DILLIGAF

Cage free

I've always preferred the late night rides,
Knowing full well there's hidden dangers,
I'm sure that's part of the thrill for me,
That need to walk the edge of a blade,
Then there's the fact of fewer cages at night,
Less worry of the whole I didn't see him saga,
Still eyes focused in front and side to side,
Unseen danger could and would jump into sight,
Tuned into the ride, nature and my thoughts,
The darkness of a moonlit two lane backroads,
The quietness can be overwhelming and welcoming,
Words echoing in my mind from brothers that are gone,
Wisdom from the old ones to memories of rides in the past,
Those night rides are easy for me to get lost,
Away from the chaos, the hustle of life itself,
There's times songs play over and over again in my head,
Other times it's the deafening silence that comforts me,
The smells are different, crisper without all the cages,
From the pines to the sweet grass and the late night chill,
Every twist in the road is more exciting to me,
Be it the mountains the valleys the badlands or desert,
Night rides suit me best for many reasons,
It's an excitement that I've only found in the am hours...

When it comes down to it any day on two wheels is another beautiful day but I'd never trade the peace I've found in the midnight hours for the sunshine and cager filled highways.

Chief 7/10/05

Apparitions

Throughout my life I've been blessed by some older souls,
People I've known solely because of two wheels,
They're not the type you'll meet walking down a busy street,
They're wanderers, vagabonds, the outcast from society,
They kept to themselves and never sought recognition,
Each one embraced the obscurity two wheels can provide,
Each one had wisdom they often spoke to me,
About life the road and some on a personal level,
Each one an artistic being that I could relate too,
From their pieced together rides to their weathered clothes,
You could see the years etched upon their skin,
To the deepness in their eyes that spoke louder than words,
Even when they did speak it wasn't wasted words,
No small talk no religion no politics no bs,
Every word came from personal experience,
From war to addiction and way too many losses,
And when they spoke of brothers and friendship,
The smiles and light in their eyes touched my soul,
Kindred spirits is how I seen every one of them,
These are the ones I felt connected with in every way...

I've known from a very young age that without these two wheels I would have never met any of them.
So to say I'm blessed is an understatement but for the lack of words that's what I'll stick with.
I know as time goes on the wanderers the vagabonds and outcast become less and less.
Road tramps two wheeled gypsies are slowly becoming apparitions of the wind.

Chief 7/10/01

Venerate

Can you hear the thunder,
Feel it in your chest,
A serpent of steel,
Weaving in and out,
Down that asphalt path,
How it must appear,
Speeding past the observers,
25,50,75 strong,
Side by side,
From the first to the last,
A parade of colors,
Glimmers of chrome,
Different shades of men,
Denim and leather bound,
A taste of freedom,
Which few have known,
Echoes of that v-twin song,
Here today tomorrow gone,
Like days of past,
When warriors roamed,
Where the sword ruled,
Crowds roared,
At the spectacle of it all,
Painted steeds
Rollin down those back roads,
Adventure seekers,
Risk takers,
Heathens, misfits & outlaws,
Men tested in flames,
Battle born,
Hardened with time,
A different breed,
Cut from a different cloth,
Each one not quite the same,
To the average they appear lost,
They can't see the freedom,
The need to be unchained,
A group of wayward souls,
A band of brothers,
That can't be broken,
Here in this world or the next,
Respect is earned,
Loyalty is returned,
So they ride,
To honor those long gone...

Chief 7/19/01

leave the light on...

This old chopper ain't easy on the bones,
My hands are cramped my back is sore,
My legs are numb from my ass to my toes,
All these miles this old machine has carried me,
There's been some ups and some unforseen downs,
From annoying leaks & head gaskets blowouts,
Wasted tr**ny gears to bent pushrods,
Rebuilt it all along some old two lane road,
Been a time or two I've depended on the locals,
Even got home cooked meals and a warm bed now & then,
Sometimes it was duct tape & bailing wire,
It got me down the road to a few friendly shops,
Places not plastered in the magazines and tv ads,
Good ol boys & backwoods fixes with a handshake and a smile,
Down the road i went again chasin that white line,
No destination no time limit no hurry on the open road,
Still this old hardtail takes its toll on my bones,
A small price to pay while seeking a freedom of different sorts,
Mainly from myself and the wars inside my head,
Through it all there's one thing that's made it easier,
That one that always said I'll leave the light on for ya,
That thought has always put a smile on my mug,
Even in the worst situation ive had that ace in my pocket...

Chief 5/17/99

Words to the wind

I'd rather get lost in the obscurity of the highway than trudge through the muck of modern day society...

