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Circles

2010 @ Sheila Fleming 

 

Why am I always running 'round in circles

When it feels like everybody else is walking in a straight line

Why does it seem that when the walls come crashing down

I close my eyes and say that everything is fine

 

Uncertainty, it circles me 

Pulls at my courage with so much gravity

There's got to be somebody

Waiting in the shadows with silent answers

 

Where is that woman I've seen in all the magazines

Look in the mirror, all I see is time goin' by

Where's the conclusion if I'm always starting over

I reach for angels when nobody hears my cry.

 

Uncertainty, it circles me 

Pulls at my courage like so much gravity

There's got to be somebody

Waiting in the shadows with silent answers

 

How can I love my neighbor when he hurts his wife

He rules the family, for the bible tells him so

How dare we teach that black is black and white is white

Are children dying for a glimpse of god these days

 

Uncertainty, it circles me 

Pulls at my courage with all that gravity

There's got to be somebody

Waiting in the shadows with silent answers, whispering answers

 

Why am I always running 'round in circles when it

Feels like everybody else is walking in some strange, straight line

Why does it seem that when the walls come crashing down

I close my eyes and say that everything is fine

 

 

 

Ode To A Woolworth’s Store

2010 @ Sheila Fleming 

 

Have you heard, they’ve closed the doors

It’s the last of the Woolworth’s stores

Now they’ve gone the way of the dinosaurs

No more waltzing the aisles anymore

 

It was Molly and me and all my friends

Clockwatching ‘til the school day would end

Each hoping the other had money to lend

Oh, the nickels and dimes and the hours that we’d spend

 

At the Woolworth Store, my childhood hallmark

At the Woolworth Store, an ancestor of Wal-Mart

Nostalgia that still tastes like cherry coke and fries

I remember the day when I first realized

That the Woolworth Store was no longer where it’s at

The Woolworth Store, how I’ve been missing all that worthless crap

How little we knew what our Woolworth’s was worth

In that nickel and dime store world

 

A parade of blue beanies in plaid Catholic skirts

Headed downtown in our virgin-white shirts

It was back in the days of our innocent ways

How we’d flirt with the boys in the back

 

I can still hear the popcorn, the parakeets’ song

The Hamilton Beach blender blending along

And the cashiers who worked there, old ladies with blue hair

Would frown from above as be all fell in love

 

At the Woolworth Store, my childhood hallmark

At the Woolworth Store, an ancestor of Wal-Mart

Nostalgia that still tastes like cherry coke and fries

I remember the day when I first realized

That the Woolworth Store was no longer where it’s at

The Woolworth Store, how I’ve been missing all that worthless crap

How little we knew what our Woolworth’s was worth

In that nickel and dime store world.

 

Have you heard, they’ve closed the doors

It’s the last of the Woolworth’s stores

Now they’ve gone the way of the dinosaurs

Yeah, they’ve gone away like the dinosaurs

Oh, they’ve gone away and they’ve closed the doors

Of my nickel and dime store world

Of our nickel and dime store world

 

 

Like A Fire

2010 @ Sheila Fleming

 

It was on a summer wind back in nineteen-sixty-five

I was just a little girl when my baby brother died

Oh where did he go, mama, now mama, can he fly through the sky

Is he talkin' with the angels, can he hear my cry

 

That love was like a fire burning me up inside

Cold darkness reigned until I finally realized

That through love he's alive

 

You were like a rising sun to this woman grown and wise

Or were you just the reflection of the stars in my eyes

One day your dream drifted far away from mine

And I was left with a nightmare of my own design

 

Your love was like a fire burning me up inside

Cold darkness reigned until I finally realized

That through love you're alive

 

Sometimes we run away

Before the spark could every ignite the flame

And like the flowers need the bittersweet rain

If you're gonna give your heart

You can't escape the pain

 

There once was a time I felt so cold alone

Now I'm warmed by a new love, been out on my own

Seasons flow, summer goes, now autumn paints the land

That's when my thoughts return to you like the tides to the sand

 

And love can be like a fire burning you up inside

Cold darkness reigns until you finally realize

That love can be like a fire, it will burn you up inside

But through love we're alive

 

 

Between My Lines

2010 @ Sheila Fleming 

 

Wrote you a letter just the other day

Filled it with words, though I  didn't have much to say

Since I've been here tried to let go of there

Don't know why, but it seems like

My heart and my dreams kind of stayed behind

You can read in between my lines

 

Now time's been my friend, and it's been my foe 

It comes too quickly and I move too slow

Haven't found a heart that could send my soul

So I send out this prayer

Hoping somehow or somewhere you'll find me

And in between my lines, I'm reminded of you

 

You could see the rain through my stormy smiles

You could taste the salt of my tears

I hope it's true what they say about silver linings

Cuz it's been kind of cloudy 'round here. 

