"The Profit of Hate" by John S LES

"Only Man Disturbs Me" by John S LES

"Swallow Your Pride" by John S LES

"What Color Is Hate" by John S LES

"What Color Is Hate"

photo and words by John S LES


Tell me dear brother do you wake up with a angry heart?
Tell me dear sister does your drudgery begin before your day even starts?

Tell me little brother do you wake up climbing a never ending hill?
Tell me little sister do you wake up wanting to swallow a bottle of pills?

Tell me dear father do you struggle to pay the bills?
Tell me dear mother do you panic when your babies get ill?

Did someone on TV, your family, or maybe your town hall...
Did they tell you there's someone to blame  - for once and for all?

Did they teach you, trick you, promise some kind of change?
All they wanted was your vote, money or loyalty in exchange.

Did they blame women, men, white or black, a Protestant or a Jew?
Did they convince you to hate someone - who didn't look like you?

Did they walk your mind down an angry path, for which all logic escapes?
Did they convince you to be your own judge of everyone else's fate?
From all that you learned, did they tell you what color is hate?


Tell me dear brother does this hatred make you feel like a better man?
Tell me dear sister, can you explain everyone's struggles all over the land?

Do you think it's cool to work for less than minimum wage?
How do you think Big Business makes billions in this modern age?

If you think life is so unfair, then run to Heaven's Gate.
Walk up to the alter, cast the angels aside, and please pontificate.

Tell us all - the causes for your oppression, it's not too late.
And when you tell us please explain what is the color of hate.

I leave you with this last thought, and you better believe it's true.
There's someone out there blaming all of their miseries right there on you.

But you're innocent you say - who can blame their hate on thee?
It's because you don't own hatred - it's not your monopoly.

"What Do We Truly Know About Each Other?" by John S LES

"What Do We Truly Know About Each Other?"

by John S LES


What do we truly know about each other?  From our siblings, long time friends or significant others that we may eventually live with, how much time does most of us spend trying to really get to understand one another?  So few times we get to meet someone, a stranger perhaps, that we interact with and feel that we know them and vice versa, better than people who may have known us far, far longer.  Why is that?  What happens in the daily course of our lives that we end up tuning out the very people closest to us?

Of course there are lucky people who do have close friendships, relationships from the beginning of their lives and over the arch of a long time period.  That is definitely a possibility.  But for most of us, it is not the case.  For the majority of us, we only see and react to the person we see in front of us, or the person that is presented to us in the limited light of our conscious observation of them.  It's impossible to know what they may be like when they aren't around us.  Just because you have seen one side of a person, doesn't mean that you've seen all sides of them.

Remember to make time for one another.  Remember to reach out for one another. That goes for your family, friends and significant other.  Social media and mobile devices may allow us to speak with more people consistently, however, we need to remember to also spend some quality time with the people around us.  We need to not get lost in this maelstrom of technology and social overreach.  We need to try to remember to really get to know one another. 

"'Sunshine" by John S LES

"Tears" by John S LES

"Bird Brain"

"Bird Brains"

by John S LES

All over the world most people in just about every culture make fun of the intelligence of birds, yet science has proven otherwise.  Birds are actually quite intelligent.  They are highly organized.  They are all very social.  And recently it has been revealed that they have the reasoning ability of 7 year old children.  They remain the only other species, outside of mammals, that can recognize and understand their own reflection.

A couple weeks ago, I walked through my neighborhood and noticed about 20 pigeons sitting on the telephone wire.  Most of the pigeons were clearly dark grey and black.  Every so often, there would be a pigeon that was clearly a very light grey and white mix.  Yet all of the birds remained huddled together communicating among each other.  I could not help but to think of trying to understand why can't human beings be more like that?  We have two arms, two legs and two eyes.  We are only separated by skin pigmentation.  We should all just have bird brains?  Maybe then we could learn to better get along with each other?

Where did our love go?

"Intersection"

"Intersection"

by John S LES

A house with no people.
Is like a religion with no church or steeple.

A street with no traffic or cars.
Is like a life worth living that has no scars.

A heart with no joys or depression.
Is like a street with no turns or intersection.

Everyday we wake, we never know what happens next.
But we can look around and see the impact of love's true effects.

Love fills a church, builds a steeple, and a choir.
Love propels grown man to cry, another man to aspire.

Love fills a house and a street.
Love fills a heart with a warm perfect heat.

Love feeds a baby, provides a child with a book.
Love can communicate with a simple touch or a look.

Love needs to be fed like a fire for it's flames.
Love never hurts, always forgives and never blames.

Love grows and changes, even can take a new direction.
Love guides us through life's intersections.

Without you I am lost like a ship in a storm.
Your love is the light that guides me back home.

I have no purpose now, I feel like a wing without a feather.
I am hoping that one day love will bring us back together.

Although I am pained and long again for your affection.
Loving you gave me so much direction.
But for now I am lost in this lonely intersection.

"I Love You"

"I Love You"

by John S LES

Whether it's a simple friendship hug or a deep lover's embrace...love means love.  Give someone you love a hug or a kiss...or both.  That gesture will say "I love you".  No matter what language you speak, or even if you cannot speak...your universal gesture will be understood by anyone receiving it.  If you love and appreciate someone in your life, don't wait or hold back to tell them.  Take three minutes in your busy day to do so.