Dead Man Walking

I’m a dead man walking
Got no feeling in my feet
I’m a dead man walking
Down a dead-end street
Without your love, there’s no use talking
Without your love, I’m a dead man walking

A dead man feels no sorrow
A dead man feels no pain
Never worries ‘bout tomorrow
Can’t lose what he didn’t gain

I’m a dead man walking
Got no feeling in my feet
I’m a dead man walking
Down a dead-end street
Without your love, there’s no use talking
Without your love, I’m a dead man walking

A dead man never stumbles
A dead man, he can’t fall
Never sees when his dream crumbles
Never hears the siren call

I’m a dead man walking
Got no feeling in my feet
I’m a dead man walking
Down a dead-end street
Without your love, there’s no use talking
Without your love, I’m a dead man walking

A dead man never worries
About what others think
A dead man never hurries
Never takes things to the brink

I’m a dead man walking
Got no feeling in my feet
I’m a dead man walking
Down a dead-end street
Without your love, there’s no use talking
Without your love, I’m a dead man walking

A dead man can’t be tortured
By the promise of the dawn
A dead man is cool—he’s nobody’s fool
And he never gets played like a pawn

I’m a dead man walking
Got no feeling in my feet
I’m a dead man walking
Down a dead-end street
Without your love, there’s no use talking
Without your love, I’m a dead man walking

A dead man never makes a mistake
He’s never a debtor to grace
He can’t give and he can’t take
He simply takes up space

I’m a dead man walking
Got no feeling in my feet
I’m a dead man walking
Down a dead-end street
Without your love, there’s no use talking
Without your love, I’m a dead man walking

I don’t want to be a dead man
There’s no future I can see
But I’ll always be a dead man
Unless your love can set me free

I’m a dead man walking
Got no feeling in my feet
I’m a dead man walking
Down a dead-end street
Without your love, there’s no use talking
Without your love, I’m a dead man walking

Wonder

I have heard about the people
Who live life with no regrets,
And I figure that they’re lying,
Or they haven’t faced them yet.

And I wonder
Yes, I wonder
Just what would I do
If I had the chance?

Well, they say that Life’s a struggle
But who am I to say?
And would I want to live it
Any other way?

And I wonder
Yes, I wonder
Just what would I do
If I had the chance?

Are we prisoners of destiny
Or do we have a choice?
Are we singers in the song of Life
And who gives us our voice?

And I wonder
Yes, I wonder
Just what would I do
If I had the chance?

Every day is an adventure
Every day I dance with Fate.
Will I grasp the day with both hands
Or will I sit and wait?

And I wonder
Yes, I wonder
Just what would I do
If I had the chance?

Sometimes I’ve got to run away,
Sometimes I stand and fight.
And sometimes I just lie awake
In the middle of the night.

And I wonder
Yes, I wonder
Just what would I do
If I had the chance?

Do you ever wonder
About the way things might have been?
You know that you can’t change your past,
But can you change your dreams?

Do you wonder
Ever wonder
Just what you would do
If you had the chance?

Straight & Narrow

Where the straight and narrow pathway
Meets the long and winding road
That’s where I live most of my life
That’s where I bear my load

It’s a crossroads of philosophy
A convergence of two ways
It’s a glorious contradiction
That I face most of my days

Some choices that I have to make
Seem pretty clear to me
Some almost tear my heart apart
By their complexity

God’s way is sometimes hidden
From my barely seeing eyes
When the storm clouds come unbidden
And obscure the sun=drenched skies.

Some courses seem so clear
There appears to be no doubt
You march straight ahead without a fear
Until you try to live it out

And the things that seemed so clear
And right beyond all question and doubt
Are the things that fill you with nagging fear
Of what life is really about

Where the straight and narrow pathway
Meets the long and winding road
That’s where I live most of my life
That’s where I bear my load

It Ain’t Over, Yet

Can’t see the end from the beginning
Can’t see the sunrise at sunset
Can’t see if I’m losing or I’m winning
But it ain’t over, yet

It ain’t over, it ain’t over
It ain’t over, yet
I still can’t see how it’s going to be
But it ain’t over, yet

Can’t always tell if I am happy
Sometimes joy’s obscured by my regret
Can’t always see the silver lining
But it ain’t over, yet

It ain’t over, it ain’t over
It ain’t over, yet
I still can’t see how it’s going to be
But it ain’t over, yet

