Poetry and Writing by Wesley Purkey

Always Growing From The Cradle To The Grave
By Wesley I. Purkey

We must all deal with internal struggles of hardships and pain-
we are all destined for such trials and tribulations however long our lives remain-
It is through such internal struggles that true character of substance is obtained!
Let the sacrifices and achievements of today-
how to temper an eclipse to regrettable wrongs and mistakes off yesterday!
do not harbor guilt and shame for selfish actions that you cannot change!
Practice genuine remorse in bringing about genuine change,
In bringing about benevolence and kindness for others that will remain-
Never let such kindness tilburg one and all ever wain!
One must quiet internal trials and tribulations boiling inside-
It is through listening to such trials and tribulations not quieting them that-
True depth of fortitude, resilience and wisdom lies!
The most grave problems in a person’s life lies within-
We all assiduously search for resolution to such dire aggravation-
Be quiet and listen – enormous lessons can be learned –
Answers are elusive – constantly evolving through time and experiences –
Do not exacerbate such pains and struggles pouring fuel on the internal fire –
Patience’s and resolve are quintessential to putting be out the ossify fire –
Yes’ it is through unwavering fortitude and patiences that enables a person –
To stop the ever internal chatterer that truly doesn’t matter –
to stop the hateful judgment of others and fully realize that –
Despite deeply regrettable mistakes that their lives matter,
And to fully realize that each and everyone of us –

Should always continue to grow from the cradle to the grave!!!

If Our Family Only Had One More Day, 
One MoreTomorrow With Our Beautiful Baby Girl Sarah
By Wesley I. Puckey
For Sarah’s family who is suffering so much after her loss

Our precious little girl Sarah who we loved and miss so very – very much,
Was called to heaven the other day despite being only seven!
God took her away so prematurely –
she will not be with us to celebrate her eight birthday –
Despite it being in July just a few months away –
From when our precious baby girl died on Valentine’s Day!
The unbearable soul wrenching pain that her family has suffered since she went away,
No one truly knows of such devastating pain –
And I pray that they never do know of such devastating soul wrenching pain –
I’ll sluicing such a beautiful and vivacious little girl as Sarah was –
Her infectious smile and happy go lucky nature –
brought enormous joy and happiness to all who knew her.
If only we had – had one more day- one more tomorrow with our precious little girl Sarah,
before the Lord took her away –
Through our broken hearts we want you to know our darling little Sarah that –
We love you so dearly and miss you so much!
And know that we will continue to blow kisses to heaven for you,
Sr love will always continue to grow for you each and every day,
Until we can actually hold you in our arms again –
And you can actually know and feel how strong the love for you is!
Yes darling we love you and miss you so very – very much,
Know that our most deepest heartfelt regret is that –
We did not have just one more day with our baby girl Sarah –
or just one more tomorrow to share with her before the Lord took her away!

We love you are darling baby girl, and miss you so very – very much!!!

Passion Fuels Life’s Desires!
By Wesley I. Purkey

Irrefutably the years fly-by at lightning speed –
A person wakes up one day and what do they see –
Indeed, the mirror reflects a person who has grown old and frail –
Looking like they have been fried and dried – with another rice on the side!
What is paramount and true is not always obvious to you –
Especially while those years are flying by at lightning speed –
What is Paramount in true is that a person continues to grow –
And that in such internal growth help is spawn deep with a person’s soul!
Hope is essential for fueling a life with passion and desire –
And yet hope without action creates a life without passion or desire –
There a life without passion and desire is worse than no life at all –
So action definitely matters in gaining a life full of passion and desire!
Without a doubt passion is both a blessing and a curse –
The currency is acceptable because passion fuels a person’s life full of desire –
And that my friend is of essence in creating continual growth –
Continual growth being spawn each and every day from the cradle to the grave –
Brings to Bear becoming who we need to be – in-lieu of remaining who we are –
And it is through such daily internal growth that we truly see –
That the true essence of life isn’t all about me-me-me –
and this is where internal growth actually lets a person see with passion and desire that –

Reaching out and helping address will truly create the person that you need to be!!!

