill that wasn’t paid
bounces back because it was six days late.
The interest upon interest grows to be,
an accrued amount of dollars owed by me.
 
 I don’t always know what the something is,
it’s gentle with a feathery kiss,
it’s just there, it weaves itself in and out
it whispers and never shouts.
I never see it coming, not an inkling, not a three,
when the somethings rear their ugly heads, when they find me.
I see it with a new clarity, my somethings they are rife,
they are the ingredients that mix and make up my life.
 
Somethings can be something, or they can be nothing at all.
We can soar, as they spread our wings,
or let them be our greatest shortfall.
The trouble with somethings is they can sometime be a ruse
we must really pay attention that it’s us, they’re talking too.
It seems to have garnished your attention,
it could be something that got away from us,
something in disguise, something abnormal, all our alibis.
I think we need to chat.
If we want to get back to where we started
we need to commit ourselves to that.
 
There are just somethings yes, somethings,
that are a fragrant offering,
the jewels in our diadem.
They’re there if we stretch to find them,
on the earth, on the seas, in the skies;
the cumulation of all I am,
all the somethings I comprise.