Verse
Once again, I’m looking in before this ironic reflecting pool
Somehow, I think I’m better now a revelation just became my school
Usually, this is just a formality: forearms, wrists, nails, ‘n hands
Sanitized for safety that would never have been true again
Despite wide speculation, allegation, and analogy
They claim docs thrive on ego but I could swear that wasn’t me
You see, recently it’s become quite clear to me that I’m no deity
I’ve made my way quite skillfully steeped in surgery plus philosophy
Am I a man or a medical machine?
Much depends on the stage and the movie scene
Which am I and which is more?
What are You asking of me? I’ve never stood here before
I’ve been around long enough to see and seen enough to know
That there are no good seats in this malignant horror show
Normally, I’m shielded by a coat and degree but not this one
There’s no safe place to cling to when it’s your only God-given son
Chorus
I still live in late December and you forever in early spring
I can’t help but still remember that quiet hush of your suffering
Verse
I find I’m trapped in the space between the bad and the good
And I’m thinking of things that a Dad never should
When he shows his brave face the one I taught him to wear
And when he talks up his hope it only fuels my despair
The Commandments are clear hell, they’re carved into stone
I feel their weight crush my heart but they’re not flesh and bone
I’ve been wrestling ‘round with Primum Non Nocere
Would I be doing harm or providing sanctuary?
Chorus
I still live in late December and you forever in early spring
I can’t help but still remember that quiet hush of your suffering
Verse
You can bet I’ve had a few words between me and The Man
I’ve even called into question the meaning of His grand plan
After I blasphemed enough one more sin on my head
Was there forgiveness enough for everything that I said?
I know I’m not God but I just don’t understand
And I keep going back to am I machine or a man
And now he’s all hollowed out I’m hanging there too
By my one grieving thought: “I’d trade places with you”
Bridge
In that last little instant when I kneel on the side his bed
With one hand on my heart the other caressing his sweet head
I never quite felt it this way though I always knew it was true
The final love of The Father: He lost His son too
Chorus
I still live in late December and you forever in early spring
I can’t help but still remember that quiet hush of your suffering
Outro
To my questions of self: just struggling pseudonyms
I can’t say it hurts less but we found shelter in Him
Regarding “which am I?” and “which is more?”
I finally confess: His love is more
It must have been
With your Cheshire grin
You said, “Whenever”
Whenever was the time
You thought I’d be with you
Despite the cost
So clearly you were lost
I cried, “Forever”
A forever summertime
I dreamt of seeing you
So, we forged our flame
And we laughed our fun
We did our loving best
To keep time on the run
But time will tell
And it tolled on you
I can never, I can never
Unsee you
I’ve never lived a life so free
Than when the world was you and me
It’s gardens grew red, green, and blue
Still not enough for just we two
And to our portrait painted days’ delight
Their custom colors cured white light
If heaven holds a place in kind
It’s flowers blossom in my mind…
Forever! Oh….
Even though we may not be together
In my dream of always seeing you
I found my only one “Forever”
In all the joy of my daily déjà vu:
I feel the light catch my face
From the morning sunrise
It’s the same as I felt
When I looked in your eyes
I can’t be the only one
Who sees you when the leaves
Face and follow the sun
Be it luck or fate
Darling, it’s too late
I can never, I can never
Unsee you
(For forever, just one more forever…)
I can never, I can never,
Unsee you
(For forever, just one more life together…)
(I still have you…)
Verse
Once again, I’m looking in before this ironic reflecting pool
Somehow, I think I’m better now a revelation just became my school
Usually, this is just a formality: forearms, wrists, nails, ‘n hands
Sanitized for safety that would never have been true again
Despite wide speculation, allegation, and analogy
They claim docs thrive on ego but I could swear that wasn’t me
You see, recently it’s become quite clear to me that I’m no deity
I’ve made my way quite skillfully steeped in surgery plus philosophy
Am I a man or a medical machine?
Much depends on the stage and the movie scene
Which am I and which is more?
What are You asking of me? I’ve never stood here before
I’ve been around long enough to see and seen enough to know
That there are no good seats in this malignant horror show
Normally, I’m shielded by a coat and degree but not this one
There’s no safe place to cling to when it’s your only God-given son
Chorus
I still live in late December and you forever in early spring
I can’t help but still remember that quiet hush of your suffering
Verse
I find I’m trapped in the space between the bad and the good
And I’m thinking of things that a Dad never should
When he shows his brave face the one I taught him to wear
And when he talks up his hope it only fuels my despair
The Commandments are clear hell, they’re carved into stone
I feel their weight crush my heart but they’re not flesh and bone
I’ve been wrestling ‘round with Primum Non Nocere
Would I be doing harm or providing sanctuary?
