The Road Not Taken
Reflection 37.5
If there's someone,
You're not keen on,
Doesn't matter why,
You got your own reason,
There may be times
You could have killed them,
Sometimes the best road,
Is the road not taken.
They say that you should
Always look before you leap,
He who hesitates is lost,
It's as broad as it's deep,
Sometimes the moves
You make in life are fine,
Sometimes,they're mistaken,
Sometimes the best road,
Is the road not taken.
There may be someone,
You were in love with,
You parted though them,
You could have lived your whole life with,
Won them back,your love true,
Not forsaken,
But sometimes the best road,
Is the road not forsaken.
(Chorus)
Now there's war,and fighting,
Across the lands,
Ask them what they're fighting for,
Who can understand,
Ask the mothers of the dead
If it was all worth it,
Their heads will all be shaking,
Sometimes the best road,
Is the road not taken.
(Chorus)
Sometimes the best road,
Is the road not taken,
Sometimes the best road,
Is the road forsaken.
I'm rowing with my girlfriend but it's only in my head,
Still trying to remember the most ridiculous thing she said,
I know she's a wind-up,I know that she's a tease,
Wish I had a little bit of self-respect,but flesh sure is weak.
I'm staring at the window,the leaves are on the ground,
Branches are not moving,the trees don't make a sound,
The day's an empty cup,waiting to be filled,
People are being born,people are being killed.
For some time now I've been distressed,suddenly it's passed,
Each time that it happens,I feel like it's the last,
Spontaneous combustion or the monster at Loch Ness,
You disbelieve it's really real but still wonder if it is.
Because dinosaurs once roamed the land,very place where you now stand,
Glaciers came down from the north,carved valleys in the land,
You think of me with regret sometimes you know you do,
No matter what you say,how you act,we both know that it's true.
-
People say these days there's just never enough time,
Like they make it in a factory on the Rhine or on the Tyne,
When you look into the future you can see change approaching,
People know it's coming,they make out like they're not looking.
The truth is when you're divorced from your true personality,
You find yourself doing things saying
"That's not the real me",but it is you see,
Self evidently.
You can make anything out of something that is said,
It may wise,profound,a pack of lies,may be better left unsaid,
Someone said the other day I remind you of George Clooney,
They said I don't have half his looks and none of his money,
(I think they were trying to be funny).
Now you need to be able to stop yourself in any given moment,
Be aware of your surroundings,avoid all internal torment,
Forget the past,the future and fully engage,
In the present moment.
Bobby's Song
You Are The One
Love
Just a word
Makes the world turn
I've heard
Hate
Won't get you far now
Don't understand how
That's supposed to work
But you
Are the one
You make
My world one
Hope
Springs eternal
It's inconsequential
Anyhow
It's just
A flash in the pan
Sand in your hand
Gone as soon as it can
But you
Are the one
You make
My world run
Night falls
Your love calls
Into your arms
I fall
I don't know
What you love me for
You're beautiful
You're more
Your eyes
Windows to your soul
You're all I want
There's nothing more
You
Are the one
You make
My world one
You
Are the one
You make
My world run
You
Are the one
With you
My searching's done
You're the only one
You're the only one
You're the only one
The night is over,
History laid to bed,
Wanted to leave with you,
But left with her instead,
Animosity,hovers around your tongue,
All the things we could have
Seen,and said and done.
Nothing ever changes,
Or new under the sun,
The cards have all been played,
The deal done,
Didn't you look so fine,
Didn't we both make our moves?
Now we've got nothing to discover,
Nothing left to prove.
Desire it's so fleeting,
Once it's been fulfilled,
Birth and death,life and love,
Staying well,getting ill,
So me I'll stay with her,
You can stay with him,
We'll all be happy together forever,
Perpetually grinning.
One day in the future,
When all of this is retrospect,
We'll look back on it,
And laugh I expect,
A new day is dawning,
The future lies ahead,
Memories and expectations,
Swimming around my bed.
The bittersweet fruits of victory,
They weigh you down,from around your neck,
You proclaimed "They're mine,I won them",
But now you want to give them back,
A single blow could fell you,
The fall could be your last,
You can only go on for so long,
Dragging around your past.
Negativity,reality,
Flit across a vacant room,
One distorts the other,
Turns a room into a tomb,
She's so far from me now,
So deep within,
The gap is widening,
Narrowing.
The great affair is over,
History laid to bed,
Wanted to leave with me,
But left with him instead,
Animosity,hovers like a gun,
All the things we could have
Seen,and said,and done.
Bad Dream
When The Water Breaks
I'm standing at the edge,looking at the sea,
Clouds above me,I try to breath,
I can feel the beating of my blood,
Standing at the edge,holding back the flood.
In some restaurant,people in front and behind,
I've got nothing on my mind,
Trouble comes like it's from another neighbourhood,
I may look ok,I'm just holding back the flood.
When the water breaks,it can wash everything away,
When the water breaks,there's nothing left to say.
Sitting there with her,the evening's going fine,
We both know it could fall apart at any time,
It's understood,
We're so in love,we're just holding back the flood.
When the water breaks,it can wash everything away,
When the water breaks,nothing left to do but pray.
I'm someway through my time,if I could have it all again,
I'd go back to where it all began,
Learn to fly like the Holy dove,
I'd be high in the sky instead of holding back the flood.
When the water breaks,it can wash everything away,
When the water breaks,you'll be left wondering,
If it's your last day.
Of heaven and hell I have heard it said,
You go to one or the other when you're dead,
Never had much time for those rhymes of bad nor good,
Been too busy down here, just holding back the flood.
