Willow Walk

forward to a different scene

the world outside will not let one alone

not for one second to breathe open air

just heed the rastaman on rastaphone

speaking his truth in simple honest tone

with words of import durable and fair

the world outside will not let one alone

but like a dog protecting its last bone

will growl and dart at those who only dare

just heed the rastaman on rastaphone

with such a message that we have to own

ourselves bemused and forced indeed to care

the world outside will not let one alone

not even emperor asleep on throne

who would methought have time enough to spare

just heed the rastaman on rastaphone

give up the past and head beyond the known

into the heart of humans everywhere

the world outside will not let one alone

just heed the rastaman on rastaphone

duly noted and recalled

how fresh the world was complex and still strange

as we crossed shark-filled seas with little thought

of what bright magics in the clouds were caught

or what the cities past the mountain range

would have for us instead we sought the grange

the country quiet where oldest rules were taught

in plainest movement from old is to ought

from then to now where all we did was change

into clear selves who know the middle way

by just refinement of that youthful choice

made all rejoicing under bluest sky

for we who learn the paths and tracks of day

know it's no simple thing to have a voice

and far more difficult to keep an eye

gaining honest sight

you learn the shadows do not hide all lies

nor is the truth what's gleaming in the sun

for far too frequently the tale's not done

when light has faded from all noonday skies

or wisdom woken in the youngest eyes

no not at all yet for each honour won

by those whose struggle is the daily run

through the hot lands there are no final ties

instead we face a constant horrid stream

of angry platitudes regarding fate

and what it means when we give up the fight

for who we are and what we dare to dream

in these dread times there can be no debate

since there's one chance to leap into the light

where all the revolutions must begin

at night the sounds of aircraft blend with rain

lulling to sleep and then we're in the place

where trips begin moving at steady pace

towards the boarding steps and then again

above the clouds where everything's seen plain

in rapid motion back to present grace

with clarity we know can't be the case

facing a truth that's all shot through with pain

the earth still turns and darkness has to lift

at daily sunreturn we find each choice

to be like putting on a shoe or glove

a simple matter of the human gift

for stating facts in ordinary voice

once it is understood the word is love

feeling the air

so now we listen for the coming rain

deceived by breezes knowing the moist air

is filled with promise and that it must bear

more than mere fruitfulness that much is plain

as we await the changes and explain

to eager watchers just how much our care

has been to guard lest each of them despair

and hold inside the messages of pain

this is the boundary beyond which none

but foolish folk will venture without charts

yet we have come here eager to press on

being certain now that this game has been won

by each of us through mastery of arts

that gave us certainty and have not gone

the wicket portal

your choices narrow since the gate's not wide

but yet is ample once you choose your way

all you must do is set apart your pride

 

not just in honour but in the best allied

arts you have studied since your first calm day

your choices narrow since the gate's not wide

 

enough for coaches in which large folk ride

but humbler folk might still that path essay

all you must do is set apart your pride

 

from hope and anguish both yet never hide

your expectation of what we might say

your choices narrow since the gate's not wide

 

yet little matters since we will not collide

with foolish beings who will not obey

all you must do is set apart your pride

 

and just be ready to confront the tide

that still treats us as objects of its play

your choices narrow since the gate's not wide

all you must do is set apart your pride

the dragon waiting

at longest last we reach the furthest edge

where wisdom cannot tell us how to choose

between young follows and a few old clues

close to the end there on the final ledge

above deep seas which no one dares to dredge

is where we learn the game's to win or lose

in one short moment when we clip the fuse

open our eyes and honour our true pledge

worlds shape each heart but hearts must form the world

for each of us in turn as we repair

to our last castles on the final hill

dreaming in hope of sleeping dragons curled

in some deep cavern far from the bright air

awaiting the command of our deep will