1. |
Chapter I: The Postcard
04:04
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See how every notion takes on new life under the moon.
And the silence stands at my shoulder,
keeps me frozen in this room.
And lifted up from deeper thoughts,
I am waiting for His move.
But on the other side He smiles,
as He waits for me to choose.
Because I haven't learned His name,
or maybe haven't learned it right,
but I hear He's got a thing or two to say about this fight.
Because I haven't felt the same
and I think I would have liked
all the things He said I could have had
if I'd let Him in my life.
See how everyone points to
all the sad times they never choose.
What their memory doesn't tell them
they make up to fit their mood.
And woken up from bitter ways,
I am calm but still unsure.
And focused on those better days,
I am standing at this door.
Because there's no one left to blame,
and I'm pushing past the lies,
and I see that this is far beyond anything that just sounds nice.
And the truth is never tame,
and I really think it's time
that I turned to face the Word
I ran away from at the first sign.
And He said He so loved the world,
and He said He so loved the world…
And I believed what He said when He said that He'd descend
in my life, in my mess, as my best friend.
And I believed what He said when He said
that He would send
all His love like a postcard
from my best friend.
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2. |
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Call it unreason.
Call it a season.
Call it anything you'd like but
I will call it seeking.
Maybe I'm wealthy
but maybe I'm poor inside.
Maybe I could use a trip like this because
I'm low on wonder
I'm low on adoration,
but high on resignation.
I hear there's a king on the other end
of this star lit road and every single sense
says I'm near it and not to fear Him.
I hear there's a song that we'll sing again
and there's a chance that I could be a man again.
The only question that remains: did I bring enough to say...thanks?
Said all my goodbyes,
saved all my good lines
for the final moment when everybody's waving.
Away from the sidelines,
I hear for the last time,
some of them begin to say things like
"maybe don't go"
another says "don't you know all the dangers you could find there?"
They call me a fool to go so far,
but what's the good in staying right where you are?
They call me a fool to follow roads,
so uncertain where they go.
So it's a good thing I remembered
to pack my faith.
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3. |
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I have a friend, he’s been under the weather,
we gave it some time but he’s not getting better.
I’m out of ideas and the gods have been quiet,
for a rather long time now.
But I heard a rumor that You might be able to lend us a hand.
But if it’s alright with You, I will stay here,
as You go inside of my house with those tears.
And please disregard all the mess on my floor,
it’s been a hell of a year.
“My dear, I’ve never seen such steady faith
In all my time here,
Go and see what love has saved tonight.”
I have a son, he takes after his mother,
he sees all the good and the light in the other.
But he’s been at war and his last letter told us
That it wasn’t all well.
But I heard a rumor that You might be able to reach across death.
Whatever You say in this moment,
I believe that it’s breaking through and making new
whatever comes Your way.
And I took a step on the limb that was shaking
under the weight of the chance I was taking.
You looked at me long and Your look got me thinking:
What if all of it’s true? What to do?
Had You heard a rumor that I’ve been a beggar for some kind of change?
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4. |
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Dawn draws near, the end of an age is here,
wayward stars crossing my thoughts tonight.
What would I see there, after the top stair?
I could always run far away.
Sweeter scents offer a tale to tell,
Merry sounds fill up this waking hour.
What do I mean by all that is inside?
All that is tender, yet still like stone?
He set me free by giving me this one last job to do.
He made me lovely, telling me the truth of who we are.
Door unlocked, I look with a quiet shock,
drink the scene as though I’d been thirsty my whole life.
All of your things are carelessly thrown on
the sill of the window, so typically you.
He set me free by giving me this one last job to do.
He made me lovely, telling us the truth of who we are.
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5. |
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Now awake, on my back
looking up at an autumn sky,
I wonder where I am.
And I think of the three things that would
lead me through the seasons,
and I try to stand.
Then engaged, a ring and all,
staying close to an open door,
but I was spoken for.
And I placed my belongings where the heart of the Song is;
left me wanting more.
I see, someone is overjoyed at all these odd divisions.
And why is everyone overwhelmed, and under spells and so tired?
And all this fortune leaves me cold
when there’s no one left to hold
and I am told to hide the reasons in a room.
And all the senses leave me high,
when they’re gone, I start to find all the evidence of life
in the corner of the tomb.
Now awake, on my side,
looking up at a winter sun,
take in what I’ve done, take in what’s to come.