Chorus
I still live in late December and you forever in early spring
I can’t help but still remember that quiet hush of your suffering
Verse
You can bet I’ve had a few words between me and The Man
I’ve even called into question the meaning of His grand plan
After I blasphemed enough one more sin on my head
Was there forgiveness enough for everything that I said?
I know I’m not God but I just don’t understand
And I keep going back to am I machine or a man
And now he’s all hollowed out I’m hanging there too
By my one grieving thought: “I’d trade places with you”
Bridge
In that last little instant when I kneel on the side his bed
With one hand on my heart the other caressing his sweet head
I never quite felt it this way though I always knew it was true
The final love of The Father: He lost His son too
Chorus
I still live in late December and you forever in early spring
I can’t help but still remember that quiet hush of your suffering
Outro
To my questions of self: just struggling pseudonyms
I can’t say it hurts less but we found shelter in Him
Regarding “which am I?” and “which is more?”
I finally confess: His love is more
It must have been
With your Cheshire grin
You said, “Whenever”
Whenever was the time
You thought I’d be with you
Despite the cost
So clearly you were lost
I cried, “Forever”
A forever summertime
I dreamt of seeing you
So, we forged our flame
And we laughed our fun
We did our loving best
To keep time on the run
But time will tell
And it tolled on you
I can never, I can never
Unsee you
I’ve never lived a life so free
Than when the world was you and me
It’s gardens grew red, green, and blue
Still not enough for just we two
And to our portrait painted days’ delight
Their custom colors cured white light
If heaven holds a place in kind
It’s flowers blossom in my mind…
Forever! Oh….
Even though we may not be together
In my dream of always seeing you
I found my only one “Forever”
In all the joy of my daily déjà vu:
I feel the light catch my face
From the morning sunrise
It’s the same as I felt
When I looked in your eyes
I can’t be the only one
Who sees you when the leaves
Face and follow the sun
Be it luck or fate
Darling, it’s too late
I can never, I can never
Unsee you
(For forever, just one more forever…)
I can never, I can never,
Unsee you
(For forever, just one more life together…)
(I still have you…)
Conspired nightmares cloaked in glory;
Waved battle banners hung bestowed ribbons:
Medallion cordage for hang-man’s hawser.
Act I: The Prince
Quixotic in bloodline heir secured fortress kingdom,
Sovereign of serfs wishing well his sortie,
Knight-errant his maxim: Deus Misereatur
His Noble Lord Hail! Heard from high harness.
Beloved Sebastian, save his Saint namesake,
On quest for God’s chosen His country and truth.
Devout in His purpose from pious church deference,
Benedictions in sermon sprung psalms up inside him.
A noted church elder renowned as a prophet,
Came forth with a presage portend to soul-sanctum:
The seer said sounds, surreal and hypnotic,
Clattered warring sounds, the hidden magic of metal,
Would sickle through sanity to sense swindle mores.
Being born of flame and mill-beaten violence,
Hammer clanged iron would brand mark its fervor.
Forewarned of war madness, he firmed down his sallet,
Clutched tightly sage Psalter and steadfast his valor.
Act II: The Battle
Potential usurpers, free and untethered,
Would-be seizures of Zion, base scoundrels all,
Had conscripted an army poised for king conquest.
Low-brow attackers matched well-borns on highland.
Marched on until midday, a meadow too placid
For royal line foray swung into full opus:
Battling drums droned out blow beating dolor.
Barbed arrows sung of bow bending splendor
(Proud whistles of wood loosed of world woe!)
Harrowing shrieks sounded on the assault,
The front of the siege frauding back of the mind.
Broadswords in bicker backhanding blood honor
Their gauntlet-forced gambits grew hot foughten fields!
Brown leather scabbards, side lancet sheathing,
Hind quarters lashed in riding crop rhythm.
Bridle reins squeaked under leash bit straining,
As violin strings strummed over raised horsehair,
Heavy bound headstalls too taut for the heat.
Black bleating destriers, plumed shafrons all bowing,
Strapped clappers a hoofing, foot soldiers a’howling,
Steel scorched, the wind weeping rain tears set cloud bursting:
All heart song deceivers!
Those harkened below,
Once betwixt the blade skirmish, endured of state slaughter,
Heaps of reaped soldiers lay hugged by rose heather.
The southern based forces, battalion bereft,
Succumbed to the struggle, sought truce with the ruler,
Champion of principle, counsel of peace.
