"All my life I have lived in a kind of haste and darkness of desire , ambition , accomplishment. Now the bird is singing , but not anymore of this world. And something inside myself is flutter and leaping , is trying to type it down , in lumped-up language , in outcry , in patience, in music , in a snow-white book."
- Mary Oliver
__________________________________
Sailing On
__________________________________
Sailing On
Would
any leg of the passage have been different
If
the pilgrim sailor was aware of what lie ahead?
Was
he immune or ignorant
To
the epic canon of a humble ancient troubadour poet?
Did
charting a course really matter?
Was
not the grand sojourn of Odysseus
Protected
by divine interventions?
“Keep
your the face turned to the wind”
whispered
that constant unknown spirit companion.
“Now
is the perpetual baptism.
All
life is sacred all ways.”
Consecrated
singers and poets
Mystically
channel the flow of that same spirit’s voice
Discerning
the perfect words and melodies
Nourishing
the souls of thirsting pilgrim sailors.
Coincidences
are not what they seem.
Even
the wild geese know when to get out
And
when and how to return home.
That
gentle flame within is really a lantern to the truth.
No
treasure is hidden,
It
has always been right where they said it would be.
Sometimes
it takes a little longer for some
To
realize that peace is more
than
a word or windshield sticker.
“Always
afraid of losing sight
That
which is great is not.”
The
once wanderer sings
“Temporary
rainbows only lead to what you got.
Dreams
of dreaming, closing your eyes and see the way”
Even
the little innocents know when to hold on and let go
Maybe
they listen more closely
To
that angel, their all-loving lifetime guardian .
The
wisdom of old salts about managing storms
Instruct
to let go and your vessel will upright herself
Echoes
of Isaiah’s words would rain down
Consoling
one more time
The
pilgrim sailed on.
- JF Sobecki
___________________________________________________
Sail
On- Mary Black
Sailed my whole life on
bloodied seas
Sail on through the storm
Laughed in hard times, cried in easy
Taking it all back home
Walked through storms in shadowed valleys
(Sail on etc)
Asking questions that had no answers
(Taking it all etc)
Seen loved ones born, seen loved ones dying
Rocked with laughter, I've shook with crying
Been down and out, been high and mighty
Been a peacemaker, been a fighter
Sail on, Sail on
Sail on
Sail on, Sail on
Only a fool breaks their heart
For what has gone
Known real love and the joy of giving
Saw it die but I kept on living
Lived with love and lived without it
Still believe and I'll never doubt it
Sail on, Sail on
The hour of sorrow is the herald
Of the hope that is the dawn
Sail on, Sail on
Going home to where
I truly do belong
Sail on, Sail on
Don't waste your time in asking
Where the time you spent has gone
Sail on, Sail on
Only a fool breaks their heart
For what has gone
Sail on through the storm
Laughed in hard times, cried in easy
Taking it all back home
Walked through storms in shadowed valleys
(Sail on etc)
Asking questions that had no answers
(Taking it all etc)
Seen loved ones born, seen loved ones dying
Rocked with laughter, I've shook with crying
Been down and out, been high and mighty
Been a peacemaker, been a fighter
Sail on, Sail on
Sail on
Sail on, Sail on
Only a fool breaks their heart
For what has gone
Known real love and the joy of giving
Saw it die but I kept on living
Lived with love and lived without it
Still believe and I'll never doubt it
Sail on, Sail on
The hour of sorrow is the herald
Of the hope that is the dawn
Sail on, Sail on
Going home to where
I truly do belong
Sail on, Sail on
Don't waste your time in asking
Where the time you spent has gone
Sail on, Sail on
Only a fool breaks their heart
For what has gone
·
The Island – Paul Brady
The Island
They say the skies of
Lebanon are burning.
Those mighty cedars bleeding in the heat.
They're showing pictures on the television.
Women and children dying in the street
And we're still at it in our own place.
Still trying to reach the future through the past.
Still trying to carve tomorrow from a tombstone...
Those mighty cedars bleeding in the heat.
They're showing pictures on the television.
Women and children dying in the street
And we're still at it in our own place.
Still trying to reach the future through the past.
Still trying to carve tomorrow from a tombstone...
But Hey! Don't listen
to me!.
This wasn't meant to be no sad song.
We've heard too much of that before.
Right now I only want to be here with you.
Till the morning dew comes falling.
I want to take you to the island.
And trace your footprints in the sand.
And in the evening when the sun goes down
We'll make love to the sound of the ocean
This wasn't meant to be no sad song.
We've heard too much of that before.
Right now I only want to be here with you.
Till the morning dew comes falling.
I want to take you to the island.
And trace your footprints in the sand.
And in the evening when the sun goes down
We'll make love to the sound of the ocean
They're raising banners
over by the markets
Whitewashing slogans on the shipyard walls
Witchdoctors praying for a mighty showdown
No way our holy flag is gonna fall
Up here we sacrifice our children
To feed the worn-out dreams of yesterday
And teach them dying will lead us into glory...
Whitewashing slogans on the shipyard walls
Witchdoctors praying for a mighty showdown
No way our holy flag is gonna fall
Up here we sacrifice our children
To feed the worn-out dreams of yesterday
And teach them dying will lead us into glory...
Now I know us plain
folks don't see all the story.
And I know this peace and love's just copping out.
And I guess these young boys dying in the ditches.
Is just what being free is all about.
And how this twisted wreckage down on main street.
Will bring us all together in the end.
And we'll go marching down the road to freedom....
Freedom
And I know this peace and love's just copping out.
And I guess these young boys dying in the ditches.
Is just what being free is all about.
And how this twisted wreckage down on main street.
Will bring us all together in the end.
And we'll go marching down the road to freedom....
Freedom
- P. Brady
For Quinn and Caroline
Speaking
with the Angel - R. Sexsmith
Speaking With the Angel
He don't know how to
lie or undermine you
He don't know how to steal
How to deal or deceive
So leave him alone
Set him free
Cause he's speaking with the angel
Speaking with the angel that only he can see
You'd say he's so helpless
But what about you?
You don't pull the string
Don't you know anything?
Leave him alone, let him be
Cause he's speaking with the angel
Speaking with the angel that only he can see
He don't know how to steal
How to deal or deceive
So leave him alone
Set him free
Cause he's speaking with the angel
Speaking with the angel that only he can see
You'd say he's so helpless
But what about you?
You don't pull the string
Don't you know anything?
Leave him alone, let him be
Cause he's speaking with the angel
Speaking with the angel that only he can see
Would you teach him
'bout heaven?
Would you show him how to love the earth?
Would you poison him with prejudice
From the moment of his birth?
Would you show him how to love the earth?
Would you poison him with prejudice
From the moment of his birth?
He in the name of love
He in the blood of lamb
He that never lays blame
He don't even know his name
So leave him alone
Set him free
Cause he's speaking with the angel
Speaking with the angel (the very one)
That spoke to you and me
Oh do you remember?
He in the blood of lamb
He that never lays blame
He don't even know his name
So leave him alone
Set him free
Cause he's speaking with the angel
Speaking with the angel (the very one)
That spoke to you and me
Oh do you remember?
-
R. Sexsmith
10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
- Isaiah 55:10-11
THE
BELL AND THE BLACKBIRD
The
sound of a bell
Still
reverberating,
or
a blackbird calling
from
a corner of the field,
asking
you to wake
into
this life,
or
inviting you deeper
into
the one that waits.
Either
way
takes
courage,
either
way wants you
to
be nothing
but
that self that
is
no self at all,
wants
you to walk
to
the place
where
you find
you
already know
how
to give
every
last thing
away.
The approach
that is also
the meeting
itself,
without any
meeting
at all.
That radiance
you have always
carried with you
as you walk
both alone
and completely
accompanied
in friendship
by every corner
of the world
crying
Allelujah.
- David Whyte
Wild Geese – M. Oliver
Wild Geese
You do not have to be good
You do not have to walk on your knee
for a hundred mile through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair , yours , and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are , no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting-
over and over announcing your place
In the family of things.
- Mary Oliver
You do not have to be good
You do not have to walk on your knee
for a hundred mile through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair , yours , and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are , no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting-
over and over announcing your place
In the family of things.
- Mary Oliver
Just one more song for the road…..
Ain’t No Man – Avett Brothers
“One day I will find the right words and they will
be simple”
- Jack Kerouac
“The only truth is music”
- Jack Kerouac
Copyright All Rights Reserved 2018 JF
Sobecki LLC
