I Wonder Fire ranged throughout the West again this summer though the drought of recent years had finally broke. We watched and prayed for autumn wind’s returning to bring the quenching rains and clear away the smoke. And I wonder do the children think it’s normal as the Earth becomes a harsher place to dwell and their parents cannot grapple with a future where their children will grow up in living hell. It had been so dry some trees died way too early and insects took some others that were weak. Our cherries didn’t bear much fruit midsummer early spring brought blossoms that frost caught at their peak. And I wonder if technology can save trees If we build more solar, might they still survive? And if so, what of tortoises and herons? With such changes, what will keep us all alive? The cold snaps of last winter froze much deeper as a polar vortex shifted to the south We never knew if wells might freeze in our mild climate At least it once was mild, now mildness is in doubt And I wonder when the sparrows come in springtime Will the find the food they need to raise their young Will these changes to the seasons make it harder to survive Until one day, the sparrows don’t return Autumn storms last year brought us more flooding They raged like hurricanes along the coast When rainfall in rain forests sets new records We know that Autumn’s more severe than most And I wonder who or what might come to change this? Can restore a life in balance once again? Instead of floods & fire & drought & polar melting And what’s to come if we don’t bring this to an end?

The Times (Are Still) A’ Changing oh the times they were a’ changin’, an Aquarian age was nigh we’d share our Love, give Peace a chance, and naturally, be high while we were busy changin’ the world seemed to pass on by still the seeds of change were planted and we’re keeping them alive our grandmothers and our mothers demanded their equality for women’s rights to their own bodies, to shape their own destinies though this struggle’s far from over, gender norms were redefined and we all enjoy more freedoms because women spoke their mind 1970s brought a sea change, a holiday to honor Earth we’d end pollution and dominion, honor She who gives life birth and though we’re still destructive, we’ve now learned and understand if we don’t restore a balance, it will be the end of humans Freedom Riders, at lunch counters, water fountains, separate schools peoples forced to come in slavery rose against the racist rule and while racist ways continue, we now call them out in shame to be silent is complicit, racism cannot remain the First Peoples of these lands were killed and starved and left for poor Wounded Knee and Alcatraz brought new awareness, now I’m sure solidarity with Standing Rock, another step to make this right and show respect for these proud peoples, to restore their human rights a gay uprising at Stonewall in defiance of the hate that shamed & beat & jailed for love, now the tide had turned though late gays with pride and lesbians marched, now everyone can wed share their lives in live, shunning hatred now instead from coops to solar power, Black Lives Matter to daycare from freeing us from gender norms, teaching children that we share in year’s gone by since Dylan’s song, our seeds of change bore fruit we now pass these to the young ones, to be brave and speak the truth seeds of peace, seeds of justice, seeds of strong community these were carried through the Sixties, now they’re our humanity giving hope, demanding change, many people though many years as we strive for better worlds, choosing meaning over fears

May the Trees Still Remember (12/30/19) D G From the prairies of my youth where the bison were all disappeared D A And the people I come from drove others from land that they cleared D G To this coast ancient forests once thrived in this place where I dwell D A D (D7) Seems like heaven for people, for salmon their hot streams are hell ch. G D Here’s to the wolf, may it once again roam in the wood G A A7 Here’s to the meadowlark building its nest where highways and houses once stood D G Here’s to those people who care about more than they own D A D May the trees still remember one day when the humans are gone When I think of 8 billion, I’m thinking of those who’ve grown rich In our world full of plunder, some plunder as if scratching an itch they’re only one symptom of the billions this planet now feeds if we were cells in our body, a doctor would call us diseased Some believe paradise awaits them with silver and gold For others it’s places they travel before they’re too old Some think paradise is past (or) paradise is what we create It’s always been here, just more of it lost everyday from dinosaurs fallen, to fungi that for eons remain passenger pigeons are gone, birds still sport dinosaur brains Earth’s history is written of species that changed or were lost you might think that we’re different, that won’t matter when we’re paying the cost

