Rock of Ages
By Darrell Jarvis
Riddles of life, rumors of death,
Echoes of knowledge all in one breath,
Promise of Heaven, rumbles of Hell,
Eternity’s fate where we all dwell.
Some raised in comfort, others needed more,
All would soon knock upon Heaven’s door,
President Lincoln, high-cultured classes,
Unlocking muddy chains, the shame of slavery passes.
The inhumanities that he seen,
Which made Abe Lincoln’s heart turn mean,
Desperate measures, rich men and poor,
Passion-n-pain in their personal war,
As death stepped silently from the shadows.
We lost harmony when Mr Lincoln fell,
Still someone rang the Liberty Bell,
Infamous madmen, soiled and tragic,
Heritage of gold, this President worked magic,
A face in the clouds forever.
Our nation stumbled in this harvest of history,
Whispering winds, flames of mystery,
Venturesome roads, relentless rivals,
This odyssey in a landscape of tomorrow.
Rebels of honor, principle and pride,
A patriot’s duty where innocence died,
A gauntlet of hazards with villains among us,
As the foggy fumes of destiny strained our convictions.
President Kennedy, and a rainbow of friends.
Seen a river of spoil and said, “It must end,”
They formed a grand movement, and allegiance of rights,
A threshold of triumph among blacks and whites
With its valor and spirited determination.
Voices of venom, wayward of heart,
A dark day in Dallas, death found its mark,
Clamor of deception, shadows of doubt,
Passing the torch on this same route,
In this remnant of leaders and legends.
Colorful characters, some jewelled, some jaded,
Titans of strength, their cause never faded,
A concert of power, judgment and collision,
Ambitious gamble, reward and compassion,
Eclipse of defeat, defiance and elation,
Bravery, morality, a humble relation,
These aromas of humanity that surround us.
Senator Kennedy and Dr King,
A flood of hope continued to bring,
A flare of euphoria that things would improve,
As the sirens of oblivion sound their warning.
A camouflage of conspiracy, a rifle shot his way,
A noble man’s life ended that day.
In this shining anatomy of one’s measure.
Two months later another warrior fell,
These visionaries of time which history will tell,
All lived with dignity, purpose and pride,
Helping this country until they all died,
As we endured the jagged edge of tribulation.
A vivid portrait, a nation’s worth,
Stars-n-stripes, a rugged birth,
A gritty challenge, hopeful years,
Ugly secrets, grief and tears,
Mortal beings, immortal souls,
Dramas of life playing their roles.
Lincoln, the Kennedys, Martin Luther King,
Shrill cries of anguish made angels sing,
As we grapple life’s treachery and traditions.
Beloved heroes who took a stand,
Marching for fairness across the land,
Their courage held firm in struggle-n-strife,
To preserve this country and way of life,
Four gemstones etched in our memory.
These great men, Rock of Ages.
Golden hearts, gentle faces,
Civil rights touching bases,
There’s human good in all the races.
A General’s Tale
By Darrell Jarvis
Cries of life filled the room.
A mother’s joy, a baby’s bloom,
A curious boy soon walked around,
The sights and sounds of a small town.
Teenage years and full of wit,
A young man’s soul developed grit,
He sought to do his part for peace,
He deeply felt it was the least
Anyone could ever do
For this country that held true.
In uniform he stood so proud,
A born soldier heard the loud
Call of challenge in the air,
The winds of war laid waste bare.
Two more decades slowly passed,
A mighty leader tried to grasp
The hard realities that he seen
Which made a general’s heart turn mean.
A blitzkrieg raged across the zone,
Many men would not go home.
D-Day’s battle changed the war,
Hitler’s Third Reich would be no more.
Old Blood-n-guts, George Patton charged,
As Germany’s blind-faith came to reason
That Hitler’s demise in ‘45
Would bring a much better season.
Germany was down, the old warrior mused,
“and hell be for those against me,”
he threw back his head and to himself said,
“Japan will soon pay their fee.”
General Patton took a stand.
Marching for fairness across the land,
His hair turned grey with wisdom and age,
The meaning of life he tried to gauge,
Walking in war with courage and pride,
Merciful tears for millions who died,
A great human being, God rest his soul,
And history will always remember.
An Eagle’s Tale
By Darrell Jarvis
Mist in the garden, Adam and Eve,
Dinosaurs, cavemen, it started to weave
A quivering web of early man,
Divine intervention then made a stand.
Riddles of life, rumors of death,
Echoes of knowledge all in one breath.
Promise of Heaven, rumbles of Hell,
Eternity’s hand ringing its bell.
Christopher Columbus commanding three ships,
A journey to the realm of discovery.
Our Founding Fathers, virtue and wisdom
The Bill of Rights, huge barriers against them,
British invasion, Paul Revere’s ride.
Remember Wounded Knee where innocence died.