When the water breaks it can wash everything away,
When the water breaks,you'll see new life,
Start again.
I'm running through a marble hallway,
The pillars all made of stone,
I can hear a voice calling,
I know no-one's home,
The city lights shine through a window,
Cast a mournful tone,
I wake up,it's all gone.
Running through an empty field,
Chasing shadows of a face,
The birds all sing out of tune,
A sign says "Leave this place",
The sky begins to darken
As the clouds obscure the sun,
I wake up,it's all gone.
I wake to see you there beside me,
Your hair across your face,
Your eyes begin to flicker,
My heart begins to race,
I know,one day I may lose you,
That's the way life is it seems,
Until then,it's nothing,
Just a bad dream.
Stranded down some empty street,
Thinking we'll meet again,
I know it's not true
Just a sad refrain,
Reading all the headlines,
All they say is "Dear John",
I wake up,it's allgone.
(Repeat chorus)
It's just a bad dream,just a bad dream...
(Repeat)
Now you're lying here beside me,
The day is almost done,
All those moments
Have come and gone,
Pinch myself I'm not dreaming,
Asleep here all alone,
But I'm awake,and you're not gone.
You're lying here beside me,
Your hair across your face,
(Repeat chorus)
It's just a bad dream,just a bad dream....
(Repeat several times to fade)
One Of Those Days
Woke up this morning,
Put the coffee in the sugar bowl,
Shoes on my head,
Left the briefcase on my bed,
Walking round in a complete haze,
It's one of those days.
Forgot where I am,
Forgot who I was,
Don't ask me your name,
You know it's just because,
Like trying to catch a mouse in a maze,
It's one of those days.
Left the keys by the phone,
Fed the cat with a bone,
Sent the wife off to school,
Told the kids how to break rules,
Just amazed at the ways you can be fazed,
It's one of those days.
But tomorrow it'll all be together,
It'll all go well,irrespective of the weather,
Until then,I'm just going to lie down and laze,
Lay down,gaze at the sun's rays,
I know I should change my ways,but until then,
It's just one of those days.
Sometimes
Sometimes you will,Sometimes you won't,
Sometimes you do,Sometimes you don't,
Sometimes you don't know,
What you want.
Sometimes you're early,Sometimes you're late,
Sometimes you fill up with kindness,Sometimes with hate,
Sometimes you want to obliterate
Anyone who approaches your gate.
Sometimes you're peaceful,All the world sees a smile,
Sometimes you hide inside,Swim in your own bile,
Sometimes it all makes sense,
That's once in a while.
Sometimes it's easy,Sometimes it's hard,
Sometimes it's near,Sometime's it's far,
Sometimes you just want to lay back,
Look up at the stars.
Sometimes you can really feel it,Sometimes it's not there,
Everything that's ever been,Just hanging in the air,
Sometimes you realize,
You just don't care.
Sometimes you're up,Sometimes you're down,
Sometimes you're incandescent,Sometimes a clown,
Sometimes,
You just spin around.
I wish I had a message,to give to you my friend,
But I don't,and if I did,I bet it would offend,
I just get from one place to the next,
Without too much to mend.
They say the artist is vessel,things come through,
If it's true I didn't write these words or tunes,
The question is who?
The answer lies someplace,in the distance,
Between me and you.
Sometimes you will,Sometimes you won't,
Sometimes you do,Sometimes you don't,
Sometimes you don't know,
What you want.
You Have Been Loved
You can sidestep anything,
If you're swift and fleet of foot,
And never let a single moment,
Be truly still,
You may try to avoid it,
But it will come,to you,
From below,and above,
You will find,when it is gone,
You have been loved.
You've got platonic,you've got ironic,
You've got empathetic,sympathetic love,
You've got love,
You just don't know what to make of,
You may not want it,
But it will come,to you,
From below,and above,
You will find,as time moves on,
You have been loved.
You've got your quests and your high self esteem,
Your striving,your achievements,
You know you're right,you know you're wrong,
Neither feeling,lasts long,
Holy mackerel,Holy cow,
Only love,can save you now.
You can watch all about it in some movie,
Hear about its cruelty in a song,
Spend half your time looking for it,
The other half denying it once it's gone,
You probably don't understand it,
But it will come,to you,
From below,and above,
You will find,all said and done,
You have been loved.
Point of View
Hushed conversations in quiet places,
Stolen glances,Hidden traces,
A breeze blowing,a sycamore tree,
A pamphlet promising to set you free,
A drug promising ecstasy,
A religion promising eternity.
A coat thrown on the back of a chair,
A clock ticking,there's nobody there,
A spoon spinning in a cold cup of coffee,
On top of a book of philosophy,
A government promising prosperity,
Lovers whispering "Do you really love me"?
A million different situations,
A million different complications,
A million different ways to see,
The same piece of reality,
A million different points of view,
Lovers screaming
"It's not me,it's you".
Everyone loves music but nobody's singing,
The machines are all on but the phones keep ringing,
A million gadget's buzzing no-one's got any time,
Those at the top and the bottom strive and whine,
Advertizing slogans promise fulfillment,
Something for nothing,easy installments,
Thieves are the window,bailiffs at the door,
It's hard to tell who's rich and who's poor,
You get it,spend it,save it,it's gone,
It's hard to tell who's a cop and who's a con,
You get born,die,you earn,pay rent,
Never stop to wonder,what any of it all meant.
A million different situations,
A million different computations,
A million different ways to see,
The same piece of reality,
A million different points of view,
Lovers screaming "It's not me,it's you".
© 2013 Jon Atkin.