A Song of My Heart

A Song of My Heart

  By Courtney Bowen

  Copyright ©2010 by Courtney Bowen. All rights reserved

  Cover image: Poet’s Dream by Odilon Redon

  Communicate/Connection

  Is there some

  Connection

  Between us?

  Or is it

  All just

  Vague, meaningless

  Drivel?

  We never communicate;

  We never ask

  Anything beyond

  Our own concerns.

  We have

  Similarities, but

  That is all

  That is between us.

  Could there be

  Something more?

  Or, are we just

  Whistling in the wind

  As we hum along

  To the tree

  Sighing in the breeze,

  Rustling its leaves

  In natural

  Discontentment?

  We’re just nightmares

  Of people

  That wander

  The lonely streets,

  Searching

  For some meaning;

  But instead

  We find

  That all we are

  Is back at home.

  And it’s never

  Anything good.

  We want

  To be free--

  We want

  To roam,

  And never

  Be at home alone.

  Yet there is peace

  To be had

  If we search

  For some solace,

  If we find

  A way

  To take ourselves

  And mix ourselves up.

  To say, instead,

  That we don’t

  Want to be alone,

  That we want

  To be together,

  And never apart.

  But how

  Can that be

  When we are

  Our own people?

  We are never

  Content

  To stay alone

  Yet we are

  Never content

  To be

  Part of something bigger.

  But we find

  Ourselves

  Meeting

  In the middle.

  Shadow on Your Face

  When I’m by your side,

  You tell me to forget,

  You tell me to let go,

  But how can I

  Know what you want me

  To say ?

  And in the waking hour

  There is shadow

  On your face

  And it’s hard

  To realize

  That there’s something

  Deep inside.

 

  And it’s coming out

  In fits

  But it’s hard

  To explain

  When you feel

  The raincloud

  And know

  That it’s on your face.

  Sell Me A Song

  Sell me a song,

  And I’ll tell you

  Just how I feel;

  Sell me a song,

  And I’ll listen--

  Real well.

  Sell me a song,

  And I’ll start

  To sing along;

  Sell me a song,

  And I’ll dance--

  Real well.

  Sell me a song,

  And I’ll sell you

  A rhyme of my own;

  Sell me a song,

  And I’ll sell you--

  My heart.

  Sell me a song,

  And we’ll play it,

  In half-time!

  Sell me a song,

  And we’ll go

  Out on the town!

  Sell me a song,

  And we’ll have ourselves

  A real good time!

  Sleep

  Grab on to the pillow.

  That might be a comfort to you.

  Close your eyes and lay your head.

  Listen to the night.

  Try to shut your eyes and think—

  Not think--

  That will not lead you to sleep.

  Marriage

  There was the pastor

  At the porch

  And he told me

  Not to stray,

  By the sand,

  by the sea,

  Where lovers

  Laid a bond

  I Stand by the Bed

  I stand by the bed,

  And think of you;

  I stand by the bed,

  And think of you,

  Lying there,

  Looking up at me.

  I stand by the bed,

  And roll into your embrace,

  I stand by the bed,

  And let your arms,

  Wrap around me tight.

  I stand by the bed,

  Kiss me right,

  I stand by the bed,

  Let me know

  That you’re mine.

  I stand by the bed,

  That we shared,

  I stand by the bed,

  That you tear—

  I stand by the bed,

  Kiss me right,

  I stand by the bed,

  Let me know

  That you’re mine.

  I stand by the bed,

  And think of you,

  I stand by the bed,

  And think of you.

  Take Me As I Am

  I am not one, I am not two;

  I am many, I am none.

  I am all that I can be;

  I am nothing that you want!

  Take me as I am;

  Take me as I am;

  I am not what I seem.

  Take me as I am;

  Take me as I am!

  I am just ordinary, I am extraordinary

  I am invincible, I am invisible;

  I am nothing, I am something—

  I am more than I seem!

  Take me as I am;

  Take me as I am;

  I am not what I seem.

  Take me as I am;

  Take me as I am!

  Two plus two makes

  For one of us I am—

  Two plus two makes

  Forever we shall be!

  Take me as I am;

  Take me as I am;

  I am something, I am nothing;

  I am more than I seem.

  Take me as I am;

  Take me as I am;

  I am not what I seem.

  Play My Song

  If you’re lonely,

  If you’re blue,

  Just play my song

  And I’ll be with you!

  We never had

  Any need to say

  Anything at all,

  Oh no no no!

  Sing out loud

  If you know the tune,

  Or just pretend

  And hum along!

  If you’re lonely,

  If you’re blue,

  Just play my song

  And I’ll be with you!

  Tell me true

  Just what you think,

  I’ll listen well,

  If you understand!

  Feel the beat,

  You can get this straight,

  It’s not so hard,

  I’ll guide you through!

  If you’re lonely,

  If you’re blue,

  Just play my song

  And I’ll be with you!

  The melody’s here,

  It’s in my eyes,

  Can you hear

  Or do we


  Have to start anew!

  If you’re lonely,

  If you’re blue,

  Just play my song

  And I’ll be with you!

  The Pristine Flood

  Touch the pristine flood;

  Then you know

  It will overwhelm you;

  The soul beneath the waves

  There is something

  Down deep there,

  Below the surface.

  No More

  Send for me, my love;

  Send for me precious words

  And I shall abide no more

  The cruel, dark twists of fate

  That plague me e’er

  I go out the door.

  And release me from

  Your torture of chastisement

  That does fall upon my ears

  Until I can stand it

  No more.

  Send for me, or I shall go

  Out the door and

  I shall abide thee

  No more.

  Leave

  And I feel that I should go

  But already I know

  That you should be here

  And seeing what you’ve done;

  But I can’t wait anymore.

  I loved thee

  I loved thee well,

  And I loved thee true,

  On this bright blessed day

  But not so well

  As you loved thyself

  On this bright blessed day.

 

  Fare thee well,

  Fare thee well,

  As we go

  Our separate ways

  Fare thee well,

  Oh, fare thee well,

  Nevermore

  shall we meet

  On this bright, blessed day.

  Your Face

  So I decided to go--

  Everywhere and everywhen,

  Wherever I would roam.

  And every time I stopped—

  I thought about your

  Face;

  And how you looked at me

  Before I knew

  What we had.

  Yet to be Revealed

  I wander down corridors and hallways

  Stretching out before me

  In unending parade.

  And I look in through

  The doorway

  Of all those rooms in between;

  What is inside these rooms

  That have seen my youth;

  What is beside these halls

  That have known me well;

  What is behind these walls

  That have yet to be revealed.

  Of Fine Tune and Melody

  Silver-lipped moon

  In orange glow;

  Red glossy dulcimer

  In the threaded point;

  Jam in the head, and pluck

  Till the nose is red;

  Stem the tide

  With dulcet sound;

  Satisfy the heart

  And let it go,

  Let them know

  That it’s just art--

  Unmasking and unfolding

  In the brink of light.

  Keep on playing

  And you’ll know

  How the crowd feels;

  Just give them the beat,

  And they’ll start

  To sing along.

  Of fine tune and melody,

  Step in and take the hand

  Of wanton curiosity

  That is fed

  To the shivering masses

  In measured tone

  With speeded up hearts

  In pulsating rhythm,

  Dancing like the night

  Has no tear,

  And no cut to end;

  The moon, silver-lipped

  And fading away

  With the treasured heart

  Of what’s on fire,

  And what’s for sale,

  In the heated rush

  Of remorseless passion;

  The star’s bright glow

  Comes to a close

  Before the dawn brings in

  Another full moon to come.

  ***

  Jam in the head, and pluck

  Till the nose is red;

  Stem the tide

  With dulcet sound;

  Satisfy the heart

  And let it go,

  Let them know

  That it’s just art--

  Unmasking and unfolding

  In the brink of light.

  Give It Up

  Sail off

  into silvery moonlight.

  And there is the lamp

  To light your way--the lamp

  Of a thousand suns, the light

  Of a thousand worlds.

  Beckoning to you

  In the dream of

  what should be broken,

  But instead, it is brought to you--

  In the hopes that you might

  give it up.

  What is Half-Recognized

  What is half-recognized

  In moonlight

  Remains the same.

  What is half-recognized

  In moonlight

  Drifts away.

  Seventeen

  Seventeen

  Is how old I was

  When I set out

  On my own.

  I didn’t have

  No suitcase

  All I had

  Were the clothes on my back.

  Did you ever see

  A sky that was so pretty,

  A clear blue sky

  All the way to the city.

  Did you ever see

  A clear blue sky,

  Or was it all

  Just grim and gritty?

  I came here

  All on my own

  Now I’m going

  Back to the place

  I call home.

  Would you lead me

  Down clear blue waters

  To the place

  I call home?

  Would you lead me

  Under a clear blue sky

  To the place

  I call home?

  I’m coming back

  With a suitcase

  And the clothes

  On my back.

  Mars

  Fields of Mars,

  let me lay

  Upon your expanse

  And rest

  My weary head;

  For untold years

  Of triumph and travail

  Have brought me here

  To your domain.

  I have known

  The majesty and the might

  Of the greatest empires

  That man had ever seen;

  I have known

  The hardest roads

  That led to

  The greatest treasures;

  I have known

  The years of darkness,

  The years of glory,

  The years of corruption,

  And the years of decay;

  I have known

  That all things come to an end,

  And that all things

  Must have an end;

  Yet I have

  Made a name for myself,

  And have

  Done the impossible

  Until I could

  Be said to live

  Forever in

  The hearts of man;

  Fields of Mars,

  Let me lay

  Upon your expanse

  And rest

  My weary head;

  For untold years

  Of triumph and travail

  Have brought me here

  To your domain.