Seven Psalms: The Lord / Love Is Like a Braid / My Professional Opinion / Your Forgiveness / Trail of Volcanoes / The Sacred Harp / Wait

THE LORD

I've been thinking about the great migration
Noon and night they leave the flock
And I imagine their destination
Meadow grass, jagged rock

The Lord is my engineer
The Lord is the earth I ride on
The Lord is the face in the atmosphere
The path I slip and I slide on

A crystal comet
Starlit night
Silver moon
To smooth the edge of daylight
Now turned the evening rose

Tribal voices
Old and young
Celebrations
A history of families sung
The endless river flows

The Lord is my engineer
The Lord is the earth I ride on
The Lord is a face in the atmosphere
The path I slip and I slide on

The Lord is a virgin forest
The Lord is a forest ranger
The Lord is a meal for the poorest of the poor
A welcome door to the stranger

Tears and flowers
Dry over time
Memory leaves us
Melody and rhyme
When the cold wind blows

The seeds we gather
From the gardener's glove
Live forever
Nothing dies of too much love

The Lord
The Lord is the earth I ride on
The Lord is the face in the atmosphere
The path I slip and slide on

And the Lord is a virgin forest
The Lord is a forest ranger
The Lord is a meal for the poorest
A welcome door to the stranger

The Covid virus is the Lord
The Lord is the ocean rising
The Lord is a terrible swift sword
A simple truth surviving

LOVE IS LIKE A BRAID

Love is like a braid, some say
And I, I don't disbelieve it
Cowrie shells, fine combs made of jade
To ornament and weave it

I lived a life of pleasant sorrows
Until the real deal came
Broke me like a twig in a winter gale
Called me by my name

And in that time of prayer and waiting
Where doubt and reason dwell
A jury sat deliberating
All is lost or all is well

Home, home
Sun on my doorstep
Shocks me to find
I'm a child again entwined
In your love, in your light
In your cool summer shade

The garden keeps a rose and a thorn
And once the choice is made
All that's left is
Mending what was torn
Love is like a braid
Love is like a braid

MY PROFESSIONAL OPINION

Good morning Mr. Indignation
Looks like you haven't slept all night
In my professional opinion
Go back to bed and turn off your light

I'm not a doctor or a preacher
I've no particular guiding star
In my professional opinion
I'm no more satisfied than you are

So what in the world are we whispering for?
Everyone's naked, there's nothing to hide
Gonna carry my grievances down to the shore
Wash them away in the tumbling tide

I heard two cows in a conversation
One called the other one a name
In my professional opinion
All cows in the country must bear the blame

So all rise to the occasion
Or all sink into despair
In my professional opinion
We're better off not going there

What in the world are we whispering for?
Everyone's naked, there's nothing to hide
Gonna carry my grievances down to the shore
And wash'em away in the tumbling tide

Wash'em away in the tumbling tide
Wash'em away in the tide

All that really matters
Is the one who became us
Anointed and gamed us
With His opinions

The Lord

The Lord is my engineer
The Lord is the earth I ride on
The Lord is the face in the atmosphere
The path I slip and slide on
The Lord is a virgin forest
The Lord is a forest ranger
The Lord is a meal for the poorest of the poor
A welcome door to the stranger

The Covid virus is the Lord
The Lord is the ocean rising
The Lord is a terrible swift sword
A simple truth, surviving

YOUR FORGIVENESS

Yesterday's boy is gone
Driving through darkness searching for
Your forgiveness

In sorrow a beautiful song
Lives in the heart and sings for all
Your forgiveness

Inside the digital mind
A homeless soul ponders the code
Of forgiveness

And I, the last in the line
Hoping the gates won't be closed
Before your forgiveness

Dip your hand in heaven's waters
God's imagination
Dip your hand in heaven's waters

All of life's abundance in a
drop of condensation
Dip your hand in heaven's waters

I, I have my reasons to doubt
There is a case to be made
Two billion heartbeats and out
Waving the flag in the last parade
I have my reasons to doubt

Dip your hand in heaven's waters
God's imagination
Dip your hand in heaven's waters

All of life's abundance in a
drop of condensation
Dip your hand in heaven's waters

I, I have my reasons to doubt
A white light eases the pain
Two billion heartbeats and out
Or does it all begin again?

Dip your hand in heaven's waters
God's imagination

All of life's abundance
In a drop of condensation

TRAIL OF VOLCANOES

When I was young
I carried my guitar
Down to the crossroads
And over the seas

Now those old roads
Are a trail of volcanoes
Exploding with refugees

It seems to me
We're all walking down
The same road
To wherever it ends

The pity is
The damage that's done
Leaves so little time
For amends

THE SACRED HARP

A change of mood
A summer storm erased the sunny sky
Two hapless hitchhikers were signaling us
As we were cruising by

Not in the mood
For idle chat or hitchhike company
Nevertheless
We took them on as highway courtesy

Hurry get yourselves inside the truck
We're just going up a ways
The rain should turn to mist with any luck
And you can find a place to stay

The woman spoke
Her voice a blend
Of regional perfumes
We have no destination
The moon and stars
Provide us with our rooms

My boy and me
We're refugees of sorts
From my home town
They don't like different there
They would have mowed us down

He doesn't talk much anymore
Just to the voices in his head
The boy just gazed down at the floor
And nodded once or twice at what she said

The sacred harp
That David played to make his songs of praise
We long to hear those strings
That set his heart ablaze

The ringing strings
The thought that God turns music into bliss. . .
We left the pick-up in the driveway
The moon appeared as amber in the mist

The Lord

The Lord is a puff of smoke
That disappears when the winds blow
The Lord is my personal joke
My reflection in the window

I've been thinking about our tribal nature
Our benediction and our curse
Are we all just trial and error
One of a billion in the universe?

The Lord is my engineer
The Lord is my record producer
The Lord is the music I hear
Deep in the valley, elusive

The Lord is my engineer
The Lord is the train I ride on
The Lord is the coast, the coast is clear
The path I slip and I slide on

WAIT

Wait
I'm not ready
I'm just packing my gear
Wait
My hand's steady
My mind is still clear

I hear the ghost songs I own
Jumpin', jivin' and moanin'
Through a heartbroken microphone
Wait

Life is a meteor
Let your eyes roam
Heaven is beautiful
It's almost like home
Children! get ready
It's time to come home

I want to
Believe in
A dreamless transition
Wait
I don't want
To be near
My dark intuition

I need you here by my side
My beautiful mystery guide
Wait

Life is a meteor
Let your eyes roam
Heaven is beautiful
It's almost like home
Children! get ready
It's time to come home
Amen