Baby, I love you...
Those were the words I thought I said.
Maybe... I never said them, but I thought them inside my head.
I love you, even though I never showed it in the things I would do.  
Maybe... I never showed it because I assumed you always knew.
I know now that I should have shown my love every single day.
Maybe... if I did,  you would have never gone away.
I left you alone with evicted feelings and never offered you my hand.
I never considered your feelings or that our love would ever end.
Love is a reciprocal thing that takes two lovers to make it work.
Maybe...if I had shown more love you would've known what yours was worth.

© 2015 Eddie K. Phillips

It seems that down in the land of cotton  
Past lynchings and rapes have been forgotten  
Flags wave proud as symbols of hate
Over Civil War graves of forgotten fates  
Jails fill up with young black dreams  
Racist bureaucrats still ignore their screams  

While we look away, look away; from Dixie Land  

Boldness grows at each passing season  
Hateful traditions continue for no reason  
Blacks run down because of inherited color  
An ancient blood feud stirs anger white brothers  
Gun stockpiles are filled by bigoted men  
As they wait for a racial war to begin  

While we look away, look away; from Dixie Land  

Conservative cries of democratic treason  
Fox News stokes the fire of ignorant reason  
There are separate proms and stupid illicit alibis  
The black boogieman stalks the dances they cry  
In truth miscegenation is their overall fear  
They corrupt their daughters to keep them near  
Blacks belong separate like the animals in the field 
50 years after Birmingham and still they won't yield  

While we look away, look away; from Dixie Land  

A white girl boldly dresses in a confederate flag
She gets angry because the blacks get so mad  
George Wallace's words are shown in her fervor  
"Segregation now, tomorrow; and forever!"  
History is forgotten and hope lies in repose  
As the black death toll rises and everyone knows  
Murdered black children are shot for causing strife 
Still in Dixie there is no cost for the loss of black life  

While we all look away, look away; from Dixie Land  

Confederate ghosts scream warnings of the Dixie long gone  
Reminding us all about what comes from these wrongs:  
Dixie!  Sweet Dixie!  We have been here before!  
We gave up our lives but still you ignore!  
Racism is a viper that eats at the soul  
It swallows; it turns, as it devours you whole  
Remember the lives shed in this land of cotton  
The blood stained grounds that you have forgotten  
Take down that flag and remember the South  
Remember what sacrifice and glory is about  
Trouble is rising and the Lord's judgment will stand...

While you look away, look away; from Dixie Land

© 2013 Eddie Phillips

Nightly subconscious worries flutter in the dark
Whispers of financial ruin pull at my resting heart
Maniacal government poachers, are looking for the quick kill
Destroying innocent families, ignoring the blood they spill
Property values are in the toilet, gas prices tip the scales
Money is less and tighter; soon all our finances will fail

Whatever happened to brotherhood?  
When we looked to give others a hand

Whatever happened to unity?
We held each other so we all could stand

I am simmering in my cauldron; my hope dies in the night
With little faith to stoke my fire; I feel I am losing the light
My children are hungry; I work hard but it’s never enough
Obama's program gave me a cell; it keeps my family in touch
Everyone is struggling; the countries dissidence is on the rise
It seems Congress no longer cares if any of us survive

Yet, I will not lose my hope in God; he has kept us all this time
When prices go up and down he retains my peace of mind
Somewhere in the bible it says: The Just shall live by faith!"
I know this to be true; God has not taken us for sake
So if brotherhood is gone and no one will lend a hand
If the unity of man blows away like the fleeting sand
Lean on the word of God, it is stronger then any man
His mercy is dependable; with his power you can stand

© 2013 Eddie Phillips

They said Berry died...
I don't know how to feel inside
We rode together for over 2 years
We shared stories and our lives

Berry wasn't anything special
To be honest, he was just like me
He was just a simple ordinary soldier
He believed in the land of the free

When things got bad he pushed me
Berry kept a lot of us alive
Yet, he said he wasn't a hero
He just wanted us all to survive

I carried his bloody body
I just wanted to get him back
I watched as Doc treated him
I saw all the wounds from the attack

It was Berry's third tour over here
Fighting in a cauldron of burning mess
Watching madmen kill half the populace
While we did our best to save the rest

I will miss my good friend Berry
Yet, I don't really have time to grieve
We are rolling again this morning
We have to chase down a few leads

Everyone is achingly quiet
The same thing is on all our minds
Maybe we will be like Berry
Shot down in our prime

We can't afford much time to think about it
There is still months left on our time
All we can do is watch each others back
Just like Berry once watched over mine.

© 2013 Eddie Phillips