Lewis-n-Clark, frontiers to explore,
And those solemn faces on Mt Rushmore.
Boone and Crockett, a staggering show,
Santa Ana rained fury at the Alamo,
Crazy Horse, Little Big Horn, Custer’s Last Stand sealed his coffin.
Blackbeard the pirate, Billy the Kid,
Blood-letters, badmen, evils they did,
Horsemen, highwaymen, sins in the night,
Faltering hearts, some dark, some bright,
Wooden gallows, condemning moments,
A dead man’s walk of surrender,
Infernal fog, the hangman’s noose,
As the sirens of oblivion sound their warning.
Butch and Sundance, outlaws and trains,
The Pinkerton guards failed to gain,
A capture in this game of raw chances,
The Black Hills and Western Plains,
Badlands with no name,
Lightning fast, customs passed,
Sacred rites still reign,
Like broken bones of ancestors never forgotten.
The Donner Party, wagon-wheels west,
Trapped in the snow, starvation and death,
John Wayne, Calamity Jane, rawhide to the bone,
Campfire cowboys, a rowdy range they roam,
Wells Fargo and the Pony Express,
Colt and Winchester tamed the Old West,
Deceit and decay at the OK Corral,
Gunsmoke-n-leather, many men fell,
With the hunger of a crippling culmination.
Poncho Villa, a ruthless bandito.
Crossing our border to plunder,
Blazing saddles, powder-n-lead,
A ravishing wake, the quick and the dead,
In this remnant of tombstones and legends,
Annie Oakley, Buffalo Bill,
Whispering winds shadow Boot Hill,
Infamous villains, old cattle towns,
Rebels-n-rivals, troubles abound,
As disquieting deeds silently linger,
The Salem Witch Trials, flames of mystery,
Harvard and Yale, harvest of history.
Pilgrims to pioneers, New England’s cultured classes,
Unlocking muddy chains, the shame of slavery passes,
The Wizard of Oz, truth for the ages,
The Great Depression, no jobs, no wages,
Veteran’s Day and the Fourth of July.
The Star-Spangled Banner makes people cry.
As we revel in reward and compassion.
Washington led troops in a bold revolution,
A desperate militia, a stormy solution,
Facing an army sent by King George,
Our colonial soldiers survived Valley Forge.
Union or Confederate, blue coat or grey,
A river of spoil was coming our way
With its valor and bitter determination.
Clashing steel, threshold of triumph,
Hazards of victory for the taking,
Brother against brother, double-edged sword,
A flare of euphoria paints the horizon,
Bayonets and bullets, rich men and poor,
Passion and pain in a cruel civil war,
Generals Grant and Robert E Lee,
A terrible time, we all agree,
North fighting south, our future-n-fate,
Dare to tread, a ravenous hate,
As our tattered flags suffered in battle.
The Gettysburg Address, principle and pride,
A patriot’s duty, some honest, some lied.
World War One, a gauntlet of trenches,
World War Two, mass graves, mad stenches.
The tyrants among us, litany of psychosis.
A savage anatomy of one’s measure.
Dragons-n-fire, dangerous grounds,
Pearl Harbor in ruin, this saga soon found
Great wars and conquests all carve a tale
Of peril and bravery, no option to fail.
D-Day, sacrifice, awesome Allied Forces,
Hitler’s Third Reich, relentless resources.
As his illusion of world rule lost its luster.
Old Blood-n-Guts, George Patton charged,
Grimacing loss through Europe,
While millions saw their cities burn to rubble,
Deliberate indifference, residue of resilience,
Germany’s blind-faith soon diminished.
Chaos in Korea, the communist zone,
Conflict or redemption, to each his own,
The Bay of Pigs, waste laid bare,
Missiles in Cuba, a chilling scare,
Southeast Asia in Vietnam,
Does anyone know what went wrong?
GI Joe, and average man,
Doing his best for Uncle Sam,
Our courage held firm in struggle-n-strife,
To preserve this country and way of life
In a spirit of fierce allegiance.
Mt McKinley, our highest peak,
Klondike Gold Rush, not for the weak,
Boy Scouts Group, and Smokey the Bear,
Good clean living in a wilderness lair,
The Appalachians, a cabin’s dirt floor,
Moonshine jugs in a hillbilly store,
The Mississippi River and the Great Divide,
The Oregon Trail served as one’s guide
For homesteaders taming new country.
The Grand Canyon, Yellowstone,
Picturesque mountains with parts unknown,
The Everglades, five Great Lakes,
Pearls of bounty in all fifty states.
Ben Franklin, Abe Lincoln, noble minds unfurled,
Oppenheimer, Einstein, A-Bombs changed the world,
The Wright Brothers and Ford, visionaries of time,
Edison, Carnegie, innovative chimes
That began with a hand-stitched flag and thirteen stars held in union.
