1-Green Things To Grow
She never wanted something fancy
Said, “Give me sweet simplicity”
All she wanted was some quiet and some peace
4.7 acres was enough for gettin’ by
Dirt was rich enough to satisfy
Life had shown her lemons
But she never seemed to sour
Never was unkind and never dour
More than herself she trusted the will
Of Green Things to grow
Well she always liked to garden
As the sun was going down
Get down on hands and knees and feel around
You can find her ‘mongst the sugar babies
Juice dripping down her chin
Smiling with her knees dirty as sin
More than religion she trusted the will
Of Green Things to grow
She found God in every seed that grew
Found strength she hoped to hold
‘Cause only God can make something so fragile
That staves of winter’s cold
She found love in every tendril
Parting cracked and hardened earth
Like a mother tending children at the moment of their birth
More than machines that rip and tear
at Earth and Sky
She Trusted roots to hold the ground
and light to fill the sky
Filling hearts, filling minds
minding nature’s rule
That goodness is unstoppable
and love’s our only tool
We cannot tip the scales too much
Or take more than we should
Green cannot bloom faster
than any flower should
There’s much to be learned
from watching tendrils reach the sky
Only when we start to Listen
Will we ever start to thrive
High atop the tallest Oxford
With a twinkle in her eye
Pruning branches into sculpture ‘gainst the sky
She said, “Lay me down amongst the heather
Bury me here when I die
All I’m leaving are some tired bones behind
More than herself she trusted the will
Of Green Things to grow
2-Anchor
Storm Swells and the front rolls in
Wind begins to blow
Ominously thunder rolls
Blackened skies quickly grow
There’s a feeling danger lurks
Something’s badly gone awry‘
Cause all storms hold a place of peace
At the core, within the eye
I will be your anchor
On a rolling, boiling sea
Iwill be your beacon
Shine a light out for thee
I will be your bearing
When the course is unclear
I will be yours
Sails snap and the waves come fast
They take you by surprise
There’s no way to chart this course
I can see it in your eyes
Batten all the hatches down
‘Cause we’re in for a ride
We won’t be blown out to sea
We’ll just tack and jibe
I will be your anchor …
My heart has stretched as far as the horizon
Even when the rogue waves inundate
My spirit has been tested and been torn into
A thousand little shreds
That have all but drifted away
Tide flows and I watch it go
With a sigh and a release
Storm is breaking, wind dies down
As the chop and waves decrease
Muscles loosen, calm returns,
We gently rock and sway
Storm blows out like a memory
Gone, before I can say
I will be your anchor…
3- Love, Love, Love
Sky clear, Sun kissed
Full of the splendor and show
Birds dive, Gulls cry
Waves engulf and flow
Fish eye, Glint glide
Azure colors the sea
Beauty, boundless and brazen
As far as you can see
Sweet grass fills the air
And fills our chest with song
All the world is a wonder
And then you know that you belong
And again you fall in love, love, love, love
All at once it all is love, love, love, love
Skin sweats, hearts beat
Meeting of the eyes
Lips sip lovely breath
Temperatures rise
Arms hold, ribs fill
Full with a feeling of warmth
Scent, imperceptible
Tells it’s just you want
Laughter fills you mouth
And fills your chest with light
Chemistry sings
A lullaby into the night
And again you fall in love, love, love, love
All at once it all is love, love, love, love
Think back
To a simpler time
When you weren’t bound by
Complexities the tie and bind us
All to tightly
Just breathe
Know this is your gift
To give yourself and the world
It’s all we have to give
And again you fall in love, love, love, love
All at once you all are love, love, love, love
Silken locks brush
Cheeks with devotion and awe
Sweet sighs
Lullabies
Rocking late in the night
All you knew before
Has changed before your eyes
Deep knowledge steers you now
All to your surprise
Time moves faster
Slips by with increasing speed
Don’t just mourn the moment
Just be still and breath (heartbeat)
All again it all is love, love, love, love
All at once it all is love, love, love, love
All again you all are love, love, love, love
Once again it all is love, love, love, love
4- Beija Flor
Oh Beija Flor
You transcend
And no one can take the levity you defend
So few believed
You’d ever fly