 

Sleepless nights wondering should I write, should I call

Will I say too much, will I say anything at all

Still reach for your arms to catch me when I fall

Don't know why but it seems like

My heart and your dreams are a beat behind

And in between my lines, I'm reminded of you.

 

I could never hide all my pain or my sorrows

My unspoken words you could hear

In between my lines, don't look for a rainbow

I've clicked my heels, and you don't appear

 

Sleepless nights wondering should I write, should I call

Will I say too much, will I say anything at all

Still reach for your arms to catch me when I fall

Don't know why but it seems like my heart

And your dreams are a beat behind

And in between my lines

Oh, in between my lines

Oh, In between my lines, I'm reminded of you

 

 

Lay Your Burdens Down

2010 @ Sheila Fleming

 

When I was just a little child

I used to walk with my feet barely touching the ground

Then one day I looked around, and oh,

Imagine my surprise to find

Someone had clipped the wings from my heels

And tied them up with many strings

Attached to many things

 

Fly away, little girl

Cut those ties that you've kept hanging 'round you

Like some holy gown

Dry your eyes, little girl

You've a wild heart beating in that body

Don't you think it's time to lay those burdens down

 

From the cradle to the crone

A prisoner of pattern, society's daughters and sons

I'm always a prodigal one

On this unfamiliar flight

Heavenly voices are haunting me deep in the night

They're telling me with ancient cries,

Give up your ghosts, and learn to fly

 

Fly away, little girl

Cut those ties that you've kept hanging 'round you

Like some holy gown

Dry your eyes, little girl

You've a wild heart beating in that body

Don't you think it's time to lay those burdens down

 

You'll never know what lies beyond the rainbow's end

And the poets say a broken heart is stronger when it mends

So lift your voice and point it to the sky

Spread your downy wings and learn to fly

 

Fly away, little girl

Cut those ties that you've kept hanging 'round you

Like some holy gown

Dry your eyes, little girl

You've a wild heart beating in that body

Don't you think it's time to lay those burdens down

 

 

What It’s Not

2010 @ Sheila Fleming 

 

Well they cut down the trees when nobody sees

Until the job’s complete

They strip all the green, what’s left to be seen

Of the forest is concrete

Oh the cities have suburbs, the suburbs have suburbs

There’s no place left to hide

If this is what they meant by development

What’s gonna happen to the countryside

 

If you’re married or single or recently widowed

multiple family, a new divorcee

You’ll find all the joys you’ve ever imagined

Golf, tennis, swimming, and cable TV

No lawns to care for, no natural stuff

Just plenty of man-made frills

They’ve renovated the forest, remodeled the woods

And they call it Evergreen Hills.

 

An apartment or condo to buy or to rent

Or a prefabricated modular house

The choices are many, they could cost a small fortune

But, hey, what’s money anyhow

When you can uproot an orchard, or bulldoze a farm

To make a multi-million dollar lot

Well for God’s sake, won’t you give me a break

And don’t call it what it’s not

 

If you’re married or single or recently widowed

A multiple family, a new divorcee

You’ll find all the joys you’ve ever imagined

Jacuzzi, track lighting, your own balcony

No lawns to care for, no natural stuff

But plenty of man-made things

They’ve renovated the forest, remodeled the woods

And they call it Meadowbrook Springs

 

The mayor owed a favor to a building company

For some campaign funds passed under the table

But the land that he wanted, some two-thousand acres

Was slightly unavailable

But like some politicians, he had a one-track mind

Simply to get ahead

So they built his library on an old cemetery

But first, they had to transplant the dead

 

