ORGAN DONORS FOR THE POWERFUL

locked up in dark secret rooms
lies our deepest fear
humans created organically
created for specific uses
they are fed and raised like everyone else
but one day as they reach maturity
they are deemed expendable
as someone needs a body organ
they execute one of these organic beings
slice and dice them and deliver the new organ
organic beings created souly for organ transplant
strict healthy diets that soon lead to death
lavish the good life only to have their rights denied
life in any form or fashion is precious
murder is still murder even if it is in secret
and again someone dies to preserve life

© 2004 thomas bates

RESCUE ME FROM THE STORM

in my times of darkness
in my time of dire need
i cry out from the depths
the waves crash over me
i am drowning
losing strength
my arms flail about in haste
is my fight to survive in vain?
no i know You still love me
besides my human failures and fear
grab my outstretched hand
lift me out of this whirlpool
that is dragging me down
to my impending doom
at first the water was gentle and enticing
so i entered thinking i will be safe
the farther i went out, the safer i felt
but as the tide changed and the wind picked up
i began to fear and doubt my safety
until the storm rose up before me
and fear engulfed me as the waves
and now i know that i cannot save myself
and so i cry out for help oh, God
lower Your mighty hand to rescue me
from the storm that now beats on me

© 2004 thomas bates

DORMANT DREAMS

where is my muse?
where is my fuse?
burn me and consume me
drown me in the sea
make me a new creation
tried and true with ambition
put a fire inside of me
renew my passion for everything
i want to be resurrected
brought back to life refreshed
bring me back from the dead
revive the dreams in my head

© 2004 thomas bate

#4

are we alone in this vast universe?
are there traces of other existence?
i have seen unexplained phenonemon
i have felt presences that are unclear
i am unsure about what is out there
i laugh at the whackos and skeptics on the radio
but all inside of us lie these dark unanswered questions
don't deny it, you know you have them too
in all of us there are connections to our unique experiences
in one or another way, we all will come to face with our fears
we cannot fight it or deny it
we just have to be ready and open to some suggestions
but in our given time we should think it out rationally
only by then can we deal with these issues that we confront
and only by this fashion can we somehow survive

© 2004 thomas bates

LEAD, LETTERS, AND WORDS

sketches are expression
there is my emotion
i don't write for entertainment
i write for my inner releasement
scratches from a pencil lead
words spill from a hole in my head
pride is not to be found, but humbleness
they read and understand beyond the mess
it might be in a mixed heap
but deep within the lines is... me

© 1996 thomas bates

STITCHES

i'm going to the clinic, gonna get me alot of stitches
i'm going to the clinic, gonna get me alot of stitches

at the printshop, i have a blast
i've been gouged, i've been stabbed
all my blood is on the ground
if i had my little way
from paper, i'll stay away
but you stick me there, and here i complain

at the machine, he puts paper in my fists
hey, how did this paper cut get on my wrist?
why am i starting to see my whole life and heaven?
the cut went deep right down inside
there's enough room for a book to hide
you pour the salt, i bite my lip and cry

millions of stitches, stitches for free
wash my wounds, disinfect me
millions of stitches, stitches for me
that short man with the glasses, he looks mean
look out

© 1996 thomas bates

THE FALL OF THE MIGHTY

flaunt your riches of the shallow
show upon yourself your pride
but beware of that someone
who shall come and take your life
your riches are temporal
your pride is also brittle
watch your step in the shallow end
someday your feet shall break
the mass of life shall swallow you up
your pious statue standing high above the heavens
it shall crumble to dust as the hand comes down
crushing all your goals and treasures on earth
that you flaunt to the whole world
and finally then shall you feel the brokeness
the brokeness that all of the lower class feels
then and only then, human you shall become

© 2003, 2005 thomas bates

PROVIDENCE

if it is one problem, it is another
get one fix and another rises in its place
the never ending struggle
it tries your patience
wears on you like a nagging truth
ever there and ever present
let these trials fall off of me
give my soul some rest and peace
as i close my eyes i pray
that when i open them again
that all my troubles will be gone
so i must look at these as lessons
that will shape me and mold me
and break me and rearrange me
into something right now i cannot yet see
but in due time, i shall come out a better person
older and wiser in my forthcoming years
which has come by much turmoil and tears