A war-lording captain appeared lone to his captor,
Resigned of rank failure while flanked from all sides.
Victory as splendid as raised gladiator shields shining
Like looking glass mirrors encircling the moor
Made head turn his majesty vaulted chevrons in heed.
Magnified and magnific met he in the middle.
The hot metal amalgam of tinned music harshness
Amid blue blooded killing had bubbled to vertex
At quartered arms salute. Cool quintessence quickened.
Vulgar auricle assassins drowned divine affirmations
As quiet church reverence reversed and commuted.
Inner ear incantations incited chest palpitations:
Heart pounded out pauldrons proved soul’s quid pro quo.
The credulous believing captain, bent downward in capitulation,
Word genuine, his oath extended, paid lord homage, genuflected,
Exoneration at Lord’s behest ex aequo et bono,
Solemnly requested. Awaited he reprieve with
Rosaries and reverence, reassured the Romanistic view
Would vindicate: Veritas Vos Liberabit.
Act III: The Confrontation
Hanging in ceremony, rare heirloom jeweled hipsword,
A firstling cross forged unfoibled and flawless,
Glinted while twirling, gibed lethal last glimpse.
Sprung forth without forethought, slashed forward sleight fisted
A flash of lives twain flicked out in an instant!
The neive-weilding weapon ran wanton while captain
Reared back from his kneeling relieved of his caput.
The ruse of reason, so rational, so sure,
Yet easily offhanded overpowered, overthrown
By officious natures now come uncovered.
Such original instincts odious and forgotten
Mock their lucid creel, make men recant, befouled.
His headship had severed from he deep within:
Held sway his heart’s merit now held lone his knife.
Stealth jongleurs of soul jeopardy
Inverted vae victis to vae victor
Foresaken faith apogee had turned antipode’s favor.
Archfiend released when he saw whose hand held it,
Doused in the pool whence displayed his deceit,
Pictured the man now mirage of this wetland
Blade grazed above dazed eyes held agape.
In that ash swirl of visage and vision
As ripples retreated and all became still,
He continued his stare blank countenance unchanged
As both sword and vexations emerged from the shallows.
There, the pallid haunt that did pierce him
Lay plain face to face: so familiar that image,
Obscured middlemost, mirrored life likeness,
Beamed bronze, red, and blue, brow baptized and blessed,
Saber swung to-and-fro, crown ready and schooled,
Blade bent hoaxed the tarn, headmost of his homeland
Found his forehead steel stuck and forever scythe sealed.
The clerical prophecy of stigmata cursed steel,
Birthmarked in pain amid bellows of peal,
Had remembered its promise to imprint a proxy.
Within the sultry twilight where skulking shadows swell
Amid quills of sunlit rays lay captured the sheer aura.
Mad silence was split. Still army surrounded
Bedeviled mind bedlam beleaguered their leader:
What hell-diesinker, damnable engraver,
Inscribed his diesis upon thy doomed brow?
Ribald bloody, rebus! Rage of thy heart song!
Plague on thy soul! Shame of thy namesake!
…. Courage Sebastian. Assemble a council.
Act IV: Summit at the Castle
Send for physicians, skilled surgeons,
Healers of every sort. Summon scholars,
Philosophers, physiognomists,
Thaumaturgists, theurgists,
Apothecaries and alchemists!
Extract a mind philter from lamp-fueled alembics and
Expunge this dread ore with their distilled chelate oils.
Swathe a sconce poultice, a pinna-pacified physic,
Applied under whispers of fey wonder workers.
Ward off the sword shrillness, the tom-toms and war whoops
And drown out the demons that dance to their din!
Clairvoyants among you invoke a catharsis.
See what I’ve seen; trace back every step:
Bestride bridle paths, revisit the bloodshed,
Recount our triumph, then reroute me rightly;
Bridge this debacle and bring me back home.
No bridges were built and no swaddled bolsters.
No antidotes founds to assuage this furor.
I shall go back myself to brace my beginning.
Act V: The Fountain
Heaven transfixed, false hearted, and faith helixed,
Standing Kris dagger riven and dark crimson cleaved,
He heard his heart’s clamor thrust off his blood armor
And prayed to be clean: I call upon the patron
And the symbol of my faith: Fellow soldier, strength spirit,
Whose name I share and who knows all too well
The taste of a steely tip; O, praised servant of God,
Redeemer of pestilence, defender of the persecuted,
Does the sacrament flow from your baptismal font?
Can your waters cool that which cannot be tempered?
Is the promise of restoration proved with each skyward surge?