Passing the torch, infinite creations,
Eclipse of defeat, defiance and elations,
Scholars and hobos, heroes and zeroes,
The aromas of humanity that surround us.
The Red Cross was founded by Clara Barton,
Ominous wounds, some saved, some pardoned,
In this element spanning harmony and rude actions.
John D Rockefeller and Standard Oil
A cold chameleon, not easy to foil,
In this quagmire of wicked essentials.
London and Hemingway, hard-scrabble masters,
Mark Twain, whose roiling restrain,
Was riveted through Huck Finn’s disasters.
It soon became the Industrial Age,
Wealth and charm, greed and rage,
Women won the right to vote,
To speak their mind and make a quote.
As this camouflage of conspiracy lost its corruption.
Teddy and the Rough Riders, San Juan Hill,
Barnum and Bailey, big circus, big thrill,
Charles Lindbergh, adventure in motion,
The Spirit of St Louis crossing the ocean,
Bootleg liquor and prohibition,
St Valentine’s Day, a massacre mission,
Stock market crash of ’29,
Myths and epitaphs of that time.
As we embraced the jagged edge of tribulation.
Roosevelt’s plan, one dollar a day,
Building roads and bridges for the WPA,
Amelia Earhart, ambitious gamble,
A face in the clouds forever.
Paul Bunyon and Babe the Blue Ox,
Rip Van Winkle, strange days hard knocks,
Remember the Maine, sabotage of explosion,
The Watergate scandal, scars of erosion,
In this medley of fortitude and evolution.
The Las Vegas strip, spellbinding sights,
New York City, a mammoth delight,
Washington DC, masquerade of decision,
Concert of power, privilege and collision,
J Edgar Hoover and the FBI,
Judgment of justice with no disguise,
In a shuffle of tarnish and intensity.
The Boston Marathon, the Super Bowl,
The Kentucky Derby, brutal goals,
NASCAR fans, speed-demons to go,
Ecstasies and agonies in this perpetual thrust of extremes.
Al Capone and mafia lore,
Intrigue at the Devil’s door,
Alcatraz, one’s haunting hours,
Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate Towers,
Disney World, and a rainbow of friends,
Man walked on the Moon, then did it again,
Like an odyssey in a landscape of tomorrow.
This radiant rave of prosperity and bliss,
A surreal tranquillity is always at risk
In our illuminated scope of progression.
Lizzie Borden, soiled and tragic,
Harry Houdini, hands of magic,
Harley-Davidson, heritage of gold,
The Hindenburg, ashes gone cold,
Howard Hughes, colossal creature,
Eccentric, electric, feral features,
Elvis Presley, rock-n-roll mode,
Evel Knievel, Thunder Road,
Microsoft, titans of the trade,
Mesmerizing, high-tech, high-grade,
Colorful characters, some jewelled, some jaded,
These rolling stones etched in our memory.
Voices of venom, wayward of heart,
Hijacked airplanes, terror found its start,
As the rabid fumes of destiny strained our convictions.
For here is free enterprise, a recipe that works,
Including its flaws, transgressions and quirks,
Democracy, there’s not much around,
But you’ll find this deal in each of our towns,
Leading the Free World, the essence of our pledge is often tested,
like a clamor of primal cravings ripe with reflection.
Savoring the fruits of one’s mind, proverbial, literal,
quid pro quo, this rare gem still holds its splendor.
A vivid portrait, a nation’s worth.
Stars-n-stripes, a humble birth,
A gritty challenge, hopeful years,
Ugly secrets, grief and tears.
Mortal beings, immortal souls,
Dramas of life playing their roles,
Senator Kennedy, Martin Luther King,
Shrill cries of anguish made angels sing,
For slain presidents, times we nearly fell,
American dreams built the Panama Canal,
As we grapple life’s treachery and traditions.
And there’s Lady Liberty with welcoming arms,
Old Glory’s Constitution shielding us from harm,
For across this mighty land is freedom guaranteed
To own guns, choose religion, and live how you please,
To raise a family and have a career,
Visit a park and drink a cold beer,
Vote for our government, elect young or old,
A high school education for those who enrolled,
We can rant and complain about all its flaws
And still find protection under color of laws
That make this ‘flawed’ nation a treasure.
Damn the torpedoes coming our way,
The fearless and strong have something to say,
“This badge of honor has no disgrace,
a message for the human race,
wings in flight, talons ready,
keen eyes of sight, resolve is steady,
an eagle of purpose, its soul the key,
America, land of the free…”
When Duty Calls
By Darrell Jarvis
What does this flag mean to me,
in a land both strong and free?
It started with George Washington,
our nation’s roots, our loyal son.
Leading troops in a bold revolution,
a desperate militia, a stormy solution,
facing an army sent by King George,
our colonial soldiers survived Valley Forge.
