Blue haired girl Running with the wind Blue haired girl certain that She knows where she has been In this unlikely world She is my little blue haired girl
Sometimes her thoughts just break the bonds Of gravity and time Sometimes she waits for pathless melodies She makes her own reminders When storm clouds start to swirl She is my little blue haired girl
She floods her life with passion Never minding lesser frills Of almond eyes and striking reveries She takes her own direction When miseries are hurled She is my little blue haired girl
I’ve watched her grow from babyhood To stand taller now than I. I’ve wondered How her thoughts steal through her plans. I think she must be making Her own image of the world She is my little blue haired girl
Blue haired girl Running with the wind Blue haired girl certain that She knows where she has been In this unlikely world She is my little blue haired girl
To listen to my musical rendition of this poem, please visit “Blue Haired Girl” at SoundCloud.
Original Song: “Twixt Good and Evil” and Prose Commentary
I chose the quotation from Isaiah because it demonstrates the omnipotence and omnipresence of the Almighty Creator. Some religionists, especially Christian, argue that God is all good and therefore could not have created evil. But such a claim limits God’s power and ability—an odd thing to do since they claim that God is omnipotent and omnipresent!
Twixt Good and Evil
“I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.” —Isaiah 45:7
Chorus
In the fight twixt good and evil Good will always win; For God created the devil Just tempt us all to sin. God doesn’t cause us to bear sorrow; He tries to lead us to His light, And His Word guides our tomorrow If we learn to read It right.
First Verse
Good morning, Satan! Are you doing OK? What kinds of nasty You going to throw at me today? Will my daughter get cancer? Will my son fall off his bike? Will my husband crash his truck? Will my dog lie down and die?
Second Verse
Good morning, Devil! Are you doing just fine? How will you try to tempt me To cross that boundary line? Will you make me think I’m sexy? Will you make me want to flirt? Will you take me to a place I’d never go without your dirt?
Third Verse
Good morning, Lucifer! How’s it going, Old Dude? What you got in store for me today— What kind of rude and crude? Will you shine your light on sorrow? Will you tempt me to believe I’ll be so good tomorrow That today I can misbehave?
Fourth Verse
Good morning, Maya! Of all the things in the fold Which one will grab my thoughts today To divert me from my goal? Will I seize upon another’s mote Though there’s one in my own eye? Will I hurt anyone whose handy? Or will I just sit, sigh, and cry?
Chorus
In the fight twixt good and evil Good will always win; For God created the devil Just tempt us all to sin. God doesn’t cause us to bear sorrow; He tries to lead us to His light, And His Word guides our tomorrow If we learn to read It right.
To listen to the recorded version, please visit “Twixt Good and Evil” on soundcloud.
Commentary on “Twixt Good and Evil”
Epigram: “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.” —Isaiah 45:7
I chose this quotation from Isaiah because it demonstrates the omnipotence and omnipresence of the Almighty Creator. Some religionists, especially Christian, argue that God is all good and therefore could not have created evil.
But such a claim limits God’s power and ability and at the same time introduces a second force into being. Because there can be no second force, only God can be responsible for all that exists, including evil. In the Isaiah quotation, God is speaking and He clearly says, “I . . . create evil.”
At first, such a claim may seem paradoxical, but just because God creates evil does not make God evil: it makes Him all powerful, the very quality that Christians believe God to possess.
So with that fact established, the next question is why did/does God create/allow evil? And the answer is so that a physical creation can exist. Without pairs of opposites, there can be so creation: forces rub against forces; conflict pits good and evil against each other.
We cannot recognize a quality unless we have something to which we can compare or contrast it. Image that only good things had happened to you in your life. How would you know that only good things had happened if you had never experienced the less than good or the bad?
Humanity is faced with these forces in order to learn and to evolve. According to Paramahansa Yogananda and other great spiritual leaders, the only purpose of life is to unite the soul with the Over-Soul or God. In order to do that, each human being has to work out its karma, its issues that lead it to believe it is nothing more than a bag of bone and flesh.
Each human being must learn that he or she is essentially a soul that has a physical body. That soul is already perfect but because it lost its divine awareness by being born in a physical encasement, it has to relearn to be divine.
Now, why did God make such a plan, such an existence? Why not just let us keep our divine status and not have to go through incarnations that may take many millennia? Only God knows the answer to that question. Offering one possible explanation, Paramahansa Yogananda contends that creation is God’s lila or play, and He made for his own enjoyment.
Because that explanation may not satisfy, the following exchange between Sri Yukteswar, the guru of Paramahansa Yogananda, and a student suggests additional reasoning:
“Why did God ever join soul and body?” a class student asked one evening. “What was His purpose in setting into initial motion this evolutionary drama of creation?” Countless other men have posed such questions; philosophers have sought, in vain, fully to answer them.
“Leave a few mysteries to explore in Eternity,” Sri Yukteswar used to say with a smile. “How could man’s limited reasoning powers comprehend the inconceivable motives of the Uncreated Absolute? T
he rational faculty in man, tethered by the cause-effect principle of the phenomenal world, is baffled before the enigma of God, the Beginningless, the Uncaused. Nevertheless, though man’s reason cannot fathom the riddles of creation, every mystery will ultimately be solved for the devotee by God Himself.” (my emphasis added)
The opening quotation, therefore, establishes the spiritual nature of the song: a monotheistic worldview in which nothing—light or darkness, peace or evil—exists outside God’s sovereignty.
By invoking Isaiah 45:7, I preempt the simplistic dualism: evil is not an equal rival to God but a force that God Himself created to serve a divine purpose. This contention prepares the listener/reader to understand temptation and suffering not as evidence of God’s absence, but as part of a moral testing ground in which human choice matters.
Thus, although the singer/speaker has undergone all of these tests foisted by Satan, the Devil, Lucifer, and Maya—all of which are simply different names for the same force—she seems to be implying that she is transcending them because she realizes that God only created these forces to tempt his children.
She is also implying that she has learned to read God’s word correctly and now she understands that by not allowing that evil force to dominate her she will no longer suffer.
Chorus: “In the fight twixt good and evil”
In the fight twixt good and evil Good will always win; For God created the devil Just tempt us all to sin. God doesn’t cause us to bear sorrow; He tries to lead us to His light, And His Word guides our tomorrow If we learn to read It right.
The chorus opens the song/poem with its theme, which focuses on the battle between good and evil in the world of humankind. It makes the explicit claim that “good will always win,” and then it explains that the devil is just a tempter—not a separate force— because God Himself “created the devil.”
That “God created the devil / Just to tempt us all to sin” reflects the exact message of the Isaiah quotation. God made the devil to introduce temptation in our lives, but God allows it, and He did not create temptation to make us suffer, at least, not eternally.
We know of God’s intention because God has offered a guide in written scripture, which all religions and spiritual faiths possess. But it is interpreting those pages of guidance that confounds us and keep us in darkness. God wants to lead us to light, and learning to interpret his Word correctly and effectively can lead us there.
First Verse: “Good morning, Satan!”
