THE LAST WHY

Rita Barr 12/28/1915-07/27/2010

You gave me life so long ago
And then a second time.
Because you needed help with yours
You set me free to rhyme.

You gave more than I could return,
Too few were the ten years.
Because I alway tried my best
Regret will not cause tears.

On many days you were the force
That caused this son to rise.
You did not know your purpose was
To be God in disguise.

You taught me well, I can go on.
I know what I will be.
As I reach out to others now
They will see you in me.

Our flowers always brought you joy
Is one last thing you taught.
Forever I will see you in
A blue forget-me-not.

MOTHER'S GAMES
MOTHER'S HOPE
MOTHER'S LEAVING
MOTHER'S MARKET MEMORY
MOTHER'S MEMORIAL BENCH
MOTHER'S SAD ATTACK
MOTHER'S WAR
MOTHER'S DREAM

Our Phoenix did you know that you
Embodied all our dreams;
And at the time you left this earth
Our tears ran down in streams.

But tears of grief, with diamonds fill
The hole you left inside;
A shining image in the sky
Where memories reside.

When we look up perhaps we'll see
Reflected in your eyes,
That though you were a feathered friend
You were God in disguise.

Eagles and Humanity

(father of Phoenix)

Now in my world of metaphor
The eagle is humanity.
We've built our nest of sticks that are
Religion and philosophy.

Each has a stick we claim to be
The relevation that is right.
The consequence of our beliefs;
A never ending human fight.

We beat all those we know are wrong,
Convinced that God is on "my side."
But in these fights I can't believe
That God is taking any pride.

Instead I think that if God is,
God has for us a final test.
To pass we must release our sticks
And live our lives without the nest.

Imagine how we all will feel
When we give up our "childish things"
And in the freedom we will find
We "soar as (if) on eagles' wings."

PHOENIX'S LEGACY 04/29-07/14 2010

Twelve thousand of us start to cry.
Deep sadness overwhelms us all.
Our Phoenix never got to fly!
We didn't hear our eagle's call
Of joy as it first used its wings
To show us how to leave our nest!
Without her can we drop those things
We must so we can pass God's test?

We should because its legacy
Is greater now that it has died.
Our eagle is Humanity.
Its life could end before we tried.

AN EAGLE'S CRY

From far beyond where I can see
I hear an eagle's cry.
It is not made for joy in flight;
But is a mournful "why?"

"I'm looking for a place to land
But trees have disappeared.
The water is so tainted now
The fish are to be feared.

Why can't you see what will be done?
Oh why are you so blind?
Please understand when I am gone
You can't be far behind.

I don't know why I want to live.
I simple want to be.
The time is short, please leave your nest.
I plead, come soar with me.

read Phoenix: in memory

and  Eagles' Vision   

"Make no mistake, I'm in control."
That's what Barack Obama said.
I'm not sure why he wants to be
When so much life will end up dead.

Perhaps he sees another time
That dredges up his greatest fears.
If he is seen too slow to act
His term will end in just four years.

Obama's in another war
Which like the others is a sin.
He's fighting Nature in the Gulf
And this one he will surely win.

Then to the victor go the spoils,
Dead birds and all aquatic life,
So many miles of oil stained sand,
Unparalleled domestic strife.

Although he said, "I'm in control"
His claims of power are a fraud.
Obama may be president;
But the Economy is god.

She is a goddess we create.
Her heart is ice, her blood is black.
We worship her on bended knee
And still she stabs us in the back.

Will this disaster wake us up?
And will we finally stand tough?
Will we now tell the president,
"This time the cheque is not enough?

We want new lives without the cash;
To kill goddess Economy.
In place of her we'll worship life
Becoming what we each can be."

Barack Obama: attack on greed
Barack Obama: fighting for change
Barack Obama: my hope
Barack Obama: victory speech
Barack Obama: inauguration day
Barack Obama: professing change
Barack Obama: sacrificing lives
Barack Obama: healthcare
Barack Obama: a cautionary view

Copenhagen conference crash

I had a vision of Jesus. He was dressed in his carpenter's smock and wore simple sandals. He was sitting unnoticed at a grand piano on a stage that overlooked all that Christianity had become. He acknowledged Ray Charles and began to sing this song.

"Look what they've done to my song, God.
Just look what they've done to my song.
To me they did not listen, God;
And now they've got the notes all wrong.

'Do unto others…' I said, God.
That's all I meant for it to be.
They wrapped me in a fiction, God;
And then my song they could not see.

Where in the world is my song, God?
Of it I see no evidence.
They are not singing my song, God.
What they are singing makes no sense.

I am confused by saving, God.
And all their worship wears me down.
I wish they would not follow, God.
I'd like to give them their own crown.

If they did "…unto others...', God,
Their myths would disappear with strife;
And time used for soul saving, God,
Could then be used for saving life.