Poetry is my double-edged sword
A talk with Satan -- a talk with the Lord
Teardrops inks -- from my freedom stick
It won’t allow me -- to tell a lie
That’s both a blessing and a curse
It’s forced me to live
And has helped me to die
Harden words that need to be heard
But not all -- will hear them right
Lessons learned after love has been burned
Clear vision coming only in hindsight
I write knowing that my story
Will never paint my face
I know that I owe it to others
To not just pass through without leaving a trace

Poetry is my poison and my antidote
I read my own -- to teach me what I already knew
Unrelieved trues of my love for you
Unproven allegation of hearts -- that supposedly I tried to woo
A helter-skelter run through my heart
Victims -- subjects -- and witnesses -- I have all their eyes
Self-incrimination is not a worry to me
Because I believe all of my own lies

Fear has no home inside of me
I write like tomorrows my death date
Others try not to shake anything up
While I don’t care if I start an earthquake
My freedom stick etches the thin tree bark
Recording forever this journey of mine
My poetry is a double-edged sword
That will cut us all in due time
My poetry is me and all of my contents
It's all that lives in both my heart and my mind
My poetry is the broken law
My life is my punishment -- writing is how I pay my fine

Charles Garner