Good morning, Satan! Are you doing OK? What kinds of nasty You going to throw at me today? Will my daughter get cancer? Will my son fall off his bike? Will my husband crash his truck? Will my dog lie down and die?
The singer/speaker addresses Satan directly, asking quite conversationally how he’s doing? Assuming that he is doing “OK.” Then she pitches a series of questions at him. These question involve “nasty” events that no one wants to experience: a daughter getting cancer, an son falling off his bike, a husband crashing his truck, a dog dying.
The answer to each of these questions is yes: Satan will throw all of these things at me eventually. And I personally have experienced every one of them. So addressing Satan in such a friendly way must be understood a high sarcasm.
Satan will always remain the adversary, but showing him that I can take him lightly lessens his power over me. Besides, I have already told you in the chorus that I know the score on these issues. Satan does not hold the power; God does.
Second Verse: “Good morning, Devil!”
Good morning, Devil! Are you doing just fine? How will you try to tempt me To cross that boundary line? Will you make me think I’m sexy? Will you make me want to flirt? Will you take me to a place I’d never go without your dirt?
Addressing Devil with the same tone expressed when she addressed Satan, the singer/speaker assumes Devil is “doing just fine.” Again, with a series of questions: how are you going to temp the today? will you use sex and promiscuity to make me do things that otherwise I would deplore?
Because vanity and sex lead to so much mischief and depravity in the world, one would likely be a consummate prevaricator to deny having been caught up in such “dirt.” That’s all the personal confession and testimony I will offer for this one. But obviously, again, the from Devil, the answer is “Yep, I’ll get you, my Pretty, and you little dog, too!”
Third Verse: “Good morning, Lucifer!”
Good morning, Lucifer! How’s it going, Old Dude? What you got in store for me today— What kind of rude and crude? Will you shine your light on sorrow? Will you tempt me to believe I’ll be so good tomorrow That today I can misbehave?
Addressing the devil/satan in his light-bearer form, Lucifer, the singer/speaker makes no assumption but simply asks how things are going for the “Old Dude. Then again wants to know that the Light-Bearer has “in store” for her.” She knows that whatever it is it will likely be “rude and crude.” She has learned about this being’s ways in earlier verses.
She wonders if Lucifer will put a spotlight on self-pity and thus allow her to engage in sorrowful feelings. Then abruptly, she shifts to wondering if he will encourage her think she will behave tomorrow so well that today she can engage in all manner of debauchery.
This verse captures the moral danger of self-bargaining and the illusion of future repentance as permission for present wrongdoing.
Fourth Verse:
Good morning, Maya! Of all the things in the fold Which one will grab my thoughts today To divert me from my goal? Will I seize upon another’s mote Though there’s one in my own eye? Will I hurt anyone whose handy? Or will I just sit, sigh, and cry?
In this final verse, I address the evil one as Maya, which means delusion, and is the Hindu concept for Satan/Devil/Lucifer. Maya seems less judgmental and harsh than the Christians concepts, although the end result of “delusion” is the same as the end result of sin. It is delusion that causes us to “misbehave” and therefore “suffer.”
The satanic, evil, mayic force all steer the human being to engage in sense gratification, and such activities divert the person from seeking Divine Awareness, which is the goal of life, according to Paramahansa Yogananda.
When I reference the “mote” and the “beam,” I am, of course, echoing Christ’s teaching on judgment, offering that as the first possible wrong thing I might do today. Then again I continue questions as I wonder what the magic Satan/Maya will do today to “divert me from my goal.”
I might engage in activities that hurt people, or maybe I will just sit, think useless, thought, become maudlin and then “cry.” The negativity supports the wretched influences that has been on display in the entire song/poem.
Chorus: “In the fight twixt good and evil”
In the fight twixt good and evil Good will always win; For God created the devil Just tempt us all to sin. God doesn’t cause us to bear sorrow; He tries to lead us to His light, And His Word guides our tomorrow If we learn to read It right.
What saves the whole mess from languishing in pool of sorrowful dreck is the chorus, which is repeated at the end. Despite the battle each human being has to face each day, eventually according to each person’s karma “good will always win.”
Original Song: “I Wonder if You Ever Think of Me” and Commentary
I wrote this song about 40 years ago, made a homemade studio recording of it about 20 years ago. Recently, my husband Ron created a video using his own photos and videos selections featuring the song.
Introduction, the Lyric, and the Video
The lyric of “I Wonder if You Ever Think of Me” displays in four cinquains and one single line, which concludes the lyric by repeating the chorus-like line, transforming the title from wondering to knowing. The time frame runs from winter to the beginning of spring, with the singer signaling “snow” in the opening line and concluding with winter having turned to spring.
The song follows a lost-love theme, which therefore relies on melancholic images such as “gray sky” in the opening cinquain, “bare branch” in the second, “wind is blowing cold” in the third, “empty house” in the final stanza. Despite the theme of melancholy and the lost-love subject, the rendition maintains a rather fast paced rhythm, which allows room for interpretation regarding the depth of the sorrow that appears to be elucidated.
I Wonder if You Ever Think of Me
Now the snow is on the ground. I walk through the yard. Your footsteps I can’t find. Gray sky is pressing me down, And I wonder if you ever think of me.
Light through my window comes late. I stand and I watch Bare branch against the sky. I take a walk down by the bridge, And I wonder if you ever think of me.
Outside the wind is blowing cold. My heart beats fast To think you may be near. I walk back to my bed, And I wonder if you ever think of me.
Night turns to day, winter to spring. I walk down the road, My dog my only friend. I walk back to the empty house, And I guess I know you never think of me.
I guess I know you never think of me.
Commentary on “I Wonder if You Ever Think of Me”
What may at first blush seem to be a “lost-love” theme filled with sorrow and foreboding can be understood in actuality as quite the opposite—an affirmation of the efficacy of musing, ruminating, and clear-eyed observation.
First Cinquain: Beginning a Winter Tale
Now the snow is on the ground. I walk through the yard. Your footsteps I can’t find. Gray sky is pressing me down, And I wonder if you ever think of me.
The singer begins to set the stage by revealing the season of the year in which she is making her musing. “Snow” likely says, it is winter time. A cold beginning foreshadows the mood of the piece as the singer wonders if the addressee ever thinks of her. Before revealing what she is wondering, she adds two details that set her glum mood.
The sky is gray and causing her mood to be low and likely sad, but more likely the detail responsible for her mood is that she cannot see the footprints of the addressee in the snow. That a natural phenomenon of the gray sky accompanying the lack of footprints of a likely lost loved one is wholly understandable. Human emotion often tinges the nature of things surrounding it.
Second Cinquain: Bare Branch and Gray Sky Compound the Melancholy
Light through my window comes late. I stand and I watch Bare branch against the sky. I take a walk down by the bridge, And I wonder if you ever think of me.
The singer then reveals that she is looking out a window and the sun seems to have delayed its arrival that morning, as it is coming late. She continues to stand at the window looking out at the winter branches on the trees; they are, of course, bare, having experienced the autumn season that preceded the current time frame. The “bare branch” is set “against the sky,” revealing another detail of the melancholy which the singer is experiencing. Bare branches are not considered to be as beautiful as branches full of leaves as in spring and summer.
