Winter
Blown in by the wind
To a barren wasteland
Whitewashed by the weather
Nothing here, but here I stand
It’s cold and I’m alone here,
Stretching out my arms
It’s still in all the snow here,
Forgotten frozen charm
I’m free for a while
So I step into the snow
It’s a while before I realize
I don’t know where to go
The sun is bright and blinding,
I'm lost in an open space
The snow is deep and heavy
With the chances that I face
I dreamed of warmth and light
On the other side of cold
I dreamed of possibilities
To have but not to hold
Build a cage around me
It’s a safer place to be
Draw some lines out in the snow
Plant some pines and watch them grow
Build a cage around me
It’s a safer place to be
I’ll break the cage one of these days
I’ll bend the bars and walk away
Spring
After walking quite a long distance in the cold
She felt like giving up and letting go
She wrote some messages in the snow
Explaining how she got here
She lay beside a river, nestled along the bank
Her dress was white and her expression blank
It wasn’t long before ice formed a hard layer on top of her
She said, “Here I’ll lie, frozen in time.”
(A Sleeping Beauty of sorts)
Well, you know what comes after winter:
Spring
Everything has a chance to start over again
Let’s start with the sun – it grew stronger and burned longer every day,
It saw the messages in the snow
It blazed at the girl and said,
“Let me shine on you
Let me warm your soul
Let my light be your light
Let’s shine on the world.”
As the sun said these words,
A small fissure appeared in the ice,
And the girl moved her hand.
An oak tree nearby felt the fissure as well
He, too, read the message in the melting snow
The words were crooked now, but were still readable
He moved all his branches as breezes flew past and said to the girl,
“You belong and your roots are strong
They were made just for you, with great love
You may bend with the changing of seasons,
But the roots, your deepest heart, will keep you true”
It wasn’t long before the sun melted the river
In its deepest places
And the sun told the river about the girl
The river began to move and chant and flow
Over the girl, waking up the girl, saying,
“Come along now; it’s time to get up and move
When the ground is slippery, and when it’s easy,
Just keep going;
It’s not the pace but the space you cross,
Whether a mile or a misstep,
Enjoy the flow of the river always.”
As the snow continued to melt, in the grass along the river,
Flowers appeared, from one moment to the next
Crocuses, snow drops, forget-me-nots
Blooming in time, breathing in and out and onto the frozen girl,
“We have not seen this kind of beauty before
You’re the most beautiful you
Your character lights up your face
You’re glowing beneath all that ice!”
The flowers swayed in the breeze—
A warm breeze from the south
Blowing Spring across the land
Blowing Winter away
As soon as the breeze saw the girl,
It slowed and stopped at the spot
It whispered and whirled around the girl’s ears
Layers of voices, lovely and clear
Gently, quietly, wisps of words
A melody began to emerge,
“Everything will be all right
Everything will be all right
I’ll take you above all fear where it’s bright
And everything will be all right.”
By now, the girl thought she was dreaming,
Hearing all these lovely sounds,
Hearing words in the wind and flowers singing
She opened her eyes and saw clusters of birds,
Loud birds, on branches above her
It seemed like a racket at first,
But when you listened long enough,
You could hear them whistle and repeat
Within chirps and tweets
The most beautiful song,
“Do you know how important you are?
Do you know that your life is a light?
It’s springtime; wake up and be free
Lift your head, look around, never fear
I promise, everything will be all right.”
And with that last line, the birds and the breeze entered a harmony
Sweeter than anything the girl could have dreamed up
And Sleeping Beauty couldn’t sleep anymore
You see, it’s springtime, and her life was green and growing
She sat up with a gasp as the last bits of ice shattered around her
She stood up with a shiver and wrung out her white dress
And along the river she ran
Along the river she ran,
With Spring in her step
With the flowers and trees, the birds and the breeze
Cheering her on underneath the bright sun
And she knew that everything was going to be all right.
Everything was going to be all right.
Summer
In between the trees
All the trees nobody sees
The forest becomes silent
Heat comes up from underneath
Slow down and let it simmer
I just want a simple summer
Just the breezes through the leaves
Just the sun under my skin
Summer’s under pressure
Friday feelings all week long
A mess of summer memories
Are strewn across the lawn
Out there in the streets
People piled in SUVs
They’ve got to live their summer dreams
And stay ahead of falling leaves
Summer’s under pressure
Hardly here before it’s gone
If you move too fast
You’ll be forsaken by the sun
Slow down and let it simmer
I just want a simple summer
Just the breezes through the leaves
Just the sun under my skin
Stop
Don’t go
Just take it slow
Stay
Maybe pray
Maybe listen to Coldplay
Lie
Under the tree
Go to sleep, go to sleep
Freeze time
Summer time
Simple syrup, squeeze of lime
Fall
Remember the river?
First frozen, it quickened in spring
Meandered through summer
And slowed as it approached the fall
Everything is about to change
Amber and maroon
Marooned on the shore
I cannot go furthermore
I can't go like this;
Something has to change
I need to grow into my wings
The Falls are thundering
The fall is wondering
The chaos calls me, beckoning
But not before I change
I need the winds of change
I want to fly above it all
Every-thing ends up here, I’m here
Waist-deep in the chatter, the debris of the year
The river pushes conversations, turns them around
Pooling and collecting, then absorbing in the ground
It’s happening so fast, I feel the water pull me in
Multi-coloured memories are flashing from within
I’m waiting for my wings to form ‘cause I don’t want to fall
I don’t want to let go; I can be strong, though I feel small
On my way to winter, whether well- or ill-prepared
My wings are all I have, I need them strong, I can’t be scared
Down below, way too slow, it will be different, but I know
Whether feathers fly or fall, it doesn’t matter: winter calls
The river chatters and repeats the things I’m worrying about
I look down and play trust and push aside the shifting doubt
I spread my wings and let go and feel the rush and now I know
That I can fly and I can feel and I am free and now I know
I started learning how to grow these wings a long time ago
I started learning how to grow these wings a long time ago
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