And true:
this battle’s smaller,
but I’ll fight it ‘til it’s over,
and He’s God once more.
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6. |
Chapter VI: Reminded
04:21
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A lady told me once a thing I’d filed away
among the kinds of words of relevance delayed.
“He’ll take a weight off your shoulders,
older lies melt away beneath the splendor of His grace.”
And He walks on water,
and He walks through my walls,
moving His throne into my heart.
And He sings in silence,
all the ways He finds us,
how can I be anything but reminded?
And they’ll talk about Him, and maybe they’ll try to stop Him,
‘cause He’s a little unpopular, but haven’t we all been there before?
I put my hand up to my eyes, looking satisfied,
thinking every single answer lay inside.
But I thought I’d made it very clear,
I didn’t want an interfering God.
I’m walking past, I’m walking fast,
I’m hoping He won’t catch up with me.
Please, won’t you catch me?
I’ve played the pacing game too many times,
there’s an avenue of footsteps on the edges of my room.
She always knows the love I’m racing after;
with a cascade of laughter, she reminds me of the Way.
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7. |
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I started the day out like any other day.
But then I heard them shout.
“What’s the deal, anyway?”
I found the tallest tree along the side of the road.
A sight to see: a crowd of needs
who won’t let Him go.
And I could almost see myself inside His eyes.
But no! It must have been a trick of the light,
No one could look and live that alive.
I’ve seen You see right through me.
Though normally I’m cold,
a little warmth began to spread.
And feeling a bit bold,
I jump down but hit my head.
A hand extends and gravity bends
to hold me upright.
I throw the gold upon the ground,
and ask Him to stay.
And like a dove in the thunder,
He announces there:
I have a chance to make things fair.
And though I am not so tall,
I feel like I’m standing at a great height,
when I see You see right through me now.
It’s the hardest part: this glorious moment.
Under the tree now is marked a simple grave,
just to remind me where I buried my old ways.
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8. |
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He got in his car and he drove away,
didn’t look back to see all that mattered.
And by the next day, he’d assured his mind
that this was more than just a pattern.
He’s so enlightened, he knew everything
by the shadows on the wall that told him:
He’s so entitled, he’ll do anything,
just as long as it looks to be true.
His mother wonders what he’s doing now
and if he found a God or Savior.
And she will hold on to the smallest hope
knowing it sometimes happens later.
He looks alright on the outside,
what about on the inside?
Not every door that he opened was good.
He talks about finding sunlight,
What if it’s only more night?
Echoes of silence...
On one of his drives, he begins to sigh
And bigger questions start to find him.
The very air is thick and still and strong
with possibilities he’d thought timid.
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9. |
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I started out with left and right,
small wicker chairs and early nights.
Tying a shoe was no small thing,
lofty the joy that waves would bring.
I took an afternoon to wonder:
why all the noise in all the thunder?
Oh, that storm!
Oh, You wore it so well!
I never could outrun Your reach,
I started out with right and wrong,
wars and alliances belonged only in realms within a yard,
leaving us glad, with tiny scars.
I took an evening to discover signs of a God, a patient lover;
Oh, that sunset!
Oh, You wore it so well!
I never could outrun Your reach.
All of this wayfaring has turned me older.
All of my sighs are spent.
Although I’ve said I want it to be over,
I’ve kinda liked it when you promised
You would follow me just about anywhere I went.
Tell me the way that this all ends, tell me so I can start again.
What of the road that bends away from all this darling disarray?
Here at the border, counting graces
from all the most unlikely places.
Oh that silence!
Oh, You wore it so well!
I never could outrun Your reach.
I started out with left and right,
Small wicker chairs and perfect sight.
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10. |
Chapter X: Letters Home
04:54
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Can I ask where You are,
I hear You're doing wonders in me,
as far as they see I could not ask for more,
but a few little things could be just a bit better
than now,
is it too much to pray for?
Can I ask what to say if You're not
saying much in these days,
as far as I know I have not fallen out of this love.
I've lamented the two of us drifting
apart in this land of sighs.
Restless again for Someone and Somewhere.
I keep writing letters home,
and they come back open;
I know that You're listening and You're not really gone,
but if You pass by my door,
promise me You'll say hello.
Can I ask why You called if I can't
find You here in this room,
as far as I can see I cannot stay between
all the pieces of life,
all the possible ways I could
follow You there to the end.
Can I ask what it was the first time
You made me go weak in the knees,
like the universe settled in me,
like a song that You wrote just to sing me to sleep
at the end of a long, long night.