© 2004 thomas bates

PONDERING OVER FOUND LOST

the one eared beasts asks for help in a forbidden zone
curiosity asleep
priority one has been called up
interest found
lost past enters memory banks again
main computer finally brought back to life by programmer
old files of hurt and pain have been opened
programmer punches in code for assistance
assistance to fix old file up
main computer searches...

fails

© 1992 thomas bates

TO MY ANGEL TURNED GHOST

what have i done to thee?
is not all this one big misunderstanding?
no... somewhere i have hurt you
but you never spoke to me to tell me what i did
so i will never know where we went wrong
and forever in silence we shall be
never again will we be in peace with each other
i saw that look in your eyes this morn
or was that a ghost taking form in another
i do not know what i saw, but your wrath still haunts me
sometimes i wish i can go back in time to change it all
to be with you through your decisions
but i did not want to be another burden
so i gave you space
it is i just gave you too much space
now you are gone and in the care of another
another who needs you more than i do
and now i shall say my goodbyes
never again feel angry at me... go away in peace
but you shall hold onto this silent senseless grudge forever
and when you see me next you shall kill me with your eyes
burn and consume my soul with the wrath that sleeps in you
and over and over the sick cycle shall commence
without any explanation
and i shall live and die over and over in your sight
and this ceaseless crucible put on me
will become your own inside joke
all i ask of you now is for you to forgive me
but how can i when all you are now to me is a ghost
who will haunt me forever and ever with deaf ears
and i am tired of saying i am sorry to the empty air
so i leave your presence in shame
forever in debt to your unforgivable ways

© 2004 thomas bates

RUMOR PAINTED BOMBS

why stay here with me in this land?
a big freak is what you think i am
i can tell you once, but i won't say it again
i did nothing wrong nor was it my intent

don't turn around
don't talk about
close your eyes when i fall down
don't point me out
don't keep your voice low
close your eyes when i go

please listen to my friends who know me now
or you will never ever really see
don't make up your mind and tear me down
what was it that i did to thee?

this is the bomb that you gave to me
these are the words of tragedy
you are the cloud that covers me
outside your realm, i long to be

© 1997 thomas bates

ENSLAVEMENT & THE LUST OF FREEDOM

you breathe fire unto me, you melt my inner being
you hold your hand on my mouth and suffocate me
i struggle, i fight
i protest, i bite

release me from your cage
unleash me from your rage
choke away all the hate
wipe away the fear on my face

innocent and sweet, you come to me
guard down, and you make me bleed
pain is your tool, your pen
you write with it on my head

lost in the enigma of your nightmare and dreams
you made me lose all feeling and fall to sleep
i sweat and want out
in you there is doubt

can i run away, can i hide away
i trip as i run, and you grab my legs
the shackles are put on me now
face of defeat, as you take my crown

© 1997 thomas bates

SLOWING EMBER'S FIRE

we are slowly fading
embers of a fire

we are breaking
losing desire

fading slowly like melting snow
colour to nothingness

6ft they lay our bodies down
gateway to the heavens

© 1997 thomas bates

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS PART 9

i'm a gaping hole spilling out emotion
sometimes words are my only motion
to see is to live
to speak is to give
to listen is to receive
to understand is to see
sometimes i padlock my emotions away
to understand me is only by mistake
i want to love
but there is no one
inside i hide
outside she walks by

© 1997 thomas bates

INVENTORY OF OUR FEELINGS

we pack our feelings away for storage
put on the label: fragile... handle with care
put them into a dark corner for to be forgotten
dress into our formal wear and morn as if someone died
but when someone comes by, we wipe away our tears
take off our formal wear and put on some pastels
choke it up and smile and say our "how do you do's"
and walk away with them laughing
don't we ever dare show them the unseen tragedy
again our confidence is to be based on new feelings
that will eventually have to be packed away
just like the many other boxes in our past

© 2002 thomas bates

THE FALLOUT

silence is all around
winds rush us by
in the distance a red orange haze
and a cloud rises from the debris
a cloud of death and disease
a cloud to take everything away
a cloud to cover what is left
a sign of power and of punishment
to those who have risen up against the machine
who have spoken up their protest
and the machine speaks death into existence
reverberating through the shells of the habitants
leaving behind the dust-scratched wind of silence

© 2002 thomas bates

AGAIN

have i denied You?
have i turned You away in shame?
no, but i have hurt You
in anyway possible by unknowing
i do not see the blood on my hands
from pounding the nail in Your hands
over and over again
and while i am doing it, do i acknowledge it?
no... after i am finished the veil is pulled away
and You in Your bloody mess is laid out before me
and again in my blindness i have slaughtered You
i am trapped in my hell
and You stay there on the floor in a bloody heap
with that look on Your face and You still love me
and as i ask for forgiveness and pull You up
the very next day i come back to pound You back down
and yet You forgive me again and again
and again