Then spout merciful salvation thou martyr blessed fountain!
Betimes seek divine intercession, Saint Sebastian.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Preface
Hawser – a large rope used for towing
Act I
Deus Misereateur- God be merciful
Sallet – medieval helmet
Act II
Gauntlet – a medieval glove
Foughten – a fighting scene
Headstall – the part of the bridle that encompasses the head
Destrier – a war horse
Shaffron – head defense for a horse
Pauldron – shoulder armor
Quid pro quo – one thing in return for another
Ex aequo et bono – according to the principle of fairness and good
Veritas vos liberabit – truth will liberate you
Act III
Jongleur – a medieval entertainer
Vae victis – woe to the vanquished
Vae victor – woe to the victor
Apogee – the highest or most distant point
Antipode – a direct or exact opposite
Tarn – a small mountain lake or pool
Scythe – a long curved blade
Diesinker – an engraver of dies for stamping or embossing
Diesis – the mark of the double dagger used in printing
Ribald – irreverent, mocking, or abusive speech
Rebus – an enigmatic representation of a word or phrase by pictures or symbols
Act IV
Physiognomist – one who determines a person’s character from the features of the face
Thaumaturgist – one who works wonders or miracles
Theurgist – one who uses a system of magic aided from communication with deities
Apothecary – a druggist; a pharmacist
Alchemist – one who practices the art which sought to transmute baser metals into gold, find a universal solvent, and find the elixir of life
Philter – a magic potion
Alembic – a vessel used for distilling, transforming, purifying, or refining
Chelate – to use a binding agent to remove heavy metals
Swathe – to wrap a bandage
Sconce – the head or skull
Poultice – a soft, moist mass of herbs applied as a medicine
Pinna – the auricle of the ear
Physic – a medicine that purges
Kris dagger – a prized asymmetrical dagger noted for its wavy blade
(Verse)
You’re tired of screamin' that your life’s in a mess
You find you’re dreamin’ and you start to obsess
Your sinking spirit says that life’s out of range
You’ve come to thinkin’ that it’s time for a change
(Chorus)
You need a Love Trance. Collect your advance.
It’s a sugar-high, heart-startin’ song and dance.
You need a Love Trance. It’s perfect harmony.
In the key of your emotional poverty.
(Verse)
I need my storyline upgraded for good:
To “Once upon a time in Hollywood”.
Your starlet eyes beamed of bright emerald-brown.
They locked on mine, now I’m king of the town.
(Chorus)
I’ve got a Love Trance. It’s more than romance.
The cure to my everyday circumstance.
I’ve got a Love Trance. Take my advice.
It’s your rocket ship trip off to paradise.
(Bridge)
Been seven years since I left life underground
So good to slide with so much pain all around
If you come by then you just might hear the sound
Of one who’s come to be completely spellbound
(Chorus)
I’ve got a Love Trance. Time to take a chance.
The start to my ever-loving happenstance.
I’ve got a Love Trance. Check it and see.
A genuine heart pumpin’ epiphany.
(Outro)
This Trance is always going to be with me.
It resigns my feelings of futility.
I’m blessed with so much more tranquility.
It tempers life’s invincibility.
(Verse)
S1: If I was blessed with nature’s nobility
S1: Granted rule of the sky, the stars, the moon
S1: How they would shine, wink, and reflect on you
S2: If I could weigh this world’s glass fragility
S2: Catch the moonlit swans as they began to swoon
S2: How the night would delight and connect with you
(Chorus)
Duet: And there we go…
Duet: Cautiously drawn to those sparkling things
Duet: Slowly romanced to arpeggio strings
Duet: Daring to dream all those starry-eyed dreams
Duet: Of secret themes only lovers can scheme
Duet: In this here and now…
Duet: Growing more lost in your fanciful glance
Duet: Carefully planning our quiet advance
Duet: Who knows how these moments turn real?
Duet: We Waltz ‘round on life’s spinning pinwheel
(Verse)
S1: In the pale light as we search for our paradise
S1: We Viennese beneath the sky, the stars, the moon
S1: How your eyes confess and discover you
S2: After midnight when the universe sends advice
S2: Bathed in the words and the warm breath of June
S2: How the world is solved and made sense by you
(Chorus)
Duet: And there we go…
Duet: Cautiously drawn to those sparkling things
Duet: Slowly romanced to arpeggio strings
Duet: Daring to dream all those starry-eyed dreams
Duet: Of secret themes only lovers can scheme
Duet: In this here and now…
Duet: Growing more lost in your fanciful glance
Duet: Carefully planning our quiet advance
Duet: Who knows how these moments turn real?