It has already been revealed that the sky is “gray,” and thus the coupling a gray sky and bare branch work together the compound the melancholy mood of the singer. The singer is then on the move; she walks down to the bridge. She then repeats the chant-like refrain of wondering if the addressee thinks of her. Likely the walk was intended to mitigate the melancholy of her wondering, but it has not helped thus she repeats her refrain.
Third Cinquain: A Fantastic Interlude
Outside the wind is blowing cold. My heart beats fast To think you may be near. I walk back to my bed, And I wonder if you ever think of me.
Instead of supplying any detail of the walk back to her house, the singer just suddenly places herself there as she notices that a cold wind is rustling “outside.” The singer’s continued attempt to mitigate her painful wondering causes her mind to become jerked about, leaving out details that her listeners might want to have as they try to follow her narrative.
Again, the speaker adds an important detail that remains otherworldly; her heart begins to beat fast because the thought has arisen that, in fact, the addressee may actually “be near”—not just in her thought but in physical reality. But instead of rushing to window to look to see if that nearness is likely, she simply “walk[s] back to [her] bed.” Again, her refrain becomes dominant as she “wonder[s] if [the addressee] ever thinks of [her].”
Fourth Cinquain: Winter Bleeds into Spring
Night turns to day, winter to spring. I walk down the road, My dog my only friend. I walk back to the empty house, And I guess I know you never think of me.
Quite a bit of time has passed from the time frame of the first three cinquains; it is now spring. But the singer conflates the changing of the season with nighttime turning to daytime. Her mind is on the passage of time. Time is supposed to possess a healing power. Observing the changing of temporal phenomena may become part of the healing process.
But now the singer reveals that she is on the move again; this time she is simply taking a walk “down the road” and she is accompanied by her dog. She confides that her dog is her “only friend.” Thus her listener can be assured that she is still alone, still missing the addressee, even before she reveals that her house is still empty. Again, the refrain of wondering if the addressee thinks of her becomes a final or near final expression. She has continued to wonder as she wandered from winter to spring, as night becomes day, as she strolls about with or without her dog friend, and as she has continued to observe the things around her.
Final Single Line: The Return of Harmony and Balance
I guess I know you never think of me.
The final single line reveals that the singer has reached a conclusion. She now knows that the addressee does not ever think of her. She does not reveal explicitly how she knows that, but she has made it clear the she has cogitated on the issue for at least a whole season. She began in winter time observing the absence of the addresses by the absence of footprints in the snow. She strolled through the yard, she strolled down the bridge, and she stood at her window watching as night turned to day and one season bled into another.
The listener can then easily assume that as the singer did all of these things, she was musing, turning over in her mind details about the relationship with the addressee. Thus with all of this musing and cogitation, she has reached the conclusive answer to the question, and it is no, the addressee never thinks of her.
The fast pace of the song reveals a certain mood of affirmation despite the melancholy that many of the images impart. The singer has therefore not composed a dirge but a hymn to the importance of musing, cogitation, and observation. The human heart may be persuaded to lighten if the mind of the observer remains focused on achieving balance and harmony.
Original Song: “Astral Mother” with Prose Commentary
This song is dedicated to my beautiful mother, Helen Richardson, whose soul left the physical planet Earth at the age of 58 and now resides in the astral world. By faith and deep love, I visit her there from time to time.
Introduction with Text of “Astral Mother”
My original song, “Astral Mother,” plays out in three verse-movements and two chorus-movements. A traditional verse is a unified set of lines—often four but through innovation the number is not consistent.
Thus, a verse-movement may be any number of lines or stanzas because the emphasis in on the theme of the movement. A movement depends upon theme rather than number of lines or stanzas.
On the astral plane, souls have shed their bodies of chemicals and dust and reside in bodies of light. Although the physical body is also made fundamentally of light, the astral body is perceived as light more easily than the “mud” covering the soul on the earthly plane.
After visiting my mother on the astral plane, I bring back images, ideas, and thoughts that I dedicate to her in poems and songs. The text of the song follows, and you are welcome to listen to the song on SoundCloud.
Astral Mother
In memoriam: Helen Richardson June 27, 1923 — September 5, 1981
for your beautiful soul
You are waiting now . . . A bright star light In the astral world
You have shed the mud That covers the soul On the earthly plane . . . —
Where you were my mother, and I was your child You were my mother, and I was your child . . .
You are watching for me . . . To catch my beam In the astral world
We will live again The love we lived On the earthly plane . . . —
Where you were my mother, and I was your child You were my mother, and I was your child . . .
We will understand the Spirit-made plan . . . That kept us a while . . . In this earthly world . . . —
Where you were my mother, and I was your child You were my mother, and I was your child . . .
O, my Divine Mother, make me Thy Divine Child! O, my Divine Mother, make me Thy Divine Child!
Commentary on “Astral Mother”
A daughter addresses her mother who has departed the earth and now resides in the astral world. Through faith and divine guidance, the daughter visits the mother and creates a tribute to her mother’s beautiful soul of light
First Verse-Movement: Living as Light in the Astral World
You are waiting now . . . A bright star light In the astral world
You have shed the mud That covers the soul On the earthly plane . . . —
From the earthly plane of existence, the singer/narrator is addressing a loved one who is residing on the astral plane of existence.
The soul of the departed loved one is now existing in her astral/causal bodies—where the soul continues without its physical encasement. Paramahansa Yogananda explains this phenomenon:
astral body. Man’s subtle body of light, prana or lifetrons; the second of three sheaths that successively encase the soul: the causal body (q.v.), the astral body, and the physical body. The powers of the astral body enliven the physical body, much as electricity illumines a bulb.
The astral body has nineteen elements: intelligence, ego, feeling, mind (sense consciousness); five instruments of knowledge (the sensory powers within the physical organs of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch); five instruments of action (the executive powers in the physical instruments of procreation, excretion, speech, locomotion, and the exercise of manual skill); and five instruments of life force that perform the functions of circulation, metabolization, assimilation, crystallization, and elimination.
The singer/narrator affirms that her loved one—her belovèd mother—is now “waiting” in her body of light as it exists on the astral plane. The singer/narrator in the second part of the movement refers to the physical body as “mud” which the astral mother has now “shed.” The physical body encases the soul on the earthly plane of existence.
The physical body may be metaphorically referred to as “mud” after the Biblical description of the human body:
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (KJV Genesis 3:19)
But after the soul leaves that physical encasement, it continues its existence in the two other bodies—astral and causal—on the astral plane where it is perceived only as light. Thus, the daughter/speaker has perceived her mother as a body of light, which she designates metaphorically as “a bright star light.”
Second Verse-Movement: Waiting to Spot a Familiar Dot of Light
You are watching for me . . . To catch my beam In the astral world
We will live again The love we lived On the earthly plane . . . —
The singer/narrator then affirms that the astral mother is waiting for her daughter to join her on the astral plane. The daughter will become a “beam” of light after she leaves her own physical encasement, entering the “astral world.”
