(I've always loved the smell of those pink puff mimosa tree blossoms and the frondsy branches that offer such pleasant shade. This tree inspired me to think about life, death and purpose; it inspired me to dream.) , Summerhill dreams you belong to me Sitting beneath the Mimosa tree lazy as lazy as lazy can be under this flowering tree. I had a dream that I was dead: Thousands of flowers up over my head What were they mourning,what did they see? How could my soul be free? When I awakened to glorious day I opened my eyes in a wondering way Summerhill, summerhill, summerhill dreams under this flowering tree. (My heart, like my father's, is attached to a faucet; music triggers the tears. Music makes a direct link to the soul. Perhaps we should not be so ashamed of tears, but value them as gems of relief, release and hope.) Poor unattended heart, you are so young I fear, but now the dam is breaking The waters are all bending near; And it's flooding into tears again… and it's flooding into tears again. When the night sky is rolled out and the stars all take their bows Then the world is just a lullaby, the tearing heart will die; And it's drowning in the blackness of night… and it's drowning in the blackness of night. So I sing this song for you, old or young as you may be; For emotions are a blessing, not some curse to ignore then toss away For tears are the songs of our hearts, and each trickle is another brand new start. Poor unattended heart, you are so young I fear. But now the dam is breaking, the waters are all bending near. And it's flooding into tears again and it's flooding into tears of joy. (This song came to me when I was a senior in high school. We moved frequently when I was a child and I had learned that even in the midst of change, there are some things that don't have to change. I also experienced and still continue to experience growing pains.) Life is full of comes and goes, what if's and maybe so's; made to last and built to stay, only to fade away. But something keeps you going, a fire, inside of you glowing… Chorus Simple laughter in a quiet room, open hearts beneath a staring moon. Wisdom spoken through a heart that's found its source. Finding something that you'd thought was lost, feeling from you heart despite the cost, finding meanings when the meanings seem so vague… Now you sigh, you have to go. Oh, how you love them so. Through pains and joys they've watched you grow, so much they'll never know, and now you're out here all alone, searching for something that's all your own. Chorus Some day it seems so long ago, faces that you should know, so many things have come to pass, all in a looking glass. But some things still remain the same, some things just never change, never Chorus Life is full of comes and goes, what if's and maybe so's made to last and built to stay, only to fade away… (Ron Kenny, my high school drama instructor,took a class period one day to share a life experience he called the "abyss" with his students. His talk prepared me to meet the future and motivated me to write this song several years later. Thank you, Mr. Kenney.) It isn't easy to find the path when you haven't got a light. And sometimes it gets so lonely that nothing's worth the fight. And about the time you need someone, it seems like no one's there. And there's no one that you can trust and no one who cares, Then where do you go, and what do you do? Do you turn it into bitterness; do you turn it into spite? Do you turn it into something less than dignity and pride? Do you smear it in the faces of the ones you love the most, then hate yourself for what you've done, and who you've hurt, and what you've become, and are you down to where you hate to be? And down there in this pit you've made are you even more alone Have you lost the heart that makes the home, and everything between? Don't you wonder why you're here or need I even say? Who told you you could hurt and why are you this way? Well, life's too short; it's time to step away… From empty old self pity and a slew of sad affairs, and revenge you plan to get one day and those bitter angry tears, See, the world just isn't perfect and it doesn't turn 'round you, but if you could turn your thoughts around to see how much you've learned, I think you'd find it's really not so bad. No, it isn't always easy And it isn't always fair And it doesn't really matter, Whether or not you care, But if you could turn a trembling lip Into a glowing smile, If you could touch a lonely hand Then you'd be less lonely too. Learn to trust again, learn to share, Look at the wonders That can be worked through you… (Broken communication, broken hearts, broken relationships and broken lives; somehow we can grow up, through, out of and into them...if we are open to a greater plan.) I was singing free style, singing for a small crowd, chasing time frills with my lines… with my lines. Until I spied a one smile, looking at my one face, and I sang to it as I seldom do. Chorus Have you ever seen a face in the middle of a crowd that you want to know? Did you walk right up, did you look into his eyes, did you tell him so? Didn't he know? A songbird's gentle wisdom, was echoed in his one smile, on a shadow reaching out through his eyes, through his eyes. But as I came to know it, the shadow turned to sadness and the gentleness of hope turned to dust. Chorus We came to speak