Now no one can take the gravity
Which you defy
Where houses stack like dominos
And alleys know the secrets
That no one else knows
And think in the air
Competing with the sun
Hangs a cloud of despair
The city swells and swallows you whole
But you won’t be eaten alive
It’s not your time to go
Just like a kite
You transcend
When the wind gusts
You sway and bend
The harder it blows
The higher you go
Just like a kite
You transcend
Taking matters in your own hand
Standing in the face of so many fears
People say it can’t be done
Undoing what’s been done
Through all of these years
But what you perceive
Will be revealed
When you follow the path inside
That only you feel
5- The Wee Hours
Just listen to the story
That Midnight has to tell
It whispers through the spruces
And across the dell
Hear the sound of sparrows breathing
Nested high up in the eaves
And Owl floats a question
On the quiet, summer breeze
This is the balm to soothe a worried soul
This is the medicine you need to make it through
Breathe in the calm the night offers you
In the Wee Hours
Find music in the grasses
As they stretch with morning dew
Bathed in dappled starlight
Of a silver, muted hugh
Feel the roots beneath you stretching
And imagine you’re entwined
It’s here the disbeliever
Comes to wed with the Divine
This is the balm to soothe a worried soul
This is the medicine you need to make it through
Breathe in the calm the night offers you
In the Wee Hours
All around you is a silence
That can never be ignored
Lay down all the pieces
That are battered, bruised, and sore
This is the balm to soothe a worried soul
This is the medicine you need to make it through
Breathe in the calm the night offers you
In the Wee Hours
In the Wee Hours
In the Wee Hours
6- Thank You To…
Thank you to the pregnant moon
That's strewn its light across the room
Thank you to the owl's cry
Kept company all through the night
Just before the light, blue dawn
Wood Thrush calls to cheer it on
From the wood, not far away
Grateful for another day.
Thank you to the breeze that comes
To sunlit fields before work's done.
Waiting for the rain to drum
And wash us all of noonday sun.
Thanks to all that's green, that grows
Memories fade of Winter's snow
Gardens spill and overflow,
Escaping neat and tidy rows
The light of dusk is much like dawn
And laughter floats across the pond.
Windows glow like fireflies
And we break bread until it's gone
'till it's gone…
Thank you to the pregnant moon
Who's quiet gently filled the room
Thank you to the starry sky
That whirled above all through the night
Just before the light, blue dawn
Rooster calls to cheer it on
From the field, not far away
I'm grateful for another day.
7- A Better Way
It all came down to some breathing room
She never found all the air she could
Even though the wind blew in and out around her
It’s clear, it was time to make a change
It all came down to more space to move
To really test what she had to prove
To herself, not to everyone around her
It’s time to find a new way to be
When push comes to shove
But there’s no force to throw you
Just muster your might and move on.
When there’s no fight inside you
But a small fire burns
Just breathe on the flames, carry on.
It all came down to a different view
She realized hers was a little skewed
When ‘every day just fades into the one before and after’
She knew she needed to break free
When push comes to shove
But there’s no force to throw you
Just muster your might and move on.
When there’s no fight inside you
But a small fire burns
Just breathe on the flames, carry on.
She’s beginning now to see
That the light is right now within reach
She’s beginning now to feel
That her will is stronger than steel
It all came up to a place to choose
To realize now what she had to lose
By giving in to every whim that pulled her from her center
She knew there had to be a better way
8- The Path I Choose
There were days
There were years
There was laughter
There were tears
When we lost the way ahead
There was sunshine
There was rain
We found comfort
When there was pain
As we found our way again
From a distance
And in your arms
I fell captive to your charms
Say that you'll love me
for all of our days
say that you'll let me
love you too
Because you are the light
that guides me on my way
and you are the path
I choose
Hold my hand and tell me
you will walk the road ahead
Through every twist and turn
And bow and bend.
