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THE GEEZER SPEAKS

It's kind of you to listen when
a geezer takes the stage.
You're probably wondering
what I'll do for angst
or existential rage.
And I guess it's true
too many folks
stop thinking by my age.
But poetry
can set us free
and let them see
how you and me
may yet decree
an amnesty
from tyranny
and bigotry
and finally
start listening to each other.
'Cause a brother of a different age
may have a mind to share,
and some people like a poet
with some silver in his hair.
You just may find my rhymes
reflect the times and changes in the air,
and let me show
that even though
my steps are slow,
I feel the flow.
And since I know
that you below
the age of fifty sometimes pay attention,
I will mention
my intention
is to offer you
a rhyme or two
that just may make you think,
because a different view
of what we do
might help us find the link
that leads us all into
a place that's new
and may be on the brink
of growing past the fear
that keeps us near
the edge of sheer insanity,
that clamors for another war
diminishing humanity,
till we defy their evil lie,
refuse to feed their vanity...

Do poems make a difference?
Why do we struggle so
to find the words that best convey the sense
of what we feel and know?
Although we can't be sure
of who will read or listen, still we write,
giving in to this particular need
to bring the truth to light.
For the truth demands expression,
lest the final darkness fall.
Yes, thats the motivation
that makes poets of us all.

I have my age, you have your youth;
But we both have that need for truth.
And that's what will at last bring peace,
The hatreds and the fears release
that separate us, me from you,
Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Jew,
huddled poor from wealthy few.
It's up to us to speak what's true,
for if not us,
then who?