Duet: We Waltz ‘round on life’s spinning pinwheel
(Outro)
Duet: With the first light and the heavens all turned around
Duet: We found the moonlit swans
Verse
Love served as this girl’s songbird
Before you broke my heart
“Love unreserved”, the last words that I heard
Before it tore apart
My moments line up in rows
Love always leads the first domino
I start high but then I hit my lows
Am I naïve or just predisposed?
Chorus
Why Lord is there
No other word for “Love”?
Why there if the angels care
Isn’t it written in the stars above?
Why Lord is there
No other word for “Love”?
Why there when we compare
Here it’s never nearly true enough?
Why there? Up there.
Why there? Up there.
Verse
I remember when love was good:
From the beginning to end of my childhood
It was found in every nursery rhyme
Now it’s just a lost paradigm
Love felt so real in your diamond ring
Now I don’t feel most anything
We were together now we’re apart
Such hard lessons for half a heart
Chorus
Why Lord is there
No other word for “Love”?
Why there if the angels care
Isn’t it written in the stars above?
Why Lord is there
No other word for “Love”?
Why there when we compare
Here it’s never nearly true enough?
Why there? Up there.
Why there? Up there.
Outro
Maybe there’s no other word for “Love”
Could it be that on this odyssey
There’s just so much we’re innocent of?
Maybe I’ll just find a better Love
(Verse)
I dream of better times, of lands, of seas and sands
I dream the dreams of many a man
I can feel the shattered hopes, the tears, the cries
The aching fears crossing over our land
Maybe in a millennium of ignorance, of hate, of greed,
Of circumstances out of control
Maybe we can finally hear the lies and see disguises
Revealed to us once and for all
(Chorus)
When will we turn to Grace?
When will our hearts be true?
If It’s “In God we Trust”
Why let the other’s rule?
When will we turn to Grace?
When will our hearts be true?
If it’s “In God we Trust”
Why let the others rule?
(Verse)
Somewhere in a sleepy Colorado town
Haunted by so many new sounds trapped in their heads
Maybe in another place, another time, with different faces
There wouldn’t have to be fifteen dead
I pray for hope, for love, for peace, for strength, for violence ceasing
A communion of man
I pray we’ve seen enough, we’re wise enough
To know the truth just can’t be found in our hands
(Chorus)
When will we turn to Grace?
When will our hearts be true?
If it’s “In God We Trust”
Why let the others rule?
When will we bow our heads?
Reclaim our common ground?
Let go of disbelief
And sing, “We’re heaven-bound!”
(Bridge)
The world needs You…
Our hearts need You…
(Outro)
One day we’ll look within
Remake the human race,
Let The Spirit in
And finally know His Grace
Verse
Once again, I’m looking in before this ironic reflecting pool
Somehow, I think I’m better now a revelation just became my school
Usually, this is just a formality: forearms, wrists, nails, ‘n hands
Sanitized for safety that would never have been true again
Despite wide speculation, allegation, and analogy
They claim docs thrive on ego but I could swear that wasn’t me
You see, recently it’s become quite clear to me that I’m no deity
I’ve made my way quite skillfully steeped in surgery plus philosophy
Am I a man or a medical machine?
Much depends on the stage and the movie scene
Which am I and which is more?
What are You asking of me? I’ve never stood here before
I’ve been around long enough to see and seen enough to know
That there are no good seats in this malignant horror show
Normally, I’m shielded by a coat and degree but not this one
There’s no safe place to cling to when it’s your only God-given son
Chorus
I still live in late December and you forever in early spring
I can’t help but still remember that quiet hush of your suffering
Verse
I find I’m trapped in the space between the bad and the good
And I’m thinking of things that a Dad never should
When he shows his brave face the one I taught him to wear
And when he talks up his hope it only fuels my despair
The Commandments are clear hell, they’re carved into stone
I feel their weight crush my heart but they’re not flesh and bone
I’ve been wrestling ‘round with Primum Non Nocere
Would I be doing harm or providing sanctuary?
Chorus
I still live in late December and you forever in early spring
I can’t help but still remember that quiet hush of your suffering
Verse
You can bet I’ve had a few words between me and The Man
I’ve even called into question the meaning of His grand plan
After I blasphemed enough one more sin on my head
Was there forgiveness enough for everything that I said?