It flew in bloody battlegrounds,
standing tall in faith it found
our patriots did not retreatin heated times of near defeat
which made this country beam with pride,
as honest heroes fought and died.
A Bill of Rights paved the way,
our Constitution saved the day.
A vivid portrait, a nation’s worth,
stars-n-stripes, a humble birth.
Bayonets and bullets, rich men and poor,
passion and pain in a cruel civil war.
North fighting South, our future-n-fate,
dare to tread, a ravenous hate,
as our tattered flags suffered in battle.
Dragons-n-fire, dangerous grounds,
Pearl Harbor in ruin, this saga soon found
great wars and conquests all carve a tale
of peril and bravery, no option to fail.
Southeast Asia in Vietnam,
does anyone know what went wrong…?
G.I. Joe, an average man,
doing his best for Uncle Sam.
Veteran’s Day and the Fourth of July,
the Star-Spangled Banner makes people cry
in a spirit of fierce allegiance.
Major wars came and passed,
a wiser world was changing fast.
Hard challenges we had to face,
struggle-n-strife, a frantic pace.
More than two centuries we’ve been around,
Old Glory still flies in each of our towns,
Red, White and Blue, America’s theme,
all fifty states were somebody’s dream
as we tackle the future together.
“This mighty land has no disgrace,
a lesson for the human race,
a doctrine of purpose whose virtues we see,
America, home of the free…”
The Devil’s Den
By Darrell Jarvis
Frontier justice of mankind,
legends and lore fading with time,
skull-n-bones, a graveyard game,
fantasy, reality, always the same
sordid elation of wrong or right,
cloak-n-dagger, grim of night.
Intense illusions, furtive features,
muffled cries, wild creatures,
freaks-n-geeks across the yard,
stormy visions, morals charred,
artifacts of fortune and fate
buried inside these prison gates,
like old ghosts in a museum.
Sensual guards glowing with passion,
soiled souls, forbidden fashion,
for a price, she’ll be nice,
greedy hands, roll the dice.
Carnal lust, primal fears, waves of resignation,
wicked wings, taboo spells, flames of fascination.
Highwaymen, hit-men, warnings of strife,
dead or alive, perils of life,
ravenous thunder, agony and plunder,
canine predators, jungle code,
creepy critters, spirits erode,
wolfish whims, cloudy sensations,
where old-school honor rarely matters.
A medley of madness, tarnished and bold,
paranoid, schizoid, demons untold,
courage and cowardice, nefarious needs,
lethal aggression, damaging deeds,
low-grade, low-life, disquieting sins,
this habitat where one never wins.
Cut-throat chameleons with no education,
harrowing hostilities and exploitation,
cartoon gangsters, plastic to the core,
recidivistic fools walk through the door
of this dreadful empire on prison grounds
as warehousing humans is commonly found
to be its calloused objective.
Jekyll-n-Hyde, phantom faces,
lack of grit in all the races,
tooth-n-claw, rabid rivals,
blood-in, blood-out, raw-dog survivals,
haunting memories, fumes of vengeance,
as we revel in defiance of past battles.
Caveman weapons, homemade wines,
smuggling drugs, hustling dimes,
employees ripe with ugly corruption,
rancid harvest, scars of disruption,
no skills or trades, times are bad,
melting minds, no rehab,
as we slip off the edge of compassion.
Gunslingers, gladiators, challenge of man,
spoiling destruction shadows this land,
a gambler’s wheel, savior or sorrow,
desperadoes with no tomorrow,
empty purpose, evil feast,
in the belly of this beast.
Buffoons and bullies, a turbulent crew,
outcasts and outlaws, déjà vu,
Jack the Ripper, Bonnie-n-Clyde,
Dillinger, Capone, a rumblin’ ride.
Seeds of damnation, chaos and pain,
a cruel-hearted world where very few gain
in this eclipse of decay and dysfunction.
Misfits in a muddy culture,
rampant thieves, ruthless vultures,
wayward villains, chorus of rot,
omens and karma of silence.
Dregs of society, wrath of fire,
grey walls, cold steel, dirty desires,
shallow redemption, angry addiction,
as the rawhide winds of destiny turn more savage.
David and Goliath, brutal and tragic,
hard-charging tale, myth or magic,
Degenerate riffraff, serpents and mice,
skid-row rebels who really aren’t nice,
ignorance and arrogance, echoes of disaster,
intellect and respect, voices seldom mastered,
diminished capacity, rough stones in life,
as eternity draws ever closer.
Rituals and religions, mysteries in time,
Cain and Abel, riddle or rhyme?
Foggy roads that drama knows well,
be it Heaven, or be it Hell.
Old men, broken men, skeletons of rust,
pangs of death, mortals of dust,
and fresh lambs entering have no clue
as this infernal plague of darkness subtly surrounds them.
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