Standing the Test of Time
By Wesley I. Purkey

More Precious than Gold is a Mother´s Love
By Wesley I. Purkey

A Mother´s love is not dependent
On recognition, nor receiving appreciation
But totally instead, on selfless giving, and
Through benevolent acts from the heart.

When a Mother´s children suffer
Life´s trials and tribulations
She is there to soothe the disappointments
Calm their fears, but as well
To restore their hopes for another day.

Looking bac k, we all know
That a Mother´s love is steadfast and true
Not because of anything we do, but
Because of the quiet joy she finds in that love´s fortitude.

When life has bruised and wounded us
A Mother´s love is there to inspire us.
And when we have fallen and failed
The strength of a Mother´s love is there to pull us through.

When all others have forsaken you
And your friends have deserted you
A Mother´s love is there to comfort and reassure
More precious than gold is
A Mother´s love.
Her stories are seldom told

Dedicated to my daughter Angie C, a mother of 3 beautiful children.

“I love you sweetheart – and those kids could not find a more wonderful Mom…your Dad”

All Lives are Inter-connected
By Wesley I. Purkey

There is no sunshine
Without a sunset.

There is no life
Without death, and

There is no success
Without failure.

Everything and everyone
Is interconnected!

Since death alone is certain,
And the time of death uncertain,
What should I do?

Stop worrying
About people that are different than you, and

Start appreciating what you have in common with them!

The True Measure of Any Human Being is Found 
in Their Empathy and Compassion for Others and Self
By Wesley I. Purkey

“There is so much good in the worst of us,
And so much bad in the best of us,
That it will behold any one of us.”
Every rose has its flaws,
But why examine its flaws,

When you can enjoy its beauty!!!

True Treasures are Found in Others
By Wesley I. Purkey

Do not pass your days and nights away,
Permeated in boisterous internal chatter.
Take care of your essential activities,
Without enormous vainglorious clatter.

It would be truly wasteful,
To delight in the spark of a flintstone,
Where dreams and hopes are like dew on a blade of grass,
Where fortunes of life like a dart of lightening,
Are emptied in an instant, vanished in a flash!

Reach out and help others and find our true path,
For it is there that life´s true treasures will last.
This path will set you free of that eve-so-selfish voice,

That eternally resonates that ever-consuming dilemma of me – me  – me!

Why – Why – That is the Question!
By Wesley I. Purkey

This unrelenting question of Why – Why – Why,
Has permeated every facet of my life with dire strive,
Because of the prodigious harm and pain caused others,
These dire questions of why – why- why which I am to blame,
Are wrestled within some of the deepest valleys of utter despair!

Why did I have blinders on for so many years;
Why did my selfish actions cause so many tears;
Why could not my life be lived without causing so much pain;
Why could I not see things differently and lived in a different vein;

These questions and others plague my life like burning rain;
Why couldn´t I have been better father to my beautiful daughter;
And yet she and her family have forgiven me for the harm caused others;
Despite such unconditional love and forgiveness,
Forgiving myself has yet to be possible alleviating the excruciating pain!

The questions of why – why – why will always remain, and yet
Yesterday´s regrets are the substance of today´s change,
Despite the pain caused I will be grateful until the grave, that

I have learned that it is better to feel pain than inflict pain!

Change is Inevitable
By Wesley I. Purkey

The present moment hovers between the past and the future,
Just as our lives hover between existence and non-existence.
We are reluctant to face change and what we perceive it might be,
Dreading the anguish that we cannot see!

Anguish emerges from craving
For life to be other than what it is, and
Here lies the most fundamental problem of human existence;
We are never satisfied!

If we don´t have something,
We want some; if we have some,
We want more; and
If we have lots,
We´re afraid of losing it!

Life ebbs from moment to moment hooked together like a chain,
Change is inevitable, yet we are blind to it,
Impermanacy indubitious, and
Reality never – even remains the same!

Do not run from it,
Nor try to deny it exists,
Because you will suffer for it, instead

Trade insight in exchange for the debilitating pain!

