TEA COOKIES AND LEMONADE

There she was sitting in her chair

The passage of time seen in her gray hair

She sits not in a chair but on a throne of honor

Tea cookies and lemonade the silent child ate

Cookies salty-sweet this is how she will grow to be

Lemonade just enough tart you can see it from her heart

Words of wisdom in a melodious feminine tone

Encouraging us to rise up and tell me you are not alone

As I listen to her wisdom I become stronger

Tea cookies and lemonade the silent child ate

Cookies that dissolve on the tung where words have yet to be sung

Lemonade cooling and refreshing to what she dreams

Still her voice echos in our minds

She has made a mark on the pages of time

I wish I could talk to her

Tea cookies and lemonade the silent child ate

Cookies filling a child's desires that she has yet to reach

Lemonade tart to those who don't understand but sweet to those who she inspired

 

©Copyright Thomas Dooley 2020

FATHERS AND MOTHERS / SONS AND DAUGHTERS

Sons of sand

Holding signs I am a man 

Daughters of dust

Holding signs, life in her gut

Fathers of the past

Never thought how long this would last

Mothers of the movement

Never thought so many forget their commitments

Sons of man

Fictional to control and command

Daughter of woman

Subjected to the desire of lust

Fathers of the future

Hoping they did right for the legacy

Mothers of the forgotten

Hoping their child returns home safe

Sons of redemption

Committed to a dream of equality

Daughters of justice

Standing alone these tears are not forgiveness

Sons and Fathers

Fallow each other

Mothers and Daughters

Embrace each other

©Copyright Thomas Dooley 2020

 

LIFE IS

Life is the reason for living

Even when society has a knife at your throat

Life is the reason for giving

Even when communities are divided by a moat

Life is the reason for loving

Even when you're not worthy to vote

Life is more than flesh and bones

Even when many are left out in the cold

Life is more than a valuable stone 

Even when many have to leave their home

Life is more than ignorance is the tone

Life is unconditional love

A dance you have when alone

Life is a purpose for the soul

A story that never gets old

Life is a constantly changing goal

Life is you

Life is me

Life is us

©Copyright Thomas Dooley 2020

MANTRA FOR ME

To hear my voice in the silence of my mind

Unaware on the outside of the passing of time

In these dark crevices, what is it that I hide

The sound of mid-tones words

As the prayer wheel turns

A Mantra for me, I must learn.

The superstitions of religion created in the past

Stained glass images are not what they seem.

Contradictions of the forgiver will condemn the sinner.

The sound of one repetitive tone

Within my mind, it is clear

A Mantra for me erases my fears.

How to adapt to this changing world

Freedoms traded for political ignorance 

Will we forgive or forget this

The sound of creation of the world

The sound of the echos of life

The heart of unconditional love 

From a mother, it will come.

The sound of this language I must learn.

Ancient in its wisdom more than sound more than a word

A mantra for me is what I have heard.   

©Copyright Thomas Dooley 2020