Can I ask why You follow through differently
than I'd have planned.
I feel a little like I may as well go on
by my own light,
but that never lasts very long
as the shadows and walls have their say.
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11. |
Chapter XI: Mended
05:25
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By the light of the a lifting mist
and something isn’t quite right.
For the first time in so many years,
let the flood fall from my eyes.
So I take a tour of all
the more unlikeable parts of me.
And I sweep the floor for all
the dust dragged in underneath my feet.
So long, you dragons inside,
you are breathing fire for the last time.
And I’ll walk among all your ashes
until they have drifted farther
than any eye can see.
I feel the mud getting in my shoes,
and it’s slowing me down.
Falling ill from the noise of this world,
say the cure close to my ear.
I can see a way soaked in day,
I live for it, I live for it still.
And I sense Him,
veiled in everything I could expect to see;
a side of me wanted it to be
just a little bit louder and tender.
But really, I can’t complain as I am mended.
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12. |
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I took a journey along the edge of everything I knew.
He met me there on a quiet night, the old man in the moon.
He told me that I’d miss him dearly,
he failed to mention how it wounds so deeply now.
Wading around in a misery, I couldn’t dare to see.
Keeping away from the wild side of minor epiphanies.
If only folly were a virtue,
then I would already be halfway holy by now.
I’ve had those moments when I thought I was humble
but oh! How I was wrong,
but at the same time, oh, how I belonged.
After a time in the skies and seas,
voyages long and fair,
I couldn’t tell if the world was round,
or if I was awfully square.
Of all the voices in the heavens,
I only wanted to hear one say my own name.
I’ve had my share of danger,
none so close than when I looked inside to find
a stubborn stranger, speaking faulty words of wisdom.
I know, yes, I know…
I let them go.
I took a journey along the edge of everything I knew,
funny the ways that have brought me here,
brought me back to you.
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13. |
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A prayer to St. Sebastian
is what my heart is singing
in the moment when my knees are
in danger of giving up.
When it feels like I am breathing
on just one lung,
I believe that St. Sebastian's there
to help me carry on;
to see it can be won.
And I believe he's quite familiar
with matters of determination;
because he handled all these awful things,
and kept his faith and patience.
He kept them in the face of
certain termination.
Fortunately it is not like I am being made to walk
into a lion's den.
But still I'll call on him
eleven miles in.
A prayer to St. Sebastian
is what my heart is singing
in the moment when the smallest hill
becomes the tallest mountain,
I believe that St. Sebastian's there
to help me along the way.
To offer inspiration from
a few of his saintly ways.
And when it feels like I can breathe no longer,
and I can move no farther,
my hope is suddenly stronger,
he's on my side.
The end is getting is closer,
and when it's finally over,
I'll drink to that St. Sebastian.
A prayer to St. Sebastian
is what my heart is singing
in the moment when I cross the line
he'll be running by my side.
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14. |
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A faint sign of gladness makes her
pause in all her sadness.
Fair and so faithful, she throws aside careful;
hardly knowing what to expect,
she makes her way over –
maybe it’s safe now, it’s been a few days now.
And she started weeping,
as though she’d never cried before,
she thought she’d lost the only one she’d loved.
And three of the longest days of her life had come to this:
waiting by a stone.
And then she saw the gardener.
He asked her how she’d been.
“I’m sad and I’m scared, but why do you care? You’re just the gardener’s son.”
Do you recognize Me now?
‘Go tell all the others that you met me.
They might think that you’ve been drinking through the night,
but don’t let all their doubts keep you away from me,
the world will likely tell you that it’s
all in your mind.’
She comes to the home she’d left
anxious and alone but
it feels more like a mansion now,
though she can’t yet mention how
everything around her seems infused with glory.
Her hope expands as the world just stands still.
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15. |
Chapter XV: Augustina
04:34
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Feel the meaning grow inside,
build up against those solemn lies,
why do I always seem so driven by their calculations?
Nothing is clear, and all is bent,
opening my heart up for rent.
Idolize, even though it’s some sort of cheap imitation.
I never was quite the
marrying kind.
Well, I was in love once, it ended just fine.
I never chased after diamonds or gold,
all that I wanted was simple and bold.
Crazy and numb but standing firm,
I could let go but haven’t learned
freedom apart from this:
my very own confusion.
Sentiments crowd my thoughts and words,
all that I crave and all that hurts.
