Time
As my songs go, while this is one of—if not the—longest, it surely is the one that took the longest to write. I worked it for months: worried a phrase here a rhyme there, a meaning, an alliteration, abolished this, polished that, worried it some more, and re-wrote the poem itself many times before I was satisfied that the poem (story) said what I (or it) wanted it to say.
Early on in the process of this song I also decided to add a second lyric and melody over (or behind) the main lyric and melody for the chorus. I always knew what I wanted it to sound like, but I’m not sure I’ve ever managed to capture that in a recording (this one included). Still, this is as close as I think I’ll come without a real studio, with a professional arranger and producer. Perhaps it’s at least possible to form a notion of what it could sound like if done right.
The title strikes me a little pretentious these days, but that’s what the song is called, and I must leave it at that.
When it comes to “Gingerly the lips collide, the honey of the tongue melts to form a glow a rush, a river,” well, that’s the true description of my first ever kiss, which to this day holds up as the perfect kiss—I was lucky. We never saw much of each other after that first kiss (that girl and I), but that kiss remains, and still stands there as a sort of lighthouse, as something to reckon my position by. I was, indeed, lucky.
P.S. Today, in 2015, I’ve worried it some more. No major surgery, just a word here and there. I’m happy with it now.
The Words:
Dew bespangled dawn you see
the stirring of a soul
nights and days
you then embrace the wonder
Seasons of a life to be
you weave another role
once again to trace
those places yonder
This moment is there to see
there to know
—though what I am is
here and there to carry me
and now and then to let me see
beyond the lie
Carrying me
far past my growing
senses
—with open eyes to let me spy
the where and when and what and why
that matter
Though time is so hard to catch
hard to hold
—and while the
here and there may coincide
to weave a whirling wind to hide
us in a lie
When dawns all hatch
caught by your old
shackles and fences
—how can time pretend to be
as real as life when all I see
are mirrors that shatter
Gingerly the lips collide
the honey of the tongue
melts to form a glow
a rush, a river
Love's forever rising tide
now innocent and young
surges in a slowly
mounting quiver
This moment is sweet to touch
sweet to feel
—though what I am is
here and there to carry me
and now and then to let me see
beyond the lie
Harboring such
ever surreal
pleasure
—with open eyes to let me spy
the where and when and what and why
that matter
Still, time is so hard to catch
hard to hold
—and while the
here and there may coincide
to weave a whirling wind to hide
us in a lie
When dreams all hatch
awed by your old
mythical treasure
—how can time pretend to be
as real as life when all I see
are mirrors that shatter
I know forever's just
a heartbeat away
a seed of time
we call tomorrow
to harvest memories
we scatter today
on your fertile sorrow
Please let me rest for a while
here in the arms of your
youthful smile
Please let me dream for a while
here in the night of your
darkling smile
Please let me drown for a while
here in the sea of your
sacred smile
Please let me sing for a while
sharing the breath of your
fading smile
Sanguineous, the rising head
enchanted to the core
races for a pain
unsought, unchosen
Passions gasp and cry instead
of laughing like before
love lies bleeding, slain
forgotten, frozen
This moment is hard to find
hard to view
—though what I am is
here and there to carry me
and now and then to let me see
beyond the lie
A warm and blind,
a lost and untrue
dawning
—with open eyes to let me spy
the where and when and what and why
that matter
For time is so hard to catch
hard to hold
—and while the
here and there may coincide
to weave a whirling wind to hide
us in a lie
When lives all hatch
slaves to your old
unceasing spawning
—how can time pretend to be
as real as life when all I see
are mirrors that shatter
Forms and faces now recede
and tremble into white
truth erupts the boy
to clearly seeing
Lies and doubts and pain concede
and rush into the light
drowning in my joy
of merely being
Of moments there's none as true
none as mine
—though what I am is
here and there to carry me
and now and then to let me see
beyond the lie
A timeless view
a truly divine
season
—with open eyes to let me spy
the where and when and what and why
that matter
While time is so hard to catch
hard to hold
—and while the
here and there may coincide
to weave a whirling wind to hide
us in a lie
When gods still hatch
blind to your old
glorious treason
—how can time pretend to be
as real as life when all I see
are mirrors that shatter
I know forever's just
a heartbeat away
a seed of time
we call tomorrow
to harvest memories
we scatter today
on your fertile sorrow
Please let me rest for a while
here in the arms of your
youthful smile
Please let me dream for a while
here in the night of your
darkling smile
Please let me drown for a while
here in the sea of your
sacred smile
Please let me sing for a while
sharing the breath of your
fading smile
Charon took his little boat to sea
and laughed and drowned and set us free
and so there is no time
there never was
Sirens blare the war anew
as Death regains his point of view
although there is no time
there never was
The King of Cool, the Lord of Light
the Buddha laughs beyond the night
for indeed there is no time
there never was
Poets die and then agree
while writers seek a truth to be
and still there is no time
there never was
Handel, Bach and you conceive
a truth you never dared believe
that but for you there is no time
there never was
For while you look you see a space
and then it’s gone without a trace
and so there is no time
there never was
An ancient answer wide and true:
these aeons all converge in you
and where you are there is no time
there never was
Ulf Wolf
Fall 1991/Winter 2015
Copyright © 2018 by Wolfstuff
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