So if you’re married or single or recently widowed

multiple family, a new divorcee

You’ll find all the joys you’ve ever imagined

Now you can do your reading where a tombstone used to be

No lawns to care for, no natural stuff

Just parking spaces, no trees at all

They’ve renovated the forest, remodeled the woods

And they call it Southpoint Mall

 

And they paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

Oh, for God’s sake, won’t you give me a break

Don’t call it what it’s not

And for land’s sake, before my heart breaks

Don’t call it what it’s not

 

 

 

The Hero's Story

2010 @ Sheila Fleming

 

There's trouble in the water, it's been troubling me

Oh, there's trouble in the water, it's been troubling to me

And there's a storm raging over the ocean

And it's swallowing the sea

Oh, there's trouble in the water, it's been troubling me

 

There's fear flowing like river, and it's underneath my skin

Oh, there's fear flowing like a river, running underneath my skin

And my blood is quickening like silver and it's burning within

 

Don't walk away from the light

Don't turn your back to the sun

When fear fills you like a fountain

Let courage climb you like a mountain 

Wear your wings of golden glory

Dare to live the hero's story

 

There's fire in the belly of the mountain, I've been walking on the rim

Oh, there's fire in the belly of the mountain, I've been walking on the rim

And my blood's been quickening like silver and it's burning within

 

Don't walk away from the light

Don't turn your back to the sun

When fear fills you like a fountain

Let courage climb you like a mountain 

Wear your wings of golden glory

Dare to live the hero's story

Dare to live the hero's story

 

There's fire in the belly of the mountain

There's fear raging like a river

Oh, there's trouble in the water

Oh, there's trouble in the water

Oh, there's trouble in the water

And it's been troubling me

 

 

Not A Christmas Song

2010 @ Sheila Fleming

 

It sure feels like summer tho' December is here

I've had such a hard time of feeling that ol' Christmas cheer

People decking the halls when it's eighty degrees

There's green where a whole lot of  white ought to be

Just as soon as I pack up my sleigh gonna fly away home

 

My head's here in North Carolina but my heart's not at home

I long for a chill that you feel way down deep in your bones

Tho' my back doesn't miss the whole shoveling scene

Those white-knuckled drives when the road can't be seen

But I would gas up my old Toyota and drive all the way home

 

Are you building a snowman, building a fire in the stove

Are there ski tracks that secretly lead to that old jackpine grove

A blanket of winter to cover the earth

As she sleeps tucked away from the cold

Before she awakes from her slumber, I've got to get home

 

I've been missing the sound of the ice as it cracks on the lake

And walks in the woods, how the silence can give you a sweet heartache

I'm like a fish outta water, an oyster with no pearl

Guess you can't take the north country out of the girl

So as soon as a north wind blows gonna sail away home

 

Are you thinking of me as I gaze on the same winter's moon

Can you still hear the sound of my voice in the cry of the loon

It's coming on Christmas, but down here you'd think

It was August or middle of June

When your birds head south I'll be flying north, I'll be coming home soon

 

It still feels like summer tho' December's been here

I've had such a hard time of feeling that ol' Christmas cheer

To everything, there is a season I'm told

But you just can't have Christmas without any cold

So as soon as I pack up my sleigh gonna fly away home

Yeah, as soon as I pack up my sleigh

I'll be home

 

 

Very Small Town

2010 @ Sheila Fleming

 

It was a very small town, not quite a city

Not in the news very often

Full of old men, the girls often pretty

But so many things they'd forgotten

Where they made pork and beans and factory machines

Kept food on the table

I've got to get out of this town as soon as I'm able

 

I gotta a new way of looking at things now that I came here

Some revolutionary thoughts are living inside this brain

I don't get too close, or people may notice how small town I appear

But as long as I'm out of that town, I've nothing to fear

 

I was stuck in place as I searched for some space

That would give before it would take

But I had stayed too long, and tho' my mind grew strong

My heart had started to break

It took four years of college to learn to acknowledge

Myself, if I wasn't too late

Oh, I've got to get out of this town, and out of this state.

