I Am 57 Today I Am I have seen fifty-seven dawns the promise of light I have seen the rise of the Titan rocket and the fall of the Challenger I have seen the rise of Camelot and the fall of a president I have seen the rise of Dylan and the fall of Cobain I have heard the voice of a prophet crying in darkness I saw them kill Martin, kill Malcolm, kill Bobby, kill Jack I saw the rise of our consciousness and the fall of our aspirations I saw burning banks, burning draft cards, burning bras, burning desires I saw Watts burning, Detroit burning, Saigon burning, burning, burning I saw burning Vietnamese...

I have a lucky elephant I want you all to know His name is Jim and I’m with him Wherever he may go He does not like the subway And he won’t fit in my car And Jim’s afraid of airplanes So we never travel far And when the police see us They say, “Take him to the zoo!” But Jim prefers to feed the ducks For something fun to do I met Jim on a Sunday And ever since that day He sticks with me like a shadow And he never goes away I ask him many questions Whenever I get stuck He always has an answer And he’s always brought me luck Whenever I get in a fix Jim has a tale...

So they stood, Stacking stone upon stone, A wall against the coming flood Two strong souls, Against a fear unknown, Believers in the power of blood . People said, They were just wasting time, Nothing can hold the water back Look Instead Of putting in your dime, Come grab some stones and help us stack Their heads shook, They left them to their task, And went back home to pack their things Stone on stone, Without question to ask, Their hope in their own strength still clings The floods came, Water rushing downhill. Changes the face of fear for good, Stone on Stone, Against current and still, After...

When one has lost someone Should you stay In one place And wait for what will seem to be Hours without end eyes turn the head in impatient anticipation for them to find you Or should you go looking Turning down one way And then another Wondering if In your quest to find them You have missed them again As you went right And they left Wilson/07

It was nothing but a word Some vibrations in the air And had it gone unheard You would not know it there But a word can make us laugh Or a word can bring a tear Could speak on our behalf Or make real our worst fear Could word then lift us up? Then a word may make us fall A word could bring us peace Or else, destroy us all Of all mankind has wrought Of this I feel assured The greatest tool we’ve got Is the power of the word –Wilson/05

Quiet lying, laid out there I wanted so to comb his hair And close his mouth still open wide To see him thus seemed so unfair A man of dignity and pride They laid his hands down by his side Eyes closed as not to stare in space And still the fear of night implied There was no peace upon his face He did not greet the dark with grace He did not leave on his own terms When angels chose to end his race To stand before him now affirms We all were born to feed the worms Wilson/06

here is something come between us Unseen and yet as solid as a stone A voice that screams While words remain unspoken Regrets and dreams Pass for thoughts unknown I pretend that I don’t see it But it’s there, and it does not let me rest It pinches me Like a pebble in my shoe Has come to be A hunger in my chest I have crafted it stone by stone This wall between us solidly I built With what I’ve done And what I have failed to do And then I run Away from all my guilt There is no place for me to go This prison has been all my own design It was, you see A moment without thinking If...

After all you’ve been given Ain’t it time to give some back This life you’re livin’ Is seriously off track You think you understand You may think you really know But when it comes to understanding God You got a long long way to go Standing on the corner Begging for a buck Stands a lonely beggar A little down upon his luck Not the kind of guy you or I might want to see What you do to the least of these You do to me Blessed are the poor in spirit They shall have their fill People do not understand I guess they never will Give us this day, our daily bread And shield...

I Am 55 Today I Am I have seen fifty-five times the promise of light I have seen the rise of the Titan rocket and the fall of the Challenger I have seen the rise of Camelot and the fall of a president I have seen the rise of Dylan and the fall of Cobain I have heard the voice of a prophet crying in darkness I saw them kill Martin, kill Malcolm, kill Bobby, kill Jack I saw the rise of our consciousness and the fall of our aspirations I saw burning banks, burning draft cards, burning bras, burning desires I saw Watts burning, Detroit burning, Saigon burning, burning, burning I saw burning Vietnamese...

I try to do the best I can, The same as any other man To bravely face this coming year, As last year, when it first began I face myself there in the mirror, A few more gray hairs growing here A few more errors understood, My vision just a bit more clear I’ll face the year as children would And hope the future is as good As all the years I’ve gathered in, Remembering to knock on wood. For I know mankind’s greatest sin Is looking back at what has been, And think him master of his soul When watching a new year begin For as the world goes speeding in its course I cannot change it’s...