I know I’m not God but I just don’t understand
And I keep going back to am I machine or a man
And now he’s all hollowed out I’m hanging there too
By my one grieving thought: “I’d trade places with you”
Bridge
In that last little instant when I kneel on the side his bed
With one hand on my heart the other caressing his sweet head
I never quite felt it this way though I always knew it was true
The final love of The Father: He lost His son too
Chorus
I still live in late December and you forever in early spring
I can’t help but still remember that quiet hush of your suffering
Outro
To my questions of self: just struggling pseudonyms
I can’t say it hurts less but we found shelter in Him
Regarding “which am I?” and “which is more?”
I finally confess: His love is more
It must have been
With your Cheshire grin
You said, “Whenever”
Whenever was the time
You thought I’d be with you
Despite the cost
So clearly you were lost
I cried, “Forever”
A forever summertime
I dreamt of seeing you
So, we forged our flame
And we laughed our fun
We did our loving best
To keep time on the run
But time will tell
And it tolled on you
I can never, I can never
Unsee you
I’ve never lived a life so free
Than when the world was you and me
It’s gardens grew red, green, and blue
Still not enough for just we two
And to our portrait painted days’ delight
Their custom colors cured white light
If heaven holds a place in kind
It’s flowers blossom in my mind…
Forever! Oh….
Even though we may not be together
In my dream of always seeing you
I found my only one “Forever”
In all the joy of my daily déjà vu:
I feel the light catch my face
From the morning sunrise
It’s the same as I felt
When I looked in your eyes
I can’t be the only one
Who sees you when the leaves
Face and follow the sun
Be it luck or fate
Darling, it’s too late
I can never, I can never
Unsee you
(For forever, just one more forever…)
I can never, I can never,
Unsee you
(For forever, just one more life together…)
(I still have you…)
Conspired nightmares cloaked in glory;
Waved battle banners hung bestowed ribbons:
Medallion cordage for hang-man’s hawser.
Act I: The Prince
Quixotic in bloodline heir secured fortress kingdom,
Sovereign of serfs wishing well his sortie,
Knight-errant his maxim: Deus Misereatur
His Noble Lord Hail! Heard from high harness.
Beloved Sebastian, save his Saint namesake,
On quest for God’s chosen His country and truth.
Devout in His purpose from pious church deference,
Benedictions in sermon sprung psalms up inside him.
A noted church elder renowned as a prophet,
Came forth with a presage portend to soul-sanctum:
The seer said sounds, surreal and hypnotic,
Clattered warring sounds, the hidden magic of metal,
Would sickle through sanity to sense swindle mores.
Being born of flame and mill-beaten violence,
Hammer clanged iron would brand mark its fervor.
Forewarned of war madness, he firmed down his sallet,
Clutched tightly sage Psalter and steadfast his valor.
Act II: The Battle
Potential usurpers, free and untethered,
Would-be seizures of Zion, base scoundrels all,
Had conscripted an army poised for king conquest.
Low-brow attackers matched well-borns on highland.
Marched on until midday, a meadow too placid
For royal line foray swung into full opus:
Battling drums droned out blow beating dolor.
Barbed arrows sung of bow bending splendor
(Proud whistles of wood loosed of world woe!)
Harrowing shrieks sounded on the assault,
The front of the siege frauding back of the mind.
Broadswords in bicker backhanding blood honor
Their gauntlet-forced gambits grew hot foughten fields!
Brown leather scabbards, side lancet sheathing,
Hind quarters lashed in riding crop rhythm.
Bridle reins squeaked under leash bit straining,
As violin strings strummed over raised horsehair,
Heavy bound headstalls too taut for the heat.
Black bleating destriers, plumed shafrons all bowing,
Strapped clappers a hoofing, foot soldiers a’howling,
Steel scorched, the wind weeping rain tears set cloud bursting:
All heart song deceivers!
Those harkened below,
Once betwixt the blade skirmish, endured of state slaughter,
Heaps of reaped soldiers lay hugged by rose heather.
The southern based forces, battalion bereft,
Succumbed to the struggle, sought truce with the ruler,
Champion of principle, counsel of peace.
A war-lording captain appeared lone to his captor,
Resigned of rank failure while flanked from all sides.
Victory as splendid as raised gladiator shields shining
Like looking glass mirrors encircling the moor
Made head turn his majesty vaulted chevrons in heed.
Magnified and magnific met he in the middle.
The hot metal amalgam of tinned music harshness
Amid blue blooded killing had bubbled to vertex
At quartered arms salute. Cool quintessence quickened.
Vulgar auricle assassins drowned divine affirmations
As quiet church reverence reversed and commuted.
Inner ear incantations incited chest palpitations:
Heart pounded out pauldrons proved soul’s quid pro quo.