Filters (MLK Day, 2020) We’ve all got filters, they seem so real someone reminds me of another, sometimes it’s just the way I feel that sets my filters, but they trap us in while at times they can protect us, more often pain is caused again because of filters there’s old, there’s young, there's where we’re from, our gender, our sex as well our shade of skin, what we‘re believing in, our privilege, looks, our wealth are used as filters, there’s yours, there’s mine many passed from our ancestors, others learned so we survive this world of filters, telling us what’s right, but maybe there’s much more of us hidden out of sight because of filters there’s kind, there’s rude, our pains, our moods that we seldom understand there’s what we know, what we’ve been told, what’s acceptable or banned sometimes just filters we see as truths but if we find success or end up a mess, it’s partly up to me and you how we use filters, they can separate, to not accept what seems too different though we’ve also felt the fate of all these filters there’s left and right, there’s peace and might, there’s different points of view I guess we’ll never change this, perhaps sometimes we’ll choose to drop our filters so we can see, to recognize the heart and soul of others when we meet then tune our filters toward harmony, in some moments or in our lifetimes find ways we can be free from all these filters, come to accept without these filters create some peace without our filters

Dancing revolution (1-30-2020) key of G G C G It’s troubled times we live in, there’s troubled times we’ve known G A7 D Troubled times in Washington, troubled times at home G C G This might help us not to lose hope, when we see more wrong than right C G D G Cause there’s plenty of troubles all around, (there’s) plenty of ways to fight C G We can dance, create a dancing revolution D G G7 We can sing, singing out for joy and for change C G There’s much that I am sad/mad about, sometimes I want to drink and pout D D7 G But I’ll be damned if those assholes have their way There’s danger in the White House, a bully and a liar He’ll grab you, hurt you, smear your name, he’ll set this world on fire It’s up to us to stand strong, resist all that we can Help those in need, take to the streets, and here’s some more to plan We can dance…. This planet’s needs to cool down and there’s babies thrown in jail Drones and bombs kill families, there’s poisons in our wells Millions work in poverty, the well-to-do don’t care There’s lots to do, but party too, so it’s not just a nightmare When you can dance…

Share The Dream (capo 2, C F G) If we share the dreams of Dr. King, it takes a little more than it might seem He gave his life for those who pick up our trash There’s a whole lot more than saying I believe, and even more than what’s been achieved With a walk each year, but mostly sitting on our ass it takes blocking roads, boycotting stores, getting thrown in jail, risking so much more the privileged seldom give voluntarily, said Dr. King we’re probably part of the problem if we’re not poor , we fool ourselves cause at our core is devotion to our god called property anytime I’ve listened to his words, its not green investments, not traveling the world he said go confront injustice in the USA if you can’t go, pay for those who can, forego your remodel, that’d be a stand because if you’re not helping then you’re likely in the way he said we’ll block the roads, boycott the stores, get thrown in jail, risk so much more the privileged seldom give voluntarily, said Dr. King check ourselves on issues if we’re not poor, don’t fool ourselves when at the core we devote our lives to our god called property Dr. King was for action, put ourselves on the line, oppose oppression, suffer at times, from a place of love and learning all we can he said negotiate but if that don’t work, you’ve got to bring out the tensions we all submerge beware liberals will try to thwart your plans when you block the roads, boycott the stores, are thrown in jail, risk so much more they’re not going to give up power voluntarily, said Dr. King we could be part of the problem when we’re not poor we profess beliefs but at the core we give little to justice, and most to property it’s easy to say that I agree something must be done with inequality but disregard where my life fit sin such a scheme it’s a convenient myth I’ve earned our way, pulled myself up, others have to change so everyone can realize their dreams almost nobody measures up to Dr. King, but most of us try to realize his dream of erasing divisions based on color of skin if you listen deeper when King would speak, he demands economic equality all workers and all with barriers to begin it takes blocking roads, boycotting stores, get tossed in jail, risk so much more to get us to give up part of what we believe that we’re entitled if we’re not poor if you scratch the surface maybe at the core we invest much of our lives toward property “When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.” “True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.” Dr. King – A Time to Break Silence

What’s Happening (summer 2017) capo 2 There’s a plague across this land scarred by centuries of death And clowns in ties and gowns are set to plunder what remains Don’t give in to feeling desperate, don’t let outrage rob our breath Build hope and trust, community, let Love our refrain ch. I cry Mercy, what’s happening? Shine your light, the dark is on the rise Speak Truth, to what’s happening Amidst the selfish and the prejudice and violence on the rise ‘Cause there’s some sickness in our people who would let such hatred in Our fears seem real, but its virtual disconnection from the heart Our minds are fed, we’re media-fed by what causes us divide It’s us and them, our enemies set out like scripted parts ch. It’s like Survivor in the White House, apprenticed to a privileged host Of cancerous lust and power, but without a thoughtful mind If freedom hangs in balance, we’ll need to keep our spirits strong And teach and lead and heal and sing that others also find ch.