Shame on The Universe   Poetry and Thoughts on the Universe

The artist pours his heart
Into the canvas again.
Each line, a memory,
Each color, emotion.

The left corner, his true love
The center, the loss of a friend
Every section, a moment of his life
Laid out bare for all to see.

He steps back, admires his work
This one, truly, is his masterpiece.
He turns to show someone
And no one is there.

The canvas lies in storage
Next to it brethren,
abandoned, alone.
The artist nowhere to be seen.

“There is no point to it.”
says the artist,
“Because what good is art
Without the audience?”

Shaman Romney 2014

A life of quiet loneliness.
People, just background noise.
A stranger in a room of friends.
A silent, pittiful scream
Of a man no one hears.

Wear the mask, play the game,
make sure they always see.
The smiling man, the jester,
the thing you ought to be.

Don’t show your pain,
or your hurt, or your agony.
Your loved ones want a happy man,
that’s what you ought to be.

Don’t ever drop the visage,
don’t show the deeper being.
Pretend to be a happy man,
the thing you’ll never be.

The mask will never come off
The world will never see.
This image of the happy man
Will never be me.

Shaman Romney 2014

I’m a man who is empty.
I have had everything
Pulled out of me.
Some of it,
My Heart,
I gave willingly.
Most of it,
My Blood,
My Tears,
My Soul,
Were taken forcefully.
Now I stand here
Devoid of love,
of life,
of hope.
Now I have nothing.
I am a man who is empty.

Shaman Romney 2014

Yeah, I’ve been down before
Body sprawled out on the floor
Crying, screaming, and begging for more.
Yeah I’ve been down before.

Yeah, I have lost it all
Bloodied my fists upon the wall
Climbed to the top only to fall
Yeah I have lost it all.

Yeah, I have been alone
No one in the world to call my own.
Wandered the streets without a home.
Yeah I have been alone.

Yeah, I have given up.
Found my best not good enough.
Found that I was out of luck.
Yeah I have given up.

Yeah, I have been to Hell
Done things I will never tell.
Know that burning, sulfur smell.
Yeah I have been to Hell.

Yeah, I’d do it all again.
Although it didn’t work in the end.
I’d do it all for you, my friend.
Yeah, I’d do it all again.

Shaman Romney 2014

I’m tired of trying
to win life’s game.
The out come always
feels the same.

I get knocked down Twenty
I get up Twenty One
Will the next time I’m knocked down
be when I’m done?

I’ll just keep on fighting
There is no other way
Here’s to hoping
I get it right someday.

Shaman Romney 2014

The Gallery

Each person we see,
Walking down the street
In line at the store
In every car we pass by.

Is a tapestry of memories.
Tragedy beyond understanding
Triumph beyond reason
Life beyond measure.

We are in a gallery
Full of artists
of wonderful music
and so much more.

When surrounded by such beauty,
Do you look to your favorites?
Or see something new?
What do you choose?

Shaman Romney 2014

The Path

I have no idea where I am going
I have no idea where to start
My mind leads a path to nowhere
Confusion is what leads my heart

They say that the path will show up
If you just try to see
You’ll find your way to happiness
You’ll find your thing to be

But what does one do
when they cant see the way?
Do I rot in desperation?
Do I wither away?

I don’t know where I’m going
But I have to try
Maybe when I reach the end,
I will know why.

Shaman Romney 2014

Summer Snow

A thunder clap in the distance,
Rain falls in a heavy sheet.
People panic as they scatter
From the rain and summer snow.

Safe, enclosed within my home
from the sounds of nature’s roar
Hear her song, this pitter-patter
the sound of rain and summer snow

Nature, such a fickle mistress
The very sky moves at her whim
You and I, we do not matter
to the rain and summer snow.

-Shaman Romney 2014

Peace

I’m not going to fight you,
there’s nothing to gain
No pleasure or victory,
just sorrow and pain.

We’ll never be happy
If we follow this course
Your foolish pride
Will be your remorse.

Swallow your rage,
Bury your hate.
Feel all the negative,
Start to dissipate.

In this way of peace
I cannot lose,
So I will not fight you
The path that I choose.

Shaman Romney 2014