Don’t know the secret to happy living
Or if I did, I now forget
I know that part of it’s forgiving
But it ain’t over, yet

It ain’t over, it ain’t over
It ain’t over, yet
I still can’t see how it’s going to be
But it ain’t over, yet

I know I’ve had my share of failure
Gold can’t begin to pay my debt
Sometimes my mind is my heart’s jailor
But it ain’t over, yet

It ain’t over, it ain’t over
It ain’t over, yet
I still can’t see how it’s going to be
But it ain’t over, yet

I’ve got dreams that still elude me
Expectations still unmet
There are doors that still exclude me
But it ain’t over, yet

It ain’t over, it ain’t over
It ain’t over, yet
I still can’t see how it’s going to be
But it ain’t over, yet

What will I look like when I’m finished
When the capstone has been set
When hope no longer is diminished
I know it ain’t over, yet

It ain’t over, it ain’t over
It ain’t over, yet
I still can’t see how it’s going to be
But it ain’t over, yet

Who’d Have Thought?

Riding in a tin can way up in the air
600 miles an hour with no wind in my hair
Sipping on a beverage, sitting in a comfy chair
Riding in a tin can way up in the air

Writing friends a letter with no paper and no ink
Sending out opinions faster than the speed of think
Sharing years of experience in the time it takes to blink
Writing friends a letter with no paper and no ink

I sit and watch a movie from the comfort of my home
Down south in Miami, or way up north in Nome
Everything’s the same, no matter where I roam
I sit and watch a movie in the comfort of my home

Getting all the news 24 and 7
Some people think it’s living hell and some folks think it’s heaven
You can’t escape the onslaught in Bristol or in Devon
Getting all the news 24 and 7

Driving in a car that tells me where to go
Tells me to turn left or right and when I should go slow
Gets me to my destination—how it does it I don’t know
Driving in a car that tells me where to go

Reading an old book without turning the pages
Words appear like magic that were written through the ages
Novels and dark mysteries and wisdom from the sages
Reading an old book without turning the pages

Listening to music without a spinning disc
No vinyl and no tape and no shiny round plastic
Nothing to get scratched or dinged—there simply is no risk
Listening to music without a spinning disc

Talking face-to-face with friends a thousand miles away
Sharing bits and pieces of our boring busy day
Talking ‘till we’re all talked out with nothing more to say
Talking face-to-face with friends a thousand miles away

VOICES

So many voices along the open road
One says, “Stop!” while another says, “Go!”
All these voices and choices—and still you don’t know
Just which path will lighten your load

There are voices on the airwaves
There are voices found in books
Some are voices of the prophets
Some are simply common crooks

There’s a time to listen to others
And a time to think on your own
Watch the counsel you keep for someday you’ll reap
The fruit of the seeds you have sown

There are voices on the airwaves
There are voices found in books
Some are voices of the prophets
Some are simply common crooks

We need wisdom, love, and discernment
In a world that’s grown hard and cold
And whoever finds them and keeps them
Has a treasure more precious than gold

There are voices on the airwaves
There are voices found in books
Some are voices of the prophets
Some are simply common crooks

Some hear voices in the wilderness
Some hear voices in their head
Some hear voices that lead them
On the pathways of the dead

There are voices on the airwaves
There are voices found in books
Some are voices of the prophets
Some are simply common crooks

Take care how you listen
To the voices all around
Beware of words that glisten
And make a pleasant sound

There are voices on the airwaves
There are voices found in books
Some are voices of the prophets
Some are simply common crooks

Be mindful of the origin
Whenever you hear a voice
Deciding to whom you’ll listen
May be your greatest choice.

There are voices on the airwaves
There are voices found in books
Some are voices of the prophets
Some are simply common crooks

The Week Before Christmas

‘Twas the week before Christmas
And deep in my soul
My fears were all stirring
And out of control.

The family was coming
To our house this year
And I wondered if I
Would survive with good cheer.

The stockings were hung
By the chimney in haste
The lights were all strung
Not a bulb went to waste.

Out on the streets
With the force of a gale
The crowds rushed in search
Of one last Christmas sale.

Christmas shopping took on
A life all its own
It distressed me to see
How my list had now grown.

With great presence of mind
I took off for the Mall
And later returned
With no presents at all.

From every street corner
Came one more Christmas song
But deep down inside
I felt something was wrong.

