_hardest things to hold
© by Lydia Witman
A mind open to sunlight like blue sky over the plains
A heart receiving blessings like a garden receives rain
A soul that knows no limits though the body may feel pain
A soul that knows no limits though the body may feel pain

A mind seeking an order that the hands can put aright
A heart that's warm & humble like the flower's buzzing knight
A soul that knows an answer when the eyes are blind at night
A soul that knows an answer when the eyes are blind at night

These are the hardest things to hold, the hardest things to find
When we're told that happiness comes in boxes, bags, and wine
O let me be what I must be and find what I must find
O let me be what I must be and not fall far behind
If you'll join alongside me the path will all unwind

last chance
© by Lydia Witman
take the last stale breath
from an old cigarette
take another swig and drink it all in
drink it all in

from the pale moonlight
to all the shadows of night
hope for one last glance
to take it all in
take it all in

it's the moment that you waited for
all that time spent opening doors
it's the moment that you waited for
all that time spent opening doors

take the last turn, here,
to the end of the road
she left the light on
so that you could see,
so that you could see
this is the last chance that you'll have (tonight)
so you'd better try
and make it all good
make it all right

it's the moment that you waited for
all that time spent opening doors
it's the moment that you waited for
all that time spent opening doors

flicker
© by Lydia Witman
here in the dark
I'm a small flame
and I am a moth
searching for me
circling 'round myself in the shadows

’cause I need to find light
and I need to find warmth
to bring me back from the deep
when my heart sleeps

I'm sorry that
I don't always see your light
when it's shining there for me;
I can feel your heat
but I'm blind and I'm fumbling, fumbling
and it's not your fault

and I need your love's light
and I need your love's warmth
to bring me back from the deep
when my heart sleeps

I think of the days
when we wander
in a waking dream of petals and poetry
and we are awake--
we flutter and fly
we flicker and sigh

’cause we need light to live
and we need warmth to breathe
to keep us from the deep
when our hearts sleep

reves de toi (dreams of you)
© by Lydia Witman
le jour s'ouvrit et tu me manque
pendant le jour, je pense de toi
et quand le jour se ferme, je m'etreind
avec les deux bras tremblant

je suis toute seule avec une joie
qui est arrive de les eaux de mon coeur;
quoique je suis ici et tu es la
et dans l'espace entre nous il est froid

mais cette joie me fait chaude
et je peux ferme les yeux--
les cils decendent sur des reves de toi

dreams of you (translation)
© by Lydia Witman
the day opens and I miss you
during the day, I think of you
and when the day closes, I embrace myself
with two trembling arms

I am alone with a joy
that has come from the waters of my heart;
though I am here and you are there
and in the space between us it is cold

but this joy keeps me warm
and I can close my eyes--
my eyelashes descend over dreams of you

what remains
© by Lydia Witman
do you ever picture the bones inside you
walking around with you as you move
bones in your fingers, bones in your toes
a bony jaw that says what you know

your skeleton keeps you from falling apart
it enters a room and it stays
your skeleton keeps you together
it never will just go away

do you ever think of the love inside you
waiting around for you while you live
love in your fingers, love in your toes
love that waits for you to let it grow

yeah, love keeps you from falling apart
it enters a heart and it stays
love keeps you together
it never will just go away

cleo's dream
© by Lydia Witman
give me the asp now, pour me some wine
keep the fire going, the smoke must rise high
give me the asp now, smell these blue lilies
come here beside me and rest in my arms

I will not see the temples in tatters
I am denying their so-called gods
I am refusing their men of power
I choose my own destiny

do you remember boats on the river
fishermen shouting their rough words across
you and I floated on a barge filled with flowers
we spoke behind curtains, we cinched our knot

I will not see the temples in tatters
I am denying their so-called gods
I am refusing their men of power
I choose my own destiny

how did I fail here, what could I do
where will they go now, and who will they follow
will we rest easy, love

kiss me again now, can't you come closer
it seems as though you are so far away--
let the snake go now, wasn't it painless
we have done what we must today

