Thank you! Thank you, Mr. Goldman!
You gave me the gift of writing,
Showed me how a word could brighten,
Listened to my songs unfolding.
Though your class was prose, not poem,
Words and music came together,
Bringing both to something better!
What a tapestry and knotting,
Worlds discovered, made with plotting;
You encouraged every letter!
This song began as a poem I wrote, probably in 2002. Originally it had only 2 stanzas.
In 2003 I composed the music on a small harp. In my original accompaniment, the voice and harp were in unison, both carrying the melody. Last year I added verses 3 and 4, and wrote the descant accompaniment you hear while I sing.
Creative works, like people, can and do evolve!
I hope you enjoy “Knowledge and Love” with lyre accompaniment!
Knowledge and Love – Lyrics
1. Knowledge is what helps us grow through the years.
It tells us some things can’t be true.
Love is what keeps us strong.
Hold it all the day long,
Showing your life as the proof.
2. Knowledge may disappear time and again,
But of this we all can be sure.
Love makes no other claim,
Simply that it remains,
Infinite Life evermore.
3. “Knowledge is power,” they say. And it is.
But not all the mind can conceive.
Love is the Pow’r of Life,
Making the Spirit bright.
Ask, and you shall receive!
4. Love is within you, and knowledge is, too!
They come from the Life of the One.
Present within your mind,
God is the One you find.
Love is his Will ever done.
O come and look right through my skin
With eyes of otherworldly grace;
You’ll see our Essence in this face,
Inviting you to look within!
Kaleidoscope of time and place
Where future, past and present curl.
It’s yours and mine. Just give a whirl!
Let’s move beyond our circumstance!
Uncomfortable, yet here’s a chance
To let our tenderness unfurl!
I went out to the hazel wood, because a Fire was in my head.* What to do… What to do…
It was the Fire of Life, of Light, of Love. I had internalized the Fire, because it was as yet unshared. How could I use it to warm others? I must have something needed, even if I’m not conscious of its Presence.
I took a walk in nature to open my mind, expand my heart, and refresh my soul. I know the answer resides deep within me. That Something I have, needed by others, becomes clear.
I returned from the hazel wood, because a Fire was in my Heart! And I went on with my life, changed and aware, to spread the warmth of the Fire within!
—
127 words for dVerse Prosery,
using the starred line by William Butler Yeats.
You probably don’t recognize the name, Judson W. Van de Venter. I know I didn’t. However, you might recognize the hymn, “I Surrender All.” Written in 1896, it is one of his most famous hymns, still widely sung today. According to Discipleship Ministries | History of Hymns,
this hymn was influential in the ministry of Rev. Billy Graham.
I hope you enjoy this contemplative arrangement played on lyre!
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