James Friedman
When I returned home
And had time to myself
I hung my dreams back up on the wall
And they looked down
And the mirror does not even have the time of day for me
And when I see the smiles of others
all I feel is the absence of my own
The nights pass without stir
And for some reason I lie awake
Wondering what at all I am in this world
I was full of hope as a boy
Even when the world didn’t make sense
It did to me
And when God spoke, I knew that pillars would collapse
But I’m not so sure that God speaks anymore
And when I listen to the sounds outside the win-dow
All I hear are storms distant and close
From a world on fire
I’ve been alone with myself for quite a sum of time
Sands that pass without hesitation
And each day feels more a like a gesture
Than progress
For a time I lost hope of progress
For the sole desire to preserve what was left of myself in the wake of my dreams
And all I thought the world to be
People are not good to each other
I’ve not been good to me
But one night I heard singing
Thanksgiving days away, I sat in my bedroom accompanied by candlelight and a cat at my feet
I missed the lady who had ex-changed hearts with me
And the pressed flowers she gifted
And the hands that warmed my own
When it was so cold outside
I could forget the world if it meant staying by her side
Cooking and tending to her
sharing stories of what could be
when all along we were content in where we were
She was better than a dream when she was with me
And I knew on some day
In the warm sand
I’d walk with her by the water
And when the sun got low, we would not retire
I’d carry her close across the shore
And we’d lay against each other’s side
Watching the setting sun dip into the sea
To kiss the horizon line
I’d cup my palms around her face
And kiss her forehead just the same
I’ve watched her singing when she thought I still was
elsewhere
I’ve caught her smiling
When at first she thought she was alone
I’ve seen the moun-tain-tops above the clouds
Seen the gulleys and outlines of the streams
I’ve seen the rill that runs like a daughter to that
swirling sea, and how it sparkles with every star that will ever be
I’ve held her close with the lights off in the room
The window pane supplied the only light we’d need
We danced a while, hand in hand
and if that was all
that I could be
I’d know that there was still a life left for me
That even when my dreams fall through
I’ll still be standing when the sun ascends
Across November’s sky again