Just around the corner
Lies a journey that’s divine
A sacred path that’s never a straight line
We'll have strength
when I feel weak
We'll be joyous
if times are bleak
As we forge the way ahead
Oh, I know that this is right
‘cause you're the dawn
that breaks the night
each and every day
Let's walk together
Side by side
And we’ll go further with every stride
Say that you'll love me
for all of our days
say that you'll let me
love you too
Because you are the light
that guides me on my way
and you are the path I choose
9- Fear Itself
Oh, Fear
How you rattle around in my head
Can’t seem to stop considering
All the things in this world that I dread
Oh, Fear
How I love to entertain you
Come in for a cup of tea
And leave me full of anxiety
Sometimes you are a mountain lion
Poised and ready to strike
Other days, a Tidal Wave
Rolling and tumbling with all of your might
Other days you’re fires burning
And sometimes you’re the dark
But I fear I’m never losing you
Oh, Fear
All I have to fear is you, I’m told
In times of deep of uncertainty
You are brash and you are bold
Oh, Fear
Quiet the mind, steady the breath
When the world is pressing on you
Sometimes you lurk around the corner
Waiting to strike and attack
Other times your Famine
And sometimes a Car Crash
Some days you’re Age and Loneliness and
Other days you are Love
And I fear I’m never losing you
You’re the specter haunting the Halls of the Mind
Stealthily, you’re creeping, suffocating like a vine
To the child who is hungry
To the family that’s war-torn
You’re the salt in the wound
You come in oh-so-many forms
When scarcity is squeezing
Like it seeks the last bit of your breath
Don’t forget your power
Transformation comes from death
To a heart that’s courageous
To a spirit that is strong
We won’t believe the propaganda
No, we won’t be strung along
You keep your distance
Oh, Fear
All I have to fear is you, I’m told
In times of deep of uncertainty
You are brash and you are bold
Oh, Fear
Quiet the mind, steady the breath
When the world is pressing on you
10- Dawn Is Near
There is nothing for you to fear
The night is done
The dawn is near
Shake off the darkness
Invite the light
Everything’s going to be alright
Rise and stand
Nod and stretch
Feel resistance
Work to bend
Can you feel what’s possible
When you wake and start anew?
Our eyes play tricks in early light
Faint sillouhettes against the sky
Trust the process
All will come clean
As the day comes
The dawn is near
Ooooh, when an endless night has you
Wrapped in layers of darkness
And no light is passing through
Ooooh, though the day will come again
Know the light was outside
Now resides in you, my friend
Can you see it
Can you hear
The past goes quickly
Cut like a shear
What once was present
Now falls away
Another chance
Another day
There is nothing for you to fear
The night is done
The dawn is near
11- I Do
I do, I do love you
Brighter than a blue, September day
Say that you’ll love me
For all of our days
Love me for my sweet and tender ways
I do, as I’ve loved you always
I will, I will love you
Stronger that the force that pushes mountains
Up to the heavens, touching the sky
It’s you and me, Babe, don’t wonder why
I will, as I’ve loved you always
I have, I have loved you
Even though the oceans parted our ways
Always together, even when we’re apart
‘Cause me know we have each other’s heart
I will, as I’ve loved you always
Through thick and thin
Our threads hold fast
Our seams are neat and tidy
Like tempered steel
Our love has strengthened how we know we feel
I could never imagine anyone could love me the way you do
And that’s why I’m saying I do
I do, I do-do-do
I’ll say over and over in so many ways
Each day as I wake up
And as we turn gray
I’ll look back with joy on this very day
When I said I love you
When I said I love you
When I said I love you always
12- Blue Balloon
Blue balloon
Drifting on the winds
You only rise
Blue balloon
Shining little bubble
against the sky
Though buoyancy is ever-fleeting
You go like there’s no chance of ever coming down
Life is short-lived when you’re seeping
Breath can only be held for so long
Blue balloon
Someone calls your name
With empty hands
Blue balloon
Pain of losing you
Is hard to stand
Over treetops, you’re ascending
Silently, you leave the world behind
Moving like there is no ending
near, as if this is by your design
Blue balloon
Your escape is mine
Just for a spell
Blue balloon
Easy and untethered
Free, as well
I forgive you for your going
Knowing that my time is coming too
Joyful gift, just for a moment
Take me with you up into the clouds