You’re My Reason

I find you in the calm of night

When every care seems out of sight;

But words reveal a deep disquiet

That’s never in your smile.

And as you talk with me,

I gaze, it seems, into a crafted shield

And sense beneath unspoken pain

You try to hide away.

“Chorus”

(But) if you reach for me,

I’ll hold you gently in my arms

And calm the torment in your troubled heart,

For you’re my reason to be here.

So seek me when you’re tossed and torn,

When nothing’s working out at all.

No need to hide behind a wall.

There’s nothing to be feared.

It may seem at times

That no one knows your weary mind,

Your prayers adrift in empty space,

Their answers time-delayed.

Chorus

It may be tempting sometimes

To close your eyes and walk away;

But then the pain is all-consuming.

It makes no sense to let it stay.

Chorus

She Gave Me Love

She was all I thought a woman of her time was meant to be;

Took success and independence in her stride.

She faced her middle years, though much younger to my eyes;

Played the hand so well that she was dealt in life.

“Chorus”

(And/Yet/Still) she gave me love. She gave me love.

Not the grace of warm embrace; but in her way, she gave me love.

Blessed with poise, she glowed with confidence, not given to pretence;

Wore a smile that thawed far reaches of my heart.

But in her lucent eyes, a hint of shadow, well concealed,

Traced regret from choices made long in the past.

Chorus

She talked of safer things, afraid to come too close;

And yet, she was attentive to a fault.

At times, when she relaxed the guard, for years she had engaged,

Her loveliness escaped, my emptiness erased.

She drove me to my door, her gentle warmth caressed my cheek;

One moment in my arms and then goodbye.

I was left to muse what might have been, as she waved for one last time;

Then tears of sadness filled her eyes

And she drove off through the cold into the night.

Chorus

Someone Out There

You may believe you pass unnoticed in the night; but I can tell you, that’s delusion.

Your flashing eyes that dance like glitter in the light, attract attention ev’ry time.

You fear that love has passed you by. Could this be a state of mind?

For someone, out there, may be impatient for a cue;

Someone, too shy to come to you;

Someone, out there, even closer than you’d hope;

Someone, you’d really like to know.

Empty years of hateful bitterness and spite spawned the seeds of disillusion.

The cherished dream then flung like ashes from the fire that stole away your heart’s desire.

You bore the heartbreak and the shame, good reasons not to trust again.

But someone, out there, may be impatient for a cue;

Someone, too shy to come to you;

Someone, out there, even closer than you’d hope;

Believe me, my friend, I know.

You found your strength in weakness, reclaimed your life.

Success became a shield that you could hide behind;

Yet, through our brief acquaintance, from time to time,

Revealed, at last, the lovely one inside.

Now, someone, out there, is so impatient for a cue;

Someone, too shy to come to you;

Someone, out there, the one who shares your dream;

Someone, out there, can’t you see?

Someone, out there, like me.

How You Feel Tonight

Something distant, in your eyes,

Reveals a place where no one else can go.

If one could fill the void and so restore the joy,

At such a time you’d never know.

I know you need some time to ponder

And some things still are hard for you to share;

But I’ll help to lift the burden from your shoulders

That no one’s meant alone to bear.

“Chorus”

I am always there when you need me,

Don’t be ashamed if you should cry.

Just rest your head upon my shoulder,

For I know how you feel tonight.

Once more your smile will light the darkness

And lift the gloom that others often know.

This gift that speaks of you will once again shine through;

But now it’s time to rest and grow.

Though some things may have changed forever,

The memories now instilled will have their sway.

So, take the time you need, the pain will soon recede.

While you need me to be here, I’ll stay.

Chorus x 2

Never Too Late

So many years gone by; I guess I felt shy,

Trading glances with no word to say.

And as I recall, your look said it all.

I responded with something inane.

“Chorus 1”

If you only knew the state of my heart,

Ev’ry time I think of the years spent apart.

We had a love ready-made then for life;

But it’s never too late to start.

Although the years deceive, I still do believe

The attraction was there, if restrained.

So, as I return, each part of me yearns

To tenderly greet you by name.

“Chorus 2”

If I could but freeze one moment in time,

I would choose the day when your eyes met mine,

Catching breath then, to say something grand,

Like: “How are you? You’re looking fine.”

At last, in your space; in shadow, your face shines

The way that it did in its prime

Suspended is time, ’til you beam with that smile.

“How are you? You’re still looking fine.”

Choruses 1 & 2

We have a love ready-made now for life.

It’s never too late. We still have time.

