Air
Perfumed Scorpion
Scorpion attendant at the door
darkling, in darkness it awaits;
douse it with perfume as you will, for sure
still it will sting you,
so awake: this life; this, life!
Here is the essence, here the core,
sharp as the prick of blackwood briar
douse it with perfume as you have before
still it will sting you,
so awake: this life; this, life!
Layla interlude
The horizon draws down the stars
from the desert sky. Afar,
I can feel her charcoal-black eyes
brim with passion undisguised.
Dark of darkness, light of delight
she the daybreak, she the night.
She is my kismet, she is my kismet,
she is all that I want
she is Layla.
Drink her deep as the river flows,
draw her wild as the bramble grows,
dream her like the perfume of a damask rose
she is my kismet
she is my Layla.
She is in me, blood, tissue, bone...
to this tryst I gladly own;
for her favour I would drink up
all life's bitter poisoned cup;
Sweet of sweetness, flame of delight
she the daybreak, she the night.
She is my kismet, she is my kismet,
she is all that I want
she is Layla.
Drink her deep as the river flows,
draw her wild as the vine-tree grows,
dream her like the perfume of a damask rose
here is my kismet
here is my Layla.
My Gazelle
Like a shadow from the dreamtime, my gazelle,
a reflection in the water, my gazelle.
Still the heart a-tremour
and flooded in forever these
eyes that I see through;
time aflame you came to me
nothing was the same for me
once I was with you
And I walk the line of light,
life after life, wandering
through the stillness, night and day
I will follow my gazelle
wait, something has to change,
wait for something,
wait for me here now and then
wait for me now and then
my gazelle.
Like a promise unremembered, my gazelle;
like a witness to forever, my gazelle.
night and day and shadow
the quiver and the arrow are
drawing the life down
time in time the mystery
time on time eternally
flooding my soul now
And I chase the life of light
step after step after you
and I'm going anywhere
I will follow my gazelle
wait, nothing has to change,
wait for nothing,
wait for me then, here and now
wait for me here and now
my gazelle.
Wrong Footed
One step, one word out of place,
this is how we enter the lion's den.
I'd break the fall of her face,
silently retire, but then
"Go on", she says,
"say what you.re thinking."
But I can't say it,
confusion covers me
to distraction.
I find my foot in my mouth
breaching the enclosure of etiquette;
I shrug, I smile, she pouts -
clumsy gestures, clumsier yet....
"Go on", she says,
"do what you want to."
Would that be awful?
Would I embarrass her
with my actions?
If she could see through my eyes
maybe she'd begin to understand all this,
maybe let sleeping dogs lie...
still she smiles and still she insists
"Go on", she says,
"don't be embarrassed."
But I feel awful:
I'm on the wrong planet here
with her.
Ellipse
Sunset into skyfall
time is tide and turning is all:
nothing is gone, nothing remains,
only this: becoming change.
Outland, distant and dun,
backward glances, forward we run...
nothing so new as what's left undone.
Turn around 360 degrees,
turn back the years, arise from your knees,
turn up the sound that's echoed so long;
turn back the clock, remember the song.
Sunrise into skywide
otherworld in time will abide
nothing is lost, nothing is gained,
only this: becoming named.
Farflung sap running green,
spine and scion, stripling and seed...
nothing so old as yesterday's dreams.
Turn around 360 degrees,
roll on the years, as fast as you please,
memory's short, experience long;
run on the clock, remember the song.
Air
And the air has been sung for a thousand years
like a dream, from a dream
it has sprung upon our ears;
long ago, far away, in a different place
someone sang different words
still it echoes round the world
Don't you find it strange how a thing as slight as a song
could survive like a treasure for so long?
While the empire has crumbled which heard it first
in the air it lives on,
affirmation of rebirth.
Everything is different now but this stays the
Same voices joined across the years: a human chain.
And the air in our lungs is an atmosphere
like a prayer; we can join
in communion down the years.
Don't you find it strange that this song once didn't exist
but once plucked from the air it comes to this:
while the empires have fallen the song is passed
mouth to mouth, son to son
an inheritance that lasts...
Everything is changing but still the song's much the
same:
voices linked across the years, a human chain.