The following lyrics were created for the musical stories which were published as our fifth collection in 2006 under the title of “The Way to Love.” Simply click on the images below to go directly to the original story, music and complete lyrics along with other related links.
Back to Settle Down Forward to Where I Need to Be
The Way to Love
I want to make love with you today
I want to make love with you in a special way
Take your breath away
With mine, then give it back
Take care, make love, take time
I want to make love with you at dusk
I want to make love with you, I feel I must
Hang on every word you say
Before you speak
Take care, make love, take time
The way things used to be
Were mostly good, but then
Sometimes there was something missing
Although often close we were living separate lives
Then I realized I was missing you
Then I realized you were missing me, too
I want to make love with you tonight
I want to make love with you in a different light
Listen for secrets you leave
Between the lines
Take care, make love, take time
I want to make love with you til dawn
I want to make love with you all night long
Whisper in your ear
And when we are alone
Take care, make love, take time
Take care, take time
The way to love takes time
I want to make love with you
Offerings
Here I am, this is all I can offer
Dreams and imaginings
I’m willing to share with you
Is there anything more I can do
Here it is, something I’m sure I can offer
Truth and compassion
I’m willing to share with you
Is there anything more I can do
As we weave this tapestry, the work of many hands
We wonder of the days to come
And honor where we have been
And as we share our poetry, our stories, and our worlds
Intertwined in every detail
There is so much more
Even though it is today we weave
The threads continue on
And on
So this is it, what else can I offer
Time to take a chance for a change
If you’re willing to share with me
Who knows what more we could be
Just think of how much more we can be
Where the Iris Blooms
Beneath the shady oak
Where the ivy grows
Is not where the iris blooms
Under the lacy tree, I see
Vines spreading wild and free
But it’s not where the iris blooms
Out in the bright sunshine
The iris stands proud and tall
With plenty of room to breathe
And sway in the morning breezes of springtime
Peeking above the garden wall
The iris thrives, the iris grows
Once I cast great shadows over the garden
Creating shady, barren ground
Nothing bloomed
Then just by stepping aside
Letting the sunshine through
It wasn’t long before I saw
The flowers bloom
And I blossomed too
Basking in filtered light
Ferns unfurl with delight
But it’s not where the iris blooms
Tucked in beneath the brush
Where the moss grows lush
Is not where the iris blooms
Out in the bright sunshine
The iris stands proud and tall
With plenty of room to breathe
And sway in the morning breezes of springtime
Peeking above the garden wall
The iris thrives, the iris grows
Season after sun-filled season, taller still, she looms
Awakened after winter’s freezing, the purple iris blooms
With the sun, she blooms
The iris blooms
My Cottage
In my cottage
Far beyond the edge of town
Where the woods begin
Is where I can be found
Safe inside, satisfied
With the fire I have built to warm my face and hands
Now as I look around
I know each and every stone
And every intimate corner
In my cottage
After many years I finally found
This private space
Filled with magic and with peace for me
Somehow in this place my days
Have more meaning
There’s a sacred, subtle thrill I feel
And as I look around
I know each and every stone
And every intimate corner in
My cottage
In my cottage
Yet to be created
Alive in words unspoken
My dream has waited
Longing to be reality
With the fire I will build to warm my face and hands
And when I look around
I’ll know each and every stone
And every intimate corner
In my cottage
Circle of Trust
In the stillness, full moon shining down
Circling the crackling fire we all gather around
In the evening, eyes reflecting the flames
We pass the hours knowing our lives are the same
As I listen to your words, the stories are my own
And I think about the times gone by
The Source from where they’ve grown
Distant echoes
As we are standing within the circle of trust
Lingering in what might be, quietly we stand together
Called to listen patiently, it helps to share the day
Peering past the embers there are faces we’ve known forever
Brothers and sisters on a journey, on their way
Holders of hope, makers of myth—In circle of trust
In this moment, with stars in our eyes
We make a heartfelt promise to meet here on these nights
In this clearing, old trees reaching far
Standing in silent witness, they hear what’s in our hearts
As they listen to our words, the stories become true
And we think about the times to come
The Source somehow made new
Distant calling
As we are standing within the circle
Always within the circle
Taking time for the circle of trust
Heartland
Dark storms roll in the heartland, overhead
