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.