tag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:/blogs/blog-and-poems?p=4Blog and Poems2024-02-13T09:49:56-05:00edmanwalkin.comfalsetag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/73506132024-02-13T09:49:56-05:002024-02-13T09:49:56-05:00Say What<p> </p><p><span class="text-big"><span>I hear someone saying “sleep”,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>They will take care of me,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Say what I can’t read<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Say what I can’t see,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p> </p><p><span class="text-big"><span>They say the world is fearful,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Claim they’ll protect me,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Say what I can’t read<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Say what I can’t see,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p> </p><p><span class="text-big"><span>They say some are different,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>That they shouldn’t be,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Say what I can’t read<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Say what I can’t see,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p> </p><p><span class="text-big"><span>I think that I should wake,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>See a world less fearful,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Read what I will read,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>See what I will see.</span></span><span><o:p></o:p></span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/72572132023-08-15T09:40:05-04:002024-02-13T09:48:54-05:00How Many?<p><span class="text-big"><span>Reset, reboot, restart,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>How many times?</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>How many lives do I have left?</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>“They” tell me not to question, </span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>But that’s just what I do,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Always swimming upstream,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Marching up that mountain,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>At least until I fall,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>It all comes crashing down,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>But usually not for long,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Get myself back up,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>And learn to sing again,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>How many lives do I have left?</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/72331032023-06-27T09:46:59-04:002023-06-27T09:47:00-04:00At Least I'm Trying<p><span class="text-big"><span>Many thoughts but little time,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Try to catch a passing rhyme,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Try to make the rhythm swing,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Make a lyric fit to sing,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p> </p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Started out without a clue,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Just the way I usually do,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Just a little pressure here,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Get me past that blank page fear,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p> </p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Wasn’t sure I’d write tonight,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>The day has been an awful fright,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Still I found some words to say,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Just an aging mind at play.</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p> </p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Another stanza? Guess I can,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Charge ahead without a plan,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Glad I felt the need to write,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Now it’s time to say good night.</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p> </p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/71740812023-03-18T09:04:27-04:002023-05-16T18:23:15-04:00More Words Than Sense<p><span class="text-big"><span>In the setting of the sun,</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Like so many days before,</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Memories come calling me,</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Maybe I need nothing more,</span></span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p><span class="text-big"><span>There were times when life was hard,</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Felt I didn’t have a friend,</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Sweeter days came time to time,</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>How I wished they wouldn’t end,</span></span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p><span class="text-big"><span>It’s just the journey after all,</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>That brings us now from then,</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Looking back at all that was,</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>I would do it all again.</span></span></p><p> </p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/71343802023-01-07T14:10:46-05:002023-01-07T14:10:46-05:00It’s Really Up To You <p><span class="font_large">Looked up an old and hopeless song, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Something from a darker day, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">When lonely times were all I knew, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"> It seemed the only way, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Life, a crooked gambling house, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">No way that I could win, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Then one night I heard your song, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I began to live again, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">A song that woke the sleeping muse, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">A faint voice calling me, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Saying “see the beauty of the world, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">And let it set you free”, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Yes, the world is full of pain, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">But it’s full of wonder too, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The way that all this makes you feel, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Is really up to you,</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/71063242022-11-19T12:56:17-05:002023-01-07T13:58:28-05:00One Way Drive<p><span class="font_large">Everyone needs someone, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">To fix them when they break, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">To kiss away the tears, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">And forgive one more mistake, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">When they finally show up, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Handle them with care, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Fix them if they’re broken, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Teach yourself to share, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">It’s a shaky one way drive, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">On a bumpy two way street, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Try to show your loving side, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">To the people that you meet, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Some will treat you badly, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">If you need to, turn away, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">When it’s clear they’ll hurt you, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Nothing says you have to stay, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Forgiveness is a blessing, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">One that anyone can give, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Even if you have to walk away, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Yours is not their life to live, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">To share your love to those who hate, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Takes the greatest strength of all, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">But the healing that it gives the soul, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Comes from answering the call, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The truth that hate just causes pain, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Some folks will never learn, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">We take one trip on this old street, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">When it’s over none return.