SUN UP, AND I'M ON MY WAY

Part 3     The Slash-Eater's Song    (Anthem For A Women)

You're writing this song
I'm nursing our baby
     It's a quiet night
As tender eyes 
              Slip away

The sun is down, come let's play
The Intimate River sounds so near
Washing away all our fears
Come here honey, strike our candle tonight
Though the air is cold, we shall bundle tight
Wrapped to this world
Where morning comes before daylight

Sun’s not up, but I’m on my way
Kiss the baby, wave by-by,
First she’s sad, then she howls
Now she throws her banana up against the wall
Yuck,   what else do babies do when their mad?

Some days it's easy, some day's it's hard
Planting these trees however they please
Providing a shelter for this child to grow
Day and night
Night and day
Washing a river, scrubbing a stream
Filled with dirty clothes it seams

The Sun is up, and I'm ready to dream

You can not cage me, do not tame me,
Just pull my circus train

It may seam crazy, quite insane
That I'd rather hear children's sounds
Then have limits set by heckling hounds
Cast of chains and boundaries others braid

It's from my mother, I learned to shake
I learned to rattle, I learned to bake

She is in my arms as I project my sound
It is with her heart, this child I raise
It is to her I sing each breaking day

She is my Fountain
She is my River

She's my ray of hope
In the great beyond
She’s the stepping stone, that grace my pond
The smooth reflection into which I stair
With her I share
My spirit song

When I dream at night, she's full of light
She's out there somewhere
On the edge of dawn
Molding my universe, casting her charms

Look, the sun comes up, the sun goes down
There's nothing here to crow about

When you’re out of seed do you understand
How to gut your buffalo on life's frigid bluff
To scrape it tanned, Winter be damned!
If your hungry enough, You lead a hunt

You say you've planted in rocks with only one hand
But are you strong enough
To understand
What our ancestors took for granted

When you’re out of food,
You gather up grubs
You find what's there
You stir things up

Can you woman, gather this band
Plant a forest in this chiseled sand
Can you grab that sun from dawns misty gray
Flash your caulks and bellow away                  

Who's got the guts
To follow my lead
To charge 10$ by 10$ across this stream                     (note: read 10 by 10)

To conquer this hill, and plant your dreams
With fingers cracked, and iron backs
To slip wet  hands into mucky clay
And plant and plant and plant all day

As the rains slam down, we synch tree bags
Tight to our hips, stagger and sway
Swarming each unit, hacking through slash
Though the sun’s not up, we're hungry for pay

Under rain coat and pants, we chop and wail
On a steep muddy slope, where the wind bites nails
Where a wet chill, says "dare not stop"

As the sun goes down, we’ve covered this ground
With hands gone numb, and spirit’s frayed
We're high on this mountain
We wrestled today 

Sweetie come and crack my back
I’m wet, I’m tired
I want to collapse
I’m all played out
From this long, long day

Though my body aches
My blood runs strong
I'm kissing you madly
Naked in your arms
Like I belong

The stars are dancing
With sugar tonight
Moon light looms
Off the horizon bright

The sounds of the river, pulse in and out
Amongst pounding rhythms and raging hearts

Hands beyond words, breath beyond thought
In waves of emotion, our bodies talk

From these silent echoes
Of lovers in the dark
To our child's cry
For her flow of milk
There is a river of love
We all live by

Now it's Shhhsh   shsh
   Babies  nursing, 
                    Nursing away

My hips sing tender as I gently sway

'Til sound asleep
I lay her tucked
My little dove
In this universe
Where we nestle and play

This is my
Gift of love

Take me honey
I’m yours tonight
Here in the moonlight shadows
Of our life.

 

Gary Lange: copyright Feb 1999