Reason abiding deep
but second to this illusion.
Simply the one who would hold open the door,
to Providence waiting to show us more.
Simply a lover of all that is good,
who didn’t need a way out if I understood.
I am awake at 2am,
wondering how I’m still this sane,
listening for a voice to soften my hesitation.
And what a surprise!
I’m on my knees.
It is too early, but still I see
signs of a sunrise
breaking through all of my complications.
Turning a page to this marrying time,
I am in love now, it’s brought me to life.
He never chased after what he’d been told,
All of those notions so fatal and old.
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16. |
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The sun is warm,
it's warm in my eyes
and I want to go home.
I'm only here because a friend asked me
and he didn't want to come here alone.
I look at the crowd
but they're already looking ahead of me
at the sight of a man
Who raises His right hand to get our attention.
He clears His mighty voice as He prepares
to tell us something.
Love like you mean it,
Believe like you've seen it.
Give what you hold dear,
Live like you like it here.
And do I dare
say something good was in the air
that day at the shore?
I sit here, still, awake and astounded,
and all the sounds drift away.
My eyes shut tight, in case I am dreaming,
and I don't want to let it go yet.
I open my eyes, but everybody's already moving,
and I fear that He's gone.
But He's there at the water
holding out His hand.
I move a little closer
as I figure it might be time to take that chance.
The storm that once,
that once was in my heart
is somehow gone tonight.
And I suspect His words and His touch
may have something to do with it.
I look to the stars
but everything has turned into morning;
have I been here that long?
A few blessed statements
is all that it took for Him
to spin me around in my head
and remind me I'm dead til the dawn.
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17. |
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A light goes down in Rome for a little while at least.
The winds on the sea will eventually breathe
a new name to lead.
The light is strong inside the heart of this house,
blazing in corners and opening doors
in a world growing cold.
The boat isn’t lost to the storm,
He’s only returning to port.
And love ever dwells here,
and love never left here
from the start.
A knock upon my door
in the middle of a dream.
A glimpse of a change,
You were leaving your name
at the foot of a wooden throne.
Awaken to a scene,
and wonder what it means -
your body is bent, as though hours were spent
simply bowed in adoration.
By the way, we could say we are
everyday, in the middle of
this greatest, scandalous gift to us all;
a gift from a fallen day.
A promise cut in stone and flowing from His side;
the finest of minds couldn’t count all the times
we’d be lost without His word.
And this, our good refrain:
we land where we’re sent.
The place may be bare,
but we know who is there from the first to the end.
The flame still belongs to the Son.
The battle isn’t any less won.
And hope ever dwells here,
and hope never left here,
from the start.
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18. |
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You found me here
wandering the streets of unrivaled mirrors,
standing so tall against the sky, which harbored no meaning.
Alarmed and unfed, I saw you there holding
a note for my head from your heart, so consoling.
A lovely word that rhymed with my tears.
A call I’ve heard, across all the years.
Here’s to the ones who are staying awake,
asking all sorts of questions,
asking why does it ache?
You and I weren’t so different
but the yelling got old.
Before it was over,
the conversation grew cold.
A favored stage, where everything I say is
a novel play in this funny game.
And each of my monarchs of choice have been
fragile and folly, see what they’ve cost me.
But all this attention was somehow redemptive;
‘til reason breaks as waves on my shore,
and sirens sound deep at my core.
Cast wide your net,
wider than any promise of vanishing ends.
Here’s to the ones who are laying down arms
for a good conversation, for a genuine spar.
You and I and the question. with no walls in between;
I was half right about you, and you about me.
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19. |
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On the train from Paddington to Harrow,
I'm a little bit tired but I'm still attentive.
And the sights I normally would ignore
put a charm on a few of my sleepy senses.
At a station pausing for a while,
can't help but wonder why, since it looks like
nobody lives here,
"but someone does, dear", a little voice inside me says.
So maybe the secret ties are the very things
that keep us sane and cheerful,
a little more kind and tearful.
I caught the world in a lie
when it told me it could give me everything I wanted,
anything I wanted, anything at all.
From a long way off I start to notice
all the people with their animated faces at the dinner table.
And the four lights grinning in a small town
put a stop to the thought that I'd rather be anywhere else.
Conversations that I'll never know, this train has far to go,
but still, I wanted some share, I could have lived there,
if my life had taken a different turn...
I could have sworn that I was only
just a moment ago alone in my own small space.