</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/70626902022-09-17T18:23:35-04:002022-09-17T18:23:36-04:00Were I Known as Merlin<p><span class="font_large">Were I known as Merlin, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">My Nimue you would be, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Sharing dreams and magic, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Beside me at my knee. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Capturing my very soul, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Making me yield all control, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Everything I thought was mine, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Right down to my very soul</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/70321442022-08-06T11:03:19-04:002022-08-13T13:53:04-04:00Instead<p>Sometimes there’s no right turn, </p>
<p>It’s just that everybody’s wrong, </p>
<p>Just one kiss I dreamed for years, </p>
<p>But I’d have only gave you tears, </p>
<p>Instead you ended up with him, </p>
<p>And got the same tears anyway, </p>
<p>We both found our different ways, </p>
<p>And many years of better days.</p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/70053702022-06-30T18:14:31-04:002022-06-30T18:17:22-04:00The Ultimate Insanity<p>Hi Folks, </p>
<p>War is the ultimate form of insanity. Perhaps it is evidence of some kind of collective psychosis in humankind and a few other primates. The time for war has long passed. Our poor fragile planet is sustaining more than enough damage from our otherwise peaceable activities </p>
<p>For this blog I will offer a few more thoughts about the tragic insanity of war. There are few points here, I will try to be brief. </p>
<p>War has become a commercial enterprise. The wealthy and powerful gain more wealth on the backs or the taxpayers of both sides and the bodies of soldiers and residents of the countries where they fight. The oligarchs that profit are well insulated from the negative consequences of their actions. </p>
<p>The mainstream media outlets are heavily financed by these oligarchs and accordingly spend much of their vast resources promoting and glorifying war. With modern technology the news outlets have made war a spectator sport. The entertainment outlets spend a great deal of their resources on glorifying war, focusing their narrow lenses mostly on the excitement and heroism of battle. Precious little is spent on the heartbreaking outcomes for the common people. </p>
<p>War wastes lives, resources and the environment. When it was just primates (us included), attacking or being attacked by rival tribes the environment suffered much less grievous damage. Our current state of art weaponry consumes vast quantities of resources and destroys great swaths of the environment. Such waste is written off as “collateral damage” and the cost of doing business. </p>
<p>I do not believe there is simple solution to this tragedy on the grand scale. Probably the best solution is for individuals to wake up and take a leaf from the late Phil Ochs and say “I Ain’t Marching Anymore”. </p>
<p>Thank you for listening. Please, please seek non-violent alternatives to killing our people and our planet.</p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/69658652022-05-07T11:17:36-04:002022-05-07T11:17:36-04:00Don’t Thank Me for My Service<p><span class="font_large">Don’t thank me for my service. You have no concept of the things I’ve seen. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Don’t thank me for my service. You have no clue what I did. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Don’t thank me for my service. You have no understanding of the things I did. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Don’t thank me for my service. You have no idea what it was really like. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Don’t thank me for my service. Unless you’d like to share my demons. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Don’t thank me for my service. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Just don’t.</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/69326832022-03-26T10:56:23-04:002022-03-26T10:56:23-04:00Maybe an Elder<p><span class="font_large">I might be now an elder, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Or just an ancient fool, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Never dreamt I’d live this long, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Still learning in life’s school, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Some lessons come with lots of pain, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">And cause a lasting change, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Some are found to be for naught, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Just to show that life is strange, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Sometimes it’s down to pass or fail, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Other times it’s open book, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Still some people fail at this, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I guess they didn’t look.</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/69044122022-02-22T18:51:03-05:002022-02-22T18:53:38-05:00Skeletons <p><span class="font_large">I concocted this nightmare, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">About skeletons in the closet, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">They need to be dragged out, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">And laid to their proper rest, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">So that we can go forward, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">And try not to put any more in there, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">America needs to do the same with hers,</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/68829222022-01-29T09:55:58-05:002022-01-29T09:55:58-05:00You Just Don’t Know<p><span class="font_large">Sometimes you just don’t know, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">If something will scratch your itch, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Or just get you killed, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Or worse yet, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Land you in jail, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Or worst af all, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Let you get away with it, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">To eat at your conscience, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">For fity or so years.</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/68568132022-01-01T18:34:39-05:002022-01-01T18:36:23-05:00Thanks<p><span class="font_large">Even in this saddest season, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Give thanks, there is always reason, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Remember those that went before, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Consider how they made you more, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Take to heart the lessons learned, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Don’t waste regret on bridges burned, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Give thanks for knowing right from wrong, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">And friends that help you to belong.