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    Poems in the Key of Life: Glimpses from the Underbelly
    Poems in the Key of Life: Glimpses from the Underbelly
    Poems in the Key of Life: Glimpses from the Underbelly
    Ebook102 pages1 hour

    Poems in the Key of Life: Glimpses from the Underbelly

    By Edward W. Houston

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    About this ebook

    Poems In The Key Of Life: Glimpses From The Underbelly is a raw, grab life by the horns, tell it like it is look at life through the eyes of a reformed faker. The author, who found freedom after being in bondage to heroin for twenty-five years shares a unique perspective of life through poetry. Ordinary everyday life events viewed through the eyes of a wolf in sheep's clothing. Poetry that may be hard to swallow for some, but is the every day manna for many. Glimpses From The Underbelly gives the reader a penetrating, yet safe, glance, through poetry, at a parallel existence growing right below the surface of our societal norm.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisheriUniverse
    Release dateSep 19, 2007
    ISBN9780595911745
    Poems in the Key of Life: Glimpses from the Underbelly
    Author

    Edward W. Houston

    These poems are an eclectic collection of poems penned by the author from fifty-odds years of observing life with one foot firmly planted in the ideal of correct social behavior and the other on the slippery slope which is the flip side of idealism: reality. The author now lives in Los Angeles and works as a social worker.

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      Book preview

      Poems in the Key of Life - Edward W. Houston

      I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW 

      NO LONGER BEING TAUGHT BY TEACHER’S OF OPINION, WHOSE FEET NO LONGER TOUCH THE GROUND AS THEY STROLL.

      MAKING CHANGES 

      If you want to change your behavior

      Make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior

      He will turn your life around

      Pick you up when you’re on the ground

      Just trust in Him and do not falter

      Jesus will be your Rock of Gibraltar

      If you’re going down with drugs or drink

      Remember on the water Jesus didn’t let Peter sink

      Jesus is our only lifeline

      He shed His blood He paid the fine

      Alcohol and drugs are Spirits, true

      But Christ can ban them out of you

      Do Step 1 and submit to the Master

      And watch your Recovery be that much faster

      I BELIEVE 

      Lord, please bless me to step aside

      In the natural, from my fears and doubts I can not hide

      Teach me Lord to depend on you

      Not only in bad times, but good times too

      Show me Lord how to follow your path

      Just to trust in you, with no figuring like in math With no need to wonder, if I’m doing it Your way With no need to guess, if you’re with me today

      Lord I pray for the faith of a little mustard seed

      As I go through life’s journey in thought and deed

      Lord constantly remind me, you are with me 25 hours a day

      So when I start to become doubtful, I’ll remember You are there to show me the way

      Lord, the only thing I do know, is that I don’t know, and must rely on you

      I’ve ran my life aground so many times, I now depend on you to get me through

      I know I’ll make it to a new life, with Christ stationed at the helm

      He’ll guide me to my new home in His heavenly realm

      RHYME OR UNRHYME 

      Rhyme is no different from unrhymed, other than being played from an equally opposite tune

      To be or not to be, is that the question or an example?

      Whether it is nobler in the mind to enjoy some unethical behind

      Or take on the weight of sin when making love to someone else’s friend

      It’s hard to balance your own scales, carrying someone else’s pounds

      Only a strong seed can break through the dirt that engulfs it

      How much color should be absorbed before you become the same shade?

      How much rain is needed to grow or drown?

      Should the net be cast on the left or right side of the boat? Can you stand as tall in someone else’s shoes?

      ALL who desire to grow need help along the way, be it friend, though often foe

      An open mind heals a chaffed behind

      And the prettiest flowers have sometimes been sprinkled with manure Anchor yourself to the Cornerstone the world builders tried to reject For there is no safe harbor when you go against the grain

      Rhyme and unrhymed become one, when the message is the same

      That I stand here before you, an ex-addict, drug free in Jesus name

      No longer being taught by teacher’s of opinion, whose feet no longer touch the ground as they stroll.

      BEHIND CLOSED DOORS 

      Behind Closed Doors: I’m the King of my domain-Everyone in the household knows who has the power to tame-They all know what’s in store if they break one of my rules-Left, Right, Uppercut are my favorite peacekeeping tools.

      Behind Closed Doors: What! You got a headache? Hell! Naw, that just won’t do-Whenever I say I’m horny, get busy, if you know what’s good for you-Stupid bitch, you can’t make it on your own without me-And if you try to run away, I’ll find your ass, test me and see.

      Behind Closed Doors: After work I can unwind with a six-pack or two, or three, or four-Everyone in the household walks around on eggshells, they know what’s usually in store-Late at night after I’ve put the old lady to sleep, I’ll creep on down to the little girl’s room and she better not make a peep.

      Behind Closed Doors: I can stuff my face and my feelings ’till I’m satisfied-Then stick my finger down my throat so this behavior I can hide—I’ll start testing my after dinner martini’s a little bit before noon-And if I never make love to my hus-band again, it’ll be too soon.

      Behind Closed Doors: I really hate my parents, because all they do is fight-I’m tired of listening to their screaming at each other all throughout the night-I really hate my mother, because she does nothing, but she has to know what’s going on-She has to wonder what dad’s doing, always coming out of my room at dawn.

      Behind Closed Doors: I’m insecure and afraid I might mess up, but outside I’m tough and mean-I’m driven to perfection, that’s why I’m the best player on the team-I’ll never let anyone see me cry, because that means you’re not a man-My dad calls me weak, but I’ll show him I can be tougher than he can.

      Behind Closed Doors: Violence and abuse has become less the exception, and more the rule-Jerry Springer is not the problem, but a gauge of how far society will go to play the fool-Behind closed doors is not where the cleansing and the healing has to start-It has to start with each one of us, and it has to start within our hearts.

      OLD EYES 

      They watch them carry their lives in grocery baskets full of bottles or cans

      The procession seems endless whether woman or man

      24-7 the sound of baskets creaking never dies

      A

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