A Lullaby

The stars are twinkling in the skies,
The earth is lost in slumbers deep;
So hush, my sweet, and close thine eyes,
And let me lull thy soul to sleep.
Compose thy dimpled hands to rest,
And like a little birdling lie
Secure within thy cozy nest
Upon my loving mother breast,
And slumber to my lullaby,
So hushaby--O hushaby.

The moon is singing to a star
The little song I sing to you;
The father sun has strayed afar,
As baby's sire is straying too.
And so the loving mother moon
Sings to the little star on high;
And as she sings, her gentle tune
Is borne to me, and thus I croon
For thee, my sweet, that lullaby
Of hushaby--O hushaby.

There is a little one asleep
That does not hear his mother's song;
But angel watchers--as I weep--
Surround his grave the night-tide long.
And as I sing, my sweet, to you,
Oh, would the lullaby I sing--
The same sweet lullaby he knew
While slumb'ring on this bosom too--
Were borne to him on angel's wing!
So hushaby--O hushaby. 

Eugene Field

This is to Mother You

This is to mother you
To comfort you and get you through
Through when your nights are lonely
Through when your dreams are only blue
This is to mother you

This is to be with you
To hold you and to kiss you too
For when you need me I will do
What your own mother didn't do
Which is to mother you

All the pain that you have known
All the violence in your soul
All the wrong things you have done
I will take from you when I come

All mistakes made in distress
All your unhappiness
I will take away with my kiss, yes
I will give you tenderness

For child I am so glad I've found you
Although my arms have always been around you
Sweet bird although you did not see me
I saw you

And I'm here to mother you
To comfort you and get you through
Through when your nights are lonely
Through when your dreams are only blue
This is to mother you

Flight song

The words of Euan Tait  artfully painted by Kim Andre Arnesen in "Flight Song."  This says it all!

All we are, we have found in song; 

you have drawn this song from us.

Songs of lives unfolding,

fly overhead, cry overhead:

longing, rising from the song within.

Moving like the rise and fall of wings,

hands that shape our calling voice 

on the edge of answers

you've heard our cry, you've known our cry:

music's fierce compassion flows from you.

The night is restless with the sounds we hear,

is broken, shaken by the cries of pain,

for this is music's inner voice,

saying, yes, we hear you,

all you who cry aloud,

and we will fly, answering you:

so our lives sing, sing

wild we will fly,

wild in spirit we will fly.

Like a feather falling from the wing,

fragile as a human voice,

afraid, uncertain,

alive to love, we sing as love,

afraid, uncertain,

yet our flight begins as song.

Farewell

HEN I lie where shades of darkness

Shall no more assail mine eyes,

Nor the rain make lamentation

When the wind sighs;

How will fare the world whose wonder

Was the very proof of me?

Memory fades, must the remember'd

Perishing be?

 

Oh, when this my dust surrenders

Hand, foot, lip, to dust again,

May these loved and loving faces

Please other men!

May the rusting harvest hedgerow

Still the Traveller's Joy entwine,

And as happy children gather

Posies once mine.

 

Look thy last on all things lovely,

Every hour. Let no night

Seal thy sense in deathly slumber

Till to delight

Thou have paid thy utmost blessing;

Since that all things thou wouldst praise

Beauty took from those who loved them

In other days.

Walter de la Mare

A Farewell

• text by Alfred Lord Tennyson
Flow down, cold rivulet, to the sea,
Thy tribute wave deliver:
No more by thee my steps shall be,
For ever and for ever.

Flow, softly flow, by lawn and lea,
A rivulet then a river:
Nowhere by thee my steps shall be
For ever and for ever.

But here will sigh thine alder tree
And here thine aspen shiver;
And here by thee will hum the bee,
For ever and for ever.

A thousand suns will stream on thee,
A thousand moons will quiver;
But not by thee my steps shall be,
For ever and for ever.

Stephen Paulus: Hymn to the Eternal Flame

"Every face is in you, every voice, every sorrow in you.
Every pity, every love, every memory, woven into fire.
Every breath is in you, every cry, every longing in you.
Every singing, every hope, every healing, woven into fire.
Every heart is in you, every tongue, every trembling in you,
Every blessing, every soul, every shining, woven into fire."

 text ~ Michael Dennis Browne

Performed by Seraphic Fire

Forgiveness

How do you love those who never will love you,

Who are happy to shove you out in front of the train?

How do you not hate those who would leave you lie bleeding

While they hold their prayer meeting?

How do you love those who never will love you,

Who are so frightened of you they are calling for war?

How do you not hate those who have loaded their bibles,

And armed their disciples?

I don’t know anymore.

And I can’t find forgiveness for them anywhere in this.

And with God as my witness, I really have tried.

But how do you love those who never will love you,

Well I think only God knows and he is not taking sides.

I hope one day he shows us how we can love those

Who never will love us but who still must love.