</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/68310162021-12-05T18:26:49-05:002021-12-05T18:27:45-05:00I Don’t Know What To Say <p><span class="font_large">Bright as the clear day sun, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I can’t help but turn away, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">My heart still tells me turn back, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">But I don’t have a thing to say, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">My old and jaded heart, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Is pretty hard to sway, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">But she always draws my eye, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">And I don’t know what to say, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">When I turn around, she’s there, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I can only hope she’ll stay, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I know it’s not my place to ask, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I can’t find a thing to say, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I never know just what to say, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">So I sit here all alone, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Every one just walks away </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">‘Cause I don’t know what to say,</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/67719162021-10-10T18:12:52-04:002021-10-10T18:12:52-04:00More Privileged <p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large">Man boys in tin kites, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Far from home but still privileged, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">More than the guys in the tin dragonflies, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The carcasses of which, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Would be dragged back to camp, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">By others of their kind nearly every day, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">And these were still more privileged, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Than the men, women and children, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Who called this deadly place their home.</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/67434132021-09-11T18:51:51-04:002021-09-11T18:51:51-04:00Pictures From Mars<p><span class="font_large">Red dirt and rock, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Just an empty place, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Surely there is something in another direction, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Picture after picture, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Still an empty place, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Just loneliness incarnate.</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/66512722021-06-06T18:29:31-04:002021-06-06T18:30:15-04:00Waiting for the Warming<p><span class="font_regular">Tuesday night into Autumn, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">Darkness falling more, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">Things are really changing, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">Here along the shore, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">Words are prone to wander, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">Much like in a dream, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">Music flows like whiskey, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">Things aren’t what they seem, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">The waves lap at the jetty, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">An image under clouds, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">The village soon will slumber, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">Beneath the snowy shrouds, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">Waiting for the warming, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">Returning sailors to the sea, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">When it comes next year, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">Will we still be free?</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/66235952021-05-06T18:53:37-04:002021-05-06T18:53:37-04:00Manufactured<p><span class="font_large">All the broken people waiting, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">For one to fix their life, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">More getting broken every day, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">In manufactured strife, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Turning on each other now, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Driven to it in their pain, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Too busy with their fighting, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">In the manufactured rain, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">They can’t see the ones who broke them, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">They can’t hear each other’s cries, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Because they have been blinded, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">By the manufactured lies, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">They were told somebody broke them, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">And to blame them for their fate, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Makes them a ready target, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">For the manufactured hate.</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/65660512021-03-05T14:36:46-05:002021-03-05T14:36:46-05:00Down By the Old Canal<p><span class="font_large">Down by the old canal, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">On that night time city street, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Just listening to the music, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Wondering who I’ll chance to meet, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Quite a while into the sunset, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">But still alive and kicking, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Never thought that I would still be here, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">And the plot begins to thicken, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Lots of those poor choices, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Hard years fading in my wake, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Lots of time lost getting better, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">No clue what it would take, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Took a wrong turn years ago, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">When I was maybe twenty two, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Took thirty years of trying, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Just learning what to do.</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/65416082021-02-06T18:35:20-05:002021-02-06T18:36:45-05:00Setting Sail <p><span class="font_large"> </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Seeking justice in an unjust world, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Setting out with sails unfurled, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Leaving all my hopes to fate, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Weathering the storms of hate, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">This course I’ve sailed on all my life, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Although sometimes it causes strife, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Sailing on the waves of time, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Seeking love and life sublime.