1. Halfway Across the World

A light flashes somewhere across the sky;

I see the dim stars in night's black.

I feel you beside me, but when I reach out,

There's no one there but me.

You're halfway across the world tonight;

I call your name to an empty sky.

You're halfway across the world tonight;

The echo in my ears is the only reply.

I walk, and the waves break around my feet;

My footprints dissolve in the sand.

I wish the sea could carry me to where you are,

But the waves only strike the shore.

I feel the wind and the ocean spray;

I remember your love deep in my heart.

I pray for the day when you'll return

And the sea won't keep us apart.

A light flashes somewhere within the mist;

I see the dim stars through the fog.

I feel you beside me, but when I look around,

I find I'm all alone.

2. A Parting

I saw you dancing across the room;

I smiled, but you did not see.

Last month I would have been by your side;

Now both of us are free.

When I'm alone, thinking about you,

Some memories are hard to forget.

Time spent with you, the touch of your hand,

A parting I did not expect.

You said it's over between us,

A dream, an illusion I'd thought would last.

Now when I see you, everything's changed,

But it's hard to let go of the past.

Often I wonder what went wrong;

Was one of us to blame?

Did what we had end far too soon,

Or is this just part of a game?

Sometimes I wish I'd never known you;

Missing you with me is still hard to bear.

Being together I took for granted;

Now I'm all too aware.

Now at parties I'm with other people;

Maybe you're there, but I don't look around.

Still at times, loneliness haunts me,

Even as part of a crowd.

Did our parting hurt you at all?

Was I so easy for you to forget?

Now I see you with someone else;

It's too late for regrets.

3. Just a Dream

I saw the smile lighting your face

I'd wished but hardly dare hope;

I bent to kiss you as bells started ringing,

But I woke up alone.

So long I've wanted to show that I care for you;

Can it be just a dream?

Dreams that I told you, like unhealed wounds,

How could you understand?

Visions that haunt me, nightly reminding

Of longing for one I can't have.

Retreat in sleep to perfect illusion,

Love so easy to find;

Always in waking, why must I fall for

Those who would only deny?

So long I've wanted to share my nights with you;

Can it be just a dream?

So long I've wanted to share my life with you;

Can it be just a dream?

4. The Last Ride

Words by Robert Browning

I SAID--Then dearest, since 'tis so,

Since now at length my fate I know,

Since nothing all my love avails,

Since all, my life seemed meant for, fails,

Since this was written and needs must be--

My whole heart rises up to bless

Your name in pride and thankfulness!

Take back the hope you gave,--I claim

Only a memory of the same,

--And this beside, if you will not blame,

Your leave for one more last ride with me.

Fail I alone, in words and deeds?

Why, all men strive and who succeeds?

We rode; it seemed my spirit flew,

Saw other regions, cities new,

As the world rushed by on either side.

I thought,--All labor, yet no less

Bear up beneath their unsuccess.

Look at the end of work, contrast

The petty done, the undone vast,

This present of theirs with the hopeful past!

I hoped she would love me; here we ride.

What hand and brain went ever paired?

What heart alike conceived and dared?

What act proved all its thought had been?

What will but felt the fleshly screen?

Who knows what's fit for us?  Had fate

Proposed bliss here should sublimate

My being--had I signed the bond--

Still one must lead some life beyond,

Have a bliss to die with, dim-descried.

This foot once planted on the goal,

This glory-garland round my soul,

Could I descry such?  Try and test!

I sink back shuddering from the quest.

Earth being so good, would Heaven seem best?

Now, Heaven and she are beyond this ride.

And yet--she has not spoke so long!

What if heaven be that, fair and strong

At life's best, with our eyes upturned

Whither life's flower is first discerned,

We, fixed so, ever should so abide?

What if we still ride on, we two

With life for ever old yet new,

Changed not in kind but in degree,

The instant made eternity,--

And heaven just prove that I and she

Ride, ride together, forever, ride.

5. Flight

With inspiration from a poem by Anne McCaffrey

Two of us standing alone by the sea,

You like a seabird, beautiful, free.

Suddenly darkness, as I draw near your side.

How can I know you; O what do you hide?

