In little green house

Once yellow

Once red

Now green 

Captured in a photograph 

The grass on the front lawn

Short

Thin

Dry

Yellow 

I remember that hot summer

Down in that little green house

We never once thought

Of the blessings we had

Once long ago

We never could fathom 

How happy we could be 

Down in that little green house

Yes the walls were cracked

The roof was faded

The kitchen small

The yard was dry 

The trees were tall

But it was home 

Down in that little green house 

And once we left we never looked back

All that's left is this photograph

That captures our childhood

And how happy we were

Down in that little green house

Fireworks light the night sky 

Anticipation

With sunshine blossoming like in a dream 

Lined with the memories of my mind’s trove 

My childhood, where adventures ran supreme

My hands were clenched with secrets I sought 

As I looked to find some meaning held there 

The glade of trees entwined my rampant thoughts 

I looked in all the nooks and crannies where-

I could find the answers I had outrun 

The quiet grove- where it had all begun. 

I wander through the asphalt jungles

Of a parking ramp loaded and bustling 

Picnic tables offer repose 

But pigeons eye my repast hungrily

I move on quickly  

As I come to the doors, I humbly remember 

Only the brave shall be able to enter 

The guard clad in green takes my pass 

And apathetically eyes me 

She lets me through with a small wave, 

Apparently I have passed the test. 

I walk the trails of valor and eye new beasts before me 

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my 

And puffins and zebras and fish I espy. 

And suddenly i see it 

A wild toddler in her natural habitat 

She jumps and falls to the ground laughing-

Riveting.

The quest to survive is eminent, 

As she asks her mother for chocolate milk 

Screaming at the top of her lungs- 

Fascinating. 
A natural born predator

The apex of her strength is used to climb a fence,

Only to be carried off by her guardian. 

Only a stroller can incarcerate the youngling. 

Eventually the struggle for entertainment ceases, 

and she slips away in a dream, nodding her head to sleep. 

The zoo can be a dangerous place indeed 

The outside is rather nice, but the rest I’m not so certain

My memories are like a house, with walls between each room

Flour is on the kitchen floor, and cobwebs on the broom

The halls have not been swept, there’s dust under the table

Books are scattered on their shelves, without title nor label

The bathroom door is always closed, it’s in pitiful condition

The vacuum has been dead for years, never moving from its position

Food is on the table, moldy with rotten age

And there’s brittle bones on top the floor, of the metal bird cage

This house used to be filled, with blithesome smiles and laughter

But I can’t bear to look inside, knowing what happens after

People used to live, within my gentle home

Just long enough to gain my love, then left with hearts of stone

My memories they hold a truth, I never want to hear

So I pledge never to return, submitting to my fear 

But even though my house was built, it’s been falling for some years

The walls are cracked the roof is torn, from the weight of all my tears

So no one’s ever known, the condition diagnosed within 

For I cover every flaw, with a skillful pleasant grin

And though the doors are boarded shut, the lawn is nice and green 

For appearances are important, as long as the rest is never seen. 

To the ones who saw something worth fighting for.

The shadow is unveiled,

The darkness fades away.

For we mourn those who are lost today, 

In the earth of heroes, where their bodies lay.

Their eyes glazed over, lips still, faces paled. 

Eyes once full of life,

Empty

Cold

Stilled. 

The opening of the tomb is filled.

Anger kindled against those who have killed.

The ones who died, they have not failed. 

For legends never die.

Above the dismal stone, their spirits fly,

Remembering the freedom this blood will buy. 

The last breath was given, never again inhaled.

 

But legends never die. 

The corpse may fade away, 
But the memory is still fresh unto today.

The mouth that once spoke, 

Silent

closed

alone

Sacrifice is commemorated. 

Bloody stripes waving in the wind 

And the stars glow through the din 

For legends never die.

Raindrops fall against a dismal sky 

And the world is quiet, 

for a small span of time 

With nothing but the rain 

to project its symphony 

I stand in my driveway, and look up to the clouds 

The healing storm washes me anew

The Zoo Revisions