Sleeping At Last

[fox69]

"In The Meantime"

"In The Meantime"


Maybe there's no answer here,
At least one we're ready to hear.
No string of words will satisfy.
No simple equation to edify us

Here, in the meantime,
May questioning nurture life.

Fear is illogical math-
An impractical skill to have.
Still, we talk of our future 'til we have no voice;
We'll try to outsmart it with noise.

But here, in the meantime,
May the unknown harvest life.

We're conditioned to mourn our empty glass
Long before it ever poured out our past.
Though our patience is always in short supply,
We'll leave our farsighted worries behind.

Here, in the meantime,
In the gospel of nearsight,
May we learn to live a nourished life.

 

[fox69]

"Intermission"

"Intermission"


I'm so tired but I can't sleep.
My mind is full but I can't speak.
Among the dust of the hard-to-reach, I'm stuck
Right here, somewhere between side a and side b.

I could call it compromise
Or just an intermission.
Some kind of consolation prize
For the race I never finished.

I want to turn these tired gears.
I want to feel the follow-through,
Some kind of equilibrium...
Something to set my watch to.

I'm here, somewhere between
Victory and a white flag.
Caught in this purgatory dream, I'm stuck.

But I want to set the record straight,
I want to retrace my every step.
If I could just rewind all the tapes
Then maybe I'd find my loose thread.

Call it a compromise
Or just an intermission.
Some kind of consolation prize,
So close, but never finished.

I want to turn these tired gears.
I want to feel the follow-through,
Some kind of equilibrium...
Something to set my watch to.

 

[fox69]

"January White"

"January White"


So let's press undo.
Rearrange the old and call it new-
January white.

Every calendar is playing the same old trick:
A year will disappear, replaced with counterfeit
But we'll never really mind.

'cause if nothing else, we're given a little time
To change the game, a chance to redefine
Everything we are,
In our january white.

This year is a sealed envelope,
A culmination of hopes,
The lottery result that we've been crossing fingers for.

We could paint our walls a lighter shade of blue,
Or we could pack our bags and change the entire view
To january white.

If nothing else, we're given a little time
To change the heart in which we change our minds;
Our hourglasses turn.

This year is a sealed envelope;
With apprehensive hope
We brace for anything.
I swear, I understand that nothing changes that,
The past will be the past,
But the future is brighter than any flashback.

Well, we could let our guards down a little easier this time,
We could trust that when there's joy, there's nothing dark behind.
In spite of history,
Hope is january white.

This year, we're starting over again
Letter openers in hand,
A chance to take a chance.
I swear, I understand that the past will be the past,
And nothing changes that,
But the future is brighter than any flashback.

 

[fox69]

"Joy"

"Joy"


It is the calm water
In the middle of an anxious sea.
Where heavy clouds part and the sunrise starts
A fire in the deepest part of me.
So I let go and in this moment, I can breathe.

The clumsy start of adolescence,
The glue that mends our broken remnants,
An overwhelming sense of reverence,
It's a glimpse of light in a mine of gold.

A silver lining spilling over,
The rumor of buried treasure,
The starting line of an adventure,
It's a glimpse of light in a mine of gold.

It's an afterglow, it's an echo
Still ringing out in spite of me.
It's the faint outline of the divine
In the hiding place of my periphery.
So I let go and in this moment, I can breathe.
I can breathe.

The setting sun through open windows,
The honoring of every shadow,
A gratitude for all that follows,
It's a glimpse of light in a mine of gold.

The countless stars we're sleeping under,
It's the brightest sparks that we remember.
When our eyes are closed, we still see embers,
A glimpse of light in a mine of gold.
It's a glimpse of light in a mine of gold.

 

[fox69]

"Jupiter"

"Jupiter"


I wrote it down in the winter of 1610.
Just a secret under lock and key until then.
While collecting the stars, I connected the dots.
I don’t know who I am, but now I know who I’m not.
I’m just a curious speck that got caught up in orbit.
Like a magnet it beckoned my metals toward it.

Make my messes matter.
Make this chaos count.
Let every little fracture in me
Shatter out loud.

Make my messes matter.
Make this chaos count.
Let every little fracture in me
Shatter out loud.

 

[fox69]

"Keep No Score"

"Keep No Score"


God, let her listen
With ears to the ground.
Let voiceless approval
Turn into sound.

In death there are hidden, invisible keys
That only when swallowed
Reveal where they lead.

Life is a mess
We wake up to,
A single thread of a deeper truth.

Is this a graveyard
To bury her heart?
Or is it a garden,
Where new life will start.

'Cause God, when life here ends,
We'll beg you for more.
In temper we'll hate you,
But please keep no score.

Life, it is a mess we wake up to,
A single thread of a deeper truth

 

[fox69]

"Land Or Sea"

"Land Or Sea"


One day we'll wake up and realize-
To make any difference one must simply try.
Try to use words less than our hands,
For change is a direct result of our plans.

We've got no stakes in the ground.
We've got no anchors tied down.
Land or sea, there are no guarantees here, we know,
There is nothing but our fears of being free.

It feels deeper than any ocean floor,
Our lungs no longer believe in any shore.

So let's dry out our clothes and catch our breath.
Our process implies our progress.

We've got no stakes in the ground.
We've got no anchors tied down.
Land or sea, there are no guarantees here, God knows,
There is nothing but our fears of being free.

Finally, there's a mountain beneath us.
But up here our lungs fight against us.
Land or sea, there are no guarantees here.
God knows there is nothing but our fears.

 

[fox69]

"Learning Curve"

"Learning Curve"


I had a good dream-
We built a home.
It was far from perfect,
But we made it our own.

We lived a good life,
We gave and we borrowed.
It was far from perfect,
But we made it our own.

When everything around us changed, we felt okay.
No learning curve could ever bend us too far out of shape.

When we took one step forward, and five steps behind,
We were still more than able to walk a straight line.

We had a white picket fence in the front yard,
Where our grass was plenty green.
Every window in our house
Welcomed in the sun's company.

We had hardwood floors and unlocked doors,
Our glass was plenty full.
Though our bills were only barely met,
Our hearts were plenty whole.

When everything around us changed, we felt okay.
No learning curve could ever bend us too far out of shape.
When darkness was the price of light, we weren't afraid.
For the time we've spent was more than worth
Any interest that we've paid.

We lived a good life, a good life,
When my eyes were closed.
Though the question marks were all the same
And the burdens never left,
We gambled everything we loved,
As though there was some kind of safety net.

When everything around us changed, we felt okay.
No learning curve could ever bend us too far out of shape.
When darkness was the price of light, we weren't afraid.
For the time we've spent was more than worth
Any interest that we've paid.

And when my good dream
Came to an end,
I woke up more than ready to bend.

 

[fox69]

"Levels Of Light"

"Levels Of Light"


We are volcanoes, making new land,
Transcending borders with seeds in our hands.
Natural killers perfectly planned,
All is entirely out of our hands.
It's out of our mouths, into the ground.

Wake up, wake up
I think the worst is through...
We are surrounded by color and life
We don't even know it.

We are volcanoes, making new land,
Transcending borders with seeds in our hands.
Natural killers perfectly planned,
All is entirely out of our hands.

Death is the only thing that makes us alive,
Forcing focus on light that we hold inside.

We are volcanoes, levels of light.
Bleeding an ocean of permanent life.
The blush of our anger could bury the sun,
The pulse of untamable progress has begun.

Death is the only thing that makes us alive,
That brings us to life.

Wake up, wake up.
I think the worst is through…
The light that we hold must be buried -
Buried to bloom.

 

[fox69]

"Life"

"Life"


It began
With a whisper in my ear:
"I think it's time."
Suddenly all we held dear was on the line.
As your heart measured in mountains fell and climbed.
You're okay, you're okay, you're okay, you're okay.
Amen.

We were changed in an instant.
We became so much more.
Our definition of perfect was written when she was born.

She drew her first breath out of what love meant.
In my heart, reconciled all the darkness and light inside my chest.
As her hands held tight.
And her eyes met mine, I saw the future unfold in sliver and gold.
And I'm already proud.

Beautiful like your mother,
You are grace, you are light.
The better version of our past.
From the start of life.

We will learn from each other.
As you grow up, we will too.
And our reflections of one another.
We will start something new.
We were changed in an instant.
We became so much more.
Our definition of perfect was written when you were born.

There is so much to tell you.
There is so much to see.
We will show you the oceans, and everything in between.
What a privilege to love you,
To teach you all that we know.
To watch you build a collection of dreams that you can call your own.

You are beautiful like your mother.
You are grace, you are light. Oh.
A better version of our past.
From the start of life.
We were changed in an instant,
When we became so much more. Oh.
Our definition of perfect was written when you were born.