A whisper in shadows, a cry in the night,

Your soul tries to reach out, lost in its fright,

Cries "Love me forever!"  Hope tries to take flight.

Plunges to earth in morning's light.

Together in darkness, is it love that we share?

Your silence unbroken grows harder to bear.

Passion transformed to anger unplanned;

The hurt in your heart I can't understand.

A whisper in shadows, a cry in the night,

Your soul tries to reach out, lost in its fright,

Cries "Love me forever, or else I must die!"

Hope turns to mourning as flames fill the sky.

You came back to see me, revealing at last

Your reasons for silence, the pain in your past.

As I disclose things hidden in me;

Can our words light the darkness and set both of us free?

A whisper in shadows, a cry in the night,

Your soul tries to reach out, overcomes fright.

I told you I love you; how bright were your eyes!

Hope amid longing as dawn fills the sky.

6. Party Game

A weekend, a party, you see her alone

And change your decision who you'll try to take home.

Ease her reluctance by buying her drinks;

Dazed she leaves with you, too late to think.

You say it's nothing, it's only a game,

She's oversensitive, you can't be blamed.

Soon you forget her; such a big heart!

Out of your vision her world falls apart.

Wake up together, an ache in her head,

Glad she's forgotten the things that you said.

More force than persuasion to satisfy need;

You're sure she's unhurt if you can't see her bleed.

She knows that it happened, but can't understand;

Her lack of consent couldn't stop your demands.

Her anger misplaced, she turns it inside;

Hurt that soon blinds to the strength of your lies.

You say it's nothing, it's only a game,

It's not your fault if she felt any pain.

What should be love, polluted with hate;

How will you escape the hell you create?

7. Isle of Man

Words and music by Alain Jourgensen

Nice place, clean water

Fresh air, blue skies

Like pirates we tried it

We took what we deserved

Half million years later

We'd used up our reserves

We're crying, “what happened? “

We get what we deserve

We get what we deserve

We get instead the isle of man

I’m walking through forests

Of garbage waist high

Can't clean it, I mean it

We get what we deserve

Gray mornings, gray evenings

It's growing on my nerves

Just gases? You fascists!

You get what you deserve

You get what you deserve

You get instead the isle of man

I'm writing this letter

So no one will forget

Some future cave dweller

Will find these notes on isle of man

8. BLM#

I heard George Floyd was murdered,

Saw video on the news,

Can’t imagine the fear he felt,

Never walked in those shoes.

A lot of Black folks like him

Have suffered fates much the same.

Can’t you see there’s a problem?

Do you know their names?

Black lives matter,

And other lives matter, too.

If you won’t say that Black lives matter,

Do they really matter to you?

Sold to these shores as property,

Two and a half centuries in slavery,

Still the subject of systemic 

Brutality.

Rumors of violence, never a right,

Become an excuse by some who are White

To close their eyes, then claim 

Injustice is nowhere in sight.

Black lives matter,

And other lives matter, too.

If you won’t say that Black lives matter,

Do they really matter to you?

9. Mirrors

Many a mile I’ve wandered

Through this house of mirrors,

Searching to find a way out,

Knowing my home isn’t here.

Amid the smoke that surrounds me,

Faces appear in the glass;

Are they long-sought fellow travelers

Or reflections of self that flow past?

Still I desire perfection

In a world distorted and crazed,

To discern beyond all illusion

The meaning of this maze.

Guide my paths to what’s real,

For glimpses are all I can see;

And make my image more truly

That which You meant it to be.

Oh Lord, this day, these things I pray.

I plunge down slides, then start to climb

Towards heights that seem out of reach;

Pass through tunnels that move and spin

On floors that shift under my feet.

I enter a room full of blackness,

A spotlight shines in my face.

Do I hear whispered laughter

Or murmurs of welcome and grace?

Can I recall the reflection

That shown when the glass was clear?

Do I believe in perfect love

That casts out all of my fear?

Guide me towards others who walk this path,

For glimpses I’m starting to see;

And make our images truly

That which You meant them to be.

Oh Lord, this day, these things I pray.

Dear Lord, this day, these things I pray.