SHE'S LEAVING

everything is moving in a blur
my thoughts, they are with her
i ponder the conversations of night
i look to see where i am in her eyes
she hides them... looks away
important matters invade
i'm lost in a trance
there's no advance
everything does not feel real
sometimes i wish i can't feel
she stands there and cries
i cry also deep, far inside
what do i have to do to get her to like me
to like me more than a friend that she sees
i want to move away to ease my heart
to forget about her before i fall apart
talking in the third person hurts me
it brings up shattered hopes and dreams
and the word "dorenly"... it hurts me so slowly
i can never match up to its power... and she's leaving

© 2001 thomas bates

STAND BEFORE THE WORLD

i could have everything i want
but i could never be happy
i am a loser in some eyes
those are the most critical
i can try to achieve so much
but they have their curves i can't match
they judge everything about me
i am naked beneath the glaring eyes of the latched
i am digging my fingers into my forehead
trying to hide my face from the acquisitions
there is no chance for escape
i cannot get away from their endless questions
is this the new holocaust?
to kill off the dreamers before they can even sleep
you just inject your needles
and push in your fear and rules in every hole in me
i spew your convictions, i am so overwhelmed
filled to the brim of your hatred and paranoia
i must get away before my spirit dies
before you crush me with your insomnia
this is not what my thoughts of love were
your kind of love is cold and overpowering

i feel this new strange rain falling on me
it is the tears of my God
showering His love for me
He is forgiving as if you ever could not be
He does not match my achievements to His expectations
He just sits there and smiles and says...

I love you

© 2001 thomas bates

TO PASS INTO BLISS

the velvet touch of your lips
sweet honey slowly drips
to nibble is to please
to brush them is to tease
steal your breath away
as i steal away the day
the stars bring the light of the moment
of the love and the passion in our enjoyment
to give you this one kiss
is to pass over deeply into bliss
your sweet perfume puts me in a trance
and we now partake in the dance

© 2004 thomas bates

SUNSETS AT THE DOCK

i remember the quiet times of reflection at sunset
we sat on the dock, your head laid on my lap
my fingers ran through your hair
in your eyes i would look inside to your soul
but those same eyes had shed tears in the end
sometimes i watch the sunsets like i have in the past
sometimes i turn away as memories rush back
there was a time you were innocent and sweet
but then something happened that changed you
and those quiet times of reflection became sparse and rare
a novelty item that i longed for so many times before
and those sunsets fade off into the horizon forever

© 2003, 2005 thomas bates

ASSEMBLY LINE WRECKAGE

everyday is organized
organized crime
wake... eat... work... eat... sleep
day in... day out... the same
a second... a minute... a hour... a day... a week
do we ever stop in this game
boring, drudge work
and what for
to keep busy... to keep from revolting
to keep quiet... to keep going
the drones go to the queen

© 2003 thomas bates

TAPESTRY

the end is drawn nigh
and it has become night
familiar faces etched in your brain
but yet there are no room for names
these images still stay with me
some i do not want to see
but it is a part of some twisted masterpiece
woven in time to create my tapestry

© 2003 thomas bates

# 3

oh, beautiful dreamer
oh, wonderful sleeper
awake from the sleep
arise from the deep
resurface into this world tonight
breathe inside the divine light
burn away the darkness forever
being covered in its embers

© 2003 thomas bates

FAREWELL MY FRIEND

we used to walk together
but now we have turned and gone our separate ways
down unbeaten paths out into the vast horizon
and we keep increasing between us more distance
once i could still see you back there behind me following
there was even a time when i was following you
but we have grown older and our hearts hardened
the tears have dried up and evaporated
and now we go quietly in other directions
new names now written on our hearts and new committments
new feet share this unbeaten path with us now

© 2003 thomas bates

# 2

rolling over the small stones
crackling echoes in my ears
searching for my lost soul
been doing this for years
will there be acceptance in the distance?
looking to the skies for the answers
opening up my eyes and ears... i listen
what is ahead and what is there?
unlock the riddles before me
help me to see the signs
break the chain that binds thee
and break loose on me the light

© 2000 thomas bates

THE BLACK ICE

up and down to the crackling rhythm
must push forward into the unknown
pilgrims on a long search within
eyes fixed on the goal ahead of the down
words of wisdom, love, and life soothe the heart
shades of gray surround
traces of those gone astray... their screams still heard
becoming once again with the around
we must keep on this stretch of black ice
concentrate on the lines that set our way
never to go beyond the many outlines
never again to fall away

© 2003 thomas bates

ANTICIPATION

now she knows... i think
given time will my heart sink?
only time will tell now
whether she stays or goes
she holds my heart in her hands
i hope she is gentle and understands
she means alot to me
with her i long to be
but only can she unlock the door
and let me into her longing heart

© 2000 thomas bates

COLD NOVEMBER

i had to bury her twice
as a lover and as a friend
for one year and a half i tried
to heal our relationship by myself
tried to believe nothing is wrong
tried to keep it together and sane at the same time
i loved her oh so much
even though i am bitter at times... deep inside i cry
deep inside there is a part of me that dies
that wants our good times to stay immortal
not to fade away by time
the problem was us not just me or her
but she didn't care... it was always me
she was always a saint in her own eyes
we were both the instigators and nothing could i do
i could not save her or me from destroying ourselves
and now she's gone and i'm left with regrets
and to pick up the pieces of my broken heart

© 2000 thomas bates

WHEN IT RAINS, IT'S COLD IN ENGLAND

the rain is pouring outside my window
i feel so sad since she had to go
i loved her oh so much
but then was it real love?

last night, the phone rang
in my ears it used to sang
but that night it screamed
it was her leaving me

when it rains
i feel the pain
the cold numbs my hands
when it rains, it's cold in england
when it rains
i'll never feel the same
i remember the time i saw her last
when it rains, it's cold in england

i do not understand why she left
she left me for some other lad
left me out in the cold
out here i grow alone

when will it stop raining?
when will i stop complaining?
left the auld lang syne behind
left her into the night

© 1997 thomas bates

EYE OF THE STORM

packing up an old life for a new one hurts
but it is a healing pain by time
every change brings around heartache
a goodbye to a thing that was
and a hello to a new horizon and future
yeah it will be tough right now
but if you keep on then it will get better
a better and stronger person you shall become
a storm brings on a new life through time

© 2003 thomas bates

# 1

another electronic blunder
rips innocence a sunder
malice and hurt corrupt
blood overruns our cup
bitter it tastes on our lips
and evil slander blindly slips
and someone not knowingly dies
underneath the weight of someone's lies
do we ever go to the source of the problem?
no... we spread our propaganda amongst their kingdom
creating the wake of an evil militant coup of hate
and stop at nothing till the source of their pain dissipates
but sadly it is all lies in the end
and the one who started it was your brother and friend
but a seed was planted in the past
and through time it hurts others in its path

© 2003 thomas bates