</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/65166872021-01-08T18:14:15-05:002021-01-08T18:14:15-05:00Dreams and Nightmares<p><span class="font_large">All the dreams and nightmares, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">And things we never did, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Words that weren’t written, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Feelings that were hid, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Memories fade to fiction, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Reality starts to fade, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Feels like we’re forgetting, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Some due that went unpaid, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">From before the age of conscience, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">To consider what we’d done, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">In the blissful arms of ignorance, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">We we’re basking in the sun, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Now regrets come flooding upward, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The sentence has been passed, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Some said “forgive yourself”, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">But it seems the die’s been cast.</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/64980992020-12-12T18:25:44-05:002020-12-12T18:25:44-05:00At the End of the Day <p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">At the End of the Day </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large">When the sunlight fades, end of the day, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">What last words will we all say, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">We had the garden, threw it away, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Now there’s only Hell to pay, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Wise men and sages all down through time, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Tried and tried to tell us war is a crime, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">But never heard since we crawled from the slime, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Just kept on hating, no reason or rhyme,</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/64784532020-11-15T19:02:15-05:002020-11-15T19:02:15-05:00Eye Of The Beholder <p><span class="font_large">Eye Of The Beholder </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Another night I sit and write, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The same thoughts bend my brain, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The world, the sky, the people's cry, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Are we really all insane. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Madness here psychosis there, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Everywhere are minds a smolder, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Sanity is only in, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The eye of the beholder. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">We beat our young, spoil our pets, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">And hurt each other wholesale, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">We make up rules to smother love, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">And sell our bodies retail. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">We work each day to build our death, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">On both sides of the planet, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Never learning from our past, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Though we never quite outran it.</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/64586192020-10-18T18:35:48-04:002020-10-18T18:35:48-04:00Tears and Hugs<p><span class="font_large">Tears on each other’s sleeves, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Hugs for the one that leaves, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Out the storefront window, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Scene played in the heat, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Sad songs, sung inside.</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/64426972020-09-25T09:39:01-04:002020-09-25T09:39:01-04:00Kids in Cages <p><span class="font_large">Kids in Cages </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Words are hard to find these days, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Failing in so many ways, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Kids in cages hear their cries, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">This is how a nation dies, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Kids in cages, no one cares, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">No one speaks out, no one dares, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">All around us life goes on, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">No one sees our soul is gone, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Kids in cages, can’t you see, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The evil poisons you and me, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">It seems more normal every day, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">No one knows there’s Hell to pay, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Kids in cages, fleeing fear, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">We don’t even shed a tear, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Running from a killing land, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">We’re too cruel to understand, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Kids in cages coming here, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Escaping from a land of fear, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Screens that lull us back to sleep, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Seems we’re turning into sheep.</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/64142562020-08-21T09:29:48-04:002020-08-21T09:29:48-04:00One Warm Evening <p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large">Stopped in one warm evening, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">To hear an old friend sing, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Sat right up waiting for the break, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Not sure what the night would bring, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Three lost years faded quickly, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">As I listened to her voice, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">It was like we’d never parted, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Even though it was my choice, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I could have chose to follow, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">But her dreams aimed far away, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">She said she had to travel, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I had nothing left to say, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I always thought I’d be the leaver, <br>It’s the way I’ve always been, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Now I’m the one that’s lonesome, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Dreaming we could start again.</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/63918882020-07-24T09:23:03-04:002020-07-24T09:23:03-04:00That Song Again<p><span class="font_large">Of all the songs that you could sing, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">It had to be that one, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Every single time I hear it, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">My heart comes all undone, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Goes wandering back to better days, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Before we fell apart, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Makes me want to go and look you up, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Try to make another start. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I tried it several times before, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">It always ends the same, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">We find the button not to push, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">It’s the way we play the game, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">We don’t seem to know the way, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">To leave well enough alone, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Always wanting something more, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Until loving is unknown. </span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/63595682020-06-19T18:33:57-04:002020-06-19T18:33:57-04:00Hard Rain is Here<p><span class="font_large">I'm tired of staying quiet as I watch this hard rain fall, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Even though I saw it coming, I just didn't make the call, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Now as the storm continues and I watch the waters rise, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">All the things I thought were sacred are destroyed before my eyes, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The closed up shops on Main St. tell a tale of better times, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">While the thieves high up on Wall St. are rewarded for their crimes, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Over on the avenue our wants are turned to needs, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">While the pundits on the radio scream their hateful screeds.</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/63275342020-05-23T09:36:35-04:002020-05-23T09:36:35-04:00 Light on the Horizon <p><span class="font_large"> </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Light on the horizon rises, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Stars begin to fade for day, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Been wandering out here all night long, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Trying to think of what to say. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">You saw me talking with another, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Last night at the dance, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Been wandering out here all night, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Wishing for another chance, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">We thought it was forever, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Since our five years old romance, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Been wandering out here all night, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Wishing for another chance,</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/63228932020-05-19T18:40:58-04:002020-05-19T18:40:58-04:00Too Much<p> <span class="font_large"> Too Much </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Too much worry, not enough life, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Too little love too, much strife, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">We only have these numbered days, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Might be time to mend our ways, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Can we enjoy the sunlight and the rain? </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Learn not to cause our neighbor pain? </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Can we take only what we need? </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Learn not to make our neighbor bleed?</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/62942432020-04-25T09:09:42-04:002020-04-25T09:09:42-04:00Questions<p><span class="font_large">All the darkness and the hatred, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The bloody stain of mankind’s greed, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The worthless things we so fear losing, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Are they really what we need? </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">When see our brother hurting, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">When he’s trembling in his fear, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Will we forget it’s ours to help him? </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Until his skies are clear. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Have we lost for good the days of old? </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">When walked the planet side by side, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">When we looked out for each other, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Instead of trying to save our pride?</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/62884002020-04-20T18:31:45-04:002020-04-20T18:33:34-04:00The Knocking<p><span class="font_large">When the soldiers came knocking, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">At my lonely door, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">To tell me that I could not, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">See you anymore, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">it broke my heart when you went away, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">You were coming back so I let it ache, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Now they've come to say you're gone, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I can see my big mistake, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I know that I'll get over you, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">There's nothing left for me to do, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I can't just sit here feeling blue, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I tell my self that I'll get through, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">You told me that you had to go, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I never understood what for, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I knew I couldn't hold you here, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">But now you're gone forever more,</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/62641962020-03-27T19:22:13-04:002020-04-20T18:30:34-04:00Who Are You<p><span class="font_large"> Who Are You </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Who are you? </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">To tell someone who to hate, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Or who they cannot love, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Who appointed you to speak, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">And set yourself above, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">My heart can find its own way home, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">It knows where I belong, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I know it when I’m with you, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">No one can tell us that we’re wrong.</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/62491762020-03-14T10:53:41-04:002020-03-14T10:53:41-04:00Broken Blue<p><span class="font_large"> Broken Blue </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I can’t feel how you feel, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">But your sadness breaks my heart, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I just want to bind your wounds, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">But I don’t know where to start, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I’ve been broken blue before, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Felt someone had run me through, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Left me bleeding in the dark, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Mostly left me broken blue, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">This illusion we call life, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Sometimes feels like it’s untrue, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Sometimes bittersweet to tears, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Sometimes leaves you broken blue.