as strangers, and words were lost as dangers and the silences grew warm with the days, with the days The frost was quickly melting, the geese were winging northward and I smiled at the changes of the earth. Chorus (So many people experiencing pain...so many hands available to heal...so many missed opportunities...so many people helping...so much hidden, waiting to be revealed...to each one of us, in each one of us) Sometimes I wonder if it really does exist or is it just a lie that we live by? I know it must exist… I've felt it… somewhere. Tiny baby your breathing is like a fading breeze, your mother's on her knees, she's crying. And no one else is there to hold her, or comfort her. A young man is sitting on the corner of a street. what does he know of life? And yet he thinks of death, and thrusts a metal blade, into his heart, broken long ago… Don't worry young child though your daddy's gone away He may come back some day; just close your eyes and dream, that if it does exist it will find you someway… Somewhere I've seen it in the gentleness of eyes, in the tenderness of sighs, I've heard its voice. It's waiting for a hand, to touch a hand, and warm it... some way… somehow… (When I was in the second grade living in Brockport, New York, I took a walk with my friend, Stephanie. We walked to a store that was a good distance from home, maybe two miles, to buy rubberband balsa airplanes. I think that vivid memory might have been the inspiration for this rebellious and whimsical little fantasy.) It was dark; no one there, wet and warm was the midnight air And the grass was kind, to my feet, rain fell down in a gentle beat… on that midnight walk. I saw a man with a shriveled up face and a basket full of apples that smelled sort of out of place. He was carrying a kitten with two very lovely teeth, when I reached into his basket it said "Six pence please"… on that midnight walk. I gazed on high where the stars do shine, a myriad of twinkles in a child's nursery rhyme, And the old blue moon hummed a very mellow tune as it grinned down long on the big lagoon… on that midnight walk. I saw a frog failing off a lily pad. It landed on its head with a big kersplash and it came up saying "Brr, what an icy chill! I must have been a silly one to take that spill"… on that midnight walk. A frisky raccoon waddled up to the lagoon and he smiled soft and friendly to a snobby-looking fish. Then he pulled out a spoon with a shiny silver tip, and he put the fish upon it and he eased it to his lips… on that midnight walk. Then right before me stood two bright lights, as evil and as vicious as a crocodile's eyes saying, "Is that you? My you've wandered far. You really mustn't go by yourself darling dear" … on a midnight walk. (Just contemplating two stubborn people and wondering which is more powerful, pride or love?) Sitting on separate sides we are, waiting to hear the telephone ring, Aren't we the perfect couple now, the way we're supposed to be? We used to say that we'd never fight, that was the side we always could hide, Now here we sit in unison, alone on separate sides. Chorus Pick up the phone, pick up the phone, please pick up the phone and call me… call me. Why don't you pick up the phone, pick up the phone, please pick up the phone and call me.. call me? What was it over, what did we say? It all seems so senseless it's slipping away, Picking up pieces, which one starts, unpuzzling these two hearts? Chorus All of the hours that we have spent, involved with each other, what has it meant? And if we're both too proud to call, how did we get this far? Chorus (I first shared this song with my husband when we exchanged wedding vows in my parents' backyard 20 years ago. I received the prism idea after teaching a science lesson to my fifth grade students demonstrating how a prism bends light to reveal the spectrum of colors. Together, living in love's light, I think we have already experienced some of those colors that could never meet our eyes.) The sun has risen touched a prism in me, and now I'm seeing colors that I never dreamt I'd see. You hold me in your palm; I give what I can be, but most of all I give my love, and that's a lot from me. So take this hand that needs your warmth, and hold it to your chest and I will give it everything. I'll give this one my best always, yes, always. I like to talk with you to see what's on your mind. I love to see you smiling; when the world is lookin' fine I know at times though, I appear to be unkind; Impatient and so awful young, naïve and very blind. Sometimes I wish that you were me, To be in love with you. To know how much I want to please, so much I want to do always, yes, always… Sometimes when love is green, it seems so very warped. So much in need of weathering to build the trusting heart. But time will set us right, it always has before; Collecting colors every one until they overflow… and then we'll know. The sun will rise; will touch a prism in our lives And we'll be seeing colors that could never meet our eyes. (A piece of advice I remember my mom giving me was not to expect others to be what I want them to be, but to find ways to appreciate them for who they are. Though I've forgotten to heed it often,that advice has probably enriched my marriage and the lives of my children. Thanks, Mom!) I've given you an answer, but it's only the beginning Of a dream that