The singer/narrator then affirms that the mother and daughter will experience that same love that they shared when they were both on the earth together. The “lived” love and they continue to live that love, but after they both are in the same level of existence, they are likely to recognize and have a deeper level of awareness of that love.
Third Verse-Movement: Understanding and Appreciating Love and Light
We will understand the Spirit-made plan . . . That kept us a while . . . In this earthly world . . . —
The singer/narrator finally affirms that after the mother and daughter are reunited, for however briefly that reunion might exist, they will understand more about the divine plan that God has for them.
They were both maintained on the earth planet for while; they no doubt had questions about the meaning of life and all of its vicissitudes. The singer/narrator predicts that after entering the astral plane, both she and her mother will understand more about meaning and purpose then they had before.
Experience is great teacher; and God puts His children in positions from which they may learn what they need in order to meet their karmic demands. The singer/narrator holds great faith that she and her mother on the path that leads to the ultimate enlightenment of union with the Divine.
Chorus-Movement 1: A Simple Statement of Fact
Where you were my mother, and I was your child You were my mother, and I was your child . . .
In the first chorus, the singer/narrator simply states the fact that the addressee in the song was the singer’s mother, and the singer was the child of the mother. On the earth plane, they were mother and daughter.
The simplicity of the statement may be misleading. This simple fact is, however, very important. On the earth plane, they were mother and daughter, but on the astral plane they are only two individual souls that are children of the One Father-Mother-God.
The mother/daughter relationship on earth is likely quite a different one from that relationship as two individual souls on the astral plane. Despite that obvious fact, the important fact to remember is that love exists between the two; it existed on earth and it will exist in the astral world.
Chorus-Movement 2: A Prayer-Chant to the Divine Mother
O, my Divine Mother, make me Thy Divine Child! O, my Divine Mother, make me Thy Divine Child!
The momentousness of the shift from the earth relationship of mother/daughter to Divine Mother/Divine Child cannot be overstated.
By ending with a chant-like prayer, the singer/narrator affirms that through the love relationship between earth mother and daughter, she has come to understand that both mother and daughter are children of the Divine Reality (God).
And the singer/narrator then supplicates to God as Divine Mother to help her realize her soul as that “Divine Child” that she is. The same supplication is offered on behalf of the astral mother, whom the singer/narrator has been addressing.
Both former earth mother and earth daughter are children of the Divine, and they both must one day come to realize that relationship to the Divine—and the singer/narrator prays for that to happen.
Original Song: “These Letters” with Prose Commentary
My original song “These Letters” is a rather uncategorizable love song: it does not exactly fit into the lost love category, nor does it fit into the romantic, idealism of most love songs.
Introduction and Lyric of “These Letters”
The singer and the individual addressed in the song have apparently had a friendly, loving relationship in the past—even likely lived together experiencing the life that the singer suggests with images in the song. However, the addressee at the time of the song remains at some distance from the singer. The fact that they have been exchanging letters reveals that a spacial distance exists between the two parties.
The singer does not reveal the reason for the two being apart, but the fact that she hopes the addressee will return to her leaves open the question for the addressee’s departure and even whether the addressee will ever return. The singer expresses the wish and hope that the addressee will return, and by that expression of that wish/hope, she is implying that the addressee many not ever return.
Interestingly, the mention of being “far apart” is not clear that the singer is referring only to distance in miles, but it is obvious that a spacial distance exists because of the very title of the song. The song cannot be considered a “lost love” song because the singer expresses her love for the distant individual and that she hopes the addressee will return to her. Whether the two reunite remains a mystery because the theme of the song is simply that letters are not sufficient to maintain a close relationship.
These Letters
First Verse
Here I sit with knitting needles Winter drawing near. Mind on fire with old desire Wishing you were here. So I’ll make this sweater To send to you With the love that’s in my heart And I’ll tell you that I long for you ‘Cause we’re so far apart.
Second Verse
The wine in the cellar gets better and better. I wish you could taste some with me. I try not to show The young plants as they grow How empty and sad I can be. The tomato vines hung so full this year I wish you had been here to see. I’ll send you some pictures and strawberry jam And my hopes that you’ll come back to me.
Chorus
These letters can’t take your place, my Love. I hope that you come back to me. No, these letters can’t take your place, my Love. I hope that you come back to me.
Commentary on “These Letters”
Because the title of the song is “These Letters,” the singer is placing great emphasis on that form of writing. But she is letting the recipient of her letters know that she finds such correspondence insufficient to maintain their relationship. While letters cannot take the place of the missing individual, she singer adds her hope their the addressee will return to their her and their life together.
First Verse: A Distant Relationship
Here I sit with knitting needles Winter drawing near. Mind on fire with old desire Wishing you were here. So I’ll make this sweater To send to you With the love that’s in my heart And I’ll tell you that I long for you ‘Cause we’re so far apart.
The singer begins by noting where she is and suggesting what she is doing: she is sitting somewhere, likely in her home, with a pair of “knitting needles.” She then alerts the addressee and her listeners to the fact that the winter season is coming soon.
The fact that the coldest season is nearly upon her prompts her to reveal the reason for her sitting with knitting needles: she is knitting a sweater for the individual, whom she is addressing in the song. She then tells the individual that she is sending the sweater to him/her. She adds the unexpected element that she will also be sending love the person.
Love resides in her heart for the person she is addressing, and she wishes they were not “so far apart.” She reports that she will tell the individual that she “long[s] for [the individual]” because of the vast separation.
Second Verse: Hopes for Return
The wine in the cellar gets better and better. I wish you could taste some with me. I try not to show The young plants as they grow How empty and sad I can be. The tomato vines hung so full this year I wish you had been here to see. I’ll send you some pictures and strawberry jam And my hopes that you’ll come back to me.
The singer then reveals that she and the individual whom she is addressing have made wine together. Their wine gets “better and better” as it rests in the cellar. This set of imagery “wine” and “cellar” implies that the singer and the individual reside in the country, in a bucolic setting as opposed to city living, where cellars are not common, nor is wine-making.
More evidence for the country living is that the singer next mentions the growing of the grapes for the wine, which likely represent other plants that the singer and her friend have formerly grown together.
Now that she and the individual have distance between them, she singer is “empty and sad,” but as the cultivates the garden, she attempts to put on a happier face for the sake of the plants, as plants can be sensitive to the mood of their caretaker.
She then tells her friend that the tomato harvest was especially good this year. And again she expresses the wish that her friend had been there to experience those full-hanging tomato vines. The singer then alerts her friend that she will send the individual pictures—likely images of those garden plants, particularly the tomatoes that grew so abundantly.
In addition to the pictures, she will send “strawberry jam”—another indication that the singer lives out in the country where she has the space to grow strawberries. And again, this singer expresses “hopes”—this time, somewhat more than a mere “wish”—that the individual will return to the singer.
Chorus: What Letters Cannot Do
These letters can’t take your place, my Love. I hope that you come back to me. No, these letters can’t take your place, my Love. I hope that you come back to me.
