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The Poet's Fulcrum
Tell me a story
Of words and wonder
That I and no one else
Can really understand
About the path
Between fear and fantasy
The fragile and uncertain ground
Upon which we both stand
For just a moment
A phrase or fleeting look
Betrays a truth
That you would rather keep concealed
Exposed in honesty
Intact and innocent
A window through which
Our true selves are revealed
Sounds and visions
Ideas and action
Keep me from sleeping
In the middle of the night
Pathos and passion
Desire and daring
Are caught beneath my moving pen
And brought into the light
All I need's a place to stand
And I can move the earth
The poet's fulcrum - you, my love.
Give all my strength its worth
I Am the Way
I am the way the wind so gently
Moves across your face
I am the way the sunlight warms you
On a summer's day
I am the way the tear you cry
Rolls softly down your cheek
I am the way you see your fear
I'm strength when you are weak
I am the eyes in your reflection
You're each beat of my heart
We never meet or separate
Together yet apart
I am the way each drop of rain
Caresses arid ground
I am the way the tides reach for
The moon as it goes round
I am the way each note so fragile
Vibrates on the air
I am the way that fate sometimes
Rewards the ones who dare
I am the dream you can't remember
Each morning when you rise
Your name is ringing in my ear
It fades but never dies
I am the way the lonely runner
Continues through his pain
I am the way the one survives
Whose love is all in vain
I am the way that beauty
Can be found in anyone
I am the way that hope continues
When all hope is gone
I'm present in the faintest sound
And every breath of air
You'll never really be alone
I always will be there
Dancin' Big
"Your only limits", he said,
"are those you set yourself:
Nothing ventured-
Nothing gained
And when I arrive at where I'm going
I'll go one step further-
I'll be dancin' BIG!"
Whatever he did
He tried to do more
(Anything worth doing
Is worth overdoing)
Whatever was good was meant to be better
Taken one step further-
He was dancin' BIG!
Making his motions
In a space of his own
Setting the pace
Off the beaten path
Pushing the boundaries beyond the extreme
He went one step further-
He was dancin' BIG!
Steady and True
Once the world was cold
And my life was empty
Everything I thought that I owned
Had been taken from me
Where is there to go
When there is no meaning?
How are we to know
If there is no feeling?
But still I kept moving on
But still I kept moving on
With every step that I now go
I feel the peace that I was seeking
I've climbed that hill and now I know
I've found my heart 'cause I can feel it beating
Steady and true
A gift I received long ago
That I had forgotten
Showed me a path to my home
That was waiting for me
Then the unyielding wind
That once cut right through me
Lifted away all the tears
I'd been carrying with me
And so I kept moving on
And so I kept moving on
And all that I can not control
Is shown to me to have no meaning
I've gained my freedom and I know
I've found my heart 'cause I can feel it beating
Steady and true
Every time the journey's the same
Though the hurt still lingers
Turn the last corner for home
I feel like I'm flying
Still I can't outrun the pain
But I no longer fear it
Feeling the strength that I've gained
Now I long to share it
And now I keep moving on
And now I keep moving on
And all the weight I could not bear
Is lifted by the touch of healing
The beauty that was always there
Has found my heart and I can feel it beating
Steady and true
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Watertown
I can feel your arms around me
Even though you're nowhere near
And when I think I can't continue
The memory helps me persevere
I sometimes run out of answers
And have nowhere left to go
And the waves keep washing over me
Out of my control
Too tired to keep on swimming
But afraid that I may drown
I just hold on out of habit
To a little hope I've found
A place of shelter
On a stormy sea
Was I helping you
Or were you rescuing me?
A gentle touch
Can help to bring me round
When I feel as if I'm drowning on dry land
In Watertown
Whenever I feel lonely
I can hear somebody cry
And whenever I stop moving
I feel something start to die
But with just the wind around me
What the silence speaks is clear
Although you held me long ago
I will always hold you dear
A place of shelter
On a stormy sea
Was I helping you
Or were you rescuing me?
A gentle touch
Can help to bring you round
When you feel as if you're drowning on dry land
In Watertown
When I feel as if I'm drowning on dry land
In Watertown
Persistence of Vision
Like smoke through candlelight memories come
Ghosts who now ask me what I might have done
In all the paths chosen and all those declined
Seems one of us left the other behind
And even though our lips never met
I kiss you dearly with every breath
For all of the words that we never exchanged
Somehow my life has been forever changed
Everything that I am
And all that I do
Little by little, in each note I sing
Is given away to you
Sometimes I feel just a little more strong
When I think I've put all of myself in a song
But then as I sing it I can't help but see
It takes just a little bit more out of me
It seems now that hope is in such short supply
I can't help but cling to what little I find
When doubt falls upon what I thought that I knew
What haunts me is always a memory of you
Everything that I am
And all that I do
Little by little, with each note I sing
Is given away to you
I think of the times when you saw so clearly
What I thought was hidden in me
And yet you still miss what's so plainly before you
If it's not what you want to be
Like smoke through candlelight memories come
Ghosts who now ask me what I might have done
In all the paths chosen and all those declined
Seems one of us left the other behind
Black Velvet Blues
Won't you help our starving artists?
You know that you deserve the best
Genuine oil on real black velvet
All for twenty bucks or less
Though you might think that some look similar
No two of them are quite the same
True art's test is in the details
And, yes, that price includes the frame
Matadors and ocean sunsets
In brushstrokes broad and colors bold
Down at the gas station on the corner
Where the Prince of Peace meets the King of Rock and Roll
Who couldn't use a little color
In a world so full of grey?
It hides that patch of cracking plaster
Brings a little culture to your day
No home's complete without some artwork
Doesn't have to be a lot
If you can't afford a Monet
You just make do with what you've got
Puppy dogs and wide-eyed children
Each one a beauty to behold
Down at the gas station on the corner
Where the Prince of Peace meets the King of Rock and Roll
You see that guy there on the corner
Gets two bucks for each painting he can sell
The artist in Korea gets a quarter
What's wrong with this picture, can you tell?
You have to wonder what's going on here
Obnoxious trash or merely harmless kitsch?
Though each one costs less than twenty dollars
I think that someone somewhere's getting rich
Anything that anybody values
A cheaper copy somewhere will be sold
Down at the gas station on the corner
Where the Prince of Peace meets the King of Rock and Roll
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