I will not see
I am denying
I am refusing
I choose

this is a chapter
© by Lydia Witman
under a new moon, I'm in my car
a long way from home like a motherless child
the faster I go, the farther I am
from you my love and all that we share

but this is a chapter in the story of us;
a few more pages and there we will be
I'll kiss your neck as you are getting dressed
and you'll be just as I remember

under a full moon, I'm in the yard
coming back home like a wandering child
each step I take, I'm a little bit closer
to you my love and all that we share

and it's been a chapter in the story of us;
a few more pages, who knows where we'll be
I'm kissing your neck as you're getting dressed
and you are just as I remember

this is the shape of my longing for you
this is my dream of a happy return
this is the plot as it twists and it turns
this is my shape when I'm longing for you

and this is a chapter in the story of us
a few more pages, who knows where we'll be
I'm kissing your neck as you are getting dressed
and you are just as I remember

movement of wing
© by Lydia Witman
oh cities of ash
fiery scars
whitest silence
silence of stars

breezes burning
waves of fire
borne from seeds of wrath
we sowed

but yet beneath the embers--
movement of wing
the eye emerges
bird of hope--who heeds you now
who heeds you now
who heeds you now

oh grant us cool water
water of peace
grant us the garden
where we all can sleep
the lion beside the lamb
the snake in the tree
maybe this time
we won't lose the key
we won't lose the key
we won't lose the key

but yet beneath the embers--
movement of wing
the eye emerges
bird of hope--who heeds you now
who heeds you now
who heeds you now

winter waltz
© by Lydia Witman
pale full moon, pale blue sky
winter twilight, ravens fly

short cold days and long cold nights
when we stretch from light to light
and Song to song, on our way
on our way toward Spring's first day

bright red berry, white of snow
gold and dark green, fire glow

short cold days and long cold nights
when we stretch from light to light
and Song to song, on our way
on our way toward Spring's first day

ice is glowing on the tree
moonlight tells us where to be

go inside now, where it's warm
this cold night can do no harm
while we're singing, on our way
on our way toward Spring's first day

Holiday Beach
© by Helen S. Hull
holiday beach in winter snow
where did my golden lover go
his arms reached out, so summer brown
I felt them circle me around

umbrellas striped in blue & red
sleep in dark cottages instead
the crooked steps, the old wood pier
could that be you still standing there

run from the shadows, run to me
bring back the sun, the smiling sea
are those the drumbeats of the band
only waves pounding on the sand

your image comes, then disappears
can't see so well through frozen tears
under the lamppost, almost night
could that be you there in the pool of light

run from the shadows, run to me
bring back the sun, the smiling sea
are those the drumbeats of the band
only waves pounding on the sand

little rose
© by Lydia Witman
Stars are shining around you, little one
Let your sleepy eyes close
The moon is smiling upon you, little one
Fold your petals, little rose

We've had a lovely long day, little one
We woke up so long ago
We played underneath blue skies, little one
We saw sunset fires glow

We saw fireflies dancing, little one
We saw moonbeams in a row
We've had a lovely long day, little one
We woke up so long ago

Now the covers are around you, little one
Let your sleepy eyes close
Now your dreams are calling to you, little one
Fold your petals little rose

shatter
© by Lydia Witman
there they float, they are perfect spheres
clear and calm as glass
words of peace, thoughts of joy
fragile happiness that you break

you shatter them, oh you scatter their hearts
you shatter them, oh you scatter their hearts
you cannot let their beauty be
no, you cannot let their beauty be

we are figures made of clay
our fingers bear no claws
we have no shield against your word
our hearts are open to your call

and you shatter them, oh you scatter them
you shatter them, oh you scatter them
you cannot let their beauty be
no, you cannot let their beauty be

I don't understand what holds you back
from peace you know is there
peace holds fire and peace holds pain
peace will win the battle again

again, again, again

rearrange
© by Lydia Witman
it's all grown in weeds
where we used to play
the fortress we dug
from darkest red clay
it's all grown in weeds
the hammock is tattered
the horseshoe has fallen down
into the dirt

oh how things change
how life rearranges
oh how things change
and time slips away

it's paved over now
where he and I lay
in moonlight by grasses
that danced in the breeze
it's paved over now
where he and I sat
to watch the sunrise
in the morning

oh how things change
how life rearranges
oh how things change
and time slips away

and you can't bring it back
and you don't even want to
'cause you know that today
is a day in the past
for a future you're building
while you're sitting here
wondering
how life rearranges
and time slips away

it's all been torn down
the bunker we built
to capture our fears
riddled with guilt
and it's being rebuilt
as a castle for dreams
with towers that reach
into brightest blue heaven

oh how things change
how life rearranges
oh how things change
and time slips away

kites & fields
© by Lydia Witman
please don't run away from the pain
and please don't run away from the fear
’cause fear's how we know when to be brave
and pain's how we know pleasure

we are all learning how to be us in this world
rich and poor, we are all learning how to survive

