You'll Be Glad You Did!

When it came to raising children

my parents held one key.

They often, for no reason,

said how proud they were of me.

They’d tell me how they loved me

from the time when I was small

sometimes when I was sitting there...

not doing anything at all!

It taught me a wonderful lesson:

To show your children a love that lasts forever

tell them often that you love them...

for no reason whatsoever.

If you do this over and over

from the time they’re just a kid...

by the time they are adults...

you’ll all be glad you did!

Love Can Conquer Hate!

I’m a dreamer who tries to stay optimistic

It was my belief that if we wait

eventually, at least this dreamer thought,

love would conquer hate.

But when I see what’s happening in my country...

my own president forbidding me

to welcome others with open arms

I have to ask...are you freakin’ kidding me!

When our government won’t allow people in

(like when we banned others from the bus)

it’s not only failing those we ban...

it’s failing all of us.

We the people must stand up

and be as vocal as we can be!

We are the only ones who can bring love back

and fight this tyranny.

We can try to remain optimistic

but we can no longer wait!

It’s time for all us dreamers out there

to help love conquer hate.

Our nation has been wounded from within...

its reputation scarred...

I know that love can conquer hate...

I just didn’t know...it would be so hard.

Is This What She Meant?

Yesterday for perverse reasons...like prejudice, fear and hate,

we began to turn our backs 

on the very people who made this country great.

We began to strip away the principles our founding fathers had endowed.

As a citizen of the United States...

this does not make me proud.

It seems to me this country that I love...

is falling victim to bigotry and hate

How could we have forgotten what it is that makes us great?

As our principal symbol of freedom,

Liberty’s true complement...

Do you think she’s still standing proud today?

Do you think this is what she meant?

History Class

I was not alive in 1836.

It was much too long ago.

But my teacher taught us in History class

to, ‘Remember The Alamo’

I was not alive in 1898

when Cuba revolted against Spain.

But my teacher taught us in History class

how we must, ‘Remember The Maine’.

I was not alive in 1941

when the Hawaiian skies turned to grey.

But my teacher taught us in History class

to, ‘Remember Pearl Harbor Day’.

I wasn’t alive when the Nazis were in power

and all those lives were lost.

But my teacher taught us in History class

how we must, ‘Remember The Holocaust’.

I wasn’t alive when George Santayana

talked of History...and how we mistreat it...

He said if we cannot learn History...

we will all be doomed to repeat it.

But I am alive now...and I will do all in my power

to make hate, war, and bigotry cease..

So when my children’s children...and their children take History class...

they’ll be taught to ‘Remember a world...at Peace’.

Back Then

Back then I was an innocent child.
who often made people smirk.
Like the time I searched a map for the city of Mysterious Ways...
You know...the place where Jesus worked.

Or the time in grade school when the teacher called on me
to label the parts of an octopus
and I learned that tentacles and testicles...
are not synonymous.

But there’s something to be said for innocence.
Back then no one seemed angry or hurried.
I could be away from my house all day
and my parents never worried.

Back then I was so happy
for things I did not comprehend.
Back then my friends did not have labels.
My friends...were just my friends.

Back then I had great role models,
A kind father...a loving mother.
Back then I thought all people got along...
I thought everyone loved each other

I’ve grown up and see how things have changed
But every now and then...
I wish the world could be today
as innocent as it was...back then.