The chorus which is offered only twice expresses the fact that the two individuals have been exchanging letters. The singer makes her feelings known that letters are not sufficient to maintain the loving relationship that the two had earlier experienced.
The chorus itself even repeats the fact that the letters are not enough. The singer remains hopeful that the now distant former friend and likely housemate will return to her and their life together.
Original Song: “When Morning Looms” with Prose Commentary
If a poet/songwriter employs second person singular, s/he is often addressing not another person but her/himself. Songs are often less dense than poems with a few exceptions; I suggest this one is an exception.
Introduction and Text of “When Morning Looms”
The singing of birds in the morning may herald a day of remembering. Glorious angels surround the seat of contemplation where one who remembers plies her musings. The thought of water always seeking, seeking its own level will remind the pure brain of honesty, forthrightness, and delivery from evil.
Most songs remain dull outposts of themselves as they pander, exaggerate, and often obliterate inspiration in favor of calumny. Yet poems that are transformed into songs may hold a certain magic, if only for the singer/poet.
This song/poem testifies against the “Quacker” who would not only devalue but attempt to obliterate the sun that shines on the flock of lies that quackers often invent in order to elevate their stature. Perennially, Satan remains ready to command: some will always follow, while others never will.
When Morning Looms
“And all the time she didn’t pay the least attention to Quacker . . . ” —Old Granny Fox, Thornton W. Burgess
Chorus
There’s nothing clouds can shake To break the jealous ties The frost in on the fence post The water is still wise
Verse 1
When morning looms And the pepper is hot The turtle will be bright But the sturgeon will not After butterflies spill free And the yellow turns to gold The quirky will stay young The evil will grow old
Verse 2
Nothing to see here, Quacker Nothing to hear at all The moss grows on the wrong side While the bitter reaps the fall You’ve raked the scent of verses And burned them in your nose And dumped your figs on stories That vindicate the rose
Verse 3
The wisdom of the ages Prevails without a brain But nuts and loons and titmice Disturb the worn terrain Nobody gives a damn about A song sung by a saint And plucky hens and misanthropes Still spin their days drug-dazed
Verse 4
O hurry sun and come to all Who wither in the rain And spray your rays to badger them Who lack a civil brain When morning looms And the pepper turns to dawn The turtle will sing on But the sturgeon will be gone
The turtle swims in the wisdom of water. The sturgeon swims as a prisoner of water. The turtle loves the sturgeon but is not fooled by their differences. The sturgeon cannot even perceive the difference or what they mean.
The metaphorical, almost fable-like, engagement of literary devices renders this song somewhat more dense than most songs—perhaps even more dense than most postmodern poems.
Chorus: The Squelch of Ideas
There’s nothing clouds can shake To break the jealous ties The frost in on the fence post The water is still wise
The chorus of the song “When Morning Looms” dramatizes the postmodern squelch of ideas that permeate both weather and the common truth that water, which does nothing other than seek its own level, is “wise.”
Frost on the fence post is, in fact, just another form of water. And how long does frost on the fence post last? Until the sun comes up! Unfortunately, the frost may appear again and again until late into springtime—depending upon the spot on the globe.
Verse 1: A New Beginning
When morning looms And the pepper is hot The turtle will be bright But the sturgeon will not After butterflies spill free And the yellow turns to gold The quirky will stay young The evil will grow old
Every morning offers a new beginning for the children of planet Earth. The sun rises on the innocent and the guilty alike. The singer of this plaintiff song metaphorically compares her essence to that of a “turtle.” Also metaphorically, an oppositional “sturgeon” occupies its own level of being.
The turtle rests nearer the heavens on the ladder of evolution than the sturgeon—not only poetically but scientifically. The turtle treads the land, while the sturgeon still breathes through gills—swimming is its only way of locomotion.
A turtle might swim as it chooses, but it also walks on the ground. Naturally, the “turtle will be bright,” and the “sturgeon will not.” The sturgeon will remain water-bound. No matter how bright the sturgeon might think itself, the fact is that it will remain the prisoner of gills.
Not content to concentrate on stations of life as victim/opposer/prisoner in her worldview to turtle/sturgeon, the singer metaphorically sings in “butterflies.” Butterflies after resting gestationally in the cocoon stage eventually “spill free.”
The color “yellow”—which in some venues equals cowardice—turns to “gold,” as the singer notes she has witnessed that “quirky” folks seem to remain youthful, while “the evil” or those who slander and smear others lose their youthful spirit.
Verse 2: The Vacuousness of Blather, Bilge, and Poppycock
Nothing to see here, Quacker Nothing to hear at all The moss grows on the wrong side While the bitter reaps the fall You’ve raked the scent of verses And burned them in your nose And dumped your figs on stories That vindicate the rose
The speaker then accepts the fact that what she has to sing will have no influence on those who will never understand her “quirky” nature. She now metaphorically names the opposer “Quacker” because for her, all the blathering, bilge, and poppycock she has heard from that quarter is nothing but quacking.
The singer/speaker knows and accepts the fact that nothing she can ever say or do will change the position of the sturgeonesque quacking quacker who would always continue to slander and smear, if she would but allow it. According to the thinking of the singer, the opposer’s bitterness will lead to a reaping of the fall. The opposer’s moss “grows on the wrong side.”
The opposer has deliberately and maliciously slandered and smeared the better angels of the world. The singer/poet muses, creates, sings, and rises above the skank-smoke of earthbound quackery.
Verse 3: Eternal Passing by the Ethereal
The wisdom of the ages Prevails without a brain But nuts and loons and titmice Disturb the worn terrain Nobody gives a damn about A song sung by a saint And plucky hens and misanthropes Still spend their days drug-dazed
The opposer gives no time to seeking the ethereal or the eternal. The singer knows that “the wisdom of the ages” continues despite the pop off platitudes of satan worshipers. But she also sees that gutter snipes can disturb the landscape and mental environment, even of the wider, natural culture. It still remains common knowledge that saints hold little sway over the hide-bound.
Even in the halls of learning and high culture of postmodern society, saints remain passé. And all common, societal drugs spread their mischief over a large percentage of the population. Opposer and opposition unite in the spawn of the death cult.
Verse 4: The Civil Brain of Self-Sufficiency
O hurry sun and come to all Who wither in the rain And spray your rays to badger them Who lack a civil brain When morning looms And the pepper turns to dawn The turtle will sing on But the sturgeon will be gone
The singer then calls on the sun to come to those who have been withering in the life-giving rain. She asks for the giant orb to spray its rays—not necessarily to heal them but to “badger them”—the singer knows that the opposer suffers the indignity of buying into the postmodern, vaccinated pharmaceutical blather. The sun is bad for you—voila! skin cancer!
Just a “civil brain” would be sufficient to understand that far from causing disease, the sun is a healing force for all earthly inhabitant—avoid extreme sunburns but take the free vitamin D in moderate doses, like everything else.
The singer then reprises the first line—mentioning pepper, which was merely “hot” in the opening, but now is turning “to dawn.” Pepper is an enlivening spice; pepper brings food to life, gives it an enchanting flavor. You cannot spell pepper without pep. For this singer, pepper is important, heralding the original notion of the dissension between “turtle” and “sturgeon.”