As I staggered toward Christmas
With an unsteady lurch
I thought that perhaps
I’d find comfort at church.

But while children in bathrobes
Converged on the manger
I watched from my seat
In the pew like a stranger.

I went home and sought solace
In the comfort of bed
But no visions of sugar plums
Danced in my head.

I tried counting shepherds,
And angels, and sheep
But though I was weary
I still couldn’t sleep.

There were lights in the windows
And lights on the tree
There were lights all around
Except inside of me.

Like Scrooge I lay sleepless
At night in my bed
My mind full of questions
My heart full of dread.

But no spirit of Christmas
Greeted my stare
And the silence hung heavy
In the dark winter air.

And while I lay thinking
I remembered a verse
That spoke of a blessing
That cancels the curse.

Though I live in darkness
Overwhelmed by its might
The power of darkness
Is broken by Light.

Only those who know darkness
And failure, and sin
Can treasure the gift
When Light enters in.

With fresh Christmas hope
I lay back on my bed
Engulfed by the sleep
That from me had fled.

And I thought I could hear
As the sleep dimmed my sight
“Merry Christmas to all
Who will come to the Light!”

The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.
-Isaiah 9:2
©2010 mikeWordSmith

What Did the Donkey Think? (Apologies to Manfried Siebald)

Just what did that old donkey think
Of the wonders that passed ‘fore his eyes
As he watched the sun slowly sink
And that great star take over the skies

What did he make of the shepherds
Trembling in joy, awe, and in fear
Leaving their flocks alone in the fields
Just so they could come near

What did he think of the heavenly host
Exploding with light and with song
What part of that night impressed him the most
As he stood and observed that great throng

And what did he think of the Magi
Those wise kingmakers from the far East
Did their rich, royal gifts capture his eye
He was, after all just a beast

Did the donkey ponder the prophecies
Being fulfilled there that night
Did he wonder about the Spirit-filled breeze
That swept over the plains and the heights

Sometimes I feel like that donkey
As I watch with eyes that don’t see
And I don’t recognize the great mystery
That’s happening in front of me

I guess I’m just like that old donkey
I bray when I don’t get my way
I stand in my stall and I don’t move at all
Too stupid and stubborn to pray

Oh, Lord I’m such an old donkey
So please have mercy on me
Give me a swat—whether I like it or not
And open my eyes to see. ©2010 mikeWordSmith

Gray Matters

The world that I live in isn’t just black and white
It’s not always clear what’s wrong and what’s right
When my well-groomed philosophies are laying in tatters
That’s when I realize just how much gray matters

It’s hard to admit how little I know
It’s not easy to challenge my own status quo
But sometimes Life pushes me right to the brink
And leaves me no choice but to step back and think

It’s not that I don’t believe some things are true
But some “truths” depend upon your point of view
And when my self-created absolutes shatter
That’s when I realize just how much gray matters

It’s hard to admit how little I know
It’s not easy to challenge my own status quo
But sometimes Life pushes me right to the brink
And leaves me no choice but to step back and think

I know beyond doubt that some faith is real
But sometimes that faith can be swallowed by zeal
And when thoughtless dogma is served up on platters
That’s when I realize just how much gray matters

It’s hard to admit how little I know
It’s not easy to challenge my own status quo
But sometimes Life pushes me right to the brink
And leaves me no choice but to step back and think

It’s a beautiful dance between logic and trust
Sometimes logic wins—sometimes it’s a bust
Sometimes simple faith causes logic to scatter
That’s when I realize just how much gray matters

It’s hard to admit how little I know
It’s not easy to challenge my own status quo
But sometimes Life pushes me right to the brink
And leaves me no choice but to step back and think
©2010 mikeWordSmith

RANT

All that useless information
I’ve crammed inside my head,
Won’t change my destination.
One day I’ll wake up dead.

Legal tender, confused gender,
Violence in the street.
Pay your bills—cure your ills,
And try to make ends meet.

Chase the buck, look for luck,
Teach your children well.
Sacrifice your principles
And end up at the bottom of the well.

Heed the wise, watch the skies,
Remember what you saw.
Don’t push or shove, choose to love,
Obey the spirit of the law.

You can fill your mind with little things
And keep your doubts at bay.
Living’s so much easier
When Life doesn’t get in the way.

But we were born to struggle
With temptation, doubt, and sin.
And though we’ll lose some battles
It’s a war that we must win.