Seven score and fifteen
Since the day
Dared to reclaim
Blindfold fell away
The world is a scarier place
Yet wide, vast as the sky
When pulling opinions
Down from on high
Meeting all the faces
Damp lit street and dark
Being one with them
Hitting the mark
All the things refrain
Are real for us
All of life
Abounds in us
Are we alone
Divided by love
Of mythical tree
A new year's eve
Glorious garden grows
Its beauty renewed
Breathtaking view
for Lili
Woollen gloves
Argyle re-loved
Street night market
Vision blind dark
Giving up warmth
Newly bought
Love is fraught
With mystery
She loans to me
For the night
Offers more
In stories
Dignity of life
Vulnerability
Melting within
Shared history
Cold hands
Warm heart
In the land of Oz I've walked these streets Paved with gold Priceless wares Federation facades Heritage shades Inked pinked bodies Stand out boldly A heart grows fearless Sitting in places Undeserving spaces Unfamiliar faces Speaking into the chasm People's lives unfolding In one moment Tones waves uniting That heroic soul So rare and pure Timid and unsure Held open the door
Air thickens
Time fades
Breath holds
Sounds evaporate
Sight blinds
Mind wanders
Tongue loosens
Sense undone
Heart won
Compass spun
Cheeks tighten
Shoulders sigh
Smile resides
Inviting
Being lightening
Just arriving
Passing through
With you
Warm toast
Al dente
Soft inside
Buttery sweet
Daily entreat
Dew drop mornings
When dreams and
New days meet
Blue bird
Dance song
Spoonfuls
Stay long
Cup filled
Tea swilled
Moments
At one
With you
To hold
First oneself
Hold onto dreams
Embrace them
To hold
Their memory
Always there
Without them
To hold
Light horizon
Moving forward
Never alone
To hold
Knowledge is sure
Love held lightly
Never owned
Love small waving hands
Pointing up to the sun
Lime coloured ones
Delicate fronds
Every year heralding
New growth has begun
Resisting prunings
Wilting of winter
Hope for another year
Even when caretaker
Seemingly ignores
Their every need
Giving, as if
Love is enough
“Well, I’ve walked these streets
A virtual stage, it seemed to me
Makeup on their faces
Actors took their places next to me
Well, I’ve walked these streets
In a carnival, of sights to see
All the cheap thrill seekers vendors and the dealers
They crowded around me
Have I been blind have I been lost
Inside myself and my own mind
Hypnotized, mesmerized by what my eyes have seen?
Well, I’ve walked these streets
In a spectacle of wealth and poverty
In the diamond markets the scarlet welcome carpet
That they just rolled out for me
And I’ve walked these streets
In the madhouse asylum they can be
Where a wild-eyed misfit prophet
On a traffic island stopped and he raved of saving me
Have I been blind, have I been lost
Have I been wrong
Have I been wise
Have I been strong
Inside myself and my own mind…?”
‘Carnival’ – Natalie Merchant
Songwriters: Peter Anders Svensson / Magnus Sveningsson / Nina Persson
Carnival lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Downtown Music Publishing
No other way to be
Let it all out
Circumambient sweet
No need to fight it
Grown in goodness
From a seed
Abundance for me
Surreal reality
Let it be
I woke from a dream And saw you there Returned to sleep Suddenly - unaware Places that feel Real to the senses Plague our minds Completely - unfounded Dreamscapes grow Over memories Feeding on fallen Radiantly - unmeasured
Count the stars of heaven 