© 2004 thomas bates

THE BETRAYAL OF MAN

my gloomy cloud, she is gonna cry
she moves over the land in search of love
but no one will ever dare to look up
in fear that lightning will fall from the sky
she loves this one little boy with long hair
but is mistakened by her infatuation
and he waits till she is in isolation
then he will jump into his plane and rape her
storm crash what remains
breaking her in and tearing her apart
breaking more things inside than her heart
and now she bleeds out this hurtful, agonized rain
giving up on human kind, the gloomy cloud rolls on
even though there is this other human out there
but the cloud avoids him as he looks up to her
she just rolls on by out of his life bringing the sun

© 2001 thomas bates

TO UNDERSTAND YOU

if only i could see what you see
if only i could hear what you hear
it would answer the questions inside of me
or it would unlock the door to my deepest fears
to see or hear things i never wanted to
but you are an enigma, a puzzle to my soul
if only i could see inside the real you
through the shell of your humanity: the rabbit hole
the oriface to your hell hidden deep inside
to find the answers that i seek
to bring forth in the darkness... a light
to open a dimension of the unseen
to fully understand your pain
to see the limits of your comprehension
than i can look differently upon your face
and finally bring forth compassion

© 2004, 2005 thomas bates

THE STRUGGLE OF HUMANITY

in the end, we're all alone
like hurled bloody little stones
left to fill the ground
the valley we shall abound
names of people forgotten
converge into one black mass
lines and curves of every jot and tittle
become a poet's endless and ceaseless spittle
what are we and who are You?
to believe is to be branded a fool
but who cares of those things
You are the reason of our being
but dissection and arguing is what we've become
never more to be called the children of God
but instead we shove each other with our words
never for a moment to listen to those we hurt
lines and spaces become invisible
as our words become scribbles
listen but never ask
why trouble with tasks
our words are nothing but painful tacks
stamping holes into our brains with every verbal attack
poet's oasis is the silence of the sage
then hand out to the world an empty page
fill it, sieze the day
don't crumple it up and play
we are the food that feeds the mind
but what are we if we do not write
our muscles grow numb with pain
our subconscience grows insane
we stare into nothing... awaiting
awaiting for the final awakening

© 2000 thomas bates

TARNISHED FRAILTY

we are humans and we are fragile
we are put on pedestals
people expect so much from us
but we will eventually fall
and oh how hard it will be
breaking our necks and our egos in the process
where your pride lies... so does your death
it will fester in its hibernation
and unleash its peril on you
when you least not expect it
just remember we are not all perfect
and to take the beating is a reminder
for in order for us to know that we exist
is that we need our frailty tarnished

© 2004 thomas bates

THE DESOLATE FAIR

red colour covered by white paste
choking dust fills the present air
structures turn to environmental waste
welcome to "the desolate fair"
a titan wakens from his daydream
a headache, a gaping wound in his heart
but he moves on with renewed steam
never again from his origin depart
wipe away the chalk from the boards
clean the stains from the dirt
intoxicated by the cries of the horde
his dying children who are hurt
he holds them and washes away their tears
thumbs wipe away the kabuki masks
he gives them hope and takes back their fears
gives them distractions and endless tasks

© 2001 thomas bates

IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGEL

drifting in and out of the haze
here i lay and here i will stay
in the hands of an angel, i sleep
fearing nobody or nothing can destroy me
i look into her eyes and feel safe
for in her hands, i will stay
outside elemental changes are forming fast
but nothing or nobody will take me from her hands

© 1994 thomas bates

FRAGILE EXPECTATIONS

leather cells wrapped around
rooted to the ground
alive stench in open orifices
artistry decays by nostrum
shy sibilation of utterance
utterance of a wishful existence
reaching for the red emotion
waterfall from the two stations
cleansing the fleeting nostalgic ghost
welcoming the warmth of the horizon host
rising out of the deep
emerging from the sleep
standing on frailty
reaching for feminine artistry
tight joints straining with fibrous material
looking onto the yellow to red emotional
aroma of auburn herbal main
ah-more, ah-more, shall it remain
searching for the red emotion
partake in the communion

© 2001 thomas bates