As a threat to the work we have done
We were counting upon better weather
Some relief, a reward for what we had begun
Since you know it means the world to us
And to our sons and daughters
Clouds will clear, we will survive
Because you know it means the world to us
This harvest for our sons and daughters
Times may be tough but tomorrow comes
So we won’t stay down, we will rise up again
Someday when storms are weathered
And all the trials are over
Then there will be a change
Struggles won’t be in vain
If we just stand together
Sharing the things that we have learned and loved
With hope we will prevail
Now we wait in the heartland, patiently
With some strength we have held in reserve
We are counting upon better weather
Some relief, for it’s nothing more than we deserve
Since you know it means the world to us
For all our sons and daughters
Clouds will clear, we will survive
Because you know it means the world to us
This harvest for our sons and daughters
Times may be tough but tomorrow comes
So we won’t stay down, we will rise up
No we won’t stay down, we will rise up again
In the Meantime
You were waiting for me
To say something thoughtful
Something you might understand
Something you thought we could share
But I wasn’t listening
Or so it seemed
In the meantime
In between times
Days were filled with plans and schemes
Always so much to be done
There were no moments to spare
Waiting was needed
Or so it seemed
Somehow I thought that when
All of the work was through
And everything else was over
I would return to you
I would come back to you
Tell you stories of my thoughts
And exactly what I feel
Hint of places where I go
Then invite you into
Where I’m waiting for you
I’ll say something thoughtful
Something we both understand
Something I hope we will share
We’ll have forever
Yesterdays Me
In your eyes again
Tears have just begun
And I wonder what it is I might have done
Holding onto memories
You miss the times gone by
Holding on tightly
To what used to be
Today you cry for me
You cry for the yesterday me
Yes, those were sweet yesterdays
But they are gone
How I love those times we shared
Now let’s move on
That was then, and you are here
Holding on tightly
To what used to be
Today you cry for me
You cry for the yesterday me
Now I’m wondering
If we can begin
Without getting caught up on where we have been
What are the chances
You need no more
Holding on tightly
To what used to be
Please don’t cry for me
Don’t cry for the yesterday me
Eye Witness
Where I stand there is no courtroom
In fact there is no crime
Yet waiting ready to testify
Is the witness of my life
Eyewitness to my life
Through the years always present
She’s seen every petty crime
Her probing eye can’t be evaded
I’ll be doing time
They can find no prior record
No conclusive evidence, but
Guilty of the charges
I offer no defense
In a long list of misdemeanors
Were they her ideas or mine
Though she is clearly implicated
I will be the one to pay the fine
Doing time, I will pay the fine
There are no other suspects
I have no alibi
No shadowed doubt, no false identity
She’s the witness of my life
Eyewitness to my very life
Even if I plead for mercy
I’ll serve 50 years to life
Winter’s End
Just beyond the dark contour of the ridge
That holds the valley in rise wispy clouds
Angel-hair plucked by nimble unseen fingers
Into peaks and smoky swirls
The wind carries the line northernly
A slow-burning fuse
Simmering to its end in nearby Borgo San Lorenzo
Dusk simultaneously makes its claim on the day
In turn obscuring and revealing
The twinkling lights of Santa Brigida and Trebbio Castle
How many in these heavy March days have witnessed this scene
Did a melancholy Beatrice sit at her window
And trace the lines of the distant hills
Was Dante distracted from his words
With this weighty sense of the day’s moody presence
Did Leonardo postpone or make his fateful leap
in the nearby woods on a day like this
A day like this
Maybe they are not really clouds at all
Perhaps the hills and valley sigh
Exhaling a moist heavy breath at winter’s end
Exhaling a moist heavy breath at winter’s end
Legacy
My father told me once, “Now don’t forget
Always do the best you can, you only get one chance”
He said the choice is yours alone
So have no regrets
No matter what you do
Make a memory, leave a legacy
Every day, all day through, I worked at being true
Sage advice, simple words
If I weakened then I heard him say
Make a memory, leave a legacy
Now with children of my own, and with everything I’ve known
I still hear my father whisper, “Just remember”
I see sometimes in their eyes
How his words have touched their lives
As he wove his story day by day
Into memory, and left a legacy
No matter what you do, always do your best
No matter who you are, you only get one chance
No matter where you go, always be true
No matter where your life may lead
Make a memory, leave a legacy
Quality time is undeniably great for relationships. We've discovered that quantity of time can provide that quality. Perhaps it takes Time to Partner.
Uncommon promise 