started someplace and is never meant to end. Chorus I will live life with you always doing what we have to do: Winter's fire, summer's dreaming growing fondness for you. You bring me certain laughter, and sometimes you bring me tears, But I'll share them with you only as we climb up to the years. Chorus Each day is filled with richness and it gives to those who'll take it, And sometimes it takes a lifetime to perceive just what we have. Chorus (twice) (This is perhaps my favorite. Don't really know why. It just always feels right when I sing it.) There are snowflakes falling 'round me, but I don't feel the cold, And the trees that were lifeless now glitter with gold. And the memories come softly of things I once knew, And they blow away so quickly and they all end with you. There are some who haven't seen it, there are some who don't care. There are some who have shown it, when nobody's there. On a still, peaceful evening, with you by my side, I thank God I am so lucky to have you in my life. And I see us growing slowly as a tree grows in time. And a glance to the future makes my heart take flight. And the memories come softly of things I once knew, And they blow away so quickly and they all end with you. (That love sure is a risky venture...) Love is a coin; it's a coin to gamble. You throw it to the wind and watch it ramble. Sometimes it lands on lucky seventeen, sometimes it falls below unseen. But in the end it's all the same. The things that you want the most you name. Throw in the chips and play the game. All dressed in a fine attire, you place your bets and then retire, Waiting for the answer. They always used to say you've got to learn to give in, shut out those voices that keep you yearning. But I don't think they ever really knew. It just doesn't seem the right thing to do. I've followed my heart beyond repair, followed it almost anywhere. Taken it on in even shares. A card dealt, request is made, how to make an even trade, waiting for the answers Tripping through time inside of cold decisions, shutting the door to place divisions, following safety in its richest gown, holding the scepter but not the crown, No one should say but everyone knows, the harder you hide it the more it shows Isn't that just the way it goes? Too tired to play again, too proud to say you didn't win, waiting for the answers…. (A lost job, a move and a house that wouldn't sell! I called it "limbo land"!! But we grew through it and found a great new place to raise our family.) Isn't it amazing that the bottom's falling out and neither one of us is falling? Suddenly we're stumbling over pieces that don't fit, a puzzle in a puzzle, I guess this wasn't it. And though we'd like to believe, that what we had was ours to keep, there is always something worth striving for, and the changes that change us, will change us even more. As long as we have each other, The comfort of loved ones and a hope from above, Then the fights, they aren't really battles anymore, and the gains from the loss, they're worth the fighting for… Isn't it amazing that the bottom's falling out and neither one of us is falling? (I wrote this song for my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. They have conflicting stories about how they met and if any rocks were really thrown, but I'm staying with my mom's story. She claims that Dad threw rocks at her across a field and called her "fatty". My dad claims he said something about the "swing" in Mom's "backyard". Figurative rocks or real ones, that was their first encounter, and love was born???) She was kinda chubby, he was being mean, but the rocks he threw weren't meant to sting and he got her attention… that's how a seed begins to grow. Give it you best shot and see where it goes. Football fans and cheering, emotions ran high He glanced her direction, she caught his eye and it suddenly hit them… That's how love- new love begins give it your best shot and see where it lands White satin wedding, crinoline lace, garter and bouquet, all in their place and the vows that were spoken.. That's how love was given new life tossing and catching now man and wife. Children in motion, moving around, old friends and new friends, another new town and those times were a changin' That's how love learns to survive, sees to the future, keeps us alive, something much bigger than anyone's plans, give it your best shot and see where, see how it lands… (Seeds are always being planted. I wonder... which ones will grow?) You plant a seed, you hope it grows, What will come, one never knows. And you take the steps of faith in the soil you've been given. Then you water it, give it sunlight, Pull the weeds and you wait For the day. Those tiny hands, those tiny fingers, Trace your brow, they light your face. And this child wants to know how to make the garden grow, So you water it, give it sunlight, Give it space, and you wait For tomorrow. Sometimes it feels like you've waited too long, Sometimes it seems like you just can't go on… But then the rain comes and the sun shines And you've grown. Those busy days, the hustle bustle Find you here, they mark your way. And there's something to be done for this world that needs a garden. So you plant the seeds, give them sunlight, Pull the weeds and you wait.. For the flowers. You plant a seed, you watch it grow… |
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