In strange ways, it's the dull days
that make us face what really matters.
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20. |
Chapter XX: Léonie
04:31
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Her favorite stories were the ones she read as she went to bed,
that made her leave the light on just in case
the dragons lingered right outside her room,
ready to surprise in the night,
but it’s alright, she had her sword by her side.
They never told her that she was on to something greater
than the world could ever guess.
Mild and quiet, it was decided
that little more could ever pour out of a life so very ordinary.
A hero’s welcome was a friend’s embrace in some unknown place,
with the wine of pleasant company.
Her kingdom made of tiny rooms and smiles;
if you stayed a while, you could tell that all she wanted was
something holy and sure.
“It’s so simple and yet so complicated” and
every word like this that the world ever fed her
was silently tamed while the secret that reigned
in her heart was enough
to get her through the toughest moments unscathed.
They’re so delighted that she found her way
and a word to say,
but hold on because her sight is on something brighter than day.
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21. |
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Maybe this north wind brings us closer,
cold and unexpected as it might be.
Maybe there are answers we've never looked for,
in our weary state,
we've unlocked this one door.
Maybe all we ever learned figures in right where we turn,
we sigh inside.
Maybe the soft word carries us farther
away from the deep joy that makes our song.
So many open windows to choose from,
it would be so sad if we got this one wrong.
In our sentimental way,
we believe we've come too late,
but Love won't mind.
Maybe this north wind brings us closer,
moving us to stumble so perfectly
over the Cornerstone that's been waiting
to awake us all
from an imperfect sleep.
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22. |
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I feel older than yesterday,
and I feel bolder and ready to say:
so much to do, nothing to lose,
by the way there’s a chance I may seem relatively
unattached to this place.
And He said to me “one day you’ll see, all of this will feel like one of your dreams.
You will wake up in My arms.”
And He said to me “all days can be steps on a road leading to Me, til you wake up in My arms.”
And always a little bit taken with
all of your promises and all I won’t miss.
Caught unaware, lost in the glare of the world’s last light.
All of a sudden I awake to the light of the Son.
So I’ve got a lot to learn before
I head home, sweet Home.
But I only wonder at the things
I do not yet know.
Maybe this is all that it takes
to be satisfied.
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23. |
Chapter XXIII: Simeon
04:41
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There was a man in the city
and everyone thought him just a little odd.
They'd pass him on his knees,
his arms outstretched
as if waiting for a consolation.
But on the edge of something new
he sensed that he had things to do,
and so lived a life of anticipation.
Here is the moment he's been waiting for
all of his life, rushing and wishing and racing towards
a graceful moment when he'd finally see
what faith becomes.
He saw them enter by the front door
and he didn't need anymore proof that it was time
to take the child in his arms,
and looking up to heaven,
thanked his God for this chance.
He told the mother of the days that would come
and any other would have turned away to run.
But she kept in her heart
all the words that she'd heard
because she had hope and
all those good things in her Son.
So he was free to go,
to go in peace with what he'd seen.
And with his last breath, he thought
how we were in the best of hands
and at that he smiled.
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24. |
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This long indecision and the joy that it stalled,
re-living the vision of the last time he called.
There were signs that I wasted,
there were poems I laid here
on the line as a strange mirror of each wondering sigh.
What of the memories holding you back,
and all that you’ve done and all that you lack,
what of the praises that you fear may never come;
what of the treasures that you thought were only yours,
and your paper cuts, they’re nothing much
in light of this:
the day when nobody dies.
Tell me a story with no ending at all.
Save me from boring, a life empty of falls.
Those lovelier ways and their livelier days,
suddenly they seem okay.
And they’re stronger than kings
and the songs that they sing fill me with something to say.
What of your latest attempts to be good,
honest and thin and misunderstood,
slowly eroding each conclusion I had found.
Broken enough now to consider how I’ve lived
and this waking up, it’s picking up
in light of this –
the day when nobody dies.
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25. |
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You told me four signs
and I recalled only a half of one.
You gave me those lines
to memorize but I neglected some.
Why don't you just find another friend and
I will stay in my own insignificance, right here;
What is it you're saying?
It's noisy all the time
and the fog is just so thick.
I've made my mind up,
I'll make my way,
no one can hold me too close.
Love is frightening
in its own way, especially when it's so close.
Front and center:
all that needs a change but
I have liked the way
that I've been half-invested in
easier believing,
a cozy little refuge from a
call I've set aside.
