War!

Where are you going
Little man
Pail and shovel
In your hand
Ready to build
Castles in the sand..
Build dreams of far away lands

Where are you going
My young man
Off to war
To take a stand
In another mans land
Tearing down castles
Made of sand

Where are you going
Child of grace
Wrapped in a flag
Trying to retrace,
What happened
To your dreams..
They've been washed away!
Like the sands of time.

Phyllis Nikbakht
Mar. 10, 05

The Land of Nowhere on the Edge of There!

The Land of Nowhere
Is on the edge of There
Where no one has a name
And no one has a care
They are all little people
Who act and think the same
With no imagination
With no gain to fame.

But that was their village
And their way of life
Trying to bring change
Would cause great strife
Why bring chaos
To a peaceful situation
With such small minds
There could be deprivation

When along came a stranger
Who was glib and cunning
Immediately he began spinning
All kinds of colours
Mesmerizing their simplicity
Taking control of their minds
Breaking down their resistance
Taking charge of their land!

Slowly but surely
Unrest started to arise
They all became cranky
Tears filled their eyes
They couldn't see the picture
That was being painted
And that their lives was being tainted

By lies and deception
By slight of hand
By the Lyre being played
In the Pied Pipers Band
And so they danced
Till they all fell down
And on the Fool they placed the crown

He spun and spun, till out of control
And no one helped
That Poor Fool
They let him create
His own demise
He was measured by wisdom
Not by the size
Of his own wisdom

So what would happen
If it were you or me
Would we understand
Could we really see
The cruelties of life
And what life has done
To people who march
To a different drum

Will they drown
Will they founder
Can they no longer
Hold on to beliefs
Of freedom from oppression

Phyllis Nikbakht
Jan. 18, 05

 Deception!

In a memory of misty darkness
I saw you flit across the shadows of my mind
In total bewilderment, I tried to reach you-but
In the darkness you were just too hard to find!

You wore disguise of mask , that played the clown
A cloak to hide what should be seen:
On your head a crown of crusted gold
To shut out all that really should have been

Blindly you went searching for a truth
A meaning for a feeling and a thought:
In this lifetime you won't ever find it-so
You'll wonder why answers can't be bought

An answer that will set your mind at ease
To make you care, to set your conscience free
To burn away the slag of discontent
And through the minds eye to see

Phyllis Nikbakht
1990