 

I gotta a new way of looking at things now that I came here

Some revolutionary thoughts are living inside this brain, dear

I don't get too close, or people may notice how small town I appear

But as long as I'm out of that town, I've nothing to fear

 

But this new home I've found is a true turn-around

From the places I've come from

Here people pass on the street refusing to speak

Is this their idea of wisdom

And if you say the right thing you'll catch the brass ring

Doesn't matter who you've walked on

Oh, I've gotta get out of this city, and back to my small town.

 

It's still a very small town, not quite a city

Not in the news very often

Full of old men, the girls still pretty

But so many dreams I'd forgotten

And  it's still pork and beans and factory machines

Keeping food on their tables

I've got to get back to this town as soon as I'm able

I've got to get back to my own very, very small town.

I've got a new way of looking at things

 

 

The Turning of a Phrase.

Richard Edwards

 

The Turning of a Phrase

The sweet has gone to sour

The light has gone to haze

The bloom is off the flower

 

The Turning of a Phrase

When everyone's gone home

Leaving in this space

Each of them alone

 

Words once rarely spoken become the everyday

Dropped in like a token just to get you on your way

When the only words that matter have nothing left to say

Then everything will scatter in the turning of a phrase

 

The Turning of a Phrase

So slight he didn't hear

The emphasis misplaced

The meaning disappeared

 

The Turning of a Phrase

So slow she didn't mind

The ending they'd erased

The dreams she'd left behind

 

Words once rarely spoken become the everyday

Dropped in like a token just to get you on your way

When the only words that matter have nothing left to say

Then everything will scatter in the turning of a phrase

 

The Turning of a Phrase

When love's set out too long

And bitter is the taste of that song

 

Words once rarely spoken become the everyday

Dropped in like a token just to get you on your way

And if they ever meant it, almost since they said I do

They've been turning their I love you's, into

I love you too, and I love you too, and I love you too

 

 

Time In The Past

2010 @ Sheila Fleming

 

I have this picture of you

I carry it 'round in my head

I take it to bed

Now my therapist said he'd prescribe some meds

To help me move ahead

But I said I think I'm doing just fine, do you mind

I'd like to spend a little quality

 

Time in the past

There's no time like the present for

Time in the past

To remember what isn't

Time in the past

You don't have to regret it

Time in the past

You can rewrite and edit

'Til you get it 

 

So I whisper your name

And nobody knows that you're there

You're everywhere

Why does anyone care what a cross I bear

What melancholy I wear

Oh, I swear I feel I'm doing just fine, do you mind

I'd like to spend a little quality 

 

Time in the past

There's no time like the present for

Time in the past

To remember what isn't

Time in the past

You don't have to regret it

Time in the past

You can rewrite and edit

'Til you get it 

 

 

Love Isn't Dead

2010 @ Sheila Fleming

 

Love hasn't died

It's only hiding in the dirty clothes

A million times I've watched him pick his nose

They say it happens, and it did

 

The thrill isn't gone

I feel it every time I fall into

The toilet water because you know who

Forgot to flush and close the lid

 

Somehow we make it through disaster

We're living happily ever after

We're perfect for each other

He says that I remind him of his mother

And yet the passion emerges

We still fulfill each other's urges

It isn't easy, everybody said

Sometimes it's difficult

But love isn't dead

 

Love's still around

He blows me kisses while he mows the yard

I blow our money on the Mastercard

He pays the piper, I pay no attention

 

Love will survive

I do believe I make the perfect wife

If only he'd go out and get a life

I'm only kidding, did I fail to mention

 

That still we make it through disaster

We're living happily ever after

We're perfect for each other

He says that I remind him of his mother

And yet the passion emerges

We still fulfill each other's urges

It isn't easy, everybody said

Sometimes it dissipates

But love isn't dead

 

Love is sublime

Though I'm from Venus, he's from Mars, they say

It's love the interplanetary way

I want the stars, he gives the moon

 

Love is divine 

There's never been a more celestial pair

And probably in a previous life somewhere

Our names were really Ward and June

 

Somehow we make it through disaster

We're living happily ever after

We're perfect for each other

I'm a true reincarnation of his mother

And yet the passion emerges

We still fulfill each other's urges

It isn't easy, everybody said

Oh, yeah, it's difficult

But love isn't dead

 

The thrill isn't gone

Love will survive

Love can't go wrong

No love hasn't died

 

 

 

 

 

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