The credulous believing captain, bent downward in capitulation,
Word genuine, his oath extended, paid lord homage, genuflected,
Exoneration at Lord’s behest ex aequo et bono,
Solemnly requested. Awaited he reprieve with
Rosaries and reverence, reassured the Romanistic view
Would vindicate: Veritas Vos Liberabit.
Act III: The Confrontation
Hanging in ceremony, rare heirloom jeweled hipsword,
A firstling cross forged unfoibled and flawless,
Glinted while twirling, gibed lethal last glimpse.
Sprung forth without forethought, slashed forward sleight fisted
A flash of lives twain flicked out in an instant!
The neive-weilding weapon ran wanton while captain
Reared back from his kneeling relieved of his caput.
The ruse of reason, so rational, so sure,
Yet easily offhanded overpowered, overthrown
By officious natures now come uncovered.
Such original instincts odious and forgotten
Mock their lucid creel, make men recant, befouled.
His headship had severed from he deep within:
Held sway his heart’s merit now held lone his knife.
Stealth jongleurs of soul jeopardy
Inverted vae victis to vae victor
Foresaken faith apogee had turned antipode’s favor.
Archfiend released when he saw whose hand held it,
Doused in the pool whence displayed his deceit,
Pictured the man now mirage of this wetland
Blade grazed above dazed eyes held agape.
In that ash swirl of visage and vision
As ripples retreated and all became still,
He continued his stare blank countenance unchanged
As both sword and vexations emerged from the shallows.
There, the pallid haunt that did pierce him
Lay plain face to face: so familiar that image,
Obscured middlemost, mirrored life likeness,
Beamed bronze, red, and blue, brow baptized and blessed,
Saber swung to-and-fro, crown ready and schooled,
Blade bent hoaxed the tarn, headmost of his homeland
Found his forehead steel stuck and forever scythe sealed.
The clerical prophecy of stigmata cursed steel,
Birthmarked in pain amid bellows of peal,
Had remembered its promise to imprint a proxy.
Within the sultry twilight where skulking shadows swell
Amid quills of sunlit rays lay captured the sheer aura.
Mad silence was split. Still army surrounded
Bedeviled mind bedlam beleaguered their leader:
What hell-diesinker, damnable engraver,
Inscribed his diesis upon thy doomed brow?
Ribald bloody, rebus! Rage of thy heart song!
Plague on thy soul! Shame of thy namesake!
…. Courage Sebastian. Assemble a council.
Act IV: Summit at the Castle
Send for physicians, skilled surgeons,
Healers of every sort. Summon scholars,
Philosophers, physiognomists,
Thaumaturgists, theurgists,
Apothecaries and alchemists!
Extract a mind philter from lamp-fueled alembics and
Expunge this dread ore with their distilled chelate oils.
Swathe a sconce poultice, a pinna-pacified physic,
Applied under whispers of fey wonder workers.
Ward off the sword shrillness, the tom-toms and war whoops
And drown out the demons that dance to their din!
Clairvoyants among you invoke a catharsis.
See what I’ve seen; trace back every step:
Bestride bridle paths, revisit the bloodshed,
Recount our triumph, then reroute me rightly;
Bridge this debacle and bring me back home.
No bridges were built and no swaddled bolsters.
No antidotes founds to assuage this furor.
I shall go back myself to brace my beginning.
Act V: The Fountain
Heaven transfixed, false hearted, and faith helixed,
Standing Kris dagger riven and dark crimson cleaved,
He heard his heart’s clamor thrust off his blood armor
And prayed to be clean: I call upon the patron
And the symbol of my faith: Fellow soldier, strength spirit,
Whose name I share and who knows all too well
The taste of a steely tip; O, praised servant of God,
Redeemer of pestilence, defender of the persecuted,
Does the sacrament flow from your baptismal font?
Can your waters cool that which cannot be tempered?
Is the promise of restoration proved with each skyward surge?
Then spout merciful salvation thou martyr blessed fountain!