Thank you for the sun
and thank you for the rain,
you and I will always have a thing.
Thank you for your kindness,
even for your silence,
all the lessons that I thought I’d never need.
I've read the stories of
somebody else's life;
it's hard to read my own.
All those walls,
they fell like dominoes.
I feel young as well as old.
It’s quite a long way off
from where I’m standing.
Here’s a place at least I know,
and where I’ve landed now.
What is it I’m leaving behind?
It might be better than the things that lie ahead.
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26. |
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Born again, lost again, when does it stop,
a train that can’t find its way home.
And all of your songs they insist that I’m strong,
but fail where they try to console.
I was looking for some good distraction
to keep me away from a holy reaction.
Why so secret, your sacred hill to climb?
An adage away from the end of the race,
but why does it feel like a start?
A dusty old book with its pages so sharp
piercing right through to the heart
And all the while you were taking a lover
and lighting a candle and thinking it over.
Why so secret, your sacred count of time?
What does it mean to be right only relatively?
I’ve been trying so hard to raise my voice.
What does it mean to say: best just to walk your way.
Livin’ every day on this part-time joy.
All the laws we broke just to get here;
is it nice here, though we fight here?
All because of some inclination
too impatient for elation of a fleeting kind.
I have a list of a hundred ways that I could be perfectly fine.
A remedy made for the ache in my heart was sold to me cheap at the time.
Now the cost of a splendid illusion
is leaving me spinning and rich in confusion.
But this faint light has saved my wondering mind.
|
||||
27. |
Epilogue: Ever Afters
04:02
|
|||
|
There's something 'bout a way out
when it's lonely and the fire's down.
There's something 'bout a smile
when there's reason just to cry.
There's something 'bout the presence
of another when the night's long.
There's nothing like forgiveness
when you know it's been a while.
And who put forever
in our hearts and our stories?
And who dared to tell us
it's all right?
And who said that always
wasn't quite so hard?
And who gave us happy ever afters?
And maybe I've been dancing
'round the chances I've been given.
And I've heard the best of
is the rest of your life.
There's something 'bout words and
quiet moments make them real.
I'll laugh along the way,
for the good days yet to come.
|
||||
28. |
||||
|
I've kept You waiting,
kept You waiting on Your knee.
But You've been so patient and so kind
as I'm making up my mind.
And I take the long way
to the good way back to You.
And I, I'll have bad days
to the best days in You.
And are we getting any younger, I wonder,
if all that we say we should do is true,
maybe all the reason's deep in You.
I just imagine what it would be
to live a moment by Your side.
And then, You remind me:
You're inside me
in Your garden of grace.
And am I getting any closer to knowing
if all that is You is what I need,
it could be, maybe all the reason's deep in me.
|
||||
29. |
||||
|
She fought a dozen wars
all before the break of day.
Three angels kept her company,
and whispered their good ways.
And then the dawn would sing
of the wonders the light would bring.
Drawn from her slumber suddenly,
her sight restored by a king.
Set sail, let in the tale,
that new lands are waiting,
dearer than the home you left behind.
And each sign, you will find,
tells how the truth will surprise.
Subject to whims and wind,
we scatter our hymns of praise.
Not ceasing to seek out the one,
the one who says he'll save.
One day all this shall end,
and before that gate we’ll stand.
She hopes his mighty laughter
draws her in by the hand.
|
||||
30. |
||||
|
You look so tired up there alone.
May I come closer and touch Your throne?
May I stand here ‘til morning, to see it all done?
May I tell the whole world You've already won?
You looked in my eyes and said what You found;
I stole a glance at Your woven crown.
I wonder: You and I only; it doesn't seem fair.
Could I tell the whole world and bring them here?
It's not about the right words
said at all the right times,
waiting for the light to catch
so perfectly around me.
It's all about the small things,
looking for the high King,
seeing what the morning brings,
in hope they recognize You.
I dragged my feet here through miles and miles of rain.
Could I have come here without this pain?
Tell me, is halfway something,
or did You want everything?
Since I could see my whole life changing.
Every inch of me is called
and You'd love me to be
the one You had in mind from the start of time.
|
||||
31. |
||||
|
I remember like it happened yesterday,
the light, it was golden and low.
I recall how the breeze was calling out,
calling my name, it was calling my name.
And one day you'll know,
when the wind bears you home
to the land where the sea the meets the sun.
