THE EXOTIC BIRD

The light seems so different here, breaking through the square pains of the window

Its morning yellow rays lay heavy on the welcome table

Illuminate the streams of smoke from the cigarette in Baldwins fingers

The exotic bird is exiled far from home

To this oasis, other birds will come and go 

To find that missing part of his soul

Wine, bread, and cheese go untouched, forgotten in literature thoughts

Conversations of gossip and of politics winding down to a witty anecdote

The high lined brow the toothy grin not to smile back would be a sin

The exotic bird is exiled to another land.

To leave home to find his courage and stand like a man

One day an end will come to this exile soon will return home

Struggling with the times as they change but still stay the same

To find a corner of the world to claim sanity to be sain

Just wanting to feel peace in his life, no need for fame

The exotic bird is exiled to his mind.

The contemplation of life will be the inspiration to fly

On southern roads, hearing the echos of his brothers and sisters call

The broken threads of history woven into a scarf around the neck

Is it a comfort proclaiming I am a man, or will it lead to his death

Rewriting the language of equality that we still don't understand

The exotic bird is exiled with unclaimed guilt.

To journey on the southern roads to pay a personnel debt

The culture of the family never to forget that he has missed

©Copyright Thomas J. Dooley 2021

 

  

 

  

THERE IS A WIND

The wind in the trees the sound of what it like to be free

The cry of a newborn son is the beginning of love

Where is that mountain top where Martin saw the dream

Where is that path to the valley of peace

Where is that message of hope hidden from me

The wind on the water pushing the waves of the past

The cry of dignity echoing through these monuments and memorials

Where is that promise that you maid to me 

Where is that voice to call for accountability in our choice

Where is that hand reaching down to pull up

There is a wind blowing through the street

There is a wind blowing through the halls

There is a wind in us all

©Copyright Thomas Dooley 2020

FORGOTTEN DREAM

A dream is a dream
It will never come true
If we don’t believe in that dream
And if we don’t try to live that dream
It will never come true
When it is a dream we need

If we live in hate
Death will be our only fate
When hate other people’s race
When it’s our race we really hate
Because we can’t do the same
When we don’t motivate ourselves
We only hold our selves back
We shouldn’t do that
So we hate each other for that
It is easy to blame others
When you could change
And do the things that you are ment to
We are destroying a dream

Because we don’t try to believe
In that that dream
Thank you Dr. Marten Luther King

©Copyright 1993 Thomas Dooley