SHANE McCONKEY: flight to perfection

/
jim8.jpg

Shane soared with eagles one last time,
So high above the ground.
Flight was the reason that he lived;
Where life its meaning found.

He boldly went before us all
To show what we can do.
If only we would spread our wings
We could make that leap too.

The last flight did not go as planned.
His skis would not release.
With balance lost, his chute no use,
He knew he'd soon find peace.

Then Sherry, Ayla, Glenn and Jim,
They all came to his mind.
He thought of all the things he'd done
As life he tried to find.

But when his flight approached its end
He thought, "Well this is it."
He tried to say a prayer, instead
His last words were, "No shit,

What luck! I hit the perfect slope;
The perfect line I see.
I'll flip then pull my chute and float
For all eternity."

Dec 30 1969-Mar 26 2009

WHISTLER'S MOTHER

/
img_0128.jpg

Hush, listen to our Mother Earth
And hear her mournful cries.
Know that the snow upon our face
Comes from our Mother's eyes.

She gave us life and cared for us
But when life we could choose,
We took a path away from her
And so her gift we lose.

We visit her in homes like this.
She sits in her Armchair.
We whistle pika's tune for her
And hope it shows we care.

She smiles but in her heart she knows
How insincere we are.
The twinkle in her eyes we see
Is from a lonely star.

Then as we leave she whispers so
It's hard for us to hear,
Be careful, in the path you choose
There may not be next year.

BARACK OBAMA: professing change

/
31obamacnd600.jpg

"Down at the bottom are the poor.
Above them is the middle class.
Then those who can afford to say,
'The rest of you can kiss my ass.'

The upper class is next to God.
That is the way it's always been.
I know I promised you real change
But changing that would be a sin.

There is a change I'll try to make.
The middle class I'll reinforce
So those of us who ride on it
Won't kill this economic horse.

I also plan to help the poor
So they can better scoop horse shit.
I'll tell them to "the Dream" aspire
Though they can have no part of it.

I know our Declaration says
We're equal in the sight of God;
But in my view there 'd be no life
Had we no one on whom to trod.

And so fellow Americans
Joe will not give the common ground
Where 'life' and 'liberty' and the
'Pursuit of happiness' are found."

Barack Obama: attack on greed
Barack Obama: a cautionary view
Barack Obama: fighting for change
Barack Obama: my hope
Barack Obama: inauguration day
Barack Obama: victory speech
Barack Obama: sacrificing lives
Barack Obams: healthcare
Barack Obama: his Gulf oil war
Barack Obama: winning the future

BARACK OBAMA: inauguration day

/
biz11.jpg

On January twentieth
It was Barack Obama's day.
So many came to worship him
I thought that God had come to stay.

God didn't though; and where God is
I'm certain God will be annoyed
That once again the voters think
This President can fill the void.

Obama could have led the way
Toward the change we all ignore.
Instead he left the 'law' that says
The President we must adore.

My hope for real change has been dashed.
I wished not for another star.
It says we're "equal"; if that's so
We should praise each for who we are.

We each should have our own parade
To celebrate what we can be.
For President and cobbler too
We should recite some poetry.

The Presidency can't contain
More meaning than in mending shoes.
Perpetuation of this myth
Ensures more of our life we'll lose.

The change that leaves us "equal" all,
To "happiness" and "life" pursue,
Is not the President's to make.
It's something only we can do.

If each of us dispelled the "myth",
Which is a major source of strife,
Without Obama signing law
We could inaugurate new life.

crowdspeech460.jpg