Isles of Green

I’m imagining lonely eyes that stare across the sea.

Beneath the horizon, slips a land of emerald green.

The watching is silent; welling tears begin to burn.

I wonder, did you know you’d not return?

“Chorus”

Isles of green still linger in my dreams

And follow down this winding road I go.

Isles of home, come with me where I roam,

Unfold the deepest memories in my soul.

Now I wander through ancient streets in towns where you were born.

They’re strangely familiar, like I’d known them long before.

Belonging so deeply felt, mere words could not explain.

My heart has found its home and longs to stay.

Chorus

No one can tell me now what caused you once to leave.

There’s no living memory of the hunger and disease.

You came to a sun-scorched land, my home and gift from you.

Now the winding road has brought me home for you.

Chorus

My Wish For You

Long gone are the days when you ran to embrace me

And the wave of your love washed me clean.

Those were times that I treasure. How I miss them now!

Oh, to turn back the tide somehow!

But the breakers of life rushed relentlessly onward

And swept them so swiftly away.

I watched how you managed all the tumbles and turns

To land on your feet once again.

“Chorus”

Though life will bring you its moments,

May love always bear you aloft;

Then, when you look back on the ebbing and flowing,

You’ll feel as I do when I look at you.

This is my wish for you.

I cried on the day when you broke from your moorings

And sleepless I lay late that night.

For there seemed such a chasm left open and yawning

That I wondered how I would survive.

But the currents of time, ever swirling and surging,

Were urging you on through the spray,

‘Til the promise foreshadowed would finally unfurl.

I’m so proud of the one you became.

Chorus x 2

On Golden Sands

Gazing at your photograph takes me back in time.

Hand in hand, we stroll on golden sands beneath a timeless sky.

Life seemed so much simpler then; but how much did we know

When we took that solemn step so long ago?

I wouldn’t say the journey has been easy. Would you?

But love endured the hardships and shaped us as we grew.

It might have passed unnoticed then; but now I understand,

Remembering those days on golden sands.

Leafing through our memories in colour, black and white,

The joys and celebrations there so freely spring to life.

Concealed, the disappointments and the tensions that arose.

All were fabric in the tapestry we wove.

No, I wouldn’t say the journey has been easy. Would you?

But love endured the hardships and shaped us as we grew.

It might have passed unnoticed then; but now I understand.

Those too were days we strolled on golden sands.

I turn the final pages and close my misty eyes.

The firelight is fading now; yet radiant is your smile.

You reach across the universe and gently take my hand,

And lead me as we stroll on golden sands.

I wouldn’t say the journey has been easy. Would you?

But love endured the hardships and shaped us as we grew.

It might have passed unnoticed then; but now I understand.

Our days were always spent on golden sands.

Hand in hand, we stroll again on golden sands

The Things You Meant To Me

You taught me well to know what’s in my heart,

To trust the feelings there and not disown them.

Though, in my life, this counsel proved so wise,

The quiet path took years to comprehend.

“Chorus”

These things I’ll always cherish in my heart;

They stayed unspoken nonetheless.

But what I’d fail to show,

Somehow, you’d always know,

These were the things you meant to me.

Through the years, in ways I’d not perceive,

With gentleness, you took the time to show me.

And then in time, I came to realise

The way itself was lesson – not the text.

Chorus

You never tried to hold too tight,

Providing space to breathe and grow.

When came the time for taking flight,

You had the grace of letting go.

Chorus

Yours Truly (That April Day)

I remember, as a child, we held in awe that April day.

We bowed before the Cenotaph; in silence, wreaths were laid.

We heard the story, once again, of brave young men who died.

I asked him why it meant so much that old men still would cry.

“Chorus”

“Now unless you’ve heard the scream of shell, or the roar as bombs explode,

Or the ricochet of leaden hail, or know true mateship’s code,

Or felt the clutch of icy fear, like steel hands ’round your throat,

You may but guess just how it was; but yours truly you can quote.”

Throughout the years, he never missed a March or Dawn Parade.

I counted nearly sixty times, his medals’ proud display.

At times, I might have questioned whether war was held too dear;

Yet when the lonely bugle called, I always shed a tear.

Chorus

Even in his sunset years, he reverenced that day

‘Til the time for all old soldiers came; I watched him fade away.

I thought of him last April day, the first one since he passed.

As the bugle sounded one more time, I knew my Dad at last.

Chorus

“Now unless you’ve heard the scream of shell, or the roar as bombs explode,

You may but guess just how it was; but yours truly you can quote.”