Betimes seek divine intercession, Saint Sebastian.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Preface
Hawser – a large rope used for towing
Act I
Deus Misereateur- God be merciful
Sallet – medieval helmet
Act II
Gauntlet – a medieval glove
Foughten – a fighting scene
Headstall – the part of the bridle that encompasses the head
Destrier – a war horse
Shaffron – head defense for a horse
Pauldron – shoulder armor
Quid pro quo – one thing in return for another
Ex aequo et bono – according to the principle of fairness and good
Veritas vos liberabit – truth will liberate you
Act III
Jongleur – a medieval entertainer
Vae victis – woe to the vanquished
Vae victor – woe to the victor
Apogee – the highest or most distant point
Antipode – a direct or exact opposite
Tarn – a small mountain lake or pool
Scythe – a long curved blade
Diesinker – an engraver of dies for stamping or embossing
Diesis – the mark of the double dagger used in printing
Ribald – irreverent, mocking, or abusive speech
Rebus – an enigmatic representation of a word or phrase by pictures or symbols
Act IV
Physiognomist – one who determines a person’s character from the features of the face
Thaumaturgist – one who works wonders or miracles
Theurgist – one who uses a system of magic aided from communication with deities
Apothecary – a druggist; a pharmacist
Alchemist – one who practices the art which sought to transmute baser metals into gold, find a universal solvent, and find the elixir of life
Philter – a magic potion
Alembic – a vessel used for distilling, transforming, purifying, or refining
Chelate – to use a binding agent to remove heavy metals
Swathe – to wrap a bandage
Sconce – the head or skull
Poultice – a soft, moist mass of herbs applied as a medicine
Pinna – the auricle of the ear
Physic – a medicine that purges
Kris dagger – a prized asymmetrical dagger noted for its wavy blade
(Verse)
You’re tired of screamin' that your life’s in a mess
You find you’re dreamin’ and you start to obsess
Your sinking spirit says that life’s out of range
You’ve come to thinkin’ that it’s time for a change
(Chorus)
You need a Love Trance. Collect your advance.
It’s a sugar-high, heart-startin’ song and dance.
You need a Love Trance. It’s perfect harmony.
In the key of your emotional poverty.
(Verse)
I need my storyline upgraded for good:
To “Once upon a time in Hollywood”.
Your starlet eyes beamed of bright emerald-brown.
They locked on mine, now I’m king of the town.
(Chorus)
I’ve got a Love Trance. It’s more than romance.
The cure to my everyday circumstance.
I’ve got a Love Trance. Take my advice.
It’s your rocket ship trip off to paradise.
(Bridge)
Been seven years since I left life underground
So good to slide with so much pain all around
If you come by then you just might hear the sound
Of one who’s come to be completely spellbound
(Chorus)
I’ve got a Love Trance. Time to take a chance.
The start to my ever-loving happenstance.
I’ve got a Love Trance. Check it and see.
A genuine heart pumpin’ epiphany.
(Outro)
This Trance is always going to be with me.
It resigns my feelings of futility.
I’m blessed with so much more tranquility.
It tempers life’s invincibility.
(Verse)
S1: If I was blessed with nature’s nobility
S1: Granted rule of the sky, the stars, the moon
S1: How they would shine, wink, and reflect on you
S2: If I could weigh this world’s glass fragility
S2: Catch the moonlit swans as they began to swoon
S2: How the night would delight and connect with you
(Chorus)
Duet: And there we go…
Duet: Cautiously drawn to those sparkling things
Duet: Slowly romanced to arpeggio strings
Duet: Daring to dream all those starry-eyed dreams
Duet: Of secret themes only lovers can scheme
Duet: In this here and now…
Duet: Growing more lost in your fanciful glance
Duet: Carefully planning our quiet advance
Duet: Who knows how these moments turn real?
Duet: We Waltz ‘round on life’s spinning pinwheel
(Verse)
S1: In the pale light as we search for our paradise
S1: We Viennese beneath the sky, the stars, the moon
S1: How your eyes confess and discover you
S2: After midnight when the universe sends advice
S2: Bathed in the words and the warm breath of June
S2: How the world is solved and made sense by you
(Chorus)
Duet: And there we go…
Duet: Cautiously drawn to those sparkling things
Duet: Slowly romanced to arpeggio strings
Duet: Daring to dream all those starry-eyed dreams
Duet: Of secret themes only lovers can scheme
Duet: In this here and now…
Duet: Growing more lost in your fanciful glance
Duet: Carefully planning our quiet advance
Duet: Who knows how these moments turn real?
Duet: We Waltz ‘round on life’s spinning pinwheel
(Outro)
Duet: With the first light and the heavens all turned around
Duet: We found the moonlit swans
I have been writing poetry and now, lyrics for over forty years. My writing influencers travel across time from the classical works of Shakespeare to the storytelling of a multitude of contemporaries highlighted by Bernie Taupin and Sting. I favor the usage of sound devices such as alliteration and rhyme to bring out the musical quality of my writing.
Ophthalmology/Neuro-Ophthalmology
"The Fountain of Saint Sebastian" Public Presentation Art Avenue, Cleveland OH; Public presentation The Beck Center, Board of Directors, Cleveland OH