</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/62262602020-02-24T18:59:29-05:002020-02-24T18:59:29-05:00Reaching<p><span class="font_large">Reaching for the sky again, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I hear the slipstream call my name, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">This old land is all worn out for me, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I want to fly and leave this game, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Rising up to see the sun rise, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Patchwork Earth beneath my wings, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Feel the jostle of the thermals, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">And forget all earthly things. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I want to fly into the sunset, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Orange to purple, blue to black, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Fly above the storms of sorrow, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Dream of never turning back.</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/61975892020-01-30T18:43:54-05:002020-01-30T18:43:54-05:00The Night<p><span class="font_large">The Night </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I feel the heat of your closeness, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Any chance you feel mine too? </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Can we wander in the darkness? </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Let the night take me and you? </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">There’s this vacuum in my soul, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">And I don’t know what to do, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Would it make it any better? </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">If the night took me and you? </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">There’s really nothing that I’m lacking, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Got all I need to make it through, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">But I still find I’m wanting, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">For the night and me and you.</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/60879472020-01-11T18:48:42-05:002020-01-11T18:48:42-05:00Consequence<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Consequence</strong> </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">This is not a movie or a TV show, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">In this world people really hurt, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">All actions have their consequence, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">At least on this side of the dirt, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">We’ve forgot the vital golden rule, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">We’re causing pain and we don’t care, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">We’re breaking hearts that we can’t mend, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Making a such a heavy cross to bear</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/60370122019-12-20T19:42:31-05:002019-12-20T19:42:31-05:00Bullet<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">Bullet </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Someone said one time to me, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">You own each bullet, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">When the firing pin finds primer, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">It’s too late to change your mind, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">When that bullet finds its target, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Someone’s life is left behind.</span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/60249572019-12-16T21:01:26-05:002019-12-16T21:01:26-05:00A Bell Curve<p> </p>
<p>A small few will cheerfully commit atrocities, </p>
<p>A larger few will grudgingly assist, </p>
<p>A still larger number will agree but not participate, </p>
<p>The majority will stay silent and try to ignore it, </p>
<p>A number will quietly bear witness </p>
<p>A small few will decry it </p>
<p>The smallest number will take action</p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/59900152019-11-20T19:00:00-05:002019-11-21T10:35:07-05:00He Said, She Said<p align="center"><span style="font-size: large;">He Said, She Said</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;">She said “Take my heart with you”,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;">He said “You keep mine here”,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;">She said “Be sure you bring it back”,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;">He told her “Have no fear”,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;">They couldn’t know their world would change,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;">That things could never be the same,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;">He brought back her heart, left part of him behind,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;">Left and let her keep his out of shame.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/59900142019-11-12T19:00:00-05:002019-11-13T05:53:41-05:00I'm Blessed<p align="center"><span style="font-size: medium;">I’m Blessed</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Music saved my life and mind,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s the thing I really need,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">All the years I didn’t know,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">They were sorry years indeed,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">I’ve played for folks in hundreds,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">For barmaids and for empty chairs,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">I’m playing music for my soul,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">I don’t mind if no one cares,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s a blessing to be playing,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Keeps me going mile on mile,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s a blessing to be playing,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Hope I can bring a smile.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/59900132019-11-02T20:00:00-04:002019-11-03T11:08:05-05:00A poem for the edge of Winter.<p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Ten Thousand Years</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">The people lived with nature,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Ten thousand years or more,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Then the others came and claimed the land,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Left the people sick and sore,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">The others brought their greed for things,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Killed the trees and scarred the land,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Slaughtered bison just for fun,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">The people suffered at their hand,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Again the people pay the price,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">As greed still rules the day,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Great spirit sees and sheds a tear,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">For the people as they pay,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">When the last tree falls and streams run dry,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">How much can the takers hold?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">The oceans poisoned and creatures die,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Will they learn they can’t eat gold?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/59900122019-10-09T20:00:00-04:002019-11-21T10:33:47-05:00A new poem<p><span style="font-size: small;">Here's another poem for your enjoyment.</span></p>