The turtle/singer moves forward on intuition—swimming in the blessèd, bright realization of soul power that overcomes all darkness in the wise water. The sturgeon will likely lose itself in the muck and muddle that works diligently to keep all sturgeons exactly where they are for the foreseeable slew of incarnations.
My original song “River of Time” is a hymn to my Divine Belovèd, featuring a chorus that functions as a chant.
Introduction with Text of Lyric “River of Time”
Because music was my first love that I remember from the earliest age, I have always been attracted by the sounds from inspiring music.
I began writing songs seriously around age 32, and I especially enjoy and appreciate my songs that turn into hymns to the Divine Belovèd. “River of Time” is such a hymn.
I am strongly influenced by the Cosmic Chants of my guru (spiritual leader) Paramahansa Yogananda. Many of my original hymns have a chant-like element—a repetition that takes the minds within or bespeaks some spiritual truth for mental awareness.
River of Time
A hymn to my Divine Belovèd
Verse Waiting by the river of time— My beloved keeps His rime In the sunlight that sings in stars The moon will wax in tune
Verse Flowing with the river of time— Do you feel the rhythm that glides As you sing each lingering verse? Your soul will chant in bliss
Verse Once beyond the river of time— Where you seek your ultimate rime, Where you need to battle no more You’ve reached that heavenly shore
Chorus Every moment is light infused Behind the darkness of closed eyes Seek no more for all is here Nothing more to do or fear
Video by Carlene Craig
Commentary on “River of Time”
The singer/seeker/devotee in this hymn does not directly address her Heavenly Father-God. She suggests the target of her report in subtle ways by essentially addresses her own self or soul. She sings to remind herself of her goal of soul- or self-realization, unity with the Divine Belovèd.
First Verse: Existence on the Physical Plane
Waiting by the river of time— My beloved keeps His rime In the sunlight that sings in stars The moon will wax in tune
The singer/devotee exists along a continuum that the human mind and heart often liken metaphorically to a river—a “river of time.” Time seems to flow, meander, going somewhere.
Intuition tells the human mind and heart that the soul is moving as on a flowing body of water to somewhere that must be wonderful.
The beloved who is causing this river to flow displays his wares in light—sunlight and moonlight. Science tells humanity that sunlight is reflected in the stars, and the moon also reflects that important, life-sustaining orb.
The singer/devotee implies that her beloved is a poetic artist because he keeps “His rime” visible in the light of the sun and the moon.
Second Verse: The Rhythm of Soul Bliss
Flowing with the river of time— Do you feel the rhythm that glides As you sing each lingering verse? Your soul will chant in bliss
The singer then states that her soul is, in fact, moving down this metaphorical river. She poses a rhetorical question of her self to ascertain if she is really sensing the rhythmic sway of the music of her verses.
As she sings, she has become aware of her soul flowing into its natural state of “bliss.” The verses that linger in the heart and mind bestow on her a marvelous state of awareness and joy.
Third Verse: Transcending Physical Existence
Once beyond the river of time— Where you seek your ultimate rime, Where you need to battle no more You’ve reached that heavenly shore
The singer then begins to speculate about the existence to be experienced after transcending the physical level of existence, metaphorically named the “river of time.”
Beyond that locus is where the ultimate poetry and music hold sway, where humanity no longer is required to struggle with life’s vicissitudes, trails, and tribulations. Once the soul has become self-realized, it knows only divine joy and love.
Chorus: Moving into the Joy of the Light
Every moment is light infused Behind the darkness of closed eyes Seek no more for all is here Nothing more to do or fear
The singer’s repeated, chant-like chorus is an affirmative statement about what goes on after she closes her eyes to the physical level of existence.
She need not continue searching for she has arrived at the Goal of life. United with the Divine Belovèd, there is nothing that she will ever have to fear.
Video: Whitewater River-Tim Bowman-East Fork of the Whitewater River-near Brownsville IN
Image: Pacific Ocean – August 2015 – Self-Realization Fellowship Meditation Gardens – Encinitas CA – Photo by Ron W. G.
Original Song: “Where You Are” with Prose Commentary
This song “Where You Are” is one of my original compositions. The video accompanying it was created by landscape artist/photographer Ron Grimes.
Introduction and Text of “Where You Are”
My original song “Where You Are”is based on a simple premise: the singer is addressing her Divine Belovèd (God), asserting to the Belovèd the desire to be where the Ultimate Loved One is.
Each verse features rhetorical questions and musings upon the actual location of the Divine Creator. Because the Creator/Father of all creation is both within creation and outside of creation, the answer to all of the rhetorical questions is, naturally, yes.
Nevertheless, being where the Divine Belovèd is cannot be the same situation as being where a human friend or beloved is. Because it seems that God is playing hide and seek with his children, the singer asserts that her soul “soul tugs at the veil hiding You from me.”
Where You Are
First Verse
Are You standing on top of a mountain? Are You sitting beside the vast grave sea? How can I ever approach You? Will You ever just come to me?
Second Verse
Are You speaking to me through my loved ones? Are You quietly whispering through the silver stars? Are You waiting to hear what my songs will sing? Do You listen to the rapid beat of my heart?
Third Verse
If I offer You all in my stillness— If I silently listen to the hum in my mind— If I patiently fast from all my senses— Will You break Your vow of silence and just come to me!
Chorus
Where You are is where I long to be. I cannot understand where else I could seek. My soul tugs at the veil hiding You from me. Where You are is where I long to be.
Video: Linda Sue Grimes performing “Where You Are”
After much questioning, contemplating, and ultimately meditating, the devotee will find that the soul will remove the veil hiding it from the Over-Soul—the soul’s Creator, the Divine Belovèd, or any of the preferred name for the Ineffable (God).
First Verse: “Are You standing on top of a mountain?”
Are You standing on top of a mountain? Are You sitting beside the vast grave sea? How can I ever approach You? Will You ever just come to me?
The singer opens with four rhetorical questions to the Divine Reality. The first two questions reveal earthly locations that are considered sanctuaries of sacredness, holiness, or just ordinary vacation escapes: mountain tops and sea sides.
The next two questions reveal that the devotee is still walking the sacred, devotional path to soul-realization (also known as self-realization or God-realization).
Before final liberation, the devotee experiences the separation from her Goal to be a heavy burden. That burden causes her to wonder if she, in fact, will ever be able to unite with the Creator/Father.
In her melancholy and sorrowful mourning because of the seeming distance, the devotee often wonders if the Lord will ever appear to her and make her know that she is His own child. Will she ever be able to attain the Sacred Goal of self-realization and experience unity with her Belovèd Divine Creator?
Second Verse: “Are You speaking to me through my loved ones?”
Are You speaking to me through my loved ones? Are You quietly whispering through the silver stars? Are You waiting to hear what my songs will sing? Do You listen to the rapid beat of my heart?
In the second verse, the singer/devotee continues with rhetorical questions. Intuiting the answer yet not knowing the fullness of each answer, she inquires of the Divine Belovèd if He is communicating with her through her family and friends.
