The cold bore down upon them.

No signs of heat or heart.

Just murmurs of some warnings.

Like they told you from the start.

But NO! You wouldn’t listen.

And now you know the way.

If only you can get through this!

Just to live another day…

Some will heed your warnings.

Some will pray for shithouse luck.

Some will calmly walk through fire.

Smile sweet, don’t give a fuck.

---

I was about 20 when I heard Robo Jack say,

“I’d rather be a living coward than a Dead Hero. “

I remember laughing and rarely had I ever heard anything that completely changed my behavior as much as this…

Well done, Robert!

There was meaning in her silence.

A force in that smile.

I was at the launch of damaged past.

And she heaped me on that pile.

There’s a time for cool reflection.

Contemplation to be clear.

And there’s a time for quick escape.

And acknowledgment of fear.

I left her in the meadows.

I was shaking at the shore.

The tears are from the laughter.

And her silence has a roar.

I’m cranky in the morning.

The cat is under my feet.

Looking for something anything.

A furry meet and greet.

I’m cranky before coffee.

And sometimes at mid-day.

Then all the bad vibes vanish.

Like you and the cat, they go away.

It is cold. The earth is frozen. Just hours from February frost.

January has come and left, and we don’t know the cost.

There is going to be big reckoning. Of this, you can be sure.

Someone somewhere is keeping tally. Mathematics payback pure.

I’m sitting here doing nothing. We call it Standing by…

And Morgan is fucking Amanda and I’m to old to cry.

Another day in the Barrio. There’s not much that’s new.

Amanda is putting on some weight, and Morgan is in the blue.

I’m sitting here doing nothing. We call it standing by.

If it didn’t pay so well, it’d be enough to make you cry.

Catastrophe averted.

The warden was alerted!

Governor called at dawn.

Drafting papers absolution.

There was no execution.

The Hangman left. He’s gone.

The reporters seem conflicted.

The evidence was depicted.

Eye witnesses, deception, con.

From catastrophe to walkaway.

Freedom granted via DNA.

Freedom innocence, walking on.

Dennis Mantin

News broke at the dawn.

All parties were alerted.

All the nudes have nothing on.

The gamblers are addicted.

The addicts sometimes crave.

The opposition is conflicted.

And in silence, smile and wave.

No one has solutions.

And their voices, they still talk.

All these hanging executions.

The mood was light and airy.

All smiles seemed engrained.

They begged, “Stay in the moment.”

And yet, someone still complained.

No banquet halls were empty.

All musicians danced and played.

The bankers were all giving loans.

And the priests and wisemen prayed.

All pets were housed and fluffy.

All disease they found the cure.

The activists raised concerns.

To what? No one was sure.

I know it never happened.

I know it might sound rude.

But I have heard with mine own eyes.

People who complain about free food.