Oscar, Oscar, Read all about it!

Hey folks, just a thought: I did not get to watch the Oscars last night but one thing stands clear; Will Smith actually thought he could take on the NFL and still be in the running for an Academy Award.
Clint Eastwood was reported to have commented that it was not about racism that fueled Smith not being nominated, but about the subject matter of criticizing an icon of Americana. Get over yourself Mr. Smith and get back on your horse and continue to do what you do best; play other people.
Yes, football is a violent sport, people get hurt and there are long term consequences for choosing to step out on the field week after week and get the crap kicked out of you. I do not recall seeing anyone put a weapon to Peyton Manning's head and forcing him to create a painfully tough retirement some day. Oh, and tell me Jim McMahon did not realize he might have to suffer the consequences of his actions for choosing to be a blocking dummy for 300 plus pound linemen in an extremely physical and tortuous sport. There is only so much that padding and helmets can do to protect the human frame from harm.
Football is the American form of the gladiatorial epoch where a thumbs up or down is as harmless or damaging as a Siskel and Ebert movie review or a doctor's prognosis for future health consequences. God Bless.

No Name, Just Lonely

Good morning
Good afternoon
Good night
Goodbye
I love you
Sounds so contrived
But you can try
To make it better
When your heart beats faster
Every time a door closes
A window opens
Like a letter
A tail wags
A boy smiles
A man hugs you back
A life fades in the distance
A future waits
In a fog of resistance
But God knows I tried
And that's all that matters.

No name
Because I’m anybody
And nobody
All at the same time
No more anger
No more tears
Like so many
I’m just lonely.

Life gathers
All our failures
Piles them up like empty favors
And promises to do better
But it gives few answers
When a broken heart shatters
And all you have are pieces
To remember
Good mornings
Good afternoons
Good nights
And pleasant dreams.
No name,
Just lonely.

No name
Because I’m anybody
And nobody
All at the same time
No more anger
No more tears
Like so many
I’m just lonely.

One more time
Second chances
It’s all we ask
What we live for
To get it right
When all went wrong
Now I’m nobody
Just lonely.

No name
Because I’m anybody
And nobody
All at the same time
No more anger
No more tears
Like so many
I’m just lonely.

D.A. Wittler ‘16

Bright Stars and Burned Bridges

Late nights like this one
Sometimes cause me to reminisce
About camp fires and bright stars
Under canopy of heaven
But tonight I'm regretting
All the times I was forgetting
To hold you tight in my arms
So now I am staring down
At these old work shoes
But I would rather be sleeping
Facing up to those ancient beacons
Than sitting here singing the blues.

Bright stars are calling
Like memories will do
But love and heart ache
Recall burned bridges
Nights are lonely without you.

As winter progresses
Weather so bitter
Cold creeps in under the covers
Waking up was so much better
When warmth was by my side
But life is about dealing
Without some things sometimes
And I know you have moved on
But I still get the feeling
If I just close my eyes
That it was all just a bad dream
And we can start over
At days end I hope it's true
Those bright stars will reappear
But in reality I know
At dawn
There's only burned bridges.

Bright stars are calling
Like memories will do
But love and heart ache
Recall burned bridges
Nights are lonely without you.

D.A. Wittler 2016