I know it hurts you ‘cause it hurts us all too and
nobody wants to bring it to light
but we are all tethered, yeah, we are
strings tied to kites and
we can only fall but so far

so please don't run away from the pain
and please don't run away from the fear
’cause fear's how we know when to be brave
and pain's how we know pleasure

we are all learning how to be us in this world
rich and poor, we are all learning how to survive

I know it scares you ‘cause it scares us all too and
everyone wants to push it away
but we are all open, yes, we are
fields under rain and
everyone needs rain to grow

so please don't run away from the pain
and please don't run away from the fear
’cause fear's how we know when to be brave
and pain's how we know pleasure

wait for us
© by Lydia Witman
sometimes you need those lights and that shine
that jumble of people standing in line
cars as they glide and the people inside saying
wait for us, we will be joining you soon

lights are alive and the people inside say
come to us, give us your time
we won't judge you, we won't judge you, we won't judge you

open the door, light spills on the sidewalk
the people are just as alive as they looked
when you walked by the window and stood on the curb saying
wait for us, we will be joining you soon

lights are alive and the people inside say
come to us, give us your time
we won't judge you, we won't judge you, we won't judge you

follow the sound of two voices singing
the notes ring out endlessly into the air
feel your heart beat as it fills up with laughter
and everything you'll be remembering after

lights were alive and the people inside said
come to us, give us your time
we won't judge you, we won't judge you, we won't judge you

willow
© by Lydia Witman
under the willow, you cradle your head
whispering thousands of things
that you should've said, you should've said

under the willow, you sit in a stream
made of hundreds of things
that you could've been, you could've been

your mind is a circus, you're circling round
with nets and hoops, ropes and clowns
ropes and clowns

out in the city, you hide from the lights
you find a dark corner and you try to write
you try to write

here in the corner, you can't find a way
to say anything other than "birth and decay"
"birth and decay"

your mind is a rainstorm
you're hitting the ground
you're crashing and breaking
and you don't make a sound, you don't make a sound

U-Haul Truck
© by Lydia Witman
My hubby wouldn't get behind the wheel
He said he never would
So I jumped in, pulled up the seat
and did the best I could
Fastened my seat belt, adjusted my mirror
and turned the key clockwise
wouldn't you know that engine purred
and much to my surprise...

I loved driving the U-Haul truck
My smile went ear to ear
All the cars like bugs on the road
Approached me with great fear
Slow and steady, I went along
My turns they all were wide
Now I know I love driving trucks
I'll say it with great pride!

There's room in the back for a horse or two
there's bouncing dirty seats
the radio's cacked and the mirror is cracked
the odor is unique
But oh the power of being so big
It's quite worth all the fuss
Now what's next for little old me
Perhaps a Greyhound Bus?

I loved driving the U-Haul truck
My smile went ear to ear
All the cars like bugs on the road
Approached me with great fear
Slow and steady, I went along
My turns they all were wide
Now I know I love driving trucks
I'll say it with great pride!

midnight noon
© by Lydia Witman
midnight is our noon
we are flying to the moon
it's our night sun in the sky
painting clouds as they pass by

let us show you moonlit shadows
let us open all night's doors
let us wander moonlit valleys
'til dawn breaks on eastern shores

we've all chased the golden dream
splashing sunlight on bright streams
but midnight's where we find quicksilver
and we will dance 'til morning's over

let us show you moonlit shadows
let us open all night's doors
let us wander moonlit valleys
'til dawn breaks on eastern shores

there's a raven, blackest blue
flying circles around you;
there's a moonbeam in his eye--
he calls out to ask you Why

let us show you moonlit shadows
let us open all night's doors
let us wander moonlit valleys
'til dawn breaks on eastern shores