I have traded nights of sleep

I have dreamed of accomplishment
though for a length of work
I cannot say that it was just
sacrifice itself is an art
Lo, have I discovered
how to love more
than a packet of ambition
to do good is more fulfilling
than to profit from others
the vanity of things perishes
but the ripeness of life
always continues, like
the youth who never change
they just exhibit new faces
and new dreams for humanity.

No Remedy for Being Human

We couldn’t contain the sunsets, or
The sunsets were lost on us
So stranded were we in our personal tragedies
We didn’t stop to let beauty matter

Grudging and thin, we wanted
Our place in the hierarchy
The artificial world we created
Inside of nature, unnaturally warped

By being a consumer, by exploiting others
We didn’t have the time, or
The sensitivity, to let the light in
The swirling colors, they

Existed outside of our ambition
Our pressure to be respect-worthy
We weren’t artists, we were just people
Trying to be normal all the while.