Until then, I'm sure that there's more to the world
past the edge of the last horizon.
The very air filled with a thousand good dreams,
and evening came sweetly.
A vision of water lay far ahead,
where it touched the sky.
The ground was so soft and a perfect green,
and that's where we met him.
He said that we'd no longer pass this way,
and so remember it all by another name.
|
||||
32. |
||||
|
I heard you scraped your knee again on thoughts of rock.
You'll see they're not so innocent,
those creeds without a cost.
You can be sure of one thing:
I won't let you go.
If you'll just promise one thing before you go:
Don't look down, it's too far,
just keep a safe hold on my hand.
Keep looking up,
so you'll see the light crash through those clouds at last,
don't look down.
I hear you spoke your mind again,
an arrow, to be sure.
Did they just smile and ask to be friends,
or did they show you the door?
You could have been that someone
to save the day,
but something older told you to walk away.
Don't let the sad sound strike the chord of your joy.
If I could let you in on one thing
I love it more when you sing that song,
when you smile that smile,
when you laugh that laugh,
when you say that all good things last,
when you trust me.
I know you and I have met before, do you recall?
Others may say whatever they want, but their truth is so small.
You can be sure of one thing:
I won't let you go.
If you'll just promise one thing, before you go…
|
||||
33. |
Epilogue: Juliette
04:26
|
|||
|
The sound of water always lulled her to sleep,
like the gentlest waves you could imagine.
And she dreamed all of the purest dreams
untouched by the madness outside her.
And one day when the storm broke,
the ocean spoke no more.
And all the dreams ended there,
inside where,
alas, there was
a dreamer alive there.
The sound of conversation stirred her awake,
with all the comfort of a long awaited embrace.
But they were only words deciding her fate
without her thoughts and her perspective.
And one day when the storm ends
our knees will bend for the unnamed.
And is it freedom on display
as some say,
or gone astray,
replacing the day with evening.
"With all the emptiness locked inside
maybe this thing will satisfy.
With all the unwritten lullabies,
maybe this love will sanctify."
|
||||
34. |
||||
|
I could stay within this moment for days.
Inside its name:
a hymn to all the brave.
Let me call him Father freely.
As nights linger, a girl must believe
in anything that’s stronger,
anything other than me.
And I remain Somebody’s highest concern.
The tide may change,
but still the psalm is heard.
Delight takes me, turns all inside out.
With eyes open, and hardly a sound -
Everything is silent,
as He was just looking at me.
Taken in, they’re so polite,
in their shining robes of very pretty lies.
Uniforms of strange deceit,
and stranger countries they’ve wanted me to see.
One day, spells break and walls do come down.
Head bowed, hands reach for the rose on the ground –
A symbol that it’s alright.
And I remain Somebody’s highest concern.
The tide may change,
But still the psalm is heard.
|
||||
35. |
||||
|
Kept at the window by some simple sight.
Her hands are so little, but open and free,
waiting to be the ways that He’s writing His name
on the world.
As years go by,
my dear, you’ll find
that you have never spoken
to anyone ordinary.
See the very heart of the Son
in the heart of the one you meet.
All of your laughter, and each of your sighs,
and every teardrop is making you whole,
shaping your soul,
a canvas on which He will paint.
And all the stories you loved,
they won’t end.
And all of your playtime,
it was never pretend.
Never imagine that you are alone.
Ever the loveliest sight:
this, your home.
|
||||
36. |
Epilogue: The Herald
04:17
|
|||
|
Silent is this night,
holy is this hour,
quiet is my heart for the first time.
An unspoken meaning
fills up my mind,
as I take a deep breath now.
And I saw them laughing
so loud that the stars nearly fell from the sky
but the one that remained through the night was alive
with the light that was home in His eyes.
And I heard them singing
a song that I’d heard long before I had learned
how the world often turns to a tune that refuses to let the joy in.
Oh, let the joy in!
And they may doubt these words,
and they may doubt these visions,
but they can’t take away
what I wait for.
And some of them wonder:
am I feeling alright?
And whatever happened that night?
|
||||
Miriam Marston Portland, Oregon
I started composing when I was 10. I called one of my first songs "Nostalgia", although I can't recall what my ten year old self was so nostalgic about. Released my first album in 2000. Things got busy, but I never stopped writing. Even if it meant composing on a mostly-broken piano in the basement of a university that I wasn't even enrolled in. Enjoy all the music and reading! Pax. MM ... more
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