The Collective Obligation

GODS AND GHOSTS From the prince to the pauper From the jester to the queen From the peasant to the privileged Its the way it’s always been Its all the self appointed Gods Who take what once was free And sell us back our freedoms Like it was theirs to give or keep_ The ghosts write speeches for the statesmen Who are bought and sold by Gods Who promise wealth and substance But the substance is the fraud Wealth is just a state of mind For gold is just a stone The wealth is in the masses Oh, if the masses only spoke__ Gods and Ghosts, Gods and Ghosts   The money floats in rivers To the self-appointed Gods Who were painted in by righteous clowns By a godless server's chore  Lies live inside imbeciles The Gods refuse to see Oblivious aristocrats   …. As judgment falls on thee__   The ghost writes for the faces Whom the Gods have choose Who chose to play the orator For the masses far removed Sp...

    Some of my best friends and I have lived this, marched in this, wrote songs about this, protested in city halls and universities about this 50 years ago.    I am so very disappointed that nothing, absolutely nothing we attempted to create within our Counter Culture movement succeeded in creating a lasting enlightenment of consciousness for the people in this country.    In my world, I was proud to stand on the shoulders of my creative and enlightened mentors such as Dylan, Lennon, Baez and scores of other musicians who took a stand and lifted up the moral compass and took their hits from the bigots and haters while alienating themselves from half of their fans who refused to learn, grow and rise up into the same enlightenment.    With this being said,  I am calling out my musician friends, my film maker friends my fellow poets and social activist friends to rise up and pull your heads out of the sand!    Stop worrying abou...