HANDFUL OF RICE

Hunger of the mind hunger of the soul

A child's stomach empty as it sits in the cold

When will we learn there are things more valuable than gold

A handful of rice sticky and warm

Fills the belly and comforts the soul

A feeling some wish to know

Thankful for what is before you

Some might not see it; a prayer of thanks is what you do.

You see a feast of nourishing food.

A handful of rice sticky and warm

Fills the belly and comforts the soul

A feeling many wish to know

Pressure and time hardens a diamond

Pressure and time softens the rice

We ignore the doctor's advice, think everything is alright.

A handful of rice sticky and warm

Fill the belly and comforts the soul.

A feeling I wish to know

Contentment with the simple joys of life

Strength is facing the challenges of the night.

The next day's pains are healed by the light.

A handful of rice sticky and warm

Fill the belly and comforts the soul.

A feeling everyone should know.

©Copyright Thomas Dooley 2020

 

DANCE OF KNOWLEDGE

 

Deep inside the mind is a light

We have been searching for all our lives

Inside it has been there all the time

Dance of knowledge

Moves to the song of peace

The tune of justice we all need

Deep inside the mind, there is you, the soul.

Holding to the eternity of many lives

This journey is not a waste of time.

Dance of knowledge

Moves to the rhythm of purity

The tune of compassion every step light and free

Deep inside the mind, hear the message of life.

When we march, it is understanding we will find

Walking the path of happiness, we put the past behind.

Dance of knowledge 

Moves to the beat of love

Every step guided from above

©Copyright Thomas Dooley 2020

FREEDOM OF THE SOUL

We give up on life when we think we are right

Only looking for a fight as the mind lives in the uneducated night

Freedom of the soul is more than religion.

It is the understanding of peace and how to embrace it and take hold.

When there is love between all human beings is when we are free.

We give up on life when we seek attention.

Everything you say or do, is proof your blind to your own reflection.

Freedom of the soul is more than emotions.

Thinking there untamed binding them up in chemical controls

When living life is about searching and finding 

We give up on life when we have no goals.

Sacrifice for the greater good never gets old.

Freedom of the soul is more than an accomplishment.

Ignoring the complex parts of life as simple solutions are bought and sold

If you don't reach out to feel you just stumble in the dark

We give up on life when there is no love.

The hero sits alone, looking down from above.

Freedom of the soul is more than a physical act.

A single emotion considered an activity dose does not make us whole.

Turning to a blank page does mean nothing is there; it means there is purity. 

We give up on life when there is no movement.

When we forget our passions and just stop, there is no improvement.

Freedom of the soul is more than action.

Children are the commitment to unconditional love that never gets old.

The recipe is a lot of education, and discipline of the mind is life fulfillment.

©Copyright Thomas Dooley 2020  

NO DIRECTION

Step up to the line without going over

Thinking you're a soldier but your only a loner

Looking to deceptive things for some direction.

With a gun in your hand, feeling like your a man.

Thinking you own this ancient land

The things you believe are not your own and give you no direction.

But you are the dust in the wind guided by sin.

Your willing to give up your freedoms just to say you win

You're intimidated by lies and fears; these have no direction.

Convoluted thoughts mixed with an uneducated mind you hide.

Unaware of other's misery only to find your on the wrong side of history

Thoughts and prayers give no comfort, no direction.

Complaining and calling names will never let you get your way.

Hearing only one voice now rehab is your only choice.

Your angry dry tears yelling to a deaf ear; there is no direction.

©Copyright Thomas Dooley 2020

 

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