<p align="center"><span style="font-size: medium;">Just an Afternoon</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">I look at you and slip to dream,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Just to think of what could be,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">I dream of days that never were,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Summer sheets and you and me,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Lazing in the yellow light,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">We’ve worn each other out,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">The blush of love spreads on your skin,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">We’re glowing there’s no doubt,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Then I see me in the glass,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">And know the bitter truth,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">The dream explodes and crashes down,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">As I’m pining for my youth,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">In my heart I’m still a kid,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">No matter what I do,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">I wish you’d find it in your heart,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">To see me like that too.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>
<p> </p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/59900112019-09-23T20:00:00-04:002019-09-24T11:45:02-04:00Adding Poems<p>Hi Folks, I've been attending some poetry meetings for a while. I started with readings of incomplete song lyrics but over time I've begun to write some actual poetry. Just a couple for today, more to come.</p>
<p align="center"><span style="font-size: small;">Daydream</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">I want to leave this bitter place,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">For some sunny seaside town,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Where the mountains meet the water,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Narrow streets wind up and down,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">The old men play their dominoes,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">While the people pass them by,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">In a friendly corner tavern,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">The patrons drink their rum and rye, </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Sun sets on the quiet streets,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">And I make my way to go,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Back to a cozy place to stay,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">With someone who loves me so.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p align="center"><span style="font-size: small;">Only the Children</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Only the children are innocent, </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">There’s blame enough to go around,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Blame for the parents who use them as a passport,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Blame for the gangs who chase the parents here,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Only the children are innocent, </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">There’s blame enough to go around,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Blame for the investors in the private prisons,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Blame for the ice men bringing tears,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Only the children are innocent, </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">There’s blame enough to go around,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Blame for the bible parsing rednecks,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Blame for the leaders stoking fears.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Only the children are innocent, </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">There’s blame enough to go around,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Blame for corporations where the parents are enslaved,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Blame for us “Good Americans” staying silent all these years,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Only the children are innocent, </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/59900102017-09-01T20:00:00-04:002023-05-16T18:23:15-04:00Chasing the Eclipse<p>August twentieth, we set out for Cross Plains Tennessee to chase the great eclipse. I picked Cross plains because it was in the path of totality and not a magnet site like Hopkinsville Kentucky. It ended up being a great choice. We had not gotten eclipse glasses because it was sort of a spur of the moment trip.</p><p>When we got there we parked at the high school below the village park. We said good morning to some folks from Ontario who were parked in front of us. They said we could get glasses up at the park.</p><p>When we walked up to the park there was a band from Austin setting up. Glasses came with the price of the tickets. The band leader had been writing a special progressive rock show for the time from the beginning of the eclipse to the totality. They sounded like Yes meets Steely Dan with touch of Pink Floyd. It was a great show timed perfectly to the eclipse.</p><p>There was a bit of cloud cover so the totality did not bring total darkness due to the sunlight reflecting off the distant clouds. It got to a sort of twilight with a three hundred sixty degree sunset. Well worth the trip.</p><p>Getting back to Louisville and our room was a little problem. We had a perfect traffic storm. The state fair was going on in Louisville along with a big horse show. Add that to the construction on I-65 and all the eclipse traffic and it took eight hours to get there. Still and all it was a worthwhile trip. We hope to be here for 2024 when the next eclipse comes through Ohio.</p><p> </p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/59900092015-12-26T19:00:00-05:002019-12-03T11:15:57-05:00They won't come after me if I don't do anything, or famous last words.<p><br> In the present political climate, I hear many folks say that I should not say anything about the abuses of the people by the powers that be because there is nothing that I can do about it anyway.</p>
<p> They seem to be saying that the present surveillance state is only going far outside the Bill of Rights to go after "undesirables" such as terrorists and those who support them. How long will it be before they decide that "undesirables" includes anyone who disagrees with their narrow definition of what constitutes citizenship? Protesters, gays, artists, environmentalists, the homeless, and any other non-conformists come to mind. </p>
<p> I'm sorry, when I learned about the Constitution in Civics class, I learned that ALL people are entitled to due process under law. Those who are guilty of crimes can and should be prosecuted and the Constitution provides adequate means for this within the process of law. An administration which places itself above the law really scares the hell out of me.</p>edmanwalkin.comtag:edmanwalkin.com,2005:Post/59900082015-07-25T20:00:00-04:002019-12-03T11:15:57-05:00What's so important about folk music?<p><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Folk music is where all music came from. It is music made by folks for the sake of making music instead of selling products. It is music which invites people to join in whatever their level of ability.<br></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> At its best it draws in the audience and uses their imagination to paint pictures on the insides of their eyeballs, touches their emotions to awaken feelings in their hearts and encourages the relaxation needed for real thought to take place.</span></p>edmanwalkin.com