The singer likely is aware that God is speaking to her through everyone she knows and meets. But without that last step in the process of enlightenment, she does not know exactly what is being said or exactly what all that conversation might ultimately mean to her.
Thus, she also wonders if the One Who fashioned the “silver stars” may be signaling to her through those heavenly entities. Again, she likely knows it to be a fact, but that separation continues to prompt questions.
The singer wonders if Divine Mother anticipates what she sings in her songs. She wonders if her musical worship is reaching its intended Goal.
The singer/devotee often becomes anxious with a rapid heart beat, knowing that that heart beat needs to become calm to achieve stillness. She therefore wonders if the Creator Divine cares to listen to that rapid heart beat. And she wonders if the Ultimate Physician will perform some medical heavenly magic to help her still her rapid heart.
Third Verse: “If I offer You all in my stillness”
If I offer You all in my stillness— If I silently listen to the hum in my mind— If I patiently fast from all my senses— Will You break Your vow of silence and just come to me!
The singer/devotee’s questioning becomes even more intense in the lyric of the final verse. She has shown that she knows that she must still the rapid beat of her heart, but she also must still all of her senses as she offers her every atom to the Divine Essence.
The devotee/singer shows awareness that she must listen the divine hum of the cosmic motor, the sacred AUM (Om) sound that upholds all of creation. She knows that she must remove her attention from worldly things and events and place that attention upon the locus beyond the senses, where the soul resides.
The singer/devotee remains certain that after she is able to accomplish all that is implied in her questions and musings, the Divine Belovèd Presence will, in fact, “break [that] vow of silence and [ ] come to [her].”
Chorus: “Where You are is where I long to be”
Where You are is where I long to be. I cannot understand where else I could seek. My soul tugs at the veil hiding You from me. Where You are is where I long to be.
The chorus, instead of offering mere rhetorical questions and musings, makes an affirmative statement: the singer asserts that she wants to be where her Divine Beloved is. She reveals her intuition that she cannot find love, peace, fulfillment on the physical, earthly plane.
The singer/devotee insists that her soul is attempting to rend the cloth of separation from the Divine, as it “tugs at the veil” that keeps her from uniting with the Creator Belovèd.
The final line emphasizes as it repeats the important desire: “Where You are is where I long to be.” The importance of the chorus is demonstrated by its repetition after every verse.
Original Song: “The Paper Mill Bridge Song” with Prose Commentary
My original song “The Paper Mill Bridge Song” was inspired by the beautiful Whitewater River in Indiana and its relationship to the beautiful relationship I have enjoyed for over half a century with my wonderful husband, native of the little town of Brookville, Indiana.
Introduction and Excerpt from “The Paper Mill Bridge Song”
My husband, landscape artist Ron Grimes, created the video featured in this article to accompany my original song “The Paper Mill Bridge Song.” He wrote the following introduction to the piece and placed his video on YouTube:
A celebration of life and love as witnessed by the Paper Mill Bridge over the Whitewater River in Brookville, Indiana.
September 10th, 2022. Linda and I walked to the middle of the new Papermill Bridge. I wanted to capture some scenes for this video. As soon as I started videoing, this Canada Goose flew right over us and honked as it if it were saying, “I want to be in your video.” It was a gift.
Innovative Chorus
The song undergoes an unusual arrangement; instead of an ordinary chorus, it features an middle octave which behaves as a second octave and chorus that gets repeated at a the end of the song.
The Paper Mill Bridge Song
Here’s where people paddle canoes Down the Whitewater River. I stand here on Paper Mill Bridge. Watch the water and remember The day we walked along the bank, Sand so warm to my feet. We talked about cattails, rocks, and stars And the moss that grows on old trees.
These are the things that fill my day, Things we’ve done together. Sunshine streaming down through the leaves, A storm in the clouds or snow in the fields. River water runs through my veins. The stars light up my eyes. Love for you turns in my heart Like the sun burns through the sky.
Through the years my heart has filled With love for this old river. I stand here on Paper Mill Bridge. Watch the water and remember The day we paddled down the stream, A cool breeze on my shoulders. The sun shone bright over Paper Mill Bridge And I knew I’d love you forever.
These are the things that fill my day, Things we’ve done together. Sunshine streaming down through the leaves, A storm in the clouds or snow in the fields. River water runs through my veins. The stars light up my eyes. Love for you turns in my heart Like the sun burns through the sky.
My original song—”The Paper Mill Bridge Song”—focuses on one relationship that progresses from good friends to life partner. In the opening verse, the friends experience a quiet walk and talk along the river. In the final verse, the life relationship is solidified.
First Octave/Verse: The View from the Bridge
Here’s where people paddle canoes Down the Whitewater River. I stand here on Paper Mill Bridge. Watch the water and remember The day we walked along the bank, Sand so warm to my feet. We talked about cattails, rocks, and stars And the moss that grows on old trees
The singing narrator is standing on a bridge, which turns out to be the subject of the song, the Paper Mill Bridge. She begins to report on the activities that are locally common to that bridge. The bridge spans the Whitewater River—a river in mideastern to southern Indiana—and from its perch one can from time to time see canoers paddling their barks down the river.
The narrator then focuses on a memory that is important to her regarding her hike along the riverbank with a friend. During that pleasant stroll, the two friends casually conversed about river-related entities such as water reeds that look like “cattails” and other features of nature such a “rocks and stars.”
The narrator recalls that her feet enjoyed the luxury of the warm sand. They also held forth about the fact that moss grows on old trees—likely that the moss grows mostly on the north side of those arbolian creatures.
Second Octave/Chorus: Recurring Images
These are the things that fill my day, Things we’ve done together. Sunshine streaming down through the leaves, A storm in the clouds or snow in the fields. River water runs through my veins. The stars light up my eyes. Love for you turns in my heart Like the sun burns through the sky.
The chorus has an usual placement, standing the middle of the song and containing an equal number of line as each verse, instead of following each verse with fewer lines. Essentially the piece offers three separate octaves, even as the middle octave performs as a chorus.
In this innovative chorus, the narrator has placed a heavy emphasis. While she has offered some concrete details in the opening verse-octave, in the chorus-octave she is stating a general take on what she may likely be thinking about during this particular time period in her life.
She thus has been focusing mentally on things that she and her friend have enjoyed together. But then she adds two images in the first quatrain of the chorus-octave that allow her thoughts to show their natural influences as she experiences weather conditions—specially the warmth of spring and summer and the cold of fall and winter.
The second quatrain of the chorus-octave becomes even more generalized: she is a creature of the river, so closely attuned to river culture that it seems that the very waters of the river flow “through [her] veins.”
The narrators suggests that her happiness is enhanced as if by starlight. She then asserts that she loves her friend with the same intensity that causes the “sun” to burn “through the sky.” The hyperbole serves to suggest the strong emotion that this narrator feels for her friend, their relationship, and the natural features that they have experienced together.