On these two lanes it really is pretty simple,
Sure there's the occasional harassment from leo's,
Maybe a break down or two or simply the soreness of age,
Hell even the weather can change plans right quick,
All of that is nothing to the madness I see in today's world,
The hatefulness the lack of brotherly love,
The fakeness from the pulpit to the streets,
Than again what the hell do I know anyway,
A simple man who's ambition is watching that 19 spin,
Someone who avoids the majority as much as I can,
Just tryin to keep my own in a row and movin forward,
Doin my best to be a little better than I was yesterday,
After all i can't change the past but I've learned from it,
I've always found that two lanes clears my head,
Allows me to breathe a freshness within my soul,
Troubles come and go much like mile markers along those roads,
Nothing is forever as much as it seems to be,
A little twist of the wrist and it's like a new day,
Different places different roads different faces,
All blending into the obscurity of the open highway,
Where simplicity and complexity dance together,
Something to be felt where words can't properly explain,
Then again maybe I'm just stuck in my head,
Searching for my own version of the ride I desire,
Throwing words in the wind as this vtwin sings her song,

Chief 4/21/16

The best you can.

He said when he came back he thought everything had changed,
That everyone he knew seemed different in one way or another,
Like the country wasn't the same and he was a foreigner,
Said he felt lost even though the buildings were all the same,
The park where he and all the neighborhood kids played,
The old baseball field where he hit his first and only home run,
Everything about his home town was the same except the people,
Said they all spoke to him differently than before,
How he could see the uncertainty in their eyes,
The uneasiness in their voice every time he said good morning..

Then one night in a drunken rage he realized it was him,
He had changed so much that he didn't even recognize himself,
That war took all the good in him and spit it out,
Stripped him of any innocence and good intent,
It left an anger that he himself didn't understand,
A constant paranoia that was slowly eating him,
Vision of a past that he couldn't get away from,
Even in his sleep they'd push their way into the light,
Leaving him huddled in a corner shaking as tears ran like rivers,
So bad that even the drugs and booze couldn't bring him peace..

We sat next to that fire for what seemed liked days,
I barely even spoke a word just listened to his pain,
I couldn't count how many times he thanked me,
But every time I told him no need I was just thankful for his company,
Watching him stare at that empty bottle by his feet,
Feeling the tremors in his hands as he lit another cigarette,
Never once did I try to imagine what he'd been through,
Because I was seeing what that war had done to him,
Affects that I would never wish upon anyone,
All I could do was sit there and keep him company..

I remember waking up to a song he was singing,
I watched him wrap that empty bottle in his bed wrap,
I asked him what's the deal with that old bottle,
He said it was the bottle that he had finished a long time ago,
A reminder that sober was better than drunk and raging,
He wore a smile as he said it and somehow that touched me,
Gave me a feeling that even in the darkness he found some light,
I never judged him for the darkness he carried inside,
That was because I seen the goodness he wore like an old coat,
It suited him well and I took great delight in that..

The two of us rode many miles together that summer,
Stopping in little towns where he met old friends,
People who treated him like he was some sort of savior,
We sat around tables filled with laughter and heartfelt smiles,
So many asked if he still carried around that old bottle,
With the biggest smile he'd say yep and it's still empty,
Every time we'd depart it was tears and hugs and see you later,
By the end of that summer I was amazed at the love he gave,
How he had helped so many with one addiction or another,
All while carrying the pain of a war he never asked for..

To quote the man.....it's not what you've been through it's about dealing with right now the best you can.

Chief 2/25/11

Gone gone gone

December came and went,
A lonely cold on these old roads,
Chasin the sun southern bound,
Singin that old v-twin song,

April showers kept me movin on,
Seeking some old coastal town,
Just like that I was lost & found,
Two lanes got me gone gone gone,

Here today come tomorrow I'm gone,
These two wheels keep goin round,
Never lost and never found,
I'm just tryin to get gone...

August in the northern skies,
Surrounded by the colored pines,
Fields of hope and hearty songs,
Lost again in the crops of life,

Septembers here once again,
Orange and golden browns,
Times are changin like the seasons,
Now the summers gone gone gone,

Here today come tomorrow I'm gone
And I'm still chasin that sun,
Stuck in that lost & found,
You can color me gone...

That northern wind at my back,
There's a horizon just ahead,
Still chasin that settin sun,
These two lanes got me gone gone gone,

Two wheels keep me goin,
V-twin songs keep me movin,
The rise and fall of that sun,
Keeps me gone gone gone...

Chief 2/15/91

Seeking...

I've gotten lost in the smoke and flames,
Wandered through memories amongst the stars,
Ridin with ghost on those old two lanes,
Found myself on top of a steed of steel and chrome,
I've let the throttle taste my rage and pain,
Listened to that v-twin sing of better days,
Thunder screaming from her pipes of chrome,
Echoing the struggles I lost in my rear view mirror,
I've been all alone in a room full of people,
Sat at tables filled with strangers that felt like family,
Two wheels have carried me to places unknown,
Yet those places felt like a long lost home,
I've waited out the storms with nothing to prove,
Watched life pass mile marker after mile marker,
Shared a campfire with wandering spirits the same,
Partaken in the lost art of minding my own,
Listened to the sad songs of the broken hearted,
Seen firsthand the kindness no one talks about,
Out here where the rubber meets the old roads,
Where two wheels and a smile can start a conversation,
Been abnormal my whole life and often shunned,
But out here there is no normal and no need to belong,
Just a simple desire and a v-twin vision of freedom...

The wayward life isn't for everyone,
Different places and different faces,
Where everything changes day to day,
The great unknown is the destination i seek.

Chief 7/18/03

Still rollin

I've been ridin these old roads for so long,
There's times I get lost like I'm ridin in space,
Away and beyond any and everything,
But that's just my mind and my desire,

Different places and different campfires.
Same machine same leathers same old me,
A little older a little sorer a little more tired,
New sunsets same old stars these wheels keep rollin on,

Whiskey river...in the bottle,
Too much time for me to think,
Whiskey river...in the bottle,
Wontcha flow right into me,

I can't deny the rush from chasin that white line,
Me and those wheels spin right out of control,
Lookin to get lost and that's what I've always found,
Just a twist of that wrist and I'm rollin down that line,

Different states filled with strange faces,
Gettin to where I don't even recognize my reflection,
A little thinner a little older weather worn,
Ridin that white line wideopen straight to hell,

Co***ne train...ridin those rails,
Another line for me to chase,
Co***ne train...ridin those rails,
Poundin one more spike,

Been out here for ever or so it seems,
Same old machine a whole different me,
I've learned a thing or two chasin different lines,
Me and those chrome rims keep rollin on,

Whiskey river...done run dry,
Plugged the jug one last time,
Co***ne train...made its last stop,
Ridin those rails ain't the same,

Whiskey river...cocaine train,
Livin that life damn near killed the best of me,
Yet here I am on this old blacktop,
Twistin my wrist like there ain't no tomorrow,
Ridin those highs avoidin those lows,
No more crazy train no more swimmin in the bottle...

Chief 10/17/03

Second hand parts...

We didn't have much,
Just an old garage and well used tools,
No lifts no internet no real direction,
Just some wore out manuals and undeniable desires,
We had dirty hands and second hand parts,
But we learned everything about our machines,
The do's and don't what will and what won't,
Now and then we even did what they said couldn't be done,
I'll admit some ideas were crazy even bizarre,
But we put them all to the test more than once,
Sometimes we didn't have the this or that's,
There was no ordering online or running around the corner,
We forged it, bent it, welded it and salvaged it,
We poured our blood, sweat and hearts into them,
As well as each other as time went on,
Don't get me wrong being the sort of young men we were,
Hardheaded and already set in our ways,
Yes there was a lot of vulgar words exchanged,
Backhanded comments and quick tempered attitudes,
Sometimes it had to be settled with a roll in the dirt,
But at the end of the day we became stronger for it,
Through it all we made unbreakable bonds,
Between brothers and the machines we rode,
The payoffs outweighed the struggles,
And after all was said and done we rode side by side,
Like we owned those old roads,
A band of dirty greasy heathens hell bent,
Atop of machines made of chrome dreams fueled by unstoppable passions...

Chief 9/21/11

Sunrise/Sunset

I've watched this sunrise time and time again from behind these bars,
Sitting on top of a machine made of painted steel and chrome,
Every time I watched that sunrise certain words echoed in my head,
Someone along the way said hell you never had a chance...

Fathered by a man who wore that diamond right to his death,
Birthed by a woman who didn't want me then or ever it seemed,
Passed along like a burden a bad omen some have said,
A bad seed and I wore that thought out time and time again...

Even when I was given a chance by someone who had no motives,
An angel it seemed I still took advantage of her kindness,
Made her life hell regardless of her love and open heart,
My earliest memories are of how I longed to ramble on...

With age came new opportunities and machines,
Long and lean topped with a leather king and queen,
That longing to ramble was a desire I couldn't deny,
What I felt on that open road was something I'd never experienced...

Different places different faces welcomed a different me,
The storms the beauty the changes overwhelmed me,
Sun kissed and storm battered symptoms of rambling fever,
Bound to those two lane roads chasing white line dreams...

Some say they didn't choose it instead it chose them,
Well I believe I was born with it beating in my chest,
Pumping through my veins a driving force,
A passion a desire a need that needed to be fed...

So here I sit watching another beautiful sunset,
Atop of my trusted steed of painted steel and chrome,
Letting the view I see drown out the voices in my head,
Being grateful for the opportunity to ramble on and on...

Chief 5/21/07