The old songs
I woke up singing this morning
and I wondered why.
It was the old songs I was singing,
songs I had forgotten,
remembrances of feelings long suppressed,
the person I once was when I made those songs,
no more,
the person I still am though I have changed,
utterly,
the joy and sadness of engaging with the circling world and my place in it.
Why should I recall these old pains right now,
these old joys,
these old friends and forgotten lovers?
How have I found once more
this core of my being,
too long suppressed?
Where have I found the strength to admit my weaknesses,
even to myself?
A new spring is breaking out like a green fire across the hills.
The earth revolves in its same old way,
yet nothing stays the same.
Today's seedtime brings a brand-new harvest,
golden as the naked sun upon our bodies,
born anew in this time of reawakening.
Today I sing a new song,
old as the earth,
red as revolution in our hearts,
gold as a new dawn.
But I thank you for reminding me of the old songs.
June 5, 1999