Third Octave/Verse: The Passage of Time
Through the years my heart has filled With love for this old river. I stand here on Paper Mill Bridge. Watch the water and remember The day we paddled down the stream, A cool breeze on my shoulders. The sun shone bright over Paper Mill Bridge And I knew I’d love you forever.
The third octave/verse again focuses on the narrators thoughts about her friend, and now it becomes apparent that they are indeed life partners. But first she places that river into her affections; she has come to love the river, and again, she is standing on the same bridge with pleasant memories coming to the fore.
This time she remembers that like the other folks one might see canoeing down the Whitewater River, she and her partner did such paddling. That day she recalls that she felt a breeze on the skin; it was a “cool breeze”—indicating that it was likely early to mid-spring.
However, she then asserts that over that bridge the sun was beaming down in bright rays. And suddenly, her heart told her then as it is telling her now that she would continue to hold her partner in her heart “forever.”
Second Octave/Chorus: Recurring Images Again
These are the things that fill my day, Things we’ve done together. Sunshine streaming down through the leaves, A storm in the clouds or snow in the fields. River water runs through my veins. The stars light up my eyes. Love for you turns in my heart Like the sun burns through the sky.
The purpose of the repetition remains the exact same purpose that is held for all choruses in songs: to emphasize the sentiment expressed in the verses and perhaps add an extra image or two.
Linda Sue on the new Paper Mill Bridge – Constructed1977– Photo by Ron W. G.
Image: Linda Sue Grimes at the SRF Windmill Chapel at Lake Shrine – Photo by Ron Grimes (Ron W. G.).
Original Song: “Against” with Prose Commentary
The singer/devotee is entreating her soul to forsake worldly things and ways, which according to Emily Dickinson, “hold so,” and follow the way of spirit. The way of spirit protects “against” all the things that damage the individual physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Introduction with Text of Lyric “Against”
Many old spirit-infused hymns sing about the futility of this world to the point of asserting that this world is not even our true home [1]. Paramahansa Yogananda has explained that one’s engagement with sense pleasure must be carefully observed lest they ensnare the soul, preventing it from experiencing the higher pleasures of soul-awareness [2].
Removing the flesh motivating experiences becomes one’s highest duty. While the first step to soul-awareness appears to be a struggle “against” the senses and all worldly endeavors, that opposition must not become so intrenched that it impels one to judge others harshly and act on that judgment.
Instead simply remaining mindful of one’s own behavior opens one’s heart to soul power. Creatively fashioning the experiences and thoughts on the journey to soul awareness adds to the reality and beauty that the world actually provides.
Against
The Blessed Divine gave us all the gifts that we must learn to enjoy but without becoming entangled and attached; it is with that non-attachment in mind that the following hymn is offered to the Blessed Spirit Who inspires true music.
Chorus:
Against the tone of heartbreak Against the stone of night ache Against the wrong that leads you Against the blood that speeds you
1st Verse
Whisper into the drum and see the bay of stars That permeate the golden night in silver bars Usher to the harp the placid palms of notes That wistfully breathe on strings of hope
2nd Verse
Quaff the mist of years, past where you thought That dwarves were playing in the valley of rock Don’t listen to a decibel lower than the sound Of the one hand raised in perfect redound
3rd Verse
Bless your father and your mother whose ears Have turned to stone with worries and fears They planted their flag in the wind by the sea They pray on the ghost ridge and wait to be free
4th Verse
Whisper again and listen for the echo That lingers in the valley you used to know Keep a clear watch how the strain will peel you Keep your mind in tow for the brain will steel you
5th Verse
Into the light, where you bow Where you offer news of then and now Where you fold your hands and wonder as you pray If you heard that thunder across the bay
6th Verse
Whisper blowing, softly into the day Let no shaft of light escape your sight today Listen to your commandments, as they Lead you to the words you hunger to pray
To listen to an audio recording of this song, please visit “Against.”
Commentary on “Against”
My original song “Against” is a lament for our times—for all times. The devotee/singer begs her soul to forsake the things of this world, which become so attractive that they hold one’s attention to the detriment of the soul.
The spiritual aspirant, however, wishes to follow the way of spirit. The way of spirit protects the individual “against” all the things that hurt one physically, mentally, and spiritual.
Chorus: A Lament and Call to Struggle
Against the tone of heartbreak Against the stone of night ache Against the wrong that leads you Against the blood that speeds you
The broken heart, the mental-pain-induced inability to sleep, behaving inappropriately, and allowing the physical body to dictate one’s thoughts and behavior are all things the devotee of spirit must battle “against.”
Allowing the voice to express opposition through melody tempers the heart and mind, allowing soul power to influence the senses that have the tendency to become so greedy and obstructive.
1st Verse: Listening to the Music of the Spheres
Whisper into the drum and see the bay of stars That permeate the golden night in silver bars Usher to the harp the placid palms of notes That wistfully breathe on strings of hope
The singer demands of her soul that it listen to the music of the spheres [3], to observe the night sky for inspiration to follow the way of spirit. The singer remains in search of hope through beauty of sight and sound. The stars at night accompany the beauty of melody that the seeker/singer tis striving to engage.
Quaff the mist of years, past where you thought That dwarves were playing in the valley of rock Don’t listen to a decibel lower than the sound Of the one hand raised in perfect redound
2nd Verse: Command to Turn Inward
The singer commands her soul to move past the past—reflecting on the Zen koan, “The sound of the one hand” [4].
By imbibing the tears of many years passed without knowledge, singer drinks her own heart’s deepest desires which turn the eye and the mind inward in search of the indwelling Lord, to Whom all reverence and devotion are due.
3rd Verse: The Unforgiven and Prayer
Bless your father and your mother whose ears Have turned to stone with worries and fears They planted their flag in the wind by the sea They pray on the ghost ridge and wait to be free
The singer commands her mind to forgive the sins of her forebears, who were innocent and did their best, even though they were ignorant of the exact way of spirit. As the immature look about their environment, they crave to find a place more suitable to their talents. It is that impetus that drives the soul to eventually find its path back to its true home.
4th Verse: Focusing on Spirit
Whisper again and listen for the echo That lingers in the valley you used to know Keep a clear watch how the strain will peel you Keep your mind in tow for the brain will steel you
The singer again commands her mind to take the lessons of her past gingerly, while recalling in the present that stress is the enemy of spiritual progress—keeping the mind focused is at the heart of the way of spirit.
5th Verse: Acknowledging Soul Reality
Into the light, where you bow Where you offer news of then and now Where you fold your hands and wonder as you pray If you heard that thunder across the bay
The devotee/singer acknowledges that she has progressed into awareness of “the light” and she continues to pray and supplicate. The singer then acknowledges that the heart and mind will continue to reflect on past and present even while seeking the way of spirit.
6th Verse: The Hunger to Pray the Right Prayer
Whisper blowing, softly into the day Let no shaft of light escape your sight today Listen to your commandments, as they Lead you to the words you hunger to pray
The singer then admonishes herself to step lightly and watch for any sightings of spiritual light, and above all to continue to follow the way of spirit as it leads her to its golden gate. She knows that she needs more exact words to offer the Divine, and she remains confident that she will find them through her dedicated prayer.
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