A Listener's Lament

Weight of the world, come rest upon my shoulders
All of the stress, all of the troubles
I'll take it all
Some I can handle, with just a frown for its bearer
Others can really hurt, dig into my psyche
But I'll take it all

Stress of the world, come flock to my pasture
The nagging worries, the terrible fears
I'll take them all
I can be your someone to talk to
Don't expect me to always be happy
But I'll take them all

Death of the world, I'll take you on
Deaths of relationships, deaths of happiness
I'll take them on
Dying minds, dying optimism, dying souls
Trading mine for yours
I'll take them on

Friends of the world, please come to my aid
I can't take these things alone
We can take them
Together suffering, together fighting, together winning
I need your help in my darkest hours
We can beat them

Gravities

A large Planet, in a large system
Appearing, from afar, to be drifting listlessly in orbit
Having powerful gravity, attracting easily
But with equal force pushing away
Occupying its orbit is easy but
Getting close to its surface is a feat

A meteor racing along in space
Became trapped in the Planet's orbit
Over time, the planet accepted its new Satellite
Drawing it closer than any before

The Planet the meteor broke from
Soon came close to the first
A battle of gravities ensued
Each Planet wanting control
The Satellite was conflicted

The first conceded,
Let the Satellite go
Though it was sad to do it
The Satellite stayed within orbit
Though it may never be as close

In the course of these events
Another Satellite came to our Planet
Drawing close through natural events
The planet loved this new Satellite
But in a different way

There will always be a void from the first
But the second will help

Seeking Truth

With no time for idle chat
No time to figure out the facts,
Who has time to seek the truth,
If no one has the actual facts?
The facts you know are just a lie
That anyone with knowledge can spy
But if true knowledge doesn't exist
then what is but a lie in which they lip?
And in our mind,
and in our heart,
the truth is nothing of the sort
For I am the one that knows this art,
the art of seeking truth
I hold the knowledge
I hold the key
And who of you knows better than me?
Copyright Michael Pattengale 2011

When Planets Die

i walk around the world at night
the stars have stopped shining bright
i look up and see planets surround my world
each one like a magnificent pearl
but as they turn and time goes by
the pearls get flawed and start to die
some cant take the pressure in where they are
some get misplaced among the stars
some spin out beyond control
some stray away and get too cold
some crumble away til nothing's left
some are simply hollow and bereft
some destroy themselves inside
some get away, vanish, hide
some freeze up, while others burn
all this happens as time turns
and all i have to offer is grief
for their destruction has no relation to me
and as i look around me now
all the worlds have fallen down
and my world still lives peacefully
the sun still shining down on me
but, deep down, my heart has cried
for every planet that has died

Temper

mellow is the night
and quiet is the sound
of the one in bed on pillow
and the one in box on ground
how different are these two
the man on sheets and man on ground?
both live in a quiet country town
both with dreams of the crown
both were hungry when sent to bed
only one is the age of forty
one the age of ten
both left in the dark
all alone
one on the first floor
and one below
so what is the difference between these two?
one's quick to temper
and one lies cold
one on the first floor
and one not far below
one the age of forty
and one who's age matters no more
Copyright Michael Pattengale 2011