This song was written as our gift for Pietro after Paola passed away. She died in late summer, before we returned to Italy so we didn’t have the chance to say good-bye. So we decided to say our farewell with music.

We had the lyrics translated into Italian. During a phone call with the translator, she asked if we had experienced a loss. The meaning of the poem was clear to her. To commemorate Paola, our friend, Liz Ryley, gave us a rose tree. We decided to take a photo of the beautiful roses and frame it along with the poem as a gift to Pietro.

Lyrics

Winter comes, just another season
Sitting still, waiting to be warm
Missing all the roses in the garden
Are they gone, merely sleeping, or taking other form

Careful fingers, weave past thorns
Reaching for flowers
Brushing loose petals
Sending them gently down
To the ground

Voices inches from their faces
Whisper to the blooms
Yet another afternoon gathering
Flowers for every room
Each and every room

Seasons change, just another lifetime
Standing still, trying not to sigh
Dreaming of the roses from the garden
Pressed and dried
In the scrapbook
Safely held inside

Pressed and dried
In the scrapbook
Safely held inside

Credits

From Reason to Stay, track released 01 January 2005
Cheryl Martlage – Lyrics and vocals
Emerson Martlage – Music, guitar and vocals
Tom Tomasello – Producer/Arranger
Jim Bruno – Vocal producer
Mr Toad’s San Francisco – Mastering
Inspiration – Pietro and Paola Quagli