No Need to Count the Days – Just Make the Days Count
By Wesley I. Purkey

When indulged in your sense of powerlessness,
Don´t let it hold you captive.
Why complicate your present with the past,
Live by the day and by the moment.
We are with unsettled states of mind,
Some barely holding on waiting for  happy ending.
Some have no present, or future –
One the past happening over and over again!

The past is a great deal of what we are today,
 To dwell, to morn, to remember is to live –
With an aching heart struggling with sorrow,
Do not despair, do not cast away confidence –
Which has great reward to brighten your future
And to live a better tomorrow –
By staying strong, and staying focused,

In becoming a better person to help others and self!

Be Like Water in Finding True Peace and Happiness
By Wesley I. Purkey

When we have buoyancy
We realize there´s no hindrance
No obstacles to block life´s paths.
It is neither fixed, nor rigid,
It is fluid and flexible.
Like water, it flows around rocks
And continues to grow!

It shows that there is always
Some other way to live
In finding true peace and happiness.
It teaches us that we do not arrive
At true peace and happiness,
But instead we are actually
Travelling in their paths!

Ture peace and happiness is found in nurturing love
And compassion for others and self.
It is found in the essence of learning our lives;
And that we need to listen in such teachings,
And that to listen, we need to be quiet!

It is through such gratitude that manifests fortitude,
In which in turn true peace and happiness
Are found in our lives,
Especially when we stop the wars within
That plague our lives
From the cradle to the grave!

Be like water in finding true peace and happiness!

Change is Inevitable
By Wesley I. Purkey 

The present moment hovers between the past and the future,

Just as our lives hover between existence and non-existence.

We are reluctant to change and 

What we perceive it might be, 

Dreading the anguish that we cannot see.

Anguish emerges from craving, 

for life to be other than what it is. 

And here lies the most fundamental problem of human 

existence- we are never satisfied!

If we don’t have something, we want some;

If we have some, we want more;

And if we have lots, we’re afraid of losing it. 

Life ebbs from moment to moment, 

Hooked together like a chain.

Change is inevitable, yet we are blind to it.

Impermanence, inhibitions and reality 

Never, ever remain the same!

Do not run from it, nor try to deny it exists,

Because you will suffer for it.

Instead, trade insight in exchange for the debilitating pain!

Humility
By Wesley I. Purkey 

Humility, I believe, should give a person greater patience and tolerance in fighting life’s difficult struggles, as well as to keep in mind that all individuals, with rare exception, deserve not only love and respect but forgiveness for their transgressions in this world. Some people have taken issue with my contention that ‘rare exceptions’ exist to such love, respect and forgiveness being shown to all individuals, but whether such qualms are justified or not truly is not germane to this brief material and will be saved for another day. Generally the insightful lessons taught through humility are not taught on pristine moutain tops, but instead are taught in some of the darkest and deepest valleys of despair. In such valleys of despair, loneliness and desolation is where genuine and sincere remorse is cultivated, in combination with forging the true essence of humility. These synonymous virtues of humility and remorse teach a person that it is far better to extend empathy, kindness and love for others in their life’s sufferings, downfalls and plights rather that to levy scorn, ridicule and hasty harsh judgements upon them. These hard taught lessons indubitably bring to bear witness that no individual who dwells on the face of this earth is infallible and that ‘to be human is to err’.

Generally the weakness that we perceive to be in others and are so ready to criticise them for can readily be found in ourselves through minimal scrutiny. Humility is the true measuring stick for any human being, no matter their status or statue in this world. It cannot be bought but must be earned via life’s darkest trial and tribulations. Such humility of depth is seen through a person’s empathy and compassion shown to others and self. We all live in glass houses and as Christ told the gathering crowd, who eagerly waited to stone to death the sinner prostitute who cringed and cowed before them in fear, ‘let them without sin toss the first stone’. You could have heard a pin drop as the stones were being reluctantly released by the crowd and hitting the ground. The ‘sinner’, the prostitute, lived to see another day and found that by helping others who shared similar plights in their lives as she did- she actually helped herself as well.

Genuine remorse to me is when a person finds the courage and fortitude to face up to the suffering and harm that  their selfishness has caused others. Mere lip service to a person claiming remorse for their dire selfish actions that has caused heart-breaking suffering in other people’s lives demonstrates not only their utter lack of character, but is the ultimate disrespect for those individuals that they have so egregiously harmed. Truly remorse is not only found in a person’s courage to accept responsibility for their selfish and devastating actions, but I believe comes to bear when they actually start to experience and feel the dire pain and suffering that they caused. Humility and remorse are mutually cultivated through a person’s life on a continuing basis, aiding a person to mature in the face of their egregious selfish actions and making amends for such through acts of empathy and significant considerations for others.

Of course remorse is not dependent on forgiveness, as forgiveness is not dependent on a person’s failure to demonstrate genuine and sincere remorse. Dale Carnegie gave a somewhat alternative to these given circumstances and said that “a person may not be saintly enough to forgive their enemy their sins, but for the sake of their health and happiness, at least forgive them, and then forget them’.

Of course remorse could never be of substance if extended for the purpose of seeking forgiveness, whereas the sincerity of such deep-rooted emotions must germinate from the depth of a person’s heart and soul. The symbiosis teaching of remorse and humility has taught me what Plato so poignantly said and that is ‘be kind, because everyone you meet is fighting struggles that you know nothing about!’

Without a doubt, love is the best antidote for hatred and goodwill for anger; the presence of one implies the absence of the other. In saying as much, when unconditional love is mustered in a person’s heart in lieu of hatred, then all individuals on the face of the earth will receive the love, respect and forgiveness that is so deserving based on a person’s dignity in this world.

Hell’s Front Gate!
By Wesley I. Purkey 

The house that I was born into was not a home, because a house that is a home is a harbor, a refuge and a very safe place for a child to be, a place that a child doesn’t have to live in constant fear and agony. 

What deterred this house from being a home was a miserable drunk who would fly into blind violent rages, spawn from his child’s most innocuous mistakesl you kknow the kind of mistakes I am talking about, the kind that every kid makes!

Punishment and discipline were swiftly melted out for these innocuous mistakes- with strong slaps across the kid’s face, his head slammed against walls at a quick pace, and ultimately the kid was thrown in front of hell’s gate! This shameful indignation, belittling and out-right hate did not stop there, hours and hours were mandated to be spent for this child’s innocent mistakes, in quiet contemplation in the dark and lonely recesses of a secluded closet, bitterly known to this child, as hell’s front gate!

This shameful palpable cruelty was administered in this house, not as a secret- and yet absolutely no one ever so much as attempted to intercede to stop or rescue this poor desperate child placed in desolation for a child’s meager mistakes!

No child should have to face and bear such punishment and solitude- why did this miserable drunk hate his child so much and continued to hurt him so badly I asked myself!

No answer has ever been tentatively found and these questions will hound me to my grave, such punishment and treatment spawn and cultivate enormous deep rooted seeds of hate, and no matter the vast amount of years that have past they cannot begin, to erase, eradicate, nor abate these soul wrenching childhood memories that are permeated in hate, that were experienced at the hands of that miserable drunk at hell’s front gate!

The Flower That Blooms in Adversity is The Rarest and Most Beautiful of All
By Wesley I. Purkey 

The most beautiful flower that I know of is the Lotus that grows out of the deep recesses of the mud, and when eaten has a luxurious languor effect. This beautiful flower growing out of the mud, to me, has strong partial similarities to individuals who dwell deep within the recesses of society’s mud, behind penitentiary walls; and find the ability, character and courage to bloom, making positive and constructive changes in their lives under such a prodigious antisocial structure. To me one of the first steps on that very narrow road of change under our contra productive penitentiary setting is the hardest of all: remorse. Of course subjects of this nature are taboo within the penitentiary tough-guy mentality and are considered weakness. Believe me, I am more than qualified to attest to this bizarre claim after dwelling in the deep recesses of society’s mud for almost a half of a century now. Remorse, in my humble opinion, is the catalyst for change (although rarer than sightings of Big Foot) but when taken pays huge dividends for all concerned. 

Writing about remorse in general, as will as demonstrating my personal remorse for the selfish devastating pains I have caused others, has been extremely difficult and painful, but not only extremely difficult and painful, but extremely therapeutic. The essence of genuine remorse is not simply to castigate oneself, althought I agree that remorse does cause punishment which actually leads a person to change. But even more important, such pain (i.e., remorse) acknowledges the gravity of harm caused is essential to true remorse in-lieu of showing mere lip service to such. The deep pain that accompanies genuine remorse brings to bear the solemn dignity of the person harmed and the victims left in that harm’s wake. Without accepting responsibility for the egregious harm caused others, no sincere recognition of the gravity of harm caused can take place. Contrary to the consensus behind penitentiary walls that remorse is showing weakness, nothing could be further from the truth.

I have said it before and I believe that it is worth saying again that “When a person starts to face up to what he or she has done, there is both remorse and also a need to feel, in some way, what it was like to be the one harmed”. Learning to feel empathy for those harmed, and the victims who lay in the wake of such harm, is what the process of remorse is about. This process teaches a person to grow up; stop the actions and selfish mentality that is at the root of hurting others and to accept responsibility for such. It is not merely selfish puishment we inflict upon ourselves lavilshly; it is really a benevolent process in which the personal pain teaches lessons otherwise unavailable, and helps a person to become wiser and far more compassionate to others. Ultimately a person comes to bloom under the adversity of penitentiary walls, and, in my opinion, is the most beautiful flower of all.

Victims Voice A Victim of Terrorism
By Wesley I. Purkey 

Susan Hirsch’s husband Jamal was killed in the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania. Susan herself was injured during the bomb blast and described her experiences in her recent book: In the Moment of Greatest Calamity: Terrorism, Grief, and a Victim’s Quest for Justice.

Susan said her relationship with Jamal was an unlikely but successful love, partnership, and understanding across continents, “race,” religions, cultures, languages, and ways of life.  Just two weeks before his death she and Jamal stopped in the U.S. Emabassy in Dar es Salaam to pick up his immigrant visa for his first trip to the United States. The bombing destroyed their plans.

Susan works at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University and has also spoken about her opposition to the death penalty on National Public Radio and at the Library of Congress.

Although prosecutors urged her to testify during the trial of those accused of the bombing Susan felt it was disingenuous of them to try to convince her to tell her story on the theory that it would give her a sense of closue or that it would honor Jamal’s memory. One of the things she found most frustrating about the specter of the death penalty is that it would not allow for the possibility of the individuals coming to a full understanding of what they’d done. She said, “In that sense, the death penalty is the opposite of accountability.”

For more information visit www.mvfhr.org

Karma: The Poison Has To Run It’s Course
By Wesley I. Purkey 

Home early from 8th-grade basketball practice, I was taken aback by the foul smell of alcohol as I entered my Aunt Ga-Ga’s house: my aunt never drank a day in her life. Also, my German shepherd, King, wasn’t customarily lying at the foot of the front door waiting on me to come home from school. 

Sitting on top of the dining-room table was an empty bottle of cheap wine with the lid off–part of the alchohol stench. Over the course of my childhood I came to know the brand name of this rot-gut well, because I found hundreds of them scattered around my parents home, when they had one, as well as in the trunk of my dad’s car, and in their garage; but I had no clue what this empty bottle of wine was doing at my aunt’s home. She adopted and saved me from those two drunks (who, if they were not trying to kill one another, were beating the hell out of me), and I’d never seen alcohol in her home.

Pushing aside the hanging drapes substiuting as my bedroom door, the room was pitch-black with the blinds and curtains closed, unlike how I’d left them when I went to school that morning. Now the alcohol smelled to high heaven. Turning on the bedroom lights, I was shocked to see someone sprawled sideways across my bed, particularly because the top of their head was obliterated; their brains scattered on the ceiling and back walls. Recognizing the person didn’t take long.

Lying on the person’s lap was the gun used to kill themselves, and nearby laid another empty bottle of cheap wine in which they found the courage to blow their head off. 

“You son-of-a-bitch,” I told him. “You had to come to my home to kill yourself,” I raged. “Why didn’t you do this fourteen years ago and save everyone the misery you put them through?” I repeated to myself time and time again.

The only emotions I have ever felt about witnessing that guy, my dad, sprawled across my bed with his brains blown out, are disgust, hate, bitterness and perhaps pity; but nothing which could remotely be considered as sympathy. Not even close! All poisons have to run thier course or they will destroy the person clinging to them. Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done because, here, even after half a century, that poison is toxic to my life. 

Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalms 30:5)
By Wesley I. Purkey 

It is impossible to explain the excruciating pain, despair and life shatterning devastation that left me laying face down and soul-wrenching on the cold concrete Kansas City jail cell floor. The crushing weight of my selfish drug addiction and ruined life that left so many other lives utterly destroyed in its wake was unbearable and paralyzing.

My agonizing prayer, “Please, Lord, please just let me die, please just let me die!” was silently voiced between the soul-wrenching convulsions wher my tears continued to flow on that cold concrete floor. The pain, sorrow and dread was incomprehensive, unimaginable and ineffable, yet a small inner voice repeatedly told me, “I love you. I will not abandon you.”

“Though weeping may endure for a night, it is a transient house guest, but joy  comes in the morning.” (Psalms 30:5)

The Lord heard my tears, did not leave in spite of my sins, nor did He forsake me. Seven years later, sitting on Federal Death Row, I know that out of the most heartbreaking sorrow and tribulations can arise new understanding and strength. The unbearable transgressions that left me paralyzed and pleading to die on that cold and lonely concrete floor has been forgiven God’s marvelous grace is greater than ‘any and all sins,’ contrary to what I felt in my heart.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourself, it is a gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8)

Thank You for that precious gift, for without it I would certainly already be dead from my transgressions.

There is no path for deliverance from our sinful selves, from our terrible addictions or from life’s hard struggles. My prayer every morning is short but strong. It is: “Through Your strength, not of my own, do I face this day.”

When I fall down, He helps me back up, as I would never have risen from that cold and lonely concrete floor without His love and mercy. Knowing Jesus has changed my life, taking away the old and bringing in the new. I know He will also do the same for anyone who calls upon His name, no matter the circumstances.

My Doggy Loved His Beer
By Wesley I. Purkey 

The German Shepherd Pup, later to be named King, 

we meet at the Sedgwich County Prison Farm-

Where I was serving time for unpaid traffic fines, 

designated to work taking care of the K-9’s-

What a fantastic job-especially for serving time!

After my fourty-five days were up, one of the officer’s asked me, 

“Do you want to take home that loving little pup?”

No words were needed, the smile on my face –

let him know that King and I would be leaving that God forsaken place!

King grew and grew and grew, until he was huge, 

he loved to ride in the passenger side of my 60 Chevy,

as everyone knew!

He loved to frolic and play each and everyday, 

until eventually he knocked over my beer sitting in harms way.

He stopped and looked at me with a startle expression,

and then proceeded to exuberantly lap-up those bubbly suds!

He thoroughly enjoyed that beer that beautiful May day!

Some people thought that I was wrong –

letting King drink a beer or two, perhaps three, 

but I didn’t care, and neither did he!

Our comaraderie grew and grew and grew over the years,

especially when we set at the Ball Park once a week-

sharing Kentucky Fried Chicken and having –

a beer, two or perhaps even three!

Dedicated to my beautiful daughter and wonderful grandkids
By Wesley I. Purkey 

Magnanimous love is a limitless love,

patient, generous and giving. 

It is not conditioned, nor dependent,

on what someone else may or may not do!

It is a love cultivated through the essence of time, 

predicated on respect, kindness, gentleness and forgiveness

It puts others before self, and is base on

unwavering fortitude!

Magnanimous love does not hold onto petty grievances, 

it is not quick tempered, nor judgemental.

It seeks resolution, not reverge, and it is always

steadfast and true!

It is built with bricks of unquestionable loyalty, and

it provides a safe haven and refuge for loved one’s, 

when life’s crushing trials and tribulations

come raining down upon them and you!

Magnanimous love is deeply rooted, and 

remains in the hearts of loved one’s left behind,

who must live on despite their enormous grief of lost, 

for loved one’s now gone!

And this darling is, 

exactly how